New Weapon (Xbow) thoughts

I have a suggestion for a new weapon, but wouldn't mind a little input.



---> CROSSBOW <---

A 2-slot weapon that fires a flaming bolt (arrow).

Stats/Effects (w/ full training):

• Cooldown - 11.1 seconds
• Range - 46
• Projectile Speed - 60
• Burning Duration - Similar to Flare
• 30% Reduction in Ship Repairing

The balance of the weapon should be adjusted in the amount of burning damage per second.

Spoiler: DPS discussion:

Some might think a weapon of this type with these stats should have 50% of the dps of the flare. On the other hand, some might think the two-slot requirement for a damage-over-time weapon would be sufficient enough to balance (because it would need similar damage to the flare to justify choosing the crossbow over another two-slot item). I have an idea of how strong it should be .. but I'll leave that open for discussion.

The Need For This Weapon Type:
For a "higher-skill" game (with less spamming of FBs or mortars, in general), there needs to be a viable alternative to the Flare for igniting opponents.

Spoiler: More ...

Other than with Firebomb users, the general opinion seems to be that the Firebomb is a low-skill spam weapon that is overpowered and overused.

However, I humbly suggest there is bigger reason for the higher usage rates than its effectiveness.

Many FB users that wish to combo fire weapons view the flare as far too unreliable or impractical to use.

Against smaller, more agile ships with access to Nitro, OB, or Tesla Shields, the flare has a terrible hit rate with a perfect internet connection and an abominable hit rate with the slightest of lag compensation errors. Against larger ships with a similar speed, you're often either unable to get within the Flare's range or you've lost half your HPs to cannon shots by the time you've closed the distance. Either way, spamming FBs is currently the more effective strategy.

Stat Explanation:

• Why sniper-like stats for speed and range?

Spoiler: Answer

As a two-slot item, the crossbow needs stats that make it a viable alternative to the FB.

The FB can have a range of 42 or more, can be fired from behind obstacles, and can splash multiple enemies. Thus, the crossbow would need a longer range and the projectile speed to be fairly reliable at that range - in order to entice players to switch over - as it requires a direct line of sight.

Also, the projectile speed is a hard requirement. If this one stat was changed, it would be no more viable than the Flare and be utterly pointless to create.

• Why the Reduction in Ship Repairing?

Spoiler: Answer

Simple. The Flare (a single shot weapon) reduces ship repairing, while splash weapons (Grenade, FB, Wildfire Torps) do not.

The Crossbow could be rename the "Ballista" and explode on impact - with no ship repairing debuff - but that implies a different type of weapon (with different stats). Likewise, the Crossbow would give the Cleansing Pulse more significance than it currently has.

Side Note: Flare and Crossbow hits (and their repair debuffs) could be differentiated from regular splash burning with a blue fire symbol.

• Why not simply buff the Flare stats?

Spoiler: Answer

The Flare has its place in the game. Extending the range wouldn't change FB usage because it would still be unable to hit smaller ships. Increasing the speed and range would likely make it too powerful for a one-slot item.

• Why two-slots?

Spoiler: Answer

I do not wish to replace the Flare's role in the game, nor do I think a single-slot, weaker version would be sufficient to encourage a higher level of match play.

Otherwise, the Defender would have a long range option and still be able to use fire combos. Speeder strategies would allow for longer range strikes followed by mid-range blast cannon shots - with a lower risk than landing two mid-range shots. Fixers would have more viable options for defending themselves. And, Shooters would have a reasonable alternative to staying at maximum distance and spamming long range mortars or other weapons (since flares and grenades are too unreliable on faster ships).

If Fire Combos are too powerful to ignore, then why not suggest better balancing?

Spoiler: Answer

I have - several times. But, I have since changed my mind. With a lack of powercells, I'm stuck with the items I've built, so I do not want changes that make those items useless (until powercells are removed from the game anyways). With useless items and no way of building others, I wouldn't have much reason to continue playing. Moreover, after seeing what has been targeted with recent balance changes (and how it's now more effective to spam mortars than to fight up close for some ships), these are not the types of changes I want more of.

If Created ... How to Rollout the New Weapon?
I still have one epic Gatling Gun as of today. At this rate, it'll take two or three years to be able to use it at the same level of my other items - assuming I was willing to invest the powercells to find out if I like it. This appears to be a less than ideal item rollout.

Spoiler: Alternative Rollouts

Option 1) As a gesture of goodwill and promotion of a new item, 3 (or 4) epics and 6 rares could be gifted to NML players, and less of each rarity to each descending infamy league (with uncommons going to the lowest leagues).

New item gifts based on league will encourage players to continue purchasing crates, improving, and climbing the ladder. It would also avoid situations where new items would not be used at a high level for years after their creation.

