As we well know, we have the three factions which all focus on different aspects of ship capabilities. Let’s take a look at them…
Empire focuses on a strong hull resistance against Federation EM weapons and a heavy thermal damage output, as well as hard attack capable ships such as gunships and long rangers.
Federation focuses on fast attack, maneuverability and a coordinated EM armoury focus which is strong against Jericho ships and ships designed for inhibition such as the Guard, Covert Ops, Recon and Tackler.
Jericho focuses on heavy shields and high energy requirement ships such as the ECM, Command and Guard, as well as a strong Kinetic assault which favours their advantage in the field against Empire ships.
I’m not saying make these ships available from the start, but maybe have these as perhaps an extra view of ships and ship combinations in one faction type… As we all know, a gunship on a Jericho string wouldn’t make sense (imagine the damage you would do with a Particle Purge module…) and a Guard wouldn’t make sense on an Empire line either. Perhaps for the more experimental setups, more adept pilots and well-honed players these ship setups would make sense; combining the elements of a Command ship on a Federation-esque fighter, the Engineer capabilities on a frigate much like the Jericho string and an ECM setup on a Federation string would be perfect.
Why?
Because they’re powerful enough to create a viable attack, however also critical or volatile enough to be destroyed. The game lacks a fast-enough flying ECM. The game lacks an Engineer that isn’t capable of an assault. The game lacks a Command that isn’t capable of an assault. All of these ships are more focused on the need to support, be it defensive or offensive, however lack the ability to push forwards and attack.
Here’s what I propose as stats…
ECM
- Low strength hull and shield, similar resistances. Say, 3,500 for a T3. This would make it easy to shoot down
- Focus more on capacity and engine slots. I’d say 3 capacity slots and 3 Engine slots would be ingenious, as to counter the low hull and shield strength disadvantage. The ECM can still function without the need of a capacitor, but it still comes useful… But that’s something that can be down to opinion on over-empowerment.
Command
- Same shield and hull strength, similar resistances, something like 4,200 for a T3.
- Focus more on engine and capacity requirement. A good Command ship not only needs to be able to fly faster, but will be able to survive for longer if it’s constantly moving. The shield and hull dependency can also be negated by the use of the diffusion shield - the downside is, how much capacity will the Command be able to take before it runs out of steam?
- Normal weapon damage. I love Empire commands… I absolutely do. The problem with them is that I like being the one flying the ship. They pack a hard punch, sure. But they fly like bricks and can’t move forwards. If you look back at the previous points, you will see.
Engineer
- Shield oriented defense as opposed to Hull. Every single one of the Imperial ships is oriented around hull defense, Federation ships are all-rounders and Jericho ships are heavy shield influenced. A ship that has enough shield defense to move in to battle would be quite useful as well as a support ship.
- Focus less on engines and capacity. Yes, it takes both to be able to do stuff such as fly everywhere, but that’s what the Energy Emitter module is for.
Feel free to break this down, pick apart, etc. or whatever takes your fancy; this is how I’m seeing things set out. What do you think?