I've recently been considering the speed of the light frigate - something that is supposedly it's primary advantage. In practice, most battles become clumps after the first few seconds and then most movement is actually turning, at which the LF has no perceivable advantage over other frigates. Unless your enemy starts running and you're pursuing, your move speed will mean quite little throughout the battle.
So I started to think, what if the LF was also given a superior turn rate? It would certainly give them a mobility edge in battle. They'd be able to very quickly organize and focus fire a single target, something that traditionally only LRF and strike craft do very well. It would also bring up a wealth of micromanagement possibilites. One that came to mind quickly was "monkey in the middle". Suppose a line of LRF are facing my LF. I could command my LF to move past the LRF. The LRF now need to turn around to shoot me, but because LF turn faster I'll be facing him before he's facing me. Once he fully turns around, I just run past him again and repeat the process. Of course, I can think of more than a few responses off the top of my head to counter this, but the bottom line is that I think maneuvers like these could add a lot to strategy in the game.
Opinions vary on the LF. Some people think they're underpowered, others think they're just a little on the weak side, and a few think they're just fine as is. I think a turn speed advantage might be one of the best ways to give them a subtle yet practical buff. In a straight shootout it wouldn't mean a lot, but it would make them a more interesting and tactical unit by opening up new applications and making them slightly better at what they already should be good at.
What do people think about this?
