So, I'm thinking about making a sniper character who crits well, but I've noticed something. Other than the Disruptor rifle, there are no Ranged Heavy guns with crit 2. Now, I would be ok with this, except there are a handful of pistols with crit 2.

The main offender is the H-7 Equalizer pistol. I'm trying to figure out why they thought this gun was a good idea and not power creep. The only downside is price and rarity, unless you factor in the free Superior. For a bit less than twice the cost of a Heavy Blaster Pistol you get a better crit, loose the limited ammo thing, and gain superior. Really, how can they justify giving it HP 3 with a free attachment, which in all reality is 1 better than the HP three of the Heavy Blaster Pistol. If you're a Gadgeteer you can crit on 1 advantage and the gun already generates a free advantage with the superior.

I do roll my eyes at the Model 80 as well, but at least it's one less damage than a Heavy Blaster Pistol and has a special rule that it can't be drawn any faster. But, once again, crit 2 feels excessive on a pistol.

As for the rest of the Crit 2 pistols, I don't have an issue. Dueling Pistol is Ammo 1 and the point of the Disruptor Pistol is that it has nasty crits.

So, I'm sitting here trying to figure out which weapon to use on my Bounty Hunter Assassin/Gadgeteer. I'd like to shy away from Disruptors, because they're restricted. I'd like to use a rifle, but the mechanical advantage of the H-7 will always be calling at the back of my head.

Really, I think they should make a crit 2 blaster rifle and then I'll be happy. I honestly don't see why, other than the Disruptor rifle, there isn't a crit 2 Ranged Heavy weapon.

/rant off

Why not Jury-Rig a rifle to have crit 2?

Yah, I was thinking the same, isn't that what Jury Rig is for?

Why dont you just take a gun you think sounds cool or looks cool or is just a gun instead of insisting that you have the 'best gun evah'.

The gun dosent make the sniper, the man does.

Soooo.... the H-7 is too powerful, but you want a rifle version? Wouldn't that be even more imbalanced? If you're looking for something you can tweak down to Crit 1, the Disruptor/Jury Rigged combo is already present.

Personally I agree with you that the H-7 seems to have it all. Long range, low crit rating, full pistol hardpoints, high damage. But going any higher on the damage makes the weapon even more unbalanced and I think this is one of the reasons it has the Superior quality built-in. If it was available, anyone with enough credits would have been able to bump it to a damage 8.

Remember, hits that do no damage can't be crits, so that's a fairly strong balancing factor in low crit weapons. The other ranged weapons with crit 2 are in heavy repeater/disruptor territory and have drawbacks to balance them. Melee weapons similarly have their own drawbacks.

I'd regard someone using a Jury-Rigged Crit 2 standard Blaster as already someone who "crits well," personally. I'd follow the previous posters' advice, and if your complaint about the Crit 2 pistols is legitimately a complaint rather than envy that you can't do the same with a rifle with the current supplements, simply avoid them and discourage their use at your table.

The point is that you can take a crit 2 weapon and make it crit 1 with Jury-Rigged. If you're trying to get high up the crit chart, you can buy twice as many crits with a 1 instead of a 2. It seems like they wanted crit 3 as the standard for guns, but the ones that start as crit 2 become extremely valuable assassin/gadgeteer weapons.

@Haggard I'm a whole bag of mixed emotions about the H-7. It seems comparatively too good compared to any other pistol and the drawbacks don't seem to make up for it. Sure, it's expensive and harder to find but it doesn't have a mechanical disadvantage to make up for it. I think it would've been a better game design to have limited it somehow, such as less HP or restricted or give a BD for witnesses to recognize you using it or something. As it is, it feels like power creep. (I'll also say it's bad design because they didn't specify if the +1 superior damage is included in the stats or not in the book. I hope the answer that I've seen on here, that the +1 is already included, makes it into a FAQ.)

I think my OP wasn't effective at getting my point across. My point is twofold. First is that I feel that the H-7 is overpowered. At least it's not game breaking over powered, just an edge for people who use it. The second was my surprise that there isn't a crit 2 rifle other than the disruptor rifle. I was hoping for a non-restricted option for a low crit rifle to have some viscous fun with.

To me, it feels like the lack of a non-restricted crit 2 rifle was a game design choice. Critting well with melee weapons is alluring, but it also leaves you open to being shot by everyone within range. High risk for high reward. Being able to crit well from long or extreme range means that the likelihood that you'll be attacked back is diminished. Low risk for high reward. It seems to be a game design choice to put some limitations on long range weapons due to the low risk of using them at range. For example, the extreme range weapons all have drawbacks. E-11s is Slow Firing 1 and restricted. Model 38 is a slugthrower, so limited modification upgrades. HOB Heavy Repeating Blaster is Cumbersome 6 and restricted.

I have a couple weeks before my game for this new character starts, so I'll have time to decide if I just want to crit well for range or crit very well up close. Which, part of that choice might just come down to party composition.

So your problem is that it's restricted?

When is that ever a problem in this game?

Isn't something supposed to be the best at some point? Why have different kinds of weapons at all if they are going to just always have the same stats? There are weapons in the real world that have no drawbacks, they are just great.

Isn't something supposed to be the best at some point? Why have different kinds of weapons at all if they are going to just always have the same stats? There are weapons in the real world that have no drawbacks, they are just great.

I think the issue is that it's the best, but really isn't that hard to acquire. Where if it's the absolute best, maybe it should be more expensive and harder to find than it currently is.

The description talks about waiting for months to get one. If a GM wanted to they could do the same. They could also quadruple the price if they wanted to. The market generally does when something is in high demand. I look at book prices as MSRP, not what I charge. I agree the price is lopsided based on what gets charged for Superior.

