Mesh Marillion
Fairlight Corp
Rooks and Kings
5
   |
Posted - 2013.03.21 17:31:00 -
[1] - Quote
Beaver Retriever wrote:Please don't turn the Armageddon into a drone boat, ala the Prophecy.
I would also second the poster who talked about T1 EWAR platforms for all races. It seems a bit silly that only Caldari get a T1 EWAR battleship.
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You can easily fit an apoc or baddon for neuting (or any bs really). Not bonussed, granted, but still good enough to kill caps if employed correctly. Added benefit: your ship doesn't scream as much for getting primed by hostiles and you can hide it better in a bait group. On the meta level the problem at this point is, that the tiericide within BS at the moment creates very different sets of racial bs. Caldari get an ewar BS and one BS for each weapon plattform, both setup for range. Amarr get a cheap and an expensive pulse plattform as well as a sniping ship. Minis will get a missile plattform (Phoon), a very tanky tier 3 that can without a lot of problems fit the biggest sniping guns and the pest, which will probably become the primary close range gun plattform after the envisioned changes. Lastly Gallente get their cheap drone plattform, a buffer and an active blaster plattform (rail mega works but with the inherent agility and the lack of range bonusses its not a sniping plattform).
Having said that i think the worst call ccp could make at this point is to take away those different flavours that racial BS have. Not only does it add more depth and allow for variation, it also increases the incentives for cross racial specialisation (beyond being able to fly pirate BS) which is in my opinion important to keep older players interested in the game. In fact the only change for general roles i'd consider is to remove the scorpions E-War bonus and leave that to specialized smaller crafts (and even that is just an idea, not a strong suggestion).
Furthermore there is another aspect to consider: costs. At this point tier 1 BS often serve as a go to ship for risky operations where you want to have more tank than a tier 3 allows but still don't want to yahoo 400 mill per tier 3 bs hull away if it goes wrong. That kind of option would go out of the window if ccp decides to do the same to BS as they did in the previous tier. It is already a bit weird that a navy geddon takes over the role of the abaddon due to being cheaper while being less taxing on the capacitor.
Speaking of throwaway ships: that role has increasingly taken over by tier 3 gank bcs (aka Nagas/Talos with Neutrons). Granted, low tank, but high mobility and if it breaks, its way cheaper than BS hulls. If that one gets a bit cut down megas with buffed agility might become an attractive alternative for fast attack fleets against caps and other high hp targets that need to be taken down (atm people use whelppests for that if the pick a bs hull). However i think that is less an issue than the rise of the naga as the rail plattform which is basicly the ultimate ship for FCs that never want to commit even large fleets cause the combination of range projection, mobility while having at least a ressemblence of a tank is pretty convincing. Counters for that fleet are scarce if you manage to dodge bombing runs. Another problem is that attack bcs have completely obsoleted hacs in any regard with very few niche ships and ahacs.
As for EHP: the general problem at this point is a bit that there has been a continous powercreep towards more DPS. Main culprits being Tier 3 BCs and dreads (the naglfar changes are another small step into that direction). Said powercreep mechanic is another reason i think we shouldn't get more T1 ewar plattforms - if people feel damps are strong just use them on unbonussed hulls like it has happened in the past (before damps got buffed). Otherwise the meta of countering hostile comps becomes even more unforgiving than it is today.
As for the tracking aspect: i personally feel that tracking at the moment is at a better spot than a lot of people claim. In the end tracking smaller ships only works if you add in webs and painters and tracking mods. Failing to bring that was what first gave rise to ahacs until people got smarter. And if you look at it, that is exactly what webs and painters are supposed to do: improve tracking. Stil, even today ahacs still remain a viable fleetcomp. I think ccp needs to avoid further exceptions to the tracking formula like the one that led to the titan tracking nerf. If the general direction in game design is to improve the ability to sig and speedtank than that should happen within the tracking formula and it should be approached with care. I think a lot of the ideas that are floating around about this topic will end up really one sided if implemented.
Apologies for a rather lengthy post that does not even touch the subject of solo BS and the state of BS vs BS warfare at a larger scale, not to mention issues with T2 BS that are still there, even after the recent BO buffs. Also something to consider at the side: maybe increase calibration points on navy BS at least. Its a bit ridiculous that i can bring up the vanilla |
Mesh Marillion
Fairlight Corp
Rooks and Kings
5
|
Posted - 2013.03.21 18:25:00 -
[2] - Quote
Techno General wrote:CCP Rise wrote:Quote:also as much as previous blogs have said how you guys are happy with amarr BS for the most part, an option other than just laser based DPS might be nice. I agree here as well. Already been thinking about other options for one of the amarr bs - as a follow up question related to this: Which amarr bs seems most ripe for an overhaul in your opinion? None of them, they are all perfect.
While i wouldn't call them perfect, i 'd agree on no radical changes needed. Especially those people who want to tweak the apoc have probably never flown one in combat . It is atm the plattform that keeps amarr competitive for being able to fight up to LR point range of recons against faster gangs. |