I don’t mean smartbombs are a bad module with no use, they have plenty of uses.
The thing is that they are rather indiscriminate in targeting. Corpmates in range? They’ll be hit too. How about if they’re in a fleet? They’ll be hit too. Illegal targets in high sec space? Heck, even EDENCOM weapons, which I thought were kings of high slot friendly fire when I read about them, don’t do that but smartbombs do.
I’m not going to say “buff smartbombs to be smart” because them doing things like hitting your own drones means it’s a tradeoff to use since they are pretty useful at being able to do damage without getting a lock. I’m not going to suggest renaming them because that would cause confusion.
But I’m wondering why the devs thought it was a good name for the module when it was introduced. I mean, wouldn’t the term “bombs” be better given how they work?
Possibly the reason for the name is because of video gaming as I remember it. Many video games had some kind of weapon you could use to hit everything on the screen at once, and almost every such weapon was described as a ‘smart bomb’ back then.
…when you fly close to someone using them in hi-sec. You can get a nice killright and if you shoot the smartbomber before he pops a free killmail too, might even a pod killmail as well if lucky.
Were it up to me ship explosions would have AOE damage based on hull size plus how much explosive material was on board.
It would be the end of bait ball BS crap that makes the game look dumb.
But don’t worry. Your idea will be just as ignored as mine.
Don’t wonder. Play the game and be happy. CCP says they’re smart so the are smart. You’re just a gamer, you know enough to play, leave the technology figuring to the tech gurus. CCP knows what they’re doing, they said “trust us” so trust them.
I’m annoyed by the fact that Javelin is the short range ammo for railguns, while spike is the long range variant.
And, of course, all of the ammo’s have names that make it impossible to infer their use. Like, if you look at the ammo’s and weapons from other games, you can frequently infer their effects/damage types from their names. CCP, however, wasn’t having any of that.
This ammo does thermal and kinectic damage. Should we call it hellfire bolts or something?
<<<No, call it null.
But why?
<<<And we can call the short range ammo void… yeah, null and void.
But that doesn’t give the players any indication what it–
<<<And we’ll call this ship that heals players the Scythe. [Takes a huge bong rip]
But the scythe is typically associated with death, not healing or life.
<<<[Exhales smoke] Smart bombs is a cool name…
You know what -I don’t get paid enough to argue with you.
and found this thread. I frequently see such smartbomb messages when checking this little Losec shortcut between Devoid and Everyshore. So will someone please explain to me how this works, assuming that I have a solid grasp of basic EVE mechanics, but little knowledge of advanced topics? Do they just gather a giant baitball like in the videos and blast away continuously? Can I run the gauntlet with a Blockade Runner such as a Viator or will I still get toasted?
There are players that specifically focus on smartbombing pods and low EHP ships.
They traditionally sit cloaked close to a gate, inline between common travel routes.
When a capsule or something else squishy enters system and warps to the gate, they decloak and activate their smartbomb, killing the target as it drops out of warp.
They then warp off the gate and wait out their criminal timer.
So if you see that indication, then be careful depending on what you are travelling in.
The most well known smartbomber was Santo Trafficante, and his success has led to many copycats. He left the game a few years ago.
