As turrets and launchers can be grouped in the high-slots, it should also be possible to group other high-slot modules that are usually used in a quantity greater than 1. These include, mining and gas resource harvesting modules, salvagers and tractor beams, remote transmitter modules (capacitor, shield emission, armor repair), and other weapons like smartbombs, etc., etc. Like grouped turrets and launchers, it would be better to at least have the option of using grouped mining lasers or salvagers or remote armor repairers on a single target in a more efficient way. It’s a small Quality-of-Life change that could go a long way. Perhaps, this could also be extended to active mid-slot and low-slot modules, not that I know of many modules specifically (but maybe shield boosters and hardeners, armor and hull repairers, and active armor membranes to name a few).
This I agree with. It’s not game breaking to do any of this. It should be possible.
I agree, the recent commands nerf which allowed us to do this just forcing players to use macros. Which is unhealthy and unfair to those who refuse to do it because it is most likely against rules. And since CCP won’t be able to detect macro users, it is just better to give us the option to stack the modules and activate them with one key as weapons and missile launchers. I mean, the same reasons were what long in past made CCP to allow stack the guns and launchers in first place. So why they stopped there?
hmmm not sure. Knowing what it means to be a Logi-Pilot under stress in a hard battle where you constantly have to shift over up to 5 support modules while maintaining a capchain, overheating hardeners or reps etc.. pp.. not really sure that wouldn’t make burst-repping or switching reps to the next target too easy.
It’s not that the modules have to be grouped, but the mechanic should also extend to logistics-based modules as an option.
Well didn’t weapon grouping made shooting other ppls too easy?
It’s not that the modules have to be grouped, but the mechanic should also extend to logistics-based modules as an option.
Edit: Thanks to the point made by Vokan Narkar, if you really think about it, it would balance out combat. If a ship is recieving focused fire, focused repping would equally help. Logi-ships wouldn’t have to have numerous targets, but could rep one or a few ships, thereby simply lessening the number of icons to click and increasing efficiency via interactive mechanics.
It’s already easy to turn them on all at once. Slide your finger down the keys F1 through F whatever and turn them all on simultaneously. You can even hit all the keys at the same time and they’ll all turn on. There’s really no way to screw it up.
It’s what I do with my Orca when going through jump gates. While under Jump Cloak, I select the next gate, hit Alt (slide my finger across the function keys) and I’ve got full shields half a second after cloak drops. I actually practice this whenever traveling so It’ll be second nature if I ever meet a gate camp. What good are active shields if you get hit before they’re all up? I have 5 active mids!
Grouping multiple tractor beams is pointless, a target can only be pulled once.
Grouping mining modules is a bad idea. Better is to mine multiple targets at once or if you do put all on one target to stagger your cycles so you minimize downtime when the asteroid explodes.
Salvagers are also best spread across multiple targets to avoid wasting two successful cycles on the same wreck.
Likewise remote repairs are best staggered and used one by one, spread across multiple ships if possible or used sparingly to conserve capacitor. Stacking all remote repairs also has the biggest chance of wasting part of the effect by overhealing the target, which can be avoided by again staggering your cycles.
I’d only willingly group smartbombs of the list you mentioned.
Let’s be honest here, you’re just wanting this for smartbombs since they removed the slash command function. There are no other use cases where activating multiple modules at the same time makes sense, with maybe the exception of logi…
Turning on a group of active mid slots at a gate when it’s camped. I don’t know why that wouldn’t be a logical use for this. Activating all of your active mid slots immediately with a group of tornadoes seems like a good use to me.
I know the title specifically mentions high slots, but the OP also mentioned mids in his topic post.
I didn’t use the command for smartbombing except for some testing after MacGybo revealed this functionality to public. My fit doesn’t allow it. Though yes, smartbombs have biggest sense to use stacked, but no I am not argumenting in favor of this because of my personal reasons, what would be advantageous for me.
It is logical that this should be allowed. On all modules that doesn’t collide with each other (liek tractor beam). It doesn’t matter if it has sense or if is is efficient, the option should be there and anyone should be allowed to decide whether he stacks or not. My arguments are above - I will repeat them. The recent slash command removal will just cause those using it before to use a 3rd app macro. Which afaik is against rules, but CCP have no way to actually detect it (you can always claim you just “stick-pressed” all keys, if they ever inspect you. And then it is just unfair to those who don’t want to break rules and play legit.
I agree and so what? That is not really an argument for not doing this. And personally I mine in venture, if I must mine, so there is no reason for me to target different rock so I would stack them, and I salvage my wreck after gank with 3 salvagers as well to clean it asap, since there is only my wreck and my victim wreck and victim wreck is more than 5000 I have no reason not to use all salvagers so again I would stack them for my use case. And stacking versus non-stacking spread-activation repairers is what will create a skill gap which is a good thing. Or it won’t because that is already happening I guess and some players just activate them all at the very same time anyway.
