wizard87
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Posted - 2010.10.22 13:29:00 -
[2]
The solo Drake is not overpowered, especially put 1v1 against the Myrmidon, Hurricane or Harbinger.
The Drake's advantage is it is a brick with a steady constant DPS.
The Myrm doesn't have the same tank and drone DPS is slow and clumsy.
The Hurricane is arguably the weakest tank, great DPS but is the most mobile
The Harb is great for DPS at good ranges, and a good tank but still not as tanky as a Drake and not very mobile or great at very close range (for example against AB HACs) due to tracking.
So the reason you get more Drakes fleets is because they are the best "all rounder", the ship is often previously trained because passive shield tanks are the most effective for PVE (so people normally have some experience flying them already before they PVP).
Don't overlook cost either:
Shield rigs are relatively cheap compared to armour ones, all the tier 2 BC ship hulls and fittings are relatively cheap compared to BS. I'd argue too cheap relative to most BS prices - by using cruiser sized weapons. Note: you don't lose ISK on a drake, unlike with a Myrm you often lose drones - another disadvantage of Myrms.
Then there's Remote Reparing/Shield logistics:
Shield recharge is very handy especially in scalable fights. This might seem contrary to popular opinion, but it FORCES the enemy to focus fire more or dramatically lose effectiveness - in order to take down a ship.
For example someone shooting an armour buffer on their own by accident or design ina fleet fight will given time remove the ship, or at least make it easier for others to kill later. Not so if they are shooting a Drake - any independant shooting a Drake down to peak recharge is effectively wasting their DPS in a fleet unless the drake is a primary.
Shield Logistics are actually also normally superior the bigger the gang/engagement due to the instant nature of shield repairs, and the normally better resistances of shields than armour.
To be honest I don't know why there are not more RR Raven gangs, but I guess that is more due to the slower DPS of Torps/Cruise and the vulnerablity to smaller ships than any issue with the Raven/shield RR tactic.
Anyway, it is not one thing making the Drake the "best" or "overpowered", it is a combination of things that make it the best of the bunch, especially when grouped that make the drake relatively overpowered.
My personal suggestion is to nerf the peak recharge. Make more Drakes be active tankers and have a less sustainable/permanent tank that actually require the pilots to compromised more than just a lack of tackle.
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