New powered melee weapons.

[FyrnSkulblaka]

Something that has bothered me for a while is the fact that there is no higher tier close combat weapons. To fix this I'd suggest powerful glitter-world type weapons that you can't craft but you can find/trade them.

Why do I feel this is needed? Well, I've found that my melee fighters are just there to subdue enemy melee fighters whilst my marksman shoot them down. I hardly ever use them offensively and keep them in a line in front of my marksman. If not then I only ever use them in ambush tactics where the odds are entirely in my favor. We need something to strive for in terms of better melee options and to make highly trained melee fighters a viable option in head on battles (Especially against mechanoids)

How would they work? Well, what I'm thinking of is things like the power swords and axes from the Warhammer 40k universe. Electrified fields of energy lopping through limbs in one slice. That's basically the long and shortsword of it. (Sorry, I had to make that pun) overwhelming power.

What would the drawbacks be? Well, the obvious would be the power cost. You would need a charging workbench (Placed in the security section) which would draw immense amounts of power whilst in use. The uses of the weapon should be limited also, say, 10 uses? And then it would need recharging again. Other drawbacks would come in the form of not being able subdue enemies without causing severe harm (Like the sniper rifle) and the fact that it wouldn't cause bleeding damage (Because it would cauterize a wound like a lightsaber). It would also be fleetingly rare to find and very expensive to buy. There should also be a high skill limit to be able to use one, just like with training animals.

It would seem there are a lot of negatives that I'm putting to this weapon, however, I believe they are needed to have a realistic chance at having a weapon like this implemented.

[mumblemumble]

I disagree,  mainly on the premise that melee SHUTS DOWN ranged fighters.  And they attack faster,  and usually have a pretty high dps.

Melee fighters are viable,  you just have to plan very carefully for it.

I personally would hate a melee a melee weapon which hit like a mach truck,  unless of course it was balanced with a low swing rate / slower walk speed. Maybe a super sledge type deal.

[Limdood]

high quality plasteel longswords are already 2-3 hit kills...i mean like good+

once you hit masterwork/legendary, you've got a 1-2 hit kill weapon and that colonist is a force of his own.