Analytics of U32 Loadouts

I got some positive feedback about U31's Analytics post, so I decided to make it a tradition to make this kind of blog post every time a major patch comes out.

918 loadouts were either created or edited between Updates 32 and 33. That data set is almost double the size of what I used to make the last Analytics post, so I'm feeling much more confident in these results than last time. Because I know how insanely long this post is, I'm going to place my observations and conclusions up at the top of the blog post so that people who aren't interested in wading through all of the numbers can still read the interesting stuff without having to scroll ALL the way to the bottom.

Part 1: Observations and Conclusions

You know how the DRG subreddit will occasionally have those Strawpolls about which class is your favorite or which is the most popular, etc? Here's a different way to answer the age-old class popularity question: user-submitted loadouts! Of all the loadouts submitted for U32, Driller loadouts were ~30%, Engineer and Gunner loadouts were both ~25%, and Scout loadouts were ~20%.

It seems like the Primary Weapon slots are pretty well balanced in terms of pickrate across all four classes, but Secondary Weapons seem to have one option picked 60% of the time. EPC, Grenade Launcher, Revolver, and Boomstick were the more popular choices for U32.

One of the perks of getting a much larger data set for these statistics is that there are no Mods or Overclocks that didn't appear in at least one loadout. Granted, a few of them did appear in exactly one loadout, but there aren't any that have a 0% pickrate this time around. The flipside of having this much data means that if a Mod is getting picked over 70% of the time, then there can be no doubt that either its competing options need to be buffed or it needs to be nerfed.

The weapon balance changes added in U32 were hit-and-miss at balancing pickrates. Fixing the Armor Breaking mods, "Explosive Reload", "Embedded Detonators", "AI Stability Engine", and the Breach Cutter changes all had a pretty positive effect overall. On the other hand, Hyper Propellant's damage buff and Cryo Cannon's ammo buff had some negative results. I won't lie, I feel a little vindicated to see that my opinions from U32XP about Hyper Propellant getting too much damage and Cryo Cannon not needing as much of an ammo buff now have some data to support them. Back in October when U32 came out, I was worried that giving Hyper Propellant so much single-target damage would make it overpicked, and it would just be exchanging U31's Breach Cutter meta for a HP meta in U32. Sure enough, Engineer's Grenade Launcher now has extremely unhealthy pickrates for Tiers 1, 2, 3, 5 as well as HP getting significantly overpicked for the Overclock slot. As for the Cryo Cannon, I tried to raise the point that Cryo Cannon's balance issues are tied to the Frozen status effect and how it's a "force multiplier" mechanic, so giving it as much ammo as U32 did would just make a weapon that was already strong in "Highlander" teams (one of each class) even stronger. Some of the Cryo Cannon OCs did see a little better pickrate variety, but the mods largely remained the same and Perfectly Tuned Cooler continues to dominate pickrates at an unhealthy amount. In particular, both T2.A and T4.C extra ammo mods are still overpicked on Cryo Cannon which just goes to show that more ammo didn't fix the underlying mechanic balance issues of the weapon, but rather bandaided over one of the symptoms: low max damage. Hopefully in the next balance pass (either U34 or U35) HP will get a small damage nerf and Cryo Cannon will get a bit of a rework to make it a viable primary weapon whether your team synergizes with Frozen enemies or not.

In general, it seems like during U32 more and more weapons have become dominated by one "meta" build with only a few variations... EPC, Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, Minigun, GK2, and M1000 stand out as having the least pickrate variety. EPC's pickrate imbalances are directly tied to T5.B "Thin Containment Field" and Grenade Launcher's pickrates are tied to OC "Hyper Propellant" (like I mentioned in the previous paragraph). Shotgun, Minigun, GK2, and M1000 all have a couple combinations of mods and then you can pick one of the popular Overclocks. With no balance changes being made in U33 (yet), I'm a little worried that the meta will stagnate even further while we wait for U34. In case you haven't read it already, I wrote an extremely long document about suggested weapon balance changes to make as many builds viable as possible and make the weapons easier to balance. I'm hopeful that in either U34 or U35 we get a massive weapon balance patch that will shake things up and let users have fun trying out new builds again.

