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Drones+TDs: The upcoming PvP FotM?
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Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
#1 - 2012-09-22 21:25:11 UTC
Think about it: TDs are getting buffed in both strength (on bonused ships) and to affect missiles. On top of that, there will be:


  • Two new drone destroyers (both armor tanked, and will presumably be able to fit a meta TD)
  • Buffs to the Crucifier and Arbitrator making them into stronger drone ships; Maulus and Celestis also being buffed, with drones being their intended weapon system.
  • Sentinel, Pilgrim and Curse being indirectly buffed
  • Rebalanced Vexor (no details yet, but will likely remain armor tanked) and Tristan
  • Nerfs to Drake and Hurricane making Myrmidon more viable for small gang PvP; plus, with 5 mids, guess what Ewar it will fit?
  • Drone damage amplifiers (already a thing)
  • New ewar drones
  • Drones are the only weapon system immune to TDs and can even somewhat circumvent ECM and sensor damping.


All changes are pointing toward a massive buff for drone boats. Is the age of the drone here?

Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)
Alara IonStorm
#2 - 2012-09-22 21:33:25 UTC
Gonna Smartbomb your World.

I honestly don't think TD's should be buffed beyond Missile Inclusion along with TE's and TC. They were good before the balance effort.
silent uk
Sacred Templars
Fraternity.
#3 - 2012-09-22 21:33:45 UTC
Drones, the only weapon system that can be shot and destroyed... o wai
Petrus Blackshell
Rifterlings
#4 - 2012-09-22 21:34:41 UTC  |  Edited by: Petrus Blackshell
I heard the Drake wasn't allowed to have damage projection...
Quote:

[Myrmidon, Snipe]

Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Tracking Enhancer II
Signal Amplifier II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
Large Shield Extender II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script

250mm Railgun II, Spike M
250mm Railgun II, Spike M
250mm Railgun II, Spike M
250mm Railgun II, Spike M
250mm Railgun II, Spike M
250mm Railgun II, Spike M

Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
[Empty Rig slot]


Warden II x3

Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)
TheBreadMuncher
Protus Correction Facility Inc.
#5 - 2012-09-22 21:50:22 UTC
God I hope so.

"We will create the introduction thread if that is requested by the community. Also, we will have an ISD Seminar about the CCL team in the coming weeks in which you can ask your questions about the CCL team and provide some constructive feedback to us." - Countless pages of locked threads and numerous permabanned accounts later, change is coming.
No More Heroes
Boomer Humor
Snuffed Out
#6 - 2012-09-22 21:52:21 UTC
No

.
Dain Highwind
La Isla del Mono
#7 - 2012-09-22 22:29:07 UTC
Yes but you still have missiles if you have to emerrgency warp out from combat.
Kuehnelt
Devoid Privateering
#8 - 2012-09-23 03:06:22 UTC  |  Edited by: Kuehnelt
Petrus Blackshell wrote:
[list]
  • Two new drone destroyers (both armor tanked, and will presumably be able to fit a meta TD)
  • Buffs to the Crucifier and Arbitrator making them into stronger drone ships; Maulus and Celestis also being buffed, with drones being their intended weapon system.
  • Sentinel, Pilgrim and Curse being indirectly buffed

    • 1. The Crucifier did not previously exist as a drone boat; the Winter Crucifier will have four unbonused lights out at a time. It's a TD boat that can scrape up to half the DPS of a Tristan-sans-DDA/MFS only after fitting two DDAs (assuming no turrets in the highslots, since it doesn't have a bonus for those either). The Arbitrator's only getting an extra lowslot, as far as 'strong drones' are concerned. I'd rather use that lowslot to drop to 800mm plate without losing EHP, so that it can fit more effective highslots.

    2. All that we know about the Sentinel, Pilgrim, and Curse so far is that they're getting the new stronger TD bonus. Unbonused scripted TDs are already super effective, so I don't see what the big deal is about the TD bonus. And since everybody's talking about nerfing TDs+buffing Amarr TD bonuses to fix that, here's my idea: make TDs only scriptable on TD-bonused hulls.

