Increase the fire-delay of the LWAP.

[Guest]

Title. It's too easy to permastun someone to the ground and eventually kill them in only 2-3 shots.

[incognitojesus]

I like this idea.

Or maybe even, keep it from firing more than once in space? Since it fires a powerful ass laser, there's no real way to dissipate the heat in space (same reason IPCs need the suit cooling unit). I mean, I guess you could go with the whole 'it has its own cooling system' thing, of course, but I think that could be an easy solution to it. The crazy sniper rifle of doom and hellfire needs time to dissipate the heat into the area around it, and when in space, can only fire once. I've been a security officer who, when faced with a hostage situation, grabbed a sniper rifle and a hardsuit, jettisoned out into space, waited until the hostage taker showed his back, and then fired.

[Reyjakai]

Why not just remove the knockdown effect from it?

[canon35]

Why not just remove the knockdown effect from it?

 

It's a great way to take down lone antags, that's why.

[Reyjakai]

Why not just remove the knockdown effect from it?

 

It's a great way to take down lone antags, that's why.

It is, but I always imagined the purpose of the weapon, the real reason that you order it is to take out enemies that are too dangerous to get into conventional weapon range. Not because of the ridiculous amount of knockdown power it has.

[spacevoidagent]

Why not just remove the knockdown effect from it?

Why not just remove the whole thing. The LWAP is completely round ending and takes no effort to use, at all.

[Susan]

Waaaaah.

The entire purpose of the LWAP is to safely eliminate hostage takers and or very deadly antags with minimal danger to the user. The rifle has enough charge to kill a single person and that was intended.

It can only be fired while scoped in, and suffers a 4 second fire delay. Up it to six seconds, maybe.

It's a last resort weapon. If the only way security can deal with you effectively is to murder you from where you can't even see them you've done something to necessitate it as an antag.

[jackfractal]

I've never actually been attacked by this thing, but does it have any kind of counter-play? It sounds a lot like you're there doing your antag-thing, and then you're suddenly dead with no way of responding too it.

Is that how it ends up playing out?

[Alberyk]

I've never actually been attacked by this thing, but does it have any kind of counter-play? It sounds a lot like you're there doing your antag-thing, and then you're suddenly dead with no way of responding too it.

Is that how it ends up playing out?

 

Besides what Sue said, you have to stand still, have a clear shoot and you can only fire when you are using the scope. It deals around 60 of burn damage, stuns, applies weaken and make you stutter. It should be used only when really necessary, like wizards fireballing everything and just using jaunt when meet.

[Guest]

I've never actually been attacked by this thing, but does it have any kind of counter-play? It sounds a lot like you're there doing your antag-thing, and then you're suddenly dead with no way of responding too it.

Is that how it ends up playing out?

 

The only counterplay is to not play when an LWAP is deployed into the field.

I'd be fine with the LWAP fire delay just being increased by a second or two just so that a person has a chance of getting out of getting stun/weakenlocked over and over again. It's pretty funny to make people cry with it, but I don't think anybody wants to be on the receiving end of it.

[Guest Menown]

I've never actually been attacked by this thing, but does it have any kind of counter-play? It sounds a lot like you're there doing your antag-thing, and then you're suddenly dead with no way of responding too it.

Is that how it ends up playing out?

 

Nuke Op a day ago, Jack. Delta snagged a sniper as an Op. Downed me twice in a hallway. Second shot the second I stood back up. There is no counterplay to it.

[Guest]

^^

It really is BS.

[Frances]

Duck said to me a long time ago that combat in SS13 was just "what follows a poorly executed gank". And looking at many scenarios in my time here, I'm tempted to agree with her.

Chaotic "combat" can be fun, but as far as being robust and victorious, most of your chances of winning a battle come from good planning. From setting up traps, trump cards, fooling or misleading your opponents, or simply being prepared. Ranged SS13 combat is designed to be quick and deadly - the first person to get a few shots in (usually two hits) is almost guaranteed a knockdown, and from there, victory.

The counterplay for the LWAP is supposedly to get up close and rush the shooter, but in a carefully prepared fight (aka. the good guys know where the antags are), there's not going to be a chance to close the gap. You get shot down as an opening move, and them bam, fight over, because that's the nature of SS13.

If the intended purpose is truly to eliminate single antags who made themselves deserving of swift, laser-served justice, then it shouldn't be turned into an annoying support weapon (take down a single person at the beginning of a fight without giving them a chance, then move in to disable the remaining targets). I'd advise making it a one-shot rechargeable - which wouldn't really defy expectations considering the already terrible battery capacity of energy weapons in-universe.

 

It's a last resort weapon. If the only way security can deal with you effectively is to murder you from where you can't even see them you've done something to necessitate it as an antag.

Let us not forget this used to be some people's go-to battle weapon, and will continue to be as long as it remains available and viable, regardless of any morals or fair-play involved.

[Vanagandr]

Counterplay for the LWAP is to keep away from windows or, at least, to have the hostage between you and the window.

Counterplay for someone going antaghunting with an LWAP is, uh, have one of your own, or a near substitute, or to avoid giving the user a clear shot. Could be a bit tricky if they know what you look like.