Pistoleer Archive
Thread: STATUS UPDATE (11/14/03)
1) REPUBLIC BLASTER: The Republic Blaster is now usable by ANYONE, even non-Marksman, without needing a certification. Now that many pistols have been nerfed (see #2, below) it'sprobably the best pistol inthe game. It has similar damage to a pre-nerf FWG5 but it's AR1 and spits out energy damage. IMPORTANT NOTE: Only new Republic Blasters work. Republic Blasters made before the latest patch still tell you that you're not certified to use them. I've asked the Devs to A) tell us how you get the certification, B) move the certification to the Pistoleer tree, and C) hotfix the old Republic Blasters so they work. No response.
2) FWG5 NERF: The FWG5 Pistol had the power handler removed from its schematic. Scatter Pistols and Launcher Pistols had a similar nerf. This means that non-loot upgraded FWG5s should have 40 less max damage and 0.4 more speed. The Devs had promised us that they would increase the base damage on this pistol to compensate for the power handler nerf but did not do so -- I asked Thunderheart about this, no response. You should also note that you can no longer use Krayt Tissues in a FWG5 ... you can only use new Feed Mechanism loot introduced in this latest patch. Scatter Pistols still take Krayt tissues but no longer have a feed mechanism.
3) DEFENSES: As you are no doubt aware, this patch gave us increased defensive modifiers. I'm hearing all sorts of reports about them, both positive and negative. Please be aware that I've already told the Devs about the problem with our Dodge animation. As for how effective they are, no one can be sure until we really test them out, so I'll test them this weekend and post the results here next week. (As you all know I wanted to test them on TestCenter before the patch, so you'd know what to expect, but the Devs still haven't given me TC access.)
4) FANSHOT: FanShot was not nerfed in this last patch -- good news! Maybe the Devs actually read some of my posts about it on Correspondent Forum. 
5) INSURANCE: As of the last patch, there is a new "decay on death" penalty. Weapons will NOT decay on death, and neither will resources (which is good for our crafter friends). You don't need to (or be able to) insure either one. Last night, insuring all my items cost me 1800 credits, which wasn't bad. Let me know if any of you are having insurance/decay problems, so I can pass them along to the Devs.
6) COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEVS: Thunderheart claims that we, along with all the other professions, will get a response from the Devs on our top issues. Let's see what happens with that -- stay tuned.
Like I said in my last update, I think that the Devs are making a big effort to improve the Correspondent program and to listen to our views. Nonetheless I've gotten the strong impression that our profession is very low on their list of priorities, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. I'll keep doing whatever I can to make sure our voice is heard.
Ithink we all would want to see that 
this is terrible, the best (or one of the best) pistols in the game avaliable for everyone
I agree, it makes no sense that everyone even non marksman can use the republic blaster. I don't think that's what the devs had intended. Its bad enough the fwg5 has been altered...I mean really, we don't get a whole slew of weapons to choose from to begin with, and the only good one they decide to nerf (probably because with enough credits you can just buy what you need instead of hunting it down). Now with this new loot feed mechanism...who knows where they come from? My FWG5 is about had its run, its max is down to less than half of what it started with, and I have already repaired it 3 times. I was hoping to be able to use my republic blaster but it's pre-patch (Krayt) AND I still don't have the cert.
Still have my fingers crossed...
Bah.. It is a nice weapon if done right and will have more max damage than the FWG5
It would be nice that we could have at least one weapon class specific tho
thanks for the heads up philo! Even though we suck as a prof we get 2 great correspondents back to back! woot.
anyway, DX2, BS3, and the speed cap issue are where my largest concerns are.
Philosopher1976 wrote:
Maybe the Devs actually read some of my posts about it on Correspondent Forum.
I wouldn't count on that. must have been a mistake
Actually, the combination of unchanged fanshot with increased dodge frequency led to an amusing result. Leading a big group of imps to destroy a rebel base, I opened up a fanshot, hit the ENTIRE group of npc's, and they ALL started shooting at me. My character basically started breakdancing at that point
My biggest concern as a pistoleer right now deals with the two-fold issue of the republic blaster:
1) Everyone can use what really should be our (new) signature gun.
2) I stocked up on these beauties back when they didn't cost much (because they didn't work), and now I'm supposed to just accept that I'm left holding the bag? I don't want to go try to find new ones when the ones I have should work just as well.
and, I guess, kinda:
3) The grip on this blaster is hideous. I mean, wood grain? And are you supposed to pull the trigger with your middle finger or what? A minor cosmetic thing, but, eww...
EasyMcRhinopants wrote:
Philosopher1976 wrote:
Maybe the Devs actually read some of my posts about it on Correspondent Forum.
I wouldn't count on that. must have been a mistake
Actually, the combination of unchanged fanshot with increased dodge frequency led to an amusing result. Leading a big group of imps to destroy a rebel base, I opened up a fanshot, hit the ENTIRE group of npc's, and they ALL started shooting at me. My character basically started breakdancing at that point
LOL - great visual.
Anyways... thanks for the update. Philosopher.
Anyway, it seems to me that it a> could have been raw luck b> the random number generator is really really bad or c> it has the potential to chain effect. Obviously not enough data to tell, but I must admit I was really impressed on that one fight (other than the animation problem).