[UA] Re: Mathematics of focus shifts

[Donald]

Depends on what you mean by a bad idea.

Say I have a 20% firearm skill and my opponent has a 10% firearm skill. On average I am dealing 2.1 damage per shot to him and he is dealing 0.55 damage to me per shot. With a 10% focus shift my average damage to him leaps to 4.65 damage per shot and his average damage to me leaps to 2.1 damage per shot. Yes, I end up taking more damage but I also end up dealing more damage--in this case I gain more damage than he does. Moreover, there is the issue of who fires first. . .sure I may be giving him a better chance to deal damage to me, but he has to be able to take his shot, something that isn't so guaranteed if I hit first for big damage.

My gut reaction is that the person with superior skill ends up being much nastier for focus shifting than any gain his opponent sees.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Nikodemus Siivola <nikodemus at random-state.net>
>
>Despite the subject I haven't done any real math on the subject, just
>run a few simulations.
>
>However, it turns out the focus shift is _always_ a bad idea unless
>
>  your skill is lower then the other guy's AND
>  you have a gun or a melee weapon with +6 damage bonus or greater.
>
>(Or my simulations are flawed, of course. No claims to omniscience
>here.)
>
>I'm not sure what to think of these results yet. OTOH, I kind of like
>the fact that superior skill should not try to outdo itself -- desperate
>acts make sense only to the underdog. ...OTOH, I really don't like the
>negative effect of focus shifts when fighting barehanded or with a +3
>melee weapon.
>
>Just thinking out loud.
>
>Cheers,
>
>   -- Nikodemus