Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Targeting this at the Thanatos only since the Nyx is still ok with its bonuses

Also please take into account that this is coming from a Wormholer and I am forced to assume some things about null sec based on what I have seen.

The Problem
As a Thanatos pilot myself I get sick of everywhere I go having people say "Get an Archon" "Get a Chimera" "Get a Nidhogger", no one ever says "Get a Thanatos". The reason for this is simple. The Thanatos is never any good for a fleet, I have not yet seen one proper cap fleet that uses fighters (well, maybe some small fleets) and so the Thanatos only has one per level bonus that is good for a fleet compared to all 3 other carriers which have 2.

My Solution
Note that this is my proposed solution, I would be happy to see other solutions posted here.

I have been thinking tonight and I think that the Thanatos would benefit from one or both of the following bonuses.

1) Take away the 5% bonus to fighter damage per level and replace with a 6% (example number, could be different, but must be higher than 3%) bonus per level to all warfare link bonuses, but only while in triage.
Balance arguments:
"You can't do that, it would be OP with that many links with those bonuses"
It may be, but remember that you will need a command processor for each link you want to use above one, so you would lose all but one mid slot to fill the highs with links.

"It would put command ships out of existence"
No it would not. Command ships are faster, cheaper and harder to scan down then a Thanatos so Command ships would still be used a lot. Also the Thanatos would have to be in triage while boosting so it would be very vulnerable. If that is still not enough to balance it, then make it be forced to be on grid.

2) Another idea I came up with but have not put as much thought into is changing the shield or armor or both into a capacitor transfer range bonus, then add a effectiveness bonus to it like the nidhogger has for shield and armor.

i do believe this is the first time ive ever heard "get a nidhoggur"

**** off and leave my Thanatos alone.

Having said that I will now read your proposal and, should it be warranted, amend this post.

Ok, I stopped reading your proposal when you said get a Nidhoggur because you're obviously out of touch.

No one. No one says bring a Nidhoggur.

NO ONE. You know why? because they suck at Fleet work.

The reason the Archon is more sought after is because the current meta favors a large buffer and remote reps over individual DPS, and the Archon is better suited for that. It's been that way for a while now. Thanny's are better suited to small engagements where individual DPS counts for more.

The archon is also more used because large gangs of capitals tend to get spread out more and the range bonus to the remote cap charger is useful for maintaing your cap chains.

If you really want to propose a change to a carrier, help the poor Nid out. Aside form repping towers, it has absolutely no purpose in even being undocked, let alone in a fleet.

All 4 carriers have their roles. The archon is of course the blob favorite due to previously mentioned buffer tank + guardian style bonuses. The Chimera, as unpopular as shield fleets are at BS/cap level, fills that role for shield fleets. The nidhoggur is utterly unique in it being the only one with a remote rep amount bonus. It is ill suited to the thousand ship null sec cap blob, but in smaller engagements (less than 50 per side) it actually works quite well doing the very odd shield local tank with armor remote rep setup.

The thanny also has its role as the dps carrier. When I started out, it was a PL favorite (no one used SC's). It has fallen out of favor in pvp fleets but remains a favorite in the pve role. Given that fighters get bonuses from drone upgrades now, I see this setup replacing the sentry drone carrier as the preferred ratting and missioning setup. It is also worth noting that although spider tanking dps carriers aren't as popular now, there isn't anything intrinsically wrong with them. Just because no one is using a tactic doesn't mean it isn't viable.

Don't believe me? Here's a thought experiment. You have 20 players, they can fly absolutely anything in the game with perfect skills but they do not have super caps. You find a 10 man BS gang and suspect it's just the vanguard of something bigger. You decide to attack cause frack it, you have nothing better to do.

You:

A) Attack with 18x BS + 2x triage archons.

B) Attack with t3's and guardians.

C) Attack with 5x heavy tacklers + 15 dps Thannies (2500 dps a piece, 2 RR and 1 cap xfer).

D) Dock up and hide because you saw a shuttle on scan that isn't blue.

The results of this are fairly obvious. Ignoring D, A is the cheapest option but probably the least effective. B is the easiest to retreat with but is very unlikely to hold the field. C however is a ***** to take down. It may not score as many kills due to lack of mobility, but actually killing that fleet with anything of comparable size is going to be a problem.

I see no need to change carriers at this time. They all have well defined roles and perform well within those roles.

I actually would agree with this route for the carriers. I have rarely seen a Thanatos use its fighters (it only gets a damage bonus to fighters) in PvP and never in a slowcat/pantheon setup (Archons are still highly favored for their bonuses, tank, and fitting ability).

Make the Thanatos and Nidhoggur into more Triage-oriented boats (with active rep bonuses) with the Archon and Chimera geared towards fleets (same as they are now).
Buff the Thanny, Niddy, and Chimera up just a little bit and nerf the Archon just a little bit.

This might mix things up just a little bit without taking away too much of what they already have.