' Wrote:You shouldn't always have a chance to walk free in a solo 5k'er
You don't fly transports much, do you? The solo 5ker can be successfully pirated by nearly anything. It dies to anything that is bomber, Ptrans, GB, cruiser. A 5ker is meant to not last under fire for long and it does not. Not even high CAU Storks make it to the base if the enemy has half of an idea. Survival times are actually so low that I find it utterly unrealistic, not only against the cruisers but even against the common GB pirate scenario.
Quote: traders would start to join forces, get escorts and so on.
So 1 player on a pirate can wreck 1 player on a trader. Fine.
1 pirate player (with good equipment + skill) can wreck 2 players in traders. Fine.
But: Groups of traders (hard to organise, not always people there, etc) should be able to have a good chance of survival... they don't after the cruiser update. It does not matter whether your all Battletransport > CAU 6 convoy runs into a cruiser or your unarmored Stork... all die. Within seconds. I tried it to make sure I know what I am talking about.
Basic line: This game says: [inferior ship class] x3 / x4 beats [superior class].
Example: 3-4 bombers (should) beat a GB, 3 GBs should beat a Cruiser, etc.... it was stated by Admins that this is wished for to reward cooperative play.
A well managed convoy had a chance to win (by blue message; it is a f..... space shooter! If I outnumber him 4:1 I want to have a chance for a blue message!) :)
How about transports? I know because I fly convoys, battletransports, escorted, organised ones, teamspeak, experienced people.
4 BTs with > CAU 4 (+ 1 Snub) + good communication + no grave mistakes => can successfully beat a GB without ship loss. A GB pirate was the worst case scenario for Battle Transports.
Against Cruiser? Virtually unlimited amount of traders + reasonable amount of snubs (more than 2 you do not take on a convoy normally) will never be able to beat the odds. 50 seconds for each CAU 6 Battletransport to poof, CD ranges that can catch everything running, and guns/missiles that even destroy you at extreme ranges without cms and without enough agility to dodge. '
Now you guys yell: transports are not meant to fight!!!!
I say: It is a space shooter.
I want to shoot at things, even in my transport when I am forced to. I have every right to enjoy that part of the game and I demand that my fun in playing this game is taken into account as well. And I am a trader player. I want the chance to kill a pirate (any class including GB) if he is dumb, and at least have a chance to get to safety in ANY situation (cruiser win condition, as blue message is out of the question).
Doesn't have to be a 100 % chance of escaping even with perfect actions on the convoy part. Not even 50 %. But I want to have one. And making this happen is the principle of balancing, of fair play, of fun for every class of player.
Quote:Really the "a transport only lasts 30 seconds vs. a cruiser in tests" is more of a Conneticut-thing
No, it is a Stuttgart thing. All my data comes from real world scenarios. Mainly in Stuttgart. Thank you to his.mother and his extensive piracy in Omegas and Rheinland borderworlds.
Quote:traders in transports using tactics (forming convoys and using escorts/scouts etc.). Official trading/mining factions have the benefit of numbers and coordination, which in many situations is the key to success. A lot of pirates/unlawfuls are un-organized and can be outsmarted/outbested by a small group of coordinated players.
All types of pirates can be outsmarted and evaded. Best by logging off and waiting for him to log off. It's great fun <irony>. So if you want players on weak ships to try and get past the traps, you need to grant them a chance of survival in case the risk they take leaves them in the "I was caught" situation.
That chance is not given. GBs are still much too powerful against traders in solo piracy. And... let's not talk about cruisers. So... what happens is: You see a known pirate, you tell your mates: "Take a break, 15 minutes, check the online list...". That's the reaction of organised players when they find out that the odds are too bad to try to best them.
Quote: "trading smart", but it is far from the majority (because it takes time and costs credits, and thus affects the overall profit), and especially for corporate ID'd 5K'ers I would like to see more convoy/scout/escort stuff.
Escorts & scouts are not around. If you do not have people/friends/faction mates, you will almost be forced to go alone. Especially new players do not have the networks to rely on. And before you say: Join a faction... there are few that do what you want to see... it is IMG| and Bowex) that fly organised, high CAU, well protected runs.
Quote:In this context it is also quite interesting that large parts of the "trader-side" always ask for more guns and armor on their 4-5K transports as a solution to all balancing issues
Trader players ask for a decent chance to survive if they did everything the right way. That includes shields that can stand bombardement by a cruiser for at least a minute or two, so that you actually have the chance to do anything before you blow up. That is not too much to ask.
They also ask for CMs now, as missiles that you cannot dodge kill you at > 3 k range. 60 seconds of thrusting and evading gets you ~ 600 m from the cruiser. Fact: You can wreck a complete convoy in < 3 minutes if you can keep all of them cd-ed.
So, yes, trader players ask for a fair chance in this -game- because they want to have fun. And dying 100 % even in a battle transport that is worth a billion credits in less than a minute (I tested it, CAU 6 Shire) just yells: balancing needs to be done.