Although it seemed like a very minor change, one of the most intersting mechanical changes from U32 was that they fixed Armor Breaking mods. Before U32, any Direct Damage that broke a Light Armor plate would still be reduced, and any Direct Damage that broke a Heavy Armor plate would be lost entirely. What they fixed is that Armor Breaking mods (when equipped on a weapon) let the Direct Damage that breaks any Armor plate pass through instead of being reduced or mitigated. That was a crucial first step in buffing the Armor Breaking mods into future viability. U33 just took the next step on that path: adding the Mactera Brundle. For anyone who isn't aware, the new Mactera Brundle enemy has a 3x Weakpoint on its belly just like a regular Mactera Spawn, but it has Heavy Armor that entirely covers the Weakpoint until they get broken. Unlike Glyphid Guards or Q'ronar Shellbacks that will open up and expose their Weakpoint occasionally while walking, the only way to hit a Brundle's Weakpoint is to break its Heavy Armor. I've done the math, and in the vast majority of weapon builds that have a choice between either an Armor Breaking mod or a Weakpoint mod, you'll save more ammo vs a Brundle by taking the Armor Breaking. I'm hopeful that as DRG continues to receive more updates, more and more common enemies like the Mactera Brundle will be added which will make Armor Breaking mods continue to increase in value.

The last thing I'm going to touch on for this blog post is EPC T5.B "Thin Containment Field". Right now it has a 72.37% pickrate, but the bigger issue is that Thin Containment Field ("TCF") has changed EPC from a hybrid secondary weapon for the Driller into a minigame. No longer is it seen as a cool concept weapon that can instantly switch between single-target DPS or a large burst of AoE damage; now its only purpose for being equipped is to "charge up a shot and time the detonation". Players who talk about playing Driller will tell you to equip EPC, and treat it as if TCF is the only mod that can be equipped at Tier 5. It's starting to feel like Thin Containment Field is just as synonymous with playing Driller as teamkilling with Satchel Charges. TCF does more damage in combat, allows you to carve terrain and mine minerals at any distance, and on top of all that it even comes with bonuses for Regular Shots and Charged Shots too. Setting aside the absurd amount of damage that TCF can do, my bone to pick goes even deeper: by letting Driller gather minerals up high, it has created a situation where teams can easily complete missions without even needing Scout to grapple up to Engineer's platforms to mine them slowly with a pickaxe. I see this as a very negative effect of Thin Containment Field, because removing the need for a class to have optimal team composition disincentivizes playing that class at all. Scout is already balanced to have less "wave clear" capabilities and less total damage than the other three classes in combat to offset his hyper-mobility, his Grapple Hook only benefits himself, his grenades are powerful utilities but do no damage, and his Flaregun is convenient but not always necessary for veteran players. Why have a weak-in-combat class on your team when you could get a second Driller, Engineer, or Gunner and still maintain the mineral income? In my opinion, TCF is in need of a pretty major nerf in order to maintain the inter-class balance that DRG uses. Yes, I'm aware of the negative backlash that nerfing TCF would generate -- just look at the complaints already rolling in after only one day of changing the visuals of its implosion without even touching its stats! Despite knowing it's an unpopular idea, I still think nerfing Thin Containment Field is the right thing to do.

Part 2: Weapon popularity per class

• Driller (269 primary weapon builds, 245 secondary)
  • Flamethrower 46.84%
  • Cryo Cannon 53.16%
  • Subata 37.14%
  • EPC 62.86%
• Engineer (208 primary weapon builds, 208 secondary)
  • Shotgun 53.85%
  • SMG 46.15%
  • Grenade Launcher 58.65%
  • Breach Cutter 41.35%
• Gunner (224 primary weapon builds, 204 secondary)
  • Minigun 56.25%
  • Autocannon 43.75%
  • Revolver 58.33%
  • BRT 41.67%
• Scout (176 primary weapon builds, 167 secondary)
  • GK2 51.7%
  • M1000 48.3%
  • Boomstick 64.07%
  • Zhukovs 35.93%

Part 3: Most popular build per weapon

This section is just aggregating most popular mods and overclock for each weapon into one "build". Don't misinterpret this as "the same build that was submitted the most number of times from many users", although I'm sure that played a factor in the cases of EPC and Grenade Launcher.

