These are the rules the Balancemod follows when re-balancing or redesigning weapons
To view the complete list of all changes in the mod click here
The rules of balance
Without rules everything falls apart
Rules of Balance:
- All weapons should be viable in the right situations
- General weapons must not overshadow niche weapons
- A weapon can be a different version of another weapon as long they do not do the same thing. (More damage and faster attack speed is not the same thing, even though both affect the damage per second)
- Class integrity: Classes and their repsective weapons shall remain unique and refrain from blending together
Balance Concepts:
Mobility, Speed, Power
Mobility:
- Ability to move horizontally and vertically
- Ability to give and take damage
- Everything else that doesn't fall within mobility or power
Mobility
Speed, Jump height, Weight, Air Control
Speed
- Running
- Jumping
- Explosive jumping
- Normal jump
- Crouch jump
- Stat modified jump
- Distance pushed from damage / airblast taken
- Control while moving in the air
Power:
Damage, Defense, Knock back, Reliability, Healing
Damage
- Damage per second
- Effective Damage per second
- Reload time
- Splash
- Single target
- Penetration
- Sustainability
- Lingering
- Effective health
- Damage taken modifiers
- Distance pushed from damage or airblast
- Accuracy
- Consistency
- Amount of damage undone
- Gradual
- Burst
- Single target
- Area of effect
Utility:
Buff, debuff, crowd control, deception
Buff
- Increases Power
- Increases Mobility
- Decreases Power
- Decreases Mobility
- Effect applied to group of players within a specified area simultaneously
- Invisibility
- Feign Death
- Disguise
- Fake sounds
- Anything else that can cause confusion to the enemy
Class Integrity:
Keeping classes unique and separate
Scout
Heavy's minigun shoots in a wide circle and only needs to be pointed at an enemy. Corrections to the
aim are made fairly easily, allowing for many mistakes while still doing decent damage.
Margin of Error: Medium Example
Soldiers or Demomen having an explosion radius can still make them do decent damage, even if the
rockets/bombs don't hit the center of the target. This allows them to get some consistent damage, even
when not hitting perfect shots.
Margin of Error: High Example
The Sniper's Sniper rifle will do no damage to anything if he misses, basically rendering him useless
If a Spy is found out before getting a backstab, the spy will get killed and not killed anyone,
basically rendering him useless.
- High Speed - Doesn't cost health.
- Double Jumping
- Low HP
- Hit scan
- Close range
- Single Target
- Single target throw ables
- Debuff
- Margin of Error: medium
- Explosives
- Hitscan
- Straight Line Projectiles
- Explode on Impact
- Explosive jumping
- Splash Target
- Buff
- Margin of Error: medium
- Fire
- Close Range
- Crowd Control
- Instant damage
- Splash Target
- Anti-Fire
- Particle based
- Margin of Error: low
- Explosives
- Arced projectiles
- Explode on Impact with players or buildings
- Explode on timing
- Explode on manual player input
- Explosive jumping
- Area Denial
- Margin of Error: medium
- Buildings
- Burst damage
- Area denial
- Crowd control
- Logistics
- Healing
- Hitscan
- Explosives
- Margin of Error: medium
- Low Speed
- Spin up
- Constant Damage
- Burst damage
- Big Health
- Hitscan
- Margin of Error: high
- Healing
- Stalemate breaker
- Team Enhancer
- Sustain
- Uber
- Arced Projectile
- Margin of Error: Low
- Long range
- Charge time
- Instant kill (any range)
- Debuff
- Hitscan
- Penetrate
- Burst damage
- Margin of Error: High
- Close range
- Deception
- Instant kill (close range)
- Hitscan
- Anti-building
- Margin of Error: High
Margin of Error:
How much a mistake impacts each class
Margin of Error: Low Example