I'm not defending because I feel this ship NEEDS to be in the game, but rather, I defending it because I'm tired of people attempting to shut down ship ideas because of this crap thought that new ships HAVE to fill roles and/or holes when many of the ships in game don't fill specific roles or holes, and those that do are only there because of ones that don't, or fill a specific role that isn't a needed role, but rather a "cool" or "fun factor" role, such as ewar ships...

So in the midst of all of the sperg in this thread, has anyone actually worked out the purpose of these ships yet? Other than being a BS with pisspoor damage I mean.

So in the midst of all of the sperg in this thread, has anyone actually worked out the purpose of these ships yet? Other than being a BS with pisspoor damage I mean.

I personally think the most useful things on carriers are the logistics, triage, corp hanger and maint bays, ive never looked at them as being 'dps' boats. i liked the comment that said t2 carriers, with the new 'role' orientation ccp are taking with their ships i would place any tech 2 carrier as a support ship, and it would seem logical that they had smaller mass for travelling through wh.

Also, +1 to the pos bashing 'light dreadnought'

I have started working on a revised version. Calling them escort carriers (and using the link for the awesome artwork that guy did on deviant art)

Some issues that need more discussion to be good though:
Fighters? yea or nay and why?
Logistics bonuses? How big? What type?
Triage? Is it a good idea or not?
Drones? allow up to ten or focus on fighters?

The "role" of the escort carrier is to escort BS and below sized fleets with support and DPS. Also to provide a "next step" to dedicated logistics pilots who are eyeing carriers and need A:time to train the skills and B:time to learn some of the strategies of carriers.

Please lets discuss these specific factors.

If you don't like the idea at all, your disagreement is noted, please don't feel the need to extoll yourself by giving us your treatise of why we are too bomb not to biomass, it is assumed if your simple "-1" post. Thank you.

The role that everyone seems so butthurt over not being pointed out is pretty simple. It is a support ship with BS sized DPS able to stay with a BS fleet as it jumps around and provides a stepping stone to capitals that currently doesn't exist.

IF you don't "like" that as a role, then please say so, but don't say it doesn't have a role just because you don't like it.

I like the "Escort carrier" name, it implies that it is able to escort other forces, which is its role.

As a logistics pilot who likes to support fleets, I have to spend months flying other things before I am able to jump into carriers. If I just like flying logi/support why shouldn't there be a ship that bridges that gulf between cruiser support and CAPITAL support? That is a big gap.

So, either argue against the idea as it is instead of saying it doesn't have a role, or argue that what I have just said is not a role.

I still believe that since it is a game, role is less important than you might think, but in this case, I see the role clearly.

ilet me get this straight, you want an orca sized ship with no jump capabilities, no corp hanger, no maint bay, no logistics capabilities, no turrets/missile slots and no triage, just fighter drones?

what on earth would be the point in it?

I want a drone carrier...

as in....

- jump capabilities, logistics capabilities, turrets/missile slots, triage and fighters/fighter bombers

+ max drones ( +1 per skill lvl ), 20% drone damage per skill lvl, 10km control range per skill lvl, 10% MWD speed per skill lvl, 1k drone bay amount per skill lvl and possibly some racial bonus

In terms of corp hanger and maint bay I cant care less if it goes on or not.

buy a sin then

You neglected to answer the rest of my question.

Point to a situation you have been in that this ship would have been useful. That there was a role that needed filling. A battle report and summary of what happened and why this ship would have helped fill a void would be nice.

Where and how does this ship fit in?

The "role" of the escort carrier is to escort BS and below sized fleets with support and DPS. Also to provide a "next step" to dedicated logistics pilots who are eyeing carriers and need A:time to train the skills and B:time to learn some of the strategies of carriers.

The problem with throwing ships into the game without some sort of desired role/purpose is the unforeseen side effects they may have on the game. Titans are probably the best example of this. Look at how they have been abused since their inception.

This ship and any other ship needs a reason to exist and it needs to fit into the current scheme of ship balancing.

You need to stop getting all damn defensive and assuming its a case of 'OMG HE JUST DOESNT WANT NEW THINGS IN THE GAME.' I'm all for new ships being added to the game, as long as they have a purpose and any potential imbalancing is accounted for (i.e. the ship has trade offs).

Tier 3 bcs are a great example of this actually. They can use battleship weapons and move fairly quickly, but they are paper thin. There is a trade off for their awesomeness and thus they fit well into the current scheme of ship balancing.

Where and how does this ship fit in?

But either way, this ship's ROLE is support.

Remove the fighters and range bonus to remote reps and I'd agree with you. Fighters are a capital thing and bonus to remote rep range overshadows logistics, a specialized class.

I'd almost be in favor of having a small corp hangar/ship maintenance bay similar to an orca. Perhaps a bonus to rep amount would suffice?

As far as drones go, the most I'd be okay with is a +1 drone per level.

Definitely high sensor strength akin to carriers. Scan resolution...I don't know.

Is this going to be a racial ship? What's the tank like?

The problem with giving them fighters is the amount of damage fighters can dish out. This would make the ship provide more DPS than it should and it would cease to be simply a "subcap support ship." It would be a subcap support ship with considerable damage as well.

To be fair:

fighters don't take bonuses from any of the skills.

Really though, there's no advantage to having fighters beyond being able to assign/have them warp around. And I don't think this ship should be capable of doing this.

It should be limited to 5 heavy drones really.

And protip Joe: nobody who is competent uses drone control units in combat as you implied.

Sorry but this ship just shouldn't be a damage dealer. As OP said, its a support ship and thus its damage potential should be limited. A large drone bay would be okay though.

Ship bonuses, I could see including:

• remote rep amount based on race (shield for minmatar/caldari; armor for gallente/amarr
• a resist bonus for tanking
• cpu reduction for warfare link modules
• drone control range bonus (10km per level)