Franconis
Gallente Down In Flames
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Posted - 2007.10.22 20:29:00 -
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My carrier was blown up recently (PC overheated while I was agressed ftl), and I honestly have to say that if these changes hit TQ I won't buy another one. I'm sure it's been done in this thread, but I'd like to go through the pros and cons of flying a carrier to show why I won't fly one.
Pros: Jump drive Fighters Gang Bonuses Remote support Triage Ship Maintenance Bay
Cons: Easy Target Very Expensive VERY long training
At first glance, this looks like a great deal, but the Pros aren't quite as nice as they would seem.
Jump drive. The jump drive has great logistical capabilities and it allows you to move straight to the battlefield, which is a nice tactical feature. However, the fact that cyno fields are visible on the f10 map and on the overview makes each cyno visible to anyone anywhere. This is basically a 'come kill me' flag and is not a desirable quality in such an expensive ship. The Rorqual carries far more supplies than any carrier but doesn't jump quite as far. It is generally a much better choice than carriers for hauling supplies.
Fighters. Fighters are great in that they are quick, you can assign them to friends, they follow targets in warp, and they follow you in warp. Each fighter does a base damage of ~50 dps before skills, and 100 dps with fighters V. fighters V and carrier V each take about two months to train, but after that a normal carrier can unleash about 1000 dps and gallente carriers get 1250 dps. This of course is without DCUs. At 15-20m isk per fighter, 10 of them is about comparable to a BS in terms of damage output and price.
Gang Bonuses. Gang Bonuses are great, but it seems to me that a Fleet Command Ship can do just as well as a carrier if not better in that regard. A command ship isn't as tough as a carrier, but it is much more maneuverable and much cheaper than a carrier.
Remote Support. Carriers are great at remote support, I gotta give them that. However, they have trouble locking gangmates fast enough to support them, and they are usually sensor dampened pretty hard which doesn't help matters. A Logistics cruiser is probably a better choice for remote support because it locks faster, it's cheaper, and it can align for warp faster than a carrier.
Triage. It solves all of the logistical and tanking problems of a carrier. the problem is simply that you cannot be remotely supported and the opponent will just wait until you come out of triage to warp scramble and pop you. Triage doesn't seem to be a popular choice from the carrier pilots that I've talked to.
Ship Maintenance Bay. This is an excellent feature of the Carrier. Combined with the jump drive, this can become extremely useful. Sure you can refit or use one of these at a POS, but you might not always have a POS handy.
cons:
Easy Target. Capital ships take forever to align for warp, and once warp scrambled with just one point they're not going to jump either. They are incredibly easy to tackle and that will be even more true with the new interceptor changes.
Very Expensive. A carrier costs about 1 billion isk, with roughly 1 billion isk to fit it out with insurance, fighters, T2 modules etc. Ofc it costs more to use faction/officer gear which isn't uncommon. Skillbooks for all necessarry skills total about 1 billion as well.
Long Skill Training. I trained an alt for a carrier and a few logistical things. Carriers with basic skills take about a year just to be able to use to a decent level. Add another year to that to get your skills to a level where you can use the ship effectively.
In my opinion, carriers are just too vulnerable to be practical. It doesn't take more than a small gang to kill one, and the required investment is above and beyond it's capabilities. Add a fighter nerf, and it can't even defend itself. No thanks. _________ I R teh Minnie Meanie |