Personally I think they did a fair job of balancing the cloak. Most tears come from oversaturation of the role due to it being new equipment. Anything seems ridiculous in high volumes. This is a new toy and everyone wants to play with it. I want to be very very sure nothing is done in classic CCP fashion as a ridiculous nerf due to the tears of the loud sections of our playerbase.

I agree that there should be different variants for different jobs and playstyles. The weapon switch in my opinion is about perfect. It's not too short and not too long. I think most people have problems with the cloaks and shotguns. For any other weapon that requires you to actually aim a little bit the decloak time is perfect.

Also we must consider that currently even the minmatar has a lot of trouble in the fitting department. An increase in cloak cost will make this suit which already has extremely low HP even weaker and harder to fit. You can barely fit a basic cloak on an adv minmatar even if you use mostly e-war and regen mods.

So anyways weekend almost over time to focus the discussion a bit. (yes we're working against a clock in which I don't know the time line either here too btw)

We're still pending what to do with the cloaks but some of the changes won't be possible without code of course such as the damage drain if implemented is likely one of those that won't get hot fixed.

So changes if any should involve timers, scout bonuses, fitting of the cloak itself.

About brick tanks

I feel that overall the brick tank issue is bigger than everything here and in its own right deserves its own discussion however this topic is also rather large and may take a comprehensive look and pass thus not applicable in the near time hotfix period ccp is working with so far. So this is a discussion best saved for '1.9' development and not 1.8 hotfixing.

*Minmatar scout for the time being should be buffed in fitting to match freedom the other scouts enjoy (imo minmatar should have a bit more than most other suits)

Cloak Fitting

So with those off the table. We come to the cloak itself.
CCP stated they didn't want cloaks to be scout only tool.
They also stated that they don't want it to make it seem every scouts MUST fit a cloak as well.
These two are most likely going to restrict any changes in the cloak fitting itself

Which leads us to the scout bonus or scout fitting.

Scouts are enjoying the new freedoms they have and honestly I don't see the issue with this. Just as one person puts it a scout gives up nearly nothing to cloak. Only in the more extreme cases are scouts are forced to go tank (unfortunate result of the current imbalance of tank vs utility fitting) So I am a rather apprehensive about adjusting the scouts fitting; too much damage can occur.

So proposed change would be to the scout bonus to cloaks fit. To reduce from 15% to a percent to five lower. I know that something like 13% will look odd on the skill sheet but it works out at max levels with numbers like 70-65-60 for every percent marked down.

So I would like to see this debate continue on what to do with this.

The next more common issue that is greatly affecting game play is how fast one decloaks.

I am uncertain this is hotfix able to be honest and it's something to continue discussion on about as well.
You have to remember I am a stalker type scout back before cloaks came about; any changes to this will not effect my game style at all. Its the vanguard (front line fighters) that will have the most issues as they often have to decloak in front of enemies pointing guns at them and I am terrible at that role. I know how frustrating the game used to be when you commanded a weapon swap and it there was a time delay in the swap I don't want that feeling to return. But I also want to give attentive and hunter players the chance to drop on the scout or reflex on the scout and possibly come out on top.

There is also the the speed of the decloak not matching the time to action. While I am unsure what change it would do for the non cloakers the non cloakers think its going to save them. (based on the killing I've been seeing it won't) I guess the point here is that there is a frustration of people getting killed by invisible people.

I see no harm in fixing the glitch and possible the intended portion of the time to action decloak speed.

cloak shimmer rate
overall a more minor issue but even then I don't think one can achieve a hotfix with this as well.

Cloak Charge

Overall this doesn't seem hotfix able when you involve damage prospects. Maybe for 1.9 but for now I don't see it being a feasible trait to add without a ptch.

What can change is the rate of recharge and consumption.

There isn't much discussion about it but a good cloaker can manage their chargers for a very long time and I am afraid to bring any changes to this outside of new variants but I would like to hear more talks about it such as 1 second cloak = 1.5 second charge or the like.

Stealthiness
Cloaks are considered very powerful stealth tools able to dodge a number of scans, while scanners await their fix there is now the debate should cloaks provide any stealthing? Overall I am fine with it as is as it allows dedicated hunters to beat lower cloaks and the like but the entire system needs a rewrite that absolutions are no longer the case (that being nearer a weaker scanner increases risk of detection for example) The number behind the stealthiness could be change but not the mechanics surrounding it. I would like to see more discussion on this as well.

So TL;DR

Off the table.
*Minmatar fitting underpar should be forwarded, let ccp figure the numbers out for that.
*Brick Tanking is off the table. Better suited for 1.9 discussion due to size and complexity of subject
*Cloak Charge bar being externally altered by other players.
*Potential Shimmer
*Cloak Stealth Mechanics

On the table
*Cloak fitting is on the table still.
*Cloak decloak speed.
*Cloak charge rate internally
*Cloak electronic stealth value

Updated Op with change in discussion.

So I should be cloaked with bells on, yes?
To help you watch your flank?

Brings to mind backup cameras on minivans.

gtfo gta fanboy.

Oh and killstreaks are for noobs.

Sensors play a part, but whether or not an act goes undetected is already a complicated calculus.

Sight, Sound, Squadsight, Coms, Friendly Action, Hostile Action, Distraction, Orientation, Elevation, Fields of Vision ... there's generally alot more at play than what one may gather should he focus solely on his minimap.

:: Shotguns Shimmer (+50) ::