EVE General Discussion

I flew them in null.

Jaguar, is great. An AB bonus would be nice, but still they are good. Solo or packs or PvE.

Especially because of the constant inflation, a plex used to be 300 million and it was much harder to earn isk, so the difference between 200k and 20million isk for a t1 and t2 frigate actually meant something, nowadays for whatever reason the t2 frigate still is 20 million but isk is so easy to make that there is no real monetary reason to not use t2.

The best suggestion I've heard for the Assault Frigate question was to make them the 'Masters of Overheating'. More powerful and maybe better sustained overheat capacity in which they compete or perhaps outperform their competition for a limited time.

A possible mechanic to accomplish this could be to allow AFs to enter a ship-wide overheat mode which literally burns and damages the hull on the ship. While in this mode all modules will operate in their overheat range, (with perhaps increased Cap and/or shield Regen), however the individual modules can also be overheated normally, thus allowing a 2X overheat bonus. All this means that these ships would have a limited window in which they are able to perform far beyond their standard. It also opens the door for strategic hull repair to refuel their burn/overheating capacity.

Choosing an Overheating option to fix them (even if it's not my suggested one) means the AF keeps a very Assault-like feel where it can be tanky, fast, and damaging, allows them to be used for various generalized purposes, makes them fun and challenging to pilot, and should not significantly overpower larger hulls that could likely provide better sustain, if less periodic burst capability.

But if you permanently increase speed, damage, tank or utility you walk a very fine line before you simply overpower the other ships around you and hinder their usefulness. Making it a temporary bonus allows a much broader scope of ability you can endow the ship with. And while the temporary bonus of tank, damage and speed may be impressive, I think the utility module bonuses are really what would define this. Webs, Neuts, Scrams, Disruptors, ECM with a 2X overheat could allow these ships to temporarily act almost like role specific ships. This utility could really allow them to make their mark because you never know what their fitted for, or how they will 'Assault' you

okay I see now. a slight heat bonus would be more of a wildcard because you won't know the person's exact fit (and what modules they'll be overheating).

Creative but I worry about some of the stats that this would result in.

I think we all are coming back to the same problem in that it seems that no matter what change you make to the AF, there is always something that is available that does it better, or the change starts to invalidate another class of ships.

If you add more speed, well that intrudes onto the Interceptor role.

If you add more tank, well Cruisers are cheaper and still more effective.

If you add more dps, well Cruisers and now T2/T3 destroyers still are more useful and effective.

If you add more utility, then you could be intruding on the EAFs, Logi frigs, or Command destroyers

The only ships that they seem akin to is the Attack Battlecruisers like the Tornado and the Talos. But there again, you are stuck with a cruiser doing it better, cheaper, and with an easier train. None of the other frigate classes have that issue because their usefulness is combined with speed, small sig, and agility. So you will always have a reason to pick an EAF over a Recon, or a Stealth Bomber over a Cruiser, etc. Even within the subclasses there is sufficient reason to choose on type of interceptor over another.

The only options I see are to either a.) make them more difficult to hit (which seems in line with frigate dynamics) or b.) give them the ability to disrupt the battlefield. Either one of the following I think is probably the best bet:

1. Remove the MWD bonus and replace it with the old AB bonus. I think this is one of the better options, as it gives this ship a role as a brawler in close quarters.

2. Remove the MWD bonus and replace it with a bonus to MJD activation and recharge along with a distance penalty. Basically, a Frigate can activate the jump drive instantly, but can only go half as far. Recharge rate will be quicker too, say 30 to 45 seconds.

3. Ability to mount bombs. This has some creative possibilities

4. Ability to mount one Battleship class smartbomb. This would make it a terror against drones and other frigates.. which would be in line with its existence. The downside would be that it could not be used in close proximity to gates.

Attack BC treatment. ie Let assault Frigs mount Cruiser sized guns.

You're welcome.

Personally I think it would have been better if they had taken Destroyers in this route as it would be more in-line with Attack Battlecruisers. Frigs seem like they are too small for that. Besides if you want large guns and max dps in a frig you go Bomber. And even if you did go this way with oversized guns, it would only be a fitting solution for one of the two Assault frigs for each faction. What do you do with the other one?