• Driller
  • Flamethrower BABCB + Lighter Tanks
  • Cryo Cannon CABCB + Perfectly Tuned Cooler
  • Subata BACAA + Oversized Magazine
  • EPC BBBBB + Heat Pipe
• Engineer
  • Shotgun ABCBB + Mini Shells
  • SMG ABBBA + EM Refire Booster
  • Grenade Launcher BABBB + Hyper Propellant
  • Breach Cutter AAABB + Stronger Plasma Current
• Gunner
  • Minigun CBCAB + Lead Storm
  • Autocannon CCABA + Carpet Bomber
  • Revolver BACBB + Six Shooter
  • BRT ACBCA + Lead Spray
• Scout
  • GK2 BBCAC + Bullets of Mercy
  • M1000 BAABA + Minimal Clips
  • Boomstick BBCAC + Special Powder
  • Zhukovs ACBCA + Minimal Magazines

Part 4: Overpicked mods and OCs

In order for a Mod or Overclock to qualify as "Overpicked", it had to be selected at least 1.5 times more often than it would be if every mod/OC at that tier was picked equally. To phrase it another way: if there are two mods, then for a balanced pickrate each one should be picked around 50% of the time. In order for one of those two to qualify as Overpicked, it would have to have a pickrate of 1.5 * 50% = 75% or higher. Tiers with 3 mods need a 50% pickrate, 5 Overclocks would need 30%, 6 Overclocks 25%, and 7 Overclocks would need a 21.43% or higher pickrate.

60 Overpicked, 302 total Mods and Overclocks

• Flamethrower
  • T2.A "Unfiltered Fuel"
  • T4.C "More Fuel"
  • OC "Lighter Tanks"
  • OC "Sticky Fuel"
• Cryo Cannon
  • T2.A "Larger Reserve Tank"
  • T4.C "Larger Reserve Tank"
  • OC "Perfectly Tuned Cooler"
• Subata
  • T1.B "High Capacity Magazine"
• EPC
  • T1.B "Larger Battery"
  • T2.B "Overcharged Plasma Accelerator"
  • T4.B "High Density Battery"
  • T5.B "Thin Containment Field"
  • OC "Heat Pipe"
  • OC "Heavy Hitter"
• Shotgun
  • T2.B "Loaded Shells"
  • T3.C "High Capacity Magazine"
  • T4.B "Bigger Pellets"
• SMG
  • T2.B "Recoil Compensator"
  • OC "EM Refire Booster"
• Grenade Launcher
  • T1.B "Expanded Ammo Bags"
  • T2.A "Extra Ammo"
  • T3.B "Pressure Wave"
  • T4.B "Nails + Tape"
  • T5.B "Spiky Grenade"
  • OC "Hyper Propellant"
• Breach Cutter
  • T2.A "Expanded Ammo Bags"
  • T3.A "Quick Deploy"
  • OC "Stronger Plasma Current"
• Minigun
  • T1.C "Improved Platform Stability"
  • T3.C "Blowthrough Rounds"
  • T4.A "Variable Chamber Pressure"
  • T5.B "Cold as the Grave"
  • OC "Burning Hell"
  • OC "Lead Storm"
• Autocannon
  • T1.C "Expanded Ammo Bags"
  • T2.C "Lighter Barrel Assembly"
  • T5.A "Feedback Loop"
  • OC "Carpet Bomber"
• Revolver
  • T3.C "Hollow-Point Bullets"
  • OC "Six Shooter"
• BRT
  • T2.C "Disabled Safety"
  • T4.C "Hollow-Point Bullets"
  • OC "Composite Casings"
  • OC "Lead Spray"
• GK2
  • T1.B "Supercharged Feed Mechanism"
  • T3.C "High Capacity Magazine"
  • T4.A "Hollow-Point Bullets"
  • T5.C "Stun"
  • OC "Bullets of Mercy"
  • OC "AI Stability Engine"
• M1000
  • T4.B "Hollow-Point Bullets"
  • T5.A "Hitting Where it Hurts"
  • OC "Minimal Clips"
  • OC "Electrocuting Focus Shots"
• Boomstick
  • T3.C "High Capacity Shells"
  • T4.A "Super Blowthrough Rounds"
  • T5.C "White Phosphorus Shells"
  • OC "Special Powder"
• Zhukovs
  • T4.C "Expanded Ammo Bags"
  • OC "Minimal Magazines"

