Player Features and Ideas Discussion

It has occurred to me that CCP didn't miss the mark by as far as it may seem with regard to the barge and exhumer buffs.

Give the Procuror and skiff a drone damage and hitpoint bonus, so that it is a legitimate combat threat. It becomes the "action-miner" ship CCP intended and retains the format of "toughest hull, moderate storage, weakest yield."

That leaves the Retriever, Mackinaw, Covetor, and Skiff. What to do?

For starters, repurpose the Covetor and Hulk to be the "ninja miners." But rather than give them more yield, as I proposed in a prior thread, give them the ore bay of the Retriever and Mackinaw, and vice-versa. This gives the Hulk the best yield, second-best storage, and lowest EHP. That's consistent with high-risk and high-reward. It also makes the Hulk the go-to for ninja mining operations.

Then, we're left with the Retriever and the Mackinaw. Having received ore bays from the Covetor and Hulk, their moderate yield and moderate EHP are now balanced by increased micromanagement, making mining in these vessels a more engaging activity. However, it's obvious miners would find this nerf to be unfavorable, so how about a little something extra? Since the Mackinaw is a general-purpose mining tool (as seen in Eve today) why not also give these boats a bit of utility capability? I'd propose adding a salvaging drone bonus to both the Retriever and the Mackinaw in conjunction with all of these changes.

[edit] The Mackinaw should also get a Tractor Beam bonus, now that I've looked it over again.[/edit]

These changes give unmistakable roles to each of the class of barge and exhumer while in every case attempting to provide balance to what has become a set-it-and-forget-it bore. Is there a legitimate reason these changes would not be a benefit to the mining profession?

Thank you for your factual, well-thought comments or your concise, articulate questions.

Thread moved from GD to F&I - ISD Type40

Only if you don't count its EHP and the risk entailed in piloting it. This forces a decision to be made again, but in a way where there are also clear roles. And it's second best storage.

Fair enough, it [i[would[/i] be the highest storage. My mistake.

I somehow doubt it would make things how they used to be. The Hulk did not used to have a 27km ore bay.

Nah, because after people lose a hulk or three to gankers they'll re-evaluate the choices of Skiff and Mackinaw.

The Hulk, as outlined, would be best suited to the role of ninja mining, not continuous mining.

Your proposed change is silly and you're a troll.

Hulks need EHP. Problem solved.

It is too weak to consider using. It should be strong enough that you could consider using it and a Mack on a mining op. The idea is to use the Macks as haulers/cans and to mix up the two ships to get a balance of mining yield vs. mining time.

The Orca might need an ore hold boost to make 6 hulks something it could keep up with.

yeah this would just put everyone back into hulks.
hulks are now for fleet mining with orca support, so they dnt need an ore bay. they have even more EHP than before and really dnt need any more, u just need to start putting tanks on them.

if anything is gonna be a 'ninja' miner it will be the new mining frigate. it will be great.

skiffs and procurors are decent for null and wh mining, cause they can survive long enough for back up to be called. i dont see what would be bad about a drone bonus tho.

and retrievers and macks are perfect for solo/afk mining.

they're fine as they are

It's because they would have had to seriously rework the barges to get 3 turret mounts on all of them. (you can't just "add turret")

I like the new changes the way they are right now, CCP is fully taking care of everything posible to ensure Miners flourish and multiply, consistently with little to nothing to stop them.

Your changes are based on financial gain and loss, they have nothing to do with improving gameplay at this time.


If the need arises, CCP should look into it, but for now, there are very few and sporadic theosis that actually serve to improve gameplay.


The mining frigate, I hope the Tech 2 variant will be made for Ninja salvagers, now that could be FUN!