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Lower the skills that new character starts with

Author
Vokan Narkar
Doomheim
#1 - 2017-05-06 00:47:00 UTC
This is related to alpha clones.

Why are new characters starting with skills at level 3-4 which are then maxed on alpha clone?

Take Salvaging as an example. New character starts with level 3 and thats the highest you can go on alpha. Now, I do understand why alpha clone doesn't have an access to the level 4 or 5 and I do not ask for that.

Instead I think it would make more sense if a new character started with Salvage 2 or better 1. That way, a new player who try salvaging would then saw a possible progression and could train this skill to get better at it.

Right now, it feels like there is no progression - so lets make it even if "artificaly".

Likewise with many other skills:
Capacitator Systems Operation - new char gets 3, which is a cap for alpha
CPU managmnt - new char get 4, which is a cap for alpha
Power grid managment - 4 we get, 4 is max
Astronometrics - 3 and 3
Survey - 3 and 3
Afterburner - 3 and 3
Salvaging - 3 and 3
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#2 - 2017-05-06 01:19:18 UTC
Many of the skills that are maxed on an alpha clone are what are called Core skills, which were at one point much lower and were more or less the first month of training for any character.
Doing this would be two steps back not to mention it would add an unnecessary amount of training to every new character .

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.

Danika Princip
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation
#3 - 2017-05-06 11:23:40 UTC
That isn't progression, that is making life harder for newbies.

Why does it matter if the free trial cannot train those skills any higher? The whole point of an alpha clone is to make you want to pay for omega.
Daichi Yamato
Jabbersnarks and Wonderglass
#4 - 2017-05-06 11:28:38 UTC
Taking cpu and grid skills as an example, makes the difference between some fits working for alphas or not. It's a bit of a faff trying to come up with fits for new players. Honestly, given the chance to start again i may prefer they weren't skills and everyone always got the same cpu and grid out of every ship.

Beyond that, not every skill needs progression. There are plenty of skills left that can be trained up.

EVE FAQ "7.2 CAN I AVOID PVP COMPLETELY? No; there are no systems or locations in New Eden where PvP may be completely avoided"

Daichi Yamato's version of structure based decs

Vokan Narkar
Doomheim
#5 - 2017-05-06 12:40:43 UTC  |  Edited by: Vokan Narkar
Danika Princip wrote:
That isn't progression, that is making life harder for newbies.

Why does it matter if the free trial cannot train those skills any higher? The whole point of an alpha clone is to make you want to pay for omega.

Well new player come check the skills (once he understand it Cool) and looks:

"hey I can get better in hacking, cool! hmm I can't get any better in salvaging, meh"

Its optical difference. But we should want players to feel they have a way to improve even as alpha. If you give them already the "max" they can get it feels weird. Could have an impact on player likelihood to sub omega.

Training-wise. If someone turns the character to omega he can have the lvl3 skills in 7hours without implants and without remap. Lvl 4 in 14 hours. Double that on omega.

I really see no problem if the new character starts with CPU and PG managment at 3 and salvaging at 1. There is no need to train these skills unless that player needs to fly some PvP ship maxed out specifically for alpha clones. And thats not exactly the example that brand new player will try to do.
Danika Princip
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation
#6 - 2017-05-06 13:05:55 UTC
Vokan Narkar wrote:
and thats not exactly the example that brand new player will try to do.



Unless they happen to join a player corp, of course.

Which is kind of what we want them to do.
Daichi Yamato
Jabbersnarks and Wonderglass
#7 - 2017-05-06 13:16:19 UTC
That's exactly what we want them to do. Be ready to fly the ready fit ships to get into the action. Ready fit ships that are easy to make because everyone is at the same level.

Before they gave people these skills one recurring complaint was that new players did not have the skills to go out and pew. So don't start complaining that they now have too many skills and should have to train a bit before they can pew.

EVE FAQ "7.2 CAN I AVOID PVP COMPLETELY? No; there are no systems or locations in New Eden where PvP may be completely avoided"

Daichi Yamato's version of structure based decs

Cade Windstalker
#8 - 2017-05-06 13:34:33 UTC
An Alpha Clone has something like 4.5 million SP in training they can do, the skills that a newbie starts with these days are the ones that are most important to get to a basic competency. The reason they start at a higher level now is because they used to start at a lower level and newbies would literally be told "oh, you need to train X, Y, and Z, come back in 2 weeks when you've done that" which was neither fun for good for gameplay.
grgjegb gergerg
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#9 - 2017-05-07 03:30:45 UTC
Cade Windstalker wrote:
An Alpha Clone has something like 4.5 million SP in training they can do, the skills that a newbie starts with these days are the ones that are most important to get to a basic competency. The reason they start at a higher level now is because they used to start at a lower level and newbies would literally be told "oh, you need to train X, Y, and Z, come back in 2 weeks when you've done that" which was neither fun for good for gameplay.

This. I started someone who's probably only going to ever use a Venture on an Alpha account.

Having the core skills is very nice, and good for people who won't tolerate a game who you have to chew at for a month before you can start to do anything fun.

Sure, *I* was bloody-minded enough to start in an Ibis, and mine in a Bantam, for what I now know to be truly pathetic rates of ISK gain. :P But many MANY more people cannot, and WILL not do things like that.

So yeah, CCP was right, the starting skill are fine.
Vokan Narkar
Doomheim
#10 - 2017-05-07 11:03:44 UTC
Cade Windstalker wrote:
An Alpha Clone has something like 4.5 million SP in training they can do, the skills that a newbie starts with these days are the ones that are most important to get to a basic competency. The reason they start at a higher level now is because they used to start at a lower level and newbies would literally be told "oh, you need to train X, Y, and Z, come back in 2 weeks when you've done that" which was neither fun for good for gameplay.

I see. Makes sense.