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I don't think this is trying to attract trial players, the very new or the unfamiliar with the game. I think it's trying to retain those that have decided to take the plunge because only then, after you are invested in the game, does the desire to work to develop the character become meaningful.

There is definitely a high point of potential draw, which I think is the lower half of the 5-50m SP range, where SP constraints of isk making are effectively overcome with some focused training, but there's still a strong draw to diversify skills.

I'm looking at this as a retention aid for the newish, 6 month+ players who are hitting walls in their flexibility and giving them carrots to chase. Meanwhile I do believe some will make them available sooner with the guidance to use them properly, but don't expect that to necessarily be a norm or hit all of the player base. That said since most of the game is already set up as an aspiration at that level what harm does one more do?

If you've trained the skills, either by paying for your account or " earning" PLEX, then why not just reallocate them from skills you no longer wish to "use". I would suggest making the transfer of skills 1:1 using a similar system to the remap of attributes, limited to the amount or times it can be done as well as only being able to be used on your own account. for example if you wanted to use them to improve your other characters attributes.

In principal, as a relatively new player, i am not opposed to the idea of gaining skill points in areas where they would benefit/improve my experience of the game, as i play it now, similar to a lot of players i don't use some of the skills i waited eagerly for when i started.

It's the thin end of the wedge talked about when the store was introduced for "vanity items only" So after monetizing skill progression the next logical step would be monetizing the content and equipment. In WOW after you have bought your way to level 90+ it would be buying the latest upgrade or newest mount but for eve here's a couple of suggestions.

Open up Jove space for occupation but require that all the gates use keys "Get a set of 20 jove gate keys for $19.99"
Do you want to be able stand your ground against 4 standard Titans? then use your TSP to train for the all new Super Titan!. "Super Titan neural interface packages are available at the store just $20 for one months supply"

Of course EVE is obviously not WOW and it's surprising that people do not know this. WoW has and endgame EVE is a sandbox.

Did you miss the part about diminishing returns? I know it's hard to get the facts right, mark down TSP as an improvement since there is a significant SKILL POINT sink past the 50m mark.

For all of the game we've always had a skilling mechanic that didn't promote any sort of sinking as a normal mechanic. Clone losses were a punishment for neglegence and were removed. T3 SP losses weren't designed to be sinks so much as limit the use of those ships (and for the most part failed). Why would we need SP sinks now that we've mechanically acknowledged that it wasn't the greatest idea to begin with? How would we benefit? Why would we promote risk aversion further?

This is a MUST feature for the long term health of the game.

I know many Vets feel it's unfair since they had to wait to skill up to where they are, but the big issue is new player retention and not old player rewards. Old players are constantly being rewarded with new advanced ships that new players can't fly effectively.

At present, the bar is set too high in this very mature game, many don't stay with the game in any meaningful way as a result. I for one would buy them using in game earned ISK via missions, etc.. I can speak for the casual gamer and this one feature alone would make the in game goals far more meaningful.


The main Issue is.

The space game genre is the biggest it's ever been and EVE has seen little value from the massive new interest and this is directly due to new player retention after the trial period. The game is just too slow to skill and be effective. ELITE, SC and any other new game will/do not have this SP wait for months time barrier and CCP should consider any and all options to level playing field. It's old school and no longer relevant to gaming balance.

Skill should be the balancing factor, not time.

No, at no point did the skill point system as it stands preclude loss. As I noted just prior we've had 2 loss mechanisms, one still in effect. What was decided was that that one mechanism wasn't a positive one, and further, from it's removal and lack of replacement we can see that SP loss was in no way vital or even largely important.

So you're first incorrect about the current system precluding loss, second contradicting the erroneous initial position by bringing up T3 losses and third further contradicting yourself through the fact that you advocated the system even without tradable SP. Especially with the last factor there the idea needs justified as a benefit to the game in some way. The idea of the devaluation of SP (which isn't the value of isk BTW since isk can be created without limit and transferred without loss while SP has the same limit as it ever has, just now in a pool of participating accounts instead of single characters) doesn't accomplish this. That's at best an argument for mitigating impact while acknowledging the negative.

So the logic doesn't flow that tradable SP should include SP loss. The system was never and as proposed would not be designed to require or benefit from SP loss on ship destruction.

To the idea of promotion of farming accounts: That doesn't counter the idea of risk aversion. All it does is raise the cost of PvP which creates more risk aversion even with tradable SP accounted for. Short term it may increase revenue at the cost of potentially higher PLEX prices than without these increased farms driving PLEX consumption and reduced activity due to aversion of risk from escalating recovery costs, further possibly reducing subs.

The OGB argument doesn't work in your favor either if CCPs public statements on the matter still hold. The priority there is removing them to reduce the low risk, high reward gains. Being that this is currently a goal the idea of a purely sub motivated change with a large and obviously negative impact with no justification or benefit seems unlikely.

That would be precluding the use of my proposed SP loss for Ship loss mechanism. Sorry you wasted a most eloquent response on your false presumption.

The only absolute loss in the trade-able SP exchange is by the buyer through diminishing returns ( I did read about it) The seller is trading his SP for ISK therefore it's not a loss.

OMG I've forgotten to buy a clone upgrade - no wait they trashed that - They are introducing a type of skill faucet that has no sinks

From the very post you quoted:
"There is no introduction since SP has always been a faucet with few sinks and the most common of which was removed. We never had any reason since then to believe such sinks were beneficial or necessary...

...that's what clone grades were, so it was in no way precluded, just judged non-beneficial.

...And still you have yet to address the fully relevant request for benefit regarding this idea aside from suggesting the promotion of SP farms at the expense of all else is positive."

That sink has been gone leaving SP a pure faucet for those not losing T3s for a while. Care to actually explain why that should change and what benefit there is rather than repeat the fact we've both acknowledged several times?