Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Currently Isthar is to overpowered weapon platform - both for PVE and PVP.
It is the only HAC that can get 700+ DPS while keeping all their tank and mobility.

Idea is very simple, reduce damage per level to sentry drones from ship bonuses from 10 to 5% per level while keeping 10% for other drone types.

This ship is way to overpowered , and easily outDPS Tier 3 Battle cruisers.

You don't keep "all your mobility" when using sentries. They can't follow you around, so while your ship can still move, your DPS source is anchored in a specific point, and that's a huge constraint in many cases (prolly not in PVE though).

Actually you are keeping all mobility on a grid - you just have to keep distance from the drones.

Yes you can loose drones during rewarps , but that cannot be explenation for 700 + dps on a HAC that can keep all the tank and grid mobility.

I'm on the fence with this.

Not sure if it's OP or balanced.

I do however feel that sized sentry drones would be the best thing to be introduced to the game.

The Deimos hits harder and has a better active tank. The problem isn't with it's tank and mobility. It's the range at wich it's able to project that much damage.
As said before, sentries are battleship class weapons. It's like having a talos with HAC ehp.

I get that sentries have downsides but come on :
- you can change damage types
- you have range and tracking bonus from omnidirs (unlike missiles)
- you can adapt your range, just like swapping ammo, by swapping sentry types
- you deal BS-class damage at BS-class range with almost cruiser-class tracking
- you don't need capacitor to keep them shooting, so you can't counter them with neuts
- hell, you don't even need to lock you target, so ECM or damps are useless once they start shooting
- they are immune to tracking disruption
- they don't take high slots
- and most importantly : you can change WEAPONS SYSTEMS during a fight (launch light drones to kill frigs, ECM drones to gtfo, ...). It's like you could swap to light pulses/beams while fighting in a zealot and get a bonus to it.

Downside :
- they can be destroyed.

Which is not that much of a downside, since your opponent is "wasting" dps on your drones instead of shooting you. And it's a downside only if he survives long enough to destroy all the drones you had in stock.
Also I disagree with people who say that a stationary weapon is a downside. Their range is more than enough to project damage about anywhere you would go on a fight. If that's not enought, drop more sentries. People seem to forget that you can just abandon your drones to drop some more and adapt to what happens during the fight. You dont' need to sit on your sentries to swap damage types.
"But if I do that, I'll lose my drones !" Maybe, but your opponent will lose his ship. Pretty good trade if you ask me.

Finally to all people who say "if ishtars were overpowered, you would see them everywhere" ... Seriously ? The are everywhere.
They simply are the most used HACs in the game, pvp and pve.

Your shield isthar is way more mobile than this zealot - you can even fit 100AB on this isthar.
Remember that you are tanking then using both signature and speed.

Yes it can be refitted way to easily.
Yes you can loose drones - but carrier sitting on a pos can refil drones for a whole fleet.

To make any changes to your sentry drones you have to go to within 2500m of where they are positioned. Your enemy knows (should know) this, and should be ready to act on it.

Not to mention the PITA of Sentry drones creep, where they drift apart. No you have a real problem scooping them one by one, if there are enemies on the field.

Very simple.
Light drones = Light Guns
Med Drones = Med guns
Sentry drones / Heavy Drones = Heavy Guns
Fighters / Fighter Bombers = Capital Guns

Not in the slightest. Heavy drones are a cruiser class weapon.

Just to further clarify my last:

Look at ship bonuses:

"...bonus to Small Hybrid..." "....bonus to Medium Hybrid...." "...bonus to Large Hybrid..." - demonstration of 'class specific' weaponry,


Now look at your bog standard standard drone bonus:

"...bonus to Drone hitpoints and damage"

it is not, nor ever has been class specific, ergo, drones are not class specific (no, the Ishtar does not have 'Battleship class weaponry' and note that Heavy drones do even more. damage..)

Just as all us old timers know.