Of course, the context changed drastically. But that doesn't change the fact that the significance the Vulture once held is totally lost after the exaggerated buffing of the FdL. In fact, it's made even worse by the factors you mentioned: if getting money wasn't so easy nowadays, the Vulture would at least retain some of it's importance for players until they get enough money to buy an FdL, which is sadly a way to short timespan now.
1.2 vs 2.2 FDL: A comparison
- Thread starter Alexander the Grape
- Start date
Of course, the context changed drastically. But that doesn't change the fact that the significance the Vulture once held is totally lost after the exaggerated buffing of the FdL. In fact, it's made even worse by the factors you mentioned: if getting money wasn't so easy nowadays, the Vulture would at least retain some of it's importance for players until they get enough money to buy an FdL, which is sadly a way to short timespan now.
great review
ive had 650m burning a hole in my pocket
just nipping into our friendly dealer at shinny to see what he can do for me
im keeping the pressure up for free mats and an upgraded sound system (in RNG terms this will end up being an AM radio cassette player from the 80's that eats c120's)
ive had 650m burning a hole in my pocket
just nipping into our friendly dealer at shinny to see what he can do for me
im keeping the pressure up for free mats and an upgraded sound system (in RNG terms this will end up being an AM radio cassette player from the 80's that eats c120's)
But that supposes that there's only one ecosystem, which is a simplistic view of ecological relationships. Even apex predators can be brought low by eating the wrong thing or by straying out of their niche. Is it a pack-focussed savannah hunter, a lone jungle ambush predator, a 200 ton filter feeder (Blue Whales eat krill by the ton, and no one but no one is going to mess with a Blue Whale), or a flexible, nimble biped with the sole advantage that it's naked and can sweat from all over its body, thus allowing it to literally run down far stronger and faster prey over the course of a couple of hours?
The OP's point is that the FdL is OP. Ironically, this is exactly the kind of point you were making in your recent thread about weapon balance - there's more than one way to skin a cat, just not in the E:D universe.
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Leave the FDL and it's comparable ships as they are, but bring the FDL's price back up to 100 million or so, or at least 70-80 million.
I'm a Python aficionado, for what it's worth.
I'm a Python aficionado, for what it's worth.
I've never flown a Python, but I fought one the other day flown by a very skilled pilot who'd had his uber engineered in every way imaginable. 5A Prismatics and 2x 6 SCB's. He told me he could put a third bank in without breaking a sweat. More than enough shielding to take anything an FdL could throw at him like water off a duck's back. I think the idea that the FdL is clearly going to stomp a Python is false.
Nerfing the FdL's ridiculous advantages would bring back the range-rage threads.
Which do you prefer?
Honestly thinking about halting progress on my Vulture and engineering this instead. I thought the Vulture was the undisputed king of the turn, but your infographic says it's not so!
Thank you for the PSA op. I wonder if that was your intention?
Honest opinions guys, equally engineered, does the FdL outclass the V in maneuverability or does it just outgun it?
Unless the FdL has a Cascade Rail. In which case the Python pilot would have to be very very careful. The days of the Duracell bunny Python, are no more (at least most of the time).
I very very rarely see Pythons in PvP and I've flown a Python, pretty much exclusively in PvP since its original release.
Both engineered fully, the Vulture is more maneuverable
@Arc, yes, I haven't seen many in PvP myself either, but the one that I did see would be a most unwelcome eye opener for any FdL pilot who just saw a Python and assumed superiority based on ship class
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Vulture can still turn better, but Dirty Drives make everything turn so well and move so fast that the marginal differences become mostly irrelevant in PvP situations. Reverski maneuvers are stronger than ever, and the class 3 hardpoint's relevance is siginificantly weakened in a MC/Shield meta
Looks good to me. I'm a big fan of my FDL.
It seems to be the much dreaded "way of least resistance" now, something that FD says they normally try to prevent.
I am not happy that gamers often just seem to ask for this one ultimate ship / character class / whatever, effectively limiting their choice to it.