Part 5: Underpicked mods and OCs

Conversely, for a Mod or Overclock to be considered "Underpicked", it had to be selected at least 0.5 times less often than it would be if every mod/OC at that tier was picked equally. 2 mods would need a pickrate of 25% or less, 3 mods 16.67%, 5 Overclocks 10%, 6 Overclocks 8.33%, and 7 Overclocks would need a pickrate of 7.14% or less. In my opinion, a well-balanced system would have pickrates between 80-120% of a perfect distribution for each option in a tier.

68 Underpicked, 302 total

• Flamethrower
  • T2.B "Triple Filtered Fuel"
  • T4.B "Sticky Flame Duration"
  • OC "Sticky Additive"
• Cryo Cannon
  • T1.A "Larger Pressure Chamber"
  • T2.C "Bypassed Integrity Check"
  • OC "Improved Thermal Efficiency"
  • OC "Flow Rate Expansion"
• Subata
  • OC "Tranquilizer Rounds"
• EPC
  • T1.C "Higher Charged Plasma Energy"
  • T2.C "Reactive Shockwave"
  • T4.A "Heat Shield"
  • T5.A "Flying Nightmare"
  • OC "Magnetic Cooling Unit"
  • OC "Overcharger"
  • OC "Persistent Plasma"
• Shotgun
  • T2.C "Choke"
  • T4.A "Tungsten Coated Buckshot"
• SMG
  • T1.C "Expanded Ammo Bags"
  • OC "Turret Arc"
• Grenade Launcher
  • T1.A "Fragmentary Shell"
  • T1.C "HE Compound"
  • T2.B "Larger Payload"
  • T2.C "High Velocity Grenades"
  • T3.A "Incendiary Compound"
  • T5.A "Proximity Trigger"
  • OC "Compact Rounds"
  • OC "RJ250 Compound"
• Breach Cutter
  • T3.B "Improved Case Ejector"
  • T5.A "Explosive Goodbye"
  • OC "Roll Control"
  • OC "Inferno"
• Minigun
  • T1.A "Magnetic Refrigeration"
  • T3.B "Stun Duration"
  • T4.C "Magnetic Bearings"
  • T5.A "Aggressive Venting"
• Autocannon
  • T2.A "Tighter Barrel Alignment"
  • T5.C "Damage Resistance at Full RoF"
  • OC "Composite Drums"
  • OC "Splintering Shells"
• Revolver
  • T2.B "Floating Barrel"
  • T3.A "Super Blowthrough Rounds"
  • OC "Homebrew Powder"
  • OC "Chain Hit"
• BRT
  • T1.C "Blowthrough Rounds"
  • T2.B "Quickfire Ejector"
  • T4.A "Hardened Rounds"
  • OC "Full Chamber Seal"
  • OC "Experimental Rounds"
  • OC "Micro Flechettes"
• GK2
  • T1.A "Gyro Stabilisation"
  • T3.A "Floating Barrel"
  • T4.B "Hardened Rounds"
  • T4.C "Improved Gas System"
  • T5.A "Battle Frenzy"
  • T5.B "Battle Cool"
  • OC "Homebrew Powder"
  • OC "Overclocked Firing Mechanism"
  • OC "Electrifying Reload"
• M1000
  • T4.C "Hardened Rounds"
  • T5.B "Precision Terror"
  • OC "Hipster"
• Boomstick
  • T3.A "Stun Duration"
  • T4.B "Tungsten Coated Buckshot"
  • T5.A "Auto Reload"
  • OC "Double Barrel"
  • OC "Shaped Shells"
• Zhukovs
  • OC "Custom Casings"
  • OC "Gas Recycling"

Part 6: Raw data