Arming the Away Team

[Dubious]

As there hasn't been much new posted to the forum lately, here is some research and observations into Away Team weapons. I'm sure none of this is new to anyone who has played for a while, but sometimes it takes laying things out in an organized fashion to make some relationships clear.

SPEED: Tactical turn is 100 ticks. SPD is added to the current tick count of each unit. When a unit has 100, it acts. Hence, positive SPD achieves 100 faster; negative is slower.

Zero is "normal". This is manifested as the enemy movement distance: when your speed is slower, they get to move more tiles before your turn. Carefully weigh weapon "damage per turn" versus "speed" (i.e. number of available turns to inflict damage). A high damage score is not always the best criteria.

SIDEARMS: note the effective range and speed. You only do 1/2 damage at targets less than minimum range, and can't shoot beyond the maximum.

Diagonals presumably count as 1.5 tiles, so a 15 range is equivalent to 10 tiles on the diagonal, assuming you can see that far with an unobstructed view. Sometimes a target appears to be "in range" at the edge of the marked "fire zone" but you are not able to actually fire. Most likely this is a consequence of a "diagonal" in the line of fire rendering it a half tile out of range.

A slow weapon speed combined with a high minimum effective range can put that distant enemy "too close" in one turn.

"Adjacency" (Adj) apparently only applies to targets actually touching each other; not being an "area of effect".

Damage appears to be inversely related to adjacency, and directly related to maximum range. The longer the range, the more damage done but the slower the speed. An increase in the minimum range and/or decrease in the weapon speed also seems to increase the damage done.

The following table represents the most extreme/optimum values seen per category in a Normal difficulty/PermaDeath game at Crafting level 80, Sector 40. (Damage) is representative only between items at the same crafting and sector level, and varies directly with both. The table is arranged by "Speed" (SPD), which is fixed by type. Not all extreme range & adjacency combinations are expected to be possible. "Damage Step" is for comparison purposes using the representative damages given.

  Type           Range  Adj  Speed  Damage  Damage Step
  Pistol         1/6    0     25    (465)   x0.8 Shotgun / x0.5 Knife (Melee)
  Shotgun        0/5    4      0    (595)   x1.3 Pistol
  SubMachineGun  1/7    3      0    (601)   x1.0 Shotgun
  Rifle          2/9    0    -10    (614)   x1.0 Shotgun
  Assault Rifle  1/10   1    -20    (795)   x1.3 Shotgun / x1.7 Pistol
  Cloud Gun      1/3    14   -25    (239)   x0.4 Shotgun / x0.5 Pistol
  Sniper Rifle   3/15   0    -25    (987)   x1.7 Shotgun / x2.1 Pistol
  Mortar         4/13   7    -35    (716)   x1.2 Shotgun / x1.5 Pistol
  Minigun        1/10   10   -50    (454)   x0.8 Shotgun / x1.0 Pistol

MELEE: Comes into play when you and your opponent attempt to occupy the same tile. Damage appears to be inversely related to "Speed". The faster the weapon, the less damage it does compared to a slower weapon. The fastest (least damaging) Melee weapon typically does similar damage to the slowest (highest damaging) Sidearm.

The following table represents examples in a Normal difficulty/PermaDeath game at Crafting level 80, Sector 40. (Damage) is representative only between items at the same crafting and sector level, and varies directly with both. The table is arranged by "Speed" (SPD), which is fixed by type. "Damage Step" is for comparison purposes using the representative damages given.

  Type           Speed  Damage   Damage Step
  Knife           20     (962)   x0.7 Sword / x1.0 Sniper Rifle (Sidearm)
  Sword            0    (1354)   x1.4 Knife
  Hammer         -20    (1853)   x1.4 Sword / x1.9 Knife
  Eviscerator    -40    (2260)   x1.7 Sword / x2.3 Knife

PREFERENCES: I prefer to use a Sniper Rifle on the planet surface, as there is where I most often wish to take out only a single target and not any adjacent creatures (such as bunnies). The higher maximum range is not as often useful due to obstructions but the maximum damage tends to ensure "one shot" kills. Even inside it's minimum effective range it's still as lethal as a Pistol. On planet surfaces with lots of "mobs", I lift off and swap out for my CQC (Close Quarters Combat) weapon for the Adjacency effect.

In CQC (caves, shipwrecks, and star temples) I prefer the SubMachineGun due to the combination of Range, Adjacency, and Speed. While there are other choices with better values for each of those factors, CQC environments tend to have shorter sightlines and more "mobs" of creatures where the Adjacency and Speed pays off. The longer Range and higher Speed over better Adjacency weapons like the Minigun and Cloud Gun enables maintaining distance from more spread out targets. In addition, those environments are least likely to have "no shoot" targets mixed in with the dangerous opponents. When "no shoot" targets are present, it's time to swap out for the Sniper Rifle.

In the case of Melee weapons, it is a question of how much damage can you afford to take by letting the opponent get in the first shot? Even with a Knife you are not guaranteed to be faster than all opponents. If your sidearm hasn't taken them out by now, how likely is one more shot equivalent? My preference is the Sword to maintain the normal relative speed difference and deal significantly more damage than the best sidearm. Even if it doesn't kill them, they tend to flee after being hit once. Here, who gets in the first move makes a significant difference. I always seem to take damage when using the Eviscerator even though it tends to be an "insta-kill" weapon.

Curious as to others experiences.

-Dubious-