it is not that hard to understand why naga was turned into a railgun ship.

Battleship class Missle + 8 luncher slots + damage bonus means too much damage(10 effective lunchers).
Even the Golem hasonly 8 effective lunchers, and that is probably the highest damage a missle ship could have.
25% more than that? it will be over powered.

you might say well okay lets give it 6 lunchers/ range + explosion speed bonus.
Those doesn't work.
6 lunchers either means utility highes, or more mid/low.
range +explosion bonus means similar damage compaired to other ABCs, but better damage projection.

you can see it is easier to keep missles out of ABC than try to find strange solutions for the problem.

But it's ok for a Machariel and Vindicator to have 11+ effective launchers while the vaunted Golem and Navy Raven are gimped to 8?
I like the idea that Spugg Galdon put forth, keep the Naga a hybrid platform, but add a Navy version that can fit missiles. Everybody, except for Sato Page and his biases, is now happy.

But it's ok for a Machariel and Vindicator to have 11+ effective launchers while the vaunted Golem and Navy Raven are gimped to 8?
I like the idea that Spugg Galdon put forth, keep the Naga a hybrid platform, but add a Navy version that can fit missiles. Everybody, except for Sato Page and his biases, is now happy.

Just to recall, at the time of ABC-deployment cruises were yet left untouched and torps didn't have GMP applied yet - so while the naga back then didn't succeed as a decent missileplatform, those things could have greatly changed by now. Eight Cruise Launchers with their massive alpha and flawless application in such a situation, bound to a ship slightly faster than a phoon and significantly cheaper might prove one-sided.

So we have 4 attack BC
2 hybrid : talos and naga
1 projectile: tornado
1 laser: oracle
Well, where is missile attack BC ?

My bonuses:
5% reduction torpedo and cruisers explosion radius
5% increase torpedo and cruisers explosion velocity

p.s. Drone attack BC would be impressive too

Comment and comment again

The Naga should be converted to a missile platform, plain and simple. The only reason it was redesigned as a hybrid because large missiles sucked at the time. Just revise the bonuses as follows:

Battlecruiser Skill bonus per level:
5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage -+ 5% bonus to cruise/torpedo explosion velocity
10% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret optimal range -+ 10% bonus to cruise/torpedo missile velocity

The Naga should be converted to a missile platform, plain and simple. The only reason it was redesigned as a hybrid because large missiles sucked at the time. Just revise the bonuses as follows:

Battlecruiser Skill bonus per level:
5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage -+ 5% bonus to cruise/torpedo explosion velocity
10% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret optimal range -+ 10% bonus to cruise/torpedo missile velocity

That's a lovely Naga you have there. Not ridiculously overpowered at all.

Why it can only do a mere 1050k DPS at 250 km with one flight time rig. And a pathetic 1250 dps at 200km with furies.

I especially like the damage application bonus against smaller targets.

Let them eat cake! And carry rocket launchers, and miniguns! And they shall be unto all as a fierce wind, scouring thine enemy before you with as much dps as a gank vindicator, projecting at ranges better than a sniper Rohk, and being highly effective vs all classes of ships!

And let the hull be cheap, and affordable, and quick to train! Let them be agile, quick to align, high scan resolution! Let them have low mass, and massive dps. For nothing is too good for my dear missile users.

TLDR: No.

Yeah, with a 20-second flight time... A missile-based Naga wouldn't be any different than the other Attack Battlecruisers. You obviously have no concept of how missiles work if you think even a 25% explosion velocity bonus gives it damage application against smaller targets.

I am perfectly aware that an explosion velocity bonus is a damage application bonus toward moving targets. But by some odd correlation, those also tend to be smaller ships. Imagine that.

I think the Drake is a perfectly fine missile BC. Ofc, it isn't an Attack BC i.e.: A ship designed to destroy battle ships.

However imo, that's why all of the stealth bombers use missiles. Stealth bombers bridge that gap between BC and BS (and beyond), just not in a way you expect. It is a powerful weapon system.

So with that in mind, I don't see the need for a missile ABC.

I imagine that you're completely underestimating the damage application of cruise missiles. On paper it may look great; in reality, a frigate could easily scram and kill a missile Naga.

But a cruise missile ABC would deal far better damage to say fleet AHAC's at close range than any of the other long range ABC's can.

No, even against cruisers (and especially AHACs) the damage is minimal. Unless you can scram and dual-web them, even with target painters and rigors you'll be doing about a fraction of your paper dps against an afterburner or microwarpdrive fit cruiser or HAC.

Doesn't this hold true for all the other ABC's though? Last I checked, A talos can't really hit a HAC that is in tight and moving at even half speed.... A talos 'slowboating' is capable of moving faster than it's guns can track on it's own. A rail Naga or Oracle can hit them well enough from range, but up close, neither of them can really hit either, IIRC.

I think the point here is that the cruise naga will still DO damage up close, and also from WAY far away, where the others can't.

So we have 4 attack BC
2 hybrid : talos and naga
1 projectile: tornado
1 laser: oracle
Well, where is missile attack BC ?

My bonuses:
5% reduction torpedo and cruisers explosion radius
5% increase torpedo and cruisers explosion velocity

p.s. Drone attack BC would be impressive too

Comment and comment again

A missile Naga should come with a second missile module that will affect different aspects of missiles than the Ballistic Control System, the only missile specific module that we have. This would help to balance missiles with turrets in that turrets have multiple modules to choose from to create a more ideal fit, missiles fit gank, then tank, then fill the remaining lows with BCS and it's getting a little old.