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AFK Cloaking Collection Thread

First post First post
Author
Teckos Pech
Hogyoku
Goonswarm Federation
#741 - 2013-08-20 06:10:32 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:

1, this is my main, and my obvious kill board's lack of entries that would fit your definition of cloaky ganker speaks volumes.
No, I do not have an alt that I use in that manner.

2, the problem is local. Hot drops vanish as obsolete the moment it becomes possible to get onto grid with a target ship any other way, without them having a free warning to get safe first.
AFK cloaking fails utterly if cloaks are not constantly displayed along with regular traffic as well.

My thread on local changes drops the three categories that have no business in local, for that reason. And it STILL leaves local otherwise intact.


Two counters for you:
1. You say it is your main, but there is nothing to prevent you from having cloaky cyno alts .. and nothing wrong with having them either.

2. You say local is the problem because you can't get the cyno on your easy, juicy pve target with people seeing you enter local. It can easily be done, but you just haven't figured out how to do it yet. Which is not to say that I agree with your premise that pve assets should be easily available to your hotdrops.

When most people think of the problem with cloaky ships camping systems, it is not "local" which comes to mind, but the fear of the hotdrop via cyno which catches their greatest interest. If not for the hotdrop, the cloaky cyno would have little more effect on a system than any other pvp frigate. The focus should be on the cyno or else this issue will never arrive at a point where all sides are agree the mechanics are sensible and reasonable.

Added: I'll throw you a bone on #2. What might happen if a red came into a system and threw a few bubbles up at a few anomalies or belts, including places where it is clear people were working, left a couple systems out, and then returned a few minutes later? If he had a blue spy in system, they could see if anyone warped into one of the traps and never be on the killmail. Eve is one of the few games where even in pvp, players must think a lot and get creative, clever and tricky.


You are making a very strong case for why AWOXing is a good thing. Roll

"The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design."--Friedrich August von Hayek

8 Golden Rules for EVE Online

TheGunslinger42
All Web Investigations
#742 - 2013-08-20 10:07:00 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:
2. You say local is the problem because you can't get the cyno on your easy, juicy pve target with people seeing you enter local. It can easily be done, but you just haven't figured out how to do it yet. Which is not to say that I agree with your premise that pve assets should be easily available to your hotdrops.


There is no "figuring out" to be done. You cannot get a ship - cyno ship or otherwise - into someone elses system without providing them ample time to get safe. Unless they are being extremely lazy or are very unlucky, they will see you pop up in local and enter warp before you've finished loading system. There is nothing at all which I can do to affect this. The only recourse is to already be in system, and to stay in system such a long time that they end up doing stuff.

As for your comments on "pve assets" ... well for a start, this doesn't just apply to pve assets. You refuse to acknowledge that this applies to every kind of asset and player, not just PVE. A solo or small gang PVPer can just as easily react the same way upon seeing a larger or undesirable target entering local. They're not in "PVE assets", or doing PVE, but they can use it to avoid certain situations they don't want to be in just as trivially.

Your constant babble about PVE assets also suggests that you seem to think PVE assets and activities shouldn't be subject to the same risk or threat that anything else is. There is no reason for you to differentiate between the type of ship or fit a 'resident' is in, it is irrelevant. Unless you think PVP should only occur when the other party consents to it and is prepared. That's not how it works bro.

Andy Landen wrote:
When most people think of the problem with cloaky ships camping systems, it is not "local" which comes to mind, but the fear of the hotdrop via cyno which catches their greatest interest. If not for the hotdrop, the cloaky cyno would have little more effect on a system than any other pvp frigate. The focus should be on the cyno or else this issue will never arrive at a point where all sides are agree the mechanics are sensible and reasonable.


Just because their immediate reaction is "cloaks and hotdrops and cynos, oh my!" does not mean local isn't the issue. They see the result, the effect, but the cause is local. The reason afk cloaking exists, the reason "hotdropping" exists is because of local. The focus of these discussions has to be local because local is what is causing these things to happen, refusal to admit this is either a result of simple stupidity or a deliberate attempt to misrepresent what the issue actually is.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#743 - 2013-08-20 14:15:33 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:
Two counters for you:
1. You say it is your main, but there is nothing to prevent you from having cloaky cyno alts .. and nothing wrong with having them either.

2. You say local is the problem because you can't get the cyno on your easy, juicy pve target with people seeing you enter local. It can easily be done, but you just haven't figured out how to do it yet. Which is not to say that I agree with your premise that pve assets should be easily available to your hotdrops.