The FDL is an ace pew pew vessel, especially modded to the hilt. It's bloody awful for anything else. The design of ED is different ships for different roles, this is supercharged by Engineer mods (and now ship transfer).
Time to buy an FDL
Ugh, until the reverski is removed or nerfed into oblivion no balancing between ships will make it even vaguely interesting...
Personally I think it's a series of possibly unintended coincidences being magnified by 2.1 into something that has become the only viable medium ship choice for PvP.
The FdL as originally designed and released had a great base shield modifier but a gimped powerplant meaning that it couldn't even fit 6 boosters except running all cannons, and hence couldn't maximise SCB's, and also had awful pitch. Because of the power issue, its utilities were pretty much for show or PvE in those days, beyond double chaff.
Now it has good pitch, the powerplant of a Clipper, the ability to fit all the best weapons and all the boosters at the same time, and utilities have become the king of all modules by reason mainly of heavy duty boosters - which magnify the base shield modifier. It's the powerplant facilitating the weapon and booster stacking that is the real issue.
The powerplant can't be changed now (and could be modded back up anyway) but the stacking of an OP utility needs to be dealt with in some way.
The ability to attack or in other ways balance against heavy duty boosters seems to me one way of dealing with this combination without directly nerfing the FdL itself.
Alternatively of course FDev could just dial back on heavy duty boosters but I have yet to see them mentioned - why no diminishing returns? Heavy duty boosters pull the teeth of the PA buff.
Even if booster stacking is dealt with, utilities will be like gold dust so long as emissive and missiles are so strong after shield drops - a four utilities ship struggles to cover all the bases.
Other medium ships such as the Python could therefore be considered for an extra couple of utilities. But this has been suggested for a while now and nothing has happened.
The FdL as originally designed and released had a great base shield modifier but a gimped powerplant meaning that it couldn't even fit 6 boosters except running all cannons, and hence couldn't maximise SCB's, and also had awful pitch. Because of the power issue, its utilities were pretty much for show or PvE in those days, beyond double chaff.
Now it has good pitch, the powerplant of a Clipper, the ability to fit all the best weapons and all the boosters at the same time, and utilities have become the king of all modules by reason mainly of heavy duty boosters - which magnify the base shield modifier. It's the powerplant facilitating the weapon and booster stacking that is the real issue.
The powerplant can't be changed now (and could be modded back up anyway) but the stacking of an OP utility needs to be dealt with in some way.
The ability to attack or in other ways balance against heavy duty boosters seems to me one way of dealing with this combination without directly nerfing the FdL itself.
Alternatively of course FDev could just dial back on heavy duty boosters but I have yet to see them mentioned - why no diminishing returns? Heavy duty boosters pull the teeth of the PA buff.
Even if booster stacking is dealt with, utilities will be like gold dust so long as emissive and missiles are so strong after shield drops - a four utilities ship struggles to cover all the bases.
Other medium ships such as the Python could therefore be considered for an extra couple of utilities. But this has been suggested for a while now and nothing has happened.
As a known FDL supporter, I would actually like to see some new ships come into the game that can rival the FDL.
My engineered FDL is just terrifying, second only to my new highly engineered corvette, which is even more scarier..
Buffing the python isnt the best solution imho it is a multirole ship, not designed for combat, but giving it another 1-2 util slots I think could work.
What we need is some new combat specific ships whose sole role is to challenge the FDL and even Corvette.
My engineered FDL is just terrifying, second only to my new highly engineered corvette, which is even more scarier..
Buffing the python isnt the best solution imho it is a multirole ship, not designed for combat, but giving it another 1-2 util slots I think could work.
What we need is some new combat specific ships whose sole role is to challenge the FDL and even Corvette.
Part of the problem is that U-Slots are hard-baked into ships like hardpoints. You can't add more without redoing the ship model; a lot of effort.
Maybe the answer lies in class 2 utility slots? You could fit two different utilities on the same slot. Shield boosters have a pretty irrelevant model anyway...