EVE General Discussion

I've been playing this game since inferno (2012), commonly on trial accounts and then a few paid. What i have noticed with the release of Alpha/Omega clones is that the grind for: ore, loot, and other goods is incredibly time consuming. Now nothing is wrong with the grind for things that are worth it, but when you spend 29 minutes and 43 seconds mining a full ore hold of Scordite in a Venture that you'll later use for producing a few turrets or drones... that's just idiotic. While there are ways around this, such as advancements in Skills, joining of Corporations that provide boosts and or fleets to roam with, or just ignoring the grind and enjoying the game, there is something else that can be done to solve this. ADD NPC FOLLOWERS!
NPC's are already everywhere in New Edan. Everything from Starting Agents in rookie systems to Drifters in high sec is a NPC that can be interacted with in some way. my question/request is why the players in EVE online can't hire any and or purchases them from the market. This would ease the grind of the game in a direct relation to how many NPC's you use and and would allow players to be more active in EVE then they currently are.

Scenario: If a Alpha clone pilot wanted to get into industry, Their best Mining Vessel is a Venture that is fully fitted with T II equipment and even then, once they hit the max skill limit in that category they can't get any better, they'll still be stuck spending 20-30 minutes mining the same rock. If said player wants to produce enough Ore per day to allow for mass production of a ship and or item they must grind every moment of everyday to get that quota. it's just impractical - Especially for players just coming to the game who want to enjoy EVE and the amazing people that play it with them as well as have a life outside of the game.

Recruit-able NPC pilots (Or clones) would allow for bigger fleet engagements, faster mining operations, stronger exploration parties, larger trade convoys, and more powerful "lone wolf" corporations who then wouldn't have to be so afraid of war deceleration from alliance like CODE. These NPC's should be accessible to EVERY player in EVE online regardless of Clone status. instead Clone statues dictating the ability to use or not use Personal NPC Pilots/Clones, Clone status should only dictate the number of which can be used by that player.

By adding these Personal NPC's the grind is no longer so difficult for new players starting the game, and it gives a fighting chance for the Small Corporation that just wants to make it's way in New Edan.
adding New skills wouldn't be a problem with something like this because you could tie it to Skills like Leadership. that aren't really useful till level V. Developers could tie the amount of Followers to the skill much like drones are tied to it's corresponding Skill. 1 more _____ per level. Alphas would be restricted to 3 followers and Omegas could keep Training until 15 followers is achieved (there will probably be a few more skills to be added to the game to make 15 followers possible), This again would allow Omegas to have the upper hand so there is still motivation to upgrade however it's taking a huge load of the lower level Alphas who are just starting the game, everyone wins. If the developers wanted to go the extra mile and gain back some Reputation with the players they could even integrate the NPC's into the Advanced Military Career agent in rookie systems, that way EVERYONE gets a shot at this.

The Levels of these Followers should be like all things in EVE, multi-tier based on meta level or tech level. (the people behind the Lore of EVE online could find a better name than NPC followers)
I.E:
- Civilian (NPC Follower) - could be provided in Career Agent Missions as well as being able to be purchased on the Open Market like a Civilian Shield Booster.
- (NPC Follower) - Purchased from the Open Market and Created in industry
- Meta 2 - Meta 4 (NPC Follower) - Purchased from the Open Market and Created in industry
-Tech II (NPC Follower)- Blueprint Copies could be discovered in Sleeper sites thus making it more of an investment. however they still must be produced and they can be sold on the open market.
each level would have it's series of "perks" that increase with skills like that of a turret or drone, these perks would provide motivation to move onto the higher level followers. Treating these like drones instead of a PLEX item will make it easier for players to use in the everyday universe that is EVE. It will also provide some motivation for people to use them when available.

Like all things in the EVE universe it's gonna be used and abused. however that's part of the sandbox universe that is CCP's claim to fame with this game. The addition of NPC followers to the game that all players could obtain would add a new level of fleet command and "Marco" corporate control that this game could use, as well as adding some long needed features that would give the players more wiggle roam with they actions. so instead of staring at the same hunk of scordite while a alpha player flies a Venture with a T II fit, they could be in a station evaluating the market seeing where to put their efforts next, or instead of being the 4 man Corporation that just wanted to run missions on a Friday night with a bunch of buddies who gets "War Deced" for no reason and can't stand a chance. The 4 man Corporation is now a 60 man fleet willing to put every ounce/Milligram of firepower on the gate to their HQ System.

all of this is just a Viewpoint that could be supported and made a reality by players like you! like this Post if you see yourself using these Followers in EVE online to help what you do! if we get over 100,000 likes we can try to take it to CCP for development. All of this is intended to improve EVE and is not intended to bring down the great game.
Fly safe all, and Stay Cool.

You could drop a few bucks on the game, go omega and that time will drastically decrease and your mining rate will increase without followers. So Id say invest in yourself and dont sell yourself short!! You dont need followers, be a leader and upgrade yourself to a better life and future!!

Btw when you upgrade to a mining barge you can add NPC followers, we tend to call them drones around here though. The best mining ship, the Rorqual, has the biggest and best followers too.


PS.... theyll be attacking us soon when Skynet goes live at DT in a few hours!!

More TiDi.

Because that turned out so well in Delve with the Rorqual.

If you explore in a group for any reason other than you enjoy exploring with friends, you're almost certainly doing it wrong.
Get a freighter or pay someone who does.

Boo hoo.

Get more friends, stop asking for NPCs to do all the work for you.

I was wondering "why not multibox? it's built in to the launcher!" Then I saw the mentions of alphas.

No, free accounts don't need to be able to get the benefits of multiple accounts without actually running (and paying for) multiple accounts.

Alphas are for learning the basics. It's a generous trial account that doesn't expire. Becoming a large-scale solo industrialist is beyond the basics. If you can manage it as an alpha, good for you. But that's not the intention of alphas.

You could always try getting friends.

The conversation is much better (though there is a certain Chloe that seems like a good companion).

...nah.

Idea is bad.

I made a features and ideas thread about turning your alt Omega characters into drone-like controllable pets. A long time ago. As a mix of different fighter and drone mechanics, they can align, warp, follow, and attack. Limited only by the number of Omega accounts you maintain.

This would get pretty ridiculous but man that would be fun to experience.

The argument " get more friends " is kind of bad when the things you want to do are not very exciting for a group. Like hacking or other obscure PVE.

Players say the alpha / omega account dynamic is just money grabbing but that's nothing compared to what could happen if lurkers were given the tools to play a squad of omegas.

Looks like someone needs Friend Ship without having Social V.

And yet another one hits the delete button.

I wonder who's alt it was this time?

Mr Epeen

dont gloat over biomass
am i the only person who feels bad when a player biomesses
its like every time a child says they dont believe in faries
a fairy falls down dead

and now look
the dude biomassed
its all your fault ;x