When most people think of the problem with cloaky ships camping systems, it is not "local" which comes to mind, but the fear of the hotdrop via cyno which catches their greatest interest. If not for the hotdrop, the cloaky cyno would have little more effect on a system than any other pvp frigate. The focus should be on the cyno or else this issue will never arrive at a point where all sides are agree the mechanics are sensible and reasonable.

Added: I'll throw you a bone on #2. What might happen if a red came into a system and threw a few bubbles up at a few anomalies or belts, including places where it is clear people were working, left a couple systems out, and then returned a few minutes later? If he had a blue spy in system, they could see if anyone warped into one of the traps and never be on the killmail. Eve is one of the few games where even in pvp, players must think a lot and get creative, clever and tricky.

I see no benefit denying having cloaky cyno alts. I use them on occasion to help move caps to benefit my allies.

I have not, however, been involved in a hot drop with them.

Two reasons for that, as others have made clear in different words already.

1. I don't find this fits my play style. I really don't have the time to cloaky camp a system for hours on end, it's too tedious and unrewarding for the required use of a system running a game client continuously. I would be more willing to running a boosting operation in a mining system AFK, if I could spare the game hardware. At least THAT benefits my corp directly, rather than possibly confusing someone else into not playing.

2. How do you hot drop a target, assuming number 1 did not exist already, that can reliably avoid you? It really does take a screw up on their part to even create an opportunity in the first place, let alone getting a kill.

As to your bonus, why would a PvE pilot who had safed up, suddenly not notice the new bubbles outside their safe area when they undocked again?
Bubbles at the belts? So, you would assume that mining and ratting ships don't scout areas before going in?

You are making more effort to catch these PvE targets, and who knows, you may be teaching some a few hard lessons, but ultimately these traps only work if the pilot screws up, and doesn't take precautions.
Teckos Pech
Hogyoku
Goonswarm Federation
#744 - 2013-08-20 14:42:40 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:

I see no benefit denying having cloaky cyno alts. I use them on occasion to help move caps to benefit my allies.


Just to focus on this, I too have cyno alts, and have fit cloaks on their ships. Not for hot dropping, but to help movement. Most of my alts are pretty pitiful for PvP (but pretty damn good at earning isk). So yeah, I too see no reason to deny these benefits. And the point is, cloaks can be used for reasons other than torking off locals by camping their systems all day long.

"The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design."--Friedrich August von Hayek

8 Golden Rules for EVE Online

Jenn aSide
Soul Machines
The Initiative.
#745 - 2013-08-20 14:53:47 UTC
Xionyxa wrote:


Cynos aren't used in wormholes because you can't use them in WH..........

Here is an idea, why not CCP make a new small pocket of null sec with broken local intel, where Cynos can happen and clocks clock players from local intel as well as and cloaked players can't be scanned down.

Lets see how many people take mining barges and PvE battleships into these system. Rewards should be no greater than normal null sec and systems should operate like normal null sec with multiple gates into most systems.

My bet is only PvPers would go there and it would turn into a clockers playground for a short while, until they got bored, then it would be more empty than null sec, but not quite as empty as most WHs. After all Nikk Narrel would still be living there.


This is the overriding point that the anti-local and any cloaking people just don't get.

The best possible situation you can have is the one that already exists: you can PVE in null sec but you have to be on the ball and think ahead to prevent isk-costing losses. you can hunt PVErs in null sec, but you have to get lucky (such as jumping into system when a pve battleship is scrammed in a haven of forsaken hub) or be exceptionally crafty (such as using wormholes, soft or hard awoxxing techniques like the very cool "blue sabre undocking in a ratting system and bubbling station before neutral comes into system" trick, login style traps ect.

Local doesn't make null pve too safe, it makes it just safe enough to be viable. Take that away and you repeat CCPs military upgrade nerf mistake (which sent null pve pilots packing to do incursions in empire). The goal should be MORE pve type players in null (because with more of them, you have a higher chance of someone making a mistake and thus dying).

I think the remove local and anti afk cloaking people have good intentions (like ccp had with various game changes that ended up doing the opposite of what they intended lol), but unfortunately they seem to be blinded by what they think they want rather than seeing what would most likely happen.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#746 - 2013-08-20 15:01:41 UTC
Jenn aSide wrote:
Xionyxa wrote:
Cynos aren't used in wormholes because you can't use them in WH..........


This is the overriding point that the anti-local and any cloaking people just don't get.

