Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Disclaimer: This is not a nerf AFK cloaking thread!

Cloaking in its current iteration is two-dimensional and boring, for the pilot at least. right now it exists as a simple on/off function. I think a more dynamic system is needed! a complete overhaul of the way cloaking works.

First off get rid of the on/off approach! What I suggest is that while cloaked there is a chance for a ship to detect the cloak and shut it down. This would be based on the non-cloaked ship sensor strength and proximity to the cloaked ship (up to 2 km if you're that close you're detected just like the in current system) and the cloaked ships mass, speed, cloak meta level, and modules activated. if these are zero and the ship size is small then the chance to remain undetected is is virtually 100% no matter what the other ships sensor strength is. However as size increases it becomes easier to detect a cloak, if a ship is going full speed that will have an effect (though a minimal one in my opinion otherwise cloaking and trying to get out of a gate camp bubble would be next to impossible) and finally if the cloaked pilot decides to activate modules, the modules and the number will greatly effect the likelihood of being detected.

I also think that you should be able to lock a target while cloaked for a very high chance of being detected, the more targets you lock the higher the chance, but even one would be something like 35% (locking while cloaked has a greatly reduced lock range)

Now what about firing weapons cloaked? I think it should be possible, but with a new mechanic: a spool up time before firing that slowly increases your damage from -50% up to 50% base damage. the chance of being detected rises higher as the damage increases, once the other ship detects you, the payload fires dealing whatever damage percentage it was at. (now most of the time this would be -50% but if lucky and skilled up you could get a few lucky shots occasionally and deal a full 50% more damage) when you fire the volley (if you haven't been already) you decloak.

Modules activated and target locking while cloaked is the main thing I think would make cloaking more interesting! Think about it! If you're cloaked in a belt, in your awesome stealth bomber, ready to uncloak and burn that poor miner to the ground several things could happen:


First scenario: you risk getting close enough to be within your scram range you are lucky and in getting within 9 km he doesn't detect you. You think, if you can get a lock, you're guaranteed a kill. Control click and BAM! he detects you and because he's not AFK mining and aligned and paying close attention to what was going on around him (unlikely, I know) he warps out. Sorry no kill for you! Better luck next time. (you were to close and trying lock probably pushed the likelihood of you being detected to something like 70%

Second scenario: You wise up a bit and stay further away from him this time (maybe you got a disruptor instead?) you still try to lock him and you manage to stay cloaked. so now you try activating that disruptor. Oh no! activating the module failed and you're detected again. for the second time that really on the ball miner warps out denying you another kill! go cry in the corner or just quit taking so many chances with your cloak! (if you activate a module while cloaked and you are uncloaked the module fails to activate, the exception being weapons)

Third scenario: The miner has returned and you're going to try again! Good luck! you warp in cloaked (why would I want to change that aspect of the covert ops cloak?) you could lock him last time so you try again successfully locking him once more. this time you forgo the disruptor and just fire your weapons, hoping that you'l be able to catch him with his hardeners off and get a full 50% bonus damage. Well you we're unlucky before but now you hit the jackpot! 40% percent damage bonus and that silly miner didn't turn his hardeners on, nice kill!


This system could bring with it new skills and modules that have direct influence on cloaking and chances. off the top of my head these are what I can think of:

New skill books

Cloaking field stability: (name them what you want) 5% increased cloaking strength per level

Cloaked targeting: (requires cloaking field stability IV) Decreases the chance of being detected by locking a target while cloaked by 5% per level

Cloaking proximity: (requires cloaking field stability III) Decreases the chance of being detected based on proximity by 5% per level

Cloaked warfare: (requires cloaking field stability V) increases cloaked damage range by 10% in both directions per level

Cloaking Velocity: (requires cloaking efficiency III) Increases ship velocity while cloaked and reduces the chance of being detected while traveling at high speed and activating a MWD or afterburner while cloaked by 5% per level

Cloaking efficiency: Reduces the effect of a ships mass on the cloaking field coherence by 5% per level

New Modules

Optics Fortifier: increases the strength of the cloaking field. Passive. fits in low slot.

