Drone pilots top out at the Dominix for many years, while gunnery and missile users get their blinged Marauders to play with. Is it finally time for a BB sized light carrier to add more flavor and highsec gank targets into the game?
2 fighter bays and 1 support bay, similar DPS potential of Marauders, less strong active tank but more mobile. Balanced for price similar to Marauders.
Let’s go CCP!
I agree. I really feel like there is a drone-ship-shaped hole in the marauder tier of ships. We’ve got the rattlesnake but that is half drones half missiles. I want a full drone fit ship at that price range.
Like the Algos but a battleship but no guns or missiles but mods like fighter support, etc, and fighters like the carriers?
Yes, fighter bay mechanics. No guns or missiles. Basically a smaller BB sized carrier, sub-capital. For high sec, all sec.
It’s probably is superfluous ship idea, considering that’s basically what a vexor lineup is, I get the ideal, support it, but it would seem more of a niche item.
Most likely never see the light of day
What would a drone marauder bonuses look like?
The vexor line ends in the Dominix and the Rattlesnake as epitome of drones. I am talking about real carriers and fighter bay mechanics. Take the Nidhoggur and make a smaller carrier..
I get it, like a marauder as the step up in the Gallente line up, but a carrier instead of the Kronos blaster, that would be cool but people cried years ago about how powerful the space potato was so they nerfed it, I suspect people will cry about that too and get it nerfed.
Just give Orca a 3rd bottom slot for extra drone damage and they could do some serious drone damage.
Not limited to Gallente. All four factions can have their own Light Carrier design.
It could be balanced around Light Fighters only, restrictions to give current Carrier capitals their niche & role.
Would be very popular for the playerbase, as currently transitioning from Vexor → Domi, ends in HS. For those who enjoy carrier gameplay they have to go into LS & NS and Capitals.
The Rattlesnake is a good drone ship.
Rattlesnake is no carrier. Two drones lmao. Missile boat with drones.
Proper carrier, just lighter.
My Chimera has less effective DPS than a Golem, mind you, so why would you make a ‘light’ version of it ?
If NPCs stop aggroing fighters, maybe, but some NPCs force the fighters back to the hangar, where there have to stay forever for ‘resupply’ and get back to work.
Or if they make fighters dirt cheap so it doesn’t matter to lose some.
I’m in Sansha territory, maybe it’s better against other factions, no clue.
Fighters are way larger than Drones, Battleships are way too small to have hangar bays that can launch and maintain multiple squads of those things. They are literally 10times the size of a Gecko or 20times the size of a Heavy Drone.
The most any known battleship can hold at a time is 500m³ in the Nestor. At least I don’t really know any bigger. Even if you would give a Battleship Sized “Light Carrier” ten times the hangar capacity (5.000m³) it could barely hold 5 Light Fighters. Which wouldn’t even be a single full squad.
If you want to play around with the Fighter mechanic, leave highsec, simple as that. There is a good reason the “nice toys” are limited to non-highsec only, it gives motivation for people to evolve. Until you reach this point of confidence, a Navy Dominix / Nestor / Rattlesnake is as close as you can get.
Marauders don’t use cap weapons, so why would a drone marauder use a capital drone platform?
You’re not actually asking for a “drone marauder”, you’re asking for a “highsec carrier” and that isn’t going to happen.
It you want to argue about exclusive gameplay design for LS and NS, then a Marauder with huge drone bonuses but no turret or missiles would also provide a nice upgrade for drone pilots in HS.
Make it based on Hyperion hull though, no more giant snail please.
CCP probably doesn’t want more semi-afk and/or drone-assist multibox gameplay in their game… did you miss all the drone-related nerfs in the last year?
I also don’t think a couple of multiboxed drone Marauders assisted to a bunny is a good idea… thinking about the firepower that gives to a single person…
Besides that, I don’t really get the concept of what a ‘Drone Pilot in HS’ is? If you limit yourself to a single weapon system and a single space, why should CCP care and design special ships just for that niche? Whats with the next guy that limits himself to ‘light Amarr dones in Minmatar space’, should CCP design ships for him that somehow can deal explosive damage and get to Marauder DPS values with Acolytes? 
CCP says AFKPLAY GO AWAY!