I may make a separate thread about this. Rattati are you saying then that assault dropships are being balanced around their killing effectiveness in PC as a solo gunship, rather than their actual intended role as a dropship? If this is the case then you should create a vehicle called a gunship and use it as such and balance dropships around the dropship role.

The dropships role is to carry a squad of troops into and out of contested, or soon to be contested points while providing limited fire support. Dropping them in key positions that can turn the tide of battle or prevent the loss of a position. This strategy is not used in PC, as it takes too many boots off the ground and makes them very vulnerable and possibly wasted assets. You will find gunship ads aloy more in pc because that is really the only viable way to use them, but its not the true role of a dropship, if balanced around a gunship it looses its qualities as a dropship.

This swarm change for instance, a smart pilot will run the second a volley hits the ship. Meaning that if he was on approach for pick up the ground team is now stranded, because of one swarm launcher. In the dropships description, extraction under "heavy fire" is listed as an atribute of the dropship, getting troops out and redeploying them elsewhere. It stands to reason that the dropship would be able to take some hits so as to preform its role.

Not everyone agrees with me, but the dropship is suppose to be a logistical ship with enough fire power to suppress hostiles long enough for the shock troops to get into a position. Dropships are not gunships and should not be treated or balanced as such.

I'm not saying this with an angry tone, more of a concerned one.

This is a problem CCP Created with the entire Dropship concept and how they even fit into the big picture of DUST.

You guys have made Dropships glorified Fighters.

We have only ever had Dropships for mass troop transport in this game.. Yet they have been turned into Wet Paper bags for defense and 1-3 shot kills on every dropsuit in the game.

How does this even make sense in concept when you are going over the changes?

If you want a fighter in the air in DUST... Then release the Gallente Fighter assets that have been sitting around for 4 years as a Jovian technology all race fighter. Or even faction tech.

Dropship management is a cruel joke that has been played on the community.

They could be a staple in the sky, Strong defensively and competitive in fire fights with mercenaries, Not extremely one sided. Allowing mobile CRU's to move around the map increasing intensity in action and the frequency.. Removing red-line as the only spawnable location after a wipe..

Rewarding players for landing outside an objective that has been taken, picking up a load of team mates and taking them to the next objective. This is what the passionate people who have flown dropships since closed beta enjoy. The people who expanded into dropships for a slayer role is not the players fault. Directly nerfing dropships to effect their playstyle makes next to no sense in a big picture..

You guys really need to sit down as a team at CCP Shanghai. Pull out a giant White board.. And work out the concept of how this IP's assets fit together and what you guys want out of a general concept around racial Dropsuits, Vehicles and modules. Then move forward on that...

Flying by the seat of your pants and reacting to the community rather then setting up strong foundations will always shoot your effort in the foot.