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Lord WarATron
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Posted - 2006.05.12 11:46:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Lord WarATron on 12/05/2006 11:48:43
Edited by: Lord WarATron on 12/05/2006 11:46:56
I have been running lvl4's for a long long time. I have been running complex's for even longer. I am not a noob when it comes to PvE (or even PvP), however I have noticed a hidden Smartbomb nerf.
For a long time now, you may have noticed I encoraged everyone to use smartbombs in lvl4's, and I always take at least 2x 7.5km's to any lvl4 or 5/10 I do. In the past, they used to allow me to half the time it takes to do lvl4's solo, and for some lvl4's, they would kill all rats within a minute of warping in. As a backup mesure, a couple of 7.5k's would instapop every single scrambler and webber in every lvl4 I have played, meaning that missions became a lot safer as well.
This is now changed. It now appears that virtualy no rats now orbit you less than 9km, scramblers orbiting you at 9.750km (?). Without relising this, I did a typical lvl4 drone mission, went for full aggro so I could smartbomb everyone, and were it not for my officer mods, my can would be littering in space. In the past, this same mission would allow me to instapop 80% of rats, now I can barely instapop 5% due to orbiting range changes.
Let us take Smugglers Interception. In the past, you could instapop the entire spawn upon warpin. Now they all pretty much orbit you at 12km, rendering smartbombs useless.
I dare not retry my tactics in Ritualist Raids lvl4, where I charge the base smartbombing everyone and enjoy the fireworks of the hundreds of walls blowing up. Now I must do what everyone else does. Make a big distance and snip away. In fact, t2 ammo appears to want to encorage sniping.
I have said before that any smartbomb of 5km or below is useless for PvE. I will now change that statement - Any smartbomb below 10km is next to useless.
Why the nerf?
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Slot 10 Akemons Modified 'Noble'Zet 5000 implant +8% Armour
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Kery Nysell
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Posted - 2006.05.12 12:19:00 -
[2]
Well, I stopped trying to use smartbombs 9 months ago, when I realised that apart from a rare few Serpentis rats, everything in missions orbited me between 8000 and 9750m ... against Guristas, Blood Raiders, Angels and Sanshas, I've never been able to get them in smartbomb range, and even the Drones i fought were beyond 8000m.
But that's just me, it seems that every player has a different experience with those orbiting NPCs ...
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Thalera Saldana
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Posted - 2006.05.12 12:46:00 -
[3]
 Originally by: Kery Nysell
Well, I stopped trying to use smartbombs 9 months ago, when I realised that apart from a rare few Serpentis rats, everything in missions orbited me between 8000 and 9750m ... against Guristas, Blood Raiders, Angels and Sanshas, I've never been able to get them in smartbomb range, and even the Drones i fought were beyond 8000m.
But that's just me, it seems that every player has a different experience with those orbiting NPCs ...
Agree with this, the angel scrambling inties (vipers?) always orbit me between 8-10km, with only the angel webifiers coming below 7.5 km. (Some of the basic frigs do come in below 5 km, but they pretty much instapop on the way in anyhow). Have never seen the point in training smart bombs for pve.
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Lord WarATron
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Posted - 2006.05.12 13:12:00 -
[4]
For PvE, they used to be excellent, as with my agent at least, 50-100% of rats could be instapoped on lvl4's. Now, and it appears only over the last few weeks, they are lucky to kill even 5%. Something has changed in this time. Orbiting ranges have been modified, and people like me, who use smartbombs on lvl4's, will find them close to useless now.
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Tachy
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Posted - 2006.05.12 15:06:00 -
[5]
Guesstimation:
NPC have had their agility or mass changed becaue the ways to get rid of them became a little scarce and the devs actually lisitened to pilots stating that some NPC act in very strange ways.
T1 smartbombs have been pretty useless for ages. And with the missile change they lost their last use for the none hardcore-PvP pilot.
--*=*=*--
Megadon
CCP wanted a well known artist and celebrity to test the new font so it's approval would be well known. They got Ray |
Vexoth
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Posted - 2006.05.12 16:30:00 -
[6]
The other day I had a mission to kill Amarr ships and about 13-14 of the frigs all orbited within range, but I have only found 1 mission that does this.
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Hurada
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Posted - 2006.05.12 18:07:00 -
[7]
Edited by: Hurada on 12/05/2006 18:07:49
Well :( Smartbombs are fun. I did find a use on a level 2 mission once, popped 8-10 npc frigs in one go (cruser+2med sb). I dunno if things have changed since then.
edit: ^^ maybe the same one Vexoth.
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wolf
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Posted - 2006.05.12 19:32:00 -
[8]
I sling a couple of Smarts into my Navy Raven if any of the spawns contain Guardian Vets as they orbit nice and close but they're the only NPC's I've ever had orbit me close enough to pop this way in a couple of years of doing Level 4's.
