Player Features and Ideas Discussion

A short time ago i wrote an article on "evenews24.com" titled "Officer modules in LP stores" and after some feedback and a poll i have decided to post the idea here.

The reason I think there is a problem is that while meant to be rare, some are rare not because of being overpowered or even great items but because they are kept by a select few or even alliances, like Estamels invuln's for example.
Why i think this is a problem but not inherently "wrong" is because it limits choice.
The choice to use it wisely and put officer tank modules on titans and limits the other side, the incursion runner who might try out an Estamels invuln or other modules. While not the wisest thing to do, a single person/group should not have supreme authority on who can get what modules.

Then there is the "Officer hunters" and before any flames are started lets think for a moment, If you had the choice between patrolling Guristas space to try and find the expensive shield/missile modules would that same person be inclined to go everywhere else and hunt down Drone officers?
The answer more often than not is no. Because in general most drone modules are worth less then guristas or even sansha.

So my idea to help alleviate the issue is officer modules being placed in pirate faction LP stores in npc nullsec.

How would it work?
To get the officer modules would not be a simple walk in the park, you would need to :
Grind the pirate factions standings
Missions in choke point systems (Pirate stations are well known and camped especially if only half of them will have officer modules inside instead of both the "Guristas" and "Guristas Production" having Guristas style officer mods.
This gives a reason to hold these systems AND to travel to them.
It would also require a great deal of isk and loyalty points as you are "guaranteed" an officer module of your choosing when you reach the pre-requisites.

How much in LP and isk would they cost?
I would like to say a "Sliding scale" based on meta level of the module and category.
Modules effecting tank of ships would cost the most as they have the highest benefit ( A titan with officer tank has more of an advantage then a titan with an officer damage module)
The highest costing item would be an Estamels Invulnerability Field ( and its armor counterparts) at 5 million lp and 4 billion isk putting it around 2400-3200 isk per loyalty point currently ( based on market buy orders and what they sell for on the forums).
Turrets and launchers on the other hand are more limited, as they are only of any use on battleships and would cost substantially less at 2 million loyalty points and 600 million isk.
Bear in mind these prices are theoretical and are very open for discussion.

Some pro's and cons :

Pros
More of all types of officer module (unless affected by CCP's officer item cap)
Choice rather than chance style of concept, everyone can have one IF they are going to Risk everything and Work for it.
Isk sink because of the very high isk requirements
Conflict driver because it gives hunters a reason to hang around the stations AND the hunted a reason to head there.

Cons
Officer modules become less "Rare"
Will requiring a good deal of planning and input
Less reason to hunt officers



This is completely open for discussion and input.
Though i do ask if you have any input that you go with more then a simple "No" or "Yes"

I would not be hurt either way if this idea gets implemented or not, its merely for discussion and open to alternatives


Other ideas that might also work instead of a LP store of specific items :
#1 Meta 12 modules being the highest modules that could be purchased.
and an idea i rather like that was mentioned to me :

#2 a single use Beacon that would work like a cyno (without the fuel) and would have a random officer from that faction jump to your ship and stay until death or until it has killed the ship that lit the beacon.
To keep it balanced the beacon would have a 2 million lp and 500 million isk requirement, the user of the beacon would be unable to move (just like a cyno) the beacon just like a cyno would be visible in system, and lastly the beacon has to be used in NPC nullsec of which the group originates.

So to sum it up:
LP Reward being a "Cyno" to act as a "Reinforcements" call from the faction of which a random officer will jump to it (of that faction)
The person using the beacon would be unable to move/warp
The beacon would be visible in system to everyone
The beacon would only work in the specific factions territory (Serpentis npc nullsec as an example)

So you are guaranteed an officer spawn and if you manage to kill it you still get the RNG aspect of getting something good or worthless and even getting a good or bad officer.
To keep it balanced you would be visible to everyone in system, unable to move until the beacon expires (10minute timer)
and would be unable to use the beacon in a safe system in deep sov space.

Feel free to vote on this page: http://strawpoll.me/2176076
and if the latter idea is better received i will change this topic.

- MR Benoit

Why shouldn't players get to monopolise valuable commodities? That's their reward for owning and defending a particular region of space.

Pirate LP stores already have a very high return, why do they need even higher return.

Aeh. No.

Rarity and bling is supposed to be that way. There is a certain reason for the extreme efficiency of those really expensive items. And I believe it is fine as it is. One thread states Incursiosn generate too muc ISK, another officer mods are too expensive to use for Incurison ... both extreme personal obersvations and oppinions ... the conclusion and truth probably in the middle, meaning good as it is.

I personally have no incentive to bling my ship. You can fly effective with meta 4, comfortable with meta 4 and 5. Even steamrole with faction mods. Bling is just bling and it can cost as much. I was very disapointed when some warfare links became available in the LP store and values dropped from 1,3 bil to just 40 mil. With the side effect, that CS skills seem so unjustly brutal, cause every newbie seems to be able to afford them now and wants them RAIT NAO that is.

And if you want some shiny, work for it, either by risking and running or accumulating enough wealth to buy them.

Meta 11-12.

Leave M13-M14 exclusive drops while still allowing people to produce items for these.

Yes Meta 4/5 work just as well for subcaps. However, I would like to see you take your M4/5 Supercarrier or Titan into a fight and lose it. Let's see how well that works out for you with your reputation, on the killboards and in your SRP, if applicable of course. If you think it makes no difference in tank or damage just go ahead and take your standard fits. Make a M4, T2 and Standard-fleet DS/O fits. Then look at the stat difference then come back and say it doesn't matter.

I would only really agree with this if it wasn't an easy farm. My idea of an easy farm is being able to run missions uninterrupted. If someone is able to run them all day, everyday no bother. It would still take 2-3 weeks per module. Limiting the amount that goes in by purely making them cost so much that only people who really have nothing better to do will spend the time to farm them for a ton of isk. While the average "Hey ill go up here for a week and get my super fitted." Would not have much luck achieving that without doing it for awhile.

This idea appeals to me a lot more than the idea of being able to grind for a selected officer module.

If you can afford those ships, resource, ISK and SP wise, you can't complain about a few bil for the offocer mods. In the end don't fly what you can't afford to lose still applies.

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Further more, I have no issues buying faction mods from factions... If you find Estamel hanging around in a station and offering private missions I am fine with you buying them for his LP.

A new article has been posted with a vote placed inside. Depending on the discussion i may change this topic or create a new topic with the new idea.

The short version of the new idea is instead of letting people choose the modules they get they would only be able to buy a faction "Distress beacon" that when deployed/used (either as a module or deployable hasn't been decided) and leaves the Random Number Generator intact with some interesting requirements.
Some of the requirements are :
The module would work like a cyno, keeping the ship unable to move for 10 minutes and everyone in the solar system can warp to you via the overview.

Feel free to check it out @ evenews24.com

The reference to the article is purely for the vote and discussion, i'm not 100% on how many replies per day are allowed in this particular section of the forum so i was happy to have it somewhere it's already posted in full.

The current proposal for the beacons is indeed 2 million LP each and for 500 million.