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[New skill] : Advanced Drone Durability
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Shimrod Ombreflamme
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#1 - 2013-10-11 16:03:52 UTC

Since Retribution, NPC have a new IA and switch often to drones. This is of course a little annoying for mission-runners and pvers who use drones.

So, I suggest a now skill called “Advanced Drone Durability” to reduce drones chance to have aggro from NPC. Each level reduce NPC aggro probability and at level V, aggro chance should be reduced to zero or very low.

And maybe, also add some hitpoints per level, 2.5% per level to shield, armor, and hull.
TehCloud
Guardians of the Dodixie
#2 - 2013-10-11 16:32:44 UTC
How about you just watch your screen and recall your drones when they get aggro?

Why do you think they changed it so that drones can get aggro? So PvE'ing in a droneboat can't be done AFK.

My Condor costs less than that module!
FlinchingNinja Kishunuba
Crunchy Crunchy
#3 - 2013-10-11 17:23:05 UTC
Hitpoints on heavies would be good but none of the rest.
Janet Clover
CrashCat Corporation
#4 - 2013-10-11 17:51:32 UTC
Shimrod Ombreflamme wrote:

Since Retribution, NPC have a new IA and switch often to drones. This is of course a little annoying for mission-runners and pvers who use drones.

So, I suggest a now skill called “Advanced Drone Durability” to reduce drones chance to have aggro from NPC. Each level reduce NPC aggro probability and at level V, aggro chance should be reduced to zero or very low.

And maybe, also add some hitpoints per level, 2.5% per level to shield, armor, and hull.




they changed it because too many people where using drone boats to AFK do missions and let bots make crazy isk. thats why they changed it so they are not going to undo this with a new skill.
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#5 - 2013-10-11 17:56:05 UTC
Drones are no different than any other group of ammo or charges, should I get a skill that reduces the amount of charges I have to use per shot?

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#6 - 2013-10-11 18:09:01 UTC
Use a target painter or remote reps. Now the NPCs deem you a much higher threat than the drones (but they will still occasionally switch to them).

How did you Veterans start?
Verity Sovereign
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#7 - 2013-10-11 18:26:11 UTC
No to the reduced chance of getting aggro.

Maybe to the 2.5% hitpoints/level

What I'd rather see, is simply a reduction on the training multiplier for drone durability... its too high for what it is. IMO
Kieron Krodmandouin
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#8 - 2013-10-11 21:42:44 UTC
The problem I have with drones is that they are dead before I can recall them half the time, or before they get into range of my reppers. Maybe a "Mixed drone squad" skill that allowed me to include repair drones in my wing, or something. Would require more micromanagement to use and cut into DPS, but beats the hell out of making PVE even more boring.
Aglais
Ice-Storm
#9 - 2013-10-11 21:57:20 UTC
TehCloud wrote:
How about you just watch your screen and recall your drones when they get aggro?

Why do you think they changed it so that drones can get aggro? So PvE'ing in a droneboat can't be done AFK.


The point is, they change targets so fast that drone deployment is not a valid tactic in PvE.

THAT is the problem, but I do think that methods should be taken so that people actually play EVE instead of just have it running in the background while you play other games.
Chamiidra
Ratting FTW
#10 - 2013-10-11 22:31:44 UTC
TehCloud wrote:
How about you just watch your screen and recall your drones when they get aggro?

Why do you think they changed it so that drones can get aggro? So PvE'ing in a droneboat can't be done AFK.


Easy to do with sentries. But when you're dealing with tons of frigates that orbit any further than 10km which switch targets more often than politicians hold fund raisers and you end up with a lot of dead drones no matter what you do.

I think a general increase in drone HP is in order. I don't think we should reduce drone agro necessarily but they shouldn't die the moment they get agro. More HP would also help make heavies useful again as then they can go out and engage the stuff at 30-50km without getting blown up.

Morrigan LeSante
Perkone
Caldari State
#11 - 2013-10-11 22:45:06 UTC
TehCloud wrote:
How about you just watch your screen and recall your drones when they get aggro?

Why do you think they changed it so that drones can get aggro? So PvE'ing in a droneboat can't be done AFK.


How about we get notification they have even aggro before they hit hull?

Because that's what happens in unbonused hulls.

Too many times I'm watching the NPC's like a hawk - oh, I'm yellow boxed now> $DRONE_HOTKEY> oh it's already into structure at the first GUI update.


Fix the gui, then your argument has far more weight, as it is...I cannot condemn those complaining because you cannot react to what you cant see.
Meyr
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2013-10-12 01:10:06 UTC
How about simply increasing the base durability of drones by about 25%? Whenever my mission drones get killed, it's almost always on the way back to my ship, and they're usually within a few KM of returning to my drone bay.

That amount wouldn't imbalance their toughness in PVP (I had a few shot up just a few days ago, when my Domi was tackled - you know who you are, you dirty rat bastids! I'll see you again!), but would provide the AWAKE, non-AFK missioner just a bit more time to successfully recall their drones before they were destroyed.
Kitty Bear
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#13 - 2013-10-12 01:15:42 UTC
more health for drones would definitely help

what would help more was a functional range of rigging options like turret/missile users get
and some actual IMPLANT choices
Hesod Adee
Perkone
Caldari State
#14 - 2013-10-12 01:22:59 UTC
Morrigan LeSante wrote:
TehCloud wrote:
How about you just watch your screen and recall your drones when they get aggro?

Why do you think they changed it so that drones can get aggro? So PvE'ing in a droneboat can't be done AFK.


How about we get notification they have even aggro before they hit hull?

Because that's what happens in unbonused hulls.

Too many times I'm watching the NPC's like a hawk - oh, I'm yellow boxed now> $DRONE_HOTKEY> oh it's already into structure at the first GUI update.


Fix the gui, then your argument has far more weight, as it is...I cannot condemn those complaining because you cannot react to what you cant see.

What about keeping the EHP the same, but moving most of it to shields ?

That way, if you're paying attention you can pull them back before they take any permanent damage. If you have spare drones, then you can cycle between them to keep the full shield drones out in space.
Malcolm Malicious
Suddenly a Covert Cyno
The Initiative.
#15 - 2013-10-12 06:02:52 UTC
How about make it so we can control 10 drones, then my drone boat can feel like a drone boat.

But actually, a better drone UI would be nice. holding shift or ctrl while clicking a drone group as a shortcut to launch drones would help a lot. Getting a notifier on which of your drones are being attacked would be nice. Right now, I have my drone window cramped on the bottom right corner of the screen and it makes me feel they aren't very important sometimes and I get lazy to launch them.