Does the Aegis Astral Suit's Range Attack ability stack with attack other customization options?

Question

Does the Aegis Astral Suit's Range Attack ability stack with other attack customization options?

Example:

1. Ranged Attack The aegis gains the ability to propel a non-psionic crystal, formed from the astral suit, at a target as a ranged attack that deals 1d8 points of piercing damage and has a range increment of 30 ft
2. Augmented Weapon The astral suit coats the aegis’s weapon. The weapon is treated as if it was one size category larger for damage purposes. The aegis does not suffer any penalties for wielding the weapon. This ability does not stack with effects that increase the aegis’s size category, such as expansion. The aegis must be at least 6th level to select this customization.
3. Improved Ranged Attack The damage of the aegis’ ranged attack ability increases by an additional 1d8 points of piercing damage for every five class levels the aegis has. If the aegis is using the energy blast customization, the additional damage is instead 1d6 points of damage of your active energy type for every five class levels. The aegis must be at least 5th level and have the ranged attack customization before selecting this customization.

I'd like to believe that the crystal missile the suit can create counts as a weapon to benefit form Augmented Weapon. Does this make Ranged Attack deal 2d6 piercing damage because of the size increase and with Improved Ranged Attack that should bump the damage to 4d6 piercing right? I doubt that this woud work with the Energy Blast option as since the attack is some form of energy (and we still have to adhere to some laws of Physics) hence could not augment its size to increase damage...might even work in reverse.

Answer 1

No matter what you would like to believe, the ranged attack augmentation is not a weapon, and does not count as a weapon under any circumstances or for any purposes, including the augmented weapon customization. Moreover, this was very much the author’s intention; I have asked him this question personally. He never intended for the ranged attack to ever be more than an extremely minor damage ping to be used only in the event that closing to melee was completely impossible.

This answer is not going to change no matter how many times you ask what is fundamentally the same question.

Answer 2

Improved Ranged Attack is a direct improvement of the Ranged Attack ability, and does mention it on the effect, instead of something like "the aegis's ranged weapon". Meaning that this additional damage should be added on every attack using that ability.

But Augmented Weapon is talking about the character's weapon, as in the weapon being wielded, not talking specifically about any weapon the character uses.

However, since the Ranged Attack ability says "as a ranged attack", you could talk to your GM about allowing this ability to count as a ranged weapon, and gain benefits of abilities and effects that apply to ranged weapons. Enlargement of ranged weapons are usually frowned upon, but not unheard of, so there is no need to restrict the character if that is the build he wants to do.

As for your damage calculations, Improved Ranged Attack adds additional damage, as such, those shouldn't be calculated with the base damage of your weapon when your size increases, but be treated like magical special abilities instead (like Flaming). Nor this damage is multiplied on critical hits. To do so, the ability should say it increases the weapon's base damage, like Vital Strike.