Stealth Gear

Shadow Reaper

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Jun 3, 2016
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Shadow Reaper
So I am not sure how to report this change past sharing a generalization, and we can wait for the details to come in over time.

It appears stealth gear has been enabled for the first time, and that stealth platforms have been enhanced as well. So it is no longer useful to equip industrial A grade coolers rather than stealth coolers, because stealth coolers now give extremely low IR signatures. Stealth shields and reactors likewise give low values—much lower than at any time in the past. Combining stealth components on stealth platforms give EM and IR values below 3k, which makes these platforms useful and effective. Stealth shields have signatures so low that for the first time, they are worth leaving on while sneaking.

The platforms themselves are enhanced. If you’re sneaking, there are strong reasons to prefer the 315 and 325 over the Titan. Check your numbers.

Obviously, these are all new developments, worth investigation. We’ll have to wait and see how they work themselves out but I am very encouraged they have decided to make stealth components worthy of the name. Looks good so far.

When equipping these components I suggest pay particular attention to whether your stealth reactor(s) provide enough power to drive at full thrust and fire Attritions. My guess is you may be forced into ballistics and very short encounters. Have to fly this stuff to find out. All of the weapons signatures appear reduced so Attritions do not mess with your sig they way they used to. Stealth reactors just make power management more challenging.
 
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Shadow Reaper

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Jun 3, 2016
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So just listing surprises here: the Prowler is rocking new armor that is delivering stunning numbers. If you pull all the components and replace with stealth A, and put all laser repeaters, you can fire with impunity on all S1, S2, S3 and even the Polaris S4 sensor array ships without being seen until they ping.

~3,400 DPS. The Prowler has been knocked back up to must fly status. Insane low 1k IR even beats the Eclipse.

The Talon is rocking great stealth as is the humble Razor EX, which was always a disappointment. With laser repeaters they can both fire on ships with impunity, until they ping. The M50 is no longer a match for the EX in combat because the Razor is going to disappear off sensors so quickly.

My beloved Sentinel set up for stealth has a sig of just 3.9, and while that is not low enough to use repeaters unobserved, it is low enough to make quad Rattler shots very effective. If CIG tweeked the Vanguard missile lock time to match their old advertisements, could be very deadly.

Total rewrite of stealth. If you’ve ignored it until now, odds are you can no longer do that.
 
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Shadow Reaper

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Erkul is not working right but if these numbers mean anything, the Guardian’s armor makes it unsuitable for stealth. Puts me back on the Sentinel.
 

Duckforceone

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Feb 25, 2016
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Duckforceone
how long until people start to whine about this and it's nerfed again?
(without scanning truly being implemented, it sounds like it's going to be the new meta)
 

Shadow Reaper

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Shadow Reaper
There are still downsides to stealth. Military reactors provide much more power than stealth reactors. You’re on a harsher budget with stealth unless you’re flying under gunned like with the Razors, or relying upon missiles. One of the changes I’m extremely unhappy with is they took the second reactor out of the Vanguard. It used to be you could fly it on an Eclipse and flip on a secondary military reactor when you go hot with guns and shields. Some nitwit took the second reactor out which is going to severely limit your available power if you are kitted for stealth.

The 400i had two reactors and three coolers. Now it has 1S2 reactor and cooler.

It’s like they periodically put someone in who has no idea why ships were designed the way they were so goes and “fixes it”. The 400i was the only ship in its class with stealth capability and they “fixed” that by giving us fewer choices. Who thinks they can reasonably fly a boat like the 400 with 1S2 reactor?

On the up side, the Razor EX rocks the way it was intended for the first time. Reiterating an old point: if you can cut those wings off without losing any thrusters, it is going to make a seriously bad ass scout craft. Tiny deck footprint with outrageous speed and stealth. You might fit more than a dozen in the Polaris bay, though the pilots would have a hard time finding a bed.

The Gladiator has 2S1 reactors and 3S1 coolers, and they’re mismatched. First I’ve seen that. Nothing is replaceable in Erkul so maybe they’re in an update, but mismatching reactors and coolers for flying with/without stealth is something I have always done, and now it looks like CIG is doing it too. It’ll be very interesting to look at a stealth Gladiator after erkul is back up. Its armor stealth signature for EM is now the lowest of any ship—70% reduction. Obviously CIG is taking stealth seriously.

If you are looking for a stealth ship on erkul, I recommend look first at the armor. If it is flat you can usually give it some stealth, around 6k for a small ship. If it has green numbers for reduction, you can call it an authentic stealth ship. If it has red numbers with increase in signature like the Guardian, it’s never going to generate a small signature.
 
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