Fully agreed.

This would make MF's more uber, SD's would remain the same (no point using slaves... slaves can't keep up with you), snipers would be better (the slaves would easely keep up, the slaves would also get major dmg and range bonus, a rof aug to settle it and you're done)
Monkey's would be impoved as well.
Masters get weaker (compared to the other skills)
non-fighting skills don't get better nor worse.

Having galaxies not allow slaves would not be too fair for players with slave mastery. That would mean in bonnet, dms would be unable to use any of their bonuses then.

It doesnt make everyone the same at all, it just makes the slaves and drones similar as I say its not too different from what Jeff has already suggested.

Its going to be changed somehow so you might as well get used to that

~ferret

"What is the point of even having a Slave, Drone, Station master then? You are saying that everyone should be able to have the skills that I have plus thier regular skill. "

The point would be exactly the same now, except DM SM and SlM will be able to have their own skills too.

This is a fundamental gameplay change. It would destroy the way the game is played.

How exactly? Its a change to an already broken and unbalanced skill class

Add in the fact that everyone will be building decent bases and the PvP level restrictions and you have galaxies that will never be able to taken without enough people at that low level (Hardest to get enough together).

Yeah and also that more people will actually bother to level their alts instead of leaving them at low level will mean that this opens up PvP and this part makes no sense as the only people that could have all these skill would be over level 600

This in my opinion is a step in the wrong direction for the game as you will have made the Station/Slave/Drone Master class insignificant.

It already pretty much is, Slave Mastery is comptley broken atm and they WILL be doing something either way, DM's are crippled that they cant fight in groups and Station Masters are confined to <Level 200.

Why do you think we choose this class? We like to build shit, We are not a Head on Fighting class. This is the difference between MF,SD,Sniper, Even Radx than the DM Class. We use drones and slaves. Not often do we use a weapon to fight. And alot of our time is spent on Bases and Base management/Building.

You can still build 'shit', It will have no effect on MF,SD and Sniper, plus you'll have drones rebalanced to something useful again.....

I don't see why your complaining your skill class will become more versitile as you level instead of once you hit around 600 and not having anything to spend SP on, you'd be able to pick a master such as base building or slaving.

Dont forget people could always use slaves (until they removed AT at least) the fact that people didnt was just because they never though of having them fighting with you.

~ferret

ummmm when i try to use slaves with drones that doesnt work becouz they lure the enemy out of my drones range or simply die just turning and all becous of they at stay close

I use them all the time My almost uber enforcer slaves. Its a nice combo against forgones, BGs and Picks.

Ferret, I will answer your post when i get home from work.

You are missing my point and I will try to explain it better.

I'll look forward to it

~ferret

I levelled 500-750 as a merch / SM / EE, without using my base to give XP. People are only confined to level 150-200 'cause they've put all their points into SM/mast. Skill reset and put them into core skills, you easily get to level 400+. If you weren't around, I created a level 142 SM / Mast 16/16 CA 12 base builder to demonstrate that the PvP and bases was completely broken, not to show that SM chars can't level. The race was on to get the lowest base building alt, who could still equip an adonis base on their own. I held that for a while, to show the problem up.

They can level fine. And PvP bases are completely broken now - I've seen level EIGHTEEN bases in warp 2, upgraded and probably with ambro / andaman gear on. PvP is more broken than ever in regards to bases.


On the fighting thing, actually I never did it as I just saw it as uber-cheesing. Clouds of 15 wings clearing out entire swathes of warp2 systems, and even worse, left to do so when the person was offline was just pure cheese. Yes, way back when, you got offline XP - which was changed cause we complained about the cheesing. Also, the AI just constantly got lost, and DG kills by them didn't drop keys initially - making fighting slaves rather useless for DGs.

Some of us can see cheese a mile off, then stay away as we're better gamers than that. Btw, what level is your main? I'd like to know where this fount of wisdom is springing from, as way back when things precluded people using slaves like you suggested.

I did not follow the whole discussion, I post this just as my opioniom concerning Jeffs proposal.

I agree strongly that slaves need some boost in the overall power; but I think more important than that is to make slaves menagement something more fun. Right now it is a nasty chore to go selecting each one of your 14 wingships to give orders.
We sugested this already in another thread but a system of global orders would make the task much less painfull.

Imagine: I go to my global orders and say all slaves dock at x station, and they all go and dock.
or I could just select the global order "all slaves fight enemies" and they all do that.
Something else is necessary too, a slave locator, able to return the location for all the active of stasyed slave ships.

something like you click it and you see all your slaves (kinda like in the possessions window) but when you click a particular slave (be it active or in stasis) it will show that slave in our radar( to give us the direction) even if it is out of radar range.
Maybe that sounds like a bit of nonsence (to see the slave in the radar when it is beond radar reach) but it can be explained: the slave locator activates a kind of distress call from the slave, that would help the player find his slave even if it is beond normal radar reach)

If that sounds too strange, than a distant order assignement would be the solution: the same way as we can release a slave (through the possessions window) we could also give orders like follow me, or leave stasys (actually I think "release slave" "follow me" and "leave stasys" are the only necessary order to give from distance)

I think the admins are trying to get people away from using wingship and volcom and helga mobs though.

I used to use 15 helgas with...striped emphasis, I think, that white engine, my army of bumblebees...I agree there should be more motivation to use the best you can use for your level, which is actually 2 slaves, not 16, but consider the DPS of 16 BBB's or BBG's with minor augs and AT3 as opposed to 2 DWO's with EXC augs and you know what to do.

as far as Im concerned there is no fixing Slave mastery/Rad expert unless you open up 17-20. Actually while I like the skill the most, right now I refuse to pay because the skill is so broken. Say what you will about that, I'm still not gonna buy something that sux.

Alternatively, more slave slots for slave masters or rad experts would improve gameplay a little bit, of course now that slaves drop weapons and radar and crap I don't know if an extra slave or 2 would actually be worth it considering the cost of gear glue, while people like me cant afford gear glue because we keep having to buy weapons and radars for our slaves because they are stupid and keep dieing.

blah, whats the use?