[Assault & logistics issues]
The slayer logi issue originates from the logis to tank more HP than their assault counterparts, allowing them to be more survivable killing platforms. This problem won't truly go away until the slots are handled correctly.
Logis sacrifice sidearms, a bit of mobility, & base shields in exchange for for 2 or 3 more equipment slots than their assault counterparts. That seems like a fair deal, but on top of the 2 or 3 more equipment slots, there is some crazy weirdness with the slot layouts that leads to imbalance.
- At standard (STD) tier all logistics (with the odd exception of the Amarr (Am) one) have inferior module slot layouts compared to the STD assault counterparts.
- At advanced (ADV) tier logis either get equal or superior module slot layouts compared to their ADV assault counterparts.
- At prototype (PRO) tier logis all gain an extra low slot than their PRO assault counterpart, the caldari one also gains an extra high slot also.
To sum up the above, logis are underpowered (UP) at STD tier, balanced or overpowered (OP) at ADV tier, & all OP at PRO.
There is no actual reason for the Caldari (Cal) one only having 2 equipment at STD instead of 3; it isn't gaining anything extra compared to other STD logis or its assault counterpart for that sacrifice. The STD Cal logi is UP, even compared to the other UP STD logis.
There is also the issue of the Am medium slot layouts. 1.8 has Am mediums shifting from hybrid tanking (equal shields & armor) to predominantly having armor; this requires a slot layout change of more low slots for effective armor tanking. Right now the progression of Am mediums is odd, they start with more high slots (2 at militia (MLT) & STD).
[Basic medium frame issues]
I would like to give basic frames a purpose, in 1.8 there is 36 STD-PRO basic frames; way too many suits in the game to have be completely useless. I say they are useless because for the most part they are inferior versions of the specialized suits (like assaults, logis, sentinels, etc), & they can't even be used as a way to save money since they're oddly more expensive (reversed for vehicles, specialized vehicles like assault dropsips cost more than the basic ones); there is just no reason to use a basic frame when you have unlock the specialization. We should never have 36 items that are worthless. For more on the basic frame issue go
here.
The basic medium frames should be generalized middle-ground between the assault & logi, it would make the assault truly specialized by comparison instead of just being basic frames with bonuses slapped on. It would also give players the ability to test-drive both assault & logi roles before specializing; right now you can test out the assault role with a basic medium, but you can't test a logi role with their parent basic frame. The current set up is bad for testing roles.
[Solution]
Part 1: assault & logi Give the Cal logistics 3 equipment slots at STD. Also 4 equipment at PRO (reduce module slot from 9 to 8 in exchange).
Equalize the module slot layouts for assaults & logis of the same race & tier (with exception of Am logi; loses slot to gain sidearm):
Assault & logi STD (high/low)
Am: 2/4
Ga: 2/4
Ca: 4/2 (+1 equipment for logi)
Min: 3/3
Assault & logi ADV
Am: 2/5
Ga: 3/4
Ca: 5/2
Min: 4/3
Assault & logi PRO
Am: 3/5
Ga: 3/5
Ca: 5/3 (+1 equipment for logi)
Min: 4/4
Part 2: basic medium framesTo fix the aforementioned issue, I think basic medium frames should have:
One more equipment for a total of 2; this is why the Cal & Am STD logis should have at least 3 to start out with, it is to differentiate them from my proposed basic mediums.
1 less module slot than their assault & logi counterparts. This is a tradeoff for more module slots.
Basic medium MLT (high/low/equipment)
Am: 2/2/2
Ga: 1/3/2
Ca: 3/1/2
Min: 2/1/2
Basic medium STD
Am: 2/3/2
Ga: 2/3/2
Ca: 3/2/2
Min: 3/2/2
Basic medium ADV
Am: 2/4/2
Ga: 2/4/2
Ca: 4/2/2
Min: 3/3/2
Basic medium PRO
Am: 3/4/2
Ga: 2/5/2
Ca: 5/2/2
Min: 4/3/2
[TL;DR]
1.8 Am mediums still have more high slots than low slots at MLT & STD tier, despite being primarily armor tankers in 1.8. Give Am suits more low slots at MLT & STD tier.
Make logis & assaults have the same number of module slots. Generally by raising assault slots, not nerfing logis.
Make medium frames gain an equipment slot, but have 1 less module slot than logis & assaults. This will give it purpose, & make the assaults truly specialized by comparison instead of being a basic frame with a bonus.
Make Cal logi have 3 equipment slots at STD, & 4 at PRO in exchange for losing 9th mod sot.
My proposed numbers makes mod slot progression less steep between tiers.
These changes would make assault vs logistics balanced at all tiers, making the assault's higher base HP actually matter, give basic mediums a purpose of being a good way to try both an assault & logi playstyles (instead of just assault playstyles), & solves the issue with Amarr slot layouts at MLT & STD tier.
Obviously PG/CPU should be tweakedBoth assaults & logis have the same module slot counts: 6 STD, 7 ADV, 8 ...
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