[Triskavanski]

I find a lot of quirky humor in the corporations and their weapons... I had someone question my Technomancer "The Red Queen" because they didn't believe anyone would even care about the lewis carol books in this age.. and now there is a weapon there called "The Queen of Hearts"

[firebug]

The martial arts section is pretty huge...  And the called shots and other combat options are awesome.

Sadly, they also finally stated how much repairing drones costs...  10% per box of damage.  Ugh.  The idea of having to pay 2,500¥ for every box of damage done to your Steel Lynx frightens me.  Even just 400¥ for the lower ones sucks, because they're gonna take that much more damage.  I mean, gimme a break.  I'd already be trying to not just immediately lose a Doberman to three shots with it's 4 BOD and 4 Armor.  They really do just hate the idea of combat drones in this edition I think...  At this point I can't even see corps using them as guards anymore, it's just not cost effective, and honestly probably cheaper to pay for a hospital stay for a metahuman guard than it is to repair a broken drone or constantly buy new ones.  Actually...  Assuming someone is rolling 6 dice (which is a bit low for guards), it would honestly probably be cheaper, regardless of if it's 500 a day or 1000 a day (from which they may heal nearly twice as fast), to pay for a guard to be in a hospital than it would be to get a new drone.

That is dumb.  :|

[Sendaz]

Heh,

If CanRay hated tasers stunning over and over, he better hope they never implement  the called shot effects on specific body parts for SRR because a mob of hobos doing this will ruin your day.

Eye Gouging, Kneecapping, Ear Clap, Monkey reaching for Peaches (hitting below the belt), Slitting Throats ... now this is good old fashioned dirty fighting.


@Firebug Keep an eye out for the magic splat book...  Street Magic used to have a spell for repairing devices and if it carries over a Mage Mechanic may be your new best buddy for maintaining your drones   Granted they do have to overcome OR, but every bit helps.  Also there was another spell to reinforce a device (basically armor spell for drones without the neon glow) so that may have uses as well.

[Michael Chandra]

Sadly, they also finally stated how much repairing drones costs...  10% per box of damage.  Ugh.

Seriously? More fragile drones should translate to 10x as much repair costs all of a sudden? What the hell. Wonder how long it will take for my girlfriend to just make a new Missions character, since such massive repair costs prove they hate Riggers rather than just be careless with them. You don't see a street samurai lose an entire run's payment on a medical bill.

[Oski]

Hard copy version comes out in a month, correct?  I really prefer having bound books, and I plan to wait (with great anticipation) til the hard copy release.

[Dinendae]

The martial arts section is pretty huge...  And the called shots and other combat options are awesome.

Sadly, they also finally stated how much repairing drones costs...  10% per box of damage.  Ugh.  The idea of having to pay 2,500¥ for every box of damage done to your Steel Lynx frightens me.  Even just 400¥ for the lower ones sucks, because they're gonna take that much more damage.  I mean, gimme a break.  I'd already be trying to not just immediately lose a Doberman to three shots with it's 4 BOD and 4 Armor.  They really do just hate the idea of combat drones in this edition I think...  At this point I can't even see corps using them as guards anymore, it's just not cost effective, and honestly probably cheaper to pay for a hospital stay for a metahuman guard than it is to repair a broken drone or constantly buy new ones.  Actually...  Assuming someone is rolling 6 dice (which is a bit low for guards), it would honestly probably be cheaper, regardless of if it's 500 a day or 1000 a day (from which they may heal nearly twice as fast), to pay for a guard to be in a hospital than it would be to get a new drone.

That is dumb.  :|

Are the martial arts optional rules this time around? That sucks about the drone repair costs; there goes my idea of having my decker branch out into that area at all.

[Michael Chandra]

Dunno when there will be a hard copy version, not sure if anyone knows. The only month-term that was mentioned was regarding Missions rules.

The Pre-Order page of the bundles doesn't have any release date either: http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=cat27003&x=-1020&y=-1238

[Kincaid]

Very early impressions

The Good
1) The recoil errata had a lot of people complaining, myself included.  The new shooting options help smooth some of my ruffled feathers, although I'm still concerned that the 6-round FA burst will become the option of choice.
2) Guns!  Useful guns!  The HK Urban Combat appears (In English!)
3) The martial arts section is very extensive.  I haven't picked through it yet to see if there's something terrible and broken in there, but it should really help shape common archetypes.
4) Some interesting new Positive Qualities.
5) The dedication to Tinner.
6) It's fun to read.  For a gear book, this is a huge plus.

The Bad
1) That's a lot of page count spent on rules for runs in outer space.  They happen, but they aren't exactly common.
2) No gun mods ala Arsenal.  I really miss my undetectable pistol!  The return of the Puzzler is nice, but still...
3) My own little pet peeve: No Ruger Thunderbolt or Colt Manhunter.     I love those guns and was really hoping to see at least one in R&G.  The Guardian makes a comeback, but its BF shot is still a Complex Action.  In an edition in which any SA gun can fire in BF as a Complex Action, the usefulness of this feature is really limited.
4) The internal/integral accessory issue with weapons isn't entirely resolved.  There's further evidence that the writers use them to mean the same thing (so weapons that come with various add-ons have those slots filled), but nothing clearly laid out.
5) Skinlink appears on a chart, but there are no rules for it in the write-up section.
6) One of the examples has someone using Dodge to avoid a bullet.

Neither good nor bad:
1) Holy hell, did Shock Gloves get nerfed!
2) My decker is going to be the most brand-loyal runner you've ever met.

[AJCarrington]

(emergency landings for not having enough fuel or engines catching on fire not withstanding!).

Come on, you're taking all the fun out of travel...

[grimjaws]

I'm really looking forward to the hardcopy coming out. I moved to a new part of the country so I think I'll check out how responsive the LGS will be to ordering something specific.

[SlowDeck]

I'm going to be honest and say I really think the space stuff should have been saved for a later book. Mainly, all of that information on space really could benefit from far more content, specifically of the kind that comes from a book dedicated to expanding it.

Also, I do think this book had not enough weapons or armor. It could have used more of both for the general runner.

That said, the repair issue this book brings up creates a feeling that the next two books need to be dedicated to rigging and magic. Magic to include spells focused on repair and rigging to include more drones, vehicles, modifications for both, and potential repair options.

I also hope there will be a later book on customizing that includes far greater customization options for weapons. And also, potentially, even for spells, cyberdecks, vehicles, drones, cyberware, and bioware. Perhaps bring back genetic enhancements in that book too. That would make it a very, very useful resource and easy enough to ignore if you don't want those options.

[CanRay]

Ash Arms Combat Chainsaw?!?  Really?!?  Have you guys no shame?     ROFL

No, we don't.

No weapon modifications... But at least there's an Interrupt Action against grenades. Also, Terracotta Arms AM-47.

Look at the items starting on page 50.

[Mauler]

I am really curious about this edition's rules for high velocity weapons. Downloading....

[jim1701]

Anyone notice the availability of the Thunderstruck Gauss Rifle is now 12R.     Granted it is still 26 thousand but still the heaviest weapon available at chargen. 

[Dinendae]

Anyone notice the availability of the Thunderstruck Gauss Rifle is now 12R.     Granted it is still 26 thousand but still the heaviest weapon available at chargen.

Someone mentioned in the Errata thread for it that it is 12 on one page, and 24 on another.