[2020] Kuva Bramma Changes: Explanation and Timeline.

Tenno -

If you’ve been plugged into the community discourse since the self damage changes, you’ll have seen a lot of discussions about the Kuva Bramma. 

What makes this formerly self-damaging weapon so much more dominant than the others?

It has quickly taken the place at the top of the usage charts - which is where it should be given its acquisition - but the degree of dominance (about 3 times more popular than anything else) is not something we feel is good for the primary weapon Arsenal options.

We are changing it so that:

- It has a smaller reserve ammo (15 to 5), and gains fewer arrows from ammo pickups - This is to encourage players to aim the bow deliberately at crowds of enemies and not fire it wildly everywhere
- Fewer cluster bombs are produced on impact (from 7 to 3) - Reduces the overwhelming AOE potential somewhat but also makes the Bramma less visually busy. Players have said that the many many explosions produced by Bramma are hard to see through.
- Increased cluster projectile radial attack size from 2.7m to 3.5m
- Reduced cluster projectile fall off from 100% to 50% - Fewer explosive fragments, but they cover more area and generally do more damage

We will be monitoring feedback after these changes go live to ensure we’ve struck a better balance of having a powerful weapon - but not one that overshadows everything else in the game to the detriment of your squadmates.

You will see these changes in Update 28: The Deadlock Protocol, and we can discuss feedback once they are in your hands.

Until then, Tenno! 

Just now, Casardis said:

Thank you for addressing the huge power spike that is the Bramma!

However, this doesn't change one important thing in regards to new player experience: Kuva Liches are accessed WAY too early in the game. As soon as you finish TWW, you can access it, which is as early as MR5. I've seen SO MANY low MR players that barely have 30 hours in the game, who probably got carried and bombrushed through the map to get to Sedna Junction, and then only focused on gaining Kuva weapons. They're running in lvl 100 Kuva lich missions with MK1 weapons, Taxion and a Kuva Bramma.

This huge power spike, even after Bramma nerf, will not change.

You need to address this by putting a much higher lock on Kuva Lich access, maybe tied to MR15 or something, because this is quite ridiculous. Note that MR on Kuva weapons does nothing, because they come prebuilt in the foundry which will ignore MR requirements.

We are doing a comprehensive review of this issue that players are raising to see what the next steps are.