Suggestion from Ranclast#5317
There needs to be some form of consistency between similar perks on different classes. Fighters currently get a 20% damage reduction when using off-class weapons. Given that, rangers should not receive a large damage bonus when using spear, which is an off-class weapon. They should either receive no bonus, or a damage nerf similar to the fighter's.
Fighter already gets access to the best melee weapons, so this penalty only really ends up mattering when a fighter equips a bow. There is little to no reason for a fighter to ever use a non-fighter melee weapon, as they already get spear, longsword, and arming sword, which are just better than other melee weapons. While the ability to use off-class weapons is convenient early on when players have little gear, after one or two extractions this is not really an issue, as fighter-specific weapons are easy to find.
Ranger is extremely potent at ranged combat, with a decent gear set 2 shotting fighters in full purple plate armor once geared up from across rooms, dealing as much damage as a 2-handed weapon from long range. Additionally, their triple shot and multi-shot skills were killing players extremely quickly in close quarters. It seems a bit odd to give them access to the strongest melee weapon in the game (spears) AND give them a damage bonus, despite it being an off-class weapon. This essentially removes any weakness the ranger has in melee combat, with no downside at all.
It does not make sense to give one class a massive penalty when using off-class weapons, while also giving another class massive bonuses for using an off-class weapon.
Votes
Opinion: +13
Upvotes: 35 61.40%
Downvotes: 22 38.59%