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First post First post
Author
Myriad Blaze
Common Sense Ltd
Nulli Secunda
#341 - 2013-06-11 12:01:44 UTC
Malcanis wrote:

Just remember that no one is going to pay any premium for ships that are mediocre at several roles.

If we're putting a quarter of a million SP on the line, then that ship damb well better do something better than anything else. Otherwise I'll simply buy the 2-3 racial T2 ships instead.

The other huge barrier to "flexibility" is rigs. If I have to destroy the rigs every time I "flexibly" change my T3s role, then it very very quickly becomes cheaper and easier to simply have multiple ships. In fact people have multiple T3s now because of this.

The idea of owning a "flexible" multi-role hull that you can refit to your immediate purpose sounds appealing on the face of it, but there are a large number of game mechanics that make it rather unappealing.

(1) The relative cost of subsystems
(2) Rigs
(3) Price premium (including SP loss)
(4) The need to have multiple fitted ships ready to go in any case in case of ship loss
(5) The ease of resupply/reshipping

Basically to make the "flexibility" concept really attractive you have maybe 2 options

(1) Allow T3s to self-refit subs and modules dynamically in space (this would actually be a useful advantage)
(2) Go back in time to around and stem the wealth boom that has meant that it's easy to afford large numbers of fitted ships.

Malcanis sums it up very well here. (+1 from me Smile)

From my point of view - and I believe that at least some people share it - T3s are not really "adaptive" or "flexible". When I fit a T3 I always do the same I do when fitting any other ship: I try to find a good fit for the intended task. The only difference from fitting a T1 or T2 is that the T3 has subsystems, which means you need to put some more thought into it. If I'm able to get a better (=more dps or more tank or more specials or being cheaper while being as good) result with another ship I will get that other ship instead. Unless I no longer need the T3 for the original task I would never change the subsystems to fit it for another task; instead I simply buy a second T3 (or T1 or T2 if they are better suited for the task).

I'm not saying that T3s aren't in need of a rebalance. But I believe it will be very difficult to rebalance them without making them obsolete. Maybe it would be a good idea to think out of the box here. I liked the ideas about removing the rig slots and giving T3s the ability to self-refit subs and mods. Imagine flying your explorer T3 in a scanner setup, refit it to a fighting setup on finding a combat site, refit to a PvP or a cloaky fit on noticing neutrals (or reds) on dscan. Yes, this might open a new can of worms and if not done right could make the T3s OP. But that way you would get a truly unique ship type, a jack of all trades but master of none.

Come to think of, as long as T3s are still tough enough to deal with sleepers I would actually like to have such a versatile ship and wouldn't care if they have the best dps/tank or not. Big smile



Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#342 - 2013-06-11 12:01:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Malcanis
Cross posting from FHC:


whispous wrote:


I don't think the useful ewar subs (point range, web range) should be able to be combined with the best damage subs. It just makes them into HACs+



Best answer I can think of is to give the subs a rig calibration cost and combine subs & rigs into one large calibration pool.

So if you want the "good" sub combos then you get less or maybe even no rigs

So rather than remove the covops/nulli combo, have it consume a very large amount of calibration.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Tialano Utrigas
Running with Dogs
Northern Coalition.
#343 - 2013-06-11 12:03:54 UTC
Ah f*ck it, T3's should have their damage projection and tank nerfed and bought back into line, somewhere between Navy Cruiser and Battlecruisers.

In return they should carry the ability to be able to refit off each other (or by themselves perhaps).
Oxide Ammar
#344 - 2013-06-11 12:23:37 UTC
Tialano Utrigas wrote:
Ah f*ck it, T3's should have their damage projection and tank nerfed and bought back into line, somewhere between Navy Cruiser and Battlecruisers.

In return they should carry the ability to be able to refit off each other (or by themselves perhaps).


..yea and in same way pls nerf the sleepers sites to the level of lvl 3 missions so we make everything convenient to each other.

Lady Areola Fappington:  Solo PVP isn't dead!  You just need to make sure you have your booster, remote rep, cyno, and emergency Falcon alts logged in and ready before you do any solo PVPing.

Sal Landry
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#345 - 2013-06-11 12:25:37 UTC
Tippia wrote:

T2 have HIC; T3 have anti-HIC. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to equate the two in terms of ability.

