If the fastest bot class in the game can pin down targets and also eliminate their chance to shoot back to break the demob, it’s an obvious problem.

(To save you from tantrum, MK1 light EW isn't the problem. It will cap itself out sooner or later.)

A lot of the complaints about the balance patch seem to revolve around the ability for a bot with more slots to 'out-gun' another bot in their 'Role' or intended use.

TL;DR Incorporate a non-level based 'bonus' that is the same regardless of players extension levels, and ensures the Role of the bot is sufficiently biased.
*Feel free to debate what 'sufficient' means with respect to balancing. 

So a Seth can fit more Enwar modules, and more tunings, therefore increasing overall neuting capability beyond what 1 ictus could achieve, (with the same extension levels.)
Whether or not this good is debated.  Should the Ictus be able to out-neut All bots, or just bots of its class and smaller? 

Either way, this example and similar issues with the disruption of the overall bonus amount decrease has lessened the bonus system's ability to strongly-bias a bot's particular usage.
The goal of this patch was to reduce the total delta of level-based bonuses, therefore making the effective-gap between two different leveled players in the same bot.  Also reducing overall effectiveness of what could be maximally achieved (bonus at lv10).  This too, is debated as to whether this was intended or incidental.

My proposal is a Static Bonus, a Role Bonus, to boost the bot's specialties by increasing the performance of some modules, or whatever, but not have the bonus increase with any extension level. 
This way, a base-level pilot will have the same intrinsic boost as a fully leveled pilot.  Of course the other +3% per level in X skill will remain.  This way the gap between these two pilots is the same (same delta) but both are piloting the most effective bot in that Role given their skills. 

If you still don't know what I am talking about, look at Eve ship descriptions:
https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Talos
Scroll down about half way for the 2nd block of text where it shows the Skill-based vs Role bonus(es).

Implementation seems simple, though I see no current precedent for this in game. 
It also seems like this could satisfy not only the goals of the Dev's with this recent balance, but also the issues it caused with how the game was previously being played. 

Thoughts?

Probly the easiest way to balance that, agreed.

I understand what you want but the example is rubbish. Equal demob range wouldn't make a difference when Cameleon and Arbalest face each other 1-on-1.

Don't get so melodramatic and cut the bullshit: http://forums.perpetuum-online.com/topi … ault-bots/

But why would a light EW go head on head with an assault robot...? That's suicide, and it's meant to be that way.

...
There is a real gem of a game here ... in a world of ever increasing dumbed down mmo's.

...At one point, the game lost a lot of CIR guys (so I've been told), ...

Hello, first of all, I would like to explain the current situation of the game as I see it. At one point, the game lost a lot of CIR guys (so I've been told), because they have conquered everything and had no enemies and got bored. Then after a while, new guys (along with some vets) came to the game and started claiming beta terminals. Afterwards, the CIR vets came back, saw they had people to kill and have fun, hence started counquering again. Now, here we are, newbies getting pounded (that's how it should be IMO) by CIR and their subcorps. There are massive operations going on, either nudging the "owners" of beta and gamma islands, some covert mining, artifacting and nonetheless, all out warfare. The game is player driven. It's all about the players, really.

To sum it up, I like to see the CIR and co. as the Big Bad Wolf (no offence), prying with its fangs on basically the rest of the server. The RUST coalition (which I am part of) is fighting, yet losing. But here is the thing: Players are uniting against a common enemy, and that is FUN! We are getting pounded and having fun. We dont have much EP nor resources, not to even talk about the sheer amount of bots cir has. BUT that is all fun, because players have a common goal. Now come the nerfs. Those nerfs do make fighting with CIR a lot worse because of:

1) ratting is the game's main NIC outcome, again, CIR will faceroll the rats, whereas we, who had a chance against the rats we were farming have to go a tier lower (which is a lot). All in all, less kernels and nic.

2) the point i really want to focus on is mining and harvesting.The corporations will mine their ore and keep it in corp to produce the equipment and bots. THE MARKET IS PRETTY MUCH DEAD!! I don't see a reason for CIR to post any of their ores (except epi - highly priced) on the market. Now that we've established that ore will mostly stay in corp, here's the thing. CIR already has outrageous amounts of equips and bots, whereas RUST has quite little stock. We are less able to keep the mining up with bot production. We need to actually have bots for CIR to blow em up. Essentially, mining nerfs will hit newbs a lot more than veteran players.

For the game to function in the near future, we will need to uphold the clash of powers. I am perfectly fine with RUST being weak yet on the rising side and CIR being godly. But if you nerf our primary sources of income, we might not be able to keep the struggle going. AND THAT IS THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE OF THE GAME. The clash of powers, the pvp aspect of fighting for power, the pve aspect of supporting the front lines. IMO, atm, this game is a fine *** simulation of WW2. I enjoyed it so much I freaking bought 7 accounts in my mere 2 weeks of playing the game. And i had a blast, belive me.

What i suggest you do is the following:
1) reduce the mining nerfs, that is the main crippling factor of the newbie corps (remember, if we are too weak, cir wont have anyone to blow up and both parties will be unhappy), cause ore production cant keep up with industry and market prices are outrageous. And not to mention CIR prob refines and produces at 375 bonus factories anyways. We are still stuck at 50. A 20% nerf on mining is a 20% nerf on our industry and like 5-10% neft on their industry, cause of all that bonus.
2) When ratting, newbies are the only ones getting nerfed in that aspect (i thought your idea of nerfing was to get more newbies to the game). Or make the tier difference lower. 4th star is many times better in loot than the 3rd star, there should be a diffence in loot, but not as high as it is now (meaning 1 cir can beat 5-10 newbs in ratting easily, unless they group up - newbie unfriendly).
3) aside from teritorial warfare, there is nothing to do in the game to be honest. When you are sitting on 20 gropho mk2s and billions of ore, you have nothing to do if there is no war. And we need the war to keep going. And there is going to be no war if either side falls to pieces.
4) With the intent to nerf the vets, you actually crippled the newbs you were planning to buff. We are going to have an easier time fighting with cir (but not much), yet on the other hand, we might not be having enough bots to actually fight in, hence you're crippling us.
5) Your balancing idea was good, but you cant just flat out nerf everything, because it brings the problems you've seen. And you're losing players this way.

Please don't make me regret buying 7 accounts.
A big shout for both RUST and CIR coalitions, because if it werent for your war, I probalby wouldnt have kept playing the game.
And I'm having a blast with the game! :D:D:D

Jita hasn't seen the Spanish Wing of PHM.