I am exclusively interceptor pilot. I have all T4 interceptors and almost all fighters unlocked. I hate the frigate play style. I think I am not the only one.
So basically I keep facing T-Rex and Inquisitors (+25% range on guard modules) with 4000 range of Engine inhibitors. Same goes to the Signature masking (damage reduce).
No weapon for interceptor goes past 3000.
You wanted interceptors to be the front line (2000 range) fighters middle 3-3.5K and frigates 5K.
Now we have interceptors having to close in from 4000 to 2000 to a guard just to start shooting him (before you say “do not engage guard in interceptor” we all know sometimes that has to happen).
Not to mention that is 8000 range diameter. On some maps a guard can stay between 2 beacons and have aura ON BOTH OF THE BEACONS.
I will just mention one thing and will not even go past 1 line : Frigate shooting me from 13000 range with laz0rz without I can even see it on recon with 1 module for increased sensor range !
I think the LRF and Engineers are fine for now from what I see facing them. Not too strong, not too weak.
Interceptors - All weak due to impared movement and that is the interceptors’ “tankiness”
The main reason I went to frigates is I leveled up my Katana S via synergy to get to R12. Then I figured, Katana S is a little frigate, may as well level up Jericho guards. Engineer’s great for most of PvE so I took Fed Engineer from R7 to R11 via synergy. I swear, knowing how to fly an interceptor makes frigates look like a cakewalk, and the skills you learn flying interceptors can make you dominant as a frigate. I tried Empire gunship, but Phobos just xxxx sucks in T3 for my MM queue. Desert Eagle got me hooked, I still can’t let it down completely.
Interceptors keep getting nerfed. Frigballs got nerfed hard, but with the way everything else is getting nerfed faster, they could come back.
I’ve played a little. The only frigballs were capture the beacon matches which were always frigfests. The others were abandoned outpost beacon hunt, not favoring frigs anyway. One combat recon without an engineer on our team, so even combat recon failed to be a frigfest. Frigs weren’t buffed enough to really bring back T3 frigballs. The nerfs were sufficient to prevent it. Maybe in a week it will be different, one day is never enough to say the frigballs returned.
When frigballs were nerfed hard, it still took a few days for them to die.
The only 2 counters would be beach balling and strafing commands due to tanking abilities hopping in the middle of the frig ball. But they dont have the damage to successfully deal with it. I’ve found another anti-frigball recipe and that is long range crit built bubble gunships. Note the ’ long range’ again. Why? Because you stay alive for longer to actually apply the damage. If you’re too squishy you don’t really stand a chance because frigs got the long range weaponry and close range pulsars, debuffs and drones. So you have to fight accordingly - either damageful long range, agile and tanky short range or a frig ball of your own that tops the enemy’s. The latter is the LEAST WANTED.
There you go, secret spilled. Now deliver it onto thy community. It is tested and approving of it.
@Astraal, OK. It may work, but that still can not counter their 13KM laz0rs. Sure you can stay out of range even from the kinetic one and pulsar, but they are mostly use plasma and lasers …
@Astraal, OK. It may work, but that still can not counter their 13KM laz0rs. Sure you can stay out of range even from the kinetic one and pulsar, but they are mostly use plasma and lasers …
The answer to that is a chaotic flight path (strafing is the better solution than rotation - the latter makes you take your eyes away from the enemy more). I see just way too many people flying straight. Then they complain of OPness of different weapons. Remember each weapon has an optimal range in addition to maximum, which dictates low damage at high ranges. Making use of distance cover is also a strategy, not just the roids near your ship. The closer you get, the higher the damage and danger, but it’s always like that and it’s better than ‘let’s do nothing’.
One more thing: strafe direction change timing is important as well. Time it to counter their shots in addition to just twitching your fingers constantly on the same pattern or you might fly right back in the way of a previously random shot from the enemy.
My suggestion is to limit the guard field to 2500 radius or something. If RF Blaster / Shrapnel / Laser Inti wants to engage - OK. If not - not.
We had a siege mode in Captain mode where both of our deathballs were on different sides of 1 asteroid. Needless to say nobody had afterburner engines.
But there is real simple solution - Make the aura 4K Radius, but make it LoS ! (Line of Sight)
My suggestion is to limit the guard field to 2500 radius or something. If RF Blaster / Shrapnel / Laser Inti wants to engage - OK. If not - not.
We had a siege mode in Captain mode where both of our deathballs were on different sides of 1 asteroid. Needless to say nobody had afterburner engines.
But there is real simple solution - Make the aura 4K Radius, but make it LoS ! (Line of Sight)
Yeah, A line of sight afterburner inhibitor is a great Idea!
Just think about a peek-a-boo guard: you constantly would get some sort of malfunction. One moment AB is on the other its off.
A range of 4km is just hilarious. It should at best be 1,5 km, since 4 km means that the guard can shoot at you all its weapon-range long, while you have no real chance to evade.
My solution would be: Nerf Range of Guard-Modules, Increase weapon efficiency of inties and give a flat +5k EHP to ALL Fighters and Inties. Also reduce max EHP on Guards to 70k.
To be fair that aura is guard’s way to protect himself from interceptors being constantly on his back and I agree with that.
BUT !
3350 range Plasma gun (T4, cause I cba gearing up T3 ships or T2 to check)
2000 range Lasers
1750 range Shrapnel
1450 range RF Blaster (wow, so long … compared to 13,000 Frig lasers)
So the way I see it 2000 or even 2500 max for purple is OK. If you want to engage guard as any interceptor you have to be in that field,
But it should not bother fighters unless they do the mistake of going too close. Maybe should affect blue ball fighters, but not the rest. 2650 base bubble gun range so 2500 will do just fine.