Ideas for Giving the Caldari a Second (non-ECM) Ewar System (every other race has two!)

[Chance_Ravinne]

Where Each Race’s Ewar Bonuses Stand Today
Amarr: Energy Neutralizers and Tracking/Missile Guidance Disruptors
Gallente: Sensor Dampeners and Warp Disruptors/Scramblers
Minmatar: Stasis Webifiers and Target Painters
Caldari: ECM and uh… ECM Burst? (lol?)

Looking at Ewar Bonuses in Light of the ECM Changes
This week, CCP announced that targeted ECM would be nerfed from a global lockout to a limited lockout, a taunt-style effect that makes it so a jammed target can only target the ship that is jamming it. For most applications, this may not change a lot. After all, a Falcon that is hitting logi from 80km away isn’t at grave risk from dying to that logi ship any time soon.

However, as pointed out by the community, this leaves a lot of holes in the lineup of Caldari ewar-bonused ships. Specifically ships like the Griffin Navy Issue and Widow, which are commonly used at short range and even in solo/duo/nano groups, now find their ewar bonuses all but useless. It’s clear that balancing ECM both for long-range fleet use and short range solo/small gang use isn’t feasible, unlike most other ewar bonuses.

This raises the question: Should CCP introduce a new, second type of electronic warfare balanced for smaller-scale play, allowing them to design Caldari ewar ships into a greater variety of roles/directions than just “long range fleet taunting ship”?

Yes. In addition to solving problems such as the GNI and Widow, this would also create new design space both for existing and new Caldari ships, plus future faction ships that use Caldari skills.

Ideas for New Types of Electronic Warfare
The following are some concepts that may or may not be suitable additions to the Caldari ewar lineup. They are included here for exploratory discussion, but feel free to share your own concepts!

THERMAL PROJECTORS: An ewar module that, when activated, applies heat to the target’s high, mid, and low racks. This would apply heat to the racks, not the modules directly. In essence, it would increase the heat damage multiplier of the targeted ship, causing overheated modules to damage and burn out faster. This could be instrumental in limiting target performance and even causing stressed pilots to destroy their weapons, props, or tanks. Could be scripted to focus on high/mid/low instead of even heating.

INERTIA PULSE: We have modules that slow targets’ maximum speed down, but what about a module that drastically cuts their agility? This ewar platform would not affect a target’s speed at all, but would make turning painfully slow. In order to prevent it from being completely brutal when paired with webs, it could be fired like a pulse with a short duration and a long cooldown.

TARGETED KINETIC VULNERABILITY: In many RPGs, there are debuffs that temporarily lower a target’s resistance to one type of damage. This module would do exactly that, create a short opening during which a target’s resistance is decreased by a small amount. This would be a niche ewar system, but even with a 2% reduction, it could make the difference for a target with say 96% Kinetic resist. For a few seconds, it would go down to 94%, increasing kinetic damage getting through by 50%! Essentially this would punish higher res ships. It might also be a way to “work around” a tiny bit of the “kinetic lock” of Caldari ships. For balance reasons, this effect would not stack, other than in duration.

SHIELD EGRESS SIPHON: There currently exists no mechanic in EVE to counter passive shield regen, other than brute force. This module would cut the target’s passive shield regen by X%, and increase the user’s passive shield regen by Y%. If desired, you could design ships bonused for this type of ewar by giving them stats that encourage a passive shield regen tank.

FOCUSED ENGINE LIMITER: Right now, we have warp disruptors that are long range and prevent warping (and nothing else) and warp scramblers that are short range and also shut down MWDs, MJDs, etc. What about a tackle module that was long range and shut down MWD and MJD, but didn’t prevent warping? In essence, this would be more of a mobility denial tool than a warp denial tool.

