Proposed Weapon Changes for 8.49+

[ycoseth]

In the suggestion forum there is a thread on revising some of the weapons in Battle Tanks. I proposed these changes and put them up to a vote, to see how people feel about them. The arguments for are attached.

The main complaints were against the Soulstone and Plasma Fragments, though I'm sure there will be resistance to Poison Magic as well. Personally after playing with them, I can see why people want to keep the Soulstone. Frost Magic is still bad, however.

Okay, I looked at the weapons and targeted 5 rarely used weapons that I find to be redundant or extraneous and the suggestions I would make to them, then show the overall spread of different weapons.

Grenade Launcher
Old Cost: 1750
New Cost: 1500
Old Range: 950
New Range: 600
Old DPS: 92 dam, .75 fire rate = 123 DPS
New DPS: 167 dam, 1 second fire rate = 167 dps

This gives low range a starting weapon. Light Tank, Helicopter, Anti-Grav and Scout can all use it, , and it will cause the flood of common LT/FoK starts to hopefully branch into those who want 750/950 and those who want 600. The 950 range is not lacking as there is the Molotov Cocktail at 1500, and 750 range gets the 1500 cost Glaive Cannon. This new weapon opens up a new avenue for start without taking from existing strategies. I believe this would primarily bolster the Anti-Grav specifically, as Anti-Grav is excellent with 750 range or less and it gives AG players more flexibility with their choice of weapons.

I would recommend changing the upgrade from Air to a standard upgrade similar to that of a Fireball Cannon or Tornado Summoner, lowering the firing speed.

Confusion Magic
Cost (4444) held the same.
Old Range: 999
New Range: 888
Old DPS: 166 damage, .66 fire rate = 297 DPS
New DPS: 335 damage, 1 second fire rate = 335 DPS

A fairly minor change, all things considered. I simply dropped the range and adjusted DPS. Currently this weapon sees little play because a mere 600 more buys Fear Magic. I moved it to 888 to create a viable 2nd option after Basic Cannon/Tornado Summoner in the 850-900 bracket. Instead of purchasing and upgrading a 2nd Tornado Summoner, a player has the option of buying a better weapon.

Soulstone
Cost (4800) held the same
Creep-only removed.
Old Range: 850
New Range: 1300
Old DPS: 212 dam, .32 fire rate = 663 dps (creep only)
New DPS: 246 dam, 1 second fire rate = 246 dps

I often see people spam Energy Torpedos and I think that is because there is no other option for sniping. Rocket Hail is a similar range but spreads it's shots and costs over twice as much as the Torpedo. I think this bridges the gap for ET players by giving them a higher cost upgrade that fits the style. I think they will also like it because of the slow reload of the Torpedo there is a 2.5 second gap for players to get away with minimal health. I think the 1-second cast time will grant them a few extra kills and make the 1300 range somewhat more viable, and it's by removing a weapon that in 9 months of playing Battle Tanks, I haven't seen used more than once or twice.

Plasma Fragments
Old Cost: 6000
New Cost: 5000
Old Range: 950
New Range: 600
Old DPS: 463 dam, 1.1 fire rate = 421 dps
New DPS: 833 dam, 1.5 fire rate = 555 dps

Another unpopular weapon, likely because of the glut of 999 range weapons in the cost range. This would be the natural successor to the Ice Cannon, a powerful hit that would become a favorite of CP defenders and a good reason to bring creeps/buy a barricade etc etc when assaulting a point knowing such a strong weapon is in play. I think this would likely be the MVP of the 600 range arsenal and fill the gap between Ice Cannon and Flamer while also giving the range different firing speeds (1 sec, 1.5 sec, .1 sec, respectively)

Lightning Magic
Cost (6666) held the same
Old Range: 999
New Range: 888
Old DPS: 444 dam, 1 second = 444 DPS
New DPS: 250 dam, .5 fire rate = 500 DPS

This was the hardest for me to do, because I love the Lightning Magic when I play 1000 range, but honestly the Ghost of Doom cost a mere 400 more, it doesn't make sense to keep it. I was worried about this being too similar to Light Fantastic, but I think it's enough of a difference. The DPS is the same, but this fires quicker, has 88 more range, and is a single-target firing. With the Tornado Summoner being such a slow cast, the Confusion at 1 second, I thought I'd drop this to a quicker cast to vary the firing speeds a bit. Like Confusion, its overall a small change but one that will be important in the end.