The best possible situation you can have is the one that already exists: you can PVE in null sec but you have to be on the ball and think ahead to prevent isk-costing losses. you can hunt PVErs in null sec, but you have to get lucky (such as jumping into system when a pve battleship is scrammed in a haven of forsaken hub) or be exceptionally crafty (such as using wormholes, soft or hard awoxxing techniques like the very cool "blue sabre undocking in a ratting system and bubbling station before neutral comes into system" trick, login style traps ect.

Local doesn't make null pve too safe, it makes it just safe enough to be viable. Take that away and you repeat CCPs military upgrade nerf mistake (which sent null pve pilots packing to do incursions in empire). The goal should be MORE pve type players in null (because with more of them, you have a higher chance of someone making a mistake and thus dying).

I think the remove local and anti afk cloaking people have good intentions (like ccp had with various game changes that ended up doing the opposite of what they intended lol), but unfortunately they seem to be blinded by what they think they want rather than seeing what would most likely happen.

More tired arguments repeated ad nauseum....

Then take the same argument that countered in the past, too:

Because gankers have psychic powers, and can sense ratting disturbances in the...
No, wait, that's Jedi....

Aha!!

Because the ganking forces are born hunters, and can smell ratters from three systems away in any direction, enabling them to....
No, wait, that's sharks...

I got it!

Gankers have uniquely evolved hearing, and can detect the distant sounds of rats going pop under the....
No, wait, that's bats....

Come to think of it, the only thing gankers have to find targets, is a few items that tell them where targets had been found in the past.
Outside of the sensors found on every ship already, they are effectively blind without local.

No intel channel, only the scouting they provide for themselves in first person, and add to this they have no way of knowing how populated a system is at any given time.
(Yes, you found a ratter! Now, is there a roam forming up here too, that used an intel channel to ambush you with a nice tasty ratter as bait....)

Here is something that is difficult for many to grasp, but is an important detail that those hunting will not have an advantage because of local being missing.

The advantage will always belong to whoever has sov, simply because the intel channels and patrols supplying them will be a huge advantage.

Those hunting in hostile territory will be on their own, and with no local to artificially tell them where everyone is, chances are they will have no idea.
They can, of course, guess, or do research to learn where people usually hang out, but unless someone spies for them and tips them where to look, they will be effectively blind.

Local is never the friend of PvE. PvE has a far more obvious advantage trading it in for an intel channel while the hunters are blind.
Jenn aSide
Soul Machines
The Initiative.
#747 - 2013-08-20 15:19:48 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
Jenn aSide wrote:
Xionyxa wrote:
Cynos aren't used in wormholes because you can't use them in WH..........


This is the overriding point that the anti-local and any cloaking people just don't get.

The best possible situation you can have is the one that already exists: you can PVE in null sec but you have to be on the ball and think ahead to prevent isk-costing losses. you can hunt PVErs in null sec, but you have to get lucky (such as jumping into system when a pve battleship is scrammed in a haven of forsaken hub) or be exceptionally crafty (such as using wormholes, soft or hard awoxxing techniques like the very cool "blue sabre undocking in a ratting system and bubbling station before neutral comes into system" trick, login style traps ect.

Local doesn't make null pve too safe, it makes it just safe enough to be viable. Take that away and you repeat CCPs military upgrade nerf mistake (which sent null pve pilots packing to do incursions in empire). The goal should be MORE pve type players in null (because with more of them, you have a higher chance of someone making a mistake and thus dying).

I think the remove local and anti afk cloaking people have good intentions (like ccp had with various game changes that ended up doing the opposite of what they intended lol), but unfortunately they seem to be blinded by what they think they want rather than seeing what would most likely happen.

More tired arguments repeated ad nauseum....

Then take the same argument that countered in the past, too:

Because gankers have psychic powers, and can sense ratting disturbances in the...
No, wait, that's Jedi....

Aha!!

Because the ganking forces are born hunters, and can smell ratters from three systems away in any direction, enabling them to....
No, wait, that's sharks...

I got it!

Gankers have uniquely evolved hearing, and can detect the distant sounds of rats going pop under the....
No, wait, that's bats....

Come to think of it, the only thing gankers have to find targets, is a few items that tell them where targets had been found in the past.
Outside of the sensors found on every ship already, they are effectively blind without local.

No intel channel, only the scouting they provide for themselves in first person, and add to this they have no way of knowing how populated a system is at any given time.
(Yes, you found a ratter! Now, is there a roam forming up here too, that used an intel channel to ambush you with a nice tasty ratter as bait....)

Here is something that is difficult for many to grasp, but is an important detail that those hunting will not have an advantage because of local being missing.

The advantage will always belong to whoever has sov, simply because the intel channels and patrols supplying them will be a huge advantage.

