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Anyone else having issues with rat aggro in hubs/havens and such?

Author
Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#1 - 2015-06-03 10:07:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Expir Severasse
Feel free to laugh me out of the forum, but this is becoming a huge issue for me.

In Forsaken Hubs and Haven sites (the only 2 that I run), I usually fly a drone boat. The advice I am given by everyone I've told about this problem is "fit a gun, warp in, shoot to get the aggro, drop your drones, then wait for the magic to happen".

The problem I'm having is that rats in sites, even when I have no drones deployed, are just yellowboxing me and that's it. Because the rats are yellowboxing, my drones (which are on aggressive and focus fire) will not attack them.

When I was replicating the problem for a video earlier today, I warped into a forsaken hub and one rat attacked me, the rest just yellowboxed.

Either this is a bug or it's a mechanic CCP have implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting. If it's a bug I will submit a report as I have the evidence, but if it's a mechanic implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting then I'm going to be pretty disgusted, as semi-AFK ratting has already been nerfed to the ground (relatively ****** ISK/h, huge risk).

Just wondering if I'm alone out there, as nobody I've asked knows why this is happening.Evil

~~~

Edit 1: logged on after downtime and tried a haven, initially when I entered the site I activated an ECM burst without deploying drones, all the rats but one redboxed me, so the initial problem still exists. When my drones were deployed, ALL of the rats deaggressed me and switched to my drones, which is even worse.

~~~

Edit 2: https://youtu.be/C67eZg5EpHk

Here you can see that not all of the rats aggro me, even with no drones out and ECM on, then when the drones are deployed, despite being on aggressive they don't attack, and have to be toggled before they do. When they finally attack ALL rats drop aggro from me (wtf).
mannyman
Relics United
#2 - 2015-06-03 13:24:59 UTC
After years of grinding the same sites, and hundreds of bill, I know pretty much how these sites aggro.

50% of the time the initial spawn aggroes the drones, but shooting frigs and cruisers first in the first wave ensures you get aggro. I use a republic fleet target painter on them at all times.
Following 95% of the times rest of the spawns keep aggro on your main ship, or secondary ships you use.

5% of the times, the sites and sol system aggro drones in the following sites. I had this happen many times, for hours the spawns and sites kept aggroing my drones in the following waves.

My solution was to switch to another solar system when the 5% occourence happened.

Manny



Expir Severasse wrote:
Feel free to laugh me out of the forum, but this is becoming a huge issue for me.

In Forsaken Hubs and Haven sites (the only 2 that I run), I usually fly a drone boat. The advice I am given by everyone I've told about this problem is "fit a gun, warp in, shoot to get the aggro, drop your drones, then wait for the magic to happen".

The problem I'm having is that rats in sites, even when I have no drones deployed, are just yellowboxing me and that's it. Because the rats are yellowboxing, my drones (which are on aggressive and focus fire) will not attack them.

When I was replicating the problem for a video earlier today, I warped into a forsaken hub and one rat attacked me, the rest just yellowboxed.

~~~

Either this is a bug or it's a mechanic CCP have implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting. If it's a bug I will submit a report as I have the evidence, but if it's a mechanic implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting then I'm going to be pretty disgusted, as semi-AFK ratting has already been nerfed to the ground (relatively ****** ISK/h, huge risk).

Just wondering if I'm alone out there, as nobody I've asked knows why this is happening.Evil

Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2015-06-03 13:27:44 UTC
This is really good advice mate I'll give it a try now and let you know how it goes.

mannyman wrote:
After years of grinding the same sites, and hundreds of bill, I know pretty much how these sites aggro.

50% of the time the initial spawn aggroes the drones, but shooting frigs and cruisers first in the first wave ensures you get aggro. I use a republic fleet target painter on them at all times.
Following 95% of the times rest of the spawns keep aggro on your main ship, or secondary ships you use.

5% of the times, the sites and sol system aggro drones in the following sites. I had this happen many times, for hours the spawns and sites kept aggroing my drones in the following waves.

My solution was to switch to another solar system when the 5% occourence happened.

Manny



Expir Severasse wrote:
Feel free to laugh me out of the forum, but this is becoming a huge issue for me.

In Forsaken Hubs and Haven sites (the only 2 that I run), I usually fly a drone boat. The advice I am given by everyone I've told about this problem is "fit a gun, warp in, shoot to get the aggro, drop your drones, then wait for the magic to happen".

The problem I'm having is that rats in sites, even when I have no drones deployed, are just yellowboxing me and that's it. Because the rats are yellowboxing, my drones (which are on aggressive and focus fire) will not attack them.

When I was replicating the problem for a video earlier today, I warped into a forsaken hub and one rat attacked me, the rest just yellowboxed.

