
Stuart Price
Caldari Havoc Inc
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Posted - 2007.10.29 16:35:00 -
[1]
When does something become overpowered?
If the answer is: "When it's required to compete in any meaningful way", then nanofits are overpowered.
Let's take the comparison of speed vs. tank as a defensive mechanic. Two heavily tanked ships meet and start to fight. They can't break each other. BUT they can keep the other tackled for backup to arrive and tip the balance. Two nanoships meet each other and start to fight. They can't hit each other. BUT they're so fast one of them can just leave to end the fight before backup arrives. Speed is therefore better than tank.
Now let's compare speed vs. gank as an offensive mechanic in gangs. Twenty battleships load up on damage mods and sensor booster and start roaming. They meet a few solo players and maybe a small gatecamp of battleships and cruisers. They melt them very quickly with staggeringly overwhelming firepower. They meet a nanogang coming the other way in 20 ships, a combination of Vagabonds, 'dictors and Ishtars. The battleships gang cannot hit the nanogang at all whereas the nanoships can pick a target and focus fire on it until it pops, because while their individual dps is low, 20 ships worth of it will still pop a target pretty fast. If the fight looks to be going against the battleship gang they can't leave as they're easily tackled. If the nanogang starts getting into trouble (maybe the battleships took heavy neuts or warped in a matari recon) they can just leave being too fast to stop. Speed wins again.
What are the counters to tanking? 1. Find and exploit a resistance hole. 2. Brute force - go all out on damage mods and deal more dps than the tank can sustain. 3. Neuts/nos - if active tanking, can't run a rep/booster without cap. 4. Being friends - to add more damage.
What are the counters to gank? 1. E-War - once jammed or damped out, they're sitting ducks. 2. Neuts/nos - if using hybrids or lasers, bleed their cap out. 3. Tracking disruptors - if using turrets. 4. Defender missiles - if using missiles and once defenders are fixed :p 5. A better tank that can take the punishment. 6. Better gank than them so they die faster than you do.
What are the counters to speed? 1. A faster ship than them - but only if it can outfight them. Sending interceptors after nanohacs for example is largely suicide. 2. Neuts/nos - will scare them off if they're clever, will drop the MWD and allow them to be killed if they're not so clever. 3. Webbers - assuming they come within range. If they get in range of a normal web then they are idiots and deserve to die. 4. Minny recons ship - Monster web range although most will warp out as soon as they see one anywhere in the same region. Also, it means being able to fly those ships in particular which not everyone can do. 5. E-War - Jam them out of the fight and force them to run. Doesn't kill them though.
So there ARE counters to nanoships but most don't actually result in a kill, unlike when countering other ship types/setups. This, again, makes nanoships overpowered.
Some final questions:
1. How often do you see a nanoship in 0.0? 2. How often do you see a non-nanoship in 0.0? 3. Now think about how many of each type you've killed. Are the percentages anywhere near even? 4. Now think about how many of each type have killed you. Are the perectages anywhere near even?
Not that any of this really makes a difference since nanfits are getting nerfed anyway, despite the impending forum whine. "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" |