05-26-2018, 04:07 PM
Discovery Freelancer 4.90.1 Patch 6 Balance Pass
These changes are in as of 26/5/2018. If you find any bugs or irregularities immediately report them here. Feedback and everything else should be posted in the continuation of this thread.
Hello again, Discovery. As my first time doing this in Antonio's place expect some of this to look plagiarized (with his permission) and a little wonky. This is a relatively big patch with some pretty exciting stuff, including drone bays NEVERMIND, major balance changes to several ships, and a lot of fixes as well. As always, it is recommended that you view changes in FLStat - its tutorial as well as some term explanation (responsiveness) can be found here.
Very Heavy Fighters
Wyvern
-Hull: 10.8k -> 11.1k
-Responsiveness: 0.4717 -> 0.4998
-Core: 12.4k -> 11.4k
Small, agile, and with a large powercore, the Wyvern rivaled the Wraith for over-performance in group fights, all while sporting a 6th gun - its Rheinlandic counterpart's only drawback. Its responsiveness has been toned down heavily and its powercore reduced to a more reasonable level. It has seen a slight armor buff to compensate in duels, where it was performing pretty much as intended.
-Hull: 10.8k -> 11.1k
-Responsiveness: 0.4717 -> 0.4998
-Core: 12.4k -> 11.4k
Small, agile, and with a large powercore, the Wyvern rivaled the Wraith for over-performance in group fights, all while sporting a 6th gun - its Rheinlandic counterpart's only drawback. Its responsiveness has been toned down heavily and its powercore reduced to a more reasonable level. It has seen a slight armor buff to compensate in duels, where it was performing pretty much as intended.
Titan
-Responsiveness: 0.5227 -> 0.5386
An already slow and unwieldly ship, the Titan's greatest advantage has always been its shape. Its thin center of mass gives it a great profile for dogfights where it was dodging just a little too well. While a possible model based solution is being discussed, the reduction in responsiveness should bring it more in line with its opponents such as the Odin and Rapier.
-Responsiveness: 0.5227 -> 0.5386
An already slow and unwieldly ship, the Titan's greatest advantage has always been its shape. Its thin center of mass gives it a great profile for dogfights where it was dodging just a little too well. While a possible model based solution is being discussed, the reduction in responsiveness should bring it more in line with its opponents such as the Odin and Rapier.
Tachi
-Guns: 6 -> 5
An agile fighter with a slim profile following its remodel, the Tachi was over-performing with no key weaknesses. Rather than creating a clone of the Wyvern, we opted to cut the number of guns on the Tachi down not only to create a more unique ship, but to fix its overlapping gun/cruise disruptor hardpoints underneath. As an aside, its codename slots have been changes, so make sure to remount your guns if you had codenames on a Tachi!
-Guns: 6 -> 5
An agile fighter with a slim profile following its remodel, the Tachi was over-performing with no key weaknesses. Rather than creating a clone of the Wyvern, we opted to cut the number of guns on the Tachi down not only to create a more unique ship, but to fix its overlapping gun/cruise disruptor hardpoints underneath. As an aside, its codename slots have been changes, so make sure to remount your guns if you had codenames on a Tachi!
Raven's Talon
- Turn rate: 65.48 -> 66.00
- Responsiveness: 0.4441 -> 0.4216
A large and slow civilian fighter, the Raven's Talon has always been a little underwhelming. This latest patch gives it a large buff to responsiveness, intended to fill the gap of dogfight capable civilian ships, alongside the Scraper and Starblazer. An Eagle or Sabre should be able to best these three ships in a duel, and as this is a big change we'll be keeping a close eye on these three ships.
- Turn rate: 65.48 -> 66.00
- Responsiveness: 0.4441 -> 0.4216
A large and slow civilian fighter, the Raven's Talon has always been a little underwhelming. This latest patch gives it a large buff to responsiveness, intended to fill the gap of dogfight capable civilian ships, alongside the Scraper and Starblazer. An Eagle or Sabre should be able to best these three ships in a duel, and as this is a big change we'll be keeping a close eye on these three ships.
