The New Jericho Archangel RL1 Heavy Rocket Launcher looks like the sort of weapon that was meant to have a blast radius for its rockets, but for some reason it doesn’t have any.
The weapons statline does not include a blast radius, and the weapon used in mission can sometimes damage more than one body part when one of its rockets hits a single enemy, but effects no enemies beyond that.
The ‘Advanced Rocket Technology’ research that unlocks the weapon has a text description saying that it represents a breakthrough in explosives technology and that it packs a huge punch even against larger pandoran creatures.
Yet the weapons statline just does not match with its research text description. The weapons statline as of the Derleth patch version of Phoenix Point is this:
Blast 70
Shred 15
single shot
Effective range 102
Action points 3
Ammo capacity 4
Hands to use 2
Weight 5
In order for the Archangel rocket launcher to better match the research description and allow it to be a genuinely useful but balanced weapon, I think the weapons statline should be similar to this:
Blast (90 or 100, more than Fury-2 mounted launcher in any case)
Shred (between 15 to 25)
single shot
Effective range 30 (The current weapons effective range of 102 is far too long for what seems to be an unguided rocket launcher, the AI guided Thor AML only has an effective range of 35)
Blast radius 3.5 or 4.5 (If the rocket launcher is somewhat inaccurate, it should balance out having a larger blast radius of 4.5)
Action points 3
Ammo capacity 4
Hands to use 2
Weight 5
A new Archangel statline resembling this one would better match the description of the weapon given in the research text. The Archangel would serve a niche as a net upgrade over the Phoenix Grenade Launcher.
This new statline would better reflect a rocket launcher that is loaded with rockets that contain a large payload of a very advanced high explosive compound. Per the research description of it being expensive, I think the weapon and its ammunition should also have a higher materials and tech cost than it currently does.
The Archangel seems like it should be a high damage, wide blast radius rocket launcher that is balanced by being expensive, reasonably inaccurate and late in the NJ tech tree. The Archangel as it currently exists, functions more like an underpowered pseudo-sniper rifle that does not fill a useful niche for the player.
I’ve been waiting for its statline to be updated, and the Archangel being underpowered has been noted before in posts made by others on Reddit, Canny and the Phoenix Point forum, but I just hope that the Archangel’s statline will be properly rebalanced sometime in one of the next few patches.
I think the Archangel’s design looks really beefy and cool, and that the Archangel RL1 will eventually become as powerful as it looks.
Has anyone managed to find a proper niche for it, or do you also think its stats need changing?