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[Winter] Combat Cruisers

First post
Author
Veshta Yoshida
PIE Inc.
Khimi Harar
#741 - 2012-10-25 11:46:48 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:
New changes, designed to solve some of the problems brought up so far:
Note that we've upped the mass of all the Combat cruisers in part to help keep them feeling distinct from the other cruisers..

How does adding drones to the Maller help keep it distinct from the drone heavy Omen?

Three lights are nigh useless, particularly with no spares and it makes it feel/smell like a generic solution. Moa got transformed into a massive tank that has to sacrifice said tank or damage to secure cap (inject or nos), why not let the Maller be the hammer to the Moa's anvil and increase its damage .. either by swapping to RoF or by adding 2.5%/lvl to current bonus.

As a pure gun boat it will be vastly different from the Omen and almost all other cruisers, it will have to sacrifice damage/tank/utility(mids) to secure cap and should generally just be a lot more "Amarr", ie. insanely good at that one thing at the cost of becoming vulnerable to a whole slew of counters.

PS/NB/In short: With speeds going up across the board (especially for frigs), pulses are rapidly becoming one trick ponies that has to rely on the sublime range of scorch as tracking is sub-par and few hulls have mids to alleviate it .. let them be the unwieldy hammers that we all know and love from being tackled with a flashlight (bringer of light, laser, holy Amarr .. get it? Smile) at its optimal!
Martin0
Brave Empire Inc.
Brave United
#742 - 2012-10-25 12:45:39 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:

Vexor: Upped the mass, as the old values were just a bit too insane in practice. Added 25m3 dronebay to allow more more spare drones to be carried.
-10 Velocity, -0.07 Agility, +1,000,000 mass, -0.2s Align time
+25m3 Dronebay


I love you Big smile

If you find a way to fix armor tanking i'll love you even more (my female alt may marry you LOL)
Enzo Ildari
The Wings of Maak
#743 - 2012-10-25 19:30:22 UTC  |  Edited by: Enzo Ildari
Srsly please change this, Thorax is Tier4 and Vexor Tier3, not the opposite. Thorax should be the Combat Cruiser.


Scythe->Bellicose->Stabber->Rupture
Exequror->Celestis->Vexor->Thorax
Augoror->Arbitrator->Omen->Maller
Osprey->Blackbird->Caracal->Omen
CCP Fozzie
C C P
C C P Alliance
#744 - 2012-10-25 19:31:49 UTC
Enzo Ildari wrote:
Srsly please change this, Thorax is Tier4 and Vexor Tier3, not the opposite. Thorax should be the Combat Cruiser.


It's called Tiericide friend. We're taking the tiers out back and putting them out of their misery.

Game Designer | Team Five-0

Twitter: @CCP_Fozzie
Twitch chat: ccp_fozzie

Aglais
Ice-Storm
#745 - 2012-10-25 19:34:25 UTC
Enzo Ildari wrote:
Srsly please change this, Thorax is Tier4 and Vexor Tier3, not the opposite. Thorax should be the Combat Cruiser.


Get out.

Just get out.

As long as Major Killz is still on this forum we've reached oversaturation of troll. We don't need any more people contributing things like this.
Enzo Ildari
The Wings of Maak
#746 - 2012-10-25 19:34:30 UTC  |  Edited by: Enzo Ildari
And you will change skills requirments so.

But can you explain why all of cruisers have same logic except Vexor and Thorax ?


@Aglais : Ok, apologize...
Hannott Thanos
Squadron 15
#747 - 2012-10-25 19:41:24 UTC
Enzo Ildari wrote:
And you will change skills requirments so.

But can you explain why all of cruisers have same logic except Vexor and Thorax ?


@Aglais : Ok, apologize...

Because the Thorax looks more like an attack cruiser? It damn sure looks faster than the Vexor

while (CurrentSelectedTarget.Status == ShipStatus.Alive) {

     _myShip.FireAllGuns(CurrentSelectedTarget);

}

Luc Chastot
#748 - 2012-10-25 19:46:02 UTC
Hannott Thanos wrote:
Enzo Ildari wrote:
And you will change skills requirments so.

