1) Maybe

2) No

Your suggestions won't fix BLOPS, only make them so good that they'll become overpowered.

Battle Crane? MWD, three slots of ewar, cloaky, and 9406m3 of fuel and bombs?

- they suck at dps, and if you try putting on a real pvp fit they become something like a noobfit T1 BS except the wtf price tag

There is valid room for discussion over the size of the fuel bay/jump range. Perhaps some specialized mid or low Slot mods could address those factors? (Like those for the scanning game)

Nothing broke about any of the Blops I fly. Perhaps the Widow is the exception because missiles suck. When use as a Black-ops ship in pvp, they are the most threatening ships. Even better for running DED complexes in null sec.

Those who fly black ops love them
Those who don't hate them.

You can usually tell who is who when one of them starts talking about how the ship needs buffed.

...immune to gate camps and cyno jammers... Why don't we just give them fighters and rename them covert ops carriers...

Ooooh.... *drooling commences*

Which one(s) do you fly?
I have a widow, which, ya.. I use as transport. But I have all the BS's cross trained, though honestly havent even thought of using them for DED Complexes.
What complexes can you solo in them?

Here's an idea, how about you compare their DPS to the DPS of other ships that fit covops cloaks. It doesn't look so bad now does it?

I can top some 700-800 DPS on average from all 4 races, perhaps more with faction guns, rigs, skill hardwiring. Can even get a decent tank going. But that's not the point, there are other ship classes for that, wouldn't bring a 700 mil ship to do something I can do easy with a maelstrom or abaddon.

Black ops is something else and by the fact that they can't carry enough fuel, they're limited in fulfilling their role. Like having a 6 liter V8 and room for only half a gallon of gas. Just saying... we shouldn't have to tow an additional fuel tank.

As for the covop cloak thing. Yes the current bonus to speed and agility means they can insta warp once decloaked but I don't see how a blop can escape a decent camp, a hic or mobile bubble should prevent them from warping and a ceptor (with or without drones) can decloak it much before it has a chance of crawling out of the bubble. I had my share of 00 some time ago and never seen or went on a camp without an inty and/or hic.

Covop recons do crap damage, T3s with covop subsystem - about the same. Blops - same - but they lack the cloak so they pretty much suck at doing their job because of that.

Also the sin should give the sin, panther and redeemer some corresponding ew bonuses like the widow has. They still won't be overpowered even with 150M SP in combat in the pilot seat.

There is a whole lot more to Black Ops than what you are seeing in your EFT. First and Foremost, they can cyno right past your fore mentioned gate camp. Going from point "A" to "C" and skipping point "B" all together. Something that a maelstrom or abaddon cannot do.

With the new cyno jammers coming up blops will be used for PI. Dust collection to be precise.

They would not be overpowered with a covert ops cloak.

Let's take my Proteus vs my Widow:

Proteus:

Sig of a cruiser
Speed of a cruiser
Lock of a cruiser
100k EHP
Cov Ops
Nullifier
Very long point.
700 dps cold
6 sec align

Widow
Sig of a BS
Speed of a BS
Terrible lock time
33k EHP (ECM fit)
Covert Ops (one assumes then they would have the uncloak delay 4.5secs min)
No Nullifier
1000 DPS (however we're talking rage torps and no painters)
9 sec align time

We have to assume in comparisons we're talking solo because if not then the variability of other ships makes any comparison pointless. If you're talking Blops gangs then it doesn't matter if it can warp cloaked because its friends can, it just turns up last or doesn't even jump through.

My main point is that T3s are already superior to a solo blops and they're not overpowered. You likely wont escape alive if you're ratting mining and get jumped by a cloaky T3 but you have a better chance of gtfo from a covert blops if one existed.

I think the thing people are arguing is that Blops are just to be used as bridge devices. IMO that is a **** poor excuse for why they don't get cov-ops cloak. Nullbear tears would accumulate if you could interrupt their plex farming bots with a solo blop.

1) give them enough fuel bay space to hold enough isotopes to jump a small covert fleet or travel without the fuel hassle.

2) enable the possibility of fitting covops cloaks but leave the regular bonus to speed under cloak.

You can remove some of the weapon bonuses if you feel they would become overpowered. Black ops should be very focused towards mobility, the JB and _some_ EW. They don't fight more than a NOC would with his sidearm (reduced damage and range), nevermind the uber bond movies.