Buzzmong
Aliastra
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Posted - 2011.03.06 20:56:00 -
[1]
Leaving rails aside as they've always been poor, blasters don't actually suck like they appear to, hence why they look ok on paper.
The problem really is that the last time they were balanced with all the other weapon systems (and this includes ships as well), was at a time when 90% webs existed and scrams didn't shut off MWD's.
Now, the scram issue is a moot point as if you've both got scrams it evens the field (like when you both kept MWD's running), but the web issue is the contentious point.
Hence why the Vindicator still rocks socks off. When you use it you recreate the environment that blasters excelled in, but you can't do that with the rest of the Gallente (and Caldari gunboat) lineups.
Small blasters haven't been affected much due to the higher tracking and being on maneuverable ships (frigs!), bit it did hurt mediums and larges.
Couple that with pulses and projectiles getting a boost, and you soon find that blasters go from being a plausible alternate option on bonused ships to being a not very wise choice outside of specific scenarios (still usable though).
In all honesty, blasters do need a slight buff to put them back on par again, but only a small one, perhaps 10-15% tracking (to account for part of the missing web %) and 5-10% DPS (to offset the boost to pulses).
Fitting wise medium blasters (and rails) have always been a bit heavy on the grid, not sure if that's a fault of the ships or the guns though, but by the same token, large blasters could be argued to be cpu heavy (large rails are heavy on both).
As for my comment on rails being poor: They've *always* been a poorer than lasers/arty, it's just that before the various buffs it was the ship bonuses that would put them on a comparable and therefore useful level (Megathron excepted, as it has double weapon bonuses), sadly with the boosts to the other systems the ship bonuses aren't enough and they end up being sub-par regardless.
That said, there's something ridiculously fun about flying Gallente blaster boats which normally ends up with people shouting "Leeeerrroooyy" down TS.
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Go Web! Go! |