The damage bonus for the Superior is included in the base damage, you just add an advantage. I asked that question of the devs and it was posted somewhere else, I think the player review thread of the book, I don't remember where, but lots had that question.

That's a little bit of Rule Zero there, though, isn't it? This is where I think it's incumbent on the writers to make the RAW reflect the fluff that they write. "Takes months to get one" = increase Rarity. Quadruple the price because of market conditions? Maybe the base price should be doubled anyway in the printed book if GMs should increase it because it's a popular item.

I mean I am all for GMs being creative and jiggering this stuff as needed to suit the table and the story. I just find it frustrating when the book's/writers' own bad mechanical decisions force me to play the "GM fiat card" to implement some semblance of balance, rather than GM fiat always being an option in my bag as a plot point to pull out as-needed. And it's frustrating to the players because it creates instability - you can't take the book at its word.

This is different from going to a merchant and needing to make a Negotiation check to lower the price, imo.

I don't get to worked up as I am more than content to pick, change, and choose as I like from a RPG. As long as the core mechanics to action resolution are fun I don't get too concerned over pieces of gear. I have posted before part of my reason for not being concerned over soak is I don't view challenge or success though a metric that can measured numerically. That relates to gear directly. How easily my players defeat an enemy will likely not have any bearing at all on whether they were successful and I don't craft my challenges around how many combatants they kill, too video gamey for me. So damage stats are secondary at most in my sessions. Consequently I don't view this particular issue as any issue at all. It's just a gun with a good stat line.

So your problem is that it's restricted?

When is that ever a problem in this game?

My current group of law abiding bounty hunters won't touch Restricted gear.

I am debating introducing a recurring foe with a disruptor pistol. More as a demonstration of showing how scummy he really is. They're highly restricted and would present a serious ethical challenge for the players. They work... But ****...

That's a different issue from Crit 2 guns. In Long Arm of the Hutt, Geonosian Blasters are Crit 2 guns, but they are a bit funny looking.

I am debating introducing a recurring foe with a disruptor pistol. More as a demonstration of showing how scummy he really is. They're highly restricted and would present a serious ethical challenge for the players. They work... But ****...

That's a different issue from Crit 2 guns. In Long Arm of the Hutt, Geonosian Blasters are Crit 2 guns, but they are a bit funny looking.

I guess I don't see an ethical dilemma in using a disruptor. It's not any less discriminate or controlled than a blaster. Of course, that assumes you aren't metagaming and counting on the relatively low lethality of blasters despite the fact that they are usually used with intent to kill (at least when not set to stun).

The point is that you can take a crit 2 weapon and make it crit 1 with Jury-Rigged. If you're trying to get high up the crit chart, you can buy twice as many crits with a 1 instead of a 2. It seems like they wanted crit 3 as the standard for guns, but the ones that start as crit 2 become extremely valuable assassin/gadgeteer weapons.

@Haggard I'm a whole bag of mixed emotions about the H-7. It seems comparatively too good compared to any other pistol and the drawbacks don't seem to make up for it. Sure, it's expensive and harder to find but it doesn't have a mechanical disadvantage to make up for it. I think it would've been a better game design to have limited it somehow, such as less HP or restricted or give a BD for witnesses to recognize you using it or something. As it is, it feels like power creep. (I'll also say it's bad design because they didn't specify if the +1 superior damage is included in the stats or not in the book. I hope the answer that I've seen on here, that the +1 is already included, makes it into a FAQ.)

I think my OP wasn't effective at getting my point across. My point is twofold. First is that I feel that the H-7 is overpowered. At least it's not game breaking over powered, just an edge for people who use it. The second was my surprise that there isn't a crit 2 rifle other than the disruptor rifle. I was hoping for a non-restricted option for a low crit rifle to have some viscous fun with.

To me, it feels like the lack of a non-restricted crit 2 rifle was a game design choice. Critting well with melee weapons is alluring, but it also leaves you open to being shot by everyone within range. High risk for high reward. Being able to crit well from long or extreme range means that the likelihood that you'll be attacked back is diminished. Low risk for high reward. It seems to be a game design choice to put some limitations on long range weapons due to the low risk of using them at range. For example, the extreme range weapons all have drawbacks. E-11s is Slow Firing 1 and restricted. Model 38 is a slugthrower, so limited modification upgrades. HOB Heavy Repeating Blaster is Cumbersome 6 and restricted.

I have a couple weeks before my game for this new character starts, so I'll have time to decide if I just want to crit well for range or crit very well up close. Which, part of that choice might just come down to party composition.

Fair enough. As it happens I more or less agree with you. I'd also expand and say part of my issue with the H-7 is also the full complement of hard points to work with despite already having the Superior quality for a fraction of the cost. Overall I've been fairly pleased at the lack of power creep in the new gear, but the H-7's a bit of an outlier. I'd also prefer if more of the new gear was presented mechanically as "This model counts as a blaster pistol, but with attachment/mods XYZ already factory-installed." I think this would go a long way to both showcasing how the system is supposed to work and helping control power creep/unintended combinations of equipment/attachments/mods before they happen.

In my experience, game groups that come across this weapon and others like it ultimately will need to work out whether it's acceptable at their table or not. This really happens in every gaming group - finding the balance point in a game's arms race that everyone is comfortable with - just the existence of the H-7 may be a factor in prompting that discussion taking place sooner rather than later.

Best of luck and I hope your group finds a solution that works for them. Sorry for the delay in responding; it's been a busy week.