There are some people that are worried that the current proposed changed to assault ships would make them overpowered in light of all other frigates (faction and tech II) and be the root cause to another round of power-creep to the existing lineup.
I'm of two minds on the matter.
1) I Agree - assault ships are not too far off of being balanced right now and the proposed changes go too far. They should be scaled back with only a couple ships getting a much needed mid slot and only a role bonus being assigned to ships, i.e. no second frigate skill bonus.
2) I Disagree - I think assault ships need the significant boost to make them superior to faction frigates and on par with pirate faction frigs, and I want them to be capable of taking on Tech I cruisers reliably without serious concerns. They should be dangerous and feared in space and will be a good counter to the dominance of battlecruisers in a lot of areas.
Right now, I'm leaning towards the latter as it feels like there is rarely a good reason to take an assault ship over even a tech I cruiser. But I'd love to hear some opinions in the comments on the matter.
Meanwhile, I'm going back to drooling over Harpy and Enyo fits.
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AF's definitely need a boost, so far I like what CCP has proposed but I am not in favor of the MWD bonus. I think that should have remained the domain of the Intercepters.
ReplyDeleteI really think that AF's should have been given an afterburner bonus or bonus to fit Cruiser sized weapons or a mini command bonus to buff frigate ganges. Now that I mention that it doesn't seem like a bad idea at all, why not split the AF's into 2 tiers, and treat them like BC's tier one getting a command bonus for frigate gangs and the tier 2 AF's getting no command bonus but getting an afterburner role bonus.
I am undecided wether the tier one AF's should just get fitting bonuses to command modules of if it should just be a racial bonus. Just spit balling ideas here but something like:
Caldari
5% bonus to fleet members shield resistance
Gallente
7.5% bonus to agility
Amarr
5% bonus to armour resistances
Minmatar
5% bonus to max velocity
these bonuses would only apply to frigates in the fleet.
After typing that out I think it should be set fleet bonuses, not a fitting bonus to command modules. Maybe CCP could use this as an opportunity to give frigates a roll in fleet warfare once more apart from scouts and hero tackle, and boost the viability of frigate gangs.
Would these command bonuses to all frigates in a fleet make EAF viable in a frigate gang that is getting 2 or three of these bonuses?
Would this gang then be a viable option for chasing off a cruiser or a BC gang?
What are your thoughts guys, any nuggets in there or is it just a shit idea?
AF MWD sig reduction is a god send. It makes it possible to MWDD around blobs without getting oneshotted.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually kind of hoping the new AF's will make the Dramiel obsolete (trauma from dying to multiple drams).
It seems to me that the real kings of frigate warfare are the uncatchable ones - interceptors Daredevils and Dramiels.
ReplyDeleteIf these can outfight intys and match faction toe-to-toe they're still worse because they're slower and speed is king for frigates.
Whilst Drams and Daredevils will still be king of the pile, AFs were never far off and can still kill the dramiels that fight atm....generally.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think they needed something doing to them but I don't think they should be able to take cruisers without any concerns, it should be less difficult in an AF when compared to any other frigate but it should never be an easy fight. As it stands if I am out in a Vengeance I will not hesitate to attack any cruiser I see, but it isnt an easy fight(unless they drop warriors).
I would prefer to see a little and often type boost, with tiny adjustments till balance is reached. Frigates are very well balanced at the moment, minus the odd few and any huge change in bonuses could completely unbalance frigates. I worry that with these buffs its going to become AFs or GTFO in the frig world, unless you want to spend a lot extra on DD or Drams.
Also AB bonuses wouldn't work due to the many problems they would cause to missiles and the general OPness of them would be ridiculous.
ReplyDelete@SaintGrey: Interesting idea with the mini-command ship concept.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting ideas, I agree with the op
ReplyDelete"I'd've preferred an AB speed boost bonus or something." wouldn't that be even more over powered than the sig-res reduction to MWD, but SaintGrey's fleet bonus is really a great idea. I hope that becomes a eve-o csm proposal +1.
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