Xhieron
Sanctum Mercatoris
2
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Posted - 2013.06.10 15:43:00 -
[1] - Quote
Mr Kidd wrote:
My pleasure derived at flying a T3 is in the fact that I'm not flying a hull that I consider subpar and limited as I do with T2. Some hull has to be on top. It has to be top dog. That CCP is nerfing the current top dog irks me because of the investment I've made in skilling for those hulls. Once T2's become the top dog CCP will then again want to nerf those hulls devaluing any investment in time and isk I've made there and so on and so on. This is a case where CCP needs to leave well enough alone beyond a few tweaks.
This is the most compelling argument I've read here, and I think it should inform the responsible parties as the nerfing commences--and nevermind whether it should or not. When the dust settles there will be a top dog again, and whether it's T3's, ECM-town, or VampDomis, there's going to be something that excels--maybe not in all engagements in all space, but something that excels enough in enough places to attract the ire of those who find themselves on the wrong end of it.
Right now it's T3's, and unlike some of the previous contenders, T3's have a uniformly high price tag and an investment cost not seen anywhere else in that losing one necessarily costs you your time, the most precious and irreplaceable commodity in space. Sure, the price is elevated because people pour money into these things, and indeed, T3's shouldn't be all things to all people, but adopting a general policy that T2 should always out-perform T3 in T2's role is a recipe for a new set of problems.
You'll see a meta shift, sure, as the age of T3's closes, but in its aftermath something else will rise, and it'll be targeted next. That's the cycle. Balance work is never going to end, and I'd even concede that T3's need work--in some cases and for some subsystems, a lot of work--but that work should not be a blanket nerf--and if there has to be something on top of the heap (hint: there does), a T3 is a better option than the alternatives.
A T3 fit to do the work of a T2, all else being equal (i.e., officer v. officer), should be a competitive engagement with the outcome to be dependent on pilot skill rather than hull strength. A tall order, but a better balance paradigm than "T2 is better because this is all this T2 can do." |