I have to agree with the replies before mine in that Smartbombs have always been a rare choice for me in PvE.
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Saryn Lightyear
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Posted - 2006.05.12 21:42:00 -
[9]
Smart Bombs are great against Serpentis because in order to use their blasters they have to get close real fast. Roughly 70% of Serpentis cruisers I've encountered MWD within 3-7km range before they can start doing any damage. The few that orbits at around 18-23km are usually negligible because they use railguns and do little damage to you.
Same goes for Serpentis battleships. Most of them need to MWD to you to be of any serious threat. The fact that devs give them MWDs so they can use their weapons makes it all the more convenient for you to sit there and wait with a few smarties.
Since regular SBs only do 5km range, you will have to get Serpentis or Dread Guristas Large SBs to do their damage type. I also use Republic Fleet smarties (explosive) for the extra range.
They work very well. Only on Serpentis tho, cuz they use hybrid guns.
-Sar
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Harry Voyager
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Posted - 2006.05.12 22:47:00 -
[10]
This also nails people running higher rank missions in small ships, as webbing NPCs now orbit just outside of the effective range of short range small guns, and out of the tracking of long range small guns.
CCP seems determined that everyone must "tank and grind" missions.
Harry Voyager
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Cade Morrigan
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Posted - 2006.05.13 03:06:00 -
[11]
Originally by: Lord WarATron
Now, and it appears only over the last few weeks, they are lucky to kill even 5%. Something has changed in this time.
I noticed this when RMR went live, this isn't a very recent change. Even worse than simply changing the orbit range, the rats know when you're packing Smarbombs and adjust their orbit accordingly. I was on an L2 mission, i think it was Illegal Activity (Gallente navy rats), and was getting orbited tightly by a bunch of frigs. So i docked and put on smartbombs, warped back out, and the little bastards changed their orbits to be outside my bomb range. Grr!
-= Save the Gila! Fix its grid and cpu! =-
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Argenton Sayvers
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Posted - 2006.05.13 04:39:00 -
[12]
That explains why Shield tanking gear, Faction / officer cruises, Heavie Missiles and BCU prices are through the roof. There are 3 ways to do missions:
1. Raven with cruises
2. Cerberus with Heavies
3. Raven with cruises and Cerberus with heavies.
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mazzilliu
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Posted - 2006.05.13 06:57:00 -
[13]
smartbombs are great against pods 
oh, wait, pve...
smartbombs are useless 
on missions we ran the only rats that came that close were in the level 1 and 2 missions, we would bring smartbombs just to finish them fast.
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Sig removed BEFORE the mods got to it bahaha -mazzilliu
But we can play with it after. ~kieron
that should be considered an exploit >[ -mazzilliu
Exploit, what explot  - Xorus |
Hellspawn01
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Posted - 2006.05.13 11:56:00 -
[14]
I use a 8.250m smarty and I can kill 90% of the webbers in ritualist raids with it. Only certain frigs orbit above 11km but I have drones for those (after I killed the webbers with smarty ofc). The same goes for many other missions but it might only apply to certain factions with your issues. Most mission webbers that I encounter are inside the smarty range, a small amount is outside.
**Ship lovers click here** |
Thecle Vifargent
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Posted - 2006.05.14 11:18:00 -
[15]
Originally by: Argenton Sayvers
That explains why Shield tanking gear, Faction / officer cruises, Heavie Missiles and BCU prices are through the roof. There are 3 ways to do missions:
1. Raven with cruises
2. Cerberus with Heavies
3. Raven with cruises and Cerberus with heavies.
Rattle with cruise is cool too :)
About the smartbomb thingy in pve, my opinion is its not too late CCP bought a brain to the rats so they dont be insta pop with such toys... With a bit stuff and skill level 4 missions are sleepy, we dont need "more than idiot" rats in it who rush a smartbomb aoe...
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Lorette
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Posted - 2006.05.14 11:38:00 -
[16]
Yep the only frig i see coming within 8k or so is the really low bounty serp frigs (7.5k and below) and the guardian veterans (which orbit at about 2.5k)
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inSpirAcy
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Posted - 2006.05.14 12:29:00 -
[17]
Originally by: Cade Morrigan
I noticed this when RMR went live, this isn't a very recent change. Even worse than simply changing the orbit range, the rats know when you're packing Smarbombs and adjust their orbit accordingly.
I thought I was imagining this.
I saw some cruisers (thoraxes on IA 1/3? might have been the stabbers on TS 3/3) coming in fast so I switched to MF crystals and opened fire, pre-empting them coming into range. They then slowed, turned around, and headed out to 25km. I switched to standard crystals, then they went out even further. Finally nailed them with microwaves. 
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