Minmatar Ship Rebalancing

Yesterday CCP Yttrbium published a dev blog covering the ship balancing that has occurred over the past few months and the planned changes coming in the Winter expansion.  The exiting news is that not only will all of the tech 1 frigates be rebalanced but all of the tech 1 cruisers as well.  Since I only fly Minmatar ships I figure I'd look at the changes in the Minmatar fleet.

Frigates

Breacher: "...the Breacher becomes a resilient close range missile platform thanks to its shield boost amount per level."  I have one in the hanger that I built as a kiting ship.  This change will turn a glass cannon into a brawling ship.  I won't miss the reduction of the high slot since I had to leave it empty anyway.

Probe:  "All of these [exploration/scanning] ships are now properly focused by having mini-profession bonuses, increased probe scan strength and far better slot layouts in general."  I use a Jaguar when running sites in low-sec because of the resilience to fire when rats unexpectedly spawn.  I'm tempted to see how a revamped Probe would work.  The 25% increase in base cargo space is also attractive since I use a Probe for quick transport jobs.

Vigil:  "...the Vigil will no longer have a speed bonus and will focus on target painting."  Losing the speed bonus takes away any reason for me to fly the Minmatar EW frigate.  I flew one in Eve University fleets and really liked the speed and maneuverability.

Burst:  "A mix of formerly known missile and mining frigates that have been revamped to have logistics capabilities mounted on small, mobile hulls. Combined with a small remote armor repairer and shield transfer overhaul, it means new pilots or people interested in logistics support will now have a proper upgrade path all the way to the famously known Tech 2 logistic cruisers. Such a change will also dramatically shake up combat due to introducing repairing capabilities on small scale frigate fleets."

While I don't plan on flying one I am interested to see what organizations like Agony, Eve University and RvB do with the ships.

Destroyers

Thrasher:  "Formerly known as Tier 1 destroyers, they are mainly in good shape since their first buff in Crucible. There are still a few points that need to be looked at before we can move on."  Now that I am in low sec I may fly one with something other than salvagers fit.  I have also used the Thrasher as an exploration ship in the past.

New destroyer (class unnamed):  "While the exact attributes are not ready for review so far we can explain their roles a bit more than in the previous blog. Main roles will focus on medium range damage projection through drones and missiles... Caldari and Minmatar will boast high-slots fully loaded with missile launchers. Slot layout is expected to be 13 in total with overall speed reduced and signature radius increased compared to existing existing destroyer hulls."

Now I am glad that I trained all of those missile skills.  I really would like to see how this works.  Time to get into missile production in the Republic?

Cruisers

Scythe:  "These almost extinct hulls will see a new purpose for being properly refurbished as Tech 1 logistic ships. With removing their current mining role, our goal is to make them useful enough to be actively picked in fleets when Tech 2 logistics are not available instead of having the FC sending you back to your momma."  I'll believe it when I see it.  This is the Scythe we are talking about.

Bellicose:  "Our plan is to turn the Arbitrator and Bellicose into combat / EW hybrids (a bit like combat recons if you will) ... The Bellicose will combine target painting with missiles on a mean, fast hull that will resemble the Caracal as an anti-frigate platform."  I have a love of the Bellicose as it was the ship I was flying when I got on my first kill mail.  I'm wondering if the new ship will resemble Kirith Kodachi's Bellicose CL-A variant I read about in the Eve Tribune.  I would love to fly a Bellicose around as something other than a joke.

Stabber:  "The Stabber will most likely have its speed bonus integrated into the hull to make room for something more dedicated to Minmatar combat doctrine – some of you will ponder, surely that must be a salvaging bonus?"  I have never flown a Stabber although I have one sitting in my hanger.  If the ship gets faster maybe I could use it as a courier.

Rupture:  "The Rupture, while staying a solid and versatile choice, could use more resilience and speed as well."  The one issue I always had when flying the Rupture was its tank.  Perhaps now that I have a lot more support skills I would not have an issue, but I moved on to battlecruisers, especially the Hurricane.  I'd like to see what shows up this winter.