Castanas Rock, But Need Innate Contact Puncture Damage...

[TennoSimons]

DE, I super-love the Castanas. But I strongly feel that they need SOME kind of perfunctory puncture damage. Surely the reason they are sticking to stuff is because they puncture (as per explosive kunai). Since the weapon is already powerful, it doesn't need much damage (even 10 or 20 puncture damage would be fine - even if that means debuffing the remote trigger radial electricity damage by 10 or 20). But some damage would make sense. It is a bladed weapon, after all!

 

The only downside I see to this proposal is that it would no longer be effective for stealth sticking baddies who remain unawares and therefore become literal walking timebombs. While this is somewhat regrettable, I think the tradeoff is worth it. I mean, it's not really realistic that you wouldn't notice getting hit by a thrown kunai (which has to weigh at least a pound), even if we conjecture that the "blade" is really some sort of electro-magneto sticking implement, you would notice if someone pelted you with one-to-six on your back. I mean, even if the blade has some sort of electro-magnetic sticking property, it still is a blade after all. 

 

Maybe it becomes tricky from a programming standpoint because what happens to the Castana if you kill the mob with the innate puncture damage. After some time, the corpse disappears - so what happens to your deadly energy trap? It wouldn't do to have it vanish along with the corpse (which, incidentally, has become a corpse bomb, ready to shock any mobs foolish enough to investigate the death - how cool is that?).  Still, DE are clever folk. I'm sure they could figure out a workable solution. 

 

 

In sum: the thing appears to have a blade. It seems to puncture in order to stick to stuff. Torid and Penta do innate damage due to lobbed softball impact, therefore this thrown blade should do some innate damage too, if only a modest amount.

 

 

[direcyphre]

So far blades seem to relate more to slashing damage (i.e. the Miter).

[Guest]

Agreed. As for what happens if the body disintegrates, the Castana would probably be left floating. It's the same that happens with Despair and Kunai sometimes.

[Maou]

remote controlled crawling spider kunais.

[Sedant]

Try this build, no puncture damage needed for face wrecking;

 

4 Forma Castanas:

 

Hornet Strike V Barrel Diffusion V Lethal Torrent V Magnum Force V

Convulsion - Heated Charge - Deep Freeze Pathogen Rounds

 

180% multi-shot means you can potentially get all 6 of your Castanas out in one throw greatly increasing DPS. Can adjust elements according to faction and alternatively can drop a forma instead of using Magnum Force and use Pistol Pestilence.

[XenosInfinity]

The problem is that as soon as this gets added, the weapon becomes completely worthless for stealth because you can't turn enemies into walking bombs any more. I'd rather keep the stealth potential and deal with the current damage.

[TennoSimons]

So far blades seem to relate more to slashing damage (i.e. the Miter).

 

Not in all cases. Think of Fang and Fang Prime.

 

Weird though it seems to me, Fang Prime does 0 slash damage, does mostly puncture damage and even does some impact damage (which is weird given that it is a vibroblade and given the attack animations, which would plausibly do some slashing - more so than impact damage at any rate). While on the subject: DE, please change the impact damage of dual daggers like Fang Prime into slash damage!

 

But I digress:

 

Back to Castanas: they are bladed but they clearly pierce (properties which it shares with other throwing knives, by the way). And you have to think: if you get a status chance, you'd want the puncture proc for Castanas rather than the bleed one.

[TennoSimons]

The problem is that as soon as this gets added, the weapon becomes completely worthless for stealth because you can't turn enemies into walking bombs any more. I'd rather keep the stealth potential and deal with the current damage.

 

If you had read my post before responding to it, you would have seen that I had already anticipated this point. I am aware of the points you raised.

 

But, with respect, to say that it "becomes completely worthless for stealth" is rather hyperbolic. Three points worth mentioning here:

 

1) You could still set stealthy time bomb traps by throwing the Castanas into anything except for an enemy.

 

2) You could possibly stealth kill an enemy with them without the explosion if there was some innate puncture damage (just as with any other throwing knife weapon currently), and relatedly

 

3)...see my point about making Metal-gear esque corpse bombs. Walking sentries notice a downed enemy, walk over to investigate and then ZAP!

 

 

 

Still, maybe a solution could be found to appease all factions: like a mod that can impart (or negate, if DE decides to implement my recommendation) puncture damage, which would allow players to choose their own play style. Heck, if DE would just change the way puncture (and indeed each of the three physical) damage mods work so that they all work like Accelerated Blast shotgun mod and impart a percentage of puncture damage (based on the gross total damage and not merely the degree of intrinsic puncture damage), then all of these problems could re resolved. As it stands, throwing a puncture mod on the Castanas would do nothing. But if DE changed the way the damage mods work, there could be some use in throwing a puncture mod on Castanas, and I could get my puncturing Castanas... assuming that the puncture damage would work on contact and not (merely) on detonation. 

[tahrox]

remote controlled crawling spider kunais.

DE, we have the Flak Cannon, the Bio Rifle, it is time for...

http://youtu.be/hACXv0oZhQ4?t=30s

SPIDER MINES.

[genclaymore]

Then they can add the Redeemer after the spider mines.

[tahrox]

Then they can add the Redeemer after the spider mines.

That, my man, is going to be called Ogris Wraith, coming soon, in U20 "The End Times".

[zephyrdragoon]

snip

 

Why do you even want them to deal puncture damage on impact? For the realism?

[Vanhline]

impact damage

[TennoSimons]

Why do you even want them to deal puncture damage on impact? For the realism?

 

More or less - and please refrain from the obligatory rant against looking for realism in a space-ninja game.

 

There is just a certain satisfaction to there being a basic logic corresponding to the weapon's appearance and functioning. This very desire was one of the impetuses behind damage 2.0 (i.e. the basic break in logic with having heat and cold procs without cancelling each other out - to which I reply "Baked Alaska", but I digress once more...).

 

I also personally find there to be a fun factor to killing an enemy on impact without detonation with the Torid or the Penta. And if these do contact damage, then the Castanas sure should.  

 

Moreover, it' just fun to have more ways to dispatch enemies with the same weapon.  

[bl4ckhunter]

what about a proximity detonation mod for this and the stug?  this way those that want stealth can have it and those than just want to kill stuff can have it too.

[TennoSimons]

To the above poster: not a bad idea.

 

 

Upon reflection, I think that the easiest way to appease people is if DE changed how the physicial damage weapons worked so that your could give a weapon that has no innate slash/pierce/impact some percentage of this property by using the corresponding mod.

 

In the case of the Cestra, the damage added should apply on impact. People who want to stealthily turn baddies into walking time bombs need only refrain from throwing impact/slash/pierce damage mods on.