Stuart Price
Caldari
The Black Rabbits
The Gurlstas Associates
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Posted - 2009.01.12 23:28:00 -
[1]
I like the idea of ECM. I like the idea that you can use electronic warfare to destabilise a ships targeting and weapons ability. What I'm not 100% happy with is the current mechanic.
Now let me preface this by saying that I own and fly a Falcon. I also fit ECCM to my battleships. Most t2 bc's and some t2 cruisers also benefit from ECCM but the rest are entirely crippled and fitting an ECCM doesn't help a whole hell of a lot. Fitting an ECCM to an interceptor for example, is an exercise in futility, whereas dual ECCM'ing an Abaddon allows you to laugh at ECM the majority of the time as you continue to melt things.
I've seen a lot of ideas (and had a few) but I'm currently favouring any of the following, possibly in combination:
1. ECM breaks locks but does NOT prevent relocking for 20 seconds. It will therefore function as a directed ECM burst. This will allow small, fast ships with high sensor strengths to close with and engage Falcons with a degree of success. A lone interceptor is not foolproof since the Falcon can align and warp as soon as the jam hits (before the inty can relock), assuming epic bumpage is not ensuing. Two interceptors becomes a definite threat though. Same with fast cruiser hulls (Vagabond).
2. Comparative Sig radius affecting the success of ECM attacks made against the ship. This means that a Kitsune is more effective against smaller ships, where a Falcon has a weaker ECM effect and a Scorpion has a vastly reduced chance. Dedicated ECM ships could then have a bonus switched over to affect this attribute, making them more effective at jamming smaller targets. Or you could reverse this, so that a Kitsune or Falcon has a terrible chance of jamming larger ships, requiring the use of a Scorpion, whichever actually makes more sense since you can argue it either way.
3. Replace the Falcon's ECM range bonus with an ECM falloff bonus. It can still attempt to jam at 200km, but in falloff, where its chances fall considerably.
4. Introduce a new skill, 'Hardened Electronics', which increases Sensor Strength by 5% per level.
5. Reduce the cycle time to 10 seconds and half the cap activation cost to compensate.
6. Conversely, MASSIVELY increase the cap usage of ECM so that it can't be permarun.
I dunno, maybe all these ideas are just trash. I am very tired after all.
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