Confessor Your Sins

Sorry about the title, it was funny in my head.

SiSi has been updated and the first look of the new Amarrian T3 Destroyer is available for all to see. Previously we had just a view/the model of the actual ship now we have some statistics and details of the bonuses the ship will have.

Traits, Attributes and Fitting

Thanks to Althanear for the screenshots.

With the introduction the new Modes the Traits page is one of the longest of any ship in game. Nicely laid out and easy to see what the ship has and each mode brings to the table.

tbh, defensive mode will be the go-to

                       - Apex Bex

Of course the stats are subject to change but with only a week til release I think its fair to say that the slot layout is fixed.

Seven high lots which can fit six guns and still has a utility high slot free for a neut or nos. Three mids is going to limit tackle options and five low slots seems rather anemic for both tank and damage modifiers. I think we'll see these ships in either a sniper (range ~80km to 100km) or a "heavy" tank variant with a prop mod and a scram/point with tank provided by speed so a DC II perhaps a Adaptive Nano Membrane and speed/agility mods in the remain low slots.

Fast Tackle

if this is for going through frig holes, people are going to want them to be heavy tackle and dps

                                                                                                                                     - Apex Bex

The Defensive mode looks to be the best option of the modes available, Speed is appealing but speed can only get you so far before you get into a tight orbit and if you're taking damage then speed really isn't going to help.

With a decent buffer and resists you're looking at 19,000 EHP (ingame) with DPS in the region of 350 (skill dependant).

The larger destroyer hull means you'll take more damage than a smaller interceptor or frigate, and the interceptor is designed to tackle where as this isn't. Its got three modes which means three purposes instead of one that most other ships have.

I've spoken to a few friends who think that the Confessor is going to be a white elephant and based on the statistics it has it looks like they may be right. It has nothing that makes it any better than a current ship that is dedicated to that role. 

So Whats The Point

Aside from its new and looks great I can't see a role or purpose for this ship.

Interceptors tackle better, T1 frigates and destroyers will be able to shoot just as well and (ignoring the sniper mode) range isn't an issue. Speaking of which I found it ridiculous that the ship can lock and snipe out to 100km but the guns could only go as far as 60km in the testing I did. 

Pitiful.

You can fit to get 500dps from the Confessor and include a local repair module but turns from a brawler into a glass cannon with anaemic defence attributes but I would not do this, it would be throwing ISK away everytime.

Sure other ships don't have the ability to switch modes on-the-fly but they don't need to. They (especially after rebalancing) have a singular role or purpose and (now) do it well.

I can see Confessors (and the other new ships) carrying Mobile Deports to refit but this isn't ideal. For one thing if you're in the middle of hostile space you've got to find somewhere to refit and then you may do so whilst being probed down. Not ideal circumstances for refitting.

What If You Changed This

mark my words, in its current form, it's a white elephant

                                                                 - Anon (I don't want to embarrass them)

I like the ideal of these smaller ships. I'm a capital pilot, I love my battleships and larger vessels but I do enjoy wathcing and (rarely) partaking in fleets of smaller and more nimble ships. A fleet of Confessors, supported with T1 logistics and a few interceptors/fast tackle would leave wrecks whereever it went.

But what if we made a small change to the confessor, in the defensive mode add the ability to increase the range and output of remote repair modules? Imagine a fleet of Confessors roaming that could spider tank and put out between 300 and 400 dps and could repair themselves. That would be a fun fleet and would certainly get fights where ever it went.

Edit: The idea for the logi bonus for spider tanking was first proposed by Apex Bex, happy now?

Enough, You've Rambled Long 

The Idea - 8/10

The Implementation - 4/10

I know it hasn't been released yet but playing with it on SiSi and getting feedback from people who have used it I want to love the Confessor but as it stands I cannot.