Hakan MacTrew wrote:Only one person commented on my suggestion and made a pretty compelling argument:
The Drake provides an opportunity for Caldari to break from the exact same bonus line for all their missile boats:
Kestrel - velocity and damage
Corax - double velocity and kinetic damage
Caracal - velocity and ROF
Raven - velocity and ROF
They all focus on range and DPS
Realistically, the Drake is the only Brawler style missile boat that the caldari have access to.
But as I pointed out at the time, we could really use some extra range, but that can come from TE's when they finally affect missiles.
That is "an argument," but it's not "compelling." What that argument points out is that the Caldari have a solid, well bonused and balanced long range missile attack ship in every class EXCEPT battlecruiser, which makes no sense at all. Also, if you want a Caldari "brawler," then look to the Merlin / Moa / Ferox / Rokh line; the ships that obviously have the shield resist bonus to make it happen. As it is the Ferox and Rokh are somewhat odd birds in that lineup due to the optimal bonus, but that could be fixed by realigning the Ferox with the Moa rather than the Rokh. Given that you CAN actually snipe with large rails, the Rokh might legitimately keep its optimal bonus, but it just does nothing for the Ferox, and it means that Caldari have no really strong brawler in the BC class at all.
Especially where training for the weapon system is the major SP investment people make as they develop a combat character in the first year or so, it makes a lot more sense to let them pick a weapon system, and thus a line they will be training through for a good while, and know that the capabilities and playstyle they have selected will be supported in the expected way as they progress up through each ship class. And they also know that if they want to be more flexible, then they can just train the "other" designated weapon line, and easily step into ships that fit that other style.
The pattern they've established is Attack = Medium DPS and Agility + Long Range + Weak Tank; Combat = High DPS + Medium Agility + Short Range + Strong Tank. Obvious solution is obvious: Drake = ROF + Velocity - Shield resist; Ferox = Damage + Tracking + Shield Resist.