I suggest you look at my account, my only main. I don’t have the skills to use smartbombs and neither do I intend to do gate-camping in the game. I play with my friends in high-sec and dabble in exploration in null-sec and wormhole, with a little bit of mining to relax on off-time. I had not heard about this game until that Down The Rabbit Hole documentary about it.
Even if the feature adds no helpfulness because players want to play a certain way, from a user-interface perspective, it is a good option to have available. For me, it is just much more convenient to mine asteroids by tapping one key and not three or four keys in a row.
My original intention and priority is with high-slots, but I wouldn’t mind if this potential feature got extended to mid- and low-slots. I’m sure other people, like the example you’ve given, would find better use in this as I have not progressed that far into the game. I would imagine fits with several shield boosters or armor repairers would benefit from this.
That ghost is out of the bottle already and it can’t be turned back in.
Flying Logi in a tough fight is one of the very few occasions where personal skill, speed and accuracy really matters. I simply think it is a bad idea to change the one part of combat which currently is designed decently well and feels rewarding if you are good.
The question to ask is: would the change make the game objectively better? I think it wouldn’t. At least not until we get other speed- and decision-making options that can truly make a difference in a fight.
“Flying Logi in a tough fight is one of the very few occasions where personal skill, speed and accuracy really matters.”
Clearly, this is quite biased because the same can be said about strategic combat - like battles in ESS deadspaces, the proving grounds, or even factional warfare. And I’m pretty sure you are not the only logi-pilot in the game nor are you a good representation of all of them.
This feature is just simply better to have and not need it than need it and not have it. I rest my case.
Yes yes. You have to make sure every logi pilot can fly every logi ship so that the pilot can adapt by piloting the right logi ship for the ships he or she will be Remote Repairing. After all, why armor rep a shield tanked ship? Better make sure the logi pilot knows the difference so that he doesn’t click on the wrong ship in the heat of fleet warfare!
That still doesn’t mean that things can’t be sped up by grouping the remote boosters. It’s not like a pilot will suddenly be extraordinarily bad or absolutely perfect whether or not it’s grouped.
It’s a convenience issue. As a matter of fact, I really feel that the argument could be made for grouping weapons the same way it could be made for any active mods in this game. Do we need any of it? No. We don’t. It’s just convenient.
Yes of course it would.
Or you think that the recent slash command removal made game somehow better? This is clear QoL suggestion.
Oh, no! They make you manually manage two whole mining modules? That’s a War Crime!!!
If you’re considering grouping these, you clearly don’t know how to use them. Running multiple salvagers doesn’t acually increase your chances any more than letting one run multiple cycles. You can only put a single tractor beam on any target. Dumping all your reps onto a single cycle is a good way to have all your reps on cooldown when they’re needed most.
Sure, there are other situations where high individual skill matters. Mainly high-speed smallscale combat. But in those scenarios the player already has - on top of his positioning, broadcast-, capacitor-, range- and speed-management - also multiple types of modules to manage. I’d even consider those above the skill level of flying logi. You often have to manage not only your guns, but also switching ammo of those guns, adjusting not only transversal defensivly for tanking better but also offensively for hitting better, you have to manage capacitor boosters, tackle mods, ewar mods, local repairs and more. So the grouping of guns brought down the skill ceiling, yes - but not to a degree that flying in those scenarios would be particulary easy.
A logi on the other side focuses to 90% on their repping modules and broadcasts. They are - for an overwhelming majority - passively tanked these days (meaning: no local reps), they only need to care for defensive positioning because their reps aren’t affected by speed or transversal, just range. In many cases they also follow a logi anchor, have no tackle mods and the only “ewar” mod they use - if you want to call it that way - is a Sebo with either Scanreso or ECCM script.
So, if we consider elite smallscale combat piloting at a skill level of 9-10 (measured by the mechanical limits that EVE allows), currently very good logi piloting is maybe a 7-8. Regular DPS ship in a small to medium gang might be 4-5 and F1 drone in a big fleet is 1-2. If we now lower the skill requirements of logis by having all reppers grouped, it would simply fall down from 7-8 to 5-6. And I think thats not a good change. I am not a fan of making everything ever more convenient, because it removes scenarios where good players can really shine. In my book, grouping RRs absolutely would be such a change.
You are free to disagree of course, I don’t claim to own the one true wisdom. I wouldn’t cry tears if such a change comes, just see it as the next step to a more dull fighting experience.