Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Not sure the covert probe bonus is worthwhile. You can already probe while cloaked, and you're already cloaked while setting up a safe to probe from. The only time a probing ship is uncloaked is the few seconds it uncloaks to actually launch probes. There's no way I would spend extra on a t2 probe just so I could launch it while cloaked. Nobody is uncloaked long enough to get scanned down in their safe in the first place.

A better bonus for covert t2 probes would be to give them a minimum dscan range so they're actually less detectable. Not full immunity, but something like a 5AU detection range. Close enough that someone in the site would still see the probes on the final scan, but might not be able to dscan the probes on the first pass.

I like the idea of t2 combat probes for wrecks though. Regular t2 probe seems kinda wasteful. Nobody with decent scanning skills really needs a higher tech core probe.

Only way I could see t2 probes working at all is if each probe has some cool special ability like the wreck scan, lower AU detection range, etc.

I think a bonus for the normal t2 probes would be an ability to get more detailed sig info, call it an "analyzer probe"

This probe could give you the ability to see the type/info of a scanned wormhole, number/type of clouds in a gas site, number/type of cans in a relic/data site and their status, etc. This would let the person doing the probing more easily value/catalog the sites without flying to them, and act on useful data like WH mass limits, which has situational uses that may make them valuable despite weaker scanning stats than the sisters probes. The idea being that once you've scanned down multiple sites you could park a single probe at each and have a better intel picture of the contents of those sites, but not the ships in them, which would be a middle ground between physically eyeballing the sites one at a time, or having the sites scanned down but not knowing much except their sig type since you can't scan ships, dictor bubbles, etc. with this "wide net" of analyzer probes.

Think of them like really long range survey scanners, only for gas, cans, and wormholes rather than how much ore is left in an asteroid. I guess you could also get a DED style threat assessment for combat sites too just for giggles even though its pretty easy to look up that info.

You'd just have an additional "eyeball" icon next to the little warp arrow on the site. Click that and it pops up a little window similar to survey scanner with the cans showing locked/open/looted, gas types/amounts/ and wormholes with types named and stable/critical indicators for mass/time. This information is current as of the last scan on the site.

Oh jeebus!

Now that insta-kill svipuls go away this guy wants insta-gank probes. How about no?

Imagine this: You are happily doing your thing in space, be it a wormhole, lowsec, nullsec, wherever. Right now, if you re active and paying attention to your d-scan, you know when someone is trying to probe you out and can take steps to protect yourself.

If you cannot see the probes on d-scan, there is literally nothing you can do to stop a cloaked guy you didn't even know was in system from warping in and tackling you. you will not even know he is there until he is on top of you. There is no way you can protect yourself from the guy.

D-scan helps to counter combat probes. Everything in this game has a counter. What is the counter to covert probes?

Relevant

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about here.

They're core probes, ok. That's not going to stop them from probing down the signature the explorer is working cans in. And your decloak can idea would work if you put a bubble up, but without that the cloaky hunter simply has to warp at a non-standard range. Warp in at 40km or 60km and there's no way you'd land on a decloak can.

A role bonus could also counter this. A role bonus that allows to see the probes for the t1 and t2 scanning ships (non SOCT and SOE line nor T3's)

So there's literally no way to have advanced notice of someone hunting you (until it's too late) in WH PvE anymore?

...So, since your counter applies to battleship and battlecruiser hulls, since that's all MJDs fit onto, and is easily avoided simply by not warping at zero, who's really stretching things here?

Assumptions:

1. If you're running the site in a frig or cruiser you have enough mobility to motor away from the beacon for your own safety as soon as you land in the site.
2. If you're running the site SOLO in a carrier/dread/super I'm assuming you have enough brains/experience to keep your capital asset safe.
3. If you're in empire there are plenty of mechanics to keep you safe.
4. If you're in lowsex or a null bear - shoot you just need to come to terms with risk vs reward (seriously).
5. I really don't see many wh folk that will be there for the long haul having a problem with the guys ideas.

I'm not stretching anything. I'm pointing out that you stating "Literally no counter" is just flatass silly.


I'm adding the assumption that you reread his post with a detail oriented eye and noticed the core probes are the only ones that get d-scan immunity. If he had offered d-scan immunity for combat probes (as much as I would love to abuse THAT) I would have gone w/ immune combats being too much.

D-scan immune combat probes would totally change my playtime from it's current abysmal amount to quite a bit. (blame citadel space magic - it was a core game shift that has just left me less interested in eve - I've tried to shake my apathy, but can find no point in doing so). I'm not advocating this as a good game change, but I would love to see it in the game personally.

The really good hunters use a fair amount of dscan to pinpoint the guy they are going to probe down before they engage probes. The norm is find the site via dscan. Get off dscan and drop probes OR drop them and immediately move the way above or below the plane of the system to get them off dscan. Take your time to place them well on the target and then hit scan. A good prober only gives you one (two at the most) scan cycles to see the probes on dscan. You're idea of limiting dscan immunity to outside of 5au would have little effect on how hunters scan down targets.

god i missed the covert probe, thought i seen covert combat