Also, this class suggestion doesn't kill Gunners or Engineers at all, as it's designed to act as an effective alternative.
Now tell me how one engineer will handle all repairs... on pyramidion, for example. On galleon. On spire. ALONE . With pilot gunner and communications officer, all three with wrench
This class would be capable of playing like an Engie, just without the super-repair power they have. It can play like a Gunner, but without the control a Gunner has.
Engineer HAS NO_SUPER_REPAIR power. That is why Pilots take two or three engineers to have a slight chance of surviving in encounter. With the possibility of crew consisting of two engineers , CO an pilot, no one will take gunner on board unless Muse restricts "1 slot for 1 crew"
A Pilot can't be "degraded" as their job is the most important one. They are even more important than Engineers. While the Communications Officer concept can act as an alternative to a Captain as well, it has its own downsides when used in that way, same as with all the other classes. It can fill the roles already in the game, but in its own way.
I feel like I need to explain my point. Many pilots are strong leaders. They need power to handle, it is the essence of piloting, and even more important than simply driving a ship. Comm. Officer concept rips pulls power away from pilots hands, degrading pilot from Captain slot to crew slot. Take this power away and a lot of active pilots will lose interest to game.
I suppose Gunner class have not deserved it's misrespect from newer players. And current class system is almost perfect, and needs no massive intrusions like bringing up new class
Except most of the time, on the average ship, a single Engie COULD manage the important stuff, as long as someone was dedicated to serving as a secondary repair person. Lets use your "problem ships" as an example.
Pyramidian: It only ever needs one Engie anyway, as the Engie's entire job is sitting on the lower deck keeping the hull and engines working. The second engie is always stationed at the balloon anyway. This job can EASILY be managed by a Comm Officer, or even a Gunner. The ability to super-repair is NOT a necessity for this. Hell, the Comm Officer takes Mallet, the Gunner takes Spanner, and together they can maintain the balloon and guns, leaving the engines and hull to the actual Engineer.
Galleon: Really, the Galleon is a tricky ship even with 2 Engies, so it's a ship that may not want a Comm Officer. However, if one is used, it could be assigned to the lower deck as a Gunner Comm Officer, maintaining the weapons lower-deck engines. Meanwhile, the Pilot actually sets up to help repair the balloon in a pinch, and the actual Engie goes where needed, with the Hull being their primary focus. While two engies could maintain the ship as a whole easier, it's not absolutely necessary. This ship does require more coordination between all the members regardless though.
Spire: A single Engie can actually maintain the entire Spire pretty easily if they know what they're doing, as long as they can keep the armor up. It's possible to hit the Hull with Mallet, drop down and hit the Balloon with Mallet, and get back to the Hull just as the cooldown from Mallet ends, and hit it again to start the loop over. That said, I'd put the Comm Officer on repair duty primarily on this ship, with their role being to repair destroyed parts rather than to keep things alive. Once the armor can be restored, the main Engie can easily use the parkour loop to restore the armor while maintaining the armor on the other part. Fixing broken engines and guns can be shared, with shooting happening whenever. Again, they don't need super-repair power, they just need to not spend 90% of their time on the guns. Even a Gunner could fulfill this role in the current game, if they didn't sit on the guns all the time. While they will obviously not be able to pull the trick the Engie can with Quick Repair then full Armor in a very short time, they can do basic repairs.
Basically, let the Engie deal with the Emergency Repairs, while the Comm Officer deals with routine maintainance, buffs, and information warfare. All of which it can do while doing said routine maintainance.
Now, as to what you've said about Pilots. You seem to have this belief that a Pilot, the only person on the entire ship who can effectively fly the damn thing, would lose their role as Captain if the Comm Officer was made. While Comm Officer has a LOT of tactical ability, and can act as a replacement Captain, they still can't fly the ship any better than any other non-Pilot. Is it possible they could replace a Pilot-Captain? Of course. I even designed them with that as an option. Will they automatically become a complete replacement? Hell no! Even as much as I like this class, I would still always play as a Pilot, and ask someone else to serve as my Comm Officer. I would guide their tactics, and listen to them if they have any ideas, but I'd still play as a Pilot. A ship can't really fly without a Pilot. A Comm Officer could manage to play as a workable alternative, but they will ALWAYS be out-flown by a Pilot-Captain due to the maneuverability that they have. They'll just have more annoying tricks, and could play deceptively and with decent stealth. In a 4v4, I may even suggest one ship have a Comm Officer-Captain just so we have that wild-card, but I still expect anyone not on a Pyra, Galleon, or Spire would prefer a Pilot just for sheer maneuverability. And even on them, it would be a good idea in general. Certainly I'd never fly my Squid with anything but a Pilot.