~~~

Either this is a bug or it's a mechanic CCP have implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting. If it's a bug I will submit a report as I have the evidence, but if it's a mechanic implemented to stop semi-AFK ratting then I'm going to be pretty disgusted, as semi-AFK ratting has already been nerfed to the ground (relatively ****** ISK/h, huge risk).

Just wondering if I'm alone out there, as nobody I've asked knows why this is happening.Evil

Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#4 - 2015-06-03 13:38:22 UTC
Right, tried shooting cruisers/frigs initially with a gun fitted to my ship (civvy light electron) and the minute I dropped my drones they all went straight for them (this was in a haven).

Went to a hub, started on the smallest rat there (cruiser), I was shooting it with my gun and no drones out and it still wouldn't do more than yellowbox me.
Estella Osoka
Cranky Bitches Who PMS
#5 - 2015-06-03 15:48:54 UTC
Really? Drone aggro mechanics changed over 2 years ago.

See: http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/73413
Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2015-06-03 15:53:32 UTC
This doesn't explain why I'm the only person out of the 10+ people I've asked who's having this issue.

Everyone else just warps in, gathers aggro, deploys drones, then returns to the screen 20 minutes later to either ISK or a wreckage. I have had incidents where I will be shooting a rat with no drones out and it still won't aggress me.

Estella Osoka wrote:
Really? Drone aggro mechanics changed over 2 years ago.

See: http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/73413

Dersen Lowery
The Scope
#7 - 2015-06-03 16:44:03 UTC
Expir Severasse wrote:
This doesn't explain why I'm the only person out of the 10+ people I've asked who's having this issue.

Everyone else just warps in, gathers aggro, deploys drones, then returns to the screen 20 minutes later to either ISK or a wreckage. I have had incidents where I will be shooting a rat with no drones out and it still won't aggress me.

Estella Osoka wrote:
Really? Drone aggro mechanics changed over 2 years ago.

See: http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/73413



Try a target painter instead of a civ gun.

Rats hate EWAR, and your drones will thank you.

Proud founder and member of the Belligerent Desirables.

I voted in CSM X!

Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#8 - 2015-06-03 17:35:28 UTC
Target painted and they all aggro'd me, released my drones and my drones were sat idle (weird), toggled to passive, and then back to aggressive, waited a couple of minutes, then the drones decided to attack.

The second the drones attacked, ALL aggro was off of me and onto the drones. I was 20-30km from the enemies and am using Caldari Navy Wasps.

Dersen Lowery wrote:
Expir Severasse wrote:
This doesn't explain why I'm the only person out of the 10+ people I've asked who's having this issue.

Everyone else just warps in, gathers aggro, deploys drones, then returns to the screen 20 minutes later to either ISK or a wreckage. I have had incidents where I will be shooting a rat with no drones out and it still won't aggress me.

Estella Osoka wrote:
Really? Drone aggro mechanics changed over 2 years ago.

See: http://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/73413



Try a target painter instead of a civ gun.

Rats hate EWAR, and your drones will thank you.
Jenn aSide
Worthless Carebears
The Initiative.
#9 - 2015-06-03 18:10:44 UTC  |  Edited by: Jenn aSide
What range are your at?