    But yeah, Amarrian drone boats have great synergy: 1) TD keeps the drones alive. 2) Against a drone boat which can launch lights to take care of your drones, Amarr have huge drone bays for other/replacement drones. Amarr are for this reason also the most likely to even have a flight of lights just for enemy drones, vs. two sets or only one flight of mediums or whatever. 3) Drones are a ******* terrible weapon system considering both damage and damage application, but the TDs give you an excuse to fly the hull, and can bring your opponent down to your level of ****** DPS, and meanwhile Amarrian patented 'brick'(R) technology allows for longer deployment of weaker effective DPS against what may be a weaker-tanked opponent.

    All of that said, I'm absolutely terrible at cruiser PvP and have only put the Arbitrator to any respectable use in fleet combat in which the drones (and highslots) are almost completely irrelevant. My usual experience with Arbitrators is to lose them to groups of frigates (hi, OP, don't think I've forgotten your Kitsune) in which the best I ever do is drive off one of the attackers. So listen to the guy a few posts from now who exclaims that he's gotten two hundred kills this week with the Arbitrator and certainly won't stop using it when tiericide removes some of the suck from every other Amarrian cruiser.
    EvEa Deva
    Doomheim
    #9 - 2012-09-23 04:05:05 UTC
    So missiles are gonna be treated as turrets do gunnery skills help missiles now ?
    Petrus Blackshell
    Rifterlings
    #10 - 2012-09-23 04:31:52 UTC
    EvEa Deva wrote:
    So missiles are gonna be treated as turrets do gunnery skills help missiles now ?

    Tracking Enhancers and Tracking Computers will, yes, as well as Tracking Disruptors.

    Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)
    Marlona Sky
    State War Academy
    Caldari State
    #11 - 2012-09-23 04:56:59 UTC
    Petrus Blackshell wrote:
    I heard the Drake wasn't allowed to have damage projection...
    Quote:

    [Myrmidon, Snipe]

    Drone Damage Amplifier II
    Drone Damage Amplifier II
    Damage Control II
    Co-Processor II
    Tracking Enhancer II
    Signal Amplifier II

    Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
    Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
    Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
    Large Shield Extender II
    Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script

    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M

    Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
    Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
    [Empty Rig slot]


    Warden II x3


    Every snipe fleet aligns. So the first time you warp to avoid getting bubbled/tackled... how much of your damage was left behind? Yes, I know you have room in the drone bay for one more flight of three sentries. So after two warps, you have lost a majority of your damage. Also why would you pick rail-guns over artillery?
    Petrus Blackshell
    Rifterlings
    #12 - 2012-09-23 05:12:11 UTC
    Marlona Sky wrote:
    [
    Every snipe fleet aligns. So the first time you warp to avoid getting bubbled/tackled... how much of your damage was left behind? Yes, I know you have room in the drone bay for one more flight of three sentries. So after two warps, you have lost a majority of your damage. Also why would you pick rail-guns over artillery?

    I'm bad, you see. I'm not saying the FotM will be good for me. I will likely fail at it as usual. P

    Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)
    Ocih
    Space Mermaids
    #13 - 2012-09-23 05:20:43 UTC
    No More Heroes wrote:
    No


    Agreed

    The only thing slower to effect damage than a missile is a Drone.
    TD always worked on Artillery. Nobody uses it.
    They aren't called GoonSquad. Nerf it, bring more ships.
    King Rothgar
    Deadly Solutions
    #14 - 2012-09-23 07:08:54 UTC
    Petrus Blackshell wrote:
    I heard the Drake wasn't allowed to have damage projection...
    Quote:

    [Myrmidon, Snipe]

    Drone Damage Amplifier II
    Drone Damage Amplifier II
    Damage Control II
    Co-Processor II
    Tracking Enhancer II
    Signal Amplifier II

    Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
    Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
    Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
    Large Shield Extender II
    Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script

    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M
    250mm Railgun II, Spike M

    Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
    Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
    [Empty Rig slot]


    Warden II x3



    And then you got alpha'd by a pair of tornados 80km away.

    [u]Fireworks and snowballs are great, but what I really want is a corpse launcher.[/u]
    Petrus Blackshell
    Rifterlings
    #15 - 2012-09-23 07:11:03 UTC
    King Rothgar wrote:

    And then you got alpha'd by a pair of tornados 80km away.

    What sort of range does a TD'd Tornado get?

    Accidentally The Whole Frigate - For-newbies blog (currently on pause)