Carbineer Archive
Thread: Carbine Weapon Info
As previously advertised, here is my write up on the various weapons we carbineers have at our disposal, and explanations of their stats. Your input is encouraged, so please let me know what you like and dislike. Thanks.
P.S. I'll be adding things in chunks, so keep checking back in for new changes.
What do all those stats on my weapon mean?
Armor Piercing
Armor piercing (AP) determines how well your weapon can pierce through armor. Generally, it is better to have equal or better armor piercing compared to the armor your target has. AP influences damage as damage is reduced if your AP level is lower than your target's armor resistance level (AR) and increased if your AP is greater than your target’s AR. For a more in depth look at the effects of armor, please read the Armor Piercing vs. Armor Resistance section of the FAQ.
Speed
This is the reload multiplier for your weapon. It effects how fast your weapon takes to reload after a special is used. The smaller the number, the faster it is, thus smaller numbers are better. More information can be found in the speed and reload section of the FAQ.Damage Type
Carbines have 3 types of damage depending on what weapon you are using. Energy is the most common, but there are also carbines that do Acid damage (DXR6) and Heat damage (EE3). It is important to examine your target and look at its armor level and its resistances to determine the best weapon to use.Minimum Damage and Maximum Damage
These are the damage multipliers of the weapon. They are incorporated along with the damage multipliers of the special attacks to determine how much damage you will do with each shot. The best way to judge a weapon is to look at its average damage divided by its speed, but do not ignore the max damage value as it can be just as important. Also important is the range (the difference between the min and the max), as the range plays a large role in damage mitigation. More information can be found in the Damage Mitigation section of the FAQ.Range Modifiers
These are the accuracy modifiers for your weapon. They are given at 3 ranges: Point Blank, Ideal, and Max. The numbers can be positive (better accuracy than base) and negative (worse accuracy than base). They affect the accuracy modifier that you can see above and to the left of your target. The higher the number, the more likely you are to hit your target. It is best to know what your weapon's ideal range is and to try and stay at that range. Range modifiers on weapons can be increased by adding scopes to them, at the cost of higher HAM costs.HAM Costs
These stats indicate how much health, action, and mind it takes to fire off a special. They are used in formulas along with the HAM cost multipliers of each special to determine the overall HAM costs. Generally, carbines have higher action costs than health and mind, though there are many factors such as scopes, stocks, WS experimentation, etc. that effect HAM costs. More information on reducing HAM costs can be found in the HAM cost section of the FAQ.Radius
This stat is found only on the EE3 carbine, and has no known relevance to anything in the game.What are some common stats and descriptions for the various carbines at our disposal?
CDEF Carbine
Certification .......... Novice Marksman
Damage Type ........ Energy
Armor Piercing ..... None
Ideal Range ........... 35m
The only good use for the CDEF I can think of is for helping out noobie friends without stealing much XP from them.
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DH17 Carbine
Certification...........Novice Marksman
Damage Type........ Energy
Armor Piercing..... None
Ideal Range........... 35m
Power Handlers.... 1
A very nice carbine for beginning marksmen to experienced carbineers, its low HAM costs make it useful when playing unbuffed, but its lack of armor piercing hurt it against medium to high end mobs.
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DH17 Snubnose Carbine
Certification ............ Marksman: Carbines I
Damage Type ......... Energy
Armor Piercing ...... None
Ideal Range ............ 25m
Power Handlers .... 1
Basically identical to the DH17 in every area other than looks, though the shorter barrel reduces the ideal range to 25m. Many prefer it over the DH17 because it looks better.
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E11 Carbine
Certification ............Marksman: Carbines II
Damage Type .........Energy
Armor Piercing ......Light
Ideal Range ............30m
Power Handlers ....1
Generally has a nice, tight damage range with a good minimum damage. Slightly less damage than an Elite, the E11 is preferred by those that want a Krayt enhanced weapon at a lower cost than the Elite carbine due to the fact that it only requires 1 power handler. Its light armor piercing make it more potent against armored opponents than the DH17s.