Those hunting in hostile territory will be on their own, and with no local to artificially tell them where everyone is, chances are they will have no idea.
They can, of course, guess, or do research to learn where people usually hang out, but unless someone spies for them and tips them where to look, they will be effectively blind.

Local is never the friend of PvE. PvE has a far more obvious advantage trading it in for an intel channel while the hunters are blind.


How incredibly short sighted can one be?

How useful is an intel channel for a wormhole that pops up in your ratting system? The whole idea that holding sov and thus having an intel channel (which people might not even report in) is enough to keep people PVEing in a null sec with no local but that still has instantly warpable anomalies, warp-cloak capable ships and cynos is beyond ridiculas.

And again, what is to keep people in null rather than (as with other changes) going back to high sec?

I know you think this is a good idea. It isn't. If everyone were like you (which means you'd then be reliably able to predict the outcome of the changes you want) that would be different. But the fact is, people are different, most of them would not pve in null under a system you'd propose and CCP would be insane to ever develop your ideas.

Don't fix something that isn't broken.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#748 - 2013-08-20 15:31:19 UTC
Jenn aSide wrote:
How incredibly short sighted can one be?

How useful is an intel channel for a wormhole that pops up in your ratting system? The whole idea that holding sov and thus having an intel channel (which people might not even report in) is enough to keep people PVEing in a null sec with no local but that still has instantly warpable anomalies, warp-cloak capable ships and cynos is beyond ridiculas.

And again, what is to keep people in null rather than (as with other changes) going back to high sec?

I know you think this is a good idea. It isn't. If everyone were like you (which means you'd then be reliably able to predict the outcome of the changes you want) that would be different. But the fact is, people are different, most of them would not pve in null under a system you'd propose and CCP would be insane to ever develop your ideas.

Don't fix something that isn't broken.

My bad, I forgot that local reports the presence of wormholes automatically, and... wait a minute... no they do not!

Trying to balance a system on obscure conditions is not practical. The potential for a wormhole appearing is a double edged sword, placing the wormhole inhabitants at risk as well, since they can be probed down and invaded from K space too.

But then, they don't expect local to warn them, they make more effort.

Is this what you are suggesting? That we should not need more effort, and have critical gameplay elements like intel handled automatically for us?
Despite the fact it over protects risk averse players, and creates a stalemate impasse so predictably that a hostile can generate one deliberately in almost any hostile PvE system they choose.

Is that the not broken part?

Honestly, I don't mind leaving things as is, but as the complaints keep popping up about AFK cloaking, and the devs already changed my mining to limit the ice, it clearly is not going to stay as it was.

As is, is already gone. Give me back my ice belts, and we can toast each other to status quo.

Otherwise, let's not pretend changes are not coming. The Venture was not made for beginning miners exclusively, you could fit deep core modulated gear on any ship already. They gave us the gear we need before making us really need it, so we could prepare.

I want the good rewards to still be in null, because we both know, noone stays in null after the rewards leave. It doesn't matter how safe you are, if you can't do anything worth while.
Jenn aSide
Soul Machines
The Initiative.
#749 - 2013-08-20 15:39:59 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
Jenn aSide wrote:
How incredibly short sighted can one be?

How useful is an intel channel for a wormhole that pops up in your ratting system? The whole idea that holding sov and thus having an intel channel (which people might not even report in) is enough to keep people PVEing in a null sec with no local but that still has instantly warpable anomalies, warp-cloak capable ships and cynos is beyond ridiculas.

And again, what is to keep people in null rather than (as with other changes) going back to high sec?

I know you think this is a good idea. It isn't. If everyone were like you (which means you'd then be reliably able to predict the outcome of the changes you want) that would be different. But the fact is, people are different, most of them would not pve in null under a system you'd propose and CCP would be insane to ever develop your ideas.

Don't fix something that isn't broken.

My bad, I forgot that local reports the presence of wormholes automatically, and... wait a minute... no they do not!

Trying to balance a system on obscure conditions is not practical. The potential for a wormhole appearing is a double edged sword, placing the wormhole inhabitants at risk as well, since they can be probed down and invaded from K space too.

But then, they don't expect local to warn them, they make more effort.


As I said, short sighted. Yes, they make jmore effort. That's good.

Why aren't there more of them?

because human nature didctates that people will follow the path of least resistance. Your ideas increase effort (resistance) in null. The end result is fewer people in null just like so few people go to or live in wormholes. This is bad for the game.

Quote:

Is this what you are suggesting? That we should not need more effort, and have critical gameplay elements like intel handled automatically for us?
Despite the fact it over protects risk averse players, and creates a stalemate impasse so predictably that a hostile can generate one deliberately in almost any hostile PvE system they choose.