Option 2) An event could award the new item as a reward. The "stock" or number of items of each rarity could be capped based on infamy league or captain level to avoid issues with low level players getting weapons beyond their normal progression.

 

Might be cool adding this weapon,at first I though you were copying clash royale cause you stated xbow in your topic,but no,it’s a new weapon idea
A 60 projectile speed might be too powerful,causing The weapon to have a very low chance to miss a shot,which might not be great.some shooters are just gonna simply spam it With snipers at long range,while the enemies couldn’t even see where those shots came from,and those poor ships go boom boom boom
However,if you want that weapon’s projectile speed to be unchanged,this weapon should not be setting enemies on fire for a long duration,maybe 11 secs at maximum with full training?(without perks though)damage could be similar to fg though

Spoiler

dont expect those greedy devs to roll out this weapon by gifting the players whew weapons

 

Cool idea! And also nice done with those spoilers!

 

Hmm

 

Just to be honest I think it will KILL the fixers heals so yes and no love to have it so I can camp xD
Nah jk but love to have it tho

 

But again why fixers -_-

 

Sounds great to me, except that realistically it'd be rolled out the same way everything is.
Gifted to a select few and only otherwise available to big spenders.

 

Great idea mate! I'd run this on my speeder with a blast cannon if it was implemented

 

I'd like a fire weapon that would deal like half of the damage immediately on hit and other half over time. So burning duration could be like 10-12 seconds but not painfully long like flare or fb.

 

To clarify on projectile speed -

The faster projectiles move, the more reliable the game is ... and the fewer unregistered hits there are (the main issue with the flare).

And, yes, it's only slightly lower speed than a sniper. But it still takes skill and knowledge of where you're leading the shot to hit at longer ranges.

It also would also do less overall damage than a crit sniper - especially since it's damage-over-time rather than instant damage (giving them time to heal up). If you're not planning on following up with a cannon shot, you would be better off using a one-slot sniper.

Finally, even if it did slightly less damage than the Flare, it wouldn't break TSs or defensive walls ... another trade off.

 

This should be a preferable alternative to facing 6+ FBs per match ..

 

I really love crossbow in PUBG Mobile

 

Clash royale much?

 

I did .. until I hit the top of the leaderboard and realized how much win trading was going on. But, we were using the term Xbow back in the clash of clans days.

 

Pretty good idea but more than overpowered.
For a weapon that has a sniper like range and speed it's a big no from me to make this weapon's dmg same as flare and also giving it heal reduction ability, not to mention it's a fire weapon. That would be just another cancerous camping weapon

 

Since you missed it ..

"The balance of the weapon should be adjusted in the amount of burning damage per second.

Some might think a weapon of this type with these stats should have 50% of the dps of the flare. On the other hand, some might think the two-slot requirement for a damage-over-time weapon would be sufficient enough to balance (because it would need similar damage to the flare to justify choosing the crossbow over another two-slot item). I have an idea of how strong it should be .. but I'll leave that open for discussion."

 

Some might be against any new items or weapons - because of how they've been introduced to the bay and/or because they're further reducing the chances of getting an item you want - and I fully understand that point of view.

Otherwise, as I left the actual damage open for debate, I'm struggling to find any other reason for someone not to like the idea - no matter what ship is your main. Please share if you have one.

For every one of these in the bay, it's likely one less FB. It would give Defenders a much needed boost. And, depending on what the DPS is set at, I don't see it being overpowered compared to other options already available (e.g., crit sniper, FB) .. but it would give players a viable alternative to the Flare, promote higher skilled game play and less weapon splash spamming.

 

Ah I'm sorry. I read the burn duration as burn dmg.
But the dmg has to be low as snipers need no skills to use, they barely miss, the only current drawback of it is that it needs luck.

If a fire weapon is getting the speed and range of a sniper then it would need to have a huge drawback also because fire weapons are already op and has different unique abilities. I personally don't think fire weapons have any big weaknesses that balance them out but people still claim flare's range, firebomb's projectile speed and their dmg over time as a big disadvantage.
Anyways, What is X-bow going to have as a drawback to make up for it's sniper-like range and speed ? Low dmg ? Maybe.
Or maybe let it have the dmg of a flare gun but, make it's range infinite and let the duration reduce upto 70% when used from close range just as same as railgun but the distance will affect the duration not the dmg. So this will limit the use of this weapon and people won't spam it. It may not work like how you want it to be but just a suggestion lol.

 

This drawbacks are: 2-slot (Sniper/Flare is 1), no AoE (like Flare), less damage than Flare as the tradeoff, and at its range it would be tough for a Shooter/Defender (the primary 2-slot and combo fire weapon users) to get to the target to use the Fire enhancement. In that it doesn't seem over-powered to me.