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Buddy accounts, abuse?

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Neo Kathura
Doomheim
#1 - 2016-03-03 15:13:51 UTC
With the introduction of SP trading, it's evident that players are beginning to set up multiple accounts with the sole purpose of gathering SP. It's know that many of these players are creating buddy accounts to themselves to give themselves nearly 2 months of free time by claiming the rewards for activating their own new accounts. I'd like CCP to let us know whether or not this is OK, or if this is classed as abuse of the buddy system, or if there are specific limits we are to avoid. Reading the site I'd think this is classed as abuse, but there are player who have done so with no ill effects which indicates it's not.
Thanks.
Cometopappa
Doomheim
#2 - 2016-03-03 15:21:22 UTC
I am guessing that making new accounts using the buddy system and throwing them away once the sub runs out, and then doing the same again, is abuse.
Marcus Tedric
Zebra Corp
Goonswarm Federation
#3 - 2016-03-03 15:28:40 UTC
Curiously I'm not sure how it could really be 'abused'...

If you create an account purely for what you suggest; then yes, you could probably get 21d + 30d 'free' - at the end of which you'd have a character with something over 3m SP. An alt for SP farming would need Cyber V to get to the maximum of 2700 SP/hr

You'd then need to spend over another month - which you'd have to pay for at least - to get to the magic 5m lower extraction limit.

Thereafter you could, if maxed, generate just under 2m SP per month - if PLEX'd at ~1.2b isk per month.

Cost of 4 extractors ~1.2b - total cost 2.4b. Sale of 4 Injectors ~2.4b (okay a bit higher just now).

I am sure PLEX will rise a bit more to exactly balance this out. So I don't see what's to be gained.

What am I missing? Twisted

Don't soil your panties, you guys made a good point, we'll look at the numbers again. - CCP Ytterbium
Neo Kathura
Doomheim
#4 - 2016-03-03 15:39:12 UTC
Marcus Tedric wrote:
Curiously I'm not sure how it could really be 'abused'...

If you create an account purely for what you suggest; then yes, you could probably get 21d + 30d 'free' - at the end of which you'd have a character with something over 3m SP. An alt for SP farming would need Cyber V to get to the maximum of 2700 SP/hr

You'd then need to spend over another month - which you'd have to pay for at least - to get to the magic 5m lower extraction limit.

Thereafter you could, if maxed, generate just under 2m SP per month - if PLEX'd at ~1.2b isk per month.

Cost of 4 extractors ~1.2b - total cost 2.4b. Sale of 4 Injectors ~2.4b (okay a bit higher just now).

I am sure PLEX will rise a bit more to exactly balance this out. So I don't see what's to be gained.

What am I missing? Twisted
It's abuse because you are paying a plex but getting a plex back, so each buddy account you makes is a 51 day free account. Yes, you could build a character on there or you could just buy a character to put on there and start making injectors right away.

OTOH anyone not using a buddy account would be paying from the start.

The wording on the buddy account Terms says:
Quote:
The Recruit Program is intended for you to encourage new players to join EVE Online. Violating the purpose of the Recruit Program in any way or form is prohibited. Abusing the Recruit Program is considered an exploit and will not be tolerated.
So from that reading, existing players using it to get about 1.7 plex worth of gametime for free would be abuse.

You can definitely make a few hundred million per month on top of running costs selling all of their SP.
Marcus Tedric
Zebra Corp
Goonswarm Federation
#5 - 2016-03-03 15:47:06 UTC
Neo Kathura wrote:
..........................The Recruit Program is intended for you to encourage new players to join EVE Online. Violating the purpose of the Recruit Program in any way or form is prohibited. Abusing the Recruit Program is considered an exploit and will not be tolerated.
So from that reading, existing players using it to get about 1.7 plex worth of gametime for free would be abuse.

You can definitely make a few hundred million per month on top of running costs selling all of their SP.
[/quote]

Oh, I'm not disputing that - and yes, just now (due to the large number of PLEX sales the price has gone down) there seems to be the possibility of making a few 100 million per month.

But whether you have spent 1, 2 or 3 PLEX to get there - or bought a 5m+ SP character to start with (for isk/PLEX) I cannot see it lasting. PLEX will naturally rise in line.

It just doesn't seem sensible to run accounts/characters just for that.

However, if you have a maxed miner/ratter and then train and sell all additional SP - then yes, it could, just like PI. If done, however, this too will serve to drive PLEX prices up.

Don't soil your panties, you guys made a good point, we'll look at the numbers again. - CCP Ytterbium
Neo Kathura
Doomheim
#6 - 2016-03-03 15:57:48 UTC
Marcus Tedric wrote:
Oh, I'm not disputing that - and yes, just now (due to the large number of PLEX sales the price has gone down) there seems to be the possibility of making a few 100 million per month.

But whether you have spent 1, 2 or 3 PLEX to get there - or bought a 5m+ SP character to start with (for isk/PLEX) I cannot see it lasting. PLEX will naturally rise in line.

It just doesn't seem sensible to run accounts/characters just for that.

However, if you have a maxed miner/ratter and then train and sell all additional SP - then yes, it could, just like PI. If done, however, this too will serve to drive PLEX prices up.
There's no sign that will actually happen and every sign that the price of the SP generated in a month will stay slightly ahead of the plex to run the account. I doubt they will become unprofitable in the foreseeable future.

But ignoring the profitability of SP in the long term, this is a question about the validity of opening several accounts buddied to yourself for the purposed of generating isk. How that generation is done isn't the point, but whether opening the accounts is abuse is.
ISD Max Trix
ISD Community Communications Liaisons
ISD Alliance
#7 - 2016-03-03 15:59:07 UTC
The best way to get an answer to this is to file a support ticket.

ISD Max Trix

Lieutenant

Community Communication Liaisons (CCLs)

Interstellar Services Department

I do not respond to EVE mails about forum moderation.