Posted - 2011.08.24 19:51:00 - [1]

 

Edited by: Marcus JuniusBrutus on 24/08/2011 20:22:20
1. Idea

Specialist cruiser sized ship whose role like their 19thC forbears before them is to capture denizens of the deep; in this case starships.

2. The How

Ship can web a target ship to bring it to a halt and then use 'harpoon' type weapons or maybe special harpoon drones to cause damage. Maybe even use a new version of a tractor beam to act as method to lash the two hulls together as they fight...

If the target ship can be brought to a fraction of structure - i.e. 25% (purely as a random example), target player is ejected from their ship in a pod and 'whaling ship' then is able to tow the stricken ship back to a port. Clearly when towing, the whaling ship's speed, manoeuvrability and ability to defend is greatly reduced.

Presumably, a cruiser sized whaling ship would be restricted to similar sized vessels as targets - maybe transport ships at maximum sized target. One other possibility would be to bring in a group of whaling ships to perhaps take down larger prey like a freighter together.

3. The Why

- Better than a killmail!?, keep that trophy target ship and all its fittings!
- Brings a new dynamic to fleet fights or lone hunters (pick on a macro miner maybe?)
- New specialism to work on for players
- Skills might be transferable if and when CCP lets us hunt down comets for ice mining
- Way to make bounty hunting or even capturing players ships for ransom viable professions

Thanks for reading! Apologies if raised before but could not see it.