Yes it does. Stop blatantly lying and saying they perform the same role when they very obviously don't.
Tippia
Sunshine and Lollipops
#346 - 2013-06-11 12:31:30 UTC  |  Edited by: Tippia
Sal Landry wrote:
Yes it does. Stop blatantly lying and saying they perform the same role when they very obviously don't.
Ok. Then T3s are infinitely quicker to train and effectively cost zero, since they provide something that T2s can never do. As such, they need to be nerfed into the stone age. Better? Roll


The question is what do you get for your SP and ISK compared to what you'd have to put in if you took the T2 option. Equating the value of HIC with the value of anti-HIC is not even remotely a stretch.
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#347 - 2013-06-11 12:32:57 UTC
Tippia wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
hmmm maybe sorta.

Because if cost isn't a viable factor in T3 balance, then it's not a viable factor in arguing against why I would simply use T2 specialist ships for any given job rather than a T3 if the T3 isn't superior for anything.
Oh, misunderstand me correctly…

…I'm not saying that they're good arguments. I'm saying that even if hull cost and skill investment were reasonable balancing factors, the T3s would still be unbalanced because they are actually cheaper and quicker than the alternatives. So the whole “hurr burr half a bil” sulking ignores huge portions of what that money actually buys and falls on its own sword.


The thing is that that half a bill doesn't save you from buying several t2 ships because no one is using their T3s "flexibly". If you want to replace a Command Ship and a HAC and a Recon and a Logi and a HIC with your T3s, you have to buy 3 T3s and a Logi and a HIC, (because T3s can't actually do the Logi or HIC roles). And you usually end up buying a Commandship as well, because safespotting T3s boosters are less useful for mobile fleets, so you want both.

It either buys you a HAC that actually works, or a heavy armour tackle recon that doesn't otherwise exist or a SS linkbooster. The fittings, subsystems and rigs for each role are different; all they have in common is the hull, and by the time you've paid for all the rest, you might as well just get a couple of extra hulls and save yourself the refitting time (not to mention the expense of new rigs).

Most of the T3 emo is because HACs are bad and outdated. Lets see those T2 medium ships fixed and given useful roles, then we'll see how badly T3s actually tread on their toes in everyday situations.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Tippia
Sunshine and Lollipops
#348 - 2013-06-11 12:48:30 UTC
Malcanis wrote:
The thing is that that half a bill doesn't save you from buying several t2 ships because no one is using their T3s "flexibly". If you want to replace a Command Ship and a HAC and a Recon and a Logi and a HIC with your T3s, you have to buy 3 T3s and a Logi and a HIC, (because T3s can't actually do the Logi or HIC roles). And you usually end up buying a Commandship as well, because safespotting T3s boosters are less useful for mobile fleets, so you want both.

It either buys you a HAC that actually works, or a heavy armour tackle recon that doesn't otherwise exist or a SS linkbooster. The fittings, subsystems and rigs for each role are different; all they have in common is the hull, and by the time you've paid for all the rest, you might as well just get a couple of extra hulls and save yourself the refitting time (not to mention the expense of new rigs).
Oh, I don't know… I've seen T3 logis being used as supports for cloaky-covert-bridge fleets — jump harmonics 5 is a very fun stat. Twisted

The refitting is still entirely possible with reasonable and generic rigs — it's just a button click in the fitting browser, and the time required compared to double-clicking a ship in the hangar can be debated. Still, that only reinforces the notion that it's the rigs that are causing problems for letting the T3 ships have their particular role. So bring that back to the devs as an observation for their next rebalancing batch.
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#349 - 2013-06-11 12:55:08 UTC
Tippia wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
The thing is that that half a bill doesn't save you from buying several t2 ships because no one is using their T3s "flexibly". If you want to replace a Command Ship and a HAC and a Recon and a Logi and a HIC with your T3s, you have to buy 3 T3s and a Logi and a HIC, (because T3s can't actually do the Logi or HIC roles). And you usually end up buying a Commandship as well, because safespotting T3s boosters are less useful for mobile fleets, so you want both.

It either buys you a HAC that actually works, or a heavy armour tackle recon that doesn't otherwise exist or a SS linkbooster. The fittings, subsystems and rigs for each role are different; all they have in common is the hull, and by the time you've paid for all the rest, you might as well just get a couple of extra hulls and save yourself the refitting time (not to mention the expense of new rigs).
Oh, I don't know… I've seen T3 logis being used as supports for cloaky-covert-bridge fleets — jump harmonics 5 is a very fun stat. Twisted


I'll take your word for it, but if true, then (1) That's a very niche role indeed and (2) it's not something that T2 Logis can do anyway.

Tippia wrote:
The refitting is still entirely possible with reasonable and generic rigs — it's just a button click in the fitting browser, and the time required compared to double-clicking a ship in the hangar can be debated. Still, that only reinforces the notion that it's the rigs that are causing problems for letting the T3 ships have their particular role. So bring that back to the devs as an observation for their next rebalancing batch.


