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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 10 post(s) |
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.03.31 10:50:00 -
[1]
Following on from the previous round of feedback which was very good. I wanted to update you all on the proposed changes to ECM and ECM specialised ships.
The main changes following the first round of feedback are as follows in summary:
1. The base ECM jammer optimal and falloff ranges have been changed so there is a shorter optimal range but longer falloff range which is affected by numerous bonuses.
2. Signal Distortion Amplifiers (low slot ECM enhancers) have been changed to provide a bonus to both ECM strength and range and their bonus changed respectively.
3. Caldari Recon ships (Falcon & Rook) will have their ECM range reduced so they will not be effective at such huge distances any more but will still be much longer range than any of the other recons are capable off. In lieu, they will gain a ECM strength bonus increase and a small damage increase through addition of drone bay and the some additional bonus changes such as heavy missile velocity to increase the range at which they can damage targets as well as being able to jam them.
4. The scorpion will be kept in the role of long range ECM platform useful in the longer range fleet fights. This made more sense as the ship is large and not very agile and is better able with its higher number of slots to reach the required distances. The max range will be the same as before but it will operate more in ECM falloff range now.
Feedback is welcome on these latest changes and as ever, this is not set in stone and things may change following further playtesting and feedback.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.03.31 11:47:00 -
[2]
stats overview coming up for the changes in terms of ECM strength and ranges for the ships and modules.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.03.31 12:50:00 -
[3]
I updated the original post with some ECM stat examples which is hopefully enough though shout if you need any more. We will be applying changes to sisi very frequently now based on feedback and sisi so will update when these changes or any others hit sisi.
Re: the scorpion change:
This was a tough call, the close range role would have been great for gang work but combined with the other changes meant there was not a long range variant and the battleship class made more sense to have in this role for fleet warfare despite the cool short range role it could of had.
The widow will remain focused on close range attacks which means it is not inheriting the role of the scorpion and we think that is fine (though yes the black ops as a whole need a little love and they are getting some)
Re: SDAs
Players who want to 'ECM Tank' their ships can do so and gain a range and strength increase however coupled with the ship bonus changes, there should be less need to focus on ECM tanking the ships alone and it is quite easy to come up with setups.
Changes may still happen on these, but we want to see how all the current changes as a whole to ECM jammer range and strength on each of the ships affects the desire to fully 'ECM tank' at the expense of a HP tank.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.01 17:26:00 -
[4]
A very quick post until we get chance to read over rest of the feedback later. These changes should be on sisi now. There is a known issue which will be resolved over the coming days with the falcon. It currently receives a missile RoF bonus and should be a hybrid damage bonus and does not receive its ECM capacitor bonus.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.02 13:13:00 -
[5]
Responding generally to some suggestions:
Signal Distortion Amps affect all EWAR
This would be difficult to do with just one single type due to the vastly different impact of the same bonus on different types of EWAR. Range for example is critical in scrambling and webbing and any changes or additional bonuses to this would be extremely powerful moreso than the impact of additional range to jamming due to the nature of the different mechanics.
That said it is something we can look into for the future but no promises of course that we would not find the concept horribly overpowered and resulting in ships that ultra focus too much.
Current Signal Distortion Amps should be scripted or come in two different flavours (range and strength variants)
These two have merit. The changes to these modules are not perfect and it is a difficult balancing decision between allowing specialisation and making that specialisation a necessity above other functions of the ships. Personally I would much more prefer that these modules were less required and ECM pilots could concentrate on not ultra-specialising their setups which is more the case now at least for gang setups and the intention of the range and strength bonus changes we have done.
We are certainly not finished with these yet and more changes may come in the future as we get opportunities to continue to perfect the whole ECM balance which is rightfully a controversial issue where it can swing either way quickly between powerful and useless such is the effect of a binary mechanic.
Close range scorpion was cool, we want that!
