Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So CCP recently mentioned that RLMLs were going to get a balance pass and it got me thinking. At first look surely they are just going to drop the damage of LMs but that completely nullifies tier 2 dessies, their tech 2 variants, dictors and a few frigates (situational, i.e. PVE, kite and blob). Leading me to believe that the launcher itself needs to be adjusted, but how...ROF, capacity or reload time? Arguments for "no" on all three of those choices can be made. TBH the burst mechanic is a good system and introduced some very cool gameplay. Thank you CCP RIse you did good here. Yet there is no doubt this system needs a nerf, so what's left?

FITTING!

Currently the RLML is by far the easiest medium missile system to fit. So it has great range, does the most damage (HAMs mostly run faction) and it is way too easy to fit a very OP rest of the ship. My suggestion is to simply give the fitting reqs of HAMs to RLMLs. Requiring 36 more PG and 11 more CPU per launcher after skills, will no doubt effect the use of this system but not invalidate it. HAMs to current HML fitting and HMLs to current RLML fitting. Go into ghost fitting and take any meta RLML ship. Now fit HAMS to it, the change is ... interesting.

Curious to see what you guys think before CCP releases their change and the thread becomes mostly hate and whine. What's your choice for a RLML balance pass?

Like the bellicose?

You should know by now to be careful what you wish for since CCP has a track record of screwing missiles entirely for the sake of one ship.

Dat ship broken? Buff Ishtar!

Still not please, you ungrateful crowd? Here take that and noone can has it!

I think they need a smaller ammo capacity. It's too easy to use them as a generic weapon system. Most PVP engagements are brief, they don't need that many missiles.

How would you realize that? The launchers only have two attributes, which are rate of fire and reload time. The missiles themselves have all the flight time and speed attributes.

Remember, they are drones the second they leave the launcher with a flight lifetime, after which they die.

And it is not that I have been saying this with prejudice in the launcher announcement thread more than once. I hope to see medium missile love next year.

Oh I remember!

I was very young and camping the HED-GP gate in my Raven back in the day and in came a Taranis and 3x Thorax and a Curse.

So they engage me, the Curse neuting me and me locking the Taranis and shooting it. Now this was just in Empyrean Age but that Taranis pilot didn't get the memo, so he ran for his life, followed by the Thoraxes and I got the hitbox telling I hit the Taranis for 0 damage.

The old nano age, where you could just fly away from missiles..

(I killed the Curse as my first entry on my keyboard)