The system may be ugly, but it works enough to keep enough people in null pveing and putting their ships at SOME risk as opposed to the near riskless pve players spewing isk into the eve economy for very little risk.

And that's the point. The part you don't understand. People are playing a video game. most of those people aren't like us (that pve in null or live in wormholes). That's fine, but don't advocate changes to the game with would make even fewer of us be in null sec.

Quote:

Is that the not broken part?

Honestly, I don't mind leaving things as is, but as the complaints keep popping up about AFK cloaking, and the devs already changed my mining to limit the ice, it clearly is not going to stay as it was.

As is, is already gone. Give me back my ice belts, and we can toast each other to status quo.

Otherwise, let's not pretend changes are not coming. The Venture was not made for beginning miners exclusively, you could fit deep core modulated gear on any ship already. They gave us the gear we need before making us really need it, so we could prepare.

I want the good rewards to still be in null, because we both know, noone stays in null after the rewards leave. It doesn't matter how safe you are, if you can't do anything worth while.


I'm quoting this to show how purely insane it is. you're advocating the destruction of null because.....ccp is destroying null already...

That makes no sense. They nerfed my mach's tracking enhancers (which IS costing me isk) and are going to nerf my beloved mach (blessed be it's name lol) further in the future. you don't see me saying "ccp should screw over null more because ccp hurt my feelings",

That's just crazy. You are posting from a position of emotion rather than reason. That's not good.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#750 - 2013-08-20 16:57:41 UTC
Jenn aSide wrote:
That's just crazy. You are posting from a position of emotion rather than reason. That's not good.

No emotion. You are mistaking my motivation for an irrational direction.

I prefer logic, and strict adherence to cause and effect.

Risk is linked to rewards.
As you pointed out, it is human nature to follow the path of least resistance. Saying CCP is destroying the game is rather short sighted, and denies logic on their part.

Therefore, one can logically extrapolate that the reduction of rewards in null, reflected game balancing taking place.
There is no confusion here. Simple cause and effect.

The Venture, with it's warp strength bonus built into it, after seeing the same bonus vanish from the Skiff, is a foreshadowing element. It is present in the game now, because CCP plans on making it necessary.
The Venture is not the training ship for an exhumer. Barges are. A new character can be flying a mining barge with basic strip miners in 10 days, which includes veldspar crystal to t1.

To us a modulated crystal on any other ship, requires a Modulated Deep Core Miner II, and this takes about 25 days to train.

If they are not serious about mining, they can compromise on ships and fittings in many ways. The noob ship even comes equipped with a civilian miner, free.

In null, specific types of ice are available. The best in the game. It is a secondary consideration that ice in other areas has been diminished, since the ice available in null often never existed there to begin with.
You can't miss what you never had.

Change is coming.
The hints and clues are in place.
That suddenly user friendly overview, showing all the nicely scanned points of interest, was not thrown in because they had spare time on their hands.
Andy Landen
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#751 - 2013-08-21 00:11:39 UTC
You know what? I am just going to lay it out there how I react to current and proposed null conditions. Many other players react similarly.

Given current mechanics, if there is a red in local of unknown ship type, I switch to a Cov Ops and scan the system. If I don't find him, I assume that he is cloaked and monitor the situation. If I determine that he is inactive or that I will not be able to get a scan on him or catch him, then I evaluate either moving to a different system. If it is not safe to move to a different system, then I log off. Eve is less valuable to me and I do something else. If I find myself not playing Eve for extended periods of time, I let my subscription terminate and CCP loses money. Simple as that. Hunt, assess, adapt, log-off, un-sub.

If local did not exist, the gates would have to be manually secured and reported. If I could not be sure that all neuts entering the constellation were reported, then the risk of pve operations would be entirely unacceptable, and I would not undock any pve assets; no exceptions. Most likely, the risk outside high sec would be far too great, and all operations would be immediately and permanently moved to high sec or to wormhole space, free from cynos and supers.

The Key Words are: "Free from cynos and supers." Even when local is gone, the key issues remain the same: cloaked threat of bridges/hotdrops. Wormholes don't have those issues and they are fine despite the loss of local.

A lot of people would accept either high sec or wormholes, and would prefer to simply let their subs end. Without local, you would quickly see the end of Eve Online. As subs dropped, interest would drop leading to more subs drop; in a downward spiral. No good can come of dropping local in known space until after either supers or both jump drives and bridges are removed from the game.

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein 

TheGunslinger42
All Web Investigations
#752 - 2013-08-21 08:35:01 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:
You know what? I am just going to lay it out there how I react to current and proposed null conditions. Many other players react similarly.

