EVE General Discussion

I think this post offers changes that we are "pretty much" in agreement on and seem to be fairly easy to implement.

I would add that we should see allied militia the same way we see our own militia as another potential easy change.

QFT - Killer suggestion, Vordak.

This is EXCELLENT on multiple levels - first off, it restores fairness to the plexing system and its original design intent - providing makeshift arenas where newer players can engage in PvP without being overwhelmed.

Secondly, it address the OMGNERFTHEDRAMPLZ complaints most players have across the entire game when it comes to ship balancing. Many players are upset that Assault ships, interceptors, are effectively outdated in terms of dogfighting, since certain pirate ships are simply a best choice in the hands of a competent pilot.

Locking dramiels/cynabals out of plexes (even if it means blocking assaults and inty's as well) gives players who aren't even involved in FW an incentive to enlist. I'm absolutely certain there are players interested in PvPing in ships other than the flavor of the month, and even if it means mixed tech 1 gangs, I'm sure this is seen as a more fun (and extremely cost effective) way to get your PvP fix without worrying about "Keeping up with the Joneses".

Players everywhere may come back to FW if there is incentives to actually plex (some sov changes, or greater impact from actually owning a system for your faction) combined with "Dramiel-free zoning" where they can test their skills without relying on a gimmick ship.

EDIT - also, I think this still refers to Pirate ships in particular - Obviously we still want the militia to be able to use militia hardware. Stripping the pirates out of the equation elevates faction ships to being top dog in the plex, meaning you'll see more militia flying militia hardware, and this is just fun for immersion/RP sake if nothing else.

Ok, quick idea from someone who doesn't do FW. (Note to self: Gotta get around to try it someday..) And no, it's (probably) not low-hanging fruit.

Would it be feasible to keep faction navy NPCs, but instead of a constant presence/auto-response type of thing, it could be influenced by players? Meaning; the server keeps track of where the NPC navy fleets are currently located, and the FW players can send in intel reports and requests for backup.

Example: There is an Amarr FW gang headed for minnie highsec system X. While travelling, several players spot them and sends in intel reports to minnie NPC HQ. The number of reports recieved causes NPC HQ to relocate forces to system X. When the Amarr gang tries to gank a lone minnie FW player in system X, he can call for backup, and the NPC forces will be able to respond very quick since they are already in that system.
Meanwhile; Another Amarr FW gang manages to slip nearly undetected into minnie highsec system Y, some distance away from system X. When they attack minnie FW players in system Y, they can still call for NPC backup, but since the nearest NPC forces are in system X, it will take a long time for help to arrive.
The server would of course have to do some weighting of incoming reports based on number of reports, reported number of enemy forces and rank of the players who sends them. Possibly also take into account how deep into highsec the enemy is.

The point of all this would be to maintain a NPC presence/protection in highsec, while providing the opportunity to make raids and decoy operations, and rewarding hit-and-run type ops in highsec.

As I said, I don't do FW myself, just thought of this just now after reading some of these posts and thought I'd trow it out there. :-)

YES YES YES YES ...This is a fantastic Idea. I have had some of my best fights in FW .. cruising through 0.0 and seeing an opposing side...... across the universe, from fw zones.

Ney Sayers, to opening it up...are just thinking of their personal farming/ missioning..and not the larger picture. .. and that is indeed part of the problem. Guys farm with zero risk .... ignore FW... then when they have PLENTY of isk to burn ..they jump in.

Having bad guys about.... will get people interested in intel, for self preservation.... and I think epic fights would come from this. Angling off of selfishness and greed is the way to go....best way to get help when being attacked? " I cant blow up chelm..can some one help?


If this is implemented..and I Pray that it will be... You will actually get a use for constilation chat. But the people that can use it will be for the factions space they are in.

So you would have militia chat.... and then a localized constilation intel. channel. Just like we do in null sec. SERIOUSLY COOL and we already have it...but its never used.

Problem with making direct comparisons with null is "bystanders". It is easy enough to know whats what in null if you keep the blue list up to date (NBSI) whereas it is quite impossible to do the same in high-sec/low-sec .. especially since a lot of fight changing support can be given without ever leaving a NPC corp..

Joining FW as an individual without having to leave corp .. WTF!?! What the hell kind of non-committal WoW battlegrounds crap is that supposed to be?
That is exactly what is wrong with large portions of Eve at present, you can "do ****" without ever committing anything .. war of any scale should NOT be something you can do in in the lunch break you have from your day-job. We need more (and harsher) consequences to waging wars not less, people should have to consider going to war as a last resort and not as the easiest solution to any problem .. something to so with a few hours to burn (lol-SC blobs ganking Sov structures) ..

