Your post isn’t entirely clear on this. When speaking in general terms, you mention large and medium weapons. When you mention one specific battleship, you mention splitting turret and missile hardpoints. If you specifically meant to give each battleship a 4/4 hardpoint configuration you may want to mention that explicitly.
Also, I feel the need to point out how much better off turret battleships would fare in this deal compared to missile battleships. Rapid Light Launchers, even with an application penalty, will generally apply to frigates more reliably than most medium turrets (especially if they have application penalties as well).
My point was that if there is a hard limit to the number of large weapons a battleship can carry as primary weapons, and they are balanced around bonused medium weapons with a tracking penalty as secondary weapons, fitting light weapons for better application instead becomes a viable option. For current battleships it’s generally not viable to fit undersized weapons so it’s not a balance concern.
Please post more clearly in the first place.
Also, you failed to address any of my other concerns. Any thoughts on those?
I think I did say this in another topic, but it’s still relevant.
I would buff the defense of the battleships in a really simple way: give them bonus to armor plates and shield extenders, similar to what super capital ships have (as battleships are kinda like super subcapitals).
Not too much though, T1 ships could get 100%, navy versions 125%, marauders 150% and black ops 75%. Pirate faction ships would get their bonus on a case by case basis. These numbers are just an example, to better describe the idea.
My reasoning here is simple: as much as I have seen, not an insignificant number of cruisers use battleship sized armor and shield modules. A simple bonus like this could improve the battleships a lot.
Everyone else seemed to understand my post. Moving on:
“Drones” - unbonused drones aren’t that great and can be easily defanged, esp when you only get about 1 or 2 flights on non-drone hulls.
Comparison to RL: yes most battleships had mixed guns. Look up some images. They had their main guns and then a mix of smaller armaments, either smaller ship to ship cannons or anti-air (usually both). Also if you want to be even more realistic, the modern navy consists of submersibles, carriers, and support boats (stealth recon, cruisers). There are no more battleships or dreadnaughts or battlecruisers.
Complexity: I guess managing two targets is too hard?
Aside from the Rokh, every battleship has enough drone space and bandwidth for at least three flights of light drones. I agree that Caldari relying on drones for anti-support is a bit of a weak spot, but the flip side of that is that missiles always apply at least some damage to their target (if they’re in range) unless turrets which can miss completely. (Sorry Rokh. You look cool at least…)
The problem with your analogy is that the smaller anti-aircraft guns you mention are really more equivalent to small weapons in EvE, not medium ones, so using those images as justification is inherently flawed. What you’re proposing is more akin to pre-dreadnaught battleships with mixed main batteries, and pretty much every naval historian has realized that this design concept was trash.
And yes, as a contractor and historian for an actual world navy when I’m out-of-pod, I am quite well aware that there are no more turret-armed battleships in modern world oceangoing navies. That’s why I started my first reply to you with:
Using historical context for EvE balance changes is inherently flawed because the goal of naval warship design is wholly different than the goal of combat spaceship design in EvE. So no matter which picture of a historical battleship is closer to what you have in mind, it’s a poor justification for a change.
I’m not opposed to additional complexity, only when it’s unnecessary and/or a result of poor balance/design.
I’m not proposing mixed main weapons. I’m proposing a main weapon system with a secondary system. You seem to have no problem with this in principle (in the form of drones, at least).
I’m not really sure what your argument is. You just keep repeating “poor design” but aren’t pointing out why it would be poor, aside from contention over real world comparisons (EVE is not an exact parallel but a cruiser is still a cruiser and a carrier still does what a carrier does…) and other comments which indicate a misunderstanding of the change I propose.
Almost all military vehicles have primary and secondary offensive systems. Most ships in EVE do as well, I’m just suggesting changing what that secondary weapon system is for Battleships in order to open up their engagement profile and make them an attractive option for players.
On the topic of flak cannons…
I would rather introduce a CIWS like turret. It’s a large turret, using large ammo, with similar range and tracking that small turrets have. The balancing factor would be the quite low (maybe even less than 1.0) damage multiplier.
Agreed, if capitals are not nerfed or changed so their power scales with cost and difficulty in production, then sub capitals as a whole need a boost across all levels. Making battleships true ships designed for dealing and taking hit, while being smaller than capital class ships, would be an excellent addition to the game.
WoW battleships are good example of functional weapon system split.
Main guns for obliteration of targets(eve high slots)
Secondary weapons automatic limited range but will pummel any destroyer staying for too long.(in eve they should work in t2 tackle range)
Anti air weapons(drone oppressors some damage at point ranges).
One more important thing those ship have is torpedo armor belt at water line…you guessed it anti bomber protection.(thinking drifter like “blue layer” bomb shield passive regen).
All or some of these can find home in eve battleships.
Starting point should be to crawl back their warp speed closer to BC and cruisers. So that one warp rig can get you there not 3.
Edit
Wow Battleships be like
13:18 carrier admiral “are you a fire”?
North Carolina captain …I am rage
Naval engineers “how much guns you want on new ship class”?
Navy “Yes” In all seriousness watch these better than any documentary out there game devs creating outa love no greed
