# Energy Gunblades
## Overview
Energy Gunblades are a new type of late-round melee and ranged hybrid weapon meant for security-sided use against extremely "loud" antagonists during lethal encounters. Mainly accessible with a high level of weapons research and mining resources.

Mechanically, it will be like having a combined captain sabre and energy gun. The creation of it will have a similar cost to creating a PA Rifle.

The physical appearance of it is a cylinder loaded gun attached to a long knife-shaped blade, about the half the height of a person. It is inspired by fantasy settings and is also meant to have a "cool" factor to it.
## Context
Currently, antagonists have a much greater melee and ranged capability rolled into separate options for each. A late-round option that covers melee and ranged combat would find a lot of use since that is when most antagonists decide to go "loud".
## Goals
* Limit the use/obtainment of the blade to security and/or command staff.
* Create an alternative to the Particle Acceleration Rifle.
* In terms of cost to create, effectiveness, etc.
## Non-Goals
* Shift the crew/antag balance towards crew.
* Create an alternative weapon for antagonist that is stronger than what they would already have access to.
* Create a "greytiding" weapon.
* Create a weapon that encourages unneeded deadly security force
## Milestones
* Base Gunblade item implementation
* Class to subclass off of
* Creation during a round using crew-dependent methods
* Using the existing weapon crafting datums
* Alternatives meant for use by certain jobs on-station?
* HoS, Captain, etc?
* Alternatives using other gun or sword parts?
* Antique+sabre, Hos Gun + stunprod, etc?
## Existing Examples
Miners have the ability to attach thier survival knife to thier KPA, allowing it to be used as a knife for cutting and a gun for shooting.

There also exists a hook shotgun (high melee damage) used by bounty hunters (the hunters of the fugitive roles).

In terms of powerful security weapons, the Particle Accelerator Rifle (PA rifle) is a late-round weapon meant exclusivley for deadly force, Ideally a gunblade would be locked behind similar requirements.
## Proposed Implementation
A gunblade can be constructed through the crafting menu, it will require:
* A costly gun crafting kit
* Needs to be researched and printed at the security techfab
* In particular, the advanced beam weapons node needs to be researched
* On top of this, it will also require materials:
* 10k Iron
* 5K Glass
* 4.5K Silver
* 5K Gold
* 18K Titanium
* 5K Diamond
* Pyroclastic anomaly core
* an energy gun
After crafting, an energy gunblade item is created.

The planned stats of the energy gunblade are:
### Characteristics
**Fits only on the backslot and some suit storages**
**Takes power cells as ammo for using the two modes**
**Ejects loaded powercells once emptied**
**Has two "modes" that can be toggled between**
**Clip Size:** 3
**Melee and Ranged hits both take a certain amount of power from loaded in cells**
For reference, here are the max charge of powercells in the game:
* Normal cell: 1K (3K max loaded in)
* high-capacity: 10K (30K max loaded in)
* super-capacity: 20K (60K max loaded in)
* hyper-capacity: 30K (90K max loaded in)
* bluespace: 40K (120K max loaded in)
### Unpowered
**Force:** 5 (default gun)
**Throw Force:** 5 (default gun)
**Throw Speed/Range:** 3/5 (default gun)
**Block Chance:** 0 (default gun)
**Armor Penetration:** 0
**Demolition Mod:** 100%
**Cannot fire ranged lasers**
### Disable / Shock Mode
#### Melee
**When left clicking:** Applies a shock meant to shock and disable (Takes two to fully stamcrit)
**Force:** 13 Brute (only on right click)
**Throw Force:** 8
**Block:** 75%
**Demolition_mod:** 50%
**Wound type:** Slash
**Wound bonus:** 5
**Bare Wound Bonus:** 20
**Takes 10kW per strike**
#### Ranged
**Fires:** Powerful Disable Shots (Takes three to fully stamcrit)
**Takes 20kW per shot**

### Lethal / Heat Mode
#### Melee
**Force:** 25 Burn
**Throw Force:** 16
**Block:** 45%
**Demolition Mod:** 45%
**Wound type:** Burns
**No Wound Bonuses**
**Takes 15kW per strike**
#### Ranged
**Fires:** Fast Laser Shots, 30 burn (maybe 0.5 projectile speed?)
**Same Wound stats as normal laser:** (10 wound bonus unarmored)
**Takes 30kW per shot**

## Testability and Balance
The overall power of energy gunblades will initially shoot for an undertuning, I would need to collect feedback on use to properly find a balance for it.
## Codebase Impact
I don't plan on sending this upstream, since this feature should not require any adjustments to the base tg code, it can remain fully modular.
## Open Questions
* Is the cost for construction and time-gate balanced?
* How many *security* players would actually use or try to construct a energy gunblade?
* Are there any wanted alternatives to this? (Miner, Bartender, Improvised?)
## Scoping
At a minimum I would like to create generic gunblades for use/construction. Maybe down the line create unique variants for the Captain/HoS jobs.

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