Stealth Energy Field Optimizer: increases damage range when firing cloaked. active (so that you have to risk being detected to activate it.) maybe separate versions one for a mid slot and one for a low slot

Now this seems like a more exciting and intuitive system that is very much in the spirit of eve's risk vs reward mantra. With some balancing (and complicated math!) this could make for a fantastic new cloaking system that would be a great compliment to a half decent black ops rebalance!

Please tell me what you think, I hope this doesn't fit under the it's already been said before category. Also like I said this is not a nerf AFK cloaking thread!

Thanks for reading!

haha sometimes it is nice ;D

But seriously what do you think?

I vote for no change. Mainly I disgree with the statement, "cloaking is two-dimensional " comment.. what does that mean in this context anyway? Cloaking doesn't have to be "interesting" to work well.. it's the activity you are doing while using a cloak that should be intereting and not the cloaking itself. . Why come up with some weird meta game just so cloaking nerfs into a system that allows detectability? This doesn't make cloaking more interesting.. What it does is make gate camps more deadly. Yeah that would be ... great..... I prefer the cloaking is cloaked method... currently cloaking is not fool proof.. I have lost cloaked ships at camps..and in engagements after I was discovered. If cloaking is not the exciting meta game you want trying exploration or something else.

I'm not saying "nerf cloaking" or "cloaking is to powerful" or "all my gate camps aren't able to kill cloaked ships" or any other whiney post about cloaking that we see on the forums.

What I would like is something that may make flying a cloaking ship more entertaining. especially in combat as you can make decisions about how to engage and what risks to make before you uncloak. I want an entertaining solo cloaked PvP experience. I think this could help.

Also the ability to be completely undetectable while cloaked is really unrealistic. :/

Uhh... No thanks, cloaking is just fine as it is right now.

I prefer my MMOs with infinite cloak, so no but thanks for your time spent.

Some of this seems overly complicated.

I will agree there needs to be some way to detect cloaked ships, but having a specialized ship module or modules would be a better way of handling it. Something like a magnetic anomaly detector which detects variations in magnetic fields, seeing as we all fly in big tin cans I suspect that would work in some way that could indicate if there are any cloaked ships. Then maybe use an area of effect pulse, something based on a charge with a long refire time that decloakes the ship maybe have a range of 10 - 15km on it.

It would be useful to be able to turn on some modules while cloaked and having covert ops versions that are expensive would be fine things like afterburners, cargo scanners or ship scanners. Being able to scout an enemy fleet or a target these modules are a good option. Being able to lock a ship while cloaked is fine it could take longer or require a passive targeter to be used, and when the ship de cloaks the lock is automatically broken.

As much as I would love to be able to fire at targets while cloaked, I am probably going to have to sit on the fence if it would break anything. To give the idea a chance but a different approach, think of it more like a sniper in a ghillie suit. The cloak would have to have a significant downside such as significant cap use and might only give a few shots before failing completely. It would not be a covert ops so you cant move without de cloaking. But there is a 0% chance of it ever being added because of the people who don't want to see powerful cloaked ships, but it could be a nice use for black ops battleships .

Generally there is nothing wrong with cloaking as it is at the moment, but it lacks basic things such as detecting cloaked ships and begin able to use scout ships for a wider range of duties. Would like to see more combat orientated covert ops ships though.

You fail to think of the 5% of your residents that reside in a world with no Local and where cloaking is a way of life: Wormholes.

-27 to cover us 5%.

Um, local is unrealistic o.O

I really fail to see how this ruins your WH cloaks? Maybe you'd care enlighten me?

The Goal was not to ruin cloaking or nerf it, just change the way that it works. Hopefully while maintaining the roles and advantages of cloaking in it's current form while allowing it to perform well in PvP. I thought a new cloaking system would be a good thing to release with whatever black ops battleship changes they implement.