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Warfare & Tactics

 
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Fleet mechanics, boosting and unloved command ships
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Palamon
0utbreak
#1 - 2012-04-09 15:47:11 UTC
Suggestion for fixing fleet booster roles and being able to use command ships in the way they were designed.

Currently you have to be in system to provide boosts and with an intact command structure (in system). This is great if the booster are not taking part in the fight. But wouldn't it be better to encourage the use of command ships in the way they were designed? Few people fly the Fleet Command ships, instead opting for the higher DPS Field Command counterparts, and even then its usually to take advantage of the damage bonuses and are rarely fitted with ganglinks and used in fleet boosting roles.

The issue with command ships going into combat with the fleets is usually down to how fleet boosts are provided, current as mentioned above you have to be in system with the ganglinks running. In some cases, this isn't a problem. An example would be the Damnation landing the same time as the rest of the armour fleet. But for skirmish boosts, often used for tackling etc, they are usually required when the tackle ships land on grid with the enemy, and this is often way before the fleet lands meaning skirmish boost are not active when they are needed. The same can be said for the Information warfare boosts.

My suggestion would be to have the boosts provided passively. Bonuses are received simply by the presence of ganglink modules on a command ship being piloted by someone with the appropriate skills (and fleet command structure), this would also mean bonuses are received even if the command ship is in warp.

Also, in order to make the fleet concept effective in more engagements (and therefore encourage their use) the bonuses would be applied to the fleet (with effective command structure) based on the fleet proximity to the command ship. Some thing like:

Fleet on grid with command ship = 100% bonuses applied.
Fleet in system with command ship = 75% bonuses applied.
Fleet is one jump away from command ship = 50% bonuses applied.

Lastly, how about fleet boosters being classed as assisting in combat and therefore can be engaged by the enemy? To force fleets to be a little more diverse in their composition?
FloppieTheBanjoClown
Arcana Imperii Ltd.
#2 - 2012-04-09 16:25:19 UTC
Palamon wrote:
My suggestion would be to have the boosts provided passively. Bonuses are received simply by the presence of ganglink modules on a command ship being piloted by someone with the appropriate skills (and fleet command structure), this would also mean bonuses are received even if the command ship is in warp.

I think there would be some unforeseen balance issues here. Not that it matters, for reasons of opinions I'll express in a bit.

Palamon wrote:
Also, in order to make the fleet concept effective in more engagements (and therefore encourage their use) the bonuses would be applied to the fleet (with effective command structure) based on the fleet proximity to the command ship. Some thing like:

I like this idea, except:

Palamon wrote:
Fleet is one jump away from command ship = 50% bonuses applied.

The general trend I see around here is people wanting boosting limited to on-grid only, and I fully support the idea that off-grid boosters shouldn't exist. Going back to the first quote, on-grid boosting means you can't boost while in warp.

Palamon wrote:
Lastly, how about fleet boosters being classed as assisting in combat and therefore can be engaged by the enemy? To force fleets to be a little more diverse in their composition?

There's some danger of passing aggro via fleet boosts. For example, there *are* passive boosts via skills. To give you an idea of how dangerous this could be, imagine you're setting up for an incursion and the fleet boss makes you a booster. Next thing you know a member of the squad you boost flips a can and a recon ship decloaks and tackles you while a handful of DPS ships warp in. Or maybe I join your industrial corp, show up to an op in a hulk, and once your orca starts boosting my hulk pilot flips my friend's can and now your orca can be shot by his whole corporation while my hulk warps to safety.

What could work is only having active boosts take aggro from people who are at war. This would remove the neutral booster that can just idle in system during a highsec war, providing boosts with no risks.

Founding member of the Belligerent Undesirables movement.
Muad 'dib
State War Academy
Caldari State
#3 - 2012-04-09 16:42:32 UTC
You may be onto something with this.

I dont like the figures suggested, but the idea of a sliding scale is very interesting.

Cosmic signature detected. . . . http://i.imgur.com/Z7NfIS6.jpg I got 99 likes, and this post aint one.
Palamon
0utbreak
#4 - 2012-04-09 18:13:43 UTC  |  Edited by: Palamon
The reason I think out of system boosting should at least be part of the equation is to encourage the use of the command ships in the fleets during the most common of engagement types, that of fighting on gates, where the fleet and the engagement may span both sides as combat often spills into the next system. A percentage of the bonus enough for the boost to help the fleet but not enough to encourage boosting ship to remain out of system.

The reason for a 'sliding scale' of boost relative to the proximity of the command ship is partially for realism of the role, but mainly because fleets spend quite a bit of time in warp, aligning to gates and holding in position whilst the FC makes tactical decisions and issues appropriate commands.

There should be no substitute for having the command ship on grid in the action, but that should not prevent boosts from being given in a realistic manner consistent with how fleets engage within Eve's jumpgate orientated environment.

Sure, there would probably need to be some balancing issues, such as command ship capacitor or perhaps capacitor penalty for having passive ganglinks fitted.

But encouragement to use the command ships and operate effective fleets should be easier and not reliant upon command structure or boosters being on grid, but should enable a more fluid delivery of the benefits that ultimately end in 100% effectiveness when the command ship lands on grid with the rest of the fleet.

The figures quoted earlier were purely arbitrary for the sake of the discussion and would of course need proper balancing and plenty more consideration.