The Hamilton wrote:T3's current idea (and one we see in the destroyers) is that they are not perfect at any one thing, but a Jack of all trades. We'll still have to wait and see how the destroyers work. But in the meantime, if your going to go through with the mental exercise of designing a T3 Battleship then take into account what CCP has already stated about their intentions to re-focus T3 when they balance them.
- What are all the aspects that Battleships are meant to do?
- Make each of these area's less powerful than current battleships and combine them in a way that players can switch and change, depending on the circumstance.
-Don't go adding entire fleet / area buffs, as that should really be left to the Command Ships.
If it were ever added to the game, I'd hope that I could switch from being a Malestrom Arty fit with less firing power to a Baltec Hyperion maybe with less tank.
The only other flavour I really see in Battleships is for PvE and switching to that sounds stupid. It really doesn't seem to fit with the idea of Battleships which have two main roles. Provide alpha and tank.
I see 4 or 5 other roles for battleships, that aren't great in the giant massed armadas of 0.0, but are great for a smaller scale game.
Heavy DPS: It is hard to beat the DPS of a blaster battleship in close combat, and most things which try are rendered into dust by the massive firepower.
Long range sniping: Other than the extremely fragile attack battlecruisers, nothing can match the range and availability of battleship guns. While dreads bring more firepower, they are also harder to get a decent number of for anything smaller than the major blocs.
Heavy-Ewar platforms: These lovely ships have a large number of slots, making them able to fit a fairly large number of E-war systems. These can prove effective, although at present most forms of EWAR do not have t1 hulls bonused in their use.
PvE: Most PvE isk comes out of battleships at this point, so it has to be addressed. PvE balance, while definitively secondary, is an important consideration for battleships as a whole.
Pipe bombing: relies on battleships, as nothing else has the requisite combination of large numbers of highslots, a deep EHP well, sufficient slots to tank against your own damage type and put cap into. This is not a role which can be much improved on though, without making an over powered ship in some other applications.