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Dont forget that EW Laser rifle has 2x bigger damage than SG rifle.
Dont make from SG snipers rifles second class snipers...I admit that EW are weak in PvP, but at least, they are more usable than non sniper small guns.
If you lower the protection of EW in major armors, what will be the difference between SG sniper and EW sniper? please, dont tell me that the PRICE. Because in PvP, there are no poor people, PvP is group of people who have time to craft their favourite weapons.
My suggestion is this. EW snipers should do bigger damages, but in every armor class, there should be 2 equal (by price) armours. One will little more reduce the EW, second will not. So SG snipers (and smallguners at all) will do more constant damage to this armors, but EW will do bigger damage to one kind of armor.
You can admit, that this is current system, but my answer is: look at current pvp, almost nobody use EW snipers, only because they are bad now.
Motto:
Benefits from player ingame wealth, plurality of resources, should mean that player has bigger variety of choices, not that he has possibility to get more powerfull gun (in all or major attributes).