Buff The Skana

[SimbL]

So we have some incentive to use it over the Cronus. It doesn't have to be much, maybe a little extra reach or swing speed? It just sucks that the Cronus is a straight upgrade in every way- makes leveling it feel more like a chore than a fun experience.

[Genoscythe]

Why? skana is the standard and starting weapon and cronus is the next possible upgrade! its just natural that all weapons are better than the starting stuff. I dindt craft cronus and dumped my skana for an amphis, there are lot of other melee weapons you can use.

[Endrance]

Skana is the primary melee you get, so it kinda makes sense to be weaker then every other

[SimbL]

Why? skana is the standard and starting weapon and cronus is the next possible upgrade! its just natural that all weapons are better than the starting stuff. I dindt craft cronus and dumped my skana for an amphis, there are lot of other melee weapons you can use.

 

My point is that the Skana is pretty much useless after you get the Cronus. There's no reason at all to use it, aside from leveling. Which is a shame, cos the weapon looks really cool. I just like knowing that there's a wide choice of viable stuff to kill things with, rather than one weapon being the best in a class because of numbers.

[MercuriaI_Temper]

My point is that the Skana is pretty much useless after you get the Cronus. There's no reason at all to use it, aside from leveling. Which is a shame, cos the weapon looks really cool. I just like knowing that there's a wide choice of viable stuff to kill things with, rather than one weapon being the best in a class because of numbers.

And that is the point of seeking to upgrade your weaponry.

[SimbL]

And that is the point of seeking to upgrade your weaponry.

What do you mean? If you mod the Skana, the Cronus will still be superior in every way with the same mods. You can't upgrade the Skana to be better than the Cronus. This is pretty bad game design as the Skana is just sitting there with nobody using it after obtaining the Cronus. A shame too- the Skana is a staple of the Tenno, according to the lore. And it looks so badass! I'd like some more incentive to use it, rather than just selling it after level 30. Surely someone here understands what I'm trying to say...

Edited April 15, 2013 by SimbL

[9volt]

You said it yourself, its a staple item. Such items are rarely of superior quality, they are simply cost effective.

It's also not bad game design when one out of like eighty weapons is the only downgrade.

[SimbL]

You said it yourself, its a staple item. Such items are rarely of superior quality, they are simply cost effective.

It's also not bad game design when one out of like eighty weapons is the only downgrade.

 

I disagree. This isn't your typical numbers based MMO. There aren't different tiers of items, like bronze to silver weapons for example. I think each weapon should be unique, have its own strengths and weaknesses. The Skana is the only weapon that really stands out as being completely outclassed. The MK1 Braton has a bigger clip size than the Braton, so you can mod it to its strengths. There is no point in doing this with the Skana.

 

Imagine if you used an orokin catalyst on a Skana (heaven forbid), only to find the Cronus exists and is better in every way. I'm not saying that lots of people will do this, but it's a possibility, and that's why having straight upgrades in a game like this is bad game design.

 

The rest of the game is amazing though, really great stuff. This is just something that irks me and I'd like to see changed.

Edited April 15, 2013 by SimbL

[Dipstick]

If you like the Skana so much, then use it. I'm sure lots of people would like a comparison of a lvl 30 Skana to a lvl 30 Cronus. 

[SimbL]

If you like the Skana so much, then use it. I'm sure lots of people would like a comparison of a lvl 30 Skana to a lvl 30 Cronus. 

 

I do like the Skana, but as I've said, it's statistically inferior to the Cronus, which means there's no point in using it.

 

I'm sure lots of people would like a greater variety in weapons to murder stuff with :)

Edited April 15, 2013 by SimbL

[Dancingfirefly]

Doesn't the Cronus look and operate almost exactly like the Skana? I always saw it as a stronger Skana.

 

But yeah, use whatever. Almost every single weapon can operate just fine with the right mods. You just need a little more umph to get lower grade weapons to be functional, unlike weapons like the Hek which is pretty much full of win as soon as it comes in from the foundry.

Edited April 15, 2013 by Dancingfirefly

[Davoodoo]

Considering that skana looks better than cronus imo i dont see a point why it should be inferior to any other melee. Maybe mk1 skana with 25 dmg and standard skana with 1.3 swing and 35 dmg.

[PhoenixMercurous]

I disagree. This isn't your typical numbers based MMO. There aren't different tiers of items, like bronze to silver weapons for example.