Ah, that weaselist of weasel words: Reasonable

What's reasonable to you might be outrageous to me. And as I said... if you're going to all the time and trouble of making sure that you have the correct fittings saved, and all the rigs and modules present and all the subsystems and yadda yadda... where's the flexibility advantage over just having pre-fitted T2 ship ready to go with a single right-click -> make active?

If flexibility was all that awesome, we'd be using it now. We're not. T3s need to be able to do things that other ships can't or they're pointless; sucking at several roles isn't a role in itself.

Your example of the covops logi is actually a good one - A role that's too niche to justify a ship class of its own that the T3 can sorta of half-ass do.

But complaining about (for instance) the web/tackle subs is erroneous.

Again, lets see a list of exactly which T2 ships are being made useless by T3s.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Haramir Haleths
Nutella Bande
#350 - 2013-06-11 12:55:40 UTC
Make T3 cheaper, problem solved.
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#351 - 2013-06-11 13:00:05 UTC
Haramir Haleths wrote:
Make T3 cheaper, problem solved.


No point making them cheaper if they're not still useful.

I mean unless you want W-space to be depopulated ofc.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Tippia
Sunshine and Lollipops
#352 - 2013-06-11 13:06:08 UTC
Malcanis wrote:
Ah, that weaselist of weasel words: Reasonable

What's reasonable to you might be outrageous to me.
Tank, fitting, cap — those are pretty reasonable no matter what role you're after and no matter what your limits for outrageousness are. There are things that all ships need by virtue of being flown around in space, and there are rigs that improve those facets of the ship.

Quote:
And as I said... if you're going to all the time and trouble of making sure that you have the correct fittings saved, and all the rigs and modules present and all the subsystems and yadda yadda... where's the flexibility advantage over just having pre-fitted T2 ship ready to go with a single right-click -> make active?
The fact that you only needed to bring one ship along for the ride before you even knew what you were going to do. The value of that flexibility increases with the time the ship stays alive, and this is probably the only place where I'd accept cost as a factor of… well, anything.

Quote:
Your example of the covops logi is actually a good one - A role that's too niche to justify a ship class of its own that the T3 can sorta of half-ass do.

But complaining about (for instance) the web/tackle subs is erroneous.
…but then, I don't think anyone is complaining about the web/tackle subs other than when used in combinations that create Recon++:es, HAC++:es, or the odd CS++.
I'd argue that, beyond HACs, Combat Recons are another class that T3s do better. Sure, they're a bit weaker as far as the “recon” part goes, but they sure as hell make up for it in the “combat” area.

As for the covops logi, that's just part of a pretty wide swath of ability-area that the T3 brings: almost anything that doesn't exist as a covops ship already can be provided by a covops-subbed T3. That's all four non-offensive subs and the various roles they can provide. Of course, that's not really something where they compete with T2, but rather an example of the flexibility advantage.
Amarra Mandalin
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#353 - 2013-06-11 13:06:28 UTC  |  Edited by: Amarra Mandalin
Haramir Haleths wrote:
Make T3 cheaper, problem solved.


Have we made any progress yet on the topic?
Nope. Okay.
Have a nice day.

ETA:

Oh, and new signature:

"T3s need to be able to do things that other ships can't or they're pointless; sucking at several roles isn't a role in itself." --CSM Malcanis
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#354 - 2013-06-11 13:12:11 UTC
Tippia wrote:
I don't think anyone is complaining about the web/tackle subs other than when used in combinations that create Recon++:es, HAC++:es, or the odd CS++.
I'd argue that, beyond HACs, Combat Recons are another class that T3s do better. Sure, they're a bit weaker as far as the “recon” part goes, but they sure as hell make up for it in the “combat” area..


What are your thoughts on giving the subsystems a calibration cost to make certain combinations impossible or at least with reduced/eliminated scope for rigs?

This seems to dial back the powercreep potential while still leaving the option open (I don't like arbitrary limitations)

Incidentally my experience with the tackle/web subs is that DPS is a very secondary consideration. I'd say that if anything, T3s tread on the Force Recons, not the Combat recons, and even then really just the Arazu. The Legion doesn't tread on either the Curse (range bonused Neuts, usually shield tanked) or the Pilgrim (Just as good, 1/3 the price). ECMgus are pretty bad too.


"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Tippia
Sunshine and Lollipops
#355 - 2013-06-11 13:16:40 UTC
Malcanis wrote:
What are your thoughts on giving the subsystems a calibration cost to make certain combinations impossible or at least with reduced/eliminated scope for rigs?
Sounds entirely reasonable (there we go again P).