TARGET OBFUSCATION MATRIX: This one is simple: ships that are effected by this module no longer see their own targets’ current shield, armor, and hull HP. Optionally, it could perhaps scramble overview information about the target: no pilot name, no distance, speed, transversal, etc. Your victim would still be able to fight the target no problem, but would have to use visual cues, fleet comms with, and personal gut instinct to guess how quickly their targets were or weren’t dying. This would pair very well with new ECM: Taunt a target and obfuscate it. Now they can only fight you, plus they have no idea if they’re even successfully killing you.

PLEX Siphon: Hit them where it really hurts, their wallet! Every cycle of this module, you drain 1 PLEX from the target’s PLEX vault into your own. The perfect tool for pirates and misanthropes. Just kidding, I only put this here to see if you’re still reading!

Anyway, those are my ideas for a second Caldari ewar system, but I’d love to hear yours. What do you think?

[Qith_Karrar]

These idea are fun, but I don’t think they really fit with the races ewar styles, let me explain.

Each race (except Caldari) has an ewar can prevent DPS from a certain class of ship.

Tracking disruption can defang Turret ships and missile disruption can defang missile ships.
Neuts can defang any ships that uses cap for guns.
Damps can defang any long range ship by preventing lock
Ranged webs can defang any brawling ship.

ECM can (could?) defang any ship so long as you RNGed the jam. That’s pretty powerful compared to the rest of them, so I can see why they want to change it.

How about a module that defangs drone ships? A drone control disruptor that reduces drone control range / drone speed / drone tracking that could be scripted for one of the above. It makes sense in lore, since drones are a major weapon system of the Gallente, who are the enemies of the Caldari.

This also might help against carriers, as after the ECM nerf attacking unsupported carriers with subcaps is going to be a lot harder and more dangerous.

[Chance_Ravinne]

Actually I really like that idea, especially in light of the ECM nerf indirectly buffing Carriers.

Anti drone, anti fighter ewar system. Cool!

[Korteweg_deVries]

Indeed a drone counter ewar is suitable for Caldari thematically. I can imagine an area of effect pulse around the ewar ship that deactivates all drones (friendly drones too) for a short period of time.

[Selene_Kravian]

Drone scrambler array, makes targets drones do random target selections and course corrections possibly op vs rattles and gilas

[Grant_Adoudel]

I really like the anti-drone theme.

Drone Jammer - Reduces control bandwidth of targeted ship

Drone Dampener - reduces drone control range of targeted ship

[Chance_Ravinne]

Only thing I don’t like about control range is that it makes both Caldari ewar platforms long-range only. You can’t use either at brawling range. It would be cool if there was one long range ewar (ECM) and one short range ewar (new one).

[Roaming_Barbarian]

Your drone scrambling array would cause some seriously questionable kill mails

[Roaming_Barbarian]

Deactivate drone pulse is a cool idea especially if that deactivation requires you too locate and use the reconnect to your drones feature lol

[Uriel_Paradisi_Anteovnuecci]

A drone disruptor even works lore-wise, too, given the Caldari-Gallente animosity

A module that reduces drone control range and drone tracking/speed for all drones controlled by a ship would be a really interesting way of playing things - it’d also be fun in a situation where all drones are assisting to one ship controlling them, that’d really mess with things~

[buryyou]

What about a module that causes the ship that you are targeting to have internal detonation of ammunition, exclusive to ecm ships, causes the ship that is damaging you to have rng self damage from its ammunition detonating inside the chamber before firing. Call it a caldari microwave pulse array

This module in combination with ecm would work well together since that ship will only be attacking you

[Yaaar_s_Revenge]

A module which gives you a bonus in terms of velocity and agility when heading towards the current target or away from them, and you can swap out a script for both jobs - kind of like a tractor beam but for ships so you can use it for kiting or brawling. Top tier

[PinkMonkey_Dragon]

i really liked 2 ideas. One i presented like 2 years ago in a different way.

The agility killer.

Only i phrased it as a mass addition. I would like to see a modual that added your own mass (or a part of it, as a form of tackle on highly agile ships.

