Behemoths actually have too little armor for their purpose. It's very easy to kill them atm with a low-damage setup.

UncleDave, you are the only person I have ever seen express the idea that Behemoths should require multiple people to defeat.

Heh, I just call um a VO Pinata.

were (iirc) supposed to take multiple players to down

This is so far beyond wrong I'm not sure where to start. The balance on the original moth was that in exchange for a ship with 2 L ports and the cargo of three Taurs, you got a slow piece of shit that could be killed by anyone with half a brain who closed on it. The XC furthers that concept by trading the cargo of almost two moths for an unarmed, even slower piece of shit that will be killed by anyone with a gov blaster.

I'd advocate the removal of as much dice-rolling as possible, but I don't think adding cumulative cool-down time to jump drives is the way to do it. This hurts pursuers as much as it does the pursued.

"This hurts pursuers as much as it does the pursued."

Not really. Sure, the cooldown also delays the pursuer from jumping, but he doesn't need to jump until his victim jumps. What he needs is time so that he can turn to face the victim, get closer if necessary, and inflict damage before they jump away. The cooldown provides that.

It's been a while, ok? :(

You now have an interceptor ship that's damn near impossible to outrun (450N turbo thrust Greyhound) and a weapon that can drop a ship out of turbo and prevent it from jumping (Power Cell Blaster).

We need a better way of losing pursuit that doesn't involve dice rolling. Like I said, I'm in support of this, but not just by taking it out and making escape impossible. Maybe once Inc gets around to implementing that "space reef" idea.

If a Trident is trying to flee for its life, you took it somewhere you shouldn't have without any backup. It's not like they're lacking in armor or self-defense, after all.

Lacking armor? No, they've got plenty of that. Self-defense on the other hand... Geminis don't even do any damage if you're moving faster than 120m/s or so. The other turrets can't aim towards the rear of the ship.

"We need a better way of losing pursuit that doesn't involve dice rolling. Like I said, I'm in support of this, but not just by taking it out and making escape impossible."

It would not make escape impossible. I already covered how to escape with a Behemoth. It works. It is not foolproof, but it isn't supposed to be.

Escape with a trident works like this: Get to 3km. Stop moving and kill the pursuer. Leave.

Missiles only fail to be effective when at "high" speeds. 120 m/s happens while chasing a moving trident. It does not happen while fighting a stationary trident, unless the attacker is jousting. A greyhound that is orbiting around a trident can maintain continuous fire while avoiding many of the missiles, but it does get hit often enough to wear it down faster than it wears down the trident. I have not tested jousting against a trident, so I can't comment on that tactic other than to say that it is significantly slower at chewing through the armor, giving you plenty of time to call for backup.

When they eventually get shields, the situation will be improved in the Trident's favor. Meanwhile, get backup or carry a fighter.

-1

The Greyhound was just improved and there are now weapons designed specifically to keep traders from being able to go through wh's.

I think this is entirely too soon for another anti trader tool. Wait and see how the current changes play out and then this OP will be worth reconsidering IMO if needed.

Another option however would be to increase the amount of energy required for sector to sector jumps.

Otherwise, counter to the OP, many storm evasion routes consist of more than just one jump.

Sure they do Fluffy. But like I said in the OP, a two-sector detour is only delayed by 3/4 of a second. Only a three-sector detour would start to really feel the effect. Increasing the cost of all sector jumps would have a larger impact on detours than the OP, and an insufficient effect on pursuit.

Also, this is not an anti-trader change. Traders happen to be the people who use the technique the most, but I really don't give any fucks. It's a stupid technique and does not belong in this game, whether employed by traders, nationalists, newbs, or cowardly pirates fleeing from hunters. Most of the people I end up chasing through empty sectors aren't even in a trade ship.

This is an anti-stupidity change.

Oh, and I like how you mention the stuff pirates have just gotten, but ignore the things traders also just got (undockable tridents and drain mines).

Stopping and killing your pursuer isn't what I'd call an evasion tactic. Jumping to an Ion Storm would be an idea if they were a bit more persistent.

My understanding of the OP was an issue of improving the odds of a pursuer catching their target. I'm not sure how Tridents allowing their pilots to leave applies or even how owning a Trident is necessarily a trader thing. As to the drain mines, well again, a defensive tool is not in my mind in keeping with the OP. However, since it has been brought up, it can be added to the list of why further changes in this area should wait.

I can understand your frustration with and dislike for the empty sector escape method. I personally like it, and I've played just about every side of the coin this game offers and have had my fair share of targets elude me using this method.

I could just as easily say that I object to the magic that causes sector to sector jumps to allow two players in different ships, masses, orientations, velocities, etc to enter the new sector at what I'll eyeball at an average of 1500 meters apart. Wormholes are an entirely different animal.

Also, I am not opposed to this suggestion entirely. I simply think that we should see how things balance out with all the new toys for each.

"My understanding of the OP was an issue of improving the odds of a pursuer catching their target. I'm not sure how Tridents allowing their pilots to leave applies or even how owning a Trident is necessarily a trader thing. As to the drain mines, well again, a defensive tool is not in my mind in keeping with the OP."

The goal of the pursued is to survive. People have been trying to claim that rapid hopping is the only way to survive, especially for tridents. Since you pointed out new changes that aid in pursuit, I pointed out new changes that aid in survival of the victim. Drain mines disrupt a pursuer's ability to turbo and reduce the energy he has available for shooting at his prey. Undocking from a trident allows the victim to carry a fighter along and use that to fight off the pirate, meaning that Tridents are even less sitting-ducks than they were before.

"Also, I am not opposed to this suggestion entirely. I simply think that we should see how things balance out with all the new toys for each."

That would be valid if this was about balance in the first place. It is not. It is about mitigating an inappropriate mechanic. Things should not work this way, end of story. If the balance currently hinges on that, then other measures will need to be taken to correct it. Either way, it needs to change. And if the balance is already upset by those new changes to the game, then that means now is an ideal time to make this change as well.