All rats aren't the same, some races have longer ranged rats that aggro you at range while others have fewer of those kinds of ships. for example Blood Raiders (longer range) vs Serpentis (lots of shorter ranged npcs with them). Aggro range is important because npc behavior gets wacky if you are outside of their activation range.

I stopped using sentries a long time ago. I built a heavily tanked perma cap ECM bursting Dominix that used heavy drones for ratting, warped to zero on rats, turned on ecm burst and didn't worry about it anymore. Would lose like 1 heavy drone every 1-2 days and that was it.

Now i don't even do that much. FoF missile Navy Raven , warping to 100, for me. Not nearly as 'afk' as a drone boat (have to restart missiles every 5-6 minutes) but FoF missiles don't give a damn about aggro, they just keep shooting lol. I don't even deploy drones with the thing, except sometimes salvage drones, or ecm drones if some catches me before I can warp.
Sobaan Tali
Caldari Quick Reaction Force
#10 - 2015-06-03 19:19:42 UTC
Just to point out, not sure if it has any relevance, but yellow and red aggro brackets seem to be messed up again. Some rats will have a yellow bracket even when they are aggroed and attacking (suppose to be red). I even saw at one point one rat in a mission maintaining a web on me with no aggro bracket at all.

"Tomahawks?"

"----in' A, right?"

"Trouble is, those things cost like a million and a half each."

"----, you pay me half that and I'll hump in some c4 and blow the ---- out of it my own damn self."

Estella Osoka
Cranky Bitches Who PMS
#11 - 2015-06-03 20:06:59 UTC
Rats are designed to switch agro.

Rats are designed to shoot drones.

So you sound like you are using a BS. Most semi-afkers I know use a Gila or Ishtar for this, and deploy heavy drones for the killing.
Expir Severasse
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2015-06-04 08:35:50 UTC
https://youtu.be/C67eZg5EpHk

Right here's the whole problem, this video should show my range too.

Jenn aSide wrote:
What range are your at?

All rats aren't the same, some races have longer ranged rats that aggro you at range while others have fewer of those kinds of ships. for example Blood Raiders (longer range) vs Serpentis (lots of shorter ranged npcs with them). Aggro range is important because npc behavior gets wacky if you are outside of their activation range.

I stopped using sentries a long time ago. I built a heavily tanked perma cap ECM bursting Dominix that used heavy drones for ratting, warped to zero on rats, turned on ecm burst and didn't worry about it anymore. Would lose like 1 heavy drone every 1-2 days and that was it.

Now i don't even do that much. FoF missile Navy Raven , warping to 100, for me. Not nearly as 'afk' as a drone boat (have to restart missiles every 5-6 minutes) but FoF missiles don't give a damn about aggro, they just keep shooting lol. I don't even deploy drones with the thing, except sometimes salvage drones, or ecm drones if some catches me before I can warp.

Moor Deybe
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#13 - 2015-06-06 19:28:30 UTC
OP: I encountered the situation you describe today in a Sanctum. I actually lost a couple of heavy drones due to this as even battleships were shooting at them X Previously I have never lost a drone in over a year of ratting.

I use a Target Painter to get rat aggro but saw the strange yellow boxing / red boxing behaviour you describe, with aggro straight onto the drones as soon as they were deployed.

Hardly a conclusive test as it was just one anomally and downtime was upon me, but it was a change in the normal drone/rat aggro behaviour.

I'll try some more tomorrow night in a different system to see if its the 5% situation that mannyman describes!
Moor Deybe
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#14 - 2015-06-08 02:20:51 UTC
Ran a couple of sites in the same system that previously gave me the issue re Heavy Drones being murdered, and was pleased to find that the rat AI was back to normal in that aggro remained on my ship Big smile
Bethan Le Troix
Krusual Investigation Agency
#15 - 2015-06-14 09:46:48 UTC
To my mind it shouldn't be possible to 'dump' your drones in there and come back in twenty minutes to find a load of wrecks and the job done. So if that is not possible do now then that is the game working properly.