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Laser Carbine
Certification ............Marksman: Carbines III
Damage Type .........Energy
Armor Piercing ......Medium
Ideal Range ............50m
Power Handlers ....3
The "heavy hitter" of the carbine family, the laser has a quite high maximum damage. Often preferred for its high damage output, medium armor piercing capabilities, and long range, the laser makes for a very good weapon in PvE. Though it is still very good in PvP, the laser suffers greatly from damage mitigation and its loss of accuracy at close ranges. Many people ignore this, and still dub the laser carbine as their weapon of choice in PvP.
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DXR6 Carbine
Certification ............Marksman: Carbines IV
Damage Type .........Acid
Armor Piercing ......Light
Ideal Range ............22m
Power Handlers ....5
Known for its acid damage, the DXR6 is a must have weapon for any carbineer. Comparable to the Elite and the E11 in damage, speed, and AP, the DXR6 is sometimes preferred over those two for its ability to inflict acid damage and its shorter range. The DXR6 is very useful in both PvE and PvP.
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EE3 Carbine
Certification............Marksman: Carbines IV
Damage Type .........Heat
Armor Piercing ......None
Ideal Range ............27m
Power Handlers ....3
Known for its heat damage, the EE3 is a very common carbine for progressing through the ranks of carbineer. Its damage and speed are good, but the biggest downfall of the EE3 is its lack of armor piercing.
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Elite Carbine
Certification ............Novice Carbineer
Damage Type .........Energy
Armor Piercing ......Light
Ideal Range .............40m
Power Handlers .....4
Exclusive to carbineers, the Elite carbine is one of the most versatile carbines in the game. With slightly more damage than the DXR6 and E11, the Elite carbine is preferred by masters that can reach the speed cap. Though it may not out damage the laser in PvE, the Elite shines most in PvP against opponents with ranged mitigation. With about equal speeds, the Elite's tight damage range allow for a much lower reduction in damage versus mitigation compared to the laser. With the right skill mods, and the right add-ons to the Elite, it can be one of the most deadly carbines in the game. If there were one downfall to the Elite, it would be the fact that it does energy damage, which is a very common damage type for ranged weapons, and is resisted quite easily by many targets.
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Enhanced E11 Carbine
Certification ............Novice Carbineer (?)
Damage Type .........Energy
Armor Piercing ......Light
Ideal Range .............30m
Power Handlers .....1
Usually preferred over a typical E11 due to its health bleed DOT, the Enhanced E11 has practically replaced the normal E11. The schematic for the Enhanced E11 is rewarded at the Imperial theme park quest, and is a limited use schematic.
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Nym's Slug-thrower Carbine
Certification............Novice Carbineer
Damage Type .........Acid
Armor Piercing ......Light
Ideal Range .............35m
Power Handlers .....NA (not craftable)
For some players, the Slug-thrower is used as a replacement for the DXR6, though many carbineers just hang it on their walls as a trophy. Though some players swear by it over the DXR6, the fact that the Slug-thrower is not craftable makes it very easy to find a DXR6 made by a good WS that outshines the Slug-thrower. The Slug-thrower is a reward from the Nym's Stronghold quest on Lok.
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Message Edited by EisMan_Buckeye on 07-02-2004 05:52 PM
Kaelle_DB wrote:
Here's a good question. What does it mean when a creature has something like:
AR 1
energy 20%
stun 20%
heat 20%
cold 20%
kinetic 20%
vuln
blast
No listing of acid, does that mean it is a vuln or like a 0.1% protection that still keeps the AR 1?
According to what the Devs have said, only a listed Vulnerability ignores Armor Rating....
Some testing on this would be interesting though 
novamarine wrote:
This could be a possible 19 questions for TH.
What question? The info is in the Advanced Guide for Armor already linked in the FAQ for what I was talking about.
And personally I think this could fit on one post.....or move stuff around to make it two posts. I feel the info is very valuable for the FAQ.
