Trigger Warning: I am going to be speculating about speculating about unreleased content I know next to nothing about. 
Given that healing lasers are apparently going to be a thing, I would like to at least see them done in a way that both fits with the level of dedicated sci-fi I've come to expect from Elite and mitigates potential issues of long-reaching gameplay balance and exacerbating the always-present issues meta-gaming and min-maxing can present. With that in mind, here's what I would like to see:
For shield recharging, I would much rather see something like limpets that could take shield cells over to a targeted ship (that would have to lower its cargo scoop), then sacrifice its own limpety body to rig the cell into the shield array, at which point it would work like a normally-activated shield cell. I think the draw to this method for me is that it seem to fit the existing world far better, it's not instant and requires planning, making it a bit trickier to properly use in combat, it has a built-in limit on how often it can be used (how many limpets and shield cells the "healer" ship has), and it has downsides for both the ship healing and the ship doing the heals.
You could also do hull repairs on the same lines; limpets that grab some ore from your hold and use it to repair another (or you own) ship. That could open up whole new areas of gameplay; a reason to go to metal-rich rings and mine, new kinds of deep space rescue, a greater reason for exploration convoys, more possible loadout options for exploration ships... I would love it.
/heh, "trigger warning"
Given that healing lasers are apparently going to be a thing, I would like to at least see them done in a way that both fits with the level of dedicated sci-fi I've come to expect from Elite and mitigates potential issues of long-reaching gameplay balance and exacerbating the always-present issues meta-gaming and min-maxing can present. With that in mind, here's what I would like to see:
- New Utility Module: Recharge Node - I think something along this line, an external point on a ship for the "healing laser" to target that's able to receive incoming energy and properly direct it to the shield array, would make the whole thing plausible, in terms of sci-fi. Without something like this, the whole thing kind of reeks of "reverse the polarity!" cheesiness. Having to target the specific module would also have the added benefit of basically making the whole healing affair more of a hassle; it would require more thought and intention to use, it would would best when both ships are stable and near each other, it would be harder to use in the heat of combat, it would require some planning and a bit of a drawback on the part of the person receiving the heals, it's less "magic"-feeling than a healing insta-beam. It would basically help make it less of a silly gimmick and more of an actual sci-fi thing. You could even have the modules have the normal E to A grades, with higher grades having a higher maximum input-rate cap. This makes more technical sense than a healing free-for-all, while still allowing for multiple ships to combine their healing for greater effectiveness if depending on the modules/weapons used.
- Recharge Laser Draws From Both SYS and WEP - In terms of existing game mechanics, I think this makes sense. It also gives more downsides to healing than just using WEP, and would help limit its strength in a potential new combat meta.
- Recharge Via Laser Causes Excess Heat - This shouldn't be combined with a new utility module (that would be too much), but rather would be a less-desirable alternative. In this scenario, being healed would cause excess heat, same as a SCB. Again, the goal is to ensure that there's thought to its use, and downside to the receiving ship. Technically, you could kill a teammate with this, but I think the fact that it's wing only would mitigate that enough.
For shield recharging, I would much rather see something like limpets that could take shield cells over to a targeted ship (that would have to lower its cargo scoop), then sacrifice its own limpety body to rig the cell into the shield array, at which point it would work like a normally-activated shield cell. I think the draw to this method for me is that it seem to fit the existing world far better, it's not instant and requires planning, making it a bit trickier to properly use in combat, it has a built-in limit on how often it can be used (how many limpets and shield cells the "healer" ship has), and it has downsides for both the ship healing and the ship doing the heals.
You could also do hull repairs on the same lines; limpets that grab some ore from your hold and use it to repair another (or you own) ship. That could open up whole new areas of gameplay; a reason to go to metal-rich rings and mine, new kinds of deep space rescue, a greater reason for exploration convoys, more possible loadout options for exploration ships... I would love it.
/heh, "trigger warning"
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