What it boils down to is this: No single player should be unkillable by another single player on basis of gear or SP totals alone.

The problem with 1v1 swarms v dropships is that it nearly never happens. A swarmer has to deal with all infantry as well as vehicles and installations. As an ADS pilot you have to deal with some infantry, all turrets and vehicles. There's almost always multiple people shooting at you no matter which side of the fight you are on and it's silly to say one person should have an advantage over the other because one sank more ISK into the fight. In chasing a vehicle, a swarmer often loses 1-2 fits simply attempting to get a lock on the vehicle and only has a sidearm with which to defend themselves against the flood of officer gear storming through pub matches. In the scheme of things that's 1-2 fits lost attempting to get a shot off, so when you finally manage to get off a shot or two and your target is gone before you can finish it it's extremely frustrating. That's the current state of things. My swarm fit is 171,720 ISK and that's with a BPO Krin's damage mod equipped. When I lose 2 fits struggling through officer gear with nothing but an SMG, finally get a shot or two off and manage to get one vehicle damage WP bump it's not a good feeling to 'scare them off so they leave us alone'.

I'm not saying that assault dropships or dropships in general always feel rewarding to play. It feels incredably unrewarding to be shoo'd off away from the fight every time you get close to it, being constantly pushed away by AV is a very serious issu and I understand that. I've piloted dropships on and off throughout my Dust career and it can be one of the most frustrating experiences there is in Dust. However being a swarmer can be just as frustrating, just as unrewarding and just as rage inducing as being an ADS or DS pilot.

That said, there is no scenario in which one player should be able to laugh off the attacks of another. No role should be anywhere near invincible in a 1v1 fight because it's just not right. As a dropship pilot you are a force multiplier. You can rain death from the skies out of reach of many AV weapons, outmaneuver all of it either by speed or evasion, and can attack with weapons that reach much farther than swarms can even lock on from. Of course draw distance is a real issue, not being able to see people on the ground is a serious problem, but it is not the fault of the people on the ground and they should not be penalized for it any more than tanks should be penalized because RE's don't stick properly to them when they are moving quickly.

Both dropships and swarms need changes to make them roles that are less frustrating and more fun to play without breaking either. I just don't have it in me to dive into that mess again after the lack of interest shown by CCP to make large changes in them to make it so. All I am willing to say is that pricing for dropships in general needs another look so they are more affordable to lose.