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Roid Field NPC Rat Adjustment Idea
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H8FilledVoid
Perkone
Caldari State
#1 - 2011-11-26 01:05:05 UTC
I've searched for similar posts until my eyes bled and I could find none.

Currently there is little purpose for mining ops involving anything other than exhumers and orcas. There is also little deterrence to macro mining. Hopefully a slight change can increase this deterrence and add more challenge to increase the isk to be made when mining. As a side-effect there may be a new profession, an escort for hire.

At this time, npc pirates provide little resistance or threat to mining in sub 1.0 security systems to even justify their presence. Ops are dull, boring and tedious. Belts in highsec systems are ridiculously profitable for macro miners.
I propose a change to how many, what kind and how often roid rats attack miners in sub 1.0 systems. I suggest npc pirates increase their spawn rate and numbers to counter the numbers and size of ships occupying all belts in the system. Logically, pirates should search out valuable targets. They should also come with sufficient force to achieve their goal. You wouldn't shoot at a tank with a pellet gun. This is what it seems the pirates are currently attempting to do.

Pirates should become active when they detect a presence within a roid field. In addition, the attacks should occur weather or not the preceeding group has been vanquished. Occasionally there should be an increase of force to add challenge to the group.

In 1.0 and .9 security systems, the rats which do and do not show up are logical. In the highest security system you would expect there to be no hostile vessiles. In .9 security systems it is logical for several small, agile and quick vessiles to slip through the dragnet. It is the systems below .9 which need adjustment in both number and type of rats to the rarity of ore.

.8 systems should introduce destroyers into the fields.
.7 systems should increase the rat-to-player ratio within the fields and occasionally add a cruiser or two.
.6 systems should introduce the consistent presence of cruisers and occasionally increase the rat-to-player ratio.
.5 systems should increase the rat-to-player ratio within the fields and occasionally add a battlecruiser or two.
.4 systems should introduce the consistent presence of battlecruisers.
.3 systems should increase the rat-to-player ratio within the fields.
.2 systems should increase the rat-to-player ratio and occasionally add a battleship or two.
.1 systems should introduce the consistent presence of battleships.
.0 systems should increase the rat-to-player ratio and occasionally add a carrier.

Just my thoughts on this. They may not be appropriate and require some tweeking. Let me know what you think.

Love in H8
Vimsy Vortis
Shoulda Checked Local
Break-A-Wish Foundation
#2 - 2011-11-26 01:31:59 UTC
Since I live in highsec I don't really want to comment on nullsec belt rats, but I certainly support making rats in highsec actually do damage. Presently a single T1 light drone is sufficient to protect an AFK bantam from every single rat that spawns anywhere in highsec. Moreover the current highsec rats can't break the passive shield recharge on a cormorant with a medium shield extender.

I don't even know why highsec belt rats are there, they don't have any kind of gameplay value.
Velicitia
XS Tech
#3 - 2011-11-26 02:47:10 UTC  |  Edited by: Velicitia
nullsec -- the BS rats will WTFPWN you if you're not tanking. sure 2-3 exhumers can handle them to some degree ... but you're fubar when coupled with neuting cruisers... have you ever flown in nullsec (mining or otherwise)?

lowsec -- fixes are interesting, but underwhelming ... have you ever mined there? unless they've changed things (again), you find BS in 0.4 on down from time to time.

hisec -- these changes seem OK.

One of the bitter points of a good bittervet is the realisation that all those SP don't really do much, and that the newbie is having much more fun with what little he has. - Tippia
Jade Mitch
A Problem with Authority
#4 - 2011-11-26 03:27:33 UTC  |  Edited by: Jade Mitch
I logged on and searched about 20 ABs between multiple systems 0.5 -0.8 a couple of days ago and I swear I couldn't find a single cotton-picking rat. I'm still confused. I'm wondering if maybe we finally wiped them out.

I could care less about the bounties and the loot. I only kill rats to raise my security standing.

So ya, I support this.
H8FilledVoid
Perkone
Caldari State
#5 - 2011-11-26 04:23:42 UTC
in answer to the question about lowsec/nullsec mining. I have not done any in several years, and my proposed changes are simply a template. I have gone ratting in nullsec with a harpy with no problem at all. With that in mind I assumed the difficulty would be the same these days. Feel free to offer any suggestions to finetune what I've offered here. I take constructive critisism very well.

Love in H8
Velicitia
XS Tech
#6 - 2011-11-26 13:38:02 UTC
As a template, it sounds a little better. Here's a bit better of an explanation of the "security bands" as they stand right now.

Nullsec -- you *can* tank the BS spawns in a (single) hulk. I've been able to handle up to two at a time even with my terribad shield and drone skills ... three and I had to GTFO. Halada's guide has the fit (which involves an annoying amount of faction gear). Now, mining by yourself in nullsec is seriously a bad idea. It's better to have someone (or multiple someones) helping keep you safe, and multiple miners getting boosted with a rorqual. T2 modules are gonna be interesting on that...

Lowsec -- the rats themselves aren't an issue so much as the "Great Wall of Carebear", and the need for more protection than even in nullsec. This is mainly because you can bubble all the gates in null -- even if you don't have a fleet to keep an eye on the bubbles, they'll give a mining crew enough time to safe up. Lowsec, you need at least 1 pilot per gate (cloaked) watching for neutrals/reds, then you need a real defence fleet in the system to react to people entering (rats are currently easy to handle with hulks).

Hisec -- lol easy. Though with the new BCs, things are going to change (i.e. seriously easy suiganks).

Even though I'm a carebear through and through, I've spent some time in null and realise the need for a balanced approach to things, and have had the carebear blinders (forcibly) removed by those experiences.

It's not so much the rats that are a problem that needs to be fixed, but it's CONCORD and the hisec mechanics to some degree. Assuming I'm out mining, it's pointless to have a defensive fleet hanging around -- there's nothing they can do against the alpha strikes of a ganker, which will normally nuke a hulk. So, just write the hulk up as a loss, and hope for the best until it gets exploded.

There have been a number of "fix the security" mechanics, and some of them have merits. The most recent one I saw was something like this:

1.0/0.9 -- no change
0.8/0.7/0.6 -- lower the CONCORD response time a touch, but they can still WTFPWN you
0.5/0.4 -- No CONCORD, but the faction navies will show up. The navies are "tankable" at first, but will keep escalating until you die (OR your GCC wears off... IIRC GCC ships cannot dock, and something to deal with orcas, Rorquals, and POS bubbles was also mentioned)
0.3/0.2/0.1 -- faction navies have a slower response, and it becomes more chance-based.

One of the bitter points of a good bittervet is the realisation that all those SP don't really do much, and that the newbie is having much more fun with what little he has. - Tippia
H8FilledVoid
Perkone
Caldari State
#7 - 2011-12-06 14:18:12 UTC
I'd also like to see a change in the roid types distributed within the different security level systems. You shouldn't see the more profitable roids in belts of higher security systems. A change of the difficulty to the rat system should be complimeted by a gradual increase of profit from mining. This would make the isk farmers and bots jobs a fair bit more difficult.