Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I play in Null-Sec mainly. After hopping into Interceptors post-Rubicon - I feel like I never want to fly anything else to small gang PVP again. They can avoid nearly any threat. They can break gatecamps better than an interdiction nullified T3. They are inexpensive relative to their usefulness - fast, agile, and hard to track. They go through bubbles. Some of them (Taranis, Crow, Malediction) do reasonable DPS. Interceptor gangs are hard for Solo PVPers to fight off. People argued that some of their new Rubicon buffs should be removed, especially the bubble immunity.

I think that you just need to add to the current meta, which unfortunately removes a lot of the charm that the post-Retribution small-gang PVP meta had. (The Retribution meta encouraged a lot of fights between frigate, destroyer, and cruiser sized-ships... now people can just avoid engaging in anything like that in an interceptor)

1. Destroyer Escorts: They could be a new class of ships (you could use the Dragoon, Corax, Algos, and Talwar hulls). Give them a nice scan resolution and targeting range, give them decent speed, high warp speed (6-8 AUs?), and make them specialized to catch Interceptors by allowing them to fit a new mod (see #2). They could have slightly weaker slots than the current destroyers as they fill a specialized role. They could have slightly better resistances than regular destroyers, justifying an increased cost. They could have a class-wide bonus to optimal range or falloff but not damage. (allowing them to smack Frigates but only lightly touch Cruisers). For instance - imagine the Algos hull with long-range small rails, or a Talwar hull with artillery. Destroyers are supposed to be the counter to frigates - right now their stats and abilities aren't right to counter Assault Frigates, Stealth Bombers, or Interceptors easily.

2. Anti-Frigate Warp Disruption Net / Long Scram: I suggest a disruption field mod similar to those on Heavy Interdictors but without a speed nerf. I think that it could be used unscripted like a 15 km field that only prevents warp drive activation by frigate-sized ships (Stealth Bombers and Interdictors included), or scripted as a long-range (25-50km) Warp Scramber that also affects only frigate-Sized ships. You could give all of the destroyer escorts a junk high-slot to avoid using up a turret slot (give the Talwar hull an 8th highslot, for example). I don't think that the net should have the pull effects of a normal bubble.

I also suggest allowing Heavy Interdictors to fit this same mod... but maybe only allowing them to run one Interdiction Field mod at a time. They have the highslots and it gives them another use aside from tackling big ships or doing defensive bubbles in fleets. Maybe the mod could only be used by Hictors and Destroyer Escorts.

3. Make the Astero immune to the Disruption Net. (Because right now the Astero is like a glorified Tristan PVP-wise)

Why would this be cool?
1. A few of these with every gang would add another option to the small-gang PVP metagame and increase the variety of small gang fleets (and give a nice additional role for low-skill characters to fulfill). Right now destroyers aren't seeing that much use aside from Talwar gangs. Some destroyers accompanied by some of these now have a use.

2. Imagine a bunch of these escorting large fleets to fight off Interceptors and bombing runs. You'd have little side fights going on as interceptors chase each other as they are long-pointed or bubbled by Destroyer Escorts. Destroyer Escorts could burn at bombers that land on a bombing run and attempt to kill them before bombs explode, perhaps catching a few.

3. People designing a gatecamp would have more choices to make, and combat near gates would be even more interesting.

4. It would give a reason for frigs to use Afterburners sometimes (or even dual prop), as they wouldn't be affected by the long-point scram.

5. The Destroyer Escort idea is inspired by the historical ships of the same name in the WW2 era.

6. You could give the net another color, making Eve even more colorful with that special rainbow sparkle magic.

7. I'd actually ever see the Dragoon hull.

By the way, my first post on the Eve Forums. Nice to make your acquaintance.

Grats, you just broke Pufferfish HICs for wormhole closing. They regularly fit and simultaneously run 4 bubbles to enable them to slip through critical mass wormholes with the mass of roughly a shuttle, then punch back through with their cruiser mass plus the half-a-battleship bonus from a 100mn AB. Need to leave that alone.