Infact, i proposed it in part to counter interceptors (i suggested it be available in ‘bubble’ form for null sec–but on a hic or other ship). That would have kept them from effing with hic’s.

That, or something like that would still be pretty interesting. it would thrash gate crashing though, so would remove a LOT of ways to escape things we’ve always been able to escape.

But, seeing as how other races have a counter to their FW targets, caldari getting a anti-drone thing would be pretty damned sweet. Imagine a GNI with a AOE mod that has 50-60% reduction to drone speed… it would be an amazing solo advantage for the GNI, not be a overpowered fleet mechanic. It would give it a clear and powerful engagement profile–but still leave it vulnerable to counters.

So, that idea really tickles me greatly.

The idea of a resist de-buff would be good, but i would like to see it on utility highs, with HUGE bonuses to caldari hulls (like 80% or more) … so that it could still be fit on other race’s ships, but with a tiny advantage instead of huge. Game has kinda needed something like that for a while.

And last–Give them a bonus to the effectivness of e-war drones, and e-war drone ehp. Something truly insane–on the order of the type of bonuses of gilas and worms, but ONLY for e-war drones. Since caldari ships dont often have drones, i kind of works. It even works for the GNI, because it has one small drone. Imagine it having a 300-450% bonus to e-war drone EHP and effect. A single web drone, or single painter drone, suddenly becomes a very effective tool (but not quite as powerful as a modual) … on medium sized ships, if a flight of light e-war drones (many caldari ships have no more than 25mb band anyway), let it reach 60% web, or the level of a target painter, or the level of a small neut…

[Dior_Ambraelle]

I like the thermal projector and target obfuscation matrix ideas.
The targeted vulnerability is something I also mentioned either here or on the old forums (sorry, but I’m way too lazy to try to find it after 1AM), the idea was basically the same: burning a hole into the defense. I think my version had an interference based limitation, like if more than one modules affecting the same target, the effect is nullified, so it can even be used to protect your friend.
I also had this active defense jammer that reduces the effectiveness of both armor repair and shield booster modules, which are supposedly the defense methods of both enemies of the Caldari.

[Wanda_Fayne]

Some wingnut ideas to add:

• command boost inhibitor
  -implant bonus disruptor
  -standings mask (changes your standings in target overview)
  -drone beacon, changes drones aggression to your ship!
  -drone repellent, cannot be drone aggressed

[Wirespeed91]

Some have suggested an Anti-Drone/Fighter ewar impacting drone control range, which is an option. Others have suggested it affecting drone speed, but well, webs can do that too. I like the idea of it affecting tracking and optimal range of drones and fighters more. It would be applied against the host ship rather than individual drones.
So, essentially, the Anti-Drone EWAR modules in my mind would be essentially Omnidirectional Tracking Disruptors.

(As opposed to Omnidirectional Tracking Links/Enhancers)

Apply to carriers in sufficient numbers and all of a sudden their fighters couldn’t hit the broad side of a battleship let alone a cruiser

To balance, the NSA might include like a 30-50% resistance (just spitballing) to drone disruptor effectiveness when active. Kind of like how the NSA makes a carrier quite difficult to straight up jam.

[unbless83]

I dunno… they could have just made it so that ECM just breaks your lock … but eliminate the 20 seconds of jam.

I’d be okay with the strength of the jam increasing by 10% per cycle so that you eventually break the lock of who you have targeted… but ditch stacking entirely.

[Maetel_Lithium]

I love the idea of drone repellent.

[Unseen_Spectre]

Here are just 2 ideas:

• Active modules jammer: While being jammed, cycle auto-repeat are disabled for active modules and a cool-down of some seconds are added after each cycle (e.g. like the cooldown on microjump drives).

• Module jammer: While being jams will have the effect of “offlining” modules. While not being truly offline, the effect will be the same as if the modules were offline while the jam is in effect. I would suggest that this could be countered by the same conditions that are necessary for putting offline module online.

The above ideas are just basic ideas that really need to be developed and a lot of details have not been considered.