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The interdictor class isn't meant to just be able to warp around systems dropping bubbles left and right thereby limiting other peoples game imo, with this change if you drop a bubble you actually have to fight - And from OP's reasoning it sounds as if he somehow has gotten the idea that a dictor is a solo ship stuck in his head, it's meant to a gang assister, use your gang to defend yourself!

Edit: And I agree with Vincent Gaines that since bubbles are now an aggressive act it should count as such in the killmails - its not dealing any damage but if it weren't for it, there may not have been one killmail to start with...

Bye bye double bubble.

Obviously it is, hence the change.

So you don't really mean anything aggressive when you drop one?
You're just helping out the enemy by stopping their ship earlier or from burning out their warp engine when trying to leave. How thoughtful.

There is a lot of emotion running in this thread. My post is an attempt to assess the impacts logically.

First - I'd like to say that comparing interdiction spheres with Smart Bombs or ECM bursts is just stupid and is fudging the arguments in this thread. Sure they are AOE wpns, but they are instant use, bubbles stay up after deployment. Completely different mindset and tactics for using.

Secondly - I've lived in null sec just over a month now and in that time have been on 89 Killmails, 3 of them were dictors and this is probably a higher ratio than I've met them. It doesn't strike me that dictors had a get out of jail free card before this change. They are extremely easy to kill and what is more, if you take one down it is common to pod the pilot too, because he is caught in his own bubble. I know this that there is real difficulty finding pilots that are prepared to fly dictors, because they are very expensive, die easy and the kill boards don't recognise their efforts most times.

Third - HIC bubbles should be classed identically to dictor bubbles, this change if it is valid should have been applied to them too, it doesn't appear to have been, that is just wrong. I'm also confused as to whether this change has replaced the old mechanic or added to it. ie does the aggression counter still keep getting refreshed by ppl trying to warp out? As for Mobile Warp bubbles giving aggression, that is just silly and the fact that anybody can deploy them coupled with the deployment delay perfectly 'balances' them IMHO.

So can we keep this thread to the merits of the changes to interdictor bubbles please.

I am not an experienced dictor pilot but that 'was' about to change (brought 3 Sabres just last week). There are 3 distinct tactics that this change affects and I'd like to understand them or confirm my current understanding better.

1. Dropping a bubble and jumping through a gate while fleeing a chasing enemy fleet.

This tactics seems great at first glance, but I don't really see how it really is that useful. My understanding is that bubbles do not affect ships that have already entered warp at the time the bubble was posted. That means the enemy fleet has to be at least a full warp (system) away. What is the danger that you are tying to guard against? If you are in a pipe and really expect to be caught eventually, you can warp to a safe and cloak or log. I don't understand why so many pro dictor pilots are complaining about this loss.

2. Letting someone aggress the dictor on the undock. Dictor posts the bubble and docks, friendly fleet undocks and kill the aggressor, who can't dock and can't warp off.

I don't see why this is considered a problem. The aggressor has to be stupid to get caught like this and there are so many other way an idiot on the undock can be caught. A far more common and irritating tactic is the use of the alt in a Carrier repping someone without getting aggression. I don't understand why anti - dictor pilots are saying this is a major problem.

Frankly, and I'm not trying to be a troll here, but the two points above just seem to be more fudge that people are sprouting to strengthen their point of view.

3. So that leaves the double bubble tactic. For those that don't know what that means - There is a base 2 minute RoF timer on the launcher, reduced to 1 minute with Level V Interdictor skill. So the Interdictor pilot fits two launchers sits on one side of the gate, post bubble when an enemy lands on one side, then immediately jumps through and posts bubble on the other side. Thus it no longer matters which side the enemy aggesses on or tries to jump through to escape. This tactic is most effective when you have a small gang that is large enough to be split into two groups without the worry that you are too thin on the ground to prevent warps outs.

I can only believe that it is this final tactic that is the cause of this change and at first glance it seemed to me to be a justifiable one. However, thinking about it deeper I'm not so sure. First, fitting a double bubble set up is difficult, you don't just lose another high slot, but you gimp your CPU and have to use 2 Co-Processors in the lows assuming you fit a cloak as well. Really all you can do after that is drop bubbles, you have no DPS to speak of and only a very limited tank. Secondly, with a bubble on either side of the gate, you can't escape and your victims are going to try and take the dictor with them, because his tank is so paper thin.

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TLDR - This is a poorly thought out knee jerk change to prevent the double bubble tactic. However, there are already sever penalties to employing a double bubble setup and given the expensive of the ship and it's limited survivability, there is already a problem finding pilots willing to fly dictors. If CCP don't want dictors in the game they should remove them, not gimp them to the point that nobody will fly them. Finding willing dictor pilots was already a problem.

If people want to argue over the merits of that, go ahead, but please stop wading in with bullshit to fudge the real issue.