I got into my first Carrier a little over 6mo, or so, back and have been steadily practicing and familiarizing myself with them. There’s really just one aspect of them that I really scratch my head over: the NSA and, by extension, the role of carriers, specifically (not Super Carriers).
The NSA seems like it is supposed to be to Carriers what the Siege, Triage, and even Bastion modules are to their respective ship classes, but it doesn’t really fit into that line-up. Each of the other modules buffs the tanking ability and express purpose of each ship class that it is fitted to and is, therefore, central and mandatory to their fits and effectiveness in their designated role.
The “purpose” of Carriers, from everything I’ve read, is to be anti-subcapital platforms. Yet, the NSA does relatively little to benefit a Carrier in that respect. Yes, the expedited locking time and extended range is definitely a boon, there’s no denying that. It just seems that, by comparison, the NSA benefits carriers in their role far less than a Siege or Triage module does for Dreads and FAX in their particular roles.
Case in point, I almost never see Carriers playing their “role” as anti-subcap platforms. At most, I’ve seen them on field for the odd structure bash (lightly defended bashes, that is), or as Anti-fighter platforms, where their only purpose is to kill the Heavy Fighters of Super Carriers (this is also the only of the two scenarios where carriers are used in which the NSA really is useful, outside of allowing carriers to be tethered on a friendly structure during a bash, which seems wrong, imho). Rather boring and ■■■■ roles, in practice, honestly.
If anyone can please clarify, I’d be very appreciative. As I said, I’m still getting familiar with carriers, their capabilities, and role, so I’m definitely coming at this from a place of relative ignorance.