Test Server Feedback

I wanted to add that I think the current system incorporates risk and reward, one of the core elements of EvE's game design. The risk of harm can be managed with skills and practical knowledge (like most things in EvE) but never completely eliminated. Many pilots still choose to use drugs knowing that they don't have all the support skills or implants, and are willing to take the risk anyways.

The mystique that surrounded boosters, their illegality, the potential for side effects (even if minimal in some situations) and the psychological effect it has on pilots ( I know many that superstitiously "refuse to abuse") is part of what makes them fun and immersive. It's a huge loss to that fun to just wipe away all risk of harm, just to see them used more often.

This just smells a little too much like forcing a feature "iteration" just to pad a list of fixes for the winter expansion. I think this is a great gameplay element to explore and develop, but to my knowledge (correct my if I'm wrong) fixing boosters isn't really high up on the player's gimme list, so I'd much rather see this given some proper balancing attention rather than rushed out the door just because.

The side effects could be mixed up a little on the boosters, making more combinations viable, or allowing for multiple use. The addiction and hangover ideas mentioned in this thread would be rad too, and would preserve the important element of risk (or at least perceived risk). But please, lets see boosters truly worked and expanded upon on rather than being simply gutted for the sake of change.

This is a good point, I checked on SiSi, the low-grade edge implants still give a reduction to booster side effects (kind of pointless if there are no side effects)

Please CCP give us a response on this, these changes need more consultation and consideration please!

From a Wikipedia page on banned video games:

Perhaps my tinfoilhattery wasn't so wide of the mark!

Assuming Australian video game classification laws don't come into it, CCP really ought to stop and think about this. There's something very cool about the underworld nature of boosters.

While the new boosters will still be worth using, the 'dangerous' ones we know and love are just so much more fun. Surely that's the most important thing?

...Yes....carebear.....Add some content you ******* trollface. Better still use a real character on the forums.

I don't use boosters, but these changes seem a bit harsh. Boosters were hard to come by before, and are now not worth buying, so I can see them dying out.

But it's not as much fun. I like the risk of side-effects whenever I use boosters.

This is not true, there is a dramatic reduction in the bonuses from the new boosters even with level 5 skills.
Level 5 skills and a standard blue pill will reward a 12.5% bonus to shield boost, but it used to give 20% (7.5% is a signigicant reduction). Other boosters are similarly affected.

So lets recap.

Your logic is:

1. Remove side effects
2. Decrease potential boost
3. Increase potential duration

Others have already said why this is complete and utter failure so I won't get into that. You guys need to get your heads out of your as*ses and redo this.

Here ismy proposal if you aren't planning a whole revamp, but rather stat changes. For the purpose of this, I will use the current tranquility skill names.

1. Do not remove side effects. Simply make it so that you can only get 1 side effect. This would work as such: Consume booster, game runs your skills/implants percentage to see if you get a side effect. If you do, game runs random chance of which potential side effect you get. No more of this 0-4 potential side effect crap. THIS RIGHT HERE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH BOOSTERS RIGHT NOW.

2. Decrease current side effect chance of improved and strong drugs by 5%. This would mean standard (20%), improved (25%), strong (30%)

3. Duration is fine, leave it as is. 1 hour at level 5 for a rank 1 skill is quite good.

Revamp wise, you guys need to reevaluate how many bpcs for boosters have dropped and are out there versus how much gas is actually mined and figure something out. In about 2 weeks in Fountain I managed to get about 30x 50-run standard exile bpcs. Now that sounds great, but the amount of gas needed to produce that is ridiculous. On top of that, pushing 1500 boosters is lol. Either reduce build costs, reduce production runs or make harvesting more efficient (reduce size of gas maybe?).

Also, you realize no one knows about boosters right? And by no one I mean its like 10% of us that actually know they exist/have potential. You need to add some civilian/synth boosters to tutorial missions.

K. Now please go back to the drawing board.

Also, you need to change the Hardwiring - Eifyr and Co. 'Alchemist' XA-1 & XA-2 if you intent to go through with these changes.

They should make it so you can make boosters more easily in lowsec.