TAfirehawk wrote:
This is awesome!!!!!!
Absolutely fantastic!!!!!
One correction, at the very end you talk about vulnerable damage types on a creature.....well when a vulnerable type is listed it TOTALLY IGNORES the AR of the creature. So a Heavy Armor, AR3, creature that is vulnerable to Heat would be killed much quicker by the EE3 because the AP/AR modifier is not used. Of course if the creature just has a lower resistance but is not totally vulnerable to Heat in this case, then the EE3 will suffer from an enormous damage reduction from AP/AR.
First off, thanks, I'm really glad you like it.
Secondly... I have 4 Jedi friends, all of which have been spending a lot of time on TC2 testing the new Jedi stuff. One of the Jedi's biggest complaints is that EVERY mob is vulnerable to lightsaber damage. Why is that a complaint? Because in the current PvE armor system, anything listed as vulnerable STILL gets the AP vs AR reduction. There is no added percentage chopped off (as if it were 40% resistant or something) but there is still the AP vs AR reduction. For example, thier LSs are AP2. Let's say they fight a NS Elder, who has Heavy armor and is vulnerable to LS damage. Thier lightsabers will only do HALF the damage. It's been tested very heavily and confirmed. It holds true on live as well. As far as I know, it in only in PvE and not PvP. PvP is working "properly."
I was thinking about doing a big write up further explaining the way AP vs AR works. What do you guys think? It might have to wait a bit, as I don't want to burn myself out writing these things, but maybe in the next week or two I can get to it.
TAfirehawk wrote:
Kaelle_DB wrote:
Here's a good question. What does it mean when a creature has something like:
AR 1
energy 20%
stun 20%
heat 20%
cold 20%
kinetic 20%
vuln
blast
No listing of acid, does that mean it is a vuln or like a 0.1% protection that still keeps the AR 1?
According to what the Devs have said, only a listed Vulnerability ignores Armor Rating....
Some testing on this would be interesting though
I think what the Devs have told us is wrong yet again. In that scenario, I believe that anything that is listed as a vulnerability takes the reduction, and anything not listed ignores armor. If you remember my post in another thread about how energy may still be better than using the EE3 on heat vuln targets, this is the theory behind that statement.
Though I truely believe what my friends have told me,I think I want to test this first hand, and I think if I have the time tonight I am going to head out to Dantooine and try it out on some Janta and some quenkers.
Message Edited by TAfirehawk on 06-14-2004 01:12 PM
novamarine wrote:
A comment on this weapon info. I like it though some info is redundant with certain info in the faq. It is also longer than the 1 page I had saved for it.
I'd appreciate comments on this. I do like this info but this current info doesn't fit well. Should we make a new faq or edit this info down to be shorter?
Sorry Nova, that's my fault... I guess I didn't read the FAQ as closely as I should have. The questions in the third post can be omited, as they are all pretty redundant. I guess I just got carried away while writing lol.
If everyone wants to, we might be able to get away with omiting the first post as well. Those definitions are basic definitions for all weapons, not just carbines. Perhaps we should limit the FAQ to information more pertinant to carbines. You had asked for basic definitions of what the various stats meant, and that's why that section is there. Personaly, I'd expect people to allready know that stuff, or find it out on the WS forums or something. Maybe we can just link to their FAQ if they have one?
As for the 2nd post, you requested that I supply avaerage stats for weapons on my server. I decided that was A) going to be very tough to find carbines that are not scoped or stocked and B) not very relevant to other servers. Every WS is diferent, and they each have individual styles. Couple that with the fact that there are tons of good WSs on each server, it would make it pretty hard to come up with "average" stats. Instead, I just tried to generally explain the pros and cons of each weapon, the way I see them, along with the stats that are pretty much constant, such as range, damage type, etc.
One other thing I would like to ask that I allmost forgot about... Can someone confirm what the ideal range is in the DH17 (regular)? I didn't have one on me to check, but I assumed it was the same as the snubnose, though I'm not very certain.