Sooooo I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, or whether it should go in the Gameplay forum under the latest Gunner Skills and Balance thread. Oh well!
I had a couple of ideas for Gunner-type tools that could be used to increase the desirability of the class for higher levels of play. Most ships that I've seen take exactly one Gunner, and are usually able to do without better than without a Pilot or Engineer. That's bad, since this is a game with three classes and we should be wanting to fly with all three classes. I didn't want to add any ammo types- most ships are loaded out with a specific type in mind, which is then brought by all the Engineers. By adding non-ammo abilities, you make Gunners more valuable since they can bring those and ammo of their choosing. So!
Reinforced Frame (a.k.a. padded seating)
The Reinforced Frame is an activated ability along the lines of a Pilot's Impact Bumpers- basically, it appears in the menu when you hop in a gun and, when active, reduces the damage that gun takes. You'll only fire normal rounds when using it, and it could also slow how fast you can move the gun, but that's the trade for increased gun survival. Hwachafish bearing down on you? Pop the Reinforced Frame so you'll be alive to counterattack. Mercury sniping all your guns on the approach? The Frame will keep them together long enough to get in his face.
Emergency Repair Kit (a.k.a. roll of duct tape)
Guns do less damaged when they're...damaged. When hit, you need an Engineer to fix your gun (or hop off and do it yourself) or your damage output gets gimped. But, what if you could slap some quick "repairs" on their and just keep firing at full damage? The Emergency Repair Kit means that, no matter how hurt your gun is, you'll still deal damage as if you were at full strength.
Coolant System (a.k.a. bucket of water)
For a Gunner, fire kinda sucks. You almost certainly won't have an extinguisher to take care of it, and that periodic damage will sap away at your precious DPS. How about if you could make your gun immune to fire damage? Basically, when the Coolant System is active your gun can't be set on fire. It won't remove fire after the fact- you need too're likely to face Flamethrowers.
