Warfare & Tactics

Hi,

I would like to discuss the Medium Drones damage application on smaller targets, especially frigates.
Earlier today I tackled a Rail Vexor (which has NO bonuses to the tracking of drones).
This is some of the damage he did to me ; I was not webbed and had no MWD fitted so I was basically on the perfect position to avoid a larger weapon system damage. However, since it's drones, they were having almost no issues to track me.

http://i.imgur.com/8BRUnge.png

Even 180s autocannons (which I believe have the best tracking of all med sized turrets) would have trouble hitting an ABing frigate orbiting close. Now why, on top of having somewhat selectable damage, excellent projection, capless usage, why are drones being able to hit a small target like that so efficiently ?

Just to make it clear ; I don't mind the loss of my ship, it was a cheap tackle frigate, it's meant to die anyways (and we killed the Vexor, yay!). This is not me ranting cause I lost a ship. This is a legitimate question about game balance.

The way the weapon systems works in this game, as a small frigate you can avoid most of the damage from a bigger hull by outspeed his tracking, or in the case of heavy missiles by just keeping your speed up and your signature radius low.

I don't get why, on an unwebbed, ABing fast frigate, medium drones coming from an unbonused (in terms of tracking) hull, should hit that well their target. You already have light scout drones to do this job. Why would med drones can do the same job as light drones ? Imagine i wasn't fighting a Vexor but a VNI which has bonuses to drones tracking ? AND if I was webbed on top of that ? Then I would assume med drones would just hit me almost perfectly.
For any other weapon system, to hit a frigate orbiting close, you'd have to have the target dual webbed and/or having target painters for missiles, but why would you bother if you can just launch drones ?

What are you thoughts about this ?

You don't think it's odd to use bandwidth as a balancing mechanic when bandwidth is only a measure of how many drones can be used and nothing else?

I mean, you brick tank drone ships as your CPU/PG permits, then bandwidth gives you extra leeway and allows you to put stuff that deals damage practically free of charge. (c) Triple tanking Tristans.

Or fit utility into what is essentially 2-4 utility highs (c) Every Drone ship that just goes with neuts instead of guns.

You can't speed tank them unless you simply outrun them - has been demonstrated on the previous page where it was shown that moving away from them is actually worse than standing still. Which is contradictory to the strategy you would take against the actual ship that launched them. Is it not obvious that in this case, drone ships have all flanks covered?

Here is the thing: be honest about the feeling you get when you strap on a Worm or Gila.

You know the ship is OP. You know how much it costs. You know that if you pilot it wrong, you will likely be killed by something that costs 5% of your ship. You know that everyone else will cheer when you die.

The bottom line is that OP faction ships are an admission of degeneracy and an enduring badge of shame. All who fly them must deal with the knowledge that they are ridiculous people, acting without honour.

The only exception to this is entire fleets of faction ships, where large numbers of hard core pilots go out to deliberately attract a blob and die in a hail of fire. This has much honour. I have never seen it, but if it did happen, it would have much honour.

You can do what you like in Eve, for relatively little real world cost, but you cannot hide your true character. Cowards who hunt bears in snaked Garmurs will always be bear murdering cowards. The pen, having wit, moves on.

Real men hull tank in derptrons, and that is all there is to it.