Gooder Eve: Module Based ECM


Gooder Eve is a series of on-going articles that examine ways in which Eve can be made Gooder.  Some are serious, some are not, but all are intended to create debate, dialogue, and discussion.  So enjoy! ]


As I was sitting in my Vengeance above the station yesterday watching Akirra 1v1 a Tusker, and then get derped by two other Tuskers, one of which was in a Griffin, I started to wonder. Not about a once proud corporations demise, but about ECM in Eve.

Later that afternoon I was sitting in a Drake waiting to see if this knuckle-head in a Gnosis would return to his mission or not, when about eight or nine wonderful little AFs entered local. I smiled and waited to see where they would land, totally planning on warping in on them and having some fun. When my d-scan detected the Griffin they had along with them. I decided not to engage. Sure, I might get lucky and take him out quickly, but I also might suffer a rather long and protracted death waiting for a bunch of gnats to kill me while powerless to do a damn thing about it.

ECM in Eve is a blanket expression of ultimate frustration. Once jammed you are pretty much screwed. And there is little you can do about it. Sure there are ECCM modules, target-breakers, defender missiles, and a few other options. Like bring your own ECM. And while each of these does have its merits, and they do, they are all pretty useless when it comes right down to it.

This isn't intended as a rant against ECM as much as a thought-starter about how it could be even better. So hang with me a minute. As much as I personally loathe Falcons and consider ECM to be dishonorable, I am actually going to pitch an idea to make them better. And not so dishonorable.

Right now ECM essentially breaks lock and ensures that it stays broken while the target is effected by the jam cycle. Which can be short or forever depending on the skill of the player, module type, target skill, etc. But essentially, breaking lock is the power of the ECM boat. But what if its power lay in other areas? What if you could shut off specific modules of the enemy without breaking lock?

Imagine ECM worked like this instead, each module affected another type of module. In other words, a Missile ECM would stop missile launchers from firing. A Prop ECM would cause your prop mod from working. A Rep ECM would interfere with your Rep cycles. Guns, hardeners, TDs, pretty much any specific type of module could potentially have a specific type of counter.

In that case I might have chosen to attack the AF gang with their Griffin, even knowing that he could have potentially shut down my Adaptive Hardeners for example. At least my missiles would still work. And my drones. Or, perhaps, he could have turned off my MWD? Or my drones? At least I could still fight back, even wounded.

It is, I think, an interesting idea. And once you start thinking about it, it seems to open up the potential for some interesting applications. At the very least, ECM might be a more respected and essential part of gang/fleet doctrines. An entire swarm of Falcons that could effectively eliminate the enemy fleets ability to Rep? Or Nuet? Or Cyno? ( Imagine shutting down a Cyno just as it starts? )

I like the idea. What are your thoughts?