Discussion: What upgrades are required to justify equipping their components?

[Nemarus]

Not a balance thread at all! Just nerdy theorycrafting to pass the time.

 

If you considered each upgrade on every component, which ones--if removed or replaced--would result in significant numbers of players no longer using the component?

 

I'm not going to lend much thought to components that already aren't generally worth using, such as Plasma Railgun, Ion Missile, or Interdiction Drive. I'm mainly talking about components that decent numbers of people actually use.

 

Ones that come to mind for me:

 

-Missile break on Distortion Field. Lots of people would still use DF without its missile break, but a lot of people would switch to something else I think.

 

-Armor Piercing on Heavy Laser Cannons. HLC's have awesome range and nice shield-piercing gravy, but without Armor Piercing, I think you'd see a lot of people switch to Quads.

 

-Cost reduction on Directional Shield. This one is so mandatory that you shouldn't even equip Directional until you've bought this upgrade.

 

-Reduced Cooldown on Overcharged Shield. This shield is already rarely used. If its active were limited to once a minute, I doubt anyone would take it.

 

-Cost reduction on Power Dive. If Power Dive weren't free, it'd probably lose out to Retro, or even Snap Turn or K-turn, on some builds.

 

-Cooldown reduction on Power Dive. If Power Dive couldn't be used every ten seconds, it'd probably lose out to Retro, or even Snap Turn or K-turn, on some builds.

 

-Cooldown reduction on the sentry drones. This really only matters for the T3 Bomber, who would surely elect a mine instead of a drone if they had a 90 second cooldown.

 

-Regen During Damage on Quick-charge shields. I think the few people who use this shield wouldn't keep it without this ugprade--but I don't ever use it so I'm not an expert.

 

Otherwise, I don't think any component is dependent on any particular upgrade to be useful (excluding already useless components). Everything else... mines, drones, Charged Plating, all the non-HLC lasers, Slug and Ion Railguns... etc. Most justify their use in their stock effects, and the upgrades are just bonus gravy.

[tunewalker]

Most of yours are spot on except the Quick charge one, I could totally see using it with the CD reduction on the on use, The REAL reason its used is for the mobility boost on strikes....

 

 

Edit: I have honestly thought that it might be BETTER with the CD reduction then it would be with the continued regen for certain situations.....

Edited April 1, 2015 by tunewalker

[RickDagles]

I think the T5 upgrade on targetting telemetry is huge. If that was removed, we'd see a lot more blaster overcharge. TT may still be the best choice in scout wars due to the increased evasion and accuracy, but overall blaster overcharge would probably better.

 

The armor piercing on BLC is also huge in Domination. I think that would kill the BLC/cluster build and you'd see a lot more BLC/pod and Quad/Pod.

Edited April 1, 2015 by RickDagles

[nyghtrunner]

Quick Boost (T5 - Left) out of Booster Recharge.

 

That enables my build on the T2 Scout. Without that instant 20%, I simply cannot justify it over TT, which forces at a minimum Regeneration Thrusters over Turning. So yeah. Without that, my build doesn't exist for me.

[Ramalina]

Barrel Roll without the cooldown and cost reduction. Gunships are still sort of forced into it, not because it's still good but because they don't have another option.

 

Cluster missiles without shield piercing and double volley are also pretty weak. On a strike it makes concussion missiles potentially a better choice, depending on how many double breaks you're shooting at.

[zaskar]

This has nothing to do with this thread but people need to learn to use the other engine maneuvers, power dive, retros and barrel are all so predictable it's become simple for gunship pilots to hit people in maneuver.

[RickDagles]

The only reason to use K-turn is to break missiles without pulling yourself off of a SAT. I hardly think a GS player couldn't adjust to shooting a player after he does a tight 180 loop de loop.

 

Snap turn is pretty cool but I can't really find a purpose for it.

 

Also I disagree with double volley on cluster. I always go for DoT with extra range and extra firing arc.

Edited April 3, 2015 by RickDagles

[Zharik]

The only reason to use K-turn is to break missiles without pulling yourself off of a SAT. I hardly think a GS player couldn't adjust to shooting a player after he does a tight 180 loop de loop.

K-Turn is useful for getting a break from the pursuit if they are using something like Barrel Roll or Retro. Resetting the fight is sometimes useful.

Snap turn is pretty cool but I can't really find a purpose for it.

Snap Turn is K-Turn with zero vertical (based on your view) movement... much safer in tight quarters than K-Turn. Also, see above.

Also I disagree with double volley on cluster. I always go for DoT with extra range and extra firing arc.

While I agree that you can easily run out of ammo with double volley, the extra damage pretty much makes it superior in terms of damage output. Now I *do* use the plasma (DoT) version to delay shield regen for hunting things that have too much to go through in one pass, like bombers.

[RickDagles]

K-Turn is useful for getting a break from the pursuit if they are using something like Barrel Roll or Retro. Resetting the fight is sometimes useful.

 

Snap Turn is K-Turn with zero vertical (based on your view) movement... much safer in tight quarters than K-Turn. Also, see above.

 

While I agree that you can easily run out of ammo with double volley, the extra damage pretty much makes it superior in terms of damage output. Now I *do* use the plasma (DoT) version to delay shield regen for hunting things that have too much to go through in one pass, like bombers.

 

 

Snap turn gives you a boost at the end, which would make you either smash into the satellite or be pulled away from the satellite (which could cause it to go neutral or red).

 

When double volley lands it does more damage, but I find it's just so easy to release more missiles when you have range and firing arc. And that usually results in more total damage for me over the course of a match. And yes, it's nice to prevent most scouts and bombers from regenerating shields for 12 seconds. I think it's a personal preference thing and certainly a real choice.

Edited April 3, 2015 by RickDagles

[AgentRobP]

This has nothing to do with this thread but people need to learn to use the other engine maneuvers, power dive, retros and barrel are all so predictable it's become simple for gunship pilots to hit people in maneuver.

 

Each of those 3 have utility outside of missile breaks and evading gunship fire (mobility/closing gaps, and offensively for extra time on target). What utility do the other engine maneuvers provide that can compare?

 

And, presumably, gunships would get good at hitting the remaining engine abilities if they were used more. It might be a temporary advantage, but not a reliable one. At that point, you have less utility and no advantage over the 3 most common engine maneuvers.

[AgentRobP]

When double volley lands it does more damage, but I find it's just so easy to release more missiles when you have range and firing arc. And that usually results in more total damage for me over the course of a match. And yes, it's nice to prevent most scouts and bombers from regenerating shields for 12 seconds. I think it's a personal preference thing and certainly a real choice.

 

It can also depend on the situation. If you're in a match where you're dying often enough that ammunition isn't a concern, the extra damage from double volley is probably going to help out more.

 

On the other hand, in a carry or endurance match (where you die less, but each death is potentially a critical setback to your team), the extra ammunition from the DoT choice goes a long way. And, like you said, you can end up doing more damage over the course of the match and hampering shield regen also helps.

 

(It also depends on the ship. The T2 Strike has enough ammo that double cluster is still plenty of ammo for most matches, even without dying. But that's not the ship you're going to be flying in a tight match.).