But can you explain why all of cruisers have same logic except Vexor and Thorax ?


@Aglais : Ok, apologize...

Because the Thorax looks more like an attack cruiser? It damn sure looks faster than the Vexor


This is not empty quoting, honest.

Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot.

Aglais
Ice-Storm
#749 - 2012-10-25 20:12:51 UTC
Enzo Ildari wrote:
And you will change skills requirments so.

But can you explain why all of cruisers have same logic except Vexor and Thorax ?


@Aglais : Ok, apologize...


Coincidence. In the case of Caldari it's really just one having the role of a long range missile platform, with speed, and the other being a slower but much tougher ship that focuses more on survivability. This is a trend throughout all four factions.

It just so happened that the Gallente tier 4 cruiser had more in common with the 'attack' role than the 'combat' role. All that is really happening is that each ship is being built into a role that it already kind of had before, but wasn't expressing particularly well. The only real exception to this to my knowledge is the Bellicose, but that's a totally different kind of cruiser.
The VC's
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#750 - 2012-10-26 01:18:49 UTC
Calling all laser purists. Please chip in.



You may disagree but there seems to be a trend in this thread that occurred in the combat frig discussion. A lot of meaningful talk about the Minmatar, Gallente and Caldari ships with relatively little about Amarr, apart from "Yay, it's got a damage bonus, I might, maybe, think about fitting lasers and flying it, sometime. When I get round to training them", or something.

It's understandable. For years both the Maller and the Punisher were usually autocannon fit if they were ever used at all and many players only saw training lasers as a way to get into the boss mode Amarr battleships, with Zealots and 'Bingers as a bonus. Comparatively, there's not so much experience of shooting lasers from smaller T1 ships out there IMO, so not so much discussion either. You still don't see Punishers that often.

To be fair, they are 'hard mode' somewhat. They have some great strengths, but they also have profound weaknesses that really take some committed skillpoints to overcome. Also, in practice lasers are more dependant on piloting experience to get a good quality shot, unlike AC's, blasters, missiles and drones which are more forgiving. This, compounded by their limited midslot force multiplication too has meant that fewer players persevere with them and move on to other, more immediately rewarding ships.

The tactics of flying an Amarr laser boat differ from the received wisdom. Not much is written about it. When they say 'Get in close, under their guns!', the 'their' they are referring to is in fact, you. The utility high is vital to Amarr brawling strategy.



The Neutralizer. It forces your opponent into one of two positions. They can stay out of it's range, a range at which your guns have no problem tracking them. Or they can get in close and hope that they can break your tank before their loadout is compromised. The neut is a great equalizer, so long as you can tank the dps until it works.

The Nosferatu. Yes, the nos. Even though Amarr ships have the strongest capacitor, when you're shooting laser beams it's still not enough. Particularly in an extended engagement. Being slower, their prop mods can be running for longer to cover the same ground as faster ships and fitting a cap booster means deciding between a point or a web. A nos can do a lot to ease the pressure, even a small one. Especially if you are shooting conflag (it's freakin' green!!).

Moar Heatz. Not much, but a wee bit more. Ok, not so integral but when you burn your guns out a spare slot can mean you still have life in some when you ungroup them. Which is nice. (Hey, it happensRoll)


Personally I'd like to see a ship with a robust tank and a fitting option of either a neut and FMPL's or just HMPL's. Four turrets, one utility, +10% damage per level. I know I'm harping on about it but I've had the spare time to post a more detailed case.




Veshta Yoshida wrote:

As a pure gun boat it will be vastly different from the Omen and almost all other cruisers, it will have to sacrifice damage/tank/utility(mids) to secure cap and should generally just be a lot more "Amarr", ie. insanely good at that one thing at the cost of becoming vulnerable to a whole slew of counters.


In a game of 'Rock, Scissors, Paper' all Amarr brawlers can hope to be is a really badass rock. With good skills it can be a rock with sharp jagged edges that will even give paper a hard time.

Drones aren't the answer imo. They won't compliment the ship or it's combat strategy. The Maller should be a sphere of hell. If you enter it, you need a plan. You can always leave if you can't take the heat. It'll still be slow.