And two final changes:
Machine Gun
Cost (2500) held the same
Old Range: 700
New Range: 650
Old DPS: 48 dam, .2 fire rate = 240 DPS
New DPS: 51 dam, .2 fire rate = 255 DPS

Poison Magic
Cost (5555) held the same
Old Range: 555
New Range: 666
Old DPS: 367 dam, .55 fire rate = 667 DPS
New DPS: 278 dam, .5 fire rate = 556 DPS

These two aren't as important as the first 5, and I think the Poison Magic change might be unpopular but here's my reasons: Poison Magic and Machine Gun are the only two standard weapons at their respective ranges (technically Magic Cannon at 777 is too, but there are plenty of 750 ranges that mesh with it.) so I think it would streamline the game more if they were brought into more of a fold. With the range reduction on the Blaster Cannon to 660, I think there is a potential for a 650-666 range build, albeit it won't be as fleshed out as the new 600 or 1300, but it's better than having two weapons that are essentially stand-alone. Also, the Poison Magic is spammed endlessly because it's cost-DPS ratio is so overwhelmingly better than any weapon, that I think moving it up a bit in range (and thus down in DPS) will make it not so heavily favored.

The new Plasma Fragments has the same DPS as the old Poison Magic for less than 500 more, so there is still a weapon for that role, and Machine Gun gives 650 a starting weapon, provided you start with the Scout, or play at a 4k start. If there is much contention to these two changes, then these do not have to be added, but look at the weapon progressions before you knee-jerk and defend the Poison Magic.

At 600:
1500 - Grenade Launcher
3000 - Ice Cannon
5000 - Plasma Fragments
6750 - Flamer

A solid progression with each weapon 1500-2000 from the last weapon. It has a good starting weapon, then a 2nd weapon, mid-game and late-game.

At 650-666:
2500 - Machine Gun
5555 - Poison Magic
11000 - Blaster Cannon

While this is not fleshed out yet, it is now a viable subset, whereas before it was 3 different weapons with unique ranges.

At 850-888:
2000 - Basic Cannon
2222 - Tornado Summoner
3500 - Fire Arrows
4444 - Confusion Magic
6666 - Lightning Magic
8888 - Fire Magic
25000 - Psycho Laser

This is the most bolstered of the new ranges, putting it on the level of 750-800 range and 950-1000, as far as options and clean progression goes. The added Confusion and Lightning Magics provide a clean transition up to Fire Magic while providing a stylish alternative to Fire Arrows. Also, no two weapons are too close to one another in cost, other than Basic Cannon and Tornado Summoner, both of which are good starting weapons, allowing for Scout, Heli, and Light Tank to start at this range.

At 1300:
2700 - Energy Torpedo
4800 - Soulstone
6000 - Rocket Hail
7777 - Death Magic
12000 - Acid Cannon

The addition of Soulstone fits nicely in the progression, at 2100 more than the ET but 1200 less than the Rocket Hail, while also being different in style from the two weapons on either side of it. Hopefully this cuts down on spamming of Torpedos since there is now a solid option in the 2nd weapon/mid-game column.

And just to show this would not hurt the existing builds, here are the two most common ranges:

750-800:
1100 - Multi-Bow
1500 - Glaive Cannon
2200 - Fan of Knives
3333 - Magic Cannon
4000 - Plasma Waves
6000 - Light Fantastic
6000 - God's Hammer
8050 - Infernal Rocks
15000 - Darkness Cannon

950-1000:
1111 - Basic Magic
1500 - Molotov Cocktail
2000 - Light Plasma Gun
2200 - Fireball Cannon
3300 - Swarm Rockets
5050 - Fear Magic
6060 - Frost Magic
7070 - Ghosts of Doom
9999 - Psycho Magic
20000 - Photon Bombs
30000 - Frost Laser

So, what do you all think of the changes?