Dolynick: 2) Cap the total number of targets that it can hit per volley. (12, 18, 24, whatever).
I wasn't saying that it has levels. I am aware that it doesn't. I was saying that the target cap limit could be any of those values or even higher. Whatever is deemed to be acceptable.
4) Cleansing Brilliance. Does 250 "shared" damage per second for 8 seconds to as many ships as fit into a 8000m x 1000m radius column. This is the ability that most closely resembles Missile Barrage but does a maximum of 2000 damage to a target and the column radius largely limits it's total damage potential. Can be interrupted.
I think you missed the entire point. I was listing other abilities to show how they are either 1) Only truely dangerous if they have other things or fleet to capitalize on the effect or 2) Typically have an effective limit on their damage effect to keep them more or less in check.
Lol 8 seconds cannot be inturepted untilt he deed is done. And if you combine it with Malice it wipes out small ships like barage. Then just rince and reapeat.
That just pretty much supports my points.
-Interruption isn't necessarily a good way to keep an ability in check for balance.
-Malice/Cleansing Brilliance are/were only truely powerful (or overpowered) when combined. Missilie Barrage on the other hand requires nothing extra to be that devastating.
SorcererFailure:not even flak / hoshi combo spamming repair can survive mb
Lol garda's can survive it just buy a few upgrades in hull and armor. The teir 1 should be sufficient. Hoshikos will died unlest you give them tier 4 4 upgrades if i remember right.
Normaly only ships that die to marza barage evry single time are. LF, LRFs (exculding illums), Colonies, Seige, Scouts.
Ship that will survive if you upgrade them are: Illums, tier 1 support cruisers, flak
Ships that will survive without upgrades: HCs, Carriers, teir 2 support cruisers, Caps.
Whether or not any given ship survives or not is sort of irrelevant. Missile Barrage, all by itself, still did 3000 x however many ships it hit in damage. What's left is most likely severely damaged and still has to content with the Marza itself and whatever happened to be with it. Unless you have a Missile Barrage of your own, there isn't anything else in the game that can so easily answer and return that kind of damage in kind to keep the fight even.
Yes repair and shield regeneration might be able to keep you in the fight or even undo the damage Missile Barrage just did (most likely to your entire fleet) but that means that you would have to have put that much (more) of your disposable income into repair ships rather than damage dealing ships while the TEC Marza user didn't. That gives him an advantage as well.
-dolynick