Good day!
Taking into account the recent announcement of the Loyalty to Low-Sec of the first Quadrant, I decided that now was a good time to introduce the different ideas, proposals, and solution I have been thinking about and refining for the last half-year.
This here is a part of what I call the Dantelion Plan, my clearly egocentric opinion on how to improve the game and, most importantly to me, to have what I see as its potential be realized.
This will be the presentation of the FW Ships and the Deployment modules. Those are one among the many proposals I once submitted to the Faction Warfare Commitee, and that I have compiled into a singular document that will be released starting today, alongside the release of the Loyalty to Low-sec patch.
I hope you enjoy the read and that it wets your appetite for the other features hinted here, coming alongside the rest of the Plan.
Cheers!
Proposal: Fast Warfare Ships and Deployment modules
As the conflicts mounted in the zone and the interdiction of Super-Capitals and Capitals by CONCORD was maintained, speed started to be one of the primary indicators of success in the conflicts.
In response to this new environment, each of the Militia corporations started developing ships that would give their pilots the speed needed to react to each of the intrusions that would happen on an hourly basis in their occupied systems, and that would also give the small circles and groups of Capsuleer Militias in the zone the standing power to be able to wrestle the control of a system from outside or inner-Warzone interferences.
Fast Warfare Ships have the inherent goal of providing ships that give Militia Capsuleers the tools to thrive in the Warzone, a way for them to attain Veterancy and Mastery while staying in the Warzone, and Standing Power through specialization in Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers.
Through Fast Warfare Ships, Militia Capsuleers would get the speed needed to contest plexes, and to travel the warzones while looking for targets and prey.
They would also get a way to reward their specialization into Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers, opening a new skilling path for pilots and corporations who instead of focusing on flying bigger ships and leaving the Warzone, would choose to fly smaller and nimbler ones.
Finally, they would provide a viable way for pilots and corporations focusing on said smaller vessels to challenge forces with bigger ones and contest Citadels and other infrastructures that ask for extremely-heavy armaments.
The way they would provide those bonuses would be specifically tailored to reach those goals, but also through the Deployment modules, each changing the Fast Warfare Frigate, Destroyer, or Cruiser they are fitted upon into something incredibly more potent and different, but also committed.
Fast Warfare Frigates
And thus without further ado I present to you the Fast Warfare Merlin and the Rising Deployment module.
[FW Merlin]
Frigate
Skills: Caldari Frigates 5, Deployment Tactics 1
Issuer:
Bonuses:
Caldari Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
- 20% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage
- 10% bonus to Shield hitpoints
Caldari Deployment bonuses (per skill level):
- 20% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage
- 5% bonus to Deployment modules effectiveness
Role bonus:
- 100% bonus to warp speed and 200% warp acceleration
- 50% malus to Small Hybrid Turret rate of fire
Slot Layout:
High - 2; Mid - 4; Low - 3;
Turrets: 2;
Cargo capacity: 250m3
Ammo capacity: 50m3
[Rising Deployment]
Module - Mid
Fast Deployment
Skills: Fast Deployment 1
Can only be fitted to Tech I Empire or RD Frigates
Increases warp acceleration by 10%.
Upon activation, the ship gets the Rising effect.
During the effect, damage, maximum velocity, and the Armor Repairer and Shield Booster effectiveness are increased by 1% per second up to a percentage equal to 50 times the pilot FW Militia standing. The ship also cannot warp until a minute after the effect is ended.
Design
The goal of the FW Frigates would be to provide ships with the extra warp speed needed to make them unparalleled hunters in the Warzone, hard-hitting yet nimble presenses, well-supplied ships with the cargo and ammo to operate far away from stations. A FW ship would get an additional Mid slot from its Tech 1 Empire counterpart to make it more small-scale PvP capable.
The Rising Deployment module would be an optional module that would change the nature of the ship into one made exclusively to reward FW participation, increasing its staying power at a speed dependent on the pilot FW standing. Using this effect, the pilot can engage in local hit-and-run tactics, thanks to the extra speed, or can leverage its time spent in a plex to be ready to engage a bigger force warping in.
Even though the bonus is significant, it takes time to ramp up and it commits its user to the plex/grid he is in.
Fast Warfare Destroyers
Now to the RD Cormorant and the Catapulting Deployment module:
[RD Cormorant]
Issuer:
Skills: Caldari Destroyers 5, Deployment Tactics 3
Bonuses:
Caldari Destroyer (per level):
- 20% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage
- 10% bonus to Shield hitpoints
Caldari Deployment (per level):
- 20% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage
- 5% bonus to Deployment modules active effectiveness
Role bonuses:
- 100% bonus to warp speed and 200% warp acceleration
- 50% malus to Small Hybrid Turret rate of fire
Slot Layout:
High - 3; Mid - 5; Low - 2;
Turrets: 3;
Cargo capacity: 450m3
Ammo capacity: 75m3
[Catapulting Deployment]
Module - Low
Destructive Deployment
Skills: Destructive Deployment 1
Can only be fitted to Tech I Empire or FW Frigates or Destroyers
Increases warp acceleration by 10%.
