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For those of you who think that the devs will ever fix POSes think again. The devs basically said no we won't fix POSes, the code is so bad it scares us, and the powers that be have said we can't devote an entire release to rewrite the POS code or reimplement POSes....

Thus you have the current state of things where we get the occasion band-aid on POSes to tide us over, and weird deployables that they hope some day will magically combine to replace POSes. The current approach is to drop in a bunch of deployables and see how we use them. Sadly the devs seem to not want to try anything radical with deployables that might start down the road to a POS replacement yet.


Personally I think what they should do is as follows:

- Allow us to anchor cans, and most deployables inside the POS shields. The conflict makers like the ESS should only be able to be anchored outside the POS shields.
- Remove the POS refining penalties
- Allow us to anchor POSes any where in a system with the exception of gates, stations, and the like.
- Create a number dead spaces in NS, and LS systems. Allow us to build password/corp/alliance lockable acceleration gates to them. The gates can be hacked, or destroyed and replaced.

Now you have real conflict makers, and fortresses to invade. Imagine:
- A bubbled death star POS placed inline with gate to gate warping.
- A manufacturing, and refining POS in a hidden in a system with a dozen fake outs.
- Laying siege to the enemy's acceleration gate, and holding them off while you online your own. In a fight happening next to an enemy POS.

Of course you'll need deployables worth defendin' and lootin'. Then move towards removing the POS altogether...

PS- I'd even be okay with removing the POS shield if the various POS modules went into reinforcement instead.

ESS being sold by NPC corp == Money sink (~30mil a pop out of the economy). Interesting way to try and reduce the amount of isk flowing through EVE. LP store itself is doing the same basic thing, albeit a bit more deceptively to average players.

Sadly I don't live in 0.0 anymore (applied to a few places to get back!) but the overall idea of the ESS seems busted. Many others have pointed out the flaw of risk vs reward, so it is fairly safe to assume very few friendlies will drop these. And the problem with reds dropping them, is that everyone (last time I lived in 0.0) basically stops all activity while a cloaky/red/neut exists in system. Now it will be the same with a ESS, until they both to form up and kill the 150k ehp can. You've basically added a mini-station bashing mechanic that will generate more boredom than it will actual hostilities. Unless the size of the ESS is bigger than can fit in an inty. I'm not sure we've seen m3 size yet.

As for the 4 variants of ESS, I can see how you were probably forced to do that due to your desire for this to be an isk sink (isk out of the game via npc). You'd need to have enough stations selling them, so you added them to the local npc controlling faction. Clever, but I think you wasted your time naming them all differently and having the different tags. I'm fairly certain no one would have been upset at it just being called the ESS instead of Amarr ESS. Same for tags being 'XXX Bounty compensation tag' instead of faction specific.

As for the siphons, sound cool... But I haven't been in 0.0 to know if they are used and/or worth it. I'll assume they are, since you made 2 more of the them.

Overall I'm glad to see your work on more deployables. I hope it is helping you all mold out the way you create them and provide some

I do not like the ESS. For what it is trying to accomplish, or seems like it is trying to accomplish, the implementation feels clunky and completely unnecessary.

A bounty siphon as a conflict driver isn't a terrible idea but just reading through the description of this made my eyes glaze over.

What is the point of faction specific versions? And why the tag system and not direct deposit on a timer (even some sort of ISK to LP converter makes more sense). What do you even call the tags? Interstellar Kredit Credits? A currency for a currency is redundant

Why even mess around with the idea with the 5% bounty debuff in null? It only muddies the water and makes people grumble that things are being taken away from them without a legitimate way of getting it back. Even if that view is incorrect, the fallout from this unnecessary portion of the mechanic breaks the most basic design principles. If a siphon is present the ISK is removed from the bounty, it's that easy. This would be more a conflict driver than trying to strong arm null entities into using it as some sort of temporary space upgrade tool... or else face an unavoidable penalty.

Why isn't this deployable manufactured? Seems like it could easily be a bpc from respective navy stores, if faction versions are necessary


Why only null space? The basic idea of this seems like something that could work in low sec as a conflict driver. If you were looking for a testing ground for a bounty or LP siphon, low sec seems like the better choice. And after high sec POCOs, a version balanced for high sec would be very interesting.


Overall, with some significant adjustments, the ESS could be a good thing. As it stands it feels like a mish-mesh of ideas that don't know what they're trying to accomplish. The implementation just seems like a sloppy design that is not attractive to null ratters and only vaguely attractive to griefers or raiders IF they could ever find one anchored.

All hail the newest meta in Interceptors online!

[Malediction, suicide cyno]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Expanded Cargohold II
Expanded Cargohold II
Expanded Cargohold II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Warp Disruptor II

Cynosural Field Generator I
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Small Cargohold Optimization I
Small Cargohold Optimization I


So why, you might ask, am I posting such a thing in this feedback thread? To put it simply, CCP are giving us an Easter Egg, a hidden gift that is shiny and good. While the ability to cyno fit an interceptor that can disregard bubbles has been around for a while now, the ability to act as a slow interdictor is just around the corner.

With the above cargo expansion fit you will now be able to warp onto that pesky ratting carrier, point them and drop your ESS deployable bubble while scooting out to a respectable distance that puts you just out of neut range with your cap stable point for the nice short 60 second activation timer. Naturally, dropping cyno is your single most vulnerable moment while bringing in the cavalry so having the fiend stuck well within a bubble as your cyno vessel is rendered to spacedust is quite beneficial. The baiting and drag bubbling options that it opens up are also nice.

TL:DR = Super Friends have created a mobile deployable bubble with comparable range to a medium T2, smaller cargo volume requirements, around triple the raw EHP, half the onlining time without the need to stick around to anchor it, a vast skill requirement reduction to Anchoring II, a beacon that will allow your friends to warp in on the target even if you were to be explodified, and a shiny notification to let you know when there is someone inbound to it (mother of drag bubbles).

Thank you Super Friends!


P.S. CCP Fozzie - Please give us those mobile drug labs you mentioned.

LOL

At one point, I might've agreed with you. But these days, the sheer amount of people ratting in carriers tells a weeee bit of a different story, I think.

Given the cost involved in the ESS, the rewards should be more than the penalty. 30-35% bonus vs 20-25% bonus (From the 80% start mark) is a much more enticing reason for people to use this.
It should also have a reinforce timer to avoid people casually exploding 30 million every time they pass through the system. But if they come back and catch it out of reinforce, then it's fair enough.

Changing carriers for PvE would affect other parts of the game. And in this case, even nerfing drone assist (which is what your coalition wants) wouldn't fix the issue.

The issue goes a bit beyond carriers. I can't be assed to find it, but I distinctly recall one of the past fanfest presentations showing bounties as one of (if not) the largest isk faucets in the game. Which makes sense.

Wormholes don't have an isk faucet. Facwar and missions are an isk faucet, but they're also an isk sink. To get the most out of your lp you need to put in a fair amount of isk. Incursions are another isk faucet, but that has been nerfed pretty substantially.

If there's too much raw isk coming in from nullsec, that may be a problem. If that's the case, a nerf will come one way or another. At least with the ESS, the non risk averse have a chance to avoid most of the effects of such a nerf.

You spent how long on that stupid ESS thing? Fire team Super Friends.

Maybe then nullsec bounties could be reduced slightly (5% perhaps) and to compensate for the reduction they would also pay out CONCORD LP?

It could be done in such a way that null ratters would make more than they do now (as they should) but there would be less of a faucet and more of a sink involved.