Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Overall longer training time of weapon skills for new players doesnt matter if they can specialize in any one given weapon type/size much and much faster (they can be on par with veteran players faster in chosen specialization but wont have versatility vet players have).

Even as a dedicated missile user, I wholehardedly support this idea. However, I would like to point something else out:

if I want a cruise raven, I need at minimum Missile Launcher Operation 5, Light Missiles 3, Heavy Missiles 3, Cruise Missiles 5 and Cruise Missile Specialization of at least 1 (plus dedicated support skills). If I want to add torpedo Raven to this, I need an extra Torpedo Launcher 5 and Torpedo Specialization 1. That's an extra 1,245,675 skill points to get the second type of large launchers (side note: I don't understand why Torpedoes need light and heavy missiles as prerequisites. Wouldn't rockets and HAMs make more sense now?)

If I want large AC guns, I need Gunnery 5, Small Projectile Turret V, Medium Projectile Turret 5, Large Projectile Turret 5, Small AC Specialization 4, Medium AC Specialization 4 and finally Large AC Specialization 1. However, except for the specialization skill, all those skills also affect the other projectile weapon, artillery and in order to get T2 launchers, you'll need Small Artillery Spec 4, Medium Artillery Spec 4 and Large Artillery Spec 1, an extra of 441,351 skill points.

What makes the whole thing unfair is one thing I omitted from the gun side - in order to specialize into one or the other, you'll need another skill at 5, Motion Prediction for short range and Sharpshooter for long range, each respectively another 621,837 skill points.

Here's what I'd propose:

1. Prerequisites are lowered to smaller weapon size 3, same as missiles now
2. T1 versions of the skill support both the short and the long range version
3. Specialization requires dedicated size skill to 5, plus an additional skill for the weapon type, same as guns.

This way, the pilot can easily get both weapon types for each ship size, without having to specialize into smaller guns, but at the same time, we separate access to both specializations by using a secondary skill as a trigger. Here's how it would look in practice:

T2 Small Blasters:
Current - Small Hybrid Turret 5, Gunnery 2, Motion Prediction 3, Small Blaster Specialization 1
New - same

Skill point difference: none

T2 Large Railguns:
Current - Small Hybrid Turret 5, Medium Hybrid Turret 5, Large Hybrid Turret 5, Small Railgun Specialization 4, Medium Railgun Specialization 4, Gunnery 5, Sharpshooter 5, Large Railgun Specialization 1
New - Small Hybrid Turret 3, Medium Hybrid Turret 3, Large Hybrid Turret 5, Gunnery 5, Sharpshooter 5, Large Railgun Specialization 1

Skill point difference: - 1,644,369

T2 Torpedoes:
Current - Light Missiles 3, Heavy Missiles 3, Torpedoes 5, Missile Launcher Operation 4, Torpedo Specialization 1
New - Light Missiles 3, Heavy Missiles 3, Large Missiles 5, Missile Launcher Operation 5, Target Navigation Prediction 5, Torpedo Specialization 1

Skill Point Difference: + 877,837 from base changes, another + 310,920 to change torpedoes level 4 to large missiles level 5 skill (same as large guns), but at the same time, -1,554,595 skill points required to train another large missile skill (cruise missiles).

The same principle can apply to drones, though skills are a bit more messy there, since we have racial drone types, Sentries separated from the rest of the combat drones and additional utility drone types - that weapon set definitely needs to be tidied up.


There's only one thing I dislike with the above proposal of mine - right now, weapon systems feel and act differently. Homogenization would make it easier to specialize, but I think it would also take away some of the "cool factor" due to that very difference. Is that a price we're willing to pay?

i support this absolutely , wanted to +1 but doubleclicked, unliked and cannot like anymore T_T . Sad :<

Bugged off now it's correct +1 ;).