Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Every so often, a thread comes up asking for missile skills to be merged, or re-evaluated, considering the discrepency between training for something like battleship size laser turrets, versus training for battleship size missile launchers, however, the implant inconsistencies are a much easier fix, and a sore thumb in game balance.

As it stands currently, turret damage implants are made so that each size of weapons, small, medium, and large for each type of turret require only 1 implant. That is, your gunslinger LP 1005 will grant a 5% damage bonus to artillery AND autocannons.
Additionally, the slot layout is designed so that you can maximize your dps for any turret ship via implants without taking up the omega implant slot (slot 6) except when using a frigate, a very reasonable tradeoff, considering frigates are the ship you'd usually care the least about having a full 6 piece implant set in, AND maximizing your dps.

Missile implants on the other hand, are split up into each of the individual missile launcher sizes. That is, if you want to use cruise missiles sometimes and torps sometimes on your golem (depending on the content you are running) you would need 2 different implants in different clones. This forces missile ship pilots to select one weapon system to be bonused while the other isn't, a compromise that turret ships do not have to make. Then, the slot layout from gunnery implants is reversed for missiles. That means, the cruise missile and torpedo implants are both slot 6, meaning you cannot use an omega implant, AND maximize your damage, in missile shooting battleships.

That means, no full snake set plus 5% cruise damage implants for the barghest
No full crystal set plus torp/cruise damage implants for the golem
No full halo set plus torp damage implants for stealth bombers that want incredibly small sig radius

Merging the torp and cruise implants, the light and rocket, and the heavy and heavy assault missile implants together would not require the removal or refund of any SP, it would not cost anyone anything as all existing current implants could just be turned into the new one, and would not give missiles any leg up on turret implants, only bringing them on par.

Sensible, simple solution is elegant and sensible.
This removes bad "flavor" while retaining the difference between missiles and turrets.

Except that's not true. At all. In any way.

+1 supported, maybe even repurpose the spares into Drone implants *hearts*

Well, not really. But like some ships have a cruise/torp bonusses, some even including heavies, why not have merged implants. And that for the same reason as mentioned here. Its not even comparing with turrets there.

+1