Given current mechanics, if there is a red in local of unknown ship type, I switch to a Cov Ops and scan the system. If I don't find him, I assume that he is cloaked and monitor the situation. If I determine that he is inactive or that I will not be able to get a scan on him or catch him, then I evaluate either moving to a different system. If it is not safe to move to a different system, then I log off. Eve is less valuable to me and I do something else. If I find myself not playing Eve for extended periods of time, I let my subscription terminate and CCP loses money. Simple as that. Hunt, assess, adapt, log-off, un-sub.


Ah, the classic "but if I dont get my way CCP will lose money! SO THERE!" foot stomping huffiness of a child. The fact that you, after not being able to find him, log off is a problem with you, not the game. CCP can't patch your cowardice, your laziness, or you absolute refusal to ever adapt to the ever changing - by design - conditions in nullsec.

You aren't limited to just having to log off, you know. You can go out and PVE anyway. Is there a risk? Sure. But it's nullsec. That's kinda the point. Logging off because you can't have a perfectly safe environment is just laughable. Fit your ships in a more suitable way, do stuff in a group with corp/alliance mates, or even just continue PVEing in minmaxed ships by yourself - but at least accept that there is a risk, rather than logging off and crying to CCP that you will unsub if they don't make null 100% safe for special snowflakes like you.

Not bothering to comment on the rest of your post, since it's more same - "Eve will die, the sky is falling, keep nullsec safe!"
Xionyxa
Royal Amarr Institute
Amarr Empire
#753 - 2013-08-21 13:28:47 UTC  |  Edited by: Xionyxa
I think the "nerf local" people here miss some points.

WH space works for the people that live in WH space, WH space isn't for everyone, otherwise everyone would have moved there. WH space doesn't have a lot of the threats that null sec and low sec and even high sec does, null sec ones being hot drops, super caps, large fleets (blobbing) and cloaky camps are kind of pointless in WH space. It does have the problem of no medical station and no JCs. It's a case of some people like the mechanic of WHs. Some don't. Don't think that just because something works for WHs, it will work for everything else.

As far as mining in ventures, again, some like it, most don't, just because you like it, doesn't mean everyone else will, the same goes for using PvP fit fleets for PvE, this fails on two counts, first is, a lot of people who play the PvE side of the game, like to fit for PvE, they like active shield tanks, missiles, fitting for max dps and enough tank to do the PvE stuff they want to do, the second is it doesn't matter, PvP is about planning, PvPers want to win so they engage what they can kill, someone in a PvP fit fleet doing PvE will still die because the gankers (people who warp/hot drop in on them) will not have the rat aggro on them straight away, and they are always going to bring in more than the PvE fleet can handle because they want to win. The only way a fleet doing PvE can handle this is with baiting, ie, doing there own cloaky fleet or hotdrop.

I do think that the way local is done needs a bit of an update but I don't agree that removing people flying around cloaked from any form of detection with current game mechanics can be done without majorly upsetting game balance.

On top of this, Nikk's proposed change will favor NBSI space over NRDS even more, think about it, all someone camped in NRDS space will have to do to see local is create a fresh alt, sit in an NPC corp and fly into the system he wants to watch local in. This will favor big pure PvP blobbers like Goons even more. This is what both most players of eve and CCP don't want (remember moon mining nerf sending Test broke and drying up Goons isk suppy). NRDS people are willing to share their space with others provided they don't shoot other NRDS people, so should be encouraged if anything (most are happy with things the way they are), not nerfed.

Lame tactics like cloaky camping (for days) and logging off in your target system then logging back on again 15 mins later are really bottom feeder PvP tactics, they are for those who can't get kills engaging other PvPers, have ships too expensive to risk in real pvp or just plain suck at the game. They are a crutch. People who do the logging game have auto-warp, yer, it's outside of the game, they are a known danger, but they don't shut down PvE and industry activities like campers do.

Campers use the fact that people in system don't know if they are active or afk to annoy their targets. However they aren't really a problem on their own, people just use other systems and ways of doing things that mask their activity. The problem comes when there are lots of them, shutting down entire pockets by camping every system in the pocket. This starts interfering with people's game play and can depopulate systems with people clone jumping back to high sec until the problem is gone.

Lets get a few things straight, my main characters have never lost any ships to campers and I don't see many people lose ships to campers ether. Camping and logging aren't great pvp tactics, frankly it sucks, they get a few kills but far less than most active fleet pvpers. Campers are the number one reason why a lot of PvEers stay in high sec, after all, who wants to log on just to find can't do what they want to do because some clown hasn't logged off his hostile character.