Thanks for your time.
Cadava Mendosa
#751 - 2012-10-26 08:06:00 UTC
The VC's wrote:
Calling all laser purists. Please chip in.



You may disagree but there seems to be a trend in this thread that occurred in the combat frig discussion. A lot of meaningful talk about the Minmatar, Gallente and Caldari ships with relatively little about Amarr, apart from "Yay, it's got a damage bonus, I might, maybe, think about fitting lasers and flying it, sometime. When I get round to training them", or something.

It's understandable. For years both the Maller and the Punisher were usually autocannon fit if they were ever used at all and many players only saw training lasers as a way to get into the boss mode Amarr battleships, with Zealots and 'Bingers as a bonus. Comparatively, there's not so much experience of shooting lasers from smaller T1 ships out there IMO, so not so much discussion either. You still don't see Punishers that often.

To be fair, they are 'hard mode' somewhat. They have some great strengths, but they also have profound weaknesses that really take some committed skillpoints to overcome. Also, in practice lasers are more dependant on piloting experience to get a good quality shot, unlike AC's, blasters, missiles and drones which are more forgiving. This, compounded by their limited midslot force multiplication too has meant that fewer players persevere with them and move on to other, more immediately rewarding ships.

The tactics of flying an Amarr laser boat differ from the received wisdom. Not much is written about it. When they say 'Get in close, under their guns!', the 'their' they are referring to is in fact, you. The utility high is vital to Amarr brawling strategy.



The Neutralizer. It forces your opponent into one of two positions. They can stay out of it's range, a range at which your guns have no problem tracking them. Or they can get in close and hope that they can break your tank before their loadout is compromised. The neut is a great equalizer, so long as you can tank the dps until it works.

The Nosferatu. Yes, the nos. Even though Amarr ships have the strongest capacitor, when you're shooting laser beams it's still not enough. Particularly in an extended engagement. Being slower, their prop mods can be running for longer to cover the same ground as faster ships and fitting a cap booster means deciding between a point or a web. A nos can do a lot to ease the pressure, even a small one. Especially if you are shooting conflag (it's freakin' green!!).

Moar Heatz. Not much, but a wee bit more. Ok, not so integral but when you burn your guns out a spare slot can mean you still have life in some when you ungroup them. Which is nice. (Hey, it happensRoll)


Personally I'd like to see a ship with a robust tank and a fitting option of either a neut and FMPL's or just HMPL's. Four turrets, one utility, +10% damage per level. I know I'm harping on about it but I've had the spare time to post a more detailed case.




Veshta Yoshida wrote:

As a pure gun boat it will be vastly different from the Omen and almost all other cruisers, it will have to sacrifice damage/tank/utility(mids) to secure cap and should generally just be a lot more "Amarr", ie. insanely good at that one thing at the cost of becoming vulnerable to a whole slew of counters.


In a game of 'Rock, Scissors, Paper' all Amarr brawlers can hope to be is a really badass rock. With good skills it can be a rock with sharp jagged edges that will even give paper a hard time.

Drones aren't the answer imo. They won't compliment the ship or it's combat strategy. The Maller should be a sphere of hell. If you enter it, you need a plan. You can always leave if you can't take the heat. It'll still be slow.




Thanks for your time.


Have to say. after flying nothing but Amarr BS in Null or Recon cruisers nowdays my Amarr tactics are limited. I found this post really interesting

o7
Pinky Denmark
The Cursed Navy
#752 - 2012-10-26 10:27:24 UTC
The only real flaw about Amarr so far is a slow mobility and a bad image because everybody is adviced to shoot autocannons and fly fast...

Make the Amarr ships versatile like the things currently in progress (tank, gank and droneships available with each their own niche will be much better than all of them being flown in a very similar way) and people will start training them. This is an image/fashion thing that can be changed over time if a proper balance is yet again being introduced to Eve.
To make this happen I still believe the fall-off modifier on tracking enhancers has a much too great influence in why people fly minmatar so dominantly and very few fly amarr.

