In Star Citizen’s alpha 4.3.1 PTU, ballistic weapon damage was buffed by increasing the ship armor damage multiplier from 0.5 to 0.6, correcting an earlier mistaken nerf and resulting in higher damage penetration through armor and shields. This change, demonstrated through gameplay footage, enhances ballistic weapon effectiveness across most ships and vehicles, with some models having even higher multipliers and improved ammo speeds.
The video provides an update on the changes to ballistic weapon damage in Star Citizen’s alpha 4.3.1 PTU. Initially, the physical damage modifier for ship armor was reduced from 0.5 to 0.4, which led to the belief that ballistic weapons were nerfed. However, this was a mistake by the developers, and the latest PTU patch has corrected this by increasing the damage multiplier to 0.6, effectively buffing ballistic weapon damage rather than nerfing it.
The damage multiplier represents the percentage of ballistic damage that actually penetrates the ship’s armor or hull. For example, if a ballistic bullet deals 100 hit points of alpha damage, a multiplier of 0.6 means the ship takes 60 hit points after armor resistance. The video clarifies that the damage modifier shown on the ship page (e.g., physical minus 40%) represents the damage resistance, not the damage dealt, which can be confusing for some players.
Most ships now have their ballistic damage multiplier set to 0.6, an increase from the previous 0.5. There are exceptions with even higher multipliers, such as the Anvil Arrow at 0.65, the Cougar Merlin at 0.75, the Fury at 0.7, the Razor at 0.75, and the M50 Interceptor at 0.8. Ground vehicles and hover bikes also have a 0.6 multiplier, with no exceptions noted. This means ballistic weapons will do more damage across nearly all ships and vehicles in the game.
Shield damage resistance has not changed in this patch and remains at a physical absorption of 0.2, meaning shields absorb 20% of physical damage and allow 80% to bleed through to the hull. Combining this with the new armor multiplier, a 100 hit point ballistic shot would now do 48 hit points of damage to a ship with full shields, compared to only 33.6 hit points in the previous patch. This further confirms the overall buff to ballistic weapon effectiveness.
The video concludes with a practical demonstration of the buffed ballistic damage using footage from a skilled player named Emerald Worth. He tested a ballistic weapon with a muzzle velocity of 1,200 m/s and noted the increased damage output due to reduced armor and shield resistance. The video also mentions the Cougar Wolf’s ballistic weapon, which has an even higher ammo speed of 1,650 m/s, emphasizing the improved performance of ballistic weapons in the latest patch.