Sabotage Limpet Controller

[TheDragon2001]

As the title suggests, these limpets would sabotage other vessels.
As is standard the class and grade of the controller would determine how many limpets could be active at once. The grade of the controller would also determine the limpet's active time, max range, and damage per second. For number active, flight speed, and max range, these could be comparable to hatch-breakers.
When launched, the limpets would fly to the target and land on the hull. Without a subsystem targeted, they would first target the ships weapons and attempt to shut them down (not necessarily entirely destroy). With a specific subsystem targeted, the limpets would go for that subsystem. If the targeted systems was internal, the limpets would first have to get through the hull (this could be expressed as dealing 1-2% hull damage) before they could get to work on the system.
Once the limpets completed their assigned work, they would begin targeting random systems near the one they had shut down, or they could be given a new target.
As with hatch-breakers, a point defense turret would attempt to destroy incoming sabotage limpets.

 

[khalismur]

As one who thinks limpets are an awesome feature but somewhat underutilized, I like your suggestion. Some clever and fun builds could possibly turn up, specially for small ships dealing with Large fish.

Along with your suggestion, the Impulse Limpet Controller has been also proposed more than once. They'd be a pirate's best friend by sticking to the target and attempting to lower the magnitude of it's velocity vector. Each deployed limped would have an Impulse that'd be applied to the target ship with that purpose (meaning the amount of limpets needed to stop a ship would depend on its mass)

Wish the Limpet system was a bit further explored, specially for combat applications.

 

[Stabby_Dave]

Not for me. A T9 with these fitted would be able to overwhelm a ship's point defence and pretty much destroy it. It'd be massively overpowered. As for the "impulse limpet controller", that'd be a boon. it's a pita trying to bring a ship to a halt.

 

[Factabulous]

Why do you want that? Just to grief other players?

Sounds like another idea where the OP never thought 'But what if people used them on me....'

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Not for me. A T9 with these fitted would be able to overwhelm a ship's point defence and pretty much destroy it. It'd be massively overpowered. As for the "impulse limpet controller", that'd be a boon. it's a pita trying to bring a ship to a halt.

A single ECM pulse would take out all of them at once, and most ships can outrun a limpet. Like hatchbreakers, they'd be more an annoyance than a serious threat in most cases.

They'd also have to do relatively little module damage per limpet to be balanced against the existing seeker missiles and packhounds (after all, these are basically a slow seeker missile with shield breach), and every internal committed to controllers or limpet storage is one which isn't being used on HRPs so you'd also be a relatively weak target yourself.

Any ship that a pile of these limpets could take out is likely considerably more vulnerable to the classic "full volley of frag cannons" anyway.



...and it does also make a refreshing change to see people asking for even more types of limpet controller.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Interesting idea. It might encourage some players to remove some of those SBs and replace them with PDTs.

Personally i always have at least 1 PDT on all my ships (except exploration), sometimes multiple. My combat Anaconda has 4. Missiles don't even get close.

 

[Jmanis]

Ooof. That sounds pretty OP.

 

[Thepirateorc]

Why do you want that? Just to grief other players?

Sounds like another idea where the OP never thought 'But what if people used them on me....'

Grief other players?
This sounds more like pvp, something that perfectly ok to do in the game.

 

[Factabulous]

Grief other players?
This sounds more like pvp, something that perfectly ok to do in the game.

PvP is fine - this sounds like something people would just sit outside the NFZ with, firing at random passing ships for the lulz

I can't see anyone using something as slow and easily defeated as a limpet in PvP, but I am no expert. Which is why I asked

 

[Thepirateorc]

PvP is fine - this sounds like something people would just sit outside the NFZ with, firing at random passing ships for the lulz

I can't see anyone using something as slow and easily defeated as a limpet in PvP, but I am no expert. Which is why I asked

Everyone plays for their fun right?

 

[Factabulous]

Everyone plays for their fun right?

Judging by the forums no - everyone hates playing, it gets in the way of the grind. But you're dragging this off-topic - forum PvP I guess

 

[Stabby_Dave]

Not a fan of any weapon which directly bypasses shields.

 

[Jmanis]

Not a fan of any weapon which directly bypasses shields.

Not a fan of Cytos + Phasing Sequence then?

 

[Stabby_Dave]

Not particularly, no.

 

[Greasetrap42]

I always wondered why hatchbreaker limpets don't carry a grenade with them. Open the hatch, toss it in. Or quickly toss sticky bombs on the outer hull of a ship. Or latch on to the enemy ship's canopy and do nasty things.

Not a fan of any weapon which directly bypasses shields.

Agreed. I don't understand shields. Sci-Fy shields are often weird with strange, arbitrary, loose rules of behavior.

 

[Bigmaec]

Buzzdroids?
You want Buzzdroids?
No

 

[Chrystoph]

I love the way Limpets Always have some magical method of bypassing the Shield mechanics while bullets, missles, etc are stopped unless they have a special effect...

PFM solutions, gotta luv'm!

 

[TheDragon2001]

I love the way Limpets Always have some magical method of bypassing the Shield mechanics while bullets, missles, etc are stopped unless they have a special effect...

PFM solutions, gotta luv'm!

I figure the shields don't block things going too slowly. Otherwise an Anaconda wouldn't fit through an airlock nor would any ship be able to land with shields up. Limpets have the AI and thrusters to slow enough to bypass the shields. Missiles don't so they're still going full speed when they hit the shield.