As far as WCS go - I have some doubts, single WCS is often best way for brawling frigate/cruiser to avoid being permakited by Garmurs^W faster ships. It can be used for risk-free LP farming, but can also be valid mechanics to force enemy to get into scram range. And since warping into PLEX means you have no way to dictate entry range (outside large ones), it is the only way to force close-range fight against single enemy. It’s niche use and if risk-free farm is significant enough problem, then I’d rather see it removed.
Cloaks should stay because they provide crucial role when it comes to setting up traps inside FW areas - force recons, Stratios and especially Astero (only combat effective cloaky ship able to enter novice sites) require cloak to work properly, even if you don’t sit cloaked inside PLEX (due to how long it takes to land inside PLEX from off-grid spot, said spot needs to be very close to make it in time to take over tackle from your bait). Please remember you can’t light neither covert or regular cyno inside FW plexes and can’t do proper logoff trap (all because gated deadspace mechanics), so cloak is the only way to properly set up and use traps/baits.
I see timer rollbacks having issues farther reaching than you are imagining - burnout trying to flip systems where plexes continually reset would be a pita, not to mention having to leave to rep heat etc after a brawl would also reest a timer in that instance which sounds like a step back in terms of gameplay & functionality.
Issue with this is you are addressing what is happening not why it is happening. Defensive placing can be done in a unfit ship, start there in my opinion.
Also a single stab is a viable mod for a pvp fit and also ships with internal warp stab.
If you forbid taking gate but then allow to refit it is useless.
Just make it so that warp core stabs prevent the ship from being considered as present for all rules that require a ship present. A new attribute “ship_sov_presence” that is true default, and becomes false when a wcs is fitted. when set to false, any effect from the ship that modifies sov or fw plex becomes disabled.
I like that idea more than barring ships completely from plexes. Making cloaking and WCS ships able to enter but unable to run a plex timer keeps their PvP potential but removes the risk farmers will rely on them. It also eliminates the potential of refitting inside the plex.
If not an April Fools then give players more options like warp disrupt strength and range rigs. I am against CCP’s increasing reliance on restrictions in an open world sandbox which smacks of poor game design.
WCS are only a problem for pedantic’s who don’t have a clue, ever hear of a Navy Maulus? Likewise with cloaks, they are not hard to understand how to combat.
Wc stabs should absolutly be banned from the inside of the plex. There ought to be a way to ban them if in the cargo too. If that cant be done, then a ship with stabs dont contribute to a plex timer (that would fix the problem with the large complex too). Or, restrict from fits and cargos for medium down, and ALSO have them stop capping if they’re fit–so the large is protected.
The cloaks should stay. Absolutly should. OR, cov ops cloaks should stay (something alphas cant use, right?). It’s important to keep a pvp tool for catching very hard to catch people in the aresonal. I realize that your goal is to prevent farmers from using it, but right now, i NEVER see a farmer using a cloak while inside the plex area.
you all had a wise and brilliant move in making the 30km wide uncloak sphere in the plexes, and i think that works. 30k is longer than any cloaked ship, besides a recon from gallente, can point anything. It’s a fine distance. Any more, and it makes it so that a farmer sitting perfectly in the middile cant be pointed by a HEATED faction disruptor–swings it too far towards the farmers side.
WC stabs go, cov ops cloaks (only) stay. imho. other cloaks can be banned.
I would also like to see… if a friendly faction player opens the plex, 2 NPC rats spawn inside (sometimes happens now), if an enemy does, just one spawns. IF a friendly player chases out a WT–the next rat timer spawn should spawn 2 npc’s. You’d be suprised how many farming fits cant tank 2 of those guys. Make the second one warp disrupt or something too. paint? web? anything.
Warp Core Stabs - Absolutely great change, Faction Warfare people have been asking this for a very long time and its refreshing to see CCP listen for a change.
Cloaks- I have no opinion on this, never seen a cloaker in a plex, only Recon Cruisers.
