Alpha Overview
Alpha clones:
Since their release, alphas have been an appealing part of the game. An opportunity to try out the sandbox, with no cost other than your time and eventual sanity. But for a long time, that was all they were. Meta fittings don't really compete, racial lock was very limiting, and a lack of T2 guns and ammo hurt performance in some areas to a massive degree.
That all changed after Eve Vegas, when alphas could cross train different races, and T2 modules opened up to them. Pirate faction ships, Scorch, Void, active tanks that worked, all the things we had known and loved were now an option.
Looking at that, I decided to take on a challenge. In December of 2017, I hung up my 83 million skill points, and started flying as a max skilled alpha clone. I wanted to see what could be done, and the best way to test was on myself. While I don't recommend that for haircuts or pharmaceuticals, this has been an extremely satisfying experiment! Especially with the conclusions I've taken away from it so far.
Alphas: Such Free, Much How?
So, what's the real difference between alpha and omega state performance? In all honestly, not much, other than no access to cloaks. Losing those hurts, but stay out of wormholes, and its not as big of a loss as you would think.
Locked out of T2/T3 hulls. With the fitting and weapon limitations, it would end badly even if you could fly them.
You lose about 5-10% fitting room, which matters more on the smaller hull classes than larger, with their typically looser fittings.
You lose a small amount of capacitor, and recharge, but not really noticeably, because most cap hungry fits get injectors or batteries, which makes up for it.
Active tanks stay at about the same performance level as omega clones.
Turret and launcher damage drops by 10-15% on small and medium fit hulls, and about 20% on large, due to losing T2 large weapons, T2 Heavy and Sentry drones, and their skill's passive bonuses. The notable exception is Rapid Heavy Missile Launchers, which are usable in their T2 version due to skill reliance on Heavy Missile Specialization.
You lose level V skills on all hull types. This is what really hurts, especially on double damage or tank bonused hulls. Tempest and Hyperion feel the pain a lot more than a Dominix does, for example.
Conclusion: FC Wat Do?
With the drawbacks listed, what can you expect as an alpha? As I mentioned earlier, there has been one big takeaway from the alpha changes for me:
You can do 90% of anything with a T1/Faction hull you can with a T2/T3.
It may take more pilot skill or bling, but you can get most of their performance out of alpha capable ships. Want to fly a Curse? Fly an Ashimmu instead. No, you can't neut them from 40km, but you can neut them from 20km, and have them webbed at the same time. Its all about adapting your piloting to your goals, and they're quite easy to meet, with some creativity. And really, that's been one of the biggest benefits of my alpha experiment.
A short example: Shotgun fleets with Pyke Hurren. A roam departing from min space most weekends, it relies on extremely fast ships like interceptors, and hyperspatially rigged T3Ds, to tackle and kill targets in nullsec before they even know there's a threat. Alpha problem: can't fly any of those.
But I can fly a Dramiel.
And it can get a Hyperspatial rig.
And keep up with Interceptors.
And it turns out, its quite welcome on his fleets, despite them being a very advanced, and skill intensive composition.
So, just because you are alpha, don't limit yourself. The age old rule of skill not being measured in points applies in a major way to alphas. Which is what this blog will be largely focusing on. So, get out there, fly where and how you want. Fly creatively. Fly intelligently, and as always,
Fly Chaotically.
Since their release, alphas have been an appealing part of the game. An opportunity to try out the sandbox, with no cost other than your time and eventual sanity. But for a long time, that was all they were. Meta fittings don't really compete, racial lock was very limiting, and a lack of T2 guns and ammo hurt performance in some areas to a massive degree.
That all changed after Eve Vegas, when alphas could cross train different races, and T2 modules opened up to them. Pirate faction ships, Scorch, Void, active tanks that worked, all the things we had known and loved were now an option.
Looking at that, I decided to take on a challenge. In December of 2017, I hung up my 83 million skill points, and started flying as a max skilled alpha clone. I wanted to see what could be done, and the best way to test was on myself. While I don't recommend that for haircuts or pharmaceuticals, this has been an extremely satisfying experiment! Especially with the conclusions I've taken away from it so far.
Alphas: Such Free, Much How?
So, what's the real difference between alpha and omega state performance? In all honestly, not much, other than no access to cloaks. Losing those hurts, but stay out of wormholes, and its not as big of a loss as you would think.
Locked out of T2/T3 hulls. With the fitting and weapon limitations, it would end badly even if you could fly them.
You lose about 5-10% fitting room, which matters more on the smaller hull classes than larger, with their typically looser fittings.
You lose a small amount of capacitor, and recharge, but not really noticeably, because most cap hungry fits get injectors or batteries, which makes up for it.
Active tanks stay at about the same performance level as omega clones.
Turret and launcher damage drops by 10-15% on small and medium fit hulls, and about 20% on large, due to losing T2 large weapons, T2 Heavy and Sentry drones, and their skill's passive bonuses. The notable exception is Rapid Heavy Missile Launchers, which are usable in their T2 version due to skill reliance on Heavy Missile Specialization.
You lose level V skills on all hull types. This is what really hurts, especially on double damage or tank bonused hulls. Tempest and Hyperion feel the pain a lot more than a Dominix does, for example.
Conclusion: FC Wat Do?
With the drawbacks listed, what can you expect as an alpha? As I mentioned earlier, there has been one big takeaway from the alpha changes for me:
You can do 90% of anything with a T1/Faction hull you can with a T2/T3.
It may take more pilot skill or bling, but you can get most of their performance out of alpha capable ships. Want to fly a Curse? Fly an Ashimmu instead. No, you can't neut them from 40km, but you can neut them from 20km, and have them webbed at the same time. Its all about adapting your piloting to your goals, and they're quite easy to meet, with some creativity. And really, that's been one of the biggest benefits of my alpha experiment.
A short example: Shotgun fleets with Pyke Hurren. A roam departing from min space most weekends, it relies on extremely fast ships like interceptors, and hyperspatially rigged T3Ds, to tackle and kill targets in nullsec before they even know there's a threat. Alpha problem: can't fly any of those.
But I can fly a Dramiel.
And it can get a Hyperspatial rig.
And keep up with Interceptors.
And it turns out, its quite welcome on his fleets, despite them being a very advanced, and skill intensive composition.
So, just because you are alpha, don't limit yourself. The age old rule of skill not being measured in points applies in a major way to alphas. Which is what this blog will be largely focusing on. So, get out there, fly where and how you want. Fly creatively. Fly intelligently, and as always,
Fly Chaotically.
In Rust we Trust
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