Ines Tegator
Serious Business Inc. Ltd. LLC. etc.
566
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Posted - 2015.02.27 14:55:59 -
[1] - Quote
Solving the wrong problem, IMO. The design of drones is more complex then mere DPS, and so is the problem of Ishtars Online. I refer to my post in the other sentry thread:
Ines Tegator wrote:Bouncer nerf misses the point. So does the announced Ishtar nerf of reducing the damage bonus.
Tracking is the problem. Sentries are a BS sized weapon systems. They should not be able to track frigates and cruisers at close range. Sub-BS hulls should not get tracking bonuses to them. With their native high tracking, PLUS the tracking bonus on many ship hulls, sentry drones can apply their BS sized DPS to medium sized or smaller ships, and do it without need for webs or target painters. This should not be possible.
Drones already offer the flexibility of being able to swap weapon class at will. No other weapon system can do this; it's part of their design and their key advantage. By carrying a stock of Light drones in their hold, even a BS can engage frigate sized targets. However, by changing your weapon class, you also change your DPS class. A Dominix using Light Drones is doing a fraction of it's DPS potential; this is a worthwhile tradeoff to hit small targets that would be able to speed tank you otherwise. Sentries don't need to make that tradeoff; that's why they are OP. Putting tracking bonuses on drone boats was a mistake that should never have been made; it sabotages the entire design philosophy of drones.
Without the tracking bonuses, sentries are no more powerful then equivalent BS guns. This is how it should be. Be able to down-class at will to engage a smaller target is already a huge advantage.
For reference, Garde II's can easily hit cruisers at 10-15km. That's huge for a gun that can also hit out to 40km optimals (50+ with falloff). For comparison, an Apocalypse with 8 Mega Pulse Laser II's and tracking mods gets similar performance - and the Apoc was SPECIFICALLY INTENDED to be a tracking/application battleship platform. Sentries do it by nature, on all platforms. Something is not adding up here.
Hitting the Ishtar's drone bay size is also called for - Ishtars can carry a full 3 flights of sentries, so they can drop sentries and run to gain the advantage of tracking targets from a distance. The VNI, in comparison, can carry one flight plus either a couple replacements, or a backup squad of light and mediums. This directly addresses the "drop and run" problem by making it a viable strategy to shoot the drones down.
Overhaul Dscan!
Make your own rules - Noobs to Null / Casual Vets Corp
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