Science & Industry

5. I've had only 1 fight over a POCO, and we ended up on the losing side. BIG TIME. Pirates did what they do best and waited till most people went to bed thinking nothing was incoming. Then they struck and took down a carrier. Sucked. Still, it's memorable and we won't be making that mistake again.

PI taxes are brutal, which no doubt encourages people to look to setup their own POCO's. Which at first i was pretty against, but i can see now that its creating another interesting avenue for people to explore, though i still think that this has mostly to do with Dust. The only issue i have is the excessive time it takes to destroy interbus custom offices. As this is likely what ccp wants from these changes, why not make it quicker and easier?

On a side note, IMPROVE THE SILOS! Only 5k? Makes it completely useless. Everyone uses spaceports instead!



Though personally i've not experienced this, i'm sure that it will lead to more pvp. POCO's are going to be giant floating bait, even more so considering they're relatively defenceless. Only larger alliances will have the ability to effectively defend many POCO's, and thus they'll be the ones to dominate it in low-sec.



Yes and no. Absolute no for low-sec and null, as only alliances will have the manpower and activity to defend their POCO's. Small corporations might find themselves being baited into defending their assets only to find "its a trap!". Though i would say that in wh space, it can prove to be a benefit, as the time it takes to take down a POCO is quite large, and thus not many fleets could be bothered to stay in a single wh for the extended periods required. Unless, of course, they have something against the corp, or are looking to take that wh from them. So perhaps for dedicated PI corps that feel they've been shafted by the changes, time to move to wh space!

Most of all though, small corporations can't even take them down! They require alot of shooty-shooty and time to do so, and many small corps won't be able to achieve this.

Though, individuals that used to make a quiet bit of isk from PI have been effected the worst. Completely screwed i'd say.



I guess this depends on what kind of player you are. PvP types and pirates are always going to slate PI, but industrialists can and do make alot of isk from it. With your own POCO, PI materials can be effectively free! Who can say 100% profit is a bad thing? Lots of other people were moaning about POS fuel prices changing, but im sure in time that will stablize again, if it hasn't already.

Personally, i'd say that the changes have made it more relevant, as people are now being forced to consider it more than before.



None i'd like to admit.

I would go one step further.

Something I have always found kinda out of sync in EvE is how NPCs can put up towers anywhere while players can only place them around moons. Here is an opportunity to introduce a new ancor point, planets, then allow POCOs to either be free standing or associated with a tower, which brings along all those defenses.

3 Ammar battleships with pulses would probably do the trick.

Simple really, the new system is heavily in the favour of big corps and alliances. They're going to be the ones that dominate the POCO's in low sec. Where before individuals could nip in and out for their PI stuff, now they're having to rethink all their plans. Finding one without crazy tax rates for a start, as well as the fact that any planets they setup could find the tax changed at anytime.

The only option left is doing it in high, where the planet resources are crap, and the interbus taxes are mental. Not that i'm saying they won't be able to make a profit, it just won't be anywhere near as much as it used to be.

You also have to consider the increased on-going price of PI now. I have many characters doing it, and the daily cost is quite staggering. I can spend like 100mill a day easily just on taxes, and thats before i've moved them anywhere. And thats assuming as well that you're the sort of player that makes PI stuff to just sell immediately on the market. Some of us like to make POS structures.

Your also a lair...... Just how many Customers can use 1 planet.... You guys defending this must make crap load from Dev BJs..

Any way to tell whether all 14 are harvesting the same thing? Or are they factory planet customers? If the 14 harvesters are spread across at least 3 different raw materials, I could see that not being a big issue.

Happy New Year to you and your team to Omen.


1. Is there anything related to the Customs Office feature or PI taxes that you think is broken or terrible?

-- not sure, dont own one yet.

2. Do you think the amount of PvP engagements has changed in EVE as a result of this feature?

-- Definitely. It varies greatly by region but I've seen quite a few POCO's change ownership so they are definitely a conflict generator. The huge notification timer is nice to. Lets anyone roaming know that a fights coming which will undoubtedly create many interesting fights in the future.

3. Do you think the feature has created new opportunities for small to mid-sized corporations?

Definitely. While certain regions might be dominated by large entities I've seen several instances of small and medium sized corps putting up one or three CO's on prime planets or splitting a system with new friends. While we are certainly at the beginning stages this feature show's excellent promise.

4. Do you think PI has become more or less relevant in EVE?

-- unchanged

5. Do you have any awesome story related to a Player Owned Customs Office?

-- not yet.

+1 for the boost to storage units and fixing the 'getting stuck' problem.

I can see where Interbus HP might be a PITA for null alliances but overall it seems to be working well in low sec and w space.

The timer is the best defense on a POCO so they really don't need guns or mods. Let people turn them into deathstars and you guarantee you need a blob to kill them instead of a small gang, so all is well here.

If it's not a major grind for you, perhaps reducing their sig rad would encourage more bs or bc oriented gangs instead of dreads/carriers. At the same time nothing brings people to a fight like cap km's so maybe it's fine as is.



To date I've been pleasantly surprised. None of the worst case scenarios seem to have come to play. In every instance that i've seen a CO getting ref'ed there was a genuine purpose to it. I cant recall seeing a single system where the co's had been popped and not replaced. And to my surprise I've seen a number of pirate corps become active in POCO ownership. So overall nice new feature with lots of mileage left to exploit on it.

How about some kind of siege weapon for taking down customs offices and abandoned pos? AFAIK, these tasks can't be effectively done without large fleets. How about an expensive siege weapon with no tank, no tracking. deploy/ anchor/ online and siege at 100 km. It could be easily taken down with a frigate, as it has no tracking, and no tank. left alone at 100km from a pos or customs office, it will take it down in a fair amount of time. Beacon comes up in local the whole time it is being onlined and operational. It could really only be used for abandoned pos and undefended customs offices. Anyone ever heard of an idea like this?

Like some kind of large battleship with a small number of very large guns?