Exponential scaling for high quality weapons

[sid]

I recently got into weapons crafting in my settlement and it got me thinking about game balance. I reckon that the world's sharpest katana is going to perform about as well as the world's most average katana if it's being wielded by a total newbie, and the game agrees with me to a certain extent because higher-tier weapons are much heavier, which makes them balanced in the hands of someone with low strength. I just think that's the wrong approach though, I don't understand much about IRL weapons crafting, but "heavier == better" sounds a little iffy to me.

So what I'm suggesting is weapons with percentage-based increases to damage depending on the player's own stats. Is your katana skill at 5 and your weapon increases it by 20%? Your katana skill is now 6. Is it at 40? That's 8 bonus points while wielding this weapon, suddenly your shiny sword has a whooooole lot more punch to it. (just examples, don't get hung up on the values. Ideally you would keep the effect minimal to not take away from the "strength in numbers" theme of the game).

Also, sorry if I haven't read too much into how fighting works in the game. Maybe something like this is already in place and I haven't even noticed.

[Mattk50]

Sounds like a really easy way to let weapon/skill scaling get out of control. The current system for weapon quality/models/skills is a bit wider than the home crafting system lets on, i think its in a good place alreasy. exponential scaling would just start making low end characters useless even in numbers against high end characters and that goes against a lot of kenshi's open world design where level scaling isnt a thing.

[sid]

Sounds like a really easy way to let weapon/skill scaling get out of control. The current system for weapon quality/models/skills is a bit wider than the home crafting system lets on, i think its in a good place alreasy. exponential scaling would just start making low end characters useless even in numbers against high end characters and that goes against a lot of kenshi's open world design where level scaling isnt a thing.

That's why I mentioned making it a fairly minimal feature. In practice, it would be more like a gimmick to replace how current weapons seem to get better with weight, which just rubs me the wrong way. But I would never want the numbers to spiral out of control. I think 10% scaling on the absolute best of the best gear would be ideal.

EDIT: So I don't really understand how scaling works in this game, as it turns out. I just made a really high-tier nodachi that weighs 4 lbs. My point is sort of moot then, I guess.

[Zeal]

In regards to a units modifying weapon damage based on skills, the weapon skill already determines how much damage you do with the weapon. Not weight. All weight does is effect attack speed with larger class weapons (hackers and heavy weapons). Having additional strength will add damage to those two classes of weapons aswell. This is how it's been for a very long time. So if i'm understanding correctly, your request already exists.

[lucidmadness]

If anything, the quality of the weapon/armor should be based on

1. The skill of the crafter

2. The quality of materials

3. The place they're crafting the weapon/armor

I think it's absolutely ridiculous that a level 1 weaponsmith could craft a katana at all, let alone an edge mark V or whatever is the highest you can research.

[Stealthkibbler]

I've already seen 8 slavemongers take on an entire camp of 30 dust bandits and come out with only two guys downed purely because of the flat stat boosts and speed rating on the iron clubs they all have.

Increasing the stats and damage on weapons like those exponentially would easily make them almost unbeatable. The biggest problem with this is that In Kenshi you can only go so far by avoiding combat, if you want your guys to become better than what dummies have to offer you NEED to take on stronger foes and with Exponential scaling it's just going to create too much progession walls that are going to stomp the player right back to ground zero without any chance of recovery.