Ships & Modules

It's worth noting that they did trial AFs with an afterburner bonus but they turned out to be radically too good against almost everything, although ironically still not good enough to actually be worth flying, and that if any shows how much work needs to go in to re-vamping AFs.

With the AB bonus, AFs could take pretty much anything 1 vs 1 eventually because they were beating the tracking on large and medium guns and getting into small gun (well small barrage and scorch range) was suicidal for inties because the AFs could take more of a pounding.

Buuuuut Afs were still too slow and lacked tackle bonuses to be good tackle for a gang, and were too thin by miles to be a credible dps threat. AB AFs were amazing ships, but when you are dealing with multiple ships you can't beat all there tracking all the time.

Basically, its really hard to make the AFs useful but not too awesome. They are frigate size, so you can't make them much tankier, you can't give them more DPS without getting ********. Oh and if you make them better tacklers they are just inties mk 2.

Re: the Harpy, you said "The Hawk, Enyo, and Harpy OTOH are widely considered pretty terrible" in the post I responded to.

As for the Enyo, it's big selling point is the DPS and ability to apply that DPS, paired with a fairly meaty tank even if you don't fit a plate (8k EHP with just a damage control and an explosive hardener). The range bonus means you can hit more or less all the way across scram range with null, and the tracking bonus paired with the 20% increase in blaster tracking means that even in a neutron setup with null or void loaded, you track almost as well as unbonused 125mm autocannons with faction ammo (0.49 rad/s versus 0.52 rad/s). This gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of how you approach a fight as well as good scope for engaging larger ships and chewing through their tank in a reasonably timely fashion; it also makes the ship something of a drone chainsaw. The buff has given it rather nice speed and agility as well, at least compared to other AFs.

Ok, sure. I see why you're saying that. I was really pointing out perception not personal belief there - I personally fly it and enjoy it. It was meant to be more commentary on the disparity between AF performance and to be careful not to apply blanket bonuses like "+10% Afterburner velocity/level".



Hm. I promise I'll take a look at it again, but I remember being utterly underwhelmed by it when I compared it to the Harpy. I seem to regularly be tanking 6-8k raw hitpoints before going down with my active tanked Blarpies.

-Liang

Perhaps you should make a role suggestion? :)

-Liang

4th Bonus 200% Cap recharge per level.

Basically give assault ships really good cap recharge.

*Can active tank well with that extra cap.
*Has better Neut protection, compared to other frigs
*Can offensive Neut much better.

Actually CCP has said that they do not actually evaluate platforms until they decide to do a balancing pass. So far all that has been indicated is that CCP is aware of popular sentiments (and possible fixes), and they are going to initiate the balancing process. For all we know they may decide that AF's are just fine.

As to me being wrong about my estimation that AF's generally fulfill thier role: I in no way indicated that there was no room for improvement in that role. With the hybrid changes, Dram "nerf", and destroyer "buff" AF's may indeed need improvements in the role (we will have to see where the dust settles). All I am pointing out is that they have a role, and if people do not like that role they should state thier ideas of what the new role should be. The gimme-gimme's are merely throwing bonuses out. Bonuses are not roles. Nor is it prudent, in a game like EVE, to give bonuses arbitrarily with the hope that a role will magically manifest itself after the fact.

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=38003&p=3

Self quoting the teh best.

I ask again: do you have a specific fit for the Enyo that you think is competitive?

-Liang

Copy pasted the fit to an Ishkur. Traded TE for a web. Sacrifices 61 m/s and 8 DPS for way better range, damage type selection, ECM drones, more HP, and a web.

[Ishkur, Enyo Replacement]
Reactive Plating II
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
[empty high slot]

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I


Hobgoblin II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5


-Liang

The enyo really isn't that bad. On the other hand an ishkur is basically better all around excepting that it has significantly less of a tank.

I used to fit them like this:

[Enyo, New Setup 1]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S
[empty high slot]

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator II
Small Hybrid Metastasis Adjuster I


Hobgoblin II x1


The thing about enyos is that they were about 9 mil with 4-5 mil insurance. Not sure about now but it used to be just about the cheapest t2 frigate and was capable of having a go at almost any other AF, faction frigate, dictor or destroyer in the game. Lots of people die to enyos because they think they can't track or have no range - neither of which are actually true.