That's the threading of a very unrewarding future in terms of gun variability and value.

If we kept increasing damage as newer guns were released, we'll eventually have a gun that's a 3-hit kill; which will result in monotonous game play, and people complaining on these forums of overpowered weapons.

It would also cause the price eventually to go way up on these overpowered weapons, and we'd find ourselves with Zone's version of the BAR; a gun that, despite the high volume of complaints staff receive, cannot be touched because people have spent good money on it.

It's a good idea to keep a broader gap from gun to gun, in terms of function. If we hinge on just altering damage, there will be little variability, and the expectations of new releases would be highly predictable. People would always expect a bigger, better, more overpowered gun instead of a 'different' gun. I'd prefer to keep the skill in the game, and have more variability than to take such a route that would lead to "pay to play" mentality.

As it is, the Metallic Rifle can still compete with the higher priced guns. If we took your suggested route, the Metallic Rifle will eventually not be able to contend; it would eventually be trumped in terms of damage and fire rate, and the skilled players would be competing with rich newbies with a handicap.

I'd rather we focus on releasing 'different' guns every release, instead of 'more powerful' guns. Altering variables such as clip size, recoil, reload freeze, special functions, and projectile animations instead of focusing solely on damage and fire rate will make each gun unique and worth the purchase; as it would have its own strengths and weaknesses in a check-and-balance fashion. This check-and-balance system will also prevent guns from getting too expensive in the future, and specialty items such as those given during times of holiday will preserve their value.