There used to be tiers when I joined back in u5.4, though they weren't called such. There still sort of is a tier system, it's just much diluted. The hierarchy was weapons purchasable with credits-->platinum/blueprint only weapons-->mastery level locked weapons. It wasn't perfect, the daggers were terrible and didn't fit, but they were one of the few major exceptions. For melee weapons, the hierarchy for standard melee went Skana-->Cronus-->Heat sword. For charge melee it went Skana-->dark/plasma sword (infested) / Furax (Grineer/Corpus). Rifles went Mrk1 Braton-->Braton/Burston/Latron-->Gorgon/Snipertron. Shotguns were supposed to go Strun-->Boar-->Hek but in reality it went Strun-->Hek. Pistols were the most complex, but it was still clear that the Bolto and Aklato were direct upgrades to the Lato and the Afuris was a direct upgrade to the Furis.

It wasn't perfect and higher tier weapons weren't always better at everything than lower tier weapons (ex: for long range combat the gorgon wasn't significantly better than the Braton). Mid tier weapons were (and still are) viable late game weapons so you didn't have to upgrade if you didn't want to. It wasn't a very rigid tier system but it was there.

The problem now is that every weapon DE adds is a platinum/BP only weapon and they haven't added more mastery locked weapons which has skewed the system. They also did things like nerf the Heat sword into being a slightly worse Cronus with fire damage on the jump attack, nerf the gorgon and hek down to the level of the other weapons, and made Fang beter than the alert only daggers.

Edited April 15, 2013 by PhoenixMercurous

[Batwing]

It's a common system that the starting weapons in an any game are outclassed by the weapons you get latter on.People would loose reasons to strive for that next great weapon and like a lot of people say it's the starting weapon it's not supposed to be that great it's supposed to make you want to upgrade and strive for that next weapon.I like the pangolian sword but it's not as good as the cronus but it looks cool.Yet I don't ask them to buff it just because i think it looks cool.I get what you're saying though make more uniqe weapons which i agree with but I don't think the starting weapon should be one of them.

[XxCromatxX]

I wont lie the skana looks amazing....

[krisp]

And that is the point of seeking to upgrade your weaponry.

This game doesn't revolve around gear levels. The weapon choices are made to promote weapon diversity and not power creep, hence it doesn't make much sense that this outdated mechanic of gear progression remains in the game.

[Tracek]

Only thing I could see is adding more polarities to worse weapons, which would make it so they would effectively have more mod power and be able to be made stronger that way.

[CheeseHasLeafs]

The problem now is that every weapon DE adds is a platinum/BP only weapon and they haven't added more mastery locked weapons which has skewed the system. They also did things like nerf the Heat sword into being a slightly worse Cronus with fire damage on the jump attack, nerf the gorgon and hek down to the level of the other weapons, and made Fang beter than the alert only daggers.

There was an accusation of power creep recently. Hopefully this isn't a sign. 

It is true that the Gorgon is nowhere near as good now, though the Hek is still above decent. 

I am sad about the Heat Sword. I liked it. 

[Woolytop]

The game seems to kind of be in this funny zone where it's not sure what it wants to do with its gear. In theory, yes, the stuff you start with ought to be good enough to get you through Eris, but if you don't give people an incentive to upgrade, then they won't, which means less cash from the people who don't want to farm.

[goozilla]

The Skana is a starter weapon. Since when are starter weapons supposed to be better than the things you have to farm for?

[Fenrisulfr]

^

The whole point is dumping skana as soon as possible. Its a starter weapon. Its not supposed to be on par with other weapons, although I would like to see stronger version.

 

Maybe mk1 skana with 25 dmg and standard skana with 1.3 swing and 35 dmg.

 

I concur. Starting Skana should be like Braton mk1, a starter, weaker version so if we like it, we can buy a stronger version.

[SimbL]

The Skana is a starter weapon. Since when are starter weapons supposed to be better than the things you have to farm for?

 

I'm not talking about the Skana being better than the Cronus. I'd like it to have at least an advantage in one area, so there's actually a reason to use it. Maybe a small increase in swing speed, damage, double target cleave or even reach. I want varied, interesting weapons for varied, interesting combat and a deeper modding system, not your typical "oh hurr durr time to smelt a silver sword to replace my bronze sword!" zzz.

Edited April 16, 2013 by SimbL

[Zectifin]

I'm sure they'll eventually introduce a super powerful version of the skana

[Dasmir]

Put Skana skin as a special skin for the cronus.... problem fixed

[Incunabulum]

Skana is the primary melee you get, so it kinda makes sense to be weaker then every other

that's like saying that the starting suits are supposed to be weaker than the other.

 

All the weapons should have a specific niche they fill - that way they all can be useful.