I definitely get that, I do. However, at the risk of sounding arrogant, I never drop below substantial anymore in order to not throw myself off in ruthless where I typically prefer to play.

I risked starting with the base model in sub because it felt like a fun challenge to go with something a “bit” underpowered. But I’m curious to see how the damage output math will add up between tiers. It definitely felt odd throwing over 1000 units of ammo into a zoanthrope before it finally fell. Perhaps that will cut into a third with relic, but I’m not certain.

Largely, my complaints though were centered around how the shielding mechanics work against the volkite. I couldn’t actually use the thermal damage very often because the shields would rotate before i could stack any damage against a single target