Kobaxus
Republic Military School Minmatar Republic
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Posted - 2015.02.14 18:17:20 -
[1] - Quote
How likely is it that CCP are going to give us Jovian ships to play with or to make Jove a playable race? Probably about as likely as a total and lasting peace breaking out in Nullsec. However, with the emergence of the Drifters with their very cool new (or very old) ships and weapons, perhaps CCP will give us some new Jove-tech?
The precedent has been set in terms of both lore and mechanics: T3 ships (cruisers and the new destroyers) are based on reverse engineering Sleeper technology. Even their manufacture requires loot that can only be gained from salvaged Sleeper vessels. Another thing we know is that the 'rebalance' of Strategic Cruisers is on the horizon and is most likely not going to be a simple balance pass, but rather a complete redesign of the Strategic Cruiser class.
It is unthinkable from a game balance perspective that CCP would give us the ability to fit 'Lux Kontos' Drifter weapons to any old ship hull... but what about hulls that are already based on advanced, arguably Jovian-derived, technology? We all know that T3s are broken; some subsystems (or combinations of subsystems) are utterly overpowered, while others are utter garbage. I love my Tengu dearly, but it should not have the tank and firepower of a non-faction battleship while having the speed, agility and sig radius of a cruiser.
So, we have lots of new technology to salvage (let's face it, capsuleers are not going to just let the Drifters wander about New Eden without being shot in the face, even with their battleship killer superweapon... especially with their superweapon). Basically, the Drifters have cool new toys and we want them too!
So how would we go about incorporating Drifter-tech into T3s without them being even more broken than they are now? The first four points cover a few very broad and very basic thoughts on general T3 rebalance/redesign. Skip to point five for the Drifter-tech bit...
First, rigs need to be removed from T3s altogether; they are the main contributor to the monstrously overpowered tanks that T3s get, plus the nature of rigs not being able to be changed without being destroyed is totally contrary to the 'versatility' paradigm that strategic cruisers are supposed to embody.
Second, condense some of the subsystems together. There's really no need for two or three different offensive subsystems for example. Let's take a look at the Tengu: condense the missile subsystem and hybrid system together. That's right, a subsystem that gives both sets of bonuses based on your offensive subsystem skill (similar to the way the Gnosis gets a blanket bonus to all weapons). Since it's always sub-optimal to mix your weapons (since the damage modifier mosules in your low slots are specific to each weapon type) you only get the bonus for the weapons you are using.
Third, allow refitting in space without needing to be close to a carrier, Nestor or mobile depot. Basically, it's an extra "Strategic Refit" button. Once pressed, you can't use offensive modules (any module that aggresses a target) or propulsion modules, and such modules currently active immediately cycle off. Passive modules and active defence modules remain unaffected. Once activated, this strategic refit mode cannot be switched off for 30 seconds (or some other balanced period of time) but you are able to refit while still moving, or even in warp. After 30 seconds, the button can be toggled off and your modules behave normally. Perhaps a slightly larger cargo bay to fit multiple modules for different configurations?
Fourth, a strategic cruiser should be balanced in all possible configurations to be no better, probably slightly less as effective in terms of tank, gank, range etc., as it's T2 equivalent. So a Tengu in missile mode should be slightly less powerful than a Cerberus, in Hybrid mode slightly less than an Eagle, as an ECM ship slightly less than a Rook and so on. However, it has the ability to refit quickly and easily, while on the move (minus prop mods) and without needing to dock.
Five, a new subsystem that allows a T3 cruiser to fit a reverse engineered version of the Lux Kontos weapon system (dropped as BPCs from Drifter ships and requiring T3 manufacturing to build). A sort of blend between a drone and an energy turret. Using turret slots, and probably a new damage mod for the lows, it has excellent tracking and projection, but significantly lower damage than other turrets (no matter how many damage mods you put fit, it will only be as damaging as a basic T2 turret without mods). In exchange for the lower damage output, it uses no capacitor nor does it require any ammunition (a bit like a Sentry drone sat on hovering above your hull) . Plus it looks really really cool!
Six, as for the the superweapon on a T3 cruiser hull... don't be bloomin' daft!!!!
Seven, the super-cool looking Drifter propulsion system. Probably requires a complete rework of the propulsion subsytems, since each is unique to each racial type. Again, some of these subsystems are heavily used, other not so much. Plus the Interdiction Nullifier is one that needs to be very carefully balanced (Slippery Pete, I'm looking at you!) so as not to be broken. So no real ideas on this one...
Summary Okay, basically this post is not so much of a carefully thought out redesign of the T3 cruisers, but rather throwing of some random ideas at a wall and seeing what, if any, will stick. Yes I know some of the ideas are crap, probably covered in previous threads, but I had a flash of inspiration about Drifter-tech stuff and the upcoming T3 rebalance. So I decided to put it all into one big homogenous mess. |