Why don't you just move all the designs of the other types into a single type of weapon with the type you prefer and expand the nouns of that type to encompass the other sorts?

I wonder if they can make other types more attractive by reducing the impact of the speed stat (while also decreasing base balance times slightly) and increasing the impact of the damage stat, while leaving precision as is.

If there are differences between the weapon stats, there will always be an optimal weapon. You can mess with how the stats work, but all you'll manage is maybe changing what the optimal weapon is, and more than likely piss off a lot of people in the process who have invested in a given weapon.

Better to come up with solutions that are outside the stats box.

Like, if say, a waraxe had a chance to prone. Or greatswords ignored rebounding. Or flails had a riposte like effect that knocked the limb off balance. Or scimitars gave you charisma for looking all cool. Or whatever.

foolofsound:

I wonder if they can make other types more attractive by reducing the impact of the speed stat (while also decreasing base balance times slightly) and increasing the impact of the damage stat, while leaving precision as is.

So you want to essentially remove the value of having speed? If the DPS/WPS goes up because base speed goes down people will stop ever using speed weapons.

Malarious:

So you want to essentially remove the value of having speed? If the DPS/WPS goes up because base speed goes down people will stop ever using speed weapons.

I'm not sure what you misunderstood about "reduce the impact". Currectly, IIRC 4 points in the Speed stat decreases your balance time by .1 seconds, while 4 points of Damage increases damage by... 4 points. What I'm suggesting is something to the effect of 8 points of Speed decreasing balance by .1, with base balance time decreased somewhat to compensate, and 4 points of damage increasing damage by 6. What I would hope this accomplishes is to make players actually consider having damage stat on their weapons and to reduce the importance of maxing speed.

Again, the weapon stat system is a formula with an optimal solution. Right now, the optimal solution is for speed wounders. We can waste a lot of time and effort trying to rebalance the weapon stats themselves...

...and more than likely, the result would be, there would be an optimal solution yet again, and everyone would eventually default to it.

Worse, if that optimal solution moves away from speed weapons, then all you've managed to do is piss off people who invested in the speed weapons to begin with. It isn't even a zero sum game. It is working towards a goal that, in all realistic likelihood, will ultimately not increase variety in the long run, and just backhand some players.

The chances of creating a system where there are multiple "optimal" solutions for a given task is negiligible. When I started in late 2007, the advice was, have a speed weapon to hunt with, have a precision weapon to fight with. But even there, the optimal solution for combat was precision weapons. Veyrzhul once ran about killing illithoid midbies with a waraxe with magic damage runes on it, but that was a wildly outlierish case.

The only route that has a chance is to go outside the box of the stat system, and give other weapons attributes that might redeem them for having, ultimately, inferior stats. Even that will be a balancing act. Advantages would have to be significant enough to entice people in to using them, without making them a clear winner.

If other weapons were given attributes to make them more attractive, I would hope for a chance to swap out weapon runes after testing out any differences.

All I can say is...if they go and mess with weapon stats and crap, they better make a way for us to move our runes for free one time. I have a lot of runes on my weapons and would be pissed if I was forced to buy those pliers....

foolofsound:

I wonder if they can make other types more attractive by reducing the impact of the speed stat (while also decreasing base balance times slightly) and increasing the impact of the damage stat, while leaving precision as is.

foolofsound:

I'm not sure what you misunderstood about "reduce the impact".

You want to lower all balance time, keep in mind what you post. That means all weapons are faster, so with no mechanical changes they can lower their speed to buff other stats while you also propose damage has more of an impact, you just buffed damage stat and what the stat does at the same time.

Nono. I meant lower the impact of weapon speed, say a 240 speed weapon, which modifies speed by 6s (which seems wierd, but that's what I've read). I'm not sure of the base balance time, but let's assume 9s fo the sake of the suggestion. Under my suggestion, the 240 speed weapon would modify speed by 3s, so you make base balance time 6s to balance; balance time doesn't change, but now having lower speed has less of a catastophic impact.

Ultimately though, Akui is probably right; modifying weapon stats would just anger people and make some other weapon time the best option.

foolofsound:

Nono. I meant lower the impact of weapon speed, say a 240 speed weapon, which modifies speed by 6s (which seems wierd, but that's what I've read). I'm not sure of the base balance time, but let's assume 9s fo the sake of the suggestion. Under my suggestion, the 240 speed weapon would modify speed by 3s, so you make base balance time 6s to balance; balance time doesn't change, but now having lower speed has less of a catastophic impact.

Ultimately though, Akui is probably right; modifying weapon stats would just anger people and make some other weapon time the best option.

Have you been a warrior? I don't know where you heard this but they are not correct, I was an aslaran EG with 220 speed and a 3 sec balance.

You were also an Aslaran, who have faster balance times; it sounds almost right in any case. I got the info out of a post in the Mythbuster section, I don't remember which.

foolofsound:

You were also an Aslaran, who have faster balance times; it sounds almost right in any case. I got the info out of a post in the Mythbuster section, I don't remember which.

lvl 2 balance bonus doesn't take a 6 second balance time and make it 3 seconds, going from 220 -> 300 (with nk/runes etc) only bumped up my speed to about 2.2 secs

Ok, my info was mistaken then. I've changed my mind about how good my idea was anyway.