Scraper
- Hull: 10.7k -> 11.1k
- Turn rate: 68.27 -> 66.25
- Responsiveness: 0.4605 -> 0.4211
- Camera adjusted
The Scraper has always been an oddball. Following the formula of the Raven's Talon and Starblazer, the Scraper loses some of its turn speed in favor of reaction time and hull plating with the intent of making it a viable dogfighter. In addition, its ass-hugging camera has been adjusting to a much more reasonable distance, which should make the ship much less of a pain to fly.
- Hull: 10.7k -> 11.1k
- Turn rate: 68.27 -> 66.25
- Responsiveness: 0.4605 -> 0.4211
- Camera adjusted
The Scraper has always been an oddball. Following the formula of the Raven's Talon and Starblazer, the Scraper loses some of its turn speed in favor of reaction time and hull plating with the intent of making it a viable dogfighter. In addition, its ass-hugging camera has been adjusting to a much more reasonable distance, which should make the ship much less of a pain to fly.
Starblazer
- Hull: 10.2k -> 10k
- Turn rate: 72.37 -> 66.50
- Responsiveness: 0.5090 -> 0.4201
The final ship in our groupfight lineup, the Starblazer is the smallest and most nimble with the weakest armor and powercore. Once another civilian duelist, we've chosen to rebalance the Starblazer as a dogfighter in the hopes of having a more varied civilian fighter selection. This ship is significantly smaller than the aforementioned two, and may prove to need further adjustment in the future.
- Hull: 10.2k -> 10k
- Turn rate: 72.37 -> 66.50
- Responsiveness: 0.5090 -> 0.4201
The final ship in our groupfight lineup, the Starblazer is the smallest and most nimble with the weakest armor and powercore. Once another civilian duelist, we've chosen to rebalance the Starblazer as a dogfighter in the hopes of having a more varied civilian fighter selection. This ship is significantly smaller than the aforementioned two, and may prove to need further adjustment in the future.
Rabisu
- Center of mass moved 4 units rearwards.
The Rabisu had been over-performing for quite some time, and nobody could seem to figure out why. As it so happened, its center of mass was located almost directly on the tiny central area causing many shots to miss, especially during turns. The center of mass has been moved rearward towards its fat(ter) arse, and will hopefully create a much more balanced vessel. Demonstrations have been provided below. No octopi were harmed and/or armwrestled in the making of this change. We promise. Really.
Ex I
Ex II
- Center of mass moved 4 units rearwards.
The Rabisu had been over-performing for quite some time, and nobody could seem to figure out why. As it so happened, its center of mass was located almost directly on the tiny central area causing many shots to miss, especially during turns. The center of mass has been moved rearward towards its fat(ter) arse, and will hopefully create a much more balanced vessel. Demonstrations have been provided below. No octopi were harmed and/or armwrestled in the making of this change. We promise. Really.
Ex I
Ex II
Recycler
- Torpedo slots can now mount bomber torpedoes.
Bringing the Recycler in line with other SHFs, it can now mount Novas, SNACs, etc. This is a pretty straightforward change that doesn't really require explanation.
- Torpedo slots can now mount bomber torpedoes.
Bringing the Recycler in line with other SHFs, it can now mount Novas, SNACs, etc. This is a pretty straightforward change that doesn't really require explanation.
Capital ships
Typhoon
- Turn rate: 21.01 -> 22.25
- Responsivness: 0.4605 -> 0.4878
The first in our capital ship lineup is our Typhoon. A slender, nimble ship which is already quite capable of dodging shots, the changes made to the the Typhoon are experimental in the realm of cruisers. Until this point, all cruisers have had a response time proportional to their turn rate, meaning every ship which turned faster responded faster. We opted to increase the turn rate of the Typhoon to help it out a bit in duels, but need increase its response time (which displays as a lower response time due to the turn rate buff). This should leave the Typhoon in the already good spot it's in now in group fights without making it overpowered in the process.
