| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I was looking at the drone chassis in the CRB and was pretty disappointed in how low the STR and DEX scores were for most of the chassis. Specifically, the COMBAT chassis has what seems like an absurdly low score of 12 DEX.
I compared that stat with the ACs for the races in Starfinder: First Contact and discovered that a ranged combat drone has roughly a 50% chance of succeeding at a standard action attack assuming its level was even with the creature's CR. Taking a full attack with the drone dropped the chance of succeeding down to 30% or less.
I then compared the flight chassis' DEX-based attack to these same ACs (since, for some reason, it has a higher attack stat than the combat chassis) and learned it wasn't much better. Basically a 60% chance of success on a standard action attack, down to 40% or less for a full attack.
My method:
For each race in Starfinder: First Contact I assumed the mechanic's (and thus the drone's) level were equal to the CR of the enemy (or was 1 in the case of enemies with fractional CRs). I assumed the drone had Starfinder's version of weapon focus, and when facing CR 11 or higher enemies I assumed the drone received a +1 to attack rolls from Coordinated Assault. I took into account the ability score increases from the drone advancement chart as well. I assumed the drone only attacked with one weapon each round, though in the case of full attacks it used that weapon multiple times. I will admit that there weren't enough creatures in First Contact for this to be conclusive, but the trend was difficult to ignore.
My conclusion:
It seems like most classes have roughly a 50% chance to hit against CR appropriate enemies when making a full attack. I assume the drone's chance to hit is so low because the mechanic can still technically shoot with a full attack. I find this disappointing as I had hoped to make the drone the primary damage dealer of the two. I also think it's silly that the flight chassis is better at attacking than the combat chassis.
I don't really have a solution since I'm only guessing at the reason this was done. I think the flight drone is probably in an okay place if you assume its damage is only meant to supplement the mechanic himself, who should be the primary damage dealer. I think the combat chassis needs to have both STR and DEX increased by 2 (or maybe the option to assign a 16 to one of the two and a 12 to the other). As it is, the combat chassis is the worst ranged chassis of the three, though it is admittedly better at melee than the others. I think the stealth chassis is probably okay since it seems the intention is to balance its damage with its utility, but even still I think it would benefit from a 16 in at least one attack attribute.
Honestly, even if the combat drone just had 14 dex, that would be more workable. Their 14 strength is necessary for heavy weapons, but I don't feel like mine will be hitting often. Still going to be my primary damage, though. It fits my story; hopefully the GM will be able to balance for the rest of the party without making my drone completely useless.