Ships & Modules

not really because a T3D will still beat an assault frig.

\o/ buff everything else.... dont fix the problem... powercreeps a lie.... double the damage on all other frig size ships and give other destroyers 10x the ehp... that'll fix the problem... right? .... right??

(for those who dont understand, that was sarcasm...)

this made me giggle

i think an ab bonus wouldn't go amiss.
not as sever as the sansa line obviously but enough to allow them to run down the slow-medium slow cruisers

There are two things which should be buffed for Assault Frigates. And it would be adequate even without t3ds being here.
1)Increase the base speeds to either match t1 counterparts or get them in -5/+5 range.
2)Give them about 15 extra CPU and 5 PWG in general.

That way they'll become the same thing to t1 frigs as HAC to t1 cruiser.
Why speed buffs? Because HACs don't have speed penalties like AFs do.
Why fitting buffs? Because, you know, these ships are MEANT to carry MORE plates/shield extenders AND use mwd to their heart's contest. In the current state, it's not a thing.
You barely may fit t2 pulses with damage mods, damage control and MWD on Retribution. You may need overclocking rig just for that. You don't have powergrid for 400mm plate (You probably should), you'll have problem with fitting long point and you can't even touch any weapon system rig.

Then, we may actually consider serious comparison of t3ds and assault frigates. Although, I think they really always meant to have bonus strength and range/overheat damage reduction for warp scramblers, given the "Heavy second tackle" role CCP were mumbling about.

Taking price into account in universe being ruled by 8-12 y.o. veterans is just plain silly. Not to mention that 100 mil is a bull. Taking similar grade of blinging, we talk about just 20-25 mil difference.

T3D's might be the straw that broke the camels back, but AF's have been obsolete since the t1/faction frigate buffs. There was absolutely no reason to fly them already.

But yeah w/e hurf derf T3D's took ma job!!

Give them a +200% bonus to the effectiveness of;

• TCs and TEs (and the missile ones),
• SeBos and SigAmps,
• ECCM and Backup Sensors,
• Cap Batteries.

This means AFs can be fit to be mega resistant to ewar, but have little extra bite unless they specifcally fit for it. This is a new niche that doesn't exist in the game yet.

I'm betting isk that my Deadspace Luxury Yacht will destroy your Ibis.

I don't know about them being completely obsolete so much as having much more niche applications than they used to.
For my high sex nogoodery I still use the Ishkur as my go-to ship due to it having two separate weapons platforms that can work well together or independently.

It doesn't output damage like a T3D, certainly, nor is it as fast, but in the case where I'm having a nice close slow dance with a much larger vessel it's very handy to have the drones that I can divert in case a white knight arrives intent on saving the princess. I've sent a handful of catalysts and coercers scurrying off in flames this way in the past, so the versatility aspect has much appeal to me.

Would I put my trusty AF up against a T3D with reasonable expectation of victory? Of course not. Barring the pilot being far worse at EVE than me, I'm gonna lose. They are possessed of a different form of versatility, and have strengths of their own that are quite potent.

I do think the AF does need a bit of love in comparison, because as folks have stated it's now competing with a class of ship that does pretty much everything it used to do but only better.

It's the same problem with their larger cousins, but in reverse.

The HACs are so much better than the next larger class of ships- the battlecruiser- that BC fleets have become rare animals. This was called Ishtars Online for awhile, not Oracles Online.
AFs suffer from being inferior to the next larger class of ships, Destroyers. Especially now with T3 and Command variants in the meta.

CCP could boost the mobility of the AF to make the frigate hull more nimble than a larger destroyer- but given the extreme focus on mobility blessed upon the T3 destroyers, this begins to make an AF look like a 'Heavy Ceptor' in application- a role I don't think is really compelling.

I think the immunity to D-Scan idea has merit. The AF could become like a 'combat' recon, reduced cloak targeting penalty, D-Scan immune, but unable to warp cloaked.



Or just troll everyone and make Bastion Module AF's.