People don’t, or at least I don’t, play salvager because it’s easy syndie. Anything is easy Syndie. You can literally teleport a machine pistol into your hands and then buy over 100 bullets for it while wearing a web vest that doesn’t slow you down and soaks 70% damage - as you are high on stimulants yelling at your assist objective to loot HoP’s ID while your pet carp is munching on captain’s dead body. External access and a knife are just perks that go both ways. Rolling syndicate engineer is arguably easier because you can just toggle an APC and entrap or murder people at whim *and* you are okay in spaces you are definitely not supposed to be in just because “oh fuck the power’s off let me help” while also spawning in with engineering goggles and insulated gloves. And let me tell you - those are WAY more dangerous than a knife and a PKA. However, it doesn’t take a lot of creativity to make other roles as Syndicate work. Scientist? Mass spawn anomalies until one is in your objective’s workplace. Janitor? Wait until there’s a mess in your objective’s workplace. Passenger? I’m lost, can I come into your objective’s workplace? You can spawn in as a monkey and play a Syndicate role well given enough time and patience.
There are a few great points. I’ve long since thought access should be required when accepting, or even placing, high value orders. I, as a Cargo Technician, should not be able to order 3 crates of SMGs, 2 crates of Medical supplies and MRE’s to last me an entire nuclear Winter. Requiring access for at least *the placing of the order* for these items should not only be barred via ID, but LOGGED via ID, then literally anybody in cargo can do whatever because they’d either have needed HoS access or HoS is aware of the order having been placed.
Salvage Specialist is an extremely rewarding role because it is mechanic focused, this suits a certain niche of gameplay that is partly hermit roleplay and rewarding memorization of multiple skillsets, reaction time and cognitive abilities. We get to heal fellow new salvagers by using medical knowledge, aim true like William Tell and murder space ticks before they terrorize the station, we get to build a shuttle and fly it to derelict bits of stations or chase a Lone Operative. It provides roleplay about essentially a station-dweller that goes on dangerous external missions - a gritty character who comes back to grab smokes/a drink/a bite to eat and talk to the “locals” while still maintaining a grumpy, but not outright hostile, attitude because, well, bleeding to near-death from bear swipes and carp bites puts a chip on your shoulder. We get to defend Security from external threats every single round while simultaneously assisting the entire station via much needed materials (plastic, anyone?) funds and unobtainable valuables - microstims, exosuits, laser rifles, literal gravity generators, the usual. Nukies have not just SecOff to fear, but the inevitable influx of bloodthirsty pseudo-Cargonians banding together at the foaming mouths.
Donning a bloodred with expedition weaponry is almost suicide nowadays - blowing through armory means nothing when 3 salvagers armed with Deathsquad weaponry come rolling up in a shuttle specifically designed with open bays to throw things in/out of (shuttle parts, materials, bullets.) While I initially saw your point and felt that it might need to be retouched since the Syndicate 10TC enabling, I think you underestimate the amount of pure power that access has. Engineers, paramedics, cargo techs, salvagers, secoffs, all heads, external access is everywhere - just gotta look.
Calling something “untethered powergaming” because it’s not your playstyle is a bit of a reach, I don’t call people “shameless validhunters” for rolling Security or “wall paint drying enthusiasts” for rolling Engineer. There should be a mutual respect to how many times Salvagers have helped out with Nukies - as well as blood reds in general raiding armory, shit, almost forgot Rat Kings, zombies, fellow Syndies, back when Space Dragons existed, helping engineers with repairs… etc,etc.;