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I think the difference is, adding value is generally a good thing for the economy as it means more items for players to purchase and cheaper prices.

For example IIRC from the dev blog, something like 80% of all value in the market comes from players manufacturing items. If that activity was nerfed -- the prices of items would go up, which is bad for everybody (except maybe a few people who would be in a position to take advantage) . Likewise if it was harder to get LP -- then all the things that cost LP would increase in price....

Conversely adding straight ISK to the economy (too much anyways) has bad effects - especially on the price of PLEX - which CCP has always tried to keep at a reasonable price. They even seed PLEX's themselves if the price gets too high.

Why is nullsec ratting bounties being targeted in particular as an ISK faucet?

No idea -- my primary guess is just like I recently posted -- that it has been botted, and this is just their incredibly poor idea of dealing with it.

Perhaps there is a simple answer:

To prevent future inflation, they were asked not to overtly increase nullsec bounties. To make room for this, while maintaining the nullsec isk faucet at current levels, they are decreasing all nullsec bounties by 5% under the premise that the nullbears that utilize the new ESS will make that income back on the whole.

To be frank, I suspect most nullbears won't want to "defend their space" and wont use the module, but with some appropriate tweaks I bet there are plenty who would.

ITT: People surprised that CCP doesn't understand their own game, and makes completely **** decisions in trying to improve their game with any other result than something subpar to what they started with.


It takes a pretty special person to take the worst PvE content in an MMO, and then somehow make it worse.

I don't think you get it, really. The 5% drop is literally nothing. I don't think anyone in Null would be too cut up over a 5% blanket cut in ratting bounties. If you want to put it in perspective, it's less than a mil lost per 20 mins ratting, making the average per tick income of the average solo null ratter 17.1 mil, rather than 18 mil.

That means (barring losses and discounting looting which can enhance income greatly now due to the MTUS) about 12 hours to a PLEX rather than 11 hrs 30 mins. That's right, 30 mins difference to make 620 mil. One and a half ticks extra (about the length of time it takes to complete one anom).

The ESS is literally the most pointless thing ever made, and does none of the things it's meant to. That's why people are being frustrated about it. It's a nerf dressed as a buff, which people are finding quite an insult to their intelligence.

Personally, I'd have prefered it if CCP had just said "OK guys, ratting income is a bit high, we're gonna drop it by 5%".

I literally have a bag of "better ideas" if null income is really that much of a problem, too! Since we've established these will literally cause zero gudfites, how about we keep the ESS, carve off the 20% income as intended, and make null income partially LP based, paid out by the ESS, and the LP store isk sink model is employed (with none of this silly incremental % increase nonsense)?

I'm literally putting no thought into these Ideas, and they all seem to be better than the ESS in it's current guise.

Won't be a nerf at all as we'll simply adjust out of null sec into other places. Did you guys learn nothing from the systems upgrade nerf your company had to turn around and un-nerf (through the isk/ehp buff)?

Also, when this thing creates the detrimental effects we are predicting (not just to people who like to pve in null sec, but to people affected by the ripple effect of fewer ships dying because people start pveing in high sec, like I already have) are you really that eager to have to waste time fixing it?

We offer our advice out of a desire to not only preserve some gameplay we think is currently ok, but also in hopes of preventing you guys wasting man hours that could be devoted to progessing the game's design.

Nerfing an income source that supports at MAX maybe 5 simultaneous users in a fully upgraded system with decent true sec (that an alliance is paying for) seems a bit strange when Level 4 missions can support an infinite number of pilots, with little to no risk.



Edit: For what it's worth I haven't shot a rat in well over 2 years (at least).

None of that changes what a stupid Item this is. Why not just lower the amount from bounties like a normal response to inflation would be. Why create literally a time sink. Honestly What are the CSMs opinions on this module? I can't imagine a worse item to be added to the game. Honestly if something this stupid comes into the game i'm Liable to unsub clearly the Devs are so out of touch with what to do with Eve any more it isn't even funny.

Disclaimer, I don't rat, i think it's awful and the isk hour just isn't worth it.

I just realised as well (give me a break I'm slow) if you install an ESS in a system it does NOTHING to lower ISK inflow into the game, it keeps it the same or improves it, all it's doing is changing whos hand that ISK goes into.

The tags printed are just going to Empire and being converted into ISK meaning with an ESS installed in a system you're just switching to another faucet which can be switched onto overdrive.

ships being killed doesnt remove isk from the game. In fact it adds isk through insurance.

the money you paid for the ship isnt removed, it is just transferred to those of us that build them.

what i dont get is..

this module is mean to reduce an isk faucet, ok.. fine.. but then don't go and say we will have 5% more income. that.. doesn't make any sense CCP.

Specially when your own economist doesn't agree with you.

Somebody, somewhere is paying for that Sov (and it costs quite a bit more than the paltry costs of a few lp store items); although my point was about the number of pilots engaging in an activity and not so much about how much money they can pull out of it at as near max efficiency as they can manage.