Ships & Modules

*You can skip this part* Here's a quick explanation for why this is important to me. I like hauling. No idea why, but I also enjoy being as self-sufficient as possible. I mainly fly a BR, but if I ever want to carry any load through null larger than 10km3 "safely," then I would need a jump freighter, which is no longer much of a solo task. I see the increased size of the DST as a potential middle-ground for someone like me.

Now for the meat and potatoes.

First things first. This isn't meant to be a whine thread, but a constructive criticism/brainstorm thread. So, please keep your flame settings on low-heat.
In a recent "unofficial" poll regarding the industry side of Eve, fixing deep-space transports was voted as a top 3 priority by the players. The question is, how to fix them, while still keeping them unique?
After searching the forums, here are some of the solutions I've seen mentioned:

1. Allow for a covert Ops cloak. (I don't see this as much of an option. It just steps on the toes of the BR a bit.)

2. Allow the fitting/use of a micro-jump drive. (Personally, I'm not all that familiar with these. Maybe someone here can point out the pros/cons of how this would help.)

3. Make them tankier? (lol. That just makes your guaranteed death slightly slower.)

Really, the biggest issue with the use of a Deep-space transport in Null, is those pesky warp bubbles. That's theoretically it. The DST 'can' be viable for quick low-sec runs, a dangerous place where the only missing factor is the bubbles. So, my proposal:

Either allow for Interdiction Nullifiers to be fit to a DST, or just make it a baked in bonus, like the +2 to warp strength. Maybe make a cyno mod unfittable to this ship type to help balance that thought a bit. Not sure if that would much matter.
Yeah yeah. Many pirates are certainly brimming with hatred at the mere thought of that one, but here's why this actually wouldn't be as broken as it might sound to some.

I. Targeted warp disrupters would still work fine against a DST, as would getting a lock and overpowering the warp strength (Not a tough task).

II. the DST is SO darn slow, you'd get another chance to nail it at the next gate if they do manage to warp off.

III. Finally, initiating warp in a DST happens to eat up quite a bit of cap charge. This is exacerbated by the use of a MWD+ cloak. If you're making many jumps in this ship, you won't finish a full warp at some point. Usually sooner rather than later.

The BR would still be the go-to ship for Nul-sec hauling when possible, but at least there'd be a solo option for a ship with a better cargo hold.
All that said, I'm definitely not the most experienced Eve player, and I would love to hear other's thoughts and ideas on how to actually make this type of ship, which takes a good amount of training, used for its intended purpose in "lawless space."

Make it able to fit bonused target breakers maybe? It would be fun to be able to troll gate camps with an industrial

Combat capable transport does sound interesting. The problem I can see with that though, is that CCP doesn't want a transport ship capable of defending itself; they want the transporter to hire (or have friends) people to protect it. EVE's a social game, after all.

I'll agree that the DST doesn't really have a place yet in Eve, though it is slated for review. Personally, I only see three options:

1. Make it a "combat" transport, which will mean really beefing it up. Basically it will need to be battleship/battlecruiser tankable + be fast + be really good at taking out frigates before anyone would consider using one. The problem with that is that becomes a very powerful, very usual ship in several non-hauling roles. The caveat to that is that the expense of this type of DST would hinder it being used as a BC/BS replacement.

2. Make it a "jumpy" transport, which would mean keeping its current tank, have the ability to jump to a cyno. Ideally I would like more hauling capacity, moving it to a more "intermediate" type hauler between current industrials and freighters, possibly through a bonus to cargo containers. I like this just because I don't want to spend or skill up a jump freighter, especially when my operations are going to remain small time, and certainly not worth risking the expense of even hiring a jump freighter to move it.

Anything "cloaky" or just fast steps on the toes of Odyssey 1.1 industrials or Blockade Runners. But, it would be interesting if a dev just stopped by a gave us a hint what they plan to do with DSTs..