So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

I am concerned for new players too and also for myself. This forum is full of loud screaming complaints and self entitled extremists. But I see that drop ship threads are very often calm and polite and filled with concern for our craft and a desire to make it better. I have to commend you DS guys as being amongst the upper tier of the community.

Except the one dude who was rude to the dev who posted. I need to ask you General Tiberius two things that are a puzzle to me and I imagine most :

1) Why on earth would you criticise a Dev for feedback of any kind?
2) Why on many earths would you criticise a Dev for making points relevant to thte topic of the thread, in that thread?
3) Do you really thin that the Devs all work in the same area? He commented here because this is an area of interest and specialization for him. We should be thankful at him reaching out to us. It is a hand to reach for not to slap back.

Some Specifics from my experience

I spent 7.5 million in the DS trees and then 400 000 into gun game.
My DS is good but only about 65% complete based on the skills I still Need. And my base level assault rifle and suit just annoys the people I shoot at and mainly serves to help them locate me so they can kill me before I make too much noise with my gun.

1) My PG/CPU upgrades are only half way, which leaves my ship with limited options.
2) Turrets not yet at the top tier
3) Shield Boosts are barely upgraded (Gallente ship)

As such the ship is hard to keep alive. Mainly due to a few key issues

1) Forge guns are way too powerful and hard to see. I cannot escape from a tiny dot hidden among dots that could be to my left ot right, 50 Meters away or 200 yet can hit me from rather far away.
2) AI turrets are too good at aiming.
3) The Gallente version, like the Prom seems really really slow.
4) HP seems a bit low based on current AV strength. Swarms, grenades etc all really do too much to such an expensive and hard to skill and use item.

I have more but this is long as it is. Last point. We need some mature specialists to talk to the devs. In this forum, IRC or a special password channel in game that they can come into when they want to speak to some real pilots living the role. I would love to help make us useful, but not OP. Come speak to us Pilots Devs. Some of us are people of worth.

First time I flew an eryx it felt heavy, having flown grims last build I can only imagine what you guys are going through with the new handling.

Okay tried flying a gorgon earlier, and I thought vipers felt sluggish first time I flew them. All those who choose gallente, you have my symphathy, and you have my pity.