It definitely had a role and a place and we liked it however it did leave a big gap in the fleet warfare role combined with the other changes (though perhaps this is indicative of deeper issues with fleet warfare and use of engagement ranges as a whole which rule out many ships from having a place there).
Making a hybrid role scorpion that could do both roles would be too powerful overall and would break the two bonuses for Tech 1 ships rule. This is perhaps something we can address one day with ideas like configuration rigs but that is a drawingboard idea.
New falcon and rook will rule for gang/solo warfare
Quite possibly given the changes and individual scenarios, however now that the ships are in reachable counter-attack distances we think this is a fair compromise.
As with everything, we will see how things play out and continue from there.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.02 14:09:00 -
[6]
 Originally by: TZeer
Edited by: TZeer on 02/04/2009 13:32:54
And what about the bonus on the widow?
It is as fragile as the falcon/rook, and suffer just as much when it comes to nerfing the range on the jammers.
And especially when you are flying around in a 600mil coffin I see no reason why this ship should have less bonus then it`s T2 closerange cousins.
It is fine to increase this more however it would take time we do not have and we think it needs a more focused rethink and look at the black ops ships and all their attributes as a whole really as was noted in the black ops feedback. It did get a small increase this time round and we agree it is far from perfect or fair but better still.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.02 14:12:00 -
[7]
Originally by: Antioch Red
Originally by: CCP Chronotis
Responding generally to some suggestions:
Signal Distortion Amps affect all EWAR
This would be difficult to do with just one single type due to the vastly different impact of the same bonus on different types of EWAR. Range for example is critical in scrambling and webbing and any changes or additional bonuses to this would be extremely powerful moreso than the impact of additional range to jamming due to the nature of the different mechanics.
That said it is something we can look into for the future but no promises of course that we would not find the concept horribly overpowered and resulting in ships that ultra focus too much.
The suggestion for SDA's to affect oter ew DIDN'T include warp disruption or webs, only the dampners, tracking disruptors, target painters, and ecm. This avoids the headache you mention and gives all races a chance to buff their otherwise lacking ew.
I was using the extreme case but the point would still stand, it would still require a large amount of thought and playtetsing before we would be comfortable adding a module that affects all of these. Not disagreeing with the idea however, it does have merit.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.02 14:35:00 -
[8]
Originally by: TZeer
Originally by: CCP Chronotis
Originally by: TZeer
Edited by: TZeer on 02/04/2009 13:32:54
And what about the bonus on the widow?
It is as fragile as the falcon/rook, and suffer just as much when it comes to nerfing the range on the jammers.
And especially when you are flying around in a 600mil coffin I see no reason why this ship should have less bonus then it`s T2 closerange cousins.
It is fine to increase this more however it would take time we do not have and we think it needs a more focused rethink and look at the black ops ships and all their attributes as a whole really as was noted in the black ops feedback. It did get a small increase this time round and we agree it is far from perfect or fair but better still.
When is this patch due to hit TQ?
And what prevents the team from changing the bonus from 25% to 30% while CCP are rethinking the black ops ships as a whole?
Not ruling out the possibility but it may not happen if we feel that the black ops require a deeper look and it is better to wait until that time seeing as the bonus has been increased already.
Watch this space in short. Being so open about the design process and stages does have its drawbacks with effective live updates sometimes but it is a process we find the best when involving the community.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.03 14:43:00 -
[9]
Hey Folks,
Quick updates on changes coming to sisi for testing over the weekend:
Scorpion
we changed the bonus back to 20% ECM optimal range per level. Still means a range reduction due to the base jammer stat changes but will give you more ECM accuracy at longer range.
Widow
The ECM strength bonus has been increased to 30% as its focus is short to medium range.
We will respond further to the feedback from the last few pages later on.
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CCP Chronotis
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Posted - 2009.04.14 13:33:00 -
[10]
Hi all, a very quick update on the scorpion:
The ECM Optimal and falloff bonus has been increased to 20% per level.
This is a small boost upon what is currently there to allow its operation jamming range to be more effective.
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