Would subversion be any better if it stole a percentage of resource income from the planet it was cast on on addition to everything it currently does?

EDIT: Frostflare, could we get the OP updated since Gauss Rail Gun now bypasses shields. Just something I noticed. Maybe just put a strikethrough on it and we can continue this thread until we check everything off the list so to speak

Why shouldn't there be? One is a passive, the other an activated ability. And as the Animosity build of the Radiance needs A LOT more durability than an offensive DA build, why shouldn't the skill it is based on also give a defensive buff?

I don't think it needs to steal resources, it just needs to apply some sort of economic debuff. Tax income or a nerf to resource extraction maybe. Could also do a one off allegiance reduction like the Deliverance Engine.

Do you mean reducing the damage those ships are doing or giving them a negative damage reduction (I.e. making them more vulnerable to damage)? There's two types of damage reduction in the code, Dealer and Target, and just using DR is a bit confusing.

Okay, there's a LOT to address here and I'm still collating; I didn't expect the thread to explode.

That said, here are my initial thoughts:

1. For the moment, I stand by my suggestion for Subversion (namely: prevents enemy ships from phase jumping to the target (enemy) world for a short duration; also provides a buff to the planet that prevents Subversion from being cast on it again for a significant period of time); here is why:
• Trying to make the ability as potent as Embargo, without DUPLICATING Embargo, is troublesome
• Thematically, phase space is a very Vasari thing to mess with; if you want to mess with economics, call TEC; if you want to mess with culture, call Advent
• Subversion as I have envisioned it is potentially very potent at all stages of the game. Naturally, the duration and cooldown would need to be tweaked, but the utility of preventing enemy reinforcements from jumping into the system, combined with the Kostura Cannon and the Marauder's ability to warp in reinforcements from anywhere and JUMP anywhere there is a phase portal is potentially devastating
2. The proposed buffs to the Radiance seem to be a very hot topic right now. Current debates are as follows:
• The specific combination of buffs Energy Absorptive Armor should have (armor, weapons, shield mitigation, etc.)
• Whether some defensive buffs should be applied to Animosity
• Whether or not buffing Energy Absorptive Armor would make EAA+Detonate Antimatter or EAA+Animosity OP
3. WOEAintMe indicates that Gauss Rail Gun now ignores shield mitigation -- but I haven't noticed such in-game. Can anyone confirm, either with patch notes or data mined from the game files? If so, we're 1/3 of the way to making the Kol useful!

So, on the subject of Energy-Absorptive Armor, here is my reasoning:

• In previous discussions, I have noticed two primary complaints about the Radiance:
• It is too frail to taunt, restricting it to using Detonate Antimatter
• It does not kick out enough DPS to influence the fight
• Of the Radiance's three abilities, it seemed most intuitive and open-ended to use Energy-Absorptive Armor to solve these problems because using either of the other two abilities to do so creates a conflict of interest:
• "I want to buff my Radiance's durability; why are you forcing me to invest in taunt to do so?"
• "I want to buff my Radiance's firepower; why are you forcing me to invest in Detonate Antimatter to do so?"
• Energy-Absorptive Armor is an ability that relies on momentum: as enemies attack the Radiance, the Radiance gains strength. So, what kind of effects can solve the above problems?
• A stacking attack buff as the Radiance receives damage would solve the damage problem while simultaneously being in line with the function of EAA
• Shield mitigation is an existing damage reduction mechanic that builds momentum as the target receives damage; since the Radiance can be targeted a lot, it only makes sense to improve its maximum shield mitigation
• So, should the armor buff of Energy-Absorptive Armor remain in the game?
• Yes, because Phase Missiles. 

Though I welcome any argument, I should note that, as with any proposed change, any discussion is ultimately theoretical (and can boil down to my bias against your bias); extensive testing would be necessary to assess whether or not the Radiance in this state would, in fact, be OP.

Comments?

Okay. I meant negative damage reduction (=vulnerability to damage), which in my defense is in my original post. That said, the game calls reducing/increasing incoming damage "Damage Reduction" and reducing/increasing weapon damage "Damage Output", which is the convention I use, so I'm not sure why this should be confusing (apart from, as you say, if you speak in entity code).

See the 1.80 patch notes. I was under the impression that this thread was part of the inspiration for the change. (https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/449882/page/2/#3418314)

This would work independently of Animosity, and I thus don't see how it would encourage you to choose it as an ability; a few enemy cap ships, a titan, AOE or in fact, strikecraft, would grant the necessary incoming hits to charge up the stack even if nothing else is focus firing your cap ship.

So why not combine the two as Damage Reduction then? It's multiplicative like mitigation but also independent of PMs and shield bypass. It's also always on, so you don't need to take damage.

If these suggestions would be published as a mod, I would fucking buy it, for I really like most of them. That said, this stuff will likely never be incorporated into the Rebellion exe itself...

Regarding Energy Absorption Armor and Adaptive Forcefield, why not just swap the two (in addition to making AF passive)?

Lore wise it makes more sense. Armor improvements seem more fitting for TEC and shield advancments make more sense coming from Advent.

Gameplay mechanics-wise, EAA plays to the Kol's strengths (making good armor better, synergizes extremely well with Kol's serious AM burn-rate) and AF plays to the Radiance's (flat DR better protects it relatively low armor weaker hull [as well as its more-important shields, correct me if I'm wrong] while also helping protect against Advent's bane: phase missiles. This synergizes extremely well with the taunt.

I think AF would still need to be made passive for the Radiance (though the need would be less dire).

There is a certain logic to this, however I think there is some value in having a few abilities that don't fall into the expected strengths of a faction. Also an energy absorbing force field sounds a little weirder than armor, and I think the Antimatter from damage part is important for the Radiance.

