f13.net

So any of you folks with more than the 4 1/2 months experience I've got want to educate me on something?

I noticed this weekend that my Battlecruiser not only got a shield bonus with RMR but now says "99% reduction in cpu cost of warfare link modules per level."  What are these modules? I'm thinking they're the things like Shield Emissions, Sensor Links, and ECCM.  It makes sense, since the advanced BCs look to be setup as a command and control vehicle rather than a weapons platform, but I'm not quite sure about it.

I think you find the modules here (http://www2.eve-online.com/itemdatabase/shipequipment/gangassistmodules/default.asp)

Quite expensive stuff, me thinks.

Wow .. 50 energy every 10sec for a 2% bonus.  That's VERY pricy indeed.  Though the XX warfare specalist leadership skills give 100% bonuses on top of that.  (The 5000TF CPU is only 50 if you stick it in a battlecruiser like it's supposed to be.)

So the next question is how the skill stacking works. 2%armor + 100% bonus = 4% armor, so is the next one 100% bonus another 4% or only 2% (adding only the module's base).  I'm guessing the latter, as level V would give your fleet 64% more shields one way and 10% the other.

Definately the latter. My alt character has Shield Spec IV and Armor Spec IV and is training for Squadron Command V right now (oy, such a long long skill). It has been awhile since I've actually used the modules in combat (carebear stint - and my 2nd machine I run that toon on makes combat hard), but if I remember correctly due to how the stacking works, the cap savings on shield/armor repping is usually what I choose to activate as I get almost a 50 cap/cycle savings on Large Armor Reps for my main (and that is just one ship). As they say, cap is life.

Thankfully you don't actually need to be on grid for these modules to give their bonuses - just in system. So I can warp my alt to a safespot and turn on the modules while the fleet fights somewhere else in the system  :-D

The bonus is per level of skill in the relevent Advanced (Blank) Warfare, and there are ways to put other multipliers on it (T2 Command ships can get a 50% bonus to one type, and there's a set of Mindlink implants that stack another 50%).  You definitely want to go whole-hog if you go that route, it's not for dabblers.  Roughly a 6-month training regime.  It doesn't help that each of the skills has only 1 module that is helpful in all cases, with the other 8 being situational.

You also become a high-priority target once the enemy figures out what you're up to, so you will spend a lot of time hopping from safe spot to safe spot while the coverts try to probe you out.  The force multiplier can be worth it, but you shouldn't get into it if you want to see your name on a lot of kill-mails.

--Dave

Considering we have a lot of shield tanks, perhaps siege warfare would be good?