This is more about Dropship "pilots" than Tankers, sure tanks are expensive, but they are great at killing, making it easier for them to accrue SP nd ISK, at least compared to DS pilots.

We need to know if there are mechanics in the game come May 6th to make Piloting aerial vehicles a viable profession.

You still don't honestly think that gaining 20% of all WP gained by WP-earning actions performed by dropped soldiers for one minute after they land isn't a viable solution? A merc can do a lot in one minute, and you'll ve dropping at least 4 of them at a time. It will encourage dropship pilots to perform their intended role as a carrier. I agree with what you say, though, vehicle pilots should get WP for repping. Note that the idea I posted is not my own, I found it on a dropship thread that was buried some time ago. Also, some WP for picking up mercs at less than 50% armor (maybe 25 WP?) would be nice.

@Shouper:

It's been said before, but how about this:

Pilot gets direct WP for repairs, but not to the point where it can be farmed by repairing their own DS on the ground. (don't want another Rep Nerf.)

Once the Commander role becomes viable in the MCC, there should be a direct WP accrual for a pilot making a precision drop on coordinates of the Commander's choosing. The closer you are to the coords, the better your WP. This would encourage the Commander to make sound decisions, and it would encourage the DS to make high-risk runs into questionable territory to break the back of an enemy surge. As also stated before, this would require a light to activate the Drop command for the crew being carried, or an option to eject the mercs as actual Dropsuit cargo. Living bombs, if you will. Bonus WP if you manage to eject the living bombs onto the "bulls-eye" of the requested coordinates.

While there is the potential for the mechanic to be abused, that's just part of the danger of living in New Eden. You have to trust that your pilot isn't a d**k.


And to ensure pilots have sustainable gains, a slow passive WP counter that accrues while you have the DS in the match. The better you are at flying, the higher your overall WP. If you continue to get show down, your WP will be negligible.

These are all ideas that have been postulated before, in other threads, and I believe in this one as well, though I'm too lazy to go back and re-read it.

How about this:

To avoid "AFK DS", the WP accrual is paused if you exceed a height parameter. Say 2/3 the flight ceiling. (We'd need to raise the flight ceiling, so it's still tactically viable to fly without hampering WP). Once you descend below the ceiling cap, you continue to accrue WP where you left off. If you return to the ceiling cap more than 5 times within 1 min, your WP gains are reset to the starting point. This will minimize farming, while also encouraging tactical flight training. If you have to do more than just go up to survive, you earn more WP. This would also require an overall Buff to DS survival stats.

To avoid the Rep Nerf that occurred originally, you cannot gain WP for repping your own DS on the ground. This can still be farmed by a team of 2 pilots repping each others DS, but to that point, they should just stay airborne and rep away to boost WP anyway. To encourage team play, passenger Logi's should be able to repair the DS from the cargo bay, and the pilot can gain 25% WP from the cargo rep, but these reps are still subject to the existing Rep cap, so it cannot be farmed by keeping the Logi in the cargo bay long term.

As for the Commander scenario, I don't really see a way to farm that, unless a Commander daisy chains drop orders. But at that point, you just have a d**k for a Commander, and they should be kicked from the MCC. That's external to the DS Pilot and farming exploits should be minimal. The skill involved in hitting a bulls-eye marked by another individual should encourage skill, and should minimize farming goals as I see it.

I look forward to any further ideas, or counter points you have to make to these ideas.