Most of all, cloaking camper's or AFK cloaker's argument contradicts itself, they say an AFK cloaker has never killed anyone because he/she is AFK. If this is true, the cloaker has no reason to stay logged into the game, after all it's exactly the same, an offline character has never killed anyone ether.

If this statement is false, as is the case in EvE, then a cloaky camper (AFK cloaker) is just as dangerous as any other active character and come from appearing AFK to being active and deadly before his/her target can take defensive actions outside of being cloaked, in station/POS bubble or simply not being in the same system as the cloaker.

This makes being AFK cloaked for days a valid, but not very effective tactic, can anyone name any other game where a valid (botting isn't valid) PvP tactic that involves a character online for days without the player being at the keyboard.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#754 - 2013-08-21 14:15:39 UTC
Xionyxa wrote:
I think the "nerf local" people here miss some points.
....some points are made.....kinda....


I will try to address Xionyxa's points, loosely presented as they were.

Local and wormhole space are not exclusive to each other. This is simply all you know about, and there is more in heaven and earth than you can imagine.

I get that worm holes do not have local.
The argument that those wanting to remove local should move into a wh, falls flat due to the other differences between the two play areas.

I also acknowledge these differences make wormholes unique. This does not, however, mean that the delayed local mechanic can only work in this environment. It just means wormholes have multiple mechanics designed to isolate them and limit them to what can happen inside.

As to "ALL Evidence", I can equally say "ALL Evidence" indicates population in null will flourish, since the carebear types know that the difficulty of hostiles finding them will exponentially increase due to the teamwork of the sov holders who act in defense.

Mining in Ventures being a choice? Of course it is.
So is fitting damage resistance mods, and damage controls.
Guess what? If it works, the smart players will start doing it.

Regarding favoring NBSI over NRDS... those using local favor this, when they duck into safe places the moment a neutral appears.
My system is favoring neither doctrine, since you don't use local that way.
Do you feel safe working next to a neutral? Up to you. Should it be up to you whether they can decide to shoot at you, how you can respond?

Cloaky camping may be lame, but at least it is SOMETHING that can counter the risk averse daycare many of these systems degenerate into.
Really, how is EVE a sandbox if you can deny the play styles of others the moment they want to interact?
You can keep doing your thing, but blocking them this effectively flaunts your immunity to their multiplayer experience.

Campers are trying to lure PvE pilots into activity, so they can have a CHANCE to interact. This game is EVE, so that interaction uses spaceships and guns quite often.
When you started your account, it can be assumed you understood this, but that may be in error.

Campers don't affect high sec, because high sec gives the benefit of teamwork to everyone. Concord IS your PvP escort, all day every day.
If you can arrange to work with other players instead, THEY can be your PvP escort, or you can do this service for them.
Multiplayer, it has benefits.

An "AFK Cloaker" creates an effect of uncertainty. Not threat, but simple not knowing.
It MIGHT be a threat.
It MIGHT be AFK, and oblivious to everything you do.
It might start AFK, but then come back and become a threat.
You don't know, if they are there long enough.
BUT, if they just show up in local, you DO know they were active a few seconds ago to change systems. And unless they are narcoleptic, they are still active for at least a few more minutes.
If they vanish, they either left system or logged, meaning you are free of uncertainty.
If they remain, they either stay active, or go AFK, and you won't know which in the absence of direct observation.

Your attempt to quantify cloaked pilots into one of two equally meaningless aspects is self serving, and dishonest.
It only has value to justify a change that will actually hurt the game over time.
Sura Sadiva
Entropic Tactical Crew
#755 - 2013-08-21 14:26:57 UTC
Xionyxa wrote:

This makes being AFK cloaked for days a valid, but not very effective tactic, can anyone name any other game where a valid (botting isn't valid) PvP tactic that involves a character online for days without the player being at the keyboard.


Yes.

But the point is: that tactic is de facto the only viable, the only potential danger in such 0.0 systems. People is forced to use it becuase of this, not because they consider it's effective or fun. Scale down the chance to make those systems 100% safe in a cheap and easy way and you'll see less people AFK camping and hotdropping and more people coming in HAC gangs.

WH holder can also lock and secure their systems. The huge difference is that their safety involve daily effort to scan, patrol, hunting intruders, collapse WH; involve using specialized ships, modules and skills. Involve active gameplay. For sov null is all based on local and stay docked. No skill, no ship, no modules, no effort, no game knowlege. Only local.
Andy Landen
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#756 - 2013-08-21 21:13:31 UTC  |  Edited by: Andy Landen
TheGunslinger42 wrote:
You aren't limited to just having to log off, you know. You can go out and PVE anyway. Is there a risk? Sure. But it's nullsec. That's kinda the point. ..