If the “good” subs (and let's face it, they will always exist) cost enough calibration to effectively render rigging of those ships impossible, then re-regging becomes a non-issue because you can't fit them anyway. Meanwhile, rigs allow you to make up for the “lesser” subs' shortcomings.

…of course, the tricky bit is to properly identify which is which and calibration-price them accordingly.
Garcia Arnst
Doomheim
#356 - 2013-06-11 13:21:37 UTC
Tippia wrote:

Cruiser V (×5), Mechanics / Shield ops V + III (×1), Electronics V (×1), Engineering V (×1), [weapon class skills] V + III (×1), and Navigaion V (×1) = 10 ranks to V, plus miscellaneous.

For the T2 equivalents:
Cruiser V (duh, ×5), Energy Grid Upgrades V (×2), Weapon Upgrades V (×2), Spaceship Command V (×1), Energy Management IV (×3), Propulsion Jamming V (×3), Graviton Physics V (×5), Science V (×1), Engineering V (×1), Battlecruiser V (×6), Warfare Link Specialist 4 (×6), Leadership V (×1), Armored Warfare V (×2), Information Warfare V (×2), Siege Warfare V (×2), Skirmish Warfare V (×2), Cloaking IV (×6), Signature Analysis V (×1), Electronics Upgrades V (×2), Long Range Targeting V (×2) = 40 ranks to V, 15 ranks to IV.


If you want to boost in a T3 you'll have to train up all the leadership skills listed above anyway:

Warfare Link Specialist 4 (×6), Leadership V (×1), Armored Warfare V (×2), Information Warfare V (×2), Siege Warfare V (×2), Skirmish Warfare V (×2)

If you want to cloak in a T3 you have to train up:

Cloaking IV (×6), Electronics Upgrades V

and so on.

The prerequisites to sit in a T3 hull are not the same prerequisites needed to use that T3 in each of the roles outlined, a raw comparison shows precisely nothing.
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#357 - 2013-06-11 13:26:41 UTC
Tippia wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
What are your thoughts on giving the subsystems a calibration cost to make certain combinations impossible or at least with reduced/eliminated scope for rigs?
Sounds entirely reasonable (there we go again P).

If the “good” subs (and let's face it, they will always exist) cost enough calibration to effectively render rigging of those ships impossible, then re-regging becomes a non-issue because you can't fit them anyway. Meanwhile, rigs allow you to make up for the “lesser” subs' shortcomings.

…of course, the tricky bit is to properly identify which is which and calibration-price them accordingly.


usage stats would be a good first-pass approximation

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Jenn aSide
Soul Machines
The Initiative.
#358 - 2013-06-11 13:29:04 UTC
Blah blah blah.

The obvious answer to the balance problems is to simply introduce Tech 4 ships. They'll be so balanced no one will fly anything else. But they will come at a price, if you die in one not only do you lose SP but CCP will charge an additional $20 to your credit card. THAT my friends is BALANCE!

As you can see I have nothing good to add to this discussion (lol) except maybe to suggest that "flexible" T3s that are meh at everything other ships can do would be ok IF they could mount special tech 3 "Strategic Weapons" that would give them a unique battlefield role. IIRC that was kind of the idea behind the ships in the beginning right?

I want my tengu to be able to shoot AOE nano-killbots at enemy fleets that bypasses shields and armor while slowly whittling away at Hull and modules, or Legions that can "siege" in place for 5 mins and shoot little micro black holes or wormholes at the enemy blob that sucks 2 or 3 enemy ships in and deposits them 5 jump away or something. It would be hilarious.

Yes, I'm drunk on vacation and yes you should be glad CCP won't hire me to do game design stuff Twisted
Jenn aSide
Soul Machines
The Initiative.
#359 - 2013-06-11 13:30:26 UTC
Malcanis wrote:
Tippia wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
What are your thoughts on giving the subsystems a calibration cost to make certain combinations impossible or at least with reduced/eliminated scope for rigs?
Sounds entirely reasonable (there we go again P).

If the “good” subs (and let's face it, they will always exist) cost enough calibration to effectively render rigging of those ships impossible, then re-regging becomes a non-issue because you can't fit them anyway. Meanwhile, rigs allow you to make up for the “lesser” subs' shortcomings.

…of course, the tricky bit is to properly identify which is which and calibration-price them accordingly.


usage stats would be a good first-pass approximation


Another wild, drunken idea. Get rid of rigs in tech3s, let the changable sub-systems be the "rigs".
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#360 - 2013-06-11 14:13:34 UTC
Jenn aSide wrote:

Yes, I'm drunk on vacation and yes you should be glad CCP won't hire me to do game design stuff Twisted


So very glad.

(Direct hull damage will be reserved for strip miners)

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016