This one is probably gonna get me into some hot water, but I think it is time to kill off an entire ship class and say goodbye to the Titan. Eve didn't used to have 'em and I think it's high time we got back to a universe without 'em. Goodbye Titans it was nice knowing ya.
Am I joking, kidding or otherwise pulling your leg? No, I'm serious here. CCP has even admitted at times that they believe we have too many Titans in Eve, (over 150 estimated right now) it was one of the reasons they killed the Area of Effect weapon to begin with. They've tried to build the game mechanic around the existence of these station sized ships and they've... at least in my humble opinion, failed. We do have far too many Titans in our Universe, they tip the scale of combat far to heavily on the side of Capital Ships and they've made hot-drops and bridges a dangerous precedent for Sov Warfare in zero space. The mere popularity of Titan bridges has for all intents and purposes killed the existence of Sniper BS Fleets for example.
So far this year I've been involved in at least a dozen or more Titan bridges, and I've missed out on at least that many more. Last year? Three total. In a universe that already has Black Ops, Jump Bridge networks, Gates and Jump Freighters, the Titan Bridge has done nothing more than grossly unbalance the movement of large fleets from one system to the next. Not only that, but the Titan has unbalanced the weight of fleets from the individual to the Alliance. Creating a universe less like a sandbox and more like a corporate boardroom.
I think it is time to call for the death or extreme NERF of the Titan class of starship. Expunged. Thrown onto the garbage heap of bad ideas never to be heard from again. And if not that, then at least transformed into something else. Something less, but still valuable. How about this? How about using the darn things for the purpose they were supposed to used for from the beginning!?! Now that's an idea.
A mobile fleet platform. The Titan becomes a mobile station that provides extreme fleet boosting capabilities, ships can dock and undock just like a station, repairs, cloning, limited supply storage, all the comforts of home extended to the battlefield. But without a single offensive weapon and the ability to only jump itself. The titan can deliver ships within itself, but it can no longer jump large fleets across systems. Those darn fleets will have to get there the old fashioned way, probably through enemy gate camps. Awww.
Perhaps the Titan gets a defensive shield, much like a POS shield, to help defend itself from attack. In that way it serves much like a Battle POS and brings to bear a force multiplier to any battlefield, but not the same type we've become all too familiar with lately.
I know this'll probably never happen. I wasn't born yesterday. But in the race to build a gooder Eve, I think the idea of killing off the Titan is worthy of thought and consideration. It is only one step towards creating a gooder Eve, one in which the individual player can thrive and contribute.
What are your thoughts?