Player Features and Ideas Discussion

If the issues with Defender missiles is ever overcome (as i read around the boards it seams they dont work well, if at all), could a destroyer be made to fit nothing but Defender launchers? This could be used in fleet engagements to damage or, sometimes, outright destroy incoming missiles, cruise missiles and torpedoes. Light and heavy missiles could be destroyed in 1 hit, torps and Cruise in 2, and Citadels in 3 or 4. Only 6 launchers would be allowed on the ship. Since Defenders are fire and forget, you would have to be careful on how you fire them since if you fire all 6 at once, they are all probably going after the same target and most will be wasted after the initial target is destroyed.

I do not know how difficult the coding would be, or if its even feasible, but perhaps defender missiles could be made to allow for 1 course correction to a new target if its current target is destroyed. If this would be possible, then a Defender could be fired, it would acquire a target and home in. If that target is destroyed, it can automatically change to another target. If THAT target is destroyed, the missile is lost and self destructs.

Ship bonuses could be reduction in launcher cycle time (possibly up to 25% at Destroyer V) and missile damage bonuses (up to 10% at Destroyer V). Missile bonuses such as Rapid Launch, Missile Bombardment, and Missile Projection would all add to the Defender Missile as well.
Defender missiles could be made into only the one missile instead of the 2 current (light and heavy) that only do marginally different damage than each other (60 for light and 70 for heavy), and be given their own launcher as opposed to fitting into small or large launchers.

This is just a rough draft of stuff I thought of when I saw a battleship popping out defenders here and there while I was whittling it down during a mission.

Poor implementation on many levels.

0. One autocorrection. Unable to be used in large groups because too many missiles in the air, all defenders use same range based parameters (IE, the closest one) to determine incoming missile to target, every missile beyond the first is wasted. In very small engagements, very overpowered due a single one of these ships being able to shut down 8 incoming launchers. One dessie and a noobship could kill any buffer tanked ship, given enough time (no ammo in civvy guns, lol.)

If the single correction were removed so that a launched defender always hit an incoming missile if available:


1. Large gang vs small gangs. Large gang already has an advantage in size, firepower, and likely shiptypes. If the smaller one is capable of picking out critical targets from the large one, they still have a chance. Or at least taking a few down with them. However, a single defender destroyer like you suggested would be capable of damping down several ships worth of enemy missile boats. A drastic force multiplier like eccm, but uncounterable without destroying the defender launcher, unlike eccm.


2. Huge gang vs Smaller, more skilled gang. Say in a fleet fight, 100 tengu's are busy skillfully staying at the edge of their range, kiting a 300 man drake fleet while picking of targets and staying under the range required for the drakes to warp on top of them. Requires skilled FC, smart pilots, and whatnot. But never fear, each drake has a single defender missile launcher fitted. Out of the 500 missiles launched by the tengu's each volley, half of them are killed en route. by using a mods that only requires turning on to autodeflect incoming missiles.


3. Lag. Missiles are bad enough as it is on the server load. Defenders switching new missile targets potentially hundreds of times in a second for a missile on missile boat fleet fight? Ooof.


Yes I'm bored, stuck between classes critically picking apart people's ideas. Sue me

No Suing needed. Thats what these forums are for. Coming up with ideas and having others find the flaws so they can be fixed and maybe someday implemented.

Yes, smartbombs kill missiles.

For higher skill fleet play, several smartbomb fit HIC's fly between your fleet and the enemy fleet, running smartbombs to kill off incoming missile fire. This of course requires they keep track of your fleet, and the enemy, and stay close enough to your side to catch all missiles as they come in while not smartbombing your own guys enmasse. It's not perfect, but it reduces damage well enough that as long as the firewalls are doing well, the main fleet receives reduced damage to the point where logistics can easily keep up. And those HIC's running smartbombs? Full tanks, trimarks, full kit. A single Firewall HIC being repped by a logistics can tank thousands of dps or dozens of drakes per logi repping him, before heat.

That's one way of countering a large blob of drakes or Tengu's. Between loki links reducing the sig radius of the fleet, always moving with AB's on, and effective firewalling, a much smaller fleet of say zealots or Loki are capable of killing a massive drakefleet with minimal casualties.


Just ask goons, I hear they are getting tired of losing whole drakefleets to kill a dozen zealots.