We're about to get Drain Bamaged and Mind Fubbared!
Not only is the addition of four Battlecruiser class ships with Battleship weapons going to pull the rug out from under your feet, but all the other changes on top of that are seriously going to mess with your head.
There are so many aspects of the game that we take for granted in relation to other aspects of the game, the relative speed relationships between ship class, the relative distance relationships between weapon types, the relative damage outputs between classes... the list is long and complex. And all of that is going to be changing.
And no one, no matter what they tell you, truly understands the ultimate impact this expansion will have on the game of Eve. Even with massive scale backs before release, which are of course possible, the widespread changes that have been leaked so far are nothing less than (gulp) game changing. In my own personal opinion, these changes move Eve forward in an extremely exciting and positive manner. A huge step, maybe three or four big steps, towards perfection.
But while many look at these changes one aspect at a time, the truly mind fubbaring way is to consider them all at once. From Capital nerfs to Destroyer re-balancing, not to mention four major new ships, Eve will be undergoing a widespread shift of focus not seen since... well, hard to say really. Maybe never?
From a Flying in Space enthusiast perspective, this is an expansion whose time has finally come. We've weathered industrial changes, incursion changes, mining Orcas, Sov expansions and any number of other changes, including CQ, without much to show for it. Since the introduction of T3 Strategic Cruisers there hasn't been much for the FiS crowd to cheer about. Other than the Scorpion and Maller re-skins (which are really nice, now get busy on other ships!).
But I'm cheering now. And I am busy trying to wrap my poor sodden head around what it is all going to mean. Any major shift, like after Aprocrypha, have always had unintended consequences that we've had to deal with. So what will be the fallout from this major paradigm shift?
Looking thru the crystal ball I see some good and some potentially not so good changes ahead. Certainly the new balancing impacts the Capital world, not only thru the re-balancing but also thru the introduction of such powerful Cap Killers to the Universe. So Null Space should be an interesting place following the December expansion. But we're also seeing a re-thinking of several ship classes and weapons systems that could potential shake things up in ways we might not even realize yet. Many people are already anticipating an increase in Hi-Sec ganking, perhaps even so far as the disruption of transportation networks and the moving of assets. But I also see a dark potential for increased Gate Camping in all sections of Eve. With hi-dps, longer ranged, relatively cheap ships at their disposal, the temptation to park a small fleet of these things off a busy Gate seems almost unavoidable. And that's not good for anyone.
And I haven't even mentioned new mods, the details of which we don't have a clue about yet. Although we can make some educated guesses about. Data Subverter? If only CCP thought the way my brain thinks that would be the coolest mod ever!
Whatever the details eventually work themselves out to be, this Winter Expansion is shaping up to be a serious shake up of the WAY THINGS HAVE BEEN. A new dynamic will settle into New Eden, one which will fundamentally change combat and the way it is planned, conceived and implemented, for a long time to come.
I say bring it on baby! It is about time things got fun again.