Weapon talent trees. Every weapon now has its own permanent tree in the Hangar’s Arsenal menu — paid for with a resource that only whoever flies that weapon can earn, and earned in whatever way suits how it’s played:
| Weapon | Resource | Earned by |
|---|---|---|
| Pulse Gun | Rail Dust | kills |
| Heavy Gun | Shard Cores | kills, plus every pellet that passes through an enemy |
| Ion Laser | Focusing Lens | seconds the beam holds on a target |
| Homing Missiles | Fuse Heads | missiles that hit |
| Drone Swarm | Swarm Chips | kills by the swarm |
| Snake Gun | Venom Glands | kills, including by decay |
Kills count by loot value: a fortress is worth six times as much as a swarmling. You’re credited continuously — whatever you’ve earned in a flight stays even if you quit. Every full ten shows briefly above the ship, and the total appears under “Arsenal” at the end of the flight.
Three branches per weapon, three ranks each (cost 15 / 35 / 70):
- Force: +5 % base damage per rank
- Tempo: +4 % fire rate per rank
- Signature, unique per weapon: Pulse Gun +1 pierce, Heavy Gun +10 % range, Ion Laser reaches full ramp-up 12 % sooner, Homing Missiles +15 % blast radius, Drone Swarm +10 % hunting speed, Snake Gun +1 decay stack
Talents apply from the first shot and raise the weapon’s floor — the element stones still build out the upgrade paths from level 5 onward. Fully built, that’s +15 % damage and +12 % fire rate, and no boon gets replaced by this.
Respeccing works any time, one rank at a time, and refunds 70 % — the remaining 30 % is the fee. Enough that the order stays a real decision, low enough that you’ll still experiment.
Measured: Force rank 1 raises the Pulse Gun’s single-target DPS from 14.2 to 15.0, Pierce rank 1 gives every pulse a pierce, and 30 fortress kills earn exactly 18 Rail Dust. The earn rates are a first pass and may still be tuned.