Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Back to the key points.
1 Rattlesnakes were BAD . Like 400mils vs 800mils bad compared to the other pirate BS's . Badder than a Navy raven (no prob with the supply for those too ) .
2 They got a half hearted buff . Yes , the paper DPS was increased . The real dps ... not by much . Those furies will not hit for full damage if the rigs are for drones (it's not the case in a raven). If you then use vanilla ammo all you got is some slow coming 200 dps.Almost 20 seconds slow , it's an eternity , arties are going to almost cycle twice before the first salvo arrives . Also longer flight time = lost dps in salvo counts , defenders and stuff . Other kind of dps was taken - the now unbonused light drones are dps lost on drone system which was supposed to cover the defficiencies of the missile sys . Because of the MISSING HIGHSLOT you will not have a healthy chance to snipe frigs at range so you will have to ditch the bonused sentries and wait for the standard drones to chew at the frigs in you pirate BS that just becomed a worse raven (not even navy) .
3 Short range or long range unlike a raven the thing must be stationary or be inferior .
4 This ship will not be MJD friendly

So , are you still wondering why a CNR is priced over a rattlesnake ATM ?

Make those "80km" 100

Probably because sovscrubs have been grinding guristast LP for an eternity about now.

Rattler before this change is great, after this change is better.

It doesn't have a place in a lot of doctrines, doesn't make it bad.

Don't forget that all that dps is raw dps. The drones don't hit as good as a domi and the missiles don't hit as good as a navy raven or even typhoon. This kind of dps sounds like a brawling type of ship like the navy domi or fleet typhoon. Lots of dps but bad at applying it.

How unfortunate that there aren't ships in game that could accompany you that are specifically designed to help you (and everyone else with you) to apply full DPS...

To all the pilots who want their light drones to be boosted by snakes boni keep in mind that if I fit small guns on my Abbadon they are not covered by the +5% damage from the ship's bonus. You will need to deploy different tactics to handle different situations just like all the rest of us. Same goes for the extra control range as well. It honestly just boils down to you guys wanting your cake and eating too.

I guess the devs should get a headstart on that and just remove it from all the ships in the game as well since there is no reason the Gallente line should be any different. Just completely screw drones use up to the point that no one would want to use them at all. We need to see more hybrid turrets on the potbelly pig Domi anyways because who needs drones when you have 6 high slots and 6 turret locations.

Yes they can be destroyed however they do have major upsides. If your ship gets jammed they keep on firing, they require no ammo and not one GJ of cap to use, bonus from the new snake will make shooting at them very impracticable, if your ship gets SD into nothing your drones will continue to fire. Eve is all about decisions that carry weight so if you want drones then you have to take all the good and the bad that comes along with that decision. Not to mention the Warriors on a Snake with 3 DDA's will pump out 200 DPS and go 6300 meters a second...that's sufficient to handle a inty. It's not like you won't have some defense against them, more so than most BS's for that matter.

The actual issues, can be solved very simply without all the chest beating and epeening, that people seem to need to vent when someone points out the negatives of an issue.

Not sure why that is but hey ho.

To resolve the drone issue Gila to receive 200% bonus to light combat drones to both damage and hit points. ( 8 effective light drones, was 7.5)
To resolve the drone issue Rattlesnake to receive 50% bonus to light combat drones to both damage and hit points 7.5 effective drones-unchanged.

Rattlesnake either 25km boost to drone control range OR 25% additional damage bonus but launchers remain unchanged at 4.
( an additional High slot would have the potential to cause balance disruption)

Result for rattlesnake as follows;-
Drone control range unchanged, drones are still a practical primary weapon.
Light drone capability unchanged, light drones remain useful anti frigate weapon.
Missile damage unchanged from CCP Rises original bonus levels. NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE ABILITY OR PROJECTION Occurs.

Missile range decreases from previous extreme levels, a reasonable exchange.
New drone mechanic gets the opportunity to show it's value on a balanced weapons platform, drones still are able to project and damage at previous levels to enable a fair comparison to be made.
Rattlesnake gets the missile bonus it has desperately needed for years to enable it to be an equal member of the pirate ship fleet.

The likelihood is that all ships will sooner or later use fewer drones and these ships are a testbed, nerfing the core drone usage, as some players seem to demand (well cripple any ship or weapon they do not use) will harm all players if not now then later.

This keeps the rattlesnake balanced, gives the bonus numbers that CCP Rise stated and resolves issues that have unintended consequences.

Unfortunately it is commonly the case that players who are focused on the fitting tools greatly overestimate the damage and application of drone damage, every post that discusses drones or drone ships raises the same.

No matter how much a drone user tries to explain, they are unfortunately unable to look beyond the numbers they see, so there is very little point in trying to explain.

The issues are simply resolvable, the 2 superdrone vs 5 drone testing on these ships needs a clear playing field so the true effects can be seen, my post above, tries to ensure that can happen.

Thankfully CCP are aware of the drone limitations of applying damage, so it is they who we should be assisting with discussing issues found and potential resolutions, arguing with users who do are not familiar with the weapon system or ship or simply against it , is pointless and frustrating, and just makes it harder for CCP to get reasonable feedback.

If players do not like drones, rather than trying to cripple a ship for users that do use them should form a separate "i hate drones" thread and they can argue amongst themselves there.

Both of these ships, the Gila and the rattlesnake are a hairs breadth away from being fantastic ships, they will demonstrate the new drone mechanic, and if the small but vastly important issues are addressed then they will both be class matching ships. True Pirate vessels.

Lets help CCP get the base ships right so we can see just how good the drone mechanic is.