Ships & Modules

This deserves a spot in Ships and Modules:

Chaos Server AF

Please deposit all Dramiels and Daredevils into the trash receptacle upon exiting the vehicle.....

I would have preferred an AB speed bonus rather than an MWD sig bonus - it's not like we don't already have MWD sig bonused T2 frigs in the game...

I agree that the MWD bonus is a little disappointing. All AF's gain an extra slot but none of them gain grid increases and only some a CPU increase. I don't know how hard some of the AF's are to fit atm but it'll become more difficult.

New Wolf:

High -
200mm II x 4
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator
Mid -
Catalyzed Cold-Gas Arcjet Thrusters
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler
Low -
Gyro II
TE II
Adaptive Nano II or Reactive II
F85 Peripheral Damage System
200mm Rolled Tungsten Plate
Rigs -
Projectile Collision
Projectile Burst

300 DPS with 12km of falloff or 235 DPS with 17.6km of falloff. I don't know how much more EHP I would get but it would definitely be more then the 5.82k I currently get on my all-or-nothing gank Wolf. Alternatively, I could swap out the nuet and plate for a nos and SAR II. Lots of options. The Wolf will no longer be completely helpless to drones.

The Enyo with an extra mid and 10% dmg/lvl rather then 5% also becomes -finally - a nice alternative to the Wolf.

A 4-4-4 Jaguar is a super Rifter. Artillery Jag is also an option with the tracking bonus. I have a fit that gets a 1k alpha. That's two thirds of a thrasher's while being faster and smaller with more EHP.

Edit: Even Liang will have to respect the Enyo if this goes through.

AB speed bonuses, should have been insane in order to push those slow hulls fast enough in order to catch up with other ships. Combined with insane resists, cap and EHP (aided by the added slots) would break them against anything bigger than them. HMLs would be hugely nerfed, HAMs would be laughable and medium guns wouldn't track @@.

MWD IS NEEDED to hunt down prey, and its not a "null-sec" thing etc. Unless you think pvp is "come and get me".
The sig bonus allows them to be tackling from range when needed, or move in for scram/web without getting 2-volleyed. Still needs skill and it doesn't "break" them under scram range.

The whole package will be way more formidable tho, and probably those ships will be used more than ppl use them now, but plz...just like with ceptors or pre-nerf Dramiels etc, their niche will be limited in large gangs, and most pilots grow tired of small gang / solo pvp because it involves lots of losses that their pride cannot afford.

Will they chew through faction ships and ceptors? Ofc...so do Destroyers now. I do see them flying around, but again it's solo pvp those are after. Hardly a popular thing.

It's a good start for reviving the T2 line of ships.
I hope HACs will be in line for similar boosts that might take them out of the shadow of BCs.

Very scary. CPU will be tight but.... Blarpy will WTFBBQ stuff. And a rail harpy should now completely obsolete the cormorant.

Edit: Like how you do the Voldemort thing upon mention of your name....

Yeah I was talking to Korgtronix on Twitter a couple of days ago about a 5 mid Hawk. Unless they give it some more fittings than they're suggesting its gonna be of limited utility though. :(

-Liang

I am excited about the utility slot and the extra CPU for the Vengeance (my fav AF atm). Then I might finally be able to fit a nos without sacrificing 25% of my DPS. Not sure how the ROF nerf will work out though but I think I can live with -5% DPS.

I was surprised to see the MWD bonus, my first thought that ccp might see the AF as the tier-3 BC killer class. This bonus would allow AF to close fast from range without taking to much damage from the large turrets and while they will have enough DPS to take the tier 3 BC down.

SSB is a joke - you want to go MSE or MSB in almost all circumstances. :)

-Liang

Interceptors go twice as fast as AF and are much more agile. I'm not worried about them being obsoleted by any AF buff. But T1 Frigates will be relegated even more to the dust bin. I'd also have to think really hard about getting a faction frigate.

For example - the Daredevil and the Enyo will both now have the equivalent of 6 turret slots. The Daredevil will go much faster. The Enyo will have much more EHP and cost 25% of the price. The enyo gets a normal web and a tracking bonus to the Daredevil's 90% web and no tracking bonus. Something to ponder.

In low sec as well a rifter had a chance against a wolf if it could get on top of it and under the guns. Tracking was an achilles heel. That's no longer the case.