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[snacktime]

So the core game is 3d persistent world with an isometric view.  It plays a lot like a moba as you have several npc companions.

The combat is land and sea, ships are a big part of the game as are deployed weapons generally.  Environment is low/mid fantasy.  I have one type of magic in the world and it doesn't do direct damage, it's more of a thing for support roles and buffing.

Ranged combat is loosely what you would see in a medieval game with ships/cannons and lots of land based siege weapons.

Starting out I had the idea of keeping the types of ranged weapons simple and not using well known things like cannons and typical siege weapons.  Maybe some familiarity but the idea was have say 2 basic types in various sizes, and build out the depth of the ranged combat via the ammo. 

I still like the idea, it's just proving difficult to find the variety in gameplay I wanted using that approach.

Another approach that I kind of like is two distinct weapons types, one lobs projectiles, the other is more like a ballista it shoots in a straight line has smaller projectiles but much shorter range.  Currently I've set that up so the ballista type weapons are good at taking out items on a ship, like their weapons, while the lobbing weapon either does aoe damage to stuff on the ship and/or damage to the hull itself.  The design challenge I've had there is the ballista is too powerful, a smaller ship can just circle around a large one (relative velocity matters for accuracy) and take out all it's weapons.  But weakening the ballista too much makes it not really interesting.

So that's where I'm at.  I'd like to use the ammo based design if I can but having a hard time finding good ideas there.

Also worth noting the design for support roles.  I created a special metal in the game where it's energy can be channeled through crystals, and ships have things like crystal turrets that channel various effects.  No direct healing/damage, but fairly strong resistance buffs and then misc stuff like speed buff/debuff, affect local weather (fog for invisibility), etc..

[Peace Soft]

My first thought was a grapeshot type of ammo, like a giant medieval shotgun shell. Not concentrated enough to seriously threaten a big solid target, but it covers too big an area for the fast ships to avoid. That depends on how your damage is calculated though.

But I think a better answer might be to treat it as a tactical cohesion problem. In real sea (and air) battles, it's the big guys (bombers, battleships) who deliver the serious firepower, and the job of the small fast units (fighters, uhhh corsairs(?)) is to attack or defend the big ones. But then that gets into how your game is structured, how long-term the objectives are, how much tactical control you give the player, whether the crystal buffers can alter the other ships enough to change their strategic role, etc.

I don't understand mobas very much though. There might be a way more obvious solution than I realize. Either way, good luck!

E: oh also you could do turtle ships or ironclads, where the hull itself is protecting the crew and weapons but prevents the use of catapults (and stuff like crows nests, command towers etc if you got those)