Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I think it's likely. When they added the drone modules to the game they gave a huge boost to sentry wielding cruisers. That is where the problem stems from. There a 3 paths to stopping overpowered high speed small signature kiting sentry cruisers. (I'll use ishtar for brevity, but you know the crowd I'm referring to)

1. Totally nerf the hulls - making them useless but allowing them to keep sentries (I'll vote not good)

2. Totally nerf the modules that boost drones across the board - bringing the ishtar back in line but collaterally trashing the value of every non ishtar deployed drone in the game. (I'll vote not good)

3. Make sentry drones BS only - The out of ballance added by drone modules gets repaire AND as an added bonus the archon sentry crap gets fixed for free. (It feels wierd and ichy but I'm going to vote w/ Baltec1 on this - you get a yes from me)


Keep in mind, no one is complaining that ishtars dropping preators is OP - it's that they are dropping sentries and doing their thing. Cruisers dropping sentries is the problem, not the hull, not the drone range, not the drone tracking, not sig radius, not band width and not the number of slots.

I agree that the ishtar is too good in most of its roles (although dual rep armor brawler is ok).

That being said, i wouldnt classify HACs on heavy and light. As if you do that youre wrong. The deimos is gallente's "light" HAC. Not the ishtar. 4 HACs are bonused more in a fleet/long range role (muninn, eagle, ishtar, zealot). These are slower, have range and in some cases tracking bonuses as well as small drone bays (except ishtar).

Then we have the other 4 HACs that fall more into a skirmishing role. Better at small gangs/solo. Vagabond/deimos/sac/cerb. These are faster, have better drone compliments, and in some cases have bonuses to local reps/tank.

It could be argued that sac/cerb could fit either role, but missiles are garbage in fleets atm. Maybe things will improve with next patch in that regard.

So again, droppimg the sentries on the ishtar would mean it cannot project and would obsolete its role completely. And trying to uses heavies in a fleet setting would be murdered by smartbombs. It would still be an on ok skirmisher, but then gal loses their fleet orientated HAC. Im fairly certain a rail deimos would not be a valid fleet doctrine.

To clarify, id like to see the ishtar nerfed too. But dont want to neuter it completely.

Tricky with Gallente has the Vexor and Thorax had their roles swapped on module tiericide.
Thus the T2 variant losing consistency with T1 hull.

Yes i heard and participated in a Sac/Zealot fleet with guardians and eWar support.
I've seen solo Sac, i've seen solo Zealot too.

I think you're doing it wrong by classifying hulls wether they can fit a skirmish role or not.
Skirmish is based on fit, and fits can be manipulated a bilion times.
Fleet on the other hand have much more restrictions, that's why a Deimos or a Vagabon in fleet will only have an specific role, such as Anti-Support for example and no room in the core Doctrine.

I just based my statement on which hull has a HIC version.
The only issue is Gallente as mentioned above.

remove anything other than light drones, standardize bandwidth as following 0 mb/s for frigs and destroyers, 10 mb/s for drone frigs and destroyers, 10 mb/s for cruisers and BCs 20 mb/s for drone cruisers and BCs, 15-20 mb/s for battleships 25 mb/s for drone battleships.

drones really should not be a primary weapon system, they're E-war proof, cap independent, ammo free, fitting free, interchangeable (imagine if apocs had full racks of BONUSED light, medium, and large beam lasers at the same time) and until you get to battleships they out damage, and applies the damage easier, and still out projects everything in their class.