Test Server Feedback

I realize there is already a team Super Friends feedback thread, however, the changes brought on by Team Super friends are extensive, and most of the thread is hereto date dedicated just to when Sisi will go live. As such, I feel its prudent to start a new thread for concise discussion.

As it stands, the Extrinsic Damage Amplifier II (henceforth EDA) is a 12% damage bonus for non-fighter drones, on a 40tf CPU module. This is, quite frankly, terrible. In fact, its so bad that I have to question if this is just a placeholder stat.

Your bog-standard T2 damage mod has two stats:
10% Damage Bonus
10.5% Rate of Fire Bonus

Combined, this results in a 22.9% damage increase *per* module. All turret modules cost 30CPU for their T2 variant, and the BCU's cost 40cpu for their T2 variant (presumably due to the higher than average CPU output of most missile boats).

Even worse, drone boats often come with the "drone-boat" tax. They have worse fittings, and fewer slots, than comparable non-drone vessels. This fitting tax insures that drone boats don't become OP killing machines with immense tanks and damage, but it also means they often wind up very tight on fittings. A 40cpu mod is absolutely ridiculous for most drone boats to try to squeeze on.


In other words, the EDA is terrible in two directions:
1) It provides half the damage bonus of regular damage modules
2) It costs 33% more fitting than standard damage modules, on top of the CPU limited nature of drone ships.

Perhaps the greatest insult, however, is that drones are already a low-damage platform. For all intents and purposes, drone damage caps out with the 50% hull bonus on Ogre IIs at 475 dps. For Ships like the Arbitrator line, that caps out with Hammerhead IIs at 238 dps. Even the standard 23% damage module may be too weak for them to work on these hulls as a competitive fitting option. We won't know until these are at least buffed to 23% and fits are played around with, but Domi's can do a *lot* more damage with guns than 475 dps. If we are to fit drone damage mods over regular old damage mods, they need to be pulling their weight in the opportunity-cost comparison.


To start balance testing, the EDA needs to be brought down to 30 CPU and 23% total DPS modifier. As it stands, the single 12% damage module will find use ONLY on ships with the following parameters:

1) Can deploy a full set of heavy or sentry drones
2) Cannot fit battleship class weapons

That limits the EDA's *entire* potential usefulness to select Ishtar and Gila fits, and maaaybe a few Domi's that completely forsake any turrets at all (such as ambulance, neut, or herd domis). Every other ship, including ships like the Curse, can get much better bang for their buck just fitting regular weapons (like Railguns or HMLs) and/or regular damage mods.

edit:

I agreed with Shish so much below I wanted to add this to the OP. EDA's in the lowslot are going to be a balancing nightmare, as many Drone ships rely on a strict lowslot allotment to tank, while others like the Dominix could potentially "double dip" Damage Mods and wind up with 1500+ DPS in shield-gank configurations. EDA's should be moved to become a highslot module in addition to the above changes to create fitting tension with the ship. As a high slot item, they can take advatnage of the utility highs many drone ships are given, while counter balancing against the need for neuts, turrets, and missile launchers for other sources of DPS.

Drone Control Units - EDA's elder brother - are also highslots, making this a much more natural feel than lowslot EDAs. It also creates natural tension when fitting those highslots as Drone Link Augmenters are also up there. Would you like neuts, smartbombs, cloaks, more damaging drones or longer range drones? That's some good opportunity cost decisions to make that simply don't exist in the lows.

not to mention as a gallante boat this will take an armor slot but thats ok if it was worth it, but fitting and bonus need work

Haha, yea. That was my post on FHC. I'm glad you like it

Very select fits. I own atleast one each of Gila and Ishtar and the fits I have would have trouble squeezing in a 30 CPU module, much less the 40 CPU one. The fitting cost is kinda crazy when you take into account the pre-gimped CPUs that many drone boats have.

In the current state, I doubt I could justify using these things rather than more tank or something else. 40 CPU and a low slot for an extra 12% damage just isn't worth it (even for heavies/sentries it's iffy at best).

Make it a high slot item and buff the dps, I don't care about the weak turrets that could be there that I don't have skill for that come anywhere close to my drone skills

Granted we are looking a gift horse in the mouth here, but the points are valid as well imo.

I think generally the idea was to either have good guns/missiles and weak drones, or weak guns/missiles and good drones, for roughly equal overall skill investment. thing is, it seems that it's a lot easier to get by on pure guns/missiles than it is with pure drones ( though I do like the drones flexablity in speed vs power.)

Agreed.

CCP needs to take a look at Gallente tutorial, specifically the part that calls drones a Gallente racial weapon, comparable to Minmatar Projectiles and Amarr Lasers. And then they need to start treading drones accordingly - as a full fledged weapons system, not a red-headed step-child support system. The whole reason I spent the majority of my training time in drones is because I bought that line hook, line and sinker. And so far, it's just not comparable to missile or turret boats, not even close.

I was really hoping drones in general and drone boats in particular would get some serious review, but so far it looks lackluster at best.

Just throwing some things to think about it lets get this clear, I would love the CPU lowered and Damage bonus increased a bit but I want to think more about how they stand right now


Practical uses. Vexor and Myrmidon ships where if you do want to add damage its via Guns and Magstabs/ Gyrostabs, as I'm assuming your not a complete **** who uses every lowslot for loltank.

For the Vexor - Dropping a Magstab for the Dronestab, solid choice even at 12%

For the Myrm - 2 or 3 Magstabs right now depending on if your single or dual rep. On the single rep, due to the 3rd Stab stacking bonus, the 2 Magstab and 1 Dronestab option is going to be solid as hell. On the Dual rep setup, its your preference, if your going for the solid afk style mission fit, 2 Dronestabs go alt tab, great.

Ishkur - 1 will fit in nicely, it's drones are unbonused so any extra damage is good.

Ishtar - Fails a bit here. CPU is tight as hell, but with some rejigging, you could get a one on.

Dominix - Neutron Blasters, Sentries, Sentry Damage Rig, 3 Mag Stabs, 3 Drone Stabs. I can only picture unholy amounts of lolgank dps.

Personally I'd be very happy if it were moved to a high slot - most of my droneboat fits, by their nature, have high slots to spare; and in the fits where the high slots are currently full of guns, trading 20% of gun DPS for +20% drone DPS would make sense for a drone-skilled character whose base DPS is higher with drones.

I really like the idea of moving them into highslots myself. It would match the (little used) Drone Control Unit's placement, and synergize with the utility slots drone boats are often given. On drone boats without utility slots (like the Domi), you then must trade Drone damage output vs. Turret Damage output - a 3x MFS 3x EDA Shield Gank Dominix would easily break 1,500 DPS if it could double stack the damage mods with EDA's on the lowslot (damage figure assumes 22.9% EDAs).

EDAs in the highslot just results in lovely tension around opportunity cost - do you fit turrets or missile launchers? Do you fit that second EDA, or an energy neutralizer? Just thinking about EDA's in the highslot feels much more natural to me than as a lowslot module. Hell, it even creates some natural tension against Drone Link Augmentors - trading long range drone control against higher damage drones. Perfect.

So to sum up:

1) Bump up EDA strength to 22.9%
2) Drop EDA CPU use to 30tf
3) Move EDA from lowslot to highslot

makeitso.jpg

Have 40 of each kind of drone on a Carrier, +Fighters=lolgank DPS with sentries