Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
Point Blank Alliance
2720
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Posted - 2013.12.26 17:12:00 -
[1] - Quote
Daleth Prem wrote: The 'Geddon has become a drone boat iirc, but the Abaddon and Apocalypse seem to not have changed that much?
Geddon lost laser bonuses, gained neut and drone bonuses. As Shah said, it's what the neut Dominix has always aspired to be.
Apocalypse lost laser cap bonus, gained laser tracking bonus. Lost a bunch of tank, gained a bunch of speed. It is now the Amarr "attack" battleship: high damage/mobility, but poor tank (for a battleship).
Abaddon is largely unchanged, other than having its 5% resist bonus changed to 4% (as all resist bonuses were changed).
Daleth Prem wrote:Are HAMs/Rockets any good now? I trained to fly a Sacrilege because i looked the looks and the tank, but it's dps was lackluster unfortunately.
Both HAMs and rockets are great if you use them correctly.
HAMs: the Sacrilege got a big kick in the rear when its cap bonus was integrated into the hull (mostly) and got replaced by a missile range bonus, making its faction HAMs reach out to 30 km at max skills. It lost 1% in resists (like the Abaddon) but also now has a full 50m3 of drones, with 50 mb/s bandwidth, meaning it can drop a flight of medium drones in addition to its HAMs. Pro tip: for max damage, grab your target with double webs, and sit on its face. Use Rage HAMs against big (shield) cruisers, battlecruisers and above.
Rockets: They have been useful for a while now. I am not sure if the buffs to T2 missiles happened before or after you left, but both Javelin and Rage variations are very good. If you can get webs on a target, apply Rage rockets to their face for great damage.
HAMs and rockets have low damage when compared to turrets, but keep in mind that against appropriately sized targets, they can apply damage much more reliably than turrets can, often resulting in more actual applied damage than turrets can manage.
Daleth Prem wrote:Same with Battlecruisers, is the navy Harbinger any good? Harb was my favourite BC but back then it was usually all Hurricanes.
Drakes and Hurricanes got put in their place, so it is not Drake/Hurricane Online anymore. Changes relevant to Drakes/Canes and Amarr BCs:
- Drake: Overall, Drake lost a lot of speed/agility, and a little tank. HAM Drake gained slight damage. HML Drake lost damage and application due to a heavy HML nerf. The old Drake's functionality can be sort of achieved with the Drake Navy Issue (which has a ridiculous application bonus to missiles, and flexible damage types).
- Hurricane: Lost a ton of tank, its second utility high slot, and fittings. It does not have the slots to fit two neuts anymore; shield Hurricane has a significant lack of EHP compared to other BCs; it now has to take fitting tradeoffs into consideration. If you loved the old cane, you can look at the Hurricane Fleet Issue, which is like the old Hurricane but better in every way.
- Harbinger: Gained 25m3 of drone bay and a small amount of fittings. It's currently in a good place as one of the tankiest BCs, with great range flexibility. Remains a little difficult to fit, but well worth it.
- Harbinger Navy Issue: I have not actually seen these around much, but if I do, I'd steer clear of them. 5 mid slots and a tracking bonus mean they will shred anything that is not prepared.
- Prophecy: Lost laser bonus, gained drone bonus. It is the tankiest battlecruiser, and along with the Myrmidon, boasts extreme versatility. Neuts, lasers, autocannons, blasters, fleet links, varied electronic warfare, you name it.
Daleth Prem wrote:then some ewar for the Curse/Pilgrim possibly.
Recons have not yet gotten any rebalancing, so they are a bit... iffy. Curse/Pilgrim have had their glaring speed issues brought even more into the spotlight due to cruisers in general getting faster. If you can make that work for you, they are still good.
You should look into the Sentinel, though. It, too, can now neut out to 30 km, in addition to having ridiculous tracking disruptors. It's not amazing at fighting alone, but in a gang it often proves invaluable.
Daleth Prem wrote:I'm planning on doing some exploration for money and then either fw/0.0 pvp if it's not too blobby. I was considering buying the Stratios for awesome looks and for exploration, but the 400 mil pricetag seems a bit over the top. Is it really worth it?
You can do FW and exploration at the same time with no trouble. 0.0 and exploration, too, if you can handle some of the tougher combat sites.
The "blobbiness" of FW really depends on where you are, when you're there, and what you're doing. It's very possible to get a 30-40 man gang dropped on your head, but if you know where/when to look, you can find plenty of solo/small gang fun. I can't speak to the state of 0.0 myself, other than that they appear to be enjoying some big wars and drone assist shenanigans.
I don't think the Stratios is worth it with its current price tag, but I fully expect it to drop to 250 mil, if not lower, given some time. Ditto (and even more so) goes for the Astero, which I expect to drop to 60-70 mil or below. Remember these ships count as "pirate" faction rarity ships, so they will have some inflated price by their very nature.
Welcome back to Eve! Now go blow something up.
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