I was working on another post for tonight, but then Fozzie went ahead and published the
proposed battlecruiser changes. I'm not going to spend too long on the ramifications since these are still open to modification (and likely will change again to some extent before they go live), but here's a quick rundown:
Global ChangesAcross the board, tier 1 BCs are getting small HP increases on their primary tank (e.g. armour for the Prophecy, shield for the Cyclone) while tier 2s are getting small HP decreases bringing them down to around where the tier 1s are. Powergrid and CPU are adjusted, but these stay roughly in line with the typical modules found in the added/removed slots so shouldn't be a net gain nor a loss. Everything gets a tiny bit more capacitor/second (except for the Harby, but its new turret configuration equates to the same), and a tiny increase to sig radius.
ProphecyBecomes a drone boat with similar capabilities to the old Myrmidon - 10% damage/hp bonus, 75mbit/s bandwidth, 225m3 bay. Gets a 4th mid and a 7th low, keeps the armour resist bonus to contrast the Myrm's rep bonus. Swaps the turrets for a mix of turrets and launchers (up to 4 of each in its 5 high slots), but without a bonus it's not like it really matters. Moderate mass decrease, +1 sensor strength. Not really like anything that the Amarr have now (kind of a super-tanked Arbitrator without the TD bonus) - damage output will be low (similar to the old Myrm), but it's a big improvement over what it has now.
HarbingerLoses a turret, but gets a
10% damage bonus giving it about the same number of effective turrets as the Hurricane (the 'Cane still gets slightly more since its bonus is partly to rate of fire). Gets an extra 25m3 of drone bay for good measure. Small mass increase, +1 sensor strength, tiny bit more locking range. Should out-range and out-damage the Hurricane now, although it will remain slower and more cap-dependent.
FeroxGets an extra turret and an extra low. Keeps the range bonus instead of getting a damage bonus like the Moa/Merlin. Moderate mass decrease, tiny bit more locking range. Powergrid increase (+25) is less than the new turret is likely to use, but the Ferox isn't really lacking there anyway. Big cargo buff to 475m3 (tied with the Myrm for the top spot) - active tanked Ferox is go. Quite a significant buff for what was quite an underpowered ship. Not as big as it could have been (let's not kid ourselves, it's not going to be used as a 'sniper' when you could just fly a Naga - optimal range bonus or not), as a close range rail ship or blaster ship with some extra reach, it should be quite strong.
DrakeLoses its utility high, small mass increase. Aside from the HP change (which is mainly to armour), that's about it. Also gets a big cargo buff (to 450m3) - missioners rejoice! A conservative change, but avoids bashing on Drake pilots too much after the recent HML nerf.
Edit: It's actually a small nerf for wormhole Drakes, since it no longer has a slot for a probe launcher.
BrutixGets a low slot, and a large mass decrease (about 8%). Large cargo buff (to 475m3) which is good for active tanks. Doesn't seem like much, but should combine to make the active tanked Brutix actually pretty good, while adding some extra dps and/or speed to the shield variant.
MyrmidonLoses a high slot and a turret. Gains 25m3 drone bay and 25mbit/s bandwidth, putting it at 100/175. More bandwidth than the new Prophecy but less bay, which is consistent with the rest of the Gallente/Amarr drone boat range. Big improvement if you like using the Myrm as a dedicated drone ship rather than a drone/turret combo.
CycloneBecomes a missile boat, with 5 launchers/2 turrets and a missile rate of fire bonus. Moves a high slot to a low slot, and gains 10/10 on drones to put it at 50/50. Keeps the shield boost bonus from before. CPU increase is quite big, but fitting launchers will require it. Small cargo nerf (my cap charge backbone), but don't worry - at 450m3 it's still almost the largest. Damage output will probably increase a bit (especially with HAMs), and the switch of weapon system gives it something more to offer over the Hurricane.
HurricaneLoses one of its utility highs (but doesn't lose any CPU/grid with it - it already lost those after all). Small mass increase. Unlike the other tier2s, the Hurricane actually gets a small HP
buff (the shield HP gets nerfed a tiny bit, but its negligible). Moderate cargo nerf (to 400m3), but not may people active tank 'Canes anyway. If you switched your hurricanes from dual medium neut to one medium/one small after the last change, this shouldn't change things for you very much.