VARIABLE FOCUS NEUTRON BEAM ANALYSIS
These are My Opinions regarding the Neutron Beam. Your Opinion may be Different, and that is Perfectly Fine. This Analysis was done with the specific intent to Optimize the Burnside Territories.
As always, Direct-Fire Weapons should be compared to the Photon and the Disruptor, while paying careful attention to the 2:1 Damage to Energy Ratio. The same holds true for the Neutron Beam.
Immediately, you see something odd going on with the Damage to Energy Ratio. For 5 Points of Energy, the Wide Neutron Beam yields from 2-12 Points of Damage at Ranges 1-12. There is no specific 10 Points of Damage, but instead 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12.
For 5 Points of Energy, the Narrow Neutron Beam yields from 6-12 Points of Damage at Ranges 1-12. Again, this is odd because there is no specific 10 Points of Damage. The Damage listed is either clearly Below 2:1 (in the case of 6 Points of Damage, almost 1:1) or clearly Above 2:1 (in the case of 12 Points of Damage, which is 2 Points higher than 10 Points of Damage).
I find this Very Strange. For 5 Points of Damage, on Average, you are getting either 4, 8, or 12 Points of Damage (Wide) or 6 or 12 Points of Damage (Narrow). This means you get either Close to 1:1 (on a Bad/Mediocre Roll) or you get slightly above 2:1 (on a Good Roll).
So Why would you choose Wide or Narrow to begin with? Well, the Wide Neutron Beam guarantees More of a Hit (like a Phaser), while the Narrow Neutron Beam provides More Damage for a Greater Chance to Miss. Is this particularly Advantageous (to be able to choose one or the other)? I would say Slightly, but Not Really.
What stands out in both Wide and Narrow Mode for the Neutron Beam is the Damage at Longer Ranges. At Ranges 13-30, the Wide Neutron Beam can score 2-6 Points of Damage on a Roll of 1-5. At Ranges 13-30, the Narrow Neutron Beam can score 4-6 Points of Damage on a Roll of 1-3. This is distinctly better than the Disruptor, which hits from 1-4, 1-3, and 1-2 at Ranges 13-30, scoring from 2-3 Points of Damage. Of course, the Photon hits for 8 Points of Damage at Ranges 13-30, but only hits on a Roll of 1. So it appears the Neutron Beam is best used at distance, which is questionable tactically, for how long will it be before the enemy closes in on you?
In terms of Overloads, the Neutron Beam is lacking when compared to the Photon. The Neutron Beam can generate at most 12 Points of Damage at Close Range, while the Overloaded Photon can generate up to 16 Points of Damage. The Neutron Beam’s 12 Points of Damage is comparable to the Overloaded Disruptor’s 10 Points of Damage at Close Range, but the Disruptor fires more often.
Which brings up to the Cooling Period required by the Neutron Beam. Since the Neutron Beam must be Cooled for 1 Turn after Firing, it is actually a Two-Turn Weapon. This means it should be comparable to the Photon in Energy, Damage, To-Hit, and Ratio. The Neutron Beam falls short in this aspect, although it does have a better To-Hit Chance over the Photon. With a Two-Turn Cycle, the Neutron Beam is clearly inferior to the Disruptor (which can potentially generate 20 Points of Damage at Close Range versus the Neutron Beam’s 12 Points of Damage at Close Range).
Clearly, the Main Advantage of the Neutron Beam over the Photon and Disruptor is the ability to Choose the Mode (Wide or Narrow) at the Moment of Firing. But is this ability really worth the trade-off in terms of other deficiencies?
For the Burnside Territories, the First Thing I did was change the Range Brackets to make them more compatible with the Alpha Sector. This means that 5-8 is the Main Overload Range and should be respected as such. The old Neutron Beam Chart would have had players firing at Range 12 or Range 6 instead. This difference in Ranges changes Tactics drastically.
One of the main problems that I see with the Neutron Beam is that you are basically Always Firing an Overloaded Shot. I base this on the fact that the Neutron Beam requires a whopping 5 Points of Energy to fire each time. An Overloaded Disruptor costs 4 Points of Energy. An Overloaded Photon costs 8 Points of Energy (at max). A Standard Disruptor costs 2 Points of Energy. A Standard Photon costs 4 Points of Energy. So the 5 Points of Energy required by the Neutron Beam is clearly in the Overload Bracket.
The question for the Player becomes, what if I don’t want to spend that much Energy to Fire? Consider that 4 Neutron Beams costs a Titanic 20 Points of Energy to fire during a single turn. This is tremendous. There is no alternative, you either pay for it or you don’t fire them all.
So one thing I would like to change about the Neutron Beam is the Ability to Fire at a Lower Cost. But this could potentially require Additional Damage Charts, which cannot happen because there are already Two Charts (Wide and Narrow). Perhaps one solution is to Revise the Two Charts for a Downgraded Firing (Lower Energy) and then simply state that Overloaded will yield Double the Amount. At least that way, the Player can choose between a Standard and Overload Shot (and therefore control their Energy Spendage better).
The Strange 1:1 and 2:1 Ratio of the Neutron Beam might also need Revising and the Increased Damage at Long Range. I’m not sure if the Higher Damage at Long Range can potentially be Abused by a Clever Player, but the Possibility is there. If I stated that a weapon requires 5 Points of Energy (which is questionable by itself), then for certain, somewhere in the Damage Table I would have 10 Points of Damage (2:1 Ratio) listed. This is not the case with the Neutron Beam. There is No 10 Points of Damage listed in either the Wide or Narrow Charts.
And so, in my Opinion, we have an Odd Weapon from the LMC with Great Tactical Potential. It most certainly will need to be Revised (in More Ways than One) to be Playable, Tactically Interesting, and Fun. I’m sure that when the Neutron Beam was originally developed, it was done so in comparison against other LMC Empires, which makes sense. Unfortunately, that Design won’t work for the Burnside Territories, which are slanted more toward an Alpha Sector Design Paradigm.
More on the Neutron Beam Revision when I create Version 2.0 of the Owlian Heavy Cruiser.
