Fixing Underused Capital Ships and Capital Ship Abilities
Sins Forums
Given that we're currently in beta for a new patch, I felt it would be a good time to propose some changes for a few underused capital ships and capital ship abilities.
To the developers: I disclaim all ownership of the following suggestions; if you take them, or some variation on them, I will demonstrate nothing but gratitude that they are present and usable in the finished game.
The Kol Battleship:
- Adaptive Forcefield becomes passive; benefits-over-time averaged to account for constant uptime. Because higher levels of Adaptive Forcefield have a longer duration than they do cooldown period, their values would actually need to be increased if averaged to account for increased uptime. Consequently, I propose the following compromise:
- Damage Reduction (bolded values would be increased if averaged)
- Current values: 14-23-32-40%
- Proposed values: 10-20-30-40%
- Phase Missile Block (bolded values would be increased if averaged)
- Current values: 25-42-58-75%
- Proposed values: 20-40-60-80% or 25-33-66-75%
- In addition to its current effect, Flak Burst reduces the accuracy of strike craft by 20-30-40-50% for ~10 seconds; this reduces their alpha strike damage in much the same way as the Kortul Devastator's Disruptive Nanites and the Halcyon Carrier's Telekinetic Push can entirely prevent alpha strikes
- Gauss Rail Gun now ignores Shield Mitigation (the devs have seen to this with version 1.8)
The Revelation Battlecruiser:
- In addition to its current effects, Guidance also reduces the weapon and bombardment cooldowns of all affected ships by the same amount it benefits ability cooldowns when used
- An alternative suggestion: in addition to its current effects, Guidance reduces the antimatter costs of all abilities by the same amount it reduces cooldowns.
- Clairvoyance now reveals all mines in the target system for the duration of the ability
The Radiance Battleship:
- In addition to its current effects, Energy Absorptive Armor also provides the following benefits:
- Maximum Shield Mitigation is increased by 1-2-3-4%, allowing the Radiance to endure much more damage when under fire (though it remains vulnerable to phase missiles, the armor buff from Energy Absorptive Armor helps a lot against that)
- Damage output increases by 1% per incoming enemy attack received (does not respond to friendly fire), up to a maximum of 100-200-300-400% bonus damage output; lasts for 1 minute; each incoming attack refreshes the cooldown
The Skirantra Carrier:
- In addition to its current effect, Micro-Phasing Aura also improves phase missile penetration by 1-2-3-4% for all frigates and capital ships and titans in the area
The Antorak Marauder:
- Weapon battery DPS improved in proportion to its frailty (that is, compare the Marauder's frailty to other ships of its class and buff its damage accordingly to make it a glass cannon)
- Distort Gravity
- In addition to its current effects, Distort Gravity now reduces the antimatter cost of phase jumping by 40-60-80-100%
- Instead of reducing phase jump departure range, Distort Gravity now improves phase jump chargeup speed by the same amount -- this will provide the same benefit whilst prevent fleets from being forced to reposition themselves if Distort Gravity wears off in the middle of a phase jump maneuver
- Instead of its current effects, Subversion now prevents ships belonging to the owner of a target enemy gravity well, or ships allied with the owner of a target gravity well, from phase jumping into the target gravity well for 30 seconds; 120-110-100-90 second cooldown. This ability cannot be used to target gravity wells that are neutral or friendly to the Antorak Marauder.
- Alternative duration: 10-20-30-40 seconds; alternative cooldown: 90 seconds at all levels
- Either way, this version of Subversion probably needs to apply a Heightened Security buff to the target planet to prevent Subversion from being cast on it multiple times in succession; the Heightened Securitybuff should last for for at least 90 seconds
My rationale for this suggestion: Subversion is both highly circumstantial (it only has an effect if there is an active factory or active orbital construction process in place) but also pathetic compared to Embargo, which does more economic damage and provides the TEC player money! Rather than attempt to play with the other economic values by which Subversion could be more effective against the opposing player (culture, which is more of an Advent thing; extractor income, which is actually a very Vasari thing to mess with [being expert in mining operations]; or planetary construction projects, which is more of a TEC thing to mess with), I felt that the Marauder should stick to what it does best: messing with phase space. In addition, the potential advantages to be gained by preventing reinforcements from arriving at a planet can only emphasize the Marauder's deadliness as a hit-and-run attacker.
The Rankulas Battleship:
As indicated here (https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/451038/page/1/), there seems to be some consensus that the Rankulas could be buffed. General suggestion trends are as follows:
- Combat Swarm: spawns more than one swarm per cast
- Support Swarm: spawn rate increased; heal rate for support swarms increased
- Assault Swarms: range increases with ability ranks; cooldown decreases with ability ranks
- Greater Nanite Swarm: More weapon banks and/or abilities incorporate from each swarm absorbed
The Rapture Battlecruiser:
- Agaricus notes that the damage inflicted by Vengeance is reduced by shield mitigation, even when the damage that is being reflected ignores shield mitigation. That is to say: the damage dealt by phase missiles is disproportionate to damage from phase missiles reflected by Vengeance. He feels that any hit that ignores shield mitigation that has been reflected by Vengeance should likewise ignore shield mitigation on the return strike.
Though I, personally, do not feel this is a critical change (Vengeance is a decent ability and the Rapture is an excellent ship in its own right; I use it every time I play Advent, both for Vertigo and for the incredible boost it provides to strike craft damage), the way Vengeance currently works DOES prevent Vengeance from working effectively against phase missile-equipped opponents (I'm looking at you, Vasari!); ideally, it would be fixed (if possible -- I'm not sure the ability can be programmed to deal two types of damage [one that ignores shields and one that does not, on a case-by-case basis]).
Please discuss any aspect of these suggestions. My goal, as ever, is to buff underused ships and abilities; I can't abide something that's in a game to no purpose.
. I will not add the armor buff until it's clear the Radiance really needs a specific durability boost (it's otherwise balanced). The former will be integrated into one of the options for Animosity for now.