The end of stabs would be one thing. Like krabbing, it’s not a game killer, until people spam it to death. So ships with all stabs in a rack is spamming it.
Were it up to me ™, I would toss the entire thing and revamp it. What follows are ideas that will fall on deaf ears but I’m a fast sh!tpoaster so no big deal.
Why, in this hell or the next, can a small ship tackle a larger one?
Tackling modules would consume energy and require a lot of power grid too. To tackle a large ship you need large tackle modules. They would consume cap charges too. And the rate of consumption is such that if you did want to tackle a larger ship with a small ship, well that ship would have to be equipped in such a manner that you best bring friends who can shoot for you. But oh the intended victim might now have a chance to escape if he pops you. Much much better than dealing with say a dozen “PVP ships” all with their own tackle.
Gee, that’s more ships than slots for stabs…
And naturally we could expect ships designed for tackle to have bonuses and such. Nothing new.
Chances are they’ll just get rid of stabs so when the nullsec fleet finally does arrive - after much screaming by their krabs who could not instantly dock up - you won’t be doing any hit-and-runs. Possibly the null overlords are slamming fists on tables demanding “something”. We don’t want you getting away, now, do we?
I see over and over again how people are frustrated because people run from fights that they can’t win. I was in FW, null, low. And everywhere is the same. “You are coward because you are running”. But what is purpose of being free target practice? PvE ships won’t sit in site waiting to be killed just for fun. Warp sabs are minimal defense from hunters that have way more tools to hunt you (now where is no local in null) removing them is like sending sheeps to butcher. And yes, I know you can counter them easily.
Those people calling others cowards are lazy and lack the skills to hunt properly…they also don’t want to have to adapt their ships to become better…easier to just pout and fling poo.
I have no complaints about people running away from me - Have had tonnes of interesting adventures trying to trap actual players.
But players being able to escape from PvE at all times, with the only chance o being caught coming from them not paying attention, is something that is incredibly detrimental to game health as - if you read that article - it’s what enables botting. As I point out in the article, the best types of safety for the game to provide is safety by clevel decision making, and stabs aren’t terrible for that in all honesty, they’re just abusable in FW.
I truly believe being able to fly your spaceship through space is the most disonorbru tactic only employed by cowards, but ummmm . . . why is nobody complaining about covert ops cloaks on haulers and jump drives on mo’ frackin’ freighters?
For every noob with stabs there’s probably another one that never even gets targeted because he’s invisible and for every 10 of those, there’s probably a dude in a jump freighter laughing about how only plebs use stargate and warp drives while hauling more than the invisible haulers and the warp core stabilized haulers combined.
You want haulers to have to fight; don’t you? You want a shot at their fat lewtz; don’t you? Removing jump drives would MAKE them fly through space, right into your traps. Removing covert ops cloaks would MAKE them have to evade you rather that just avoid interacting with you outright.
Now as for the argument that “bots use stabs”. Chances are they will. But the point is to fit for profit and exploitation first. If some botter has to fit stabs they still lose. Just like Krabs having to fit them, or fit a less than “optimal ISK vacum” ship to survive.
If stabs are simply being abused in some situations then limit them in those situations.