Hello, I've seen numerous "idea" topics these days. Here I'd like to share a total capital ships classes overhaul. We will start from the smallest ships to the bigger ones.
Destroyers/Cruisers
Now, these two are pretty much the same in this game. So here's what I'm suggesting:
Destroyers should become the lighter ones. Smaller than the Cruisers but not by much. Better agility, less armor but heavier armament. That's right. This class should be able to have more heavy slots than the Cruisers at the expense of turret numbers. Destroyers would become fast but fragile heavy hitters. Snipers or even missile boats. That's how I see destroyers.
Cruisers should feature better armor, less agility and less heavy slots but increased number of turrets. Destroyer parameters:
Base hull: 200.000 - 270.000
Turrets: 7 - 9
Turn rate: 22.92 - 26.74 Cruise parameters:
Base hull: 280.000 - 375.000
Turrets: 10 - 12
Turn rate: 16.11 - 22.54
Battleships/Dreadnoughts
Again, there are minor differences between the two classes. What I'm suggesting is... glorious
1. Battleships being split in 2 sub-classes: Light BS and Medium BS
2. Heavy BS renamed to Dreadnoughts and made stronger. Light BS parameters:
Base hull: 700.000 - 800.000
Turrets: 13 - 15
Turn rate: 11 - 13.20 Medium BS parameters:
Base hull: 820.000 - 1.000.000
Turrets: 16 - 18
Turn rate: 9.85 - 10.77 Dreadnought parameters:
Base hull: 1.150.000 - 1.650.000
Turrets: 19 - 22
Turn rate: 8.66 - 9.60
1 docking module slot
Carriers
The idea is simple here. Turn the Carriers into support ships for snubs, not capitals. They would mostly work as the present days carriers work. Big and clumsy bricks with no real power against other capital ships but with a major surprise hidden inside. These ships should be able to mount a lot and I mean A LOT of anti-snub weaponry (solaris, flaks and razors) and maybe one heavy slot for missiles or some long range heavy hitter.
The Carriers should also be split into 4 (yes, 4) sub-classes: Ultralight Carrier
Base hull: 600.000 - 700.000
Turrets: 15 - 19
Turn rate: 11.46 - 12
2 docking module slots Light Carrier
Base hull: 800.000 - 1.000.000
Turrets: 20 - 24
Turn rate: 10.31 - 11.00
3 docking module slots Medium Carrier
Base hull: 1.100.000 - 1.400.000
Turrets: 25 - 29
Turn rate: 9.60 - 10.08
5 docking module slots Heavy Carrier
Base hull: 1.500.000 - 1.700.000
Turrets: 30 - 34 + 1 heavy slot
Turn rate: 8.66 - 9.12
6 docking module slots
Now, we know that there should be some kind of rock - paper - scissor balance so here's how I see things.
Destroyers are anti-capital vessels (Battlecruisers and up). The problem for Destroyers is that they have limited defense against snubs. They're also very fragile so if caught by the bigger caps, they're roasted. A Carrier caught alone by a Destroyer is dead meat, unless his snubs can provide protection.
Cruisers are mostly anti-destroyers and anti-gunboats. They pack a punch but can't really get into a brawl with anything bigger than a Battlecruiser. Their agility is helping them evade the big ones.
Battleships are the general workhorse of any navy. Factions that rely heavily on capital ships might even have Dreadnoughts. Both classes are versatile ships fit for fighting against everything big. Bombers and Destroyers are their biggest enemy. Let's just say that a lone Dreadnought would be unable to hold its own against 2 bombers or a bomber and a Destroyer.
Carriers are supposed to stay away from the brawl and serve as a resupply platform for their snubs. Now I don't know if this is possible through FL Hook but such limitation would be required. Docking with your carrier would not count as PvP death and you could resupply. Carriers also have a higher number of bots/bats to allow them to supply all their fighters once without taking from the Carrier's stash. Here's an example:
Base bots: 1900
Additional bots: 80 for each docking bay slot
In case of a medium carrier, that would be 2300 bots.