Weapons & Equip Vortex Beater Balance Suggestion

[MantisWithLaserBeam]

After a bit of experimenting, I've noticed that the Vortex Beater is incredibly mediocre for an end-game weapon, most notably when compared to the Phantasm.

The Vortex Beater and the Phantasm have the same base damage (50). The Vortex Beater fires 1 bullet at a time, and fires roughly 3-4 times faster than the Phantasm. But the Phantasm fires four arrows per shot, PLUS up to 4 homing "ghost" arrows which appear when hurting an enemy. Both weapons have a 66% chance to not consume ammo (per shot).
(I am aware that the Beater launches a homing explosive projectile in addition to bullets. But it's weak and fires at such a slow rate, that I considered it to be negligible and have excluded it from the calculation.)

The Phantasm can deal roughly twice the amount of damage the Vortex Beater can deal in a given amount of time, and is EIGHT times more efficient than the Beater.
(And bullets aren't cheap, you know.)

I say that the Vortex Beater should fire in rapid 6-to-8-round bursts, with only the first shot (having a chance of) consuming ammo (think of it as a Clockwork Assault Rifle on steroids). The Beater would fire each burst at a rate similar to the Phantasm. The slow homing projectile would be replaced with a fast Magnet-Sphere-like lightning bolt effect which causes small explosions as it knocks foes away.

If all goes well, these changes should make the Vortex Beater unique, efficient, and powerful enough to rival its sibling. The rapid bursts and increased number of rounds fired would help the Beater deal damage consistently and effectively, even from a distance, and the C.A.R.-like reduced-ammo-consumption mechanic should be able to quell nearly any complaint regarding its inefficiency.

 

[totallydeadaccountdude]

Ranger in general needs an overhaul. Though this does push it in the right direction.

 

[Shadewood]

Vortex Beater is an excellent weapon. Against Moon Lord, you won't find a better (pre-Moon Lord) weapon, and in the end, isn't that the only thing that matters? Ammunition is the problem as Chlorophyte Bullets are the only viable ones thanks to its inaccuracy. It needs greater accuracy altogether, and I firmly believe that High Velocity Bullets should give any weapon better accuracy to begin with.

 

[totallydeadaccountdude]

Vortex Beater is an excellent weapon. Against Moon Lord, you won't find a better (pre-Moon Lord) weapon, and in the end, isn't that the only thing that matters? Ammunition is the problem as Chlorophyte Bullets are the only viable ones thanks to its inaccuracy. It needs greater accuracy altogether, and I firmly believe that High Velocity Bullets should give any weapon better accuracy to begin with.

When only a specific ammo type is good with a weapon type that's about diversity in ammunition, then something is wrong.

 

[Shadewood]

When only a specific ammo type is good with a weapon type that's about diversity in ammunition, then something is wrong.

Precisely. The ammunition options are not suited for the inaccurate bullet hose archetype, which are basically all of the top tier guns. It doesn't help that they get more inaccurate the higher up they are in the hierarchy. This isn't specific to the Vortex Beater.

 

[totallydeadaccountdude]

Precisely. The ammunition options are not suited for the inaccurate bullet hose archetype, which are basically all of the top tier guns. It doesn't help that they get more inaccurate the higher up they are in the hierarchy. This isn't specific to the Vortex Beater.

Vortex Beater would be cool if it had a "recoil" mechanic. The more you shoot it, the more inaccurate it gets, it starts laser-accurate but eventually gets worse and worse. This could also apply to the Chaingun. It'd make them better without really breaking them.