Assembly Hall

Another aspect: BlackOps and Covert Cynos would become much more fun and become a lot more attractive. You wouldn't know in which system they jumped into (unless you tracked the covert ship through all gates and pinned it down to a specific system) and whom they will attack. But it might be too OP as well. I don't know. Certainly much more interesting. And it would put the Null back into the NullSec.

The target has the built in mechanics of cloaked players not physically being able to do anything to them while cloaked on their side. They also have the fact that cloaky ships generally have weak tanks and or meager dps.

There may not be much (or any) risk for someone sitting afk cloaked - but there's no risk for someone sitting in a pos or outpost either. And like someone AFKing in a pos/outpost, there's no reward.

This isn't aimed at the OP as that focused on actual inactivity from the player bringing up a prompt of if you are AFK (which I guess is a reasonable thing). I'm asking this more toward the general dislike of and demand for ways to counter cloaking (I didn't want to start another AFK cloak thread either, people would hate me).

How do you know they are a cloaked AFK player? Is it that they don't reply in local or remain in system for hours and you can't scan them down?

Because I fit into that catergory as an explorer. I fly a cloakable ship, turn local blink off as I'm exploring solo, and spent most of my time using the scanning system. But I can't fit a cyno and my usual explorer fit has little to no offensive and defencive capabilities. I don't like the idea that while I'm focus on scanning down a site and sitting in a safe spot cloaked that someone can still find me and kill me went I've taken the steps to not being found.

Also, though I'm not sure it will still work after Odyssey, can't a Covert-Ops frigate still avoid you uncloaked at a safe-spot using the ECCM method to counter probes?

You make a good point. In order to watch every move you would need a lot of camaras, and a respectable amount of time to install them. As a person very familiar with this type of activity, its not easily done in great numbers undetected. Therefore, setting up many cameras in someone elses home for evil intentions is rare, and not everyone can do it. In Eve no skill is required to cloak up and hide. Even camaras can be found in time, In Eve a cloaky cant. There needs to be a chance to counter it, even if its slight. Let people cloak and camp, its all good, but don't make it risk free.

I dunno, why is there any risk in 0.0? Nullsec is all about risk vs reward. Why should it be risky to mine there? Why should it be risky to gate camp there? Why should it be risky to rat there? Why own 0.0 space? Why doesn't everyone go there? Why make it so you can get huge rewards with no risk? Risk has a role in most parts of the game, which for many makes it exciting. If you or your Alliance earned the station in the system for safety that's one thing, someone at some point risked something to get it, but getting free intel for no real risk or effort by cloak/camping should be changed.

A mining bot has a risk of being ganked in High-Sec while hes afk. Shouldn't a system camper in Null?

I don't see how most players in Nullsec are good with a ship that cant be found or killed yet can do so much damage. Almost everyone travels into enemy space at some point, so that's not unusual risk for 0.0 . It doesn't make it better if you can be one shotted by a miners drones if you cant be locked or found. All Im saying in adding risk is make them findable at least over time.

http://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/eve-online-news/regarding-afk-complex-farming-1

" We do not find this to be acceptable gameplay."


And AFK carebear farming??

Ok I have several issues with this, firstly: There is no reward. They gain absolutely nothing. They cannot prevent other players doing something, they don't gain any isk or assets, the reward is ZERO. If you decide to interfere with yourself then that is on you. If you consider that a "reward" to the cloaker/afker then... don't give them that reward. Simple.

Secondly, I don't even see the point of the use of the term "AFK" in these topics. To highlight what I mean, let me present two situations.

The classic "Afk cloaker":
Sits in a safespot, cloaked, ship is completely stationary
Player goes to walk the dog, have dinner, work, whatever

The active cloaker:
Sits in a safespot, cloaked, ship is completely stationary
Player sits at the computer the entire time, chatting in corp, etc chat channels.

To everyone in the system, these two players are exactly the same. They're not scanning or hunting, they're not even moving, they can't be found, etc. The fact people keep harping on about "AFK" would suggest that they do no wish to impede or punish the second - very much active - type of player. Except every single suggestion ever proposed WOULD punish the second type of player, despite the fact that he's active (just not visibly so to the carebears).

This suggests to me that people are not in fact attempting to deal with an issue regarding "AFK" players, because they ALWAYS suggest things that would hurt the second type of player too

So can we stop with the dishonesty? This isn't about afk players, this is about ACTIVE players that you want defending from

Well said Gunslinger. These threads always seem to be thinly veiled attempts at nerfing ALL cloakers, using the 'afk people are bad m'kay' excuse.

For all the talk of generating 'risk', it all boils down to making nulsec even safer so the zerobears can rat/mine/whatever under the complete safety of Local's all seeing eye.

Gunslinger actually failed to mention the third type of 'passive' cloaker: cloaky eyes/ears in W-space. Sometimes one has to sit cloaked off a wormhole or starbase for hours to set up a trap, act as a picket for incoming hostiles, or because the inhabitants of your static are trying to bore you to death with their POSspinning.