Sniper-Class "gauss Rifle" Concept

[Ciraeon]

Hello fellow Warframes, this is my first post to these forums so please forgive me for being new.

 

While getting into this game, I'm finding it interesting that there are so few Sniper options, with only a smattering of actual rifles and the bows which draw from the ammo pool. Thus, I wanted to propose another weapon within the family that would draw from its siblings while also offering something different. This brought me to the concept of a more railgun/gauss-rifle/cannon type of weapon.

 

What I would propose stat-wise would be along the lines of the following so as not to Mary Sue it too hard.

 

Damage I would estimate around 100 Serrated (70I/20P/10S in the new proposed system, reflecting that it's a large, slowish slug), to put it significantly below such items as the Lanka but within the realm of Clan-weapon useage. Each round would produce an AoE splash effect (New Blast type damage, pure) upon impact, with a radius of roughly 1-2 4 ingame meters, with damage proportional from point of impact fading to 0 at the periphery. This would give a sniper class weapon with an Ogris-style of AoE ability, while also limiting its innate damage so as to attempt to keep it balanced.

ROF would be standard to the charge/sniper class at 1.5s per round.

Mag size should be smaller than the Lanka, while not being miniscule, hence I would envision it with an 8 round magazine.

Reload time should be longer, though not catastrophic, so I would suggest 2.5s-3s.

Keeping in line with the snipers, a 20%/1.5x crit baseline would be standard, but only apply to the initial point of impact, with the radiating damage dependent on the crit. Thus a 100 damage shot should not crit another mob standing directly beside it for 150, but a 150 crit would radiate out properly.

So far as projectile speed, I would keep the speed and drop in line with its bow-class bretheren pairing it with a Boltor type projectile and trajectory would be in line with a large magnetically fired slug.

Accuracy would be comparable to the bows.

 

Constructive comments and criticisms are always welcome. As I have said, I am still new to the game and not having access to the higher clan weapons myself I may have missed nuances in their mechanics that would make this under/over powered. Here's to hoping that more sniper rifles will find their way into the game for those of us who enjoy a more supporting, stand in the back role.

 

EDIT 16/10/13 - Updated damage type to reflect Damage2.0, slight change to the projectile speed, and a mention of accuracy. Increased splash AoE to 4 as 2 meters would result in extreme falloff except in extremely crowded situations.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Ciraeon

[Demon_Mask]

There is a new sniper currently being made, check in the design council. And last live stream we saw some new bow concepts. But i really want sniping and stealth to be a bigger part of the game!

[taiiat]

hm. 

 

honestly, sounds more like a low caliber cannon than a Gauss Rifle. (esp with the Projectile speed)

 

like a 15mm cannon, haha. 

 

that's an interesting way to balance the Crits. that sounds like it'd work well.

but i don't see why the projectile would be Serrated Blade. Armor Piercing makes more sense by your concept. besides, the Explosion would deal Explosion damage, not Serrated Blade.

 

all in all, i applaud more weapons that defy the 'normal' of any weapon type. a Sniper Rifle that is capable of doing tasks generally considered to be considered what a Sniper Rifle can't do? all the better. 

Bows are part of this, the Corpse Cannon effect is great to give them the capability of dealing with larger groups of enemies, just as this Sniper Rifle would be capable of dealing with larger groups of enemies. but what's best, is that it would be doing so, in a completely different way, so the Bows still have their aspect. yes, Thunderbolt is similar to this, but it's actually quite different. Thunderbolt has a damage cap of it's own, while Explosion damage based on the impact damage, gives much more variance - and to me then - more interesting gameplay due to the game not being identical every single time you pull the trigger. sure, that makes for some ohshi- moments, but that's actually a good thing. 

 

i also like the Meta from impact damage changing the Explosion damage. what that means, is, you'll actually get more Explosion damage shooting a Heavy unit in the head, etc. i think that is a GREAT incentive for this type of weapon. so you always want to aim 'correctly' to be more efficient. 

 

man, now i'm all worked up with Creative thoughts but nothing to say. hmph.

[Ciraeon]

hm. 

 

honestly, sounds more like a low caliber cannon than a Gauss Rifle. (esp with the Projectile speed)

 

like a 15mm cannon, haha. 

 

that's an interesting way to balance the Crits. that sounds like it'd work well.

but i don't see why the projectile would be Serrated Blade. Armor Piercing makes more sense by your concept. besides, the Explosion would deal Explosion damage, not Serrated Blade.

 

all in all, i applaud more weapons that defy the 'normal' of any weapon type. a Sniper Rifle that is capable of doing tasks generally considered to be considered what a Sniper Rifle can't do? all the better. 

Bows are part of this, the Corpse Cannon effect is great to give them the capability of dealing with larger groups of enemies, just as this Sniper Rifle would be capable of dealing with larger groups of enemies. but what's best, is that it would be doing so, in a completely different way, so the Bows still have their aspect. yes, Thunderbolt is similar to this, but it's actually quite different. Thunderbolt has a damage cap of it's own, while Explosion damage based on the impact damage, gives much more variance - and to me then - more interesting gameplay due to the game not being identical every single time you pull the trigger. sure, that makes for some ohshi- moments, but that's actually a good thing. 

 

i also like the Meta from impact damage changing the Explosion damage. what that means, is, you'll actually get more Explosion damage shooting a Heavy unit in the head, etc. i think that is a GREAT incentive for this type of weapon. so you always want to aim 'correctly' to be more efficient. 

 

man, now i'm all worked up with Creative thoughts but nothing to say. hmph.

 

Thank you very much for the comments. In my head, having the AoE scale dependent on the initial hit does exactly like you mentioned, it still rewards accuracy while maintaining the intent of a more Splash driven weapon. The idea of sealing Serration as opposed to AP damage is more a personal preference, but you do make a very good point about it being more in line with the overall theme of the weapon's design. Making a gun that felt unique, not just within snipers, but within the guns of the game as a whole, is part of what's driven this idea, as it has familiar elements to many weapons but put together in a different way.

 

If you have any more thoughts on this, I would be glad to hear them. Thank you for the input.

[Lady_Khaos]

Seeing that you have council access, go look at the proposed new damage system. You may change some ideas after seeing it.

[Ciraeon]

Seeing that you have council access, go look at the proposed new damage system. You may change some ideas after seeing it.

Thank you for referring me to the new damage system. Took a look and thought it over a bit to reflect the new Component Damage and Combined Elements. I hope this should provide some thing more interesting.