Subset Games Forum

As you all probably know, a lot of FTL relies on getting the right weapon at the right time from a shop or random encounter, or else you end up unable to get through someone's shields/cloak/drone and get blown to bits in the later sectors. However, wouldn't it be nice if you could just go to your ship screen and upgrade that MK1 burst laser into an MK2?

Thus, I suggest: Upgrading weapons.

Upgrading an item would be relatively easy; You go into your ship screen and then the weapons section, click on your weapon and press 'upgrade'. It would cost a pretty big amount of scrap, about the same as buying the new weapon in a shop, but would be less reliant on RNG. You could only upgrade MK1 weapons into MK2s and MK2s into MK3's, no missile launchers or beams could be upgraded.

So, that's it. What do you guys think? I think that, while it could make the game a bit more easy, it seems like a realistic way to get better weapons when you can't get past that one ship's 4 shields.

I don't know, seems like it'd make the game too easy. for example the Noether, if you could have 2x ion mark IIs every game it'd be a cakewalk (even a mk I and a mk II together make punching through shields child's play)

maybe if it was stupendously expensive, like double the cost of purchasing the weapon you're upgrading to. then it'd give you at least an option when you get extremely unlucky (the shops never have weapons, you find nothing but beams, etc) without removing the challenge of having to work with the weapons you get.

The odds of not having a bomb, ion weapon, good enough normal weaponry, no teleporter and the need to fight the ship all at the same time are pretty slim as it is tbh.

And frankly, 'upgrading' weapons doens't make much sence when the lower forms are often better.

I don't think this would work, there really isn't that many weapon types in the game, and it would make it too easy to get great weapons unless, like Cactuschef said, it was really expensive.

The game is supposed to be hard, and you aren't supposed to be able to get everything you want every run.
The fun and challanging part of FTL is that you have to adapt to situations, and that you will lose most of the time. (stealth B anyone )

I think that this part of the game is fine how it is, there are other areas that could use balancing before this.

Yeah, most ppl would gladly pay another 110 scrap to downgrade Burst Laser III to Burst LaserII worth 80 scrap.

mayhaps( school book ) through a rondom event