Yeah I got that impression originally, but your second post made me unsure. And yes, I probably know the entity code better than the in game strings  .

Anyways, while I guess it wouldn't be an illogical thing lore wise, I feel the Radiance would be better served by a defensive buff. You might have situations where you want to use animosity as a stalling action, perhaps to protect an under construction starbase, with some guardians, a progen and some repair bays as support. In this case you won't really have any means to attack a decent sized enemy fleet effectively, so the increased damage is effectively meaningless. In all cases the Radiance will be absorbing fire, so a buff that reduces the damage it takes will also be appreciated.

Since Animosity is a debuff, perhaps it would be more consistent to place a damage dealt reduction on ships affected by taunt, rather than a damage reduction on the Radiance as I usually do? This would help with units like flak, capitalships and titans (if they can be taunted) that can fire at multiple targets even while taunted.

Things that do damage directly to hull, like phase missile or the Evacuator's nanites, do indeed bypass shield mitigation as well as the shields themselves.

@Agaricus:

To be honest, the community seems to have reached a rough consensus that most of these changes would work. The next logical step is testing them, and a mod is an ideal way of doing that. In addition, a mod would allow us to refine these suggestions and report on their efficacy. Finally, testing the suggestions ourselves, and publishing a mod that allows the community to do so, saves the devs effort and makes some of these suggestions more likely to be implemented in the future.

Unfortunately, I'm not a modder, so the most I can offer is support and testing once you publish the mod.

To that end, I shall list the abilities from which you would need to cull:

• Flak Burst accuracy reduction:
• On-hit-strikecraft code from Telekinetic Push (Halcyon Carrier)
• Accuracy reduction for a duration from Vertigo (Rapture Battlecruiser)
• Guidance antimatter cost reduction:
• Flux Field (Dunov Battlecruiser)
• Energy Absorptive Armor:
• Stacking damage buff from Desperation (Vorastra Titan) and/or Unyielding Will (Eradica Titan)
• Shield mitigation increase from Advent shield research
• Micro-Phasing Aura buff to phase missile penetration:
• Based on Amplify Energy Aura (Halcyon Carrier)
• Antorak Marauder:
• Subversion:
• Slowdown of incoming phase jumps derived from Bidirectional Jamming (as you indicated)
• Heightened Security buff derived from debuff applied by Novalith Cannon that prevents planets from being colonized
• Distort Gravity:
• Phase Jump Chargeup speed buff derived from artifact (Jump Field Generator or Phase Accelerator?)
• Phase Jump antimatter cost reduction derived from either artifact (Jump Field Generator) or Vasari Rebel Shared Telemetry ability

If you want my honest opinion, I think we should hold off on the Rankulas changes until the community has reached a consensus in N3rull's thread.

What do you think?

EDIT: Whoops! I forgot -- mad karma for your suggestion!

Baby steps, Agaricus, baby steps!

I'm flattered beyond all measure that you decided to make the mod, but if there's anything I've learned from agile development in my day job: iterate; gather data; respond to data; iterate.

Consequently, I recommend starting with the base values in the OP (where possible) and then iterating from there.

Though your suggestion is a good one, particularly based on your comparison to the Kortul, I worry that it might jeopardize faction differentiation. Though less "noob-friendly" than Jam Weapons, I rather like the element of skill required by TK Push and Flak Burst. There is room to play with the abilities as proposed.

For example: at rank 4, Flak Burst as I have designed it causes strike craft to miss at a rate of 50%.

But maybe that's not enough. So:

• Maybe the ability needs to be 25%-33%-50%-66%
• Maybe the duration of the accuracy debuff needs to be altered
• Maybe the range of the ability needs to be increased
• Maybe the cooldown needs to be adjusted

Of course, Flak Burst also does DAMAGE. I know for a fact that two Kols using Flak Burst will utterly annihilate any strike craft entering the envelope, so the effectiveness of the debuff needs to be balanced against Flak Burst's killing power. Even a single Kol using Flak Burst will weaken strike craft significantly, making them easier prey for escorts.

Likewise, maybe we need to play with some of the values on TK Push, as well.

Consequently, I recommend testing before we manipulate values.

Can't wait to see a changelog!

Also: would anyone here be willing to test the changes and report back? The more testers, the more feedback.

Also: MOAR KARMA!

Okay. Hopefully there is interest; you can find the mod here.

Nobody? Who are those people you are refering to?

Are you serious?... The Akkan is the (second) best TEC capital ship, almost vital in the early game and useful asset late game. In skilled multi I haven't seen a differing starter than Akkan or sometimes Marza as TEC. And I don't think in a half year suddenly all the other capital ships became favourites and the Akkan became obsolete.

Single player mode, the Akkan is not the best, but still a good cap, not that trash you call it.

Ion Bolt can make an almost dead escaping enemy ship (cap or titan) dead, as it interrupts phase charging giving your fleet more time do kill that fleeing piece of litter having less than 100 hitpoints, and it interrupts EVERY ability that needs to be actively used for several seconds like the Missile Barrage or Shield Recharge. Oh, and the only interruption the TEC has if I remember correctly.

Targeting Uplink is a nice support ability, higher range means your ships will do the first strike, and that is something. The chance to hit mainly improves flak, and there are circumstances flak are useful to have more successful hits... like always? Oh, and have you seen what that range increase does to your titan firing range? Take a look at the Ragnarov, that 20% increase is something to behold.

Colonization ability is a nice one too, speeds up your expansion as hell, and gives an awesome early game economy boost. Main reason in MP to build this ship as your starter.

And last, the Armistice can prevent the loss of your fleet in an already lost battle, and can save your ships even from a Red Button explosion if you time it right.

TLDR: Calling this ship trash is not the most intelligent thing to do as every ability is useful in it's way, seems like you haven't used this ship properly, ever.