Stop trying to cater to kindergarten customers, they are not supposed to play internet-spaceships to begin with so you might as well stop it!

The problem with removing NPC navies altogether is that it risks alienating FW players by making the trade hubs they rely on permanently inaccessible.

Another solution could be to have NPC navies triggered by the entry of FW enemy players into a system. A Navy spawn would be trigged between 0 and 10 minutes of entry (randomised so you don't know what to expect), and would then remain in system for 20-60 minutes (randomised again). The speed of a navy spawn appearing and then leaving would be higher depending on the sec status of the system.

I very much dislike the idea of removing the Navy from high sec. That is not going to open up faction war, that's just going to cause a lot of station camping in the main market hubs. That is a quick fix we do not need.

Anyhow, we already go to the enemy high sec systems, nano gang anyone? It's much more fun to catch someone unaware in high sec now when they aren't expecting it.

The war zone is big enough, we have tons of systems that's technically a part of our war zone but they see very little action because no one cares to go there. What's the point? You have a handful of hardline plexers but that is it. Make plexing worthwhile and then you'll see use of the war zone that we already have.

How about a super stargate? How about a few of them spread around our war zones that only militias can use, one's that will jump you into our allies systems. We could make more use of allies if we didn't have to fly 25 jumps to get there to help each other out.

Another thing could be some kind of news blurb in the main market hubs local channels about what their militia's have accomplished, ie, Amarr Militia has captured Ezzara, etc.

Most everyone will agree that supers do more harm than good. Make it so that they are able to jump into systems to travel if need be, but all of their mods/drones deactivate.

Also I agree with all of the other recommendations everyone else has posted.

Hopefully the incoming SC nerf will limit their usefulness without making this neccessary.

AFK miners in FW corps should already pay attention to local ;) There are those that are quite proficient in the art of the highsec gank behind enemy lines.....it just takes balls and some know-how but the current NPC's are quite survivable for long enough to get lucrative kills...

...and like I said, that's almost reason for me to say leave it alone, or maybe simply pare the strength back on the NPC's just a tad - enough to deter openly hanging out in enemy highsec, but still gives players the chance to make a bold move into dangerous territory and gank the enemy in the heart of their homeland.

Giving pilots unrestricted freedom to pass through enemy higsec kinda kills the "home turf" feel a bit.

Maybe there's a compromise? Like having enemy highsec stations fire on you, or gate gun fire, but maybe less random police drops so fights can occur in belts, plexes, missions? Or just NPC's on gates, and not the follow-you AI that they do now.

The other huge advantage though, is that there are a lot of mission farmers only registered in FW for the LP. Making higsec more dangerous would discourage people from joining just to run missions - which is a huge detriment to the community. It waters down the market for those who actually PvP as well, and contributes nothing to fleet opportunities if they simply carebear in highsec and lowsec equally but never join in actually fighting the other faction.

Removing the stock NPC corp in favor of more of a pseudo- static alliance is a much better way around this, in my opinion - I think forcing players to join a player corp to do Faction Warfare is a great idea. Players corps are much better about monitoring and filtering farmers and spies - the players who sign up for 24th crusade or TLF usually have a crap experience if they stay there - they are simply treated as riffraff anyways by any militia pilot who has been around longer than a few weeks.

Lots of pros and cons on the unrestricted highsec issue - i'm conflicted myself, so I'm just throwing out what I see as potential consequences, coming from the perspective of a two-year full-time veteran. I welcome the ongoing discussion, and hope Soundwave takes it all in and considers both arguments carefully.


Also, Soundwave - while i have alliances on the brain, any reason that we cant be allowed in the Alliance Tournament next summer?? There is some EXCELLENT small gang pilots ready to show off their talent to the nullsec crowd. I think Factions should be treated as alliance for entry requirements, it really sucks that under the current system everyone has to forsake their corp and everyday gameplay just to form a temporary alliance and register. Its a huge inconvenience that no other player in the game has to face, and there is no doubt that the talent level for tournament-style gang warfare is equally as strong in the militia as it is in nullsec. Our corp has been having great fun sparring with Pandemic Legion now that they've moved home to Amamake :) I want to see it on the big screen!

Sorry, bit off topic but had to throw that out there since I dont know when we'll have Soundwave's attention again after this round of fixes!! Its an old drum i've been beating but now someone is listening.....

Allow alliances in fw and make occupancy/sovereignity in fw mean something (in terms of profit) - and be prepared for endless 0.0 style blobs.