Actually Inc said he was thinking about doing it some time ago.

Flattening it (and its collision mesh) to .75 or .65 of the current thickness would probably do the trick.

flattening and updating it's look for something more aggressive would do yes.

i had sketched up something quickly the other day when exploring ideas (futile time wasting) and was going to trace over with a drawing app to refine the sketch but since we're talking about it, i'll let someone improve on my sketch:



it's a bit faint but i simply used my iSight to grab a pic.

on the left is the current shape and relative size of the valk's "wing". the model on the right has a thinner profile and a slightly narrower bulge in the wing.

on the upper right corner is the relative size of the current wing and this design.

also, the wings and fuselage have spikes in it's shape. given the valkyries (in norse mythology) actually rode wolves (not horses as frequently pictured by westerners), the spikes evoke the spikes in the head hair of wolves, and their fangs, such as illustrated in this drawing:



feel free to explore the idea.

edit:

disclaimer: i suck at drawing so even the trolls wont irritate me.

The valk is far more effective than the prom in group combat. It, at the very least, needs it's speed reduced to 220, and may also need a weight increase and/or an increase in turbo energy usage.

Any imbalance in the prom pales in comparison to the valk.

And thats your argument? Effective in group combat?
Heck, an EC-89 with a neutron blaster is effective in group combat, or just about any ship in VO with decent guns or rockets.
Sure, we need to nerf them all and leave prom like it is.

I didn't say it is effective in group combat. What I said was "...far more effective than the prom...". If your saying that the EC-89 is more effective than a prom in group combat, then I'll listen to your suggestions to nerf the EC-89. Are you suggesting that the EC-89 IS more effective in group combat than the prom?

The prom is a very nice ship, and quite deadly when addressed head to head. But it does not have near the mobility of a valk. And I don't think a prom should have the mobility of a valk. If this was simply a discussion about prom vs. valk, we could argue that the prom needs a buff, to even it out with the valk. But when we view the prom and the valk in relation to the entire selection of available ships, we can see that the prom is not underpowered, but rather, the valk is disproportionately overpowered. Rather than suggest an across the board buff for all ships, I suggest a slight nerf for the valk, not just for the sake of the prom, but for the sake of all other ships.

edit: But I do support the idea to flatten the valk's profile.

Prom is a freaking tank. Why the hell would you compare prom and valk in mobility?
Besides, valk is an easy pray for vultures or cents and thanks to its potato shape eats agt like no other ship in vo.

what ship would you like to compare the valk to? pick one. any ship you like.

I rarely lose a valk to a vult or cent. potato shape or not.

nerf the valk? you must be mad TRS. This thread is about upgrading the valk not nerfing it, and you seem to be the only one of the later opinion.

Find me a group of valks that can take down a group of proms (yes a group of proms). If a group of valks can take down a prom thats not mean it's overpowered, a group of EC-89's could probably take the prom. If I saw 5 proms fighting 5 valks I'd put all my money on the proms, not sure where you'd be betting but I think you may want to stay away from gambling anyhow ;)

Five experienced valks should soundly defeat five proms.

edit: I am suggesting a nerf to the valk. I understand that you want to buff the valk, but I also understand that you drive to valk in preference to all else. If the valk is so weak compared to other ships, why are you not driving some other ship?

five experience valks should soundly take five inexperienced proms.

but five experience valks stand little chance against 5 experienced proms. Thing AGTx5 in close formations, they could tear through xith armour like butter, then add flares for dramatic effect.

Depends on tactics. Atm only extremely good valk pilots can win against average pilot in SCP.

I have flown all ships. I have fought most of the best players.

I am not surprised to hear a valk pilot cry for a better valk, any more than I would be surprised to hear a prom pilot cry for a better prom.

A newb in a prom will almost always beat a newb in a valk. I don't really care to balance ships for the newbs. I would rather see ships balance for experienced players. Experienced valks will win or at least stalemate equal numbers of experienced proms (or any other ship you care to name).

edit: I may not have flown every faction variant of every ship type. (i.e. biocom vult, etc...)

And, TRS, i prefer and use IBG for shooting down proms. Far more deadly and effective then a valk.

Biocom XT Pwns you all!

Honestly :

Valk doesn't need a buff. A flare-neut valk is pretty deadly.
Proms doesn't need a nerf.

It's the AGT, stupid.

Proms without AGTs are probably underpowered a bit.
Valks without AGTs to worry about are happy.

Anyway, carry on. Nothing's gonna change.

I think we need a test event, though we might consider 3 rather than 5 for pure organization ease:

SCP Squad:

1) Dr. Lecter
2) Matriarch

Valk Volk:

1) Ghost
2) TRS

I offer 1M credits per surviving valk pilot, if any.

Meh, I've used both, and the Prom is sooooo easy to get kills in, it's no wonder Someone calls it the 'tard box.

An average Prom pilot can easily take on two valks or two of anything, to be honest. As long as he's using AGT + flares. If he's not, well, that's his choice.

Bojan is right. I find that the IBG is far more effective than the Valk in most things. As long as you keep the cent light, it's pretty hard to hit you. Unless, of course, you're fighting someone with an AGT.

Centaurs are also a valid AGT platform, and you can take a Prom out with one, but a centaur vs. a light fighter is usually a death sentence. The centaur has about twice as much hittable area as a Prom, and THAT is the Prom's true hidden benefit - it has a relatively small cross-section as long as you face your opponent.

Valks are really easy to hit, because of their shape. If their model was altered to become thinner, then their survivability might go up. Which is the true reason Valks can't hold up vs. a cent or vs. a Prom. They're too "fat".

If you put the actual collision mesh model of the valk on a diet, just slightly, then I think people would start to change their opinions regarding this ship.

I know that ghost is very good. I do not consider drazed to be in the same category as ghost. If ghost agrees, I would accept a two on two.

TRS: This is a thread about "buffing the valk" not making it even more of a target than it already is...

I like how fast it goes, but it's not good to fight with, period.

It needs a cross-section adjustment to where it is the equivalent of the IBG, or surpasing the IBG. The IBG is available to combat 3 Itanis. The Valk is available starting at combat 8. That alone, should be the reason to buff the valk.

Bring me into STONE COLD REASONS FOR BUFFING THE VALK (don't even try arguing cuz these are facts):

1: The Valk is too FAT

2: The Rune is garbage (give it more Cargo room at least, and possibly keep the BIG wings on it!)

3: The IBG is a better all-around fighter (plus it's minus a weapon slot) (A Combat 3 ship shouldn't even be able to take a combat 8 ship).

4: The valk currently isn't worth getting because of price differences from IBG and Rev C.

NOW THESE COULD BE CONSTRUED AS OPINION:

5: The Valks need a weight decrease by at least 500kg.

6: I like the Prom exactly where it is.