Player Features and Ideas Discussion

You realise the whole i undock i get dropped on thing died with the jump changes?

I disagree. Blackops in particular are still very popular in many regions of lowsec. I have at least 10 alts on my watchlist whose sole purpose is to light cynos and I see them daily.


In my opinion, cyno inhibitor modules are useful for protecting your own capitals during structure bashes and the like, but the online time is prohibitive for other uses. If you see an Arazu in system that you know is a hot drop alt, you can't expect to anchor the thing and get it to engage you. Essentially, the cyno is guaranteed to work because they pick the engagement.

If it wasn't guaranteed though, people would have to find more creative ways to get fights or bring more support to get control over their cyno. I think it would create a more interesting dynamic than the current meta. Perhaps you disagree.


I'm not asking for anything. I just have an idea which I believe fills a different use niche than the cyno inhibitor and I'm curious what other people think. Thank you for your opinion.

I'm also not interested in "avoiding" getting dropped or "protecting" my assets. That's easy. Dock up. Use cyno inhibs to protect your fleets and structures. What I'm considering is a way to empower smaller groups to engage against known hot droppers. This would bring more conflict (a good thing!) and be less one-sided, giving some of the cards back to the people actually in system (also a good thing in my opinion).

I've been on both sides of this many times. Dropping everything in sight leads to very scarce targets and very bored players. We are our own worst enemy in that regard. We just need some more reasons to pause and think about taking the easy way out before we light up.

Totally stops the blops ships mentioned too, right?



PS: it doesn't.

The mobile inhibitor actually does it's job really well and sets up some interesting tactics while using them. It is sufficient and a really good addition to the game.

Covert cynos are another beast entirely. You have so many options to deal with this...
A)Jam the tackle ship that is initiating the drop.
B)Counter drop. People like big shiny killmails, it shouldnt be too hard to set up a good counter drop. One good welp of their BLOPS fleet and they will probably leave you alone.
C)Kite. Given that almost all the 'good' ships in the meta are so fast and so small, dropping them is actually tricky.
D)Get a fleet and fight your local pirates. Bored groups are the ones that resort to excessively Cyno based gameplay. It's not that they don't want a fight, it's that they only way they can get one is by baiting.

I agree it was a good addition.


A and C are valid suggestions.

B) I don't want them to leave me alone. I want more conflict, not less. This just leads to a standoff where neither group wants to do anything but drop on easy victims, because no one wants to actually risk their black ops (why would you? they are flimsy).

D) I am the local pirate.

I'm not sure its that cut and dry. I had a humorous situation unfold where we were defending a poco, and the attacking fleet was scouted with no logi; they intend to drop triage. We scrambled a cyno inhibitor up as fast up as possible, and had it anchored by the time they landed in our bubble. Their scouts did not evidently think it worthy of the FC's attention, or didn't notice it. Suffice to say the fight went rather well for us.

They aren't supposed to HARD counter caps, or drops. If you are truly a roaming fleet, just don't let the bait scram you, and you live to fight another day, and they get fatigued for no kills. As cancerous as the current speed/drone/LML meta is, it does a fair bit to dissuade drops.

If you don't think you can kill a carrier before his friends show up, bring more bombers. Or hide the cyno inhibs in the anoms before hand. Think creatively.

There are already many high slot modules that can shut down an active cyno. They are called turrets and missile launchers. Rumor has it that drones, bombs, and smartbombs are also capable of shutting down a cyno.

When a cyno goes up either apply DPS or GTFO, one or the other usually works.

You undocked a Carrier without paying attention to local and you think this is a problem with game mechanics?

I've seen this argument twice now. You realize no one uses an Ibis to hot drop right? I'm not talking about throw-away cynos on station to move your carrier, I'm talking about brick-tanked hot drop ships.


I consider 1) and 2) a good thing. This idea is not supposed to hard counter hot drops, just to provide one more factor to make it more risky. That's why I made it a targeted high slot (utility highs are somewhat rare comparatively), and not area of effect. If you really want to drop you shouldn't be completely prevented by a single module (come to think of it falcons would be quite good at countering them as well).

As it is, the only really viable counter to dropping is counter dropping. This leads to all the drop-capable groups sitting in station while their cyno hunts targets, possibly with one tasty ship out ratting as bait. Sure, a well executed counter-drop can be fun, but the vast majority of your time is squandered inside the ship hangar. IMO more options to counter drops, even if they are not foolproof, means more people out in space instead of waiting around in station, whether it's to try and shut down the cyno or help support it.

As for 3), I've been on both sides of the situation many times. I find it quite boring and would like to see more ships in space. I think my idea has the potential for that, perhaps with some fleshing out. And happy blops pilots do not need to feel threatened by it. As you pointed out, there are ways to counter this counter.

Basically, it's just one more monkey wrench to stir the pot.