Disclaimer: the change proposed is meant to neither improve nor weaken miniguns (although it
is mostly a buff). It's merely something that, to my mind, makes a lot of sense.
Disclaimer, part two: I have not checked if this has been suggested before and am not going to bother.
I've realised that the attached file doesn't work so here's the accursed excel file in google docs:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kj2mehbaTk7rJwulvsb9k1d374CNwKUo/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=100305591423394744982&rtpof=true&sd=trueAs per title, I think it would be neat for each wind up stack to be gained per a stated number of rounds fired, rather than per each burst. Taking Jumpstarter Mk1, for instance:
- instead of 1,5 rounds gained after each burst, every six rounds fired grant a wind up stack (six because that's the motor's starting burst capacity, not for any deep
tm lore
tm reasons), which then adds extra 1,5 rounds to future burst attacks.
At first glance, it would change absolutely nothing about that minigun's progression, requiring the same four bursts in order to reach max burst extent. A single look at the progression rates listed in the accursed excel spreadsheet attached will reveal no tangible difference either, save for lessened ammo expenditure.
The situation takes a drastic turn with the addition of Full-Auto into the picture. While currently Full-Auto does nothing to improve the rate at which extra rounds are gained, with wind up stacks being derived from the total number of rounds fired, Full-Auto could actually contribute to the progression. If one should, once again, refer to the accursed excel file, one shall see that Full-Auto makes both Slowstarter motors reach their respective max burst caps 1 burst earlier than without, while Long Game Mk1 does so in 7 bursts as opposed to 10, and Long Game Mk2 in 8 rather than 12 (and even less ammo is used). Jumpstarter Mk1/2 remain virtually unchanged.
The change proposed introduces non-linear scaling to miniguns and makes every round count towards ramp up speed, even including the rounds added via Full-Auto and Mag Dump. Non-linear scaling is manifest in Slowstarter Mk2's
proposed Full-Auto-assisted progression of 5 > 6 > 8 > 12 > 17 > 20 (cap), as the equation of
- extra rounds per [y] rounds fired (I'm skipping wind up stacks here for brevity) creates breakpoints through accumulation of total number of rounds fired consecutively, breakpoints clearing which adds a lot more extra rounds at once than around the first 3 bursts. I daresay that having a transition from slow start to explosive growth later on fits Slowstarter and Long Game motors' theme better than their current gradual growth (although Long Game motors retain somewhat linear scaling). Additionally, it would be very nice to think of additional rounds from Full-Auto and Mag Dump as an accelerant to the burst length's escalation, especially now that conditional AP reduction for miniguns is a thing.
Once again, the impact of this change would concern primarily Slowstarter and Long Game motors, both in regards to reaching maximum capacity faster and decreasing ammo spent to do so.
All relevant - and perhaps some irrelevant - data supporting this suggestion may be found in the attached file. There's too much info to convey with text alone, so do consider referring to the file before calling me a lunatic (even though I am one).