Upon activation, the ship enters Deployed mode. In this mode, the ship has its damage multiplied by 2 times the Destructive Deployment skill, but has its tracking speed set to 0.05. While in this mode, the ship cannot warp until a minute after the mode is exited.
The goal of the combined RD Destroyers and Catapulting Deployment module would be to democratize ways to clear citadels and other structures through a ship that would ask for a lower level of skills than a Dread while rewarding the smaller but nimbler path that some Capsuleers would choose will remaining in the Warzone.
Through the Deployment mode of the Destructive module, a simple or RD Destroyer would have an amount of damage-per-second that is viable for the task of attacking structures and would still keep the needed velocity and agility needed to follow a fleet of small vessels. The mode would on the other side commit the vessel to the grid until the mode is exited and for a small amount of time (an eternity when in a tight situation) after. In the end the greatest defensive option of this vessel will be its speed.
Without the Destructive module, the RD Destroyers would still be a fast, fully PvP-capable ship, with the firepower needed to hold a plex, and the sturdiness to take a couple of hits.
Fast Warfare Cruisers
Finally let’s talk about the FW Moa and the Phalanx Deployment module:
[FW Moa]
Issuer:
Skills: Caldari Cruisers 5, Deployment Tactics 5
Bonuses:
Caldari Cruiser (per level):
- 20% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage
- 5% bonus to all Shield resistances
Caldari Deployment (per level):
- 20% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage
- 5% bonus to Deployment modules active effectiveness
Role bonuses:
- 100% bonus to warp speed and 200% warp acceleration
- 50% malus to Medium Hybrid Turret rate of fire
Slot Layout:
High - 4; Mid - 6; Low - 4;
Turrets: 4;
Cargo capacity: 500m3
Ammo capacity: 100m3
[Phalanx Deployment]
Module - Mid
Frontline Deployment
Skills: Frontline Deployment 1
Optimal Range: 4,500m
Fallout Range: 9,500m
Can only be fitted to Tech I Empire or RD Cruisers
Increases warp acceleration by 10%.
Upon activation, the targeted Tech I or FW cruiser receives the Phalanx mode. In this mode, that cruiser has its damage increased by 200% (decreasing with range depending on the Frontline Deployment skill) and its armor, shield, and hull maximum hitpoints increased by 300% (decreasing with range depending on the Frontline Deployment skill), but reducing tracking speed and explosion velocity by 75%. However, while in this mode, you and the targeted cruiser cannot warp until a minute after the mode is exited. Can only be activated on a target without the Phalanx mode.
Design
The FW Cruisers and the Phalanx Deployment module combine together to give Cruisers the standing power needed to stand to their bigger counterparts and to reward those who specialize in them if they can muster the organization and piloting needed to make the module work.
The Phalanx Deployment asks for tight coordination as the short range makes it so that the slightest mishap between the provider of the buff and the receiver can result in the buff being canceled, and the receiver needs to watch that he or she receives the buff from someone else and that he is in still in range of that pilot.
Being cruisers, the benefiting ship would still have their signature radius and their speed as defense factors. Combined with the potent staying power the Phalanx provides, they would give the means for a Cruisers-based corporation or group to stand against Battleships and Capitals in all of New Eden.
Goals of the Fast Warfare Ships and Modules
The primary and most important goal of the Fast Warfare Ships and Modules is to provide a way of veterancy for people living in the Warzone and for people specializing in smaller vessels.
If we start with the plexe being the building block and center piece of Faction Warfare gameplay, then the current veterancy path of flying bigger and bigger vessels until Capital escalation goes counter to what the Warzone is about.
Battleships and Capitals are not healthy to the plexe gameplay, they have no way to interact with it, do not help to be better at it, and can only be prevalent in the Warzone if the plexes are not the deciding factor.
However, as they accumulate skill points, veteran players will inexorably want to be able to put said skill points into more and more powerful options and vessels.
This makes it so that they naturally tend to invest said skill points in first T2 cruisers, then Battlecruisers, Battleships, and finally Capitals, as the bigger the vessel, the higher the power obtained (as evidenced by Titans).
But as they get into bigger and bigger vessels, they get invalidated by Faction Warfare gameplay. They can only interact with Large Complexes and with Infrastructure Hub bash. Worse, when suddenly the means of occupation of a system become the structures in the system rather than system ownership, they suddenly get a role to play but at the expense of the plexes and everything else.
