Ships & Modules

Taking care of the orbitting frigs once they start to apply E-war on you? If you are shooting at a target, I am pretty sure it goes up to 30km at elast before they get auto targeted because I don't lose them at 30km. But I guess I play a different game than you do...

in light of these changes I would like CCP to bridge the gap between t1 and t2 sentries. The difference is just too large and a 20 day+ train is more than many people are willing to wait. If they either:

A: made t1 sentries better or
B: reduced training time (combat drone V and drone sharpshooting V req instead of sentry drone V maybe?)

I think then the jump between "useless" standard drone boats and sentry boats will be a lot smaller.

the faction sentry drones pretty much already do that. they are a little pricey though and you do not want to forget them in a mission.

ACTUAL Drone users will tell you all you have to do is pay attention. The new AI requires that you actually micro manage your Drones when before the change you jumped into pocket -> aggro'd everything with a civilian blaster -> dropped Drones then AFK'd for 20 minutes. "Man it's soo hard to pay attention to a game for more than 10 minutes, I dun wanna" is what I hear when people complain about NPC AI in relation to Drones.



^ This, get T2 Sentry Drones IMMEDIATELY! Everything dies to T2 Sentries from Frig > BC in 1-2 volleys with enough distance, (3) DDA's and ship skill lvl 5 (not all Drone boats are BS's). But even with (3) Navy Omni's your Guarde II's won't hit **** under about 11KM (at least not reliably) oh but wait for the Tiericide Domi change to add +50% tracking/Optimal at Gal BS 5!!!

What I would love to see CCP add (the Dev did talk about Drone overhaul coming soonish) is Sentry Logistics Drones. Even if the rep'd amount was slightly less than their Heavy counterparts they would be far superior as they can switch targets almost instantly. Though to be kind to the ACTUAL Logistics ships (my alt is one) I would reduce the max range of the Logi Sentries to maybe 75% of what a Large RR/Xfer can get to, at least before adding Drone Omnis. And since there are no (or probably wouldn't be) any modules for bonus to cycle time like the gang mods the Large RR's would still always be superior but then the Domi would have yet another niche role in Eve, as if it doesn't have enough hats already.

EDIT: Logistic Sentries could also be assigned to assist the actual Logi pilot(s) and therefore would req no management from the Drone user other than to pull them in if they take aggro. Yes, it would require an unusual fitting, like a support ship with this that or w/e instead of DPS, but how many Logi pilots are doing any DPS other than Incursions where Light Logi Drones are near useless.

Well ofc you can hit BS's and sometimes Cruisers, but have you noticed how many misses, or very low damage numbers at that close range ike 80-130 dmg per volley? For me, at or above 11km my Guarde II's hit for FULL damage on almost every shot, on every target not moving with MWD, incl Frigs. I insta everything but the Elite Cruisers and BC's (takes 2 volleys each, rarely 3) while at ranges up to 69km with my Guardes (3 Navy Omnis). More to the point, once targets get under 12km or so, I redact the Sentries and bring out Med/Light to taste and kill what's left. I never EVER send Heavies out more than short distance anymore, unless it's the only ship left and it's a BS with a huge tank.

Plate + local Repper = inefficient, better for another resist mod or 2nd rep. Why do you need to target out to 118km when the rats are 40-60km in most pockets for missions? Unless you are using speed script 90% of the time, drop the SeBo and both cap rechargers for a cap booster with 800's, then use the remainder 2 slots for possibly 2 more drone omnis or 1 + 1 TP. If you're determined to use missile rigs (Cruise dmg sucks compared to even unboosted T2 sentry dmg) then I'd suggest dmg/RoF rigs, otherwise drop all those rigs for (3) Aux Nano Pumps, then your repper does quite a bit more per cycle.

Or think of it this way, Drone users have to babysit our Drones that use ZERO ammo. Most missioners that use Turrets/Launchers have no sympathy for Drone users who cry about losing Drone now and again since we might lose (1) Drone at a cost of 1-2 mil every once in a while where those that use ammo spend that much in ONE LvL 4 Mission. All in all, the changed AI that causes all the fuss about Drones taking aggro is a very good thing, even at the expense of Drone loss/micro management. I've started back in 2006 (different toon) and just got back this year from a decently long break, the new AI was a pain for me at first, but once I learned how to deal with the changes it's not really that bad. Sure you lose DPS while bringing Drones in, putting them out (why I use almost exclusively Sentries) but no more so over the duration of a mission as the reloading of weapons' ammo.

I might pull my Drones in 2-4 times for an entire LvL 4 due to aggro that eats up maybe 3 minutes in total. Take an average time for a medium to long LvL 4 of 45min to 1hr and how much downtime would ANY weapon system have while reloading, it's about 3 minutes. For every completed LvL 4 that you DON'T lose any T2 Drone, you just about equaled what ammo users spend on the same LvL 4. I have lost (1) T2 Sentry, (2-3) Hob II's and (1) Hammerhead 2 since I came back, all through learning how to play against the new AI, that's not unreasonable at all. I will argue that Serpentis have a damn hardon for Drones, but I overcame that with a single Med RR (even complex ones are cheap). I just lock whichever Sentry is taking dmg and rep it, no more problem, no pulling them in. My (1) RR can keep up with around 12 NPC ships on one T2 Guarde. Granted I have no idea how bad it is for T1 Drone users who have low skills in Drone Nav & Drone Dura, so your mileage may vary.

And you'd be completely wrong, a sensation you must be rather used to by now.

Why T1 Hobgoblins? Take another look at the picture. They're taking fire, getting hit. Do you know what the life expectancy is of a light drone is once it draws mass aggro? Probably not, since you're obviously not a drone use. Suffice it to say they die real quick, and T2s die just as fast as T1s - but they cost ten times as much.

So the question is: Why should I spend good money on what basically amounts to chaff-drones when I can toss a BPO in once a week and crank out a few hundred disposable zerglings and not have to scream at my monitor every time the AI decides to take a crap on my style?

So yeah, T1 light drones because why waste good money on cannon fodder?

As for the rest - I've switched to Navy issue for Mediums, despite the cost, because in those cases having double the hitpoints in everything actually does make a difference in life expectancy and I can almost always get them recalled in time.

Most of the time, however, I'm just sitting around bored with my Sentries, doing my impression of an over-tanked Domi pilot (puke) and missing the days back when I was still flying my drone ships and not just playing pillbox-commander.

That familiar sensation? It's you being wrong about everything. Again. Learn to like it.

If I absolutely have to use lights, I use warrior II's, they have a hope in hell of getting back.

Rare though, as I've mentioned, its less hassle to reload and blap with cruises.

I've had drones get instalocked and alpha-popped two seconds after launch.

Sorry if I can't afford the amount of coke you must be snorting to consider two seconds to be "not paying attention."