Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Link to the reddit thread with more ideas: http://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/26byus/the_mining_fleet_of_the_future/


The beginning of the post primarily outlines possible ideas for the future Rorqual and then what a mining op of the future could look like

Rorqual

• Remove the useless survey scanner and cargo scan role bonus


• Remove/Rebalance Capitol tractor beams to make them useful(primarily use a MTU instead)


• Maybe give the Rorqual it's own special MTU module?


• Add some sort of reinforced mode to the industrial core mode so that if a small roam group of sub caps warp in on your fleet you can stand your ground and have a chance to defend yourself with help from skiffs (more on this later)


• Reduce cycle time of the industrial core so you can pick up and leave in a somewhat timely timeframe if the thunders comin (not instant at all maybe reduce to 3 min instead of 5)


• possibly add the ability to field a full set of Geckos or 3-5 fighter drones but not be able to increase the max amount as to not step on carriers toes while also not becoming some sort of godly ratting platform.


• Ability to have Industrial Core scripts or Warfare Links to switch between once the fighting starts


• Would kind of be like a less powerful triage carrier for miners through shield transfer and possibly warfare links or industrial core scripts


• Or maybe convert it into sort of an anchorable manned oil rig at a belt?


• Reinforcement timer for anchorable version??


• Increase bonuses from Mining Links


• Grid protection from dscan/probes


• Immunity to ewar

Here's how the gameplay of mining fleets in the future could look like:

You've carved out a nice area for you and your miner bros to setup you've got a nice pos setup in the area and you and your miner bros are eager to get to work.

The Rorqual warps to the center of the belt and sets up his reinforced industrial core mode and then drops a mobile tractor unit next to himself so he can pull in jetcans for compression.

For the mining fleet you'd bring covetors (hulks if you're space rich) for general purpose mining accompanied by skiffs to provide defense against rats and would be harassers instead of having people sitting around in combat ships being bored (new miner domis)

The Rorqual sits in the middle compressing all the ore brought to it by the MTU having a great time talking about fun stuff and telling jokes while your t1 hauler picks up the compressed ore and brings it to the safety of your pos for the smuggling op later.

Suddenly local starts blowing up, it's a roam gang (oshi-) cruisers destroyers with frigates and maybe a battleship to two and they see a bunch of industrials on their d-scan with a Rorqual outside of bubble aka instaboner.

Fortunately one of your miner bros notices this and sounds the alarm in time. The current meta is to have everybody run to the safety of your pos and cower inside the bubble for safety enduring taunting and name calling until they get bored and leave, demoralizing the fleet. And in the case of the poor rorqual pilot well, he's just a 3b kill mail...

But what if there's another way? Instead of doing the usual your FC calls for the covetor/hulk pilots to refit into the skiffs you're carrying in your fleet hanger in the Rorqual. The Rorqual toggles his foreman links off and switches to warfare links readying for the inevitable confrontation between mortal enemies. He is surrounded by an angry beehive of skiffs with drone bonuses supported by links and remote shield transfers from the Rorqual.

Then the inevitable happens you've been scanned down. Suddenly your overviews filled with enemy ships, do you stand together and mine their hulls? or cower like a "care bear". Fortunately this day the blood god demands blood and skulls for the skull throne.

Your time has come, the Rorqual launches his squad of fighters and the skiffs have launched their mixture of sentries and drones. The FC calls targets and one by one the frigates, destroyers, and cruisers begin to melt off the overview. The enemy FC is panicking does he primary the reinforced Rorqual? A seemingly unbreakable juggernaut while more and more of his fleet melts or does he attack the skiffs which are getting remote repped by the quick reactions of the rorqual. As the battle progresses a stalemate is reached only a few battleships and battle cruisers remain. Slowly their tank is breaking and the decision is made to extract away leaving the miners victorious jubilant in their hard fought victory over an impromptu raid by the roamers.

The idea for future mining ops is a solid unmoving entity unable to be deterred by random annoyances from their mission to keep the vibrant eve economy flowing providing everybody with ships to blow up, stories to be told, and names to be made. But not overwhelming enough to destroy anything that draws their ire.

And if dreads show up, well then you're just blapped :)

Coming July 22nd their is no need to compress in a Rorqual at all. Compression jobs can be done in a POS module, become instant, and do not require BPOs.

Agreed - scanner roles removed.
Agreed - Industrial core increases tank. Every other siege mode in the game includes tank increases.
Add - Immune to EWar.
Disagree - on cycle time reduction. If you get the extra tank then you need to be willing to take the 5 minute commitment.
Disagree - on additional drone damage, ship already gets bonuses. Geckos are useless against small targets.
Disagree - on scripts. This is a lot of dev time that tries to put a Rorqual on almost equal footing as a triage carrier.
Disagree - on triage carrier like capital reps. If a pair of capital reps on shield buffer Exhumer is not enough then it is not CCP's fault they didn't buff a Rorqual to rep like a triage carrier.
Disagree - on anchoring a Rorqual anywhere in the game. What? Maybe a mobile structure but not a capital ship.


Disagree - on the whole scenario...

PvP is for ships with guns not strip miners. To make vast changes to a capital ship to make it tank like a dread, rep like a triage carrier, increase it's damage by loads, just so you can get your buds to jump in skiffs to PVP... It would take tons of Dev time to make the changes and would be abused by being used in other scenarios.

You kinda miss the point. Your buds should warp to the POS while you happily tank your Rorqual. When they have re-shipped into conventional PvP ships they come in as a group and you apply some limited capital shield logistics and launch your bonus DPS drones or sentries and support where you can.

Side note. I own 2 Rorquals. I have siege'd in sites, it is cool. With a good intel, a good corp willing to jump in to PvP ships if you get in trouble, it is really cool to compress as ore is mined. After Jully 22nd it will be pointless to do.

It'd be a ******* waste, since carebears wouldn't mine ships.

Or would they?? ;)


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndWUlntJ58U

Thanks for the feedback on the idea of possibly being immune to ewar, added to the list and updating to match the reddit. Also I'd just like to say that I agree with the idea of them being largely useless once the arrays come out in Kronos, which is why I made the threads in order have a brainstorming session to see if we can come up with any ideas for consideration regarding a new niche role for the Rorqual.

edit: also forgot to add the MTU idea great feedback! thanks!