Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I feel that there should be an *incentive* for ships using warfare links to be on-grid.

Boosts should be improved where a booster is on-grid (or perhaps reduced when the booster is off-grid).

Reasoning:

1/ Fleet Command ships have very high resists and EHP. They were built to withstand heavy DPS and to make the absolute most out of remote repping/boosting targeted at them.

2/ Strat Cruisers with the Warfare link Subsystem currently make better off-grid boosters than the purpose-built Fleet Command ships. This is surely wrong.

3/ To make Fleet Command ships more appealing, reward their boost if they take the risk of being on-grid. Strat Cruisers configured for Warfare Links are flimsy vessels that would have great difficulty surviving a fleet fight on grid.

4/ On-grid Fleet Command ships would add an extra dimension to fleet fights where FCs must decide whether to try and kill/neut the extremely durable Command ship to knock out the enemy's boosts, or to press on with killing weaker ships in the enemy fleet despite the boosts. Also, as Warfare Links don't operate whilst in warp, fleet movement gains another tactical element.

5/ Off-grid boosting is dull and unchallenging and EVE shouldn't encourage that kind of game-play ;)

Possible Implementation:
Add an optimal range (say 200km) to Warfare Links, with a fixed reduction in effectiveness outside that.

Drawbacks:
None really. Boosts still work off-grid (perhaps less effectively). Fleet Boosters can do a better job if they have the guts to get into the fray and their fleet benefits from better boosts if it can keep the booster alive and with capacitor.