Part and weapon balance worksheet
Use one worksheet per proposed item or upgrade. Reference the post-adoption measurements for examples of context-dependent value. The worksheet supports a design decision; it does not assign a universal power score.
Identity and intended tradeoff
| Field | Fill in |
|---|---|
| Item and revision | ID, manufacturer, revision, catalog/source hash |
| Role | One sentence describing what this item should do well |
| Best context | Target, distance, terrain, pilot or team setup that rewards the role |
| Intended weakness | A useful capability it gives up or a counter-strategy that should work |
| Reference | Closest legal alternative and why this comparison matters |
| Current price | Weight, arm capacity use, hands/slots, ammunition Weight and limits |
| Additional costs | Heat, Quick/Full action use, setup, support, exposure or positioning |
| Scope | Which chassis, pilots, maps and mission types the conclusion covers |
A role statement such as “better damage” is incomplete. Prefer “more reliable chip damage against evasive targets, with less penetration and weaker damage into armor.” Establish the role and drawback before selecting favorable test results.
Measure the complete package
| Axis | Record | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | Hit chance, chance the entire action deals no body damage, variance | Counting accuracy already at the natural-1 ceiling as equal to unsaturated accuracy |
| Offense | Actual body damage, part disables, enemy kills, overflow and critical effects | Pricing +1 damage per projectile as if it were +1 per action |
| Melee control | Initial usable dice, strike/parry consumption, first-spend order, exchange outcomes | Spending the same theoretical die on both offense and defense |
| Heat and tempo | Stress, self-damage, Vent actions, attacks enabled or prevented | Treating a free spare action as worthless or assuming every saved Vent becomes another Fire |
| Mobility and range | Legal single-action routes, affordable vertical edges, shots/objectives enabled, exposed approach | Pooling separate Move/Boost allowances or treating every point of range as useful immediately |
| Survival | Armor, durability, hit-location exposure, disable effects and defensive resources | Ignoring a fragile arm carrying an otherwise powerful weapon |
| Team utility | Lock setup/success, free actions, reactions, allied benefits, ability conditions | Pricing only the item holder's direct damage |
| Build constraints | Whole-build legality, spare individual cap, arm capacity, occupied hands and alternate equipment lost | Treating spare team Weight as available on every mech |
Pilot stats and arm Handling can affect several axes at once. A Piloting increase can alter pool size, success chance, first-spend order and Evasion; the value depends on the starting stat. Evaluate those thresholds explicitly.
Threshold and package record
Record the values immediately before and after each claimed breakpoint. Use the complete legal package in the package columns.
| Threshold | Before | After | Other effects that change | Strongest legal package | Closest legal alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy ceiling | Fill in | Fill in | Cover, movement and support | Weapon, arm and pilot | Fill in |
| Pen versus Armor | Fill in | Fill in | Glances, criticals and finite Durability | Weapon, ammunition and support | Fill in |
| Piloting pool or first-spend order | Fill in | Fill in | Hit chance and Evasion | Pilot, both arms and both weapons | Fill in |
| Movement access | Fill in | Fill in | Reachable zones, firing positions and exposure | Body, legs, pilot and map | Fill in |
| Mounting or Weight limit | Fill in | Fill in | Lost hand, slot, ammunition or team option | Complete mech and roster | Fill in |
Use the correct modifier unit. Write “+1 Handling on the right arm” when one arm changes. Write “+1 pool die on each held weapon” when both weapons change.
Minimum comparison matrix
Use the same opponent, seed, position and pilot for each paired substitution where possible. Retain all declared cells, including unfavorable or null effects.
- Targets: evasive/light, general-purpose, armored, shielded and already damaged. Include the expected counter-build.
- Position: clear, soft and hard cover; a moving attacker; the edge of useful range; threatened melee contact where relevant.
- State: fresh, warm and near the Heat limit; damaged carrying arm/legs; active and inactive support effects.
- Configurations: legal alternative arms, ordinary/Jump legs, relevant pilot breakpoints, standard/ammunition/Overdrive profiles and two-handed competition where applicable.
- Time: one action, a declared sustained sequence, and complete games with both physical ends and both first sides. Distinguish passive targets from active opponents.
Choose a finite matrix appropriate to the item's role. Document omitted interactions. A first-pass screen need not test every possible build, but it cannot claim coverage it does not have.
Comparison record
| Context | Legal reference → candidate | Outcome and unit | Before | After | Paired change / interval | Cost or drawback observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: armored target in hard cover | Fill in actual complete builds | Body damage per Quick Fire | — | — | — | Extra Heat or lost off-hand equipment |
Attach raw rows, source/configuration hashes, exact commands and seed ranges. Count shared seed blocks as the uncertainty units. Record no-kill horizons separately from shooter death and do not substitute a survivor-only time-to-kill average.
Decision
Choose one: retain, adjust a specific attribute/cost, restrict a demonstrated interaction, or collect a named missing measurement. State the evidence and the intended tradeoff in two or three sentences.
Before accepting a price, confirm:
- The item has a useful role and an observed drawback.
- A claimed dominance comparison includes relevant categorical abilities and constraints.
- Its strongest legal package has been tested, not only a convenient default kit.
- Its value remains understandable across the declared maps, targets and strategies.
- Game evidence includes both sides at the aggression grid's equilibrium and an even mirror.
- Bounded human playtests check counterplay and usability. They do not replace the equilibrium and mirror checks.
- The result is labeled as an isolated estimate, a bot-policy result or human playtest evidence as appropriate.
Keep the previous revision and tests. When the catalog grows, replay this matrix to find whether a new item makes the old item's role or drawback disappear.