Escort Ships and Modules - Making Carriers and Other Big Ships Used More in PVP

PvP Gameplay Center PvP Ships & Modules
1

In order to make carriers viable in fleet actions, and in general to make capitals and supercaps be used more in PVP, perhaps even titans, create escort classes of ships that can protect them.

Proposal

Make Escort Versions of DDs, CAs, BBs and possibly Dreads.

Escort Vessels special powers are that they can Shield Share and can fit Escort Modules.

Escort Modules

Auto Antimissile Launcher - This would work like a defender missile launcher, but automatically (since unlike bombs, missiles are fast) only against enemy missiles fired at a designated member of your fleet that is a carrier or supercarrier (optional, dread or titan also).

Auto Antidrone Gun - this gun would automatically target drones who are firing on a designated member of your fleet that is a carrier or supercarrier (optional, dread or titan also).

Shield Sharing - If an Escort ship is within X (2500m suggested) meters of a designated member of your fleet that is a carrier or supercarrier (optional, dread or titan also), if will take damage to its shields rather than that damage being inflicted on the designated ship. If more than one ship is Shield Sharing with a given ship, the damage received is divided equally between them (eg if four escorts are shield sharing with a carrier that is taking 1000 damage, then 250 damage is done to each of the Escorts Shields). This could be shown to those targeting the designated ship by simply adding the shields of the Escorts to it (this to make this fit the current format. If this is done then the damage to the added shields would be shown both on the designated ship and the escorts).

A Fleet Mate is Designated by a system similar to the way drones are assigned to guard a member of the fleet, but by right clicking on the Escort ship capacitor area of its circular UI. The Escorts will then use its Shield Share (if in range) and all Escort Modules to defend that ship until either ship is destroyed, a new designated ship is selected, or cancel Escort duties is selected in the right click drop down.

This would have the added benefit of making a new fleet format unlike current types.

2

There’s no need to automate escorting.

We already have destroyers with defender launchers, logi ships with remote repairs, command ships with command bursts and combat ships that can kill any attackers.

I don’t see why a new class of ship should be added for such roles when those roles already exist.

It seems the only new thing of your suggestion is that all these defences happen automatically with escort ships, which is the opposite of what should happen.

What your suggestion means is that all the players who currently have interesting full roles that require attention get replaced by multiboxed alts that automatically do everything to save the ship they escort.

I don’t understand why you would make such a suggestion that makes gameplay much more boring for everyone involved unless your goal is to make solo players irrelevant by buffing multiboxers.

Am I missing something?

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