Mechanic - Experimental weapon upgrade.

[Mvie]

Hello,

I'm a new player and I choose to play a mechanic with experimental weapon. I'm now level 3 and I want to upgrade to change my weapon with one of my level.

The problem is my goblin is relatively poor so I want to know if I go from an experimental weapon level 1 to level 3, does the upgraded weapon is free?
If I must buy a new one, can I build a new one and use the old prototype to reduce the cost?

[John Mangrum]

At 3rd level, you can swap out your experimental weapon for any weapon of item level 1 for free. Anything more powerful you have to pay for.

As you continue to level up, you can always swap out your experimental weapon for free for any weapon with an item level up to your mechanic level -2.

So, starting at 4th level, you can now swap in any item level 2 weapon.
At 5th level, item level 1-3 is free.
At 10th level, item level 1-8 is free.

Etc.

If you paid for a prototype weapon, I think you're stuck with selling it for 10% of its selling price when it comes to helping pay for an upgrade.

[Mvie]

Thanks.

The level -2 is important for Dommage or I can be 2 level late for the weapon?

[Belafon]

John Mangrum wrote:

At 3rd level, you can swap out your experimental weapon for any weapon of item level 1 for free. Anything more powerful you have to pay for.

As you continue to level up, you can always swap out your experimental weapon for free for any weapon with an item level up to your mechanic level -2.

So, starting at 4th level, you can now swap in any item level 2 weapon.
At 5th level, item level 1-3 is free.
At 10th level, item level 1-8 is free.

Etc.

If you paid for a prototype weapon, I think you're stuck with selling it for 10% of its selling price when it comes to helping pay for an upgrade.

Clarification (I think):

You don't get a higher-level weapon for "free."

Experimental Prototype wrote:

In addition, every time you gain a mechanic level, you can rebuild your experimental prototype with the same amount of work, allowing you to change the type of armor or weapon you chose as a basis for your experimental prototype (selecting an item of the same type with an item level no higher than the item level of your previous prototype).

Experimental Weapon wrote:

You begin play with one weapon with an item level of 1 for free, or you can buy any weapon normally and designated it as your weapon prototype.

Unless I'm missing something you don't get to upgrade to a higher-level weapon for free. If you start with an Azimuth laser rifle (a level 1 longarm) as your experimental prototype, then when you reach level 4 you can rebuild it as a hunting rifle (also a level 1 longarm) for free. But if I want it to be an Azimuth Serpent Laser (a level 2 longarm), you have to buy it first then designate it as your experimental prototype.

[John Mangrum]

But the general rule for experimental prototypes opens with:

Character Operations Manual wrote:

If your experimental prototype is ever destroyed or lost, you retain its schematics in your custom rig and can rebuild a version of it for free using your custom rig after 24 hours of uninterrupted work. This free version is of an item level no greater than your mechanic level – 2 (minimum 1st level).

[Belafon]

Right, that sentence is rather puzzling. It says you can “rebuild a version of it” but then goes on to put an item level limit. Taken together with the two quotes from my post above, the whole seems to read “you get a free item level 1 weapon, but if you want to change to a higher item level weapon you have to acquire it first then make it your experimental weapon. If your experimental weapon is ever destroyed you can rebuild it for free - as long as the weapon had an item level 2 or more levels below your mechanic level. If the weapon was mechanic level -1 or greater, you have to buy a new one.”

That doesn’t seem to make sense to me. Can’t fathom why that level limit would exist even if I’m reading the rest of it correctly. Rather than nitpicking at the language I’m going to make my next post a FAQ request.

[Belafon]

Experimental Prototype: Can I rebuild my experimental prototype into a higher item level weapon or armor for free?

The introduction to the experimental prototype alternate class feature says that if my prototype is ever lost or destroyed I can rebuild “a version of it” for free. The “free version” has to have an item level no greater than my mechanic level -2.

Does this mean that if my 4th-level mechanic loses his prototype weapon Azimuth Laser Rifle (Item Level 1) he can rebuild it as an Azimuth Serpent Laser (Item Level 2) for free?

What if he bought a Light Excavation Laser (Item Level 4) and modified it to be his experimental prototype and it was then destroyed? Does he get to rebuild anything for free?