TLDR : SKIP TO THE BOLD ONWARDS.
For as long as I can remember Blasters have been the runt of the litter of EVE weapons.
Basically the last time they were good as a general-use weapon system was back before stacking penalties.
CCP has repeatedly said this over the following decades. And made several comments on how difficult they are to balance.
This is because buffs to blaster ships lead to issues where rails become too good. Or other hybrid buffs lead to them becoming too op as well.
But why are they bad?
Because of a few things. Mainly that there is no advantage to taking them over say rapid or assault missiles, pulse, or autocannons. The low range and high damage is just done better by another system. This is then compounded by the massive capacitor draw of blasters and or the poor complementary statistics of blaster boats. They often are not fast, or tanky and have a mediocre capacitor.
And CCP will tell you that no one of those things can be buffed without an issue.
Now there are a few blaster exceptions. Mainly in the large guns where they have more range thanks to null ammo. And ofc the Hecate. But on the whole, blasters remain a tertiary choice.
So my solution is this.
The current three types of blasters all get the same base stats as the current mid-ground ION blasters.
Then each type gets a unique sub effect. These are:
Neutron blasters now inflict a minor amount of energy neutralization per hit up to a ceiling X% over Y time. This does not affect the player’s ship in any way and is only applied to the target. (because blasters use tons of caps anyway).
Ion Blasters now create an amount of Webbification with each hit up to a ceiling of X% over Y time.
Electron Blasters create issues with the optimal range and flight time of the target’s weapons. Longer continuous electron blaster damage results in a 10%, 15%, and 20% reduction over X Time periods.
This is designed to give blasters a much-needed buff while not affecting the ships they are used on or impacting other weapon systems’ viability. The core principle is the same as the Trig damage build up. But for blasters its effects build ups are designed to complement them. By either forcing the target closer. Slowing them down, or leveling the capacitor issues blaster boats face.
So the Ion Blasters sort of deliver a stun that acts like some Scatter Shot? (incapacitates the target for 4 sec) As the Ion Blaster would disrupt the electronic systems, shutting them down for a short time?
It’s a cool idea, but unnecessary, I feel. Blasters are in a pretty decent spot in every size of ship save cruisers. Frigates use them well in sig tanks and in high-damage fits. In FW, blasters are pretty close, if not the, most used weapon system. In battleships, they have outstanding damage. In capitals theynagain have the best damage. Cruisers use blasters in niches, like in FW and in gatecamps, or in cheeky solo fits. I think a good balance would only be to buff the range of Null M, Null L, and Null XL ammos slightly. If that happens, please give Barrage a tadd more tracking (as it is meant for anti-frigate use) and small and medium autocannons a bit more damage, and give the Slasher a higher damage bonus please and thank you.
just to play devil’s advocate can you name 1 blaster ship and loadout besides the Hecate that is not done better by a different ship or weapon system?
Or a situation you would bring a blaster boat over any other.
Vexor, with drone damage amp, dual rep, AB scram web, in faction warfare. The triple blaster Vexor foes a lot of damage at close range, so Blasters are the best choice here, especially considering the cap stability of the cap boosted Vexor.
Hyperion. That rep bonus is saucy. Add tremendous damage and two utility highs and you have an amazing solo battleship.
Federation Navy Comet. Best win rate among faction frigates. What else is there to say?
How about the Catalyst? No better ganking ship in the game.
Capitals. The Moros and Erebus do the most damage out of their classes of ship.
Daredevil. Try going toe to toe with a 90% web and 200% damage bonus.
Brutix. Very tanky with huge damage.
Atron. Fastest high damage ship, and highest damage fast ship, especially for its cost. Falloff bonus makes it better than incursus, slasher, and rifter for this purpose in FW.
Merlin. Have you ever fought my dual rep dual web blaster Merlin? If you have, you have likely lost. 11 killmarks on a T1 frigate as an alpha clone with a sub-10 mil fit speaks for itself.
Punisher. Tank and gank with high tracking and low fitting means that blaster Punishers appear in FW fleets quite a bit.
Anything else? That doesn’t even reach into the T2 stuff yet!
