Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Titan Tracking Issues Revisited (Changes Announced)

Looks like I got that Titan tracking post out just in time. CCP released the official changes today via CCP Greyscale in this forum post. The changes were a pretty short list, but it seems like it could be effective.
  • Base Titan tracking is halved
  • Scan Resolution dropped to 5
  • Max locked targets changed to 3
 I can't really knock any of these changes. I like that CCP decided to combat the issue not by nerfing the tracking all to hell but also by affecting targeting matters. A scan resolution of 5 is really, really low. CCP intelligently based this number on officer grade Sensor Boosters, which makes sense given that Titan pilots don't normally object too strongly to pimping these ships a bit. The maximum of 3 locked targets seems a bit weird to me in terms of immersion, but I understand it from a technical point of view (Immersion-wise, the most advanced ship in the game can only lock up 3 ships? Ehh). So CCP's general thought was "cut the tracking, but let's also cut down on how quickly they are able to lock up sub-capitals." I can't really argue with that. Let's look at the numbers.

I'm not going to run through the full analysis from yesterday, but here's a couple side-by-sides.
Pre-Nerf
Post Nerf
Its pretty darn clear that Drakes have a much better shot at survival now. The lock time is going go up as well, so hopefully this gives a fleet of Drakes a chance. 

The Tornado saw similar increases as well. And if you remember from yesterday's post, they weren't in too terrible of shape already.

Pre Nerf

Post Nerf

The Tornado now looks almost like the AB Thorax from yesterday. Tier 3 BC's could be really effective in anti-capital fleets, especially with the new changes in mind. Just keep moving.

The changes that CCP Greyscale proposed look pretty solid to me. The primary use of Titans probably shouldn't be to rip apart cruisers and battlecruisers. With these changes, they won't be able to do that. The occasional tracking fit Titan will still be able to one shot some BC's, but it should be much less of a regular occurrence. With the 3 target max, I'd also think they'd be more inclined to shoot larger targets, but we'll see how that works out. I've got to applaud CCP for these changes. Titans are still mega powerful, but they're more in balance with the role they're supposed to have. 

I'd also like to applaud CCP for knowing when to throw out the bad ideas. Check out some of Greyscale's potential "rebalancing" ideas in that forum thread. Example: Titans can't lock subcapitals. Wtf? I don't know if there was any CSM involvement in this whole discussion, but either way I'm glad that some of these terrible ideas got taken off the table.

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