- Turn rate: 21.01 -> 22.25
- Responsivness: 0.4605 -> 0.4878
The first in our capital ship lineup is our Typhoon. A slender, nimble ship which is already quite capable of dodging shots, the changes made to the the Typhoon are experimental in the realm of cruisers. Until this point, all cruisers have had a response time proportional to their turn rate, meaning every ship which turned faster responded faster. We opted to increase the turn rate of the Typhoon to help it out a bit in duels, but need increase its response time (which displays as a lower response time due to the turn rate buff). This should leave the Typhoon in the already good spot it's in now in group fights without making it overpowered in the process.
Kagutsuchi
- Turn rate: 20.63 -> 21.50
The Kagutsuchi has always been a little underwhelming, and this is another slightly experimental buff to make light cruisers/destroyers faster, helping them in duels without impacting their group fight performance too much. Unlike the Typhoon, we opted not to lower its response ratio in the process.
- Turn rate: 20.63 -> 21.50
The Kagutsuchi has always been a little underwhelming, and this is another slightly experimental buff to make light cruisers/destroyers faster, helping them in duels without impacting their group fight performance too much. Unlike the Typhoon, we opted not to lower its response ratio in the process.
Crecy
- Hull: 260k -> 270k
- Mass: 750 -> 700
A master duelist, the Crecy's good turn rate and excellent weapon arcs meant it was capable of holding its own in a duel without much issue, but its strange shape and size meant it was under performing a little in groupfights. Originally slated for a responsiveness buff, it was found to have the mass of a heavy cruiser during the balancing process, a stat which affects all other handling stats, essentially making the whole thing a little bit slower to respond, strafe, et cetera. These changes should bring it more in line with the ships it is meant to combat, such as the Typhoon and Triumph.
- Hull: 260k -> 270k
- Mass: 750 -> 700
A master duelist, the Crecy's good turn rate and excellent weapon arcs meant it was capable of holding its own in a duel without much issue, but its strange shape and size meant it was under performing a little in groupfights. Originally slated for a responsiveness buff, it was found to have the mass of a heavy cruiser during the balancing process, a stat which affects all other handling stats, essentially making the whole thing a little bit slower to respond, strafe, et cetera. These changes should bring it more in line with the ships it is meant to combat, such as the Typhoon and Triumph.
Triumph
- Turn rate: 22.88 -> 23.00
- Responsiveness: 0.4970 -> 0.4605
The Triumph was always meant to be fast. With relatively poor weapon arcs, this ship is intended to be wielded like a blade, not a hammer. Its responsiveness has been standardized, maintaining the standard ratio as other destroyers and cruisers do, with the exception of the Typhoon.
- Turn rate: 22.88 -> 23.00
- Responsiveness: 0.4970 -> 0.4605
The Triumph was always meant to be fast. With relatively poor weapon arcs, this ship is intended to be wielded like a blade, not a hammer. Its responsiveness has been standardized, maintaining the standard ratio as other destroyers and cruisers do, with the exception of the Typhoon.
Penance
- Turn rate: 23.04 -> 23.10
- Responsiveness: 0.5006 -> 0.4605
If the Triumph was meant to be fast, the Penance was meant to be faster.
- Turn rate: 23.04 -> 23.10
- Responsiveness: 0.5006 -> 0.4605
If the Triumph was meant to be fast, the Penance was meant to be faster.
Hel
- Turn rate: 20.05 -> 21.50
This abnormally slow medium cruiser has gotten a substantial turn rate buff.
- Turn rate: 20.05 -> 21.50
This abnormally slow medium cruiser has gotten a substantial turn rate buff.
Harvester
- Mass: 800 -> 700
Another oddity, this light cruiser had the mass of a battlecruiser, and should be much more agile now. This is a fairly big change, and may call for another balance pass in the future.
- Mass: 800 -> 700
Another oddity, this light cruiser had the mass of a battlecruiser, and should be much more agile now. This is a fairly big change, and may call for another balance pass in the future.
