Question: Skill Gain in Combat related to Damage inflicted?

[Immortal]

Yes been resolved...but lets have some fun with nu(m)bers :p

Dmg/pec opalo (maxed, unamped): 3.96 (amped with a101 4.13)
Dmg/pec Justifer MkII (level 3 dmg/hit, unamped) 2.71 (amped with a101 2.73)

Ped burnt through justifier is 4.7 times faster. This is why it appears to give more skills. Strapping on a101 on either weapon reduces this factor to 3.8. However you only do 2.76 times the damage.

To put this in another perspective(the Solaris method, i quite like his reasonings), lets say you kill 1000 exasaur young with opalo. It will cost you 121ped in ammo and decay, and take a minimum of 3 hours 20 minutes.

The justifier, on the other hand, for the same expenditure, will let you kill 661 exasaur young. You will do this with in 48 minutes.

In 48 min you can kill 661 exasaur with justifier and spend 121ped
In 48 min you can kill 239 exasaur with opalo and spend 29ped

Therefore, to 'justify' using the justifier, 422 exa young must give you 92ped in loot. Assuming even loots on the opalo/justifier, you will be at a deficit of 11.8ped every 48 minutes you shoot the justifier instead of opalo, or 14.75ped/hour.

[Gluepot]

Just from what I have seen, it's mainly the cost of the shots. The more you're spending per shot, the more skills you'll gain. It just doesn't always balance out enough....Like a fresh-off-boat new player using a DOA won't gain the maximum TT value of skills possible, because their skills are just too low....Bleh nevermind lol.

[Lloyd]

Well, I decided to use the Opalo and Auctioned the MK.II with some profits from how much i originally bought it =P

Once it gained the 6.5 Hit ability, is when it started to have a real difference to miss chances. Also on skill gains, it going smoothly, and for the "Kill Bonus" yes i noticed, i also noticed that there might be an "Exponential Skill Bonus" as seemingly, more I kill in a lapse of time, i gain skill faster and faster (Obviously capped at a certain speed of Skill gain). I tested it, I cannot be sure as it could be simply be luck related, should be tested over a few days to be sure. But well, following this theory i'm killing small mobs such as Daikiba (and gotten some nice loots as i'm progressing more).

So well, i should be ready to switch gun in 1 or 2 days. I'll continue to study and analys each gun, seeking what is more suitable for me.

For the handgun idea, i did had considered it, but as I intend to use rifles, it is more efficient to use only rifles, especially laser rifles.

[Indigo Wyrd]

I see a lot of "Use an A101", and while this is a grand idea, the price (largely due to hording) of an A101 is just plain gross. I haven't heard of anyone finding an A101, though Bercycled are supposed to drop them.

Personally, I gave up trying to find an A101 in favor of a much cheaper E-series amp. With Opalo, I still the +3 dmg for 1 extra burn, and the difference in dmg is enough to offset the extra burn.

If it takes me 12 unamped shots to kill something (24 ammo) or 7 amped shots (21 ammo) - I've saved 3 rounds. Sure, there's some decay on my amp - but I make a habit of not using it unless I really need to, and have yet needed to repair it.

And when I move on from my old Opalo to something better, I'll still have my E amp, and will get an even better dmg modifier for the same 1 extra burn - so it all works out pretty well.

Not that I wouldn't love an A101, but for the price - it's just not worth it in the long run.

~I