Shadow of Cerberus EVE Community Forum

Here are variables I think need consideration, be they confirmed or supposition, that I've found out, read elsewhere or spent far too long thinking about. I could be right, a little right or (more likely) totally wrong but these to me are things we need consider when rebalancing Capital Ships.

Tiericide

It is clear from Tiericide (that started in Odyssey) that ships are being given defined roles: 

Combat, Attack, Support and other roles are being introduced and ships updated to fit into not just these but any categories CCP want and if it happens to sub-capitals it is a good bet it will happen to capitals.

However try to fit current capital ships into the known Tiericide groups and you'll find that they don't fit exactly into just one group. Two or three at least for most capitals and they don't just sit well (with me) in just one group. Capitals are adaptable and having a singular role seems to defeat the purpose to me.

I certainly think they should be good at one or two things but mediocre or poor at others but they certainly should not be strong across the board, as I think most are now.

If we take the example from the sub-capitals then capitals must fit into one group within Tiericide but the question is where. Current capitals certainly fit but in more than one group in most cases so does this mean that any rebalancing will see major role changes, hints given by CCP on the forums (in the form of vague comments) seems to be yes.

But do we really need to pigeon hole capital ships into a group, surely it makes it more interesting from a players point of view to be able to use ships that can adapt or change as a tactical or logistical situation demands?

Capital ships are good today because they have/can:

• high HP
• high damage
• adaptable Roles
• act as force multipliers in sub-capital engagements
• mobility

Pigeon holing capitals may limit their use and changing how they are may result in a significant decrease in use. I certainly don't want to see this, allow capitals to remain "swiss army knife" like but limit their mobility (that's happened already with the introduction of jump timers).

New Ships

Capital ships now are limited but one positive thing from having Tiericide is the possibility that new ships will be released. Existing ships have their Roles changed but new ships are bought into fit into new Roles or uses.


I've seen a new Chimera model on Reddit recently and this, aside from looking very good, could indicate that development resources are being spent on capital ships. If they are looking at the existing ones then its very possible that new ones are being developed too, we just haven't seen any information being released, yet.

Sovereignty 2.0

CCP Fozzie's details on changes to Sovereignty after Summer 2015 are worth reading and definitely will impact on the use of Capitals within New Eden.

Sovereignty 1.0 (Dominion, and current status) is defined by high HP structures that need to be shot (ground) in order to take control. Sovereignty 2.0 (Scylla and beyond) is changing this and introducing new methods to take control of structures but also significantly reducing the HP existing sov structures have.

No longer will an attacking force need several dozen capital ships to reinforce and then conquer sov structures. I say no longer, but there will be a need to protect and establish a dominance not just on grid but also within the constellation in order to successfully conquer space.

Opening the Gates

One of the most appreciated changes to Capital ships in 2015 has been the ability to now use jump gates. No longer are capitals limited to jump drives and cynos, they can use standard gates albeit they are still unable to enter high sec space.

If Capitals can use gates then it allows them to move around a lot more freely and, combined with the new Drifter Battleships be a sign that high sec will no longer be closed to them?


The Drifter Battleships are a new opponent that is both tough and unforgiving. Just look at zKillboard for the ships lost each day to these NPC's. The main ship people consider "should be able to kill them", the Marauder, certainly has difficulty in taking on a solo Drifter let alone three or more that you often see at sites.

In low and null sec carriers have been the ships that kill Drifter Battleships, not without losses though, but on the whole a carrier does better at tanking the super weapon of the Drifter than any other ship.

With gates being open to capitals will we (and I hope so) finally see the removal of the last restriction, entry into high sec? I want to say yes, having capitals in high sec will certainly result in a lot of interesting things happening but also makes a lot sense in terms with the Tiericide and Sov changes.

You Wrote Too Much

Yeah I know, 750 words is my aim per day but this has been a lot (A LOT) more than that but I've managed to whittle it down to this. However I really wanted to show these possible variables as they could (and some probably will) have an influence on the balancing of Capital Ships.