Player Features and Ideas Discussion

The nestor gets a lot of stick for not being very useable yet being very expensive and having an odd set of bonuses. Discussing this the other day I wondered if the following would give them greater utility without being OP:

Give the nestor the CBC ability to fit warfare links in exchange for the hacking bonuses (lorewise the computer systems are retasked). This would keep the utility as a command ship lower than a dedicated CS but provide additional support for gangs in WH's (or anywhere else). This would make the Nestor unique in being the only BS with this ability but would also make it a much more useful mobile C&C ship capable of providing limited combat boosts along with RR capabilities and drone fire support.

i actually like this idea, +1

Iirc, the LP cost is just as any other BS from LP-Stores.
The difference is, that SoE LP is somewhere around 2k ISK / LP because of the probe launchers etc, so you will rarely find people who exchange their LP and sell the Nestor for 'cheap', as they would make more ISK by running for launchers and probes.
If you do find one, you will likely not fly the Nestor - you will buy it and relist it.

That's why they're so expensive.

CCP Has said the hacking bonuses were freebies so they won't trade them off for anything as they don't see them as a factor when balancing

Perhaps the drop rate for the nexus chips that give the nestor should be tweaked a little then to dop the price gradually(without impacting SoE LP value) along with changes that make them more appealing in doctrine terms. I think the fitting service change will help but also think the ability to fit warfare links (and a pair of nestors to refit from each other in a WH specific to the hole bu=onuses for instance) would increase the appeal of these ships greatly.

The Nestor would take over the Orca's role though eventually.

When this topic came up before I mentioned it would be nice to have a sub-cap option for a ship which could operate like the fleet carriers did then. To allow alliances to deploy with refits and reps in a logistics group when they are going to operate away from home for more than one session.

In part this seems to have been the result of the rework. But only in part. The Nestors still have to remain within the raw module range of each other and their fleet mates to work. NC. did try a fleet like this within the last month, roaming through Catch. As the reddit post reported the combination was tough to crack. But failed because ::Bombers::. The need to stay inside the module activation range for armor repair (large) placed their entire fleet in one conveniently concentrated ball. Rendering them defenseless against the bomber meta. They did seem to like and get to use the options of the refit bay just before that though.

Bit of a disappointment. I think the Nestor is relegated to a bait ship. It does have some uses for WH day tripping but you could use T3's and depots there just as well if not better. And herein lies the bigger problem. Nestor bonusses seem to be balanced against other T1 uses relative. But it's price tag and everything else would place it in a race against T2-3 hulls which are all significantly better in their roles.

I do still think there's the option for a niche role or two for this hull. But to get there CCP needs to move towards a different set of hull bonus features. Keep or lose the hacking modifiers. But do something to make the thing a viable option for other roles and encourage pilots and FC's to bring it onto the grid instead of just being some trophy ship. Give it something else to make the fitting, interactions and options available to the pilots in and around the ship less predictable to anyone they come across in space.

so with this idea we have drone remote repping boosting laser battleship ... what is next? are we gona cry for subcap doomsday? and neut bonus after that? nestor is fine as it is ... just because u dont have use for it in 0.0 doesnt mean it is useless ... it is actually very usefull in w-space which it was designed for in first place ...so get over fact that not every single aspect of this game is about 0.0 players ... you are not alone in this game ...

btw ... you should rename this topic as "Nestor devolution (another)"

Nope no need to rename, the title says exactly what this would be (and has been for 4 iterations). As for the 0.0 comment I actually operate primarily in hisec and losec. I was thinking of a unique way to give the Nestor greater utility that actually makes the price worth it rather than a (very) niche ship. I would never want a sub-cap DD as that would be ridiculous and neut bonus already exists on other hulls to take in the fleet. My idea was to make the Nestor's usefulness as a fleet support ship something distinct and unique and feel that the ability for a BS to fit links (to a limited level) would provide this.

Cheapest way to do it is with the null agents or the chips. Guess where you would find those. I'm sure them being in the Goon area of influence will have nothing to do with the kill mails.

Not saying not to try it. It would be interesting to see what kind of interactions come out of this after all. Just you need to be aware what you're letting yourself in for. Ask yourself who the likely rival interests are going to be. How you would approach such a problem if you can assume their alliance wide assets are heavily stacked against any kind of military solution by itself.