it eventually appears as a bounty against hegemony at level 10. coincidentally, it's one of the things i need most feedback on
Just a quick, off-the cuff response : I assume that these changes happened because the original Watchdog was a bit lopsided in how it was balanced. Two large mounts on a destroyer is a lot, and it was too slow to really follow the fleet, making its range advantage pointless. I'm sure there were situations where it was absolutely overpowered, but playing only in that space was kinda boring.
Now the Watchdog is more focused and can better make use of a variety of weapons, opening its play up tremendously. It is, however, OP starved as it probably should be. I've been able to fit converted hangar with Sarissas for primary damage and used dual vulcans for PD. There isn't really enough room for ITU, and it's not very important to how I play. The alternative is to use CH and defensive targeting array for PD and put some kind of standoff weapon in the shoulder mounts. This is more standoffish, as opponents will tend to pick off the fighters first before attacking the Watchdog, leaving it open to missiles and fighters. Using vulcans has better up time when constantly under fire, even if the fighters have better coverage.
The XIV variant opens up this kind of play. The baretta is general use, and the combination of chest mounts and shoulder turrets means you don't have to use CH for backup. Frankly, adding more mounts doesn't change much because there isn't enough OP to use them.
So I'd call the current Watchdog analogous to the Manticore but more capable in close range. The range boost is actually good for striking as an opponent is retreating or as they're approaching.
One problem I've had is a crash using a Watchdog with CH and the Aleste. It looks like when the Aleste tries to dock, there's some kind of error. I can't find the log now, but I'm sure it will crash again soon.
