Very clearly, something is wrong with the damage types and derived skills analysis on Troopers (and other bots) presented on this wiki. As anyone who hunts them knows, at close quarters, Troopers do not shoot, but strike. At close quarters, you do not get Dodge skills, you get Evade skills. This can only mean Close attack, and not Firearms or Ranged attack, while at close quarters. In further support of this proposition, MA have obviously gone to great lengths to implement extremely graphic animations of Troopers, and other bots, including Warriors, Legionnaires, Drokas, and Drones engaging in violent arm-swinging actions, at close quarters, as they attempt to strike the player. It is a long bow to draw to suggest this is nothing but an attempt by MA to mislead players. That seems to be a nonsensical suggestion. There is no doubt, these bots abandon Ranged attack at close quarters, and engage in Close attack.


At this stage, I can only say that further intuitive or anecdotal evidence, in vast quantity over many years, arises from the massive damage of which larger Troopers and others can manage, despite extremely high protection against ranged attack. I have yet to do a measured study. As experienced players know, it is usually the case that building up defence for one type of attack usually means neglecting another type - most generally, Firearms Vs Close Vs Special. In equipping for Firearms attack, players frequently neglect Close attack, the chief form of which, of course, is Impact. It is no accident, may one suggest, that a well-known and classic anti-bot armour favoured by many at lower to intermediate levels of play is Vigilante. This armor is clearly intended for use against Firearm attacks, and not just because of the strong Penetration and Burn. Vigilante Adjusted provides a 20% positive modifier to Dodge when the full set is worn, but not to Evade. Yet this armour also has notoriously low Impact protection. It is true to say that if it didn't, it would be too good an all-purpose armor solving every mainstream defensive problem a noob or intermediate player could have. But it is also true that this heightens the defensive dilemma the player must face, and in a way consistent with the EU universe at large. It seems likely that the low Impact on Vigilante thematically plays into its frequent use against bots: kill them at range, or face a devastating close attack. Why else would bots literally run at you, seeking to close the gap as fast as possible? Players can frequently manage this close attack at intermediate levels simply becasue their Evade usually far outstrips their Dodge. This latter is the whole and sole reason for players also to close the gap ASAP as many have learnt and prefer to do.


All this has been said simply to open the issue and raise the question. I remember years ago musing about this and finding on forums adamant resistance to any idea that attack types vary, but I simply cannot be the only person to whom all of this has occurred. 


As far as studing the problem, I have yet to devise any clear cut methodology. I can only admire the work done thus far on all the damage calculations in EU, but clearly there is more work to do here. If anyone has suggestions about how to proceed, or disagrees with this suggestion, it would be useful if you could enter your thoughts here.