EVE General Discussion

Content removed due to OP misplaced sense of entitlement.

if you want real faction warfare join red vs blue.. they got there **** on order and have great fun.
ccp made it then abbandon it.

Dont agree. FW atm (like the rest of lowsec) rewards blobbing. Making FW viable in empire would improve the game 500%. I want to be vulnerable when i am missioning in motsu to greater extent than i am now. Also, if they stop you being able to dock in enemy stations - station games are some what limited.

Small change? the whole thing needs a complete overhaull. the currant system is terrable, most folks dont even know there is actually a war going on between the factions, its more a cold war than anything, there is no effect on any of the empires for what goes on, the Amarr militia can not push on towards matar and tkae it even if they wanted to ( although i think that they really should) so come on get a finger out and do something worth while that reminds us the factions are at war and not make it feel like some glorified PvP arena with some extra LP.

Edit: Also what happened to allowing alliances to join in FW?

Off topic posts removed. Please stay on topic, thank you.

Thanks, Lyris, an excellent question. I can't speak for Uppsy, but I'd be happy to answer from my own perspective. I am one of the many “born and bred” pilots who learned the game flying for the militia, and have been entertained long enough to still be around in the Faction Warfare scene despite it being “abandoned” by CCP. I’ve placed alts in nullsec alliances, and done PvP in nullsec, as well as do my fair share of highsec ice mining for POS fuel and a few brief months of level 4’s before I moved to lowsec and never looked back. So I’ve had a broad experience in EvE, and I strive to avoid tunnel vision when it comes to FW. I value all three sectors of Eve’s gameplay – nullsec, lowsec, and highsec, and ultimately see a balance of all three as the key to keeping the game strong and vibrant.

Faction Warfare exists really on two levels – there is the mechanics, and there is the community. Same as nullsec – there is sovereignty mechanics, and resources out there (Sanctums, Havens, etc), but those are separate from the body of players that write the stories, define the action, and make it a full experience. One cannot exist without the other. As you have witnessed in nullsec, stagnation in mechanics or broken systems can bleed over into stagnation in player attitude and player activity, and cause boredom and dissatisfaction that kills the drive to continually fight and compete. Whether you’re talking about FW, or nullsec sov mechanics – it’s the same principle. The game mechanics provide a skeleton for the players to flesh out with their own actions and activities.

Faction Warfare has an excellent community – top notch PvP talent, creative roleplayers, bloggers, storytellers, excellent FC’s and tacticians, and many fighters who take the initiative to go and find their own fights. We don’t have call to arms – every pilot is expected to think independently and learn how to defend themselves whether solo roaming, in a gang, or in a large fleet. I’ve truly come to appreciate the talent level in the militias – it has progressed monumentally from the “newbie PvP” reputation that stuck with it for years, and remains to this day. Outsiders don’t see this, and I get that. You’ll just have to trust us, or come find us and fight for yourself to see.

However, just like nullsec, old, broken, unattended mechanics have weakened and arguably broken the skeleton around which all that fun can be had. The community has been great, and kept FW running on fumes for years now, but its time to throw gasoline on the fire again. FW could be a lot of things – a haven for small gang warfare (which is a MUCH greater test of pilot skill than flying a BS in a hundred man fleet, or flying a supercap – both of which most of us find incredibly dull), it could be a training ground for new players who want to PvP without bubblecamps complicating their ability to casually roam and find fights, It provides a primary “food source” for lowsec piracy corps and alliances to build their gameplay around, and gives roleplayers a place to channel their efforts in a meaningful, non-arbitrary fashion.

All of these potential benefits are killed by the current mission / complex system, which only gives the opportunity to change sov right after downtime, instead of round the clock plexing availability. Only a small fraction of the community even participates in the core FW mechanic, and its sadly timezone specific – for most of us its just a giant static wardec to provide a concentrated bunch of targets to shoot and have fun with. The other major problem is the missions, which in some respect provide pvp (having them appear on overview is great for baiting fights) but sadly the AI is broken enough that it encourages farming. Thus, FW is filled with alts who use the rewards of FW (LP) not to keep them shipped up and fighting for their faction, but for pure wealth to be taken outside the community. Simple mission changes could require gang work to complete them, and encourage group on group activity, instead of just slicers chasing hounds, which gets old very fast.

Some advocate a sweeping overhaul of FW, but many of us don’t even think that’s necessary to start seeing growth. Incursion style sovereignty consequences would be 3pic, but I realize that’s a lot of resources to dedicate to a minority community. However, there are many simpler fixes that can refresh the activity level, re-establish FW as the king of small-fleet pew pew, and break us free from farming alts and the boredom of plexing. I truly believe that there is a huge “bang for your buck” factor in FW, in that some effort from CCP will go a long way towards getting more subscriptions reactivated, and making lowsec vibrant and busy once again. I, and others here, are just the noisy ones willing to keep yapping, but there are silent thousands who simply gave up because they think CCP and the CSM gave up as well. I think that if FW changes are actually implemented, you’ll see the appreciation shown from far more than just the vocal ones on the forums.

Thank you so much Konflikt, every snippet of CCP response means a lot to us in the community. We're prone to assuming the worst, so this is great news. I'm excited to hear that FW change is not a myth, and to receive confirmation that its actually on someone's desk. Don't be a stranger here, definitely check in with us and lets us know how its coming along! We'd be thrilled to see a Dev Blog if someone in your team has the time to spare for it and you're far enough along you feel comfortable sharing.
At least now everyone can relax that FW is not some "hot potato" that CCP refuses to touch.

Also, I feel better knowing that "Team Pink Zombie Kittens" is working on FW. They sound much more badass than "Best Friends Forever".

Zombies FTW.

That something that is a small change that will "shake up" fw? Yup.

Sounds like we are getting the long awaited feature that every person in FW has been asking for, access to enemy high sec.

BTW, if this get confirmed...... then we need someone to go to that god damn summit who actually knows about fw.

And thank YOU for stooping to a level I had refused to - someone had to unhinge the jaw and assume the prayer position. Its just hilarious that it took that much blatant grovelling to finally get what 15 other 30-page threads couldn't - a simple confirmation that a FW change (I wont use plural until they do) is actively being programmed.

I personally don't bear much animosity towards the goons - they're just working to improve the game too, in their own way. Or they're just having fun burning **** to the ground, fine too if you ask me, its a game. Even if you believe that they are basically the EvE version of the illuminati, at least you could argue that their metagaming got so out of control that they successfully meta-gamed CCP itself. It doesnt surprise me that in a game about corporate power, players adapted and learned to use that power on the corporation that made the game. if the winter expansion is the result, than Faction warfare improvements or not, huge props to Mittani and the rest of CSM for finally getting the player-demanded fixes underway.

And I dont think he really was trolling, I think if you moved out to nullsec early enough in the game and stayed out there, I think I would be equally as confused about Faction Warfare, and why people are simultaneously saying its great but needs to be fixed. I'd also probably wonder who actually does it, because it hasn't been given any CCP publicity (most likely because it draws attention to the lack of attention theyve given it).

But yeah, I've lashed out too before. It just stems from my intense love for my friends and enemies within the FW community, and my genuine belief that the feature has tremendous merit and potential for the game in general, if the players are listened to.

I'm looking forward to the change - hopefully its not highsec NPC removal. You can't expand a war that's already grown stale. You expand station games and hub camping, and make life hell for younger players learning to PvP. Keep FW in lowsec, the noobs will learn better habits and tactics out there. I'm crossing my fingers that the developers have been listening when we've told them why that would be a bad move, and the details of the other, more pressing changes that need to be made first.