I appreciate the added feedback regarding HVD! That actually more or less matches up with the *intent* behind how it's set up, so I'm glad it seems to be functioning more like that and, well, not more like how I was concerned it was.
I think the Atropos was originally intended to be between the Harpoon and Reaper (wasn't it 2000 damage?) but 2000 damage Atropos on Daggers/Tridents would be insane. I'd prefer ship-mounted Atropos be 2000 damage and Fighter-mounted Atropos stay as-is but the game would have to tell you that somehow and that's more effort than it's worth. However, at the end of the day, we're talking about a missile system confined to Small Mounts. It's a blip on the balance radar, all things considered. If there were Medium Atropos pods or Hurricanes fired Atropos at the split, maybe it'd be worth debating but as it is, it's no big deal to me.
Yep, that's exactly the history of it! And it feels like it's at least easier to balanced a ship-board Atropos around it having 1200 damage than it would be to balance the fighters around a 2000 damage one. And, hopefully, with the reduction in OP cost, it'll see more use.
Huh didn't expect those missile changes. Seems cool but it's kinda funny to me that there now exists two versions of the same missile, with one having a literal one missile more, I understand why for gameplay reasons and bonuses but still.
Hah, I know what you mean. Still, this is a change I'm actually low-key excited about. It feels like the (Double) version should be a viable "budget" alternative, especially for ships with multiple missile mounts that can still get a decent salvo off with one-per-shot. Of course, they'd also get more out of the extra missile in the standard racks, but at an OP premium for both that missile and the increased rate of fire. So it *seems* like this should add some real choices!
Glad for Atropos changes, still sad there's not a medium version that fires two at once. There's so many options for small slots, but then you get to larger options and you only have Reapers as torpedoes.
Hmm. Reapers (and some other weapon line examples notwithstanding), I'm generally not a fan of "same thing but bigger" weapons - or, at least, that's not the first place I want to go. I mean, it's hard to avoid to a certain extent, especially for certain weapon types that are pretty core to the game - the autocannon line comes to mind here. And, really, the Reaper is pretty core too - it's
the quintessential torpedo, and its existence is definitely a balance consideration, or perhaps even "pillar"
So that said, if I really wanted to add a new medium or large torpedo, my preference would be to go for something entirely new! Seems like there's a lot of design room to explore there. Maybe something that's very heavily anti-armor with scripted armor damage (like the Breach on steroids, hard to stop, and with very limited ammo). Or some kind of ion-torpedo that spawns a ton of EMP arcs on impact but only does energy damage, so it's more of a disabler. Or indeed something guided like the Atropos; that could be interesting as well, though it might be more useful with a longer range, if it's in a non-small slot. Or, or, an energy torpedo with a flux cost. ... getting a bit too into this, I think. But yeah, it seems like there's a lot of fun options to consider here.
I felt the same way about the mauler though, so there's obviously some major disconnect on the topic of long range ballistics here.
The mauler changes aren't a nerf - or, well, they're not
intended as one. Consider also that the improved accuracy is a bigger concern given that Gunnery Implants only reduces recoil by 25% now (and you'd have to get Armored Weapon Mounts to get the other 25%). I wouldn't necessarily call the changes a buff - I think they're closer to being that than a nerf, but it's more just giving the mauler a different feel and role. And it's also one in which it could be buffed more safely if need be, than it is in its current state, where I think it's too easy to make it too strong.