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Player Features and Ideas Discussion

 
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Combat Boosters... Should there be more variety?
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May Ke
Maxxim Heavy Industries Inc.
#1 - 2013-05-26 10:05:46 UTC
I, and many others that I have spoken to, feel that the current range of combat boosters is both lacking in variety, and is unbalanced between weapon systems.
We currently have access to:

Exile - Armour repair amount
Mindflood - Capacitor capacity
Blue pill - Shield boost amount

Drop - Tracking speed
Sooth Sayer - Falloff
Frentix - Optimal range

X-Instinct - Signal Radius

Crash - Explosion radius

The more astute of you will have noticed that while there are 3 boosters for improving your turrets (of course, you can't use all three at the same time) there is only one that improves your missiles. This is a clear imbalance, but there are also many other areas which could be "boosted".
How about a booster for:

Maximum speed
Missile projection
Agility
Shield/Armour HP increase for buffer tanks
Ewar (all types - range, velocity factor of webs, % of sensor damps & jams
Drone damage/hitpoints.
Remote Armour/Shield boosting
Scan resolution
- To name just a few.


This could be easily implemented with a few new gas types spawning, and a couple more booster slots in our heads. It would also increase the "unknown" factor of PVP.
Perhaps, if more boosters and slots were to be implemented, there could be a multiplier of the risk of side-effects when taking more than 3 different boosters at the same time.

Discuss.

Who? Me?
Roime
Mea Culpa.
Shadow Cartel
#2 - 2013-05-26 10:20:31 UTC
Why not, same goes for implants, lots of holes in the selection.

.
Vesan Terakol
Trollgrin Sadface
Dark Taboo
#3 - 2013-05-26 10:46:34 UTC  |  Edited by: Vesan Terakol
While i do not pretend to know that the devs had in mind when introducing boosting mechanics, I'm pretty sure that there is a trend of boosters not overlapping with gang link bonuses. I'll leave it to you to guess why.
Pure damage is also excluded in any form of boosting - its only application they improve.
Remote rep - hell no - logistics are OK as they are, maybe even too powerful at times.
San resolution is a feature, which is meant to be a limit of the hull you're flying and you really have to make a sacrifice for instalocking fits on many hulls.
Balance is a thin line, i won't embark on discussing.

Yet there is certainly room for more consumable items, even in different form... I don't have any suggestions right now tho.
DeLindsay
Galaxies Fall
#4 - 2013-05-26 21:36:56 UTC
Quote:
Scan resolution

Hi, my name is Quafe, pleased to meet you. I add not only Scan Res but also Speed when you consume me... Sarcasm aside, I'm all for more booster types as long as they don't overlap Gang Boosting effects (the modules not the skills). As for the comment about boosters not adding to weapon damage due to Implants having this, I offer that every booster does exactly the same thing as a particular Implant already. I would however, prefer boosters to stay in the variety of ancillary bonuses like opt range, tracking, rep bonus, speed, etc, just like they are now, but maybe CCP could add a little more flavor.

The Operative: "There are a lot of innocent people being killed in the air right now".

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: "You have no idea how true that is".
Robbie Fowler
Candlekeep Inc.
#5 - 2013-06-30 20:26:50 UTC
May Ke wrote:
Perhaps, if more boosters and slots were to be implemented, there could be a multiplier of the risk of side-effects when taking more than 3 different boosters at the same time.

Discuss.


This, is genious.

I'm selling boosters and it's 90% Exile / Blue Pill / Mindflood. The rest are simply very hard to get over the counter. I have asked some customers of mine and the most common answer for not buying the "forgotten boosters" are that they don't really think it's worth it with the side effects you might get. Let me take Sooth Sayer for example:

Improved Sooth Sayer Booster gives you a 15% Falloff Bonus. The side effects (-25% across the board with a 30% chance) of the booster are:

  • Armor Repair Amount
  • Shield Capacity
  • Turret Optimal Range
  • Velocity


So if I were to use this drug, I'd use it on a strong minnie kiter, maybe a Mach with autocannons, right? (I'm not really a solo / small gang PVP kinda guy so don't flame me on this). ALL of the above penalties could hurt this ship significantly, in fact more (in raw %) than the boost you get. Now, I'm not saying all side effects should go away, but this is why boosters aren't getting used more and not beeing the strategic element they could be. Right now boosters are mostly only used to excel in things they are already good at, and in many cases what they are ONLY good at.

I think another thing that ought to change is that the stronger (more pure) the booster is, the fewer side effects it should have. Then you know it's gonna dig a hole in your wallet, but at least you know you're not taking any risks for the upcoming battle.