So if Faction Warfare is to be built from the ground up, with the plexes as its foundation, a way for veterans to specialize in Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers rather than bigger vessels is required.
The Fast Warfare Ships and Modules also have the goal of serving as a prize and content driver in the warzone.
Their bonuses can be useful outside of Faction Warfare space, which will make them a possible revenue stream for Faction Warfare entities. The components to harvest and the infrastructures needed to make them can push Faction Warfare entities to wrestle for control of Faction Warfare systems.
Finally, coupled with the Deployment Modules, the Fast Warfare Ships provide a basis of power available to those who specialize in Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers in order to participate in the EVE grand game of influence and conflict, by having the razing power with the Destructive Destroyers to viably clear structures without having to skill in Capitals, and standing in a large scale engagement with Cruisers.
Their availability and accessibility will be dependent on the success of their corresponding militias. Providing some amount of counterplay for other zones in case of those vessels would become too dominant, for example bidding the opposing militia to blockade or destroy the systems where they are produced.
All in all, they provide a reason to stay in the Warzone, a way to profit from it, and a way to export their influence outside of it, either economically or militarily.
Goals of the Ships
The Fast Warfare ships have a bonus to warp speed in order to allow them to reave the systems of the Warzone faster, and a warp acceleration bonus in order to be more likely to create fights by getting to plexes faster. Through this speed, they make the Warzone an ever-dangerous place, full of fast and nimble hunters roaming it.
They also sport the standard characteristics needed to make them PvP viable:
- An additional mid slot compared to their T1 counterparts.
- A significant bonus to Alpha and damage.
- A reduction in ammo fired through less turrets and reduced rate of fire, and an additional ammo bay for further sufficiency.
Goals of the Deployment modules
The Deployment modules add a special dimension to the Fast Warfare Ships.
At their core, they add modularity both to the line of Fast Warfare ships, but also to all Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers.
The Deployment Modules presented here are examples that can be fitted on all respective Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers (T1 and RD actually), and by doing so they provide additional functionalities to all of them that can be skilled in by veterans.
So veterans can invest skill points to be able to have more options through different Deployment modules.
As time goes on, more Deployment modules can be added to provide more options and power to Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers, whether T1 or FW.
For now, the express goal of the Rising Deployment module is to provide a way to reward both Faction Warfare loyalty, but also on a tactical level it allows rewards participation in plexes, leveraging the time spent assaulting or defending a plexe into power that can only be used in that plexe (you can’t warp off until the effect wears off).
The Destructive Deployment module has the explicit goal of giving smaller vessels a viable way to attack structures. This will open the business of cleaning structures and citadels to much smaller entities and will help against their proliferation.
The real-life equivalent of a ship with the Destructive deployment would be a catapult. Cheap, easy to make, harder to use against stronger fortifications, but opening the sieging game to smaller entities.
Suddenly, speed becomes a factor during sieges. Counters to Sub-capitals become necessary if Destructive frigates and destroyers are in the equation.
Finally the Phalanx Deployment module is all about elevating Cruisers to the staying power of Battleships and beyond.
By increasing damage and maximum hitpoints, combined with the ship, cruisers suddenly become something that can serve as a frontline engagement ship. As a drawback, they receive a reduction to tracking speed making them less able to deal with Sub-capitals.
The Phalanx bonus is also heavily dependent on range. The effect having a short optimal range, the giving cruiser will need to pay attention to the range with its friendly target. More importantly, range control can be leveraged as a potent threat to Phalanx formations. Webs and Scramblers, become ways to disrupt the enemy Phalanx buffs, as the distance between the giver and its target increases, the buff loses in strength, to the point of the buff being removed if out of range (9,500m).
The clamping of all units affected by the Phalanx also offers an opportunity for counterplay, either through bombs and or through doomsday.
Overall, the Phalanx offers both a strategic option that rewards skills, skills points, and coordination, but also an alternative to capital escalation when it comes to engagements.
Interactions with Other Proposals
Fast Warfare Ships and Modules will play the part of providing a reason to stay and fight in the Warzone, goods that can be sold and levied for ISKs or Influence, and the means to contest space with the other entities of the EVE Universe.
The Frontier System will allow for points of contests whose strategic rewards will be the ability to manufacture the RD Ships or Modules. They will force the Faction Warfare entities to work their way and have a long term vision on how to capture the systems where RD Ships and Modules can be manufactured, and how to defend those systems from encroaching attackers.
The Manufacturing of these will require system ownership in the Warzone, ways to determine that a specific Faction Warfare Corporation or Alliance holds ownership over a system.
This will be possible through the Fast Warfare Structures, in particular the Safeguard structures.
This is all, tell me what you think, your feedback is certainly welcome, especially if it is harsh!