The Missile Overhaul

This is an announcement about missiles going under an overhaul which can be tested on the Test Server (known as Singularity or as SISI), it has been expected by many for quite some time where multiple tests were done with the missile system last year.

Note that the overhaul is not meant as a nerf to missile users although it will greatly change current gameplay from what you are used to, the change is intended to get missiles balanced into the size-classed combat of EVE with turrets, but still giving them a different flavor. It will dramatically increase the survivability of smaller vessels and facilitate team-play by making all ship classes more usable.

The main changes are in these four steps:

1. Size Factored Damage:
Bigger missiles are now doing less damage to smaller targets; the damage is scaled by the targets Signature Radius using a new attribute on the missile called Explosion Radius.

2. Velocity Factored Damage:
Velocity will stay a factor in missile combat in the sense that it can reduce the damage if the target can outrun the missile explosion, missiles have an individual threshold where the damage starts getting reduced by vessels velocity and how fast the damage gets reduced by per m/s.

3. Faster Missiles:
Missiles are now travelling much faster than known and will be able to cross long distances at greatly reduced time.

4. More Skills:
Loads of new skills have been added to the Missile Operation skill group that allow players to get more damage, faster missiles, more range and to add new parameters that missiles now relay on.

A forum thread has been made to support this dev blog (click this text), which goes more into details and will be updated with system and tuning changes, also open for discussion, comments & feedback. Players are advised rather to post in that thread as it will be getting more attention than this announcement.

Ave,
TomB