The real drawback as I see it is the fast minmatar shield/nano ships vs already slow Amarr ships not only being tied down by heavy armor plates, but also rigs cutting down raw velocity by a lot making it very difficult to compete against the mobile skirmish mechanics that has proven again and again to be a key factor in small scale combat...

Nerf low slot fall-off modifiers, change armor rig penalties and make sure the new Amarr T1 lines are versatile - Then we might see good results in a few months.

PS. The executioner is badass for tackling !!
CCP Fozzie
C C P
C C P Alliance
#753 - 2012-10-26 11:04:28 UTC
So the Combat Cruiser changes won't actually be on Duality today because I missed adding them to that build. My bad, they'll be up in our next public test and all the other balance changes will be there as planned.

Oops

Game Designer | Team Five-0

Twitter: @CCP_Fozzie
Twitch chat: ccp_fozzie

Martin0
Brave Empire Inc.
Brave United
#754 - 2012-10-26 11:09:03 UTC
Pinky Denmark wrote:

Nerf low slot fall-off modifiers, change armor rig penalties


This alone will make armor tanking A LOT more viable, tracking enhancers have the same fallof bonus as SCRIPTED tracking computer but use half the cpu and 0 cap. Tracking Enhancers need a nerf.
Pinky Denmark
The Cursed Navy
#755 - 2012-10-26 11:09:42 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:
So the Combat Cruiser changes won't actually be on Duality today because I missed adding them to that build. My bad, they'll be up in our next public test and all the other balance changes will be there as planned.

Oops



What a shame - was some VERY important changes in those... But at least plenty other things to test.
Have a good weekend :-)
Alara IonStorm
#756 - 2012-10-26 11:10:32 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:
So the Combat Cruiser changes won't actually be on Duality today because I missed adding them to that build. My bad, they'll be up in our next public test and all the other balance changes will be there as planned.

Oops

CCP Fozzie does CCP have any plans to look into Armor Tanking in any of this expansions releases or have it on the table for expansions to follow? If not, is there much discussion on Armor tanking such as the Talos natural inclination towards players fitting shields along with about 75% of these Cruisers and issues such as this?
Dato Koppla
Balls Deep Inc.
Minmatar Fleet Alliance
#757 - 2012-10-26 11:15:18 UTC
Martin0 wrote:
Pinky Denmark wrote:

Nerf low slot fall-off modifiers, change armor rig penalties


This alone will make armor tanking A LOT more viable, tracking enhancers have the same fallof bonus as SCRIPTED tracking computer but use half the cpu and 0 cap. Tracking Enhancers need a nerf.


Aaaaand guess which race benefits the most from falloff and has abundant utility low slots? Roll
CCP Fozzie
C C P
C C P Alliance
#758 - 2012-10-26 11:24:59 UTC
Alara IonStorm wrote:
CCP Fozzie wrote:
So the Combat Cruiser changes won't actually be on Duality today because I missed adding them to that build. My bad, they'll be up in our next public test and all the other balance changes will be there as planned.

Oops

CCP Fozzie does CCP have any plans to look into Armor Tanking in any of this expansions releases or have it on the table for expansions to follow? If not, is there much discussion on Armor tanking such as the Talos natural inclination towards players fitting shields along with about 75% of these Cruisers and issues such as this?


We have plans. Can't attach dates to those plans quite yet though, but when we're ready this forum will be the best place to see them.

Game Designer | Team Five-0

Twitter: @CCP_Fozzie
Twitch chat: ccp_fozzie

Alara IonStorm
#759 - 2012-10-26 11:25:55 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:

We have plans. Can't attach dates to those plans quite yet though, but when we're ready this forum will be the best place to see them.

Thank you.
Harvey James
The Sengoku Legacy
#760 - 2012-10-26 11:27:02 UTC
CCP Fozzie wrote:
So the Combat Cruiser changes won't actually be on Duality today because I missed adding them to that build. My bad, they'll be up in our next public test and all the other balance changes will be there as planned.

Oops


naughty Raivi :P

T3's need to be versatile so no rigs are necessary ... they should not have OP dps and tank

ABC's should be T2, remove drone assist, separate HAM's and Torps range, -3 HS for droneboats

Nerf web strength, Make the blaster Eagle worth using