Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Real men HAM Drake anyway

This is pretty much the most badly thought out balancing change I've ever seen. I don't disagree for a second that the Drake is over-powered, but it's over-powered because it has a battleship sized tank and huge range (which isn't currently affected by tracking). The nerf to a Drake should be in the form of a reduction in tank, followed by a reduction in range, if anything. The last thing that needs touching is it's DPS, which is already it's most underwhelming quality.

Edit: The above applies to both PvP and PvE applications too. Have you considered how this will affect anyone who lives in Gurista space where the two ships most harshly hit by the change are the Drake and Tengu (the two ships primarily capable of dealing pure Kinetic damage at a decent level)? You effectively just nerfed a quarter of null-sec ratting too, and since the changes to Tech it is already difficult for null sec alliances to generate income. Ratting taxes are literally the only functioning method CCP have implemented of passively generating decent income from a member base, which you will also be hitting.

The ship model screams this should have 8 launchers.

have you considered to look at the maelstrom at the same time you look at the drake ? nerfing only the drake (and tengu) could have some not so nice consequences for quite a lot of pilots :(

Why don't you just remove missiles altogether and just give us sticks and rocks to toss at one another ?

Weren't these of all missiles the ones with the absolute shortest range? I hope they still make it out the launch tubes without a tracking mod.

Range reduction is great. As a drake pilot it was really unfair to the other BCs that I was so awesome cause I could hit so far.

However the damage reduction.... Well let's just say it's not so good. Drakes were already out DPS'ed by canes and the cane only had 6 turrets. In addition drakes are slower, can't fit neuts, have no damage type variety. My drake could hit maybe 400 DPS. Canes were hitting 550+ DPS. I think HMs should get a slight (5-10%) damage reduction, but HAMs should get a slight damage upgrade (5-10%). Really make HAM drakes competitive with Canes.

I can't wait to see what CCP has in store for the drake. But don't nerf HM damage by 20%. This in one thing that can be fixed with a nerf and a buff.

While I'm not particularly against those changes, I feel the need to state/remind a few things.

HAMs really are underused right now. Except for the few HAM Drakes and the HAM PVE Tengus (I don't see many HAM PVE Tengus, and everytime I suggest that a corpmate should use HAM, it's always the same "I want to shoot farther than 5kms, thank you"), every Tengu is a HM Tengu, every Drake is a HM Drake.

You should really look into those so you can released both changes at the same time.

I'm against the Hurricane change. Change one of the two damage bonuses to something else, remove the missile launcher slots and add a turret hardpoint. That would help with the PG nerf you want, wouldn't hurt the DPS so much, and it would definetly look cool.

This is a creative nerf, and it would still allow armor tanked autocanes. Which is good.

And about the HM missile changes, I really feel like the problem is the Drake, not the HMs. The Drake's problem is its tank. It has a good damage projection, low DPS and very high tank (That can challenge battleships' ).

This has to change. But I don't think that giving it an even worse DPS will fix it the way it should be fixed.

I'm pretty sure the solution revolves around the Drakes' bonuses.

Also, I don't know if It's completly out of the "Winter rebalance patch", but please, please look into BS sized missiles so that the Raven becomes a usable battleship again, for both PVP and PVE purposes (What I mean is that new Caldaries train for the Drake, and then train for the Tengu. Make it so that it's actually cool to aim for a usable Raven).

If you want a couple ideas for the Raven :

A PG buff (+3000 PWG so you can actually fit dual Heavy Neutralizers without fitting mods. It's a good way to make an otherwise baddish ship a good ship. The Tempest without its' neuts would be "meh").

A change to the "10% bonus to velocity for all BS sized missiles" bonus is required.

Along with this, buff torpedoes speed.

Who shoots Cruise missiles at long range ? I mean, for PVE purposes, you won't shoot farther than 100km anyway, and for PVP purposes...I don't think I need to explain.

Now Torpedoes. Without skills, they hit at 9kms. Which is...less than enjoyable. Maybe they'll be usable with the new tracking enhancer change and that'll be cool. But seriously. Give torps a bit more range, and switch that velocity bonus to something usable/useful. Maybe you'll end up with a usable PVP Missile battleship. Even tho I'm pretty sure this will never happen.

Not sure I like the tracking changes with tds and missiles. The HML and cane nerf both look good and should shake up the meta game significantly.

does it mean that faction HMLs with faction missiles are going to do more damage than t2 HMLs with t2 fury missiles?