I'm sorry, despite the good effort, this is NOT the way to go with the rebalance.

Dictors need 3 things to work properly to make them unique and useful for their price.

1. Get rid of Warp Interdiction Spheres and make 'dictors and hictors the only ship able to field Mobile warp disruptors. Hictors would keep their highslot point. This frees up their fitting quite a bit, and makes them invaluable ships to have in null and wh space. Hictors are as valued as they are because they not only perform a unique and extremely valuable role (supercap points), they also have the fitting and toughness to be useful in a brawl. Making Dictors the "smaller" versions of these also keeps in line with the skill progression they have, just as you have been doing with Assault frigates and HACs.

2. Drop a high slot (or two) for fitting slots.
If Interdictors become the only ships that can field Mobile Warp disruptors, they don't have to fit the warp interdiciton sphere launcher, and can balance their fitting a bit better. The inherent problem with destroyer balancing is that CCP is still actually stuck on the tier system, in respect to slots for ship classes to a degree. Since the destroyer falls between the cruiser and frigate size classes, but it also has an in-born role with its inception, it suffers from slot misappropriation. Interdictors are not t1 destroyers, and thus do not need a full 8 high slots for direct offensive power. Dropping one or two highs and keeping the missile or gun limit on each to 6 would allow ships like the flycatcher to finally, FINALLY be freed from the horror that is having a single lowslot. It is beyond awful that dictors got balanced into a corner like this, and is one of the many reasons that they are underused in direct pvp situations outside of popping bubbles for camps.

I agree that these changes seem underwhelming. I think the focus should be on tanking. The Heretic getting an armor resist bonus and the Flycatcher a shield one. Both with plenty of slots in the primary tank for a robust fleet interdictor. The Sabre and Eris should both something akin to the Tornado and Talos. Fast, high dps, lightly tanked small gang machines. Bump the Eris up to a 3rd mid at the expense of a low, choose one weapon system (preferably hybrids) and go from there.

The sigs are fine, dictors are already hard enough to kill when they are moving at the speeds they move.

What about rolling the interdiction launcher bonus into the base timer of the module and adding a 7.5% to hull resistance in its place?

This is really stupid and I have to question whether you've ever actually flown a dictor or used a mobile warp disruptor. Mobile bubbles are not a replacement for warp disrupt probes or the hictor bubble generator.

Then please explain, o wise goon, why dictors must be so underpowered to use the all-important interdiction sphere launcher? Also, I said nothing about removing the Hictor's ability to use the Warp Disruption FIeld generator.

Ask CCP. I think the sabre's in a good place firepower-wise but the entire class needs some kind of survivability buff.

Then please explain, o wise goon, why dictors must be so underpowered to use the all-important interdiction sphere launcher? Also, I said nothing about removing the Hictor's ability to use the Warp Disruption FIeld generator.

I can definitely agree with you on that last point, and towards the end I said if they don't remove dictor bubbles from the game, they should at least drop the fitting reqs a bit so the ships don't get penalized for CPU so much for using them. Would you think it'd be good if they rolled at least part of the firing rate bonus into the ship, left a utility high on all of them, and buffed HP, resists, and gave extra slots? I'm just frustrated at how pathetic they are in actual combat. I mean, if you have one camping the gate, it should at least be able to contribute to the fight if you catch something with your gang you know?

what game are you playing ?

This is really stupid and I have to question whether you've ever actually flown a dictor or used a mobile warp disruptor. Mobile bubbles are not a replacement for warp disrupt probes or the hictor bubble generator.

Why are we seeing an Eris with split weapon bonuses? I thought the new Roden would be able to fit either/or, not be compelled to fit both. With only 4 turrets and 4 launchers, one is forced to use split weapons. At least with 5 turrets you could fit a cloak and 2 sphere launchers and have a single weapon system. Now with that set up, we'll be forced to fit an oddball launcher or turret.

Please fix the hardpoint mounts to not force Eris pilots to use split weapons. You guys phased it out of Minmatar T1, made a GREAT way to choose which weapon system you wanted for other split weapon ships (namely Minmatar Fleet Issues), and fixed the Ares' Roden bonuses for either/or. Now, you have a throwback, old-style split weapons system on the Eris.

It really should be a ship (and indeed the whole Roden line) that lets you choose which weapons system you want to use instead of only 4 of each weapon hardpoint. It's not even about damage output. Balance that around having all of one weapon on the ship. It's about optimal range/max flight time, instant weapon damage, etc. This is a step backward, Fozzie.

Interdictors ahoy!
Were making the Sabre the new Rifter, get 0wned Minmatar lololol

4% bonus to armor resistances per level (was 5% bonus to missile velocity per level)

The best way to address this (although probably too late now) is in a similar way to how old command ships worked:

1) Give the old interdictors stats geared toward small-scale pvp / gatecamping, much like the proposals in the OP
2) Use the newer destroyer models to make 'fleet interdictors' with bonuses to speed / agility / EHP.

This is an excellent idea.

Also, jesus christ, don't put mandatory split weapons on the Eris. It sucks enough already.

I'm still not seeing any reason to fly any dictor other than the Sabre in any situation small gang or large fleet, given that it's the only one with a sane slot layout, but at least the margin isn't quite as huge. But whatever, harder to get outraged about this compared to some of the other ship classes in recent memory, and at least the interceptor pass was good.

Given the nature of gallente being able to do both armour and shield

Can someone tell me which is the objectively best one? Flycatcher looks un inspiring for a first glance. it's slow and has low dps.

I've never understood why these ships are so fragile. Hictors have ridiculous passive tanks so they can stand up to fleet firepower but dictors can't survive against a single T1 frigate or a battle industrial (especially the newly buffed ones) without logistics or ewar backup.

Because unlike a HiC they dont need to stay on field for their bubbles to function. They have a completely different style.

Because unlike a HiC they dont need to stay on field for their bubbles to function. They have a completely different style.