Weapons Changes
While I'm not going to go into huge detail here as a lot of these changes were more on
As an aside, we are aware of the issue regarding nomad pulses, and you can expect their implementation soon along with some other goodies including revamped hybrid weapons, and some special additions for our more technologically oriented factions in general.
-Old capital ship missiles removed
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator damage 350.000 -> 430.000
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator energy usage 1.100.000 -> 1.720.000
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator reload speed 5s -> 10s
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator projectile speed 800ms -> 700ms
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator efficiency 0.31 -> 0.25
-Battleship Siege Turret fixed
-Gunboat Silencer Missile ammo capacity 100 -> 60
-Gunboat Annihilator Torpedo damage 125.000 -> 200.000
-Cruiser Trinity Torpedo damage 200.000 -> 300.000
-Cruiser Desolator Missile damage 380.000 -> 500.000
-Cruiser Desolator Missile ammo capacity 40 -> 30
-Battlecruiser Apocalypse Torpedo damage 850.000 -> 1.000.000
-Battlecruiser Apocalypse ammo capacity 30 -> 25
-Battleship Nightmare Torpedo damage 1.200.000 -> 1.750.000
-Battleship Nightmare ammo capacity 25 -> 20
-Battlecruiser Mortar Projectile speed 950 -> 800
-Battlecruiser Mortar Damage 240.000 -> 350.000
-Battlecruiser Mortar Efficiency 0.20 -> 0.25
-Battlecruiser Mortar Energy usage 1.200.000 -> 1.400.000
-Battlecruiser Mortar Reload speed 4s -> 7.5s
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Projectile speed 950 -> 800
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Damage 250.000 -> 360.000
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Efficiency 0.20 -> 0.25
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Energy usage 1.250.000 -> 1.440.000
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Reload speed 4s -> 7.5
-Nomad BC Annihilator Energy usage 1.700.000 -> 1.500.000
-Nomad BC Annihilator Efficiency 0.22 -> 0.25
-Nomad BC Annihilator Projectile speed 900 -> 800
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator damage 350.000 -> 430.000
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator energy usage 1.100.000 -> 1.720.000
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator reload speed 5s -> 10s
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator projectile speed 800ms -> 700ms
-Nomad Battleship Annihilator efficiency 0.31 -> 0.25
-Battleship Siege Turret fixed
-Gunboat Silencer Missile ammo capacity 100 -> 60
-Gunboat Annihilator Torpedo damage 125.000 -> 200.000
-Cruiser Trinity Torpedo damage 200.000 -> 300.000
-Cruiser Desolator Missile damage 380.000 -> 500.000
-Cruiser Desolator Missile ammo capacity 40 -> 30
-Battlecruiser Apocalypse Torpedo damage 850.000 -> 1.000.000
-Battlecruiser Apocalypse ammo capacity 30 -> 25
-Battleship Nightmare Torpedo damage 1.200.000 -> 1.750.000
-Battleship Nightmare ammo capacity 25 -> 20
-Battlecruiser Mortar Projectile speed 950 -> 800
-Battlecruiser Mortar Damage 240.000 -> 350.000
-Battlecruiser Mortar Efficiency 0.20 -> 0.25
-Battlecruiser Mortar Energy usage 1.200.000 -> 1.400.000
-Battlecruiser Mortar Reload speed 4s -> 7.5s
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Projectile speed 950 -> 800
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Damage 250.000 -> 360.000
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Efficiency 0.20 -> 0.25
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Energy usage 1.250.000 -> 1.440.000
-Battlecruiser Trebuchet Reload speed 4s -> 7.5
-Nomad BC Annihilator Energy usage 1.700.000 -> 1.500.000
-Nomad BC Annihilator Efficiency 0.22 -> 0.25
-Nomad BC Annihilator Projectile speed 900 -> 800
If you made it this far then congratz, you've read through my plagiarized Antonio style patch note thread. I hope to do these patch notes every time balance changes happen, regardless of who is involved with the balance team. A huge kudos to the people listed below (besides myself of course), we couldn't have done it without them!
Credits to: