Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Isn't it terrible not having your damage degrade over range? Missiles would be so much better if they lost damage as they traveled.

You're forgetting something :

• HML in a drake (for example) deal more damage than others because it is a ship with kinetic damage bonus, if you use different ammo types, then this "advantage" doesn't apply. Yes, drakes can switch ammo types, yes drakes should just use scourges, but the point where 'missiles can easily switch damage types' becomes moot if we're talking about damage/dps.
• While turrets can miss, they do full damage when the target is not moving, or webbed below the tracking speed of the turret, without any penalties, at all. Missiles, whether the target is moving or sitting there like a duck, still get that penalty damage from signature radius.
• You can slingshot and play around with traversal, regardless of the target's speed, if they fall below your tracking speed, the target is dead. With missiles, if they go fast enough, even with 0 angular and right in your face, you, will, miss.
• You can firewall missiles, hence reduce incoming damage or even eliminate them completely on a perfect scenario. You cannot do the same with guns.
• You need to wait until the missiles reach their target, if they initiated warp before then, it's gone. This also made missiles less useful than guns on some scenarios like vanguard blitzing for example.

A 20% nerf to heavy missile damage is pretty heavy handed. I would have thought the range nerf would be enough to be honest. I wouldn't be suprised if you ended up completely destroying heavy missiles' usefullness.

HMLs still have the highest sustained damage, second highest range and second highest volley of all the systems. Sure, missiles take a while to reach a target, but when they do, they are more consistent in applying the damage to targets of equal or higher size, as it should be for all weapon systems.

You look at the massive nerf percentages, but you fail to perceive how strong they were compared to other weapon systems. Stop whining, you really have no basis to stand on.

I just have to wonder why CCP opts to solve a problem by severely reducing missile effectiveness?

A more constructive way would be to fix the counter-stuff that don't work or perhaps add other stuff to have this counter effect.

1. Defender missiles. Boost these instead. Anti-missile-missiles that should be more effective.
2. Tracking disruptors working on missiles is good.
3. Make short range turrets to have anti-missile capabilities. To get short-range Anti-Missile-gatlings or something to select a missile defense program for them.
4. Scripts to load affecting probability of hitting missiles and drones.
5. Other forms of defense systems. An EVE version of todays technologies with Chaffs, Flares etc would be a definate choice.
6. Add a new class of defense drones specialized in anti-missile combat.
7. Add a swarm battery of micro-missiles that have same sort of ammo-loading that cap-chargers etc, with a pretty fast cycle time, that will engage all missiles within a certain range (if they have time to track them for enough time). This will enable anti-missile defense ships for fleet battles.

This is just suggestions I come up with in a short time... and all I read suggested is "NERF, NERF, NERF!!!"... Not that constructive... I hope CCP reads this and thinks - 'Aahhh... maybe we should approach this the same way as mining'... that is to make other stuff better to balance. I just think adding new equipment would be better. Makes for more research, more production and more ISK - which we all want.

My main concern with these changes is that you are fully removing a SIXTH of the Hurricane's powergrid, all in one fell swoop. This affects far more than simply artillery Hurricanes; virtually every kind of Hurricane fit today is adversely affected by these changes. Is this intended?

I might also make note that Rapid Light launchers with Fury will do 96% the DPS of Heavy launchers with faction after these changes, albeit with half the range. Are you sure you aren't nerfing HML DPS a little too much?

These changes make both TEs and TDs both must-have modules for every ship. They need a nerf.

-Liang

I also can't understand this obsession with swinging the nerfhammer around like some bloodthirsty viking. Why not retrieve the significantly underused buffhammer from its dusty shelf instead?

... We have a dozen threads in this forum that's showcasing the use of the buffhammer. It boggles my mind that you don't notice unless it's affecting whatever ship you're flying today.

-Liang

You could do what I just did - check your own TEST killboard on both losses and kills and see how many ships use missiles in general.

Hint: It's not a lot. If you exclude Drakes and Tengus, missile use looks even more pitiful.

Finding a PvP ship that uses cruise missiles is difficult, heavys are propped in position by Drakes and Tengus, lights are only suited to a handful of ships and torps are not often used outside of Stealth Bombers.

I'll say it again: Missiles are already underused in PvP. Take away the Drake and the Tengu and the numbers start to look awful. Your own killboard shows this.