Boosting Defenses

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by The Big Brzezinski, Jan 13, 2023.

  1. The Big Brzezinski

    The Big Brzezinski Captain

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    TLDR; When a vessel is boosting, turrets do not shoot at it on their own.

    Turrets still track their targets, and will blast away normally once the vessel stops boosting. For fairness, turrets aboard the boosting vessel do not automatically fire, either. Only pilots' fixed weapons and turrets directly controlled by players may shoot while boosting. Entity-type enemies like drones and ground forces would be unaffected by boosting and shoot normally.


    The idea is to turn boosting from a niche trick into a mainline combat mechanic. Fights against POIs and OPVs are notoriously attrition heavy affairs where players either materially overpower a target's defenses or bypass them entirely. Making temporary immunity from turrets part of boosting turns it into a limited resource players can use to attack otherwise unassailable targets if they manage it properly. So boost energy management would become an important combat skill to master.

    The largest effect would be on SVs. These vessels boast the most fixed weaponry, but rarely can use any of it because of their fragility. Windows of attack are few, far between, and usually a result of an exploitable deficiency in the target. This change to boosting allows SVs to create their own windows of attack. It's no free lunch, however. If you misjudge your distance or timing, you'll run out of boost energy in the face of the enemy.

    HVs will affected to a lesser degree. They will be unable to use their turrets and boost to avoid damage simultaneously, so boosting for them will be more for repositioning and escape. A second player controlling a turret ignores this problem, however, and such teamwork should always be reward. Some may opt for fixed weapons instead, which are more limited but still quite formidable. Designing an HV with sufficient pitch authority to use lasers, railguns, and machine guns as its main weapons while boosting instead of turrets would be an interesting challenge.

    The main effects on CVs and BAs would be in pvp. Even relatively simple boost-capable SVs would represent not-inconsiderable threats to both structures. The lone boosting SV would have the advantage against the lone CV. This increased vulnerability to SVs would place much for value on these vessels for both attack and defense. Long range strike SVs would warp from their carrier to raid enemy bases. Defending against these would be players in interceptors hoping to, if not shoot their attackers down, at least distract them into using up their boost within range of their base's turrets. Large battleships would have to be escorted by fighters. Smaller destroyers might rely on their maneuverability and CV-grade fixed weaponry to to protect their allies from attacking SVs, wiping them from the sky. And of course, when a player takes control of their turrets directly, boosting ceases to be a factor. So having extra crew for operating turrets could make a big difference.


    So, there's the idea. I think it fixes most of SVs' problems and has a lot of positive secondary effects. It would certainly give SVs their own identity and utility separate from CVs.
     
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  2. The Big Brzezinski

    The Big Brzezinski Captain

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    Did I forget to mention that HVs get boosting as part of this idea? HVs get boosting as part of this idea. CVs don't.
     
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