field guide: laser damage line de-ambiguated -- 'half-charge release' implied a trigger-hold mechanic that does not exist (the user read it as distance falloff first, then as mid-charge release). Now states the T1 machine: no early fire (trigger blips until Loaded), partial power = lower charge gear only (charge/recommended-gear voltage squared), and damage is flat inside effective range / zero past it. Rides the next guide iteration.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016bw71WVsccjwW7uKRg4aWD

docs/WEAPONS_FIELD_GUIDE.txt

@@ -44,8 +44,12 @@ THE ORIGINAL'S BEHAVIOR
   - The beam is instant. The hit is decided the moment you fire -- no
     travel time, no leading. What you see is the discharge drawing
     itself, plus a 0.2-second afterglow that tracks the target.
-  - Damage scales with the SQUARE of the charge: a full-charge shot
-    does the listed number; a half-charge release does a quarter.
+  - Damage scales with the SQUARE of the stored charge. You cannot
+    fire early -- the trigger does nothing until the charge completes.
+    The only partial-power shot is a LOWER CHARGE GEAR (section 2,
+    veteran/expert only): a gear at half voltage is ready sooner but
+    hits for a quarter. Distance never matters: full damage anywhere
+    inside effective range, zero damage past it.
   - Out of range: the trigger works and the beam draws, but the damage
     is silently thrown away. No hit, no denied tone we can find.
   - Effective range shrinks in proportion to damage on the body zone