Player Features and Ideas Discussion

This idea goes in part with the one linked in my signature somewhat but I think it has other applications.
Their are a number of threads asking for fittings on a freighter for a number of reasons be it to hold more cargo or to tank your ships. I do not believe this will quite work.

My idea is to add one module slot to the freighter in which you can only fit a new siege module. Basically your freighter will enter a reinforced mode where its resistances are sent through the roof. Possibly increasing your EHPx6 or more. The downside is your are totally immobile and will be stuck like that for 5 minutes.

Why?

If freighters were ever to travel through low security space even if they had an escort fleet they would easily be alpha'ed. This would make it so that the freighter could only be destroyed AFTER the escort was dead. While at the same time this would make suicide ganking still feasible if your properly alpha the target and prevent things like 5 tier 3's from killing you in a .5 system with two volleys.

If they do this is needs a Mega-Maid mode complete with uber-Vac...

I had to read this post a few times..not because you weren't clear but because I have always be in favor of one rig slot for freighters. After thinking this suggestion over I believe siege mode for freighters would perhaps be over-doing it a little.

Try moving through a freighter in low sec with a scout. Even if you web the freighter those massive align times will mean that it won't be very hard for somebody to catch up to you and kill you, quickly. Though you might be lucky, i have seen people get through with an autopilot.

However if they day ever came that freighters were used frequently in low sec they would NEED some way to withstand fire. Currently with logi support a freighter will still die quickly.

Also how would escorting haulers be any more boring than doing a 60 jump roam and only finding 3 guys to kill?

I suppose it could be banned in high sec. However freighters are far to squishy to survive an engagement, this would mean that a freighter would die without support but in event of battle it will be able to stick it out till the end.

The reason you don't see freighters escourted by logi in highsec now is because they get alpha'ed. If 10 tier 3 battlecruisers can 1 shot a freighter you think logi are going to save the day? Let us also not forget that you can not buff the resists on a freighter with modules making their tank under logi support awful.

still not good enough

If the gankers alpha the logi, they won't have the DPS to gank the freighter before Concord does their job. The gankers don't have infinite tier 3's to throw at a freighter, and exchanging a tier 3 for a t1 logi cruiser isn't very profitable.

The reason I don't see escorted freighters in highsec is because highsec people are lazy and feel entitled to safety.



Also, if escorting a freighter through 0.5 space is so damn close to impossible that the game needs new or revamped freighters, how does anyone expect them to be escorted through low or nullsec?

Strangely, I like it. When I first read your thread title I skipped right over it, and then again, and again, and again...


..but then I decided to look and I actually read it, (nice and short btw), and a few comments briefly skimmed which were mostly in disagreement, but hnestly, Freighters suck and this would be a cool way to make them more interesting.

Here's the thought:

Freighters need fitting, but it can't be overpowered, allow them t become hauling, tanking beasts or whatever. That's all pretty much agreed on.

Your idea, takes something used elsewhere for Capital ships, (and requiring Adv. Spaceship Command, a Freighter qualifies), and just thrusts it in there on the currently non-existent highslot. Just one.

I'd like to extrapolate on that just a bit. Currently the only modification to Freighters is the skills of the pilot, which essentially do what they always do, increase base stats. A freighter doesn't even have Powergrid and CPU iirc, but it does have Inertia and Velocity, Shields, Armor, and Structure which are all affected. Nothing else to them really, except a Capacitor used only for Warp.

This new module would have to be an effect on the Freighter much like the effect of reinforcement on a POS, but without the invulnerability. It should still be vulnerable, but much more capable of sustaining that damage, and it should have a weakness, much like the other siege modules: Capacitor.

So, no influence on shields or armor, which will go down as normal, but once you hit structure, the effect of the siege module kicks in: 99% resistances on Structure like a POS would be an example of the effect; not necessarily the effect. This would require significant capacitor to maintain of course, and the ship would become vulnerable to Neuts.

See, the thing about a ship without fitting, is their is no thinking or doing aside from point A to point B. If you get attacked, you either sit there and die, or hope someone will come to your aid before it is all over.

The Freighter should have enough Cap to manage a full cycle of the Siege mode of course; not much point in having a specialized fitting that can`t be used for a full cycle by the ship intended to fit it. One full cycle should be all you need, if you can manage it.

I have no idea what the Hull, Armor, Shield ratios are on a Freighter, so I`m just ignoring that.

Add to that some other fitting options, make it a real Cap ship, and what you`d end up with would be a little more interesting. This may require shifting those Shield, Armor, Hull ratios around and reducing base Cargo capacity among other things, but I think the end result would be much more interesting and allow for more player involvement when the situation arises.

edit: just thinking about cap and cycles; I believe the cap is drained either at the beginning or end of the cycle depending on the module, rather than during, so a timer might be more appropriate here, but I think perhaps that has already been implemented with siege modules in general.

Given that, I am actually referring to the freighter being able to supply capacitor for the duration of siege mode, rather than the duration of a single cycle. Obviously the latter would mean it was incapable of being affected by cap drain causing it to end the cycle or or duration of siege mode... maybe not though. I've never done any of that, so my knowledge is somewhat limited at best.

I think any bonuses should be in shields or armor depending on the race of the ship as to more adequately facilitate logistics vessels. It shouldn't be a 99% resist bonus in structure because then the freighter can cycle indefinitely while pissing off whoever is attacking the freighter even if they already won the battle with the escort fleet. It should have high resists but relatively low EHP for a capital ship making survival only sustainable when an escort is present. It is meant to protect the ship during a battle but it will die when the battle is over. While the long cycle time is a strategic drawback to its use meaning that you can't just pick up and go once you win.