Is there any difference between say, equipping a ranged DPS companion with a Blaster Rifle instead of a Sniper Rifle? or equipping a melee DPS companion with a regular Lightsaber instead of a Double-Bladed Lightsaber? will they do less damage?

Some weapons (such as DBLS and Assault cannons from memory) have higher average weapon damage than the "regular" versions (DBLS > lightsaber; Assault Cannon > Blaster Rifle; Sniper Rifle > Blaster Rifle) by a factor of 1.2 (re: if a lightsaber had an average damage of 100, a DBLS with the same mods would be identical except that the average damage would be 120). All of the other weapons have the same average damage but differing ranges of damage (ex: a rating 94 Blaster Pistol has a damage range of 136-256 whereas a rating 94 Lightsaber 157-236; they have the same average damage of ~196, but the Blaster Pistol has a larger range of damage). The simplest way to determine whether a weapon has the 1.2 weapon damage modifier is to determine whether it requires a specific advanced class to use (DBLS and Electrostaves for Shad/Sins, Sniper Rifle for Sniper, Assault Cannon for Comm). If it can be used by a base class, it's going to have the 1.0 weapon damage scale. If it requires an advanced class, it'll have the 1.2.

 

If you want an outright list...

 

1.0: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Lightsabers, Techblades

1.2: Sniper Rifles, Assault Cannons, DBLS, Techstaves, Electrostaves

So the answer is yes? companions will do 20% less weapon damage with a different weapon equipped...

So the answer is yes? companions will do 20% less weapon damage with a different weapon equipped...

 

The difference will be less than 20%, because the weapon's DPS bonus is only a part of total DPS bonus, but simply answered, yes your companion will be less effective.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Altheran