You are actually right about there being other options. PVE just isn't one of the smart options due to the likelihood of losing the asset. The other option that I usually choose is forming up PVP fleets and doing an op against people or targets that can be fought. The neutral is usually gone by the time I return or else I just move systems if I need the ISK and don't have any pvp responsibilities for the next hour, etc.

But don't you dare say that people should do pve in null sec k-space because there is "supposed to be risk there." Those who do deserve to lose both their pve asset, their pod and even some dignity as they realize the foolishness of the idea. There is no pve op however large that cannot be countered easily by a hotdrop. And if you manage to find any size group prepared to do pvp in this op, they will be pvp players who naturally detest pve, esp. when the ISK is slow due to the pvp nature of the fittings.

Edit: Last two sentences, I wrote pvp a couple times where I meant pve (bolded).

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein 

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#757 - 2013-08-21 22:50:39 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:
TheGunslinger42 wrote:
You aren't limited to just having to log off, you know. You can go out and PVE anyway. Is there a risk? Sure. But it's nullsec. That's kinda the point. ..


You are actually right about there being other options. PVE just isn't one of the smart options due to the likelihood of losing the asset. The other option that I usually choose is forming up PVP fleets and doing an op against people or targets that can be fought. The neutral is usually gone by the time I return or else I just move systems if I need the ISK and don't have any pvp responsibilities for the next hour, etc.

But don't you dare say that people should do pve in null sec k-space because there is "supposed to be risk there." Those who do deserve to lose both their pve asset, their pod and even some dignity as they realize the foolishness of the idea. There is no pvp op however large that cannot be countered easily by a hotdrop. And if you manage to find any size group prepared to do pvp in this op, they will be pvp players who naturally detest pvp, esp. when the ISK is slow due to the pvp nature of the fittings.

So, you are saying the additional reward levels don't compensate for the need to fit properly.

You expect to use high sec fittings, against null sec rewards, and have the least risk in the game.

Yeah... our rewards will be fine with that outlook....

cue flushing noise...
Sura Sadiva
Entropic Tactical Crew
#758 - 2013-08-22 01:39:35 UTC
Andy Landen wrote:

But don't you dare say that people should do pve in null sec k-space because there is "supposed to be risk there." Those who do deserve to lose both their pve asset, their pod and even some dignity as they realize the foolishness of the idea. There is no pvp op however large that cannot be countered easily by a hotdrop. And if you manage to find any size group prepared to do pvp in this op, they will be pvp players who naturally detest pvp, esp. when the ISK is slow due to the pvp nature of the fittings.


There's nothing bad in doing PVE in null.

But in the first place one should understand (and here is where null bear fail) that null sec is not their personal cash cow. Is a demanding mistress and have to be approached with reverential respect.

Also PVE as distinct and indipendent activity doesn't exists. In EVE everything is an hybrid and, on some degree, PVP related.

EVE (so-called) PVE are lame; NPC AI was already outdated 10 years ago and do not provide a challenging gameplay like in other MMORPG.

The challenge come just from the risk of other players intruding it. HS/Low/Null/WH rewards are tuned based on this kind of risk.

Rats, anomalies, plexes, missions, whatever... are simply resources for the players to compete, directly or indirectly, to earn/gather/control them.

Hotdrops, cloackers, roaming gangs, pirates, ninja looters, gankers... they are not there to interrupt or ruin your PVE. They're there to provide contents to your PVE.

Removing them (as Anti-cloackers complainers would) is like if in a tradional PVE based MMORPG you remove the NPC from the dungeon and leave only the chests to loot for the players raids.


Kahetha
Federal Defense Union
Gallente Federation
#759 - 2013-08-22 04:52:20 UTC
so... basically what you forum-pvpers are saying... is that... EVE is harsh and undocked you often feel unsafe? Lol

Allow me to respond in the way you (should) understand: *clear throat* HTFU. Welcome to EVE. Can I have your stuffBig smile?
ConranAntoni
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#760 - 2013-08-22 07:23:27 UTC
Threads literally a large collection of tears from the incompetent pilots of EvE. Ratters and miners afraid that AFK nuet might come back to keyboard to find their shitfit Estamel Inv fit hulks/ravens are under attack and their incapable of being intelligent while in space to avoid such things.

Someone pass me my tear bucket dammit.

Empyrean Warriors - Recruiting now.