Player Features and Ideas Discussion

While the starter ships probably do need new models & associated texturing, does the Ibis & its fellow starter/newb shipmates need any rebalancing?

Slot changes, PG/CPU, or perhaps other attributes?

Critically, it could be said they're fine as is. With a bit of creativity these ships can be currently useful, as is. A small fleet of them can kill larger vessels.

These ships come with a mining laser & a gun. Should this be changed at all?

Have the starter ships been rebalanced - be it nerfed or buffed, since their introduction?

As is, do starter ships give new players a functional ship to fly with in their early days of eve? The NPE tutorial missions do give out several free ships: particularly frigates, & a destroyer.

Is the starter-ship a relic of another time? Should it be brought up to date with current ship aesthetics & performance levels while baring in mind it is given free to all pilots, of all skill levels & game experience.

The you tube videos of these kills are quite amusing.

Are all of the starter ships equally balanced, or does one stand out, head and shoulders above the rest?

Alternately, - are they too potent? Should these ships be nerfed at all?

I don't think they need any changes. All of them are equally spectacularly terrible. They are ships designed to get you through the first tutorial missions and nothing more. In that role, they are effective.

Keeping in mind that survival & flourishing in NPC 0.0 has more to do with situational awareness, and playing / flying in a group, are these ships good enough for new players in NPC 0.0?

Or should new players stay a few weeks/days in highsec before moving out? Training a few basic t1 fit rifter skills on the way to flying with a group/corp/alliance of like-minded players in 0.0?

To be critical of any changes, even if geared toward aiding new players is the ever present, - any changes made to help new players will very likely be magnified & taken advantage of by older characters issue.

No argument intended. I've read about changes to starter-ship models.

Which has drawn out the question, - what was their original intended purpose? Do they still serve it adequately? Are they so old that they need changes of some variety beyond the model?

If their only purpose is to get newbies through the tutorial missions, - why does everyone get a free one, regardless of character age, when docking a pod at a station without any assets in station.

It something to start in- and thats about it- There are a few players out there who use them paired with logistics in empire pvp as a shock & awe strategy (Kickah is one of those people) to suprising success. To a new player they are a means of beginning, to the older players they are pod condoms (unless your in a bubble... you can always escape a wreck easily in a pod).

Very probably not. But the fact remains: rookie ships are tutorial-mobiles for newbies and shuttles for bittervets. Nothing really broken here so nothing needs changing.

After they add the high-slot with a civilian probe launcher with 4 civilian probes they should give newbie systems one of each type of probe signature. Gravimetric site with a few k trit in it. A site that a civilian code breaker could do with a BPC for ammo or something. When the sig gets used, a new one replaces it. Nothing super valuable should be there, but the sites always exist.

So, if i understand you correctly you're both essentially suggesting they become a functional frigate, for all characters to have access to? With the consequences that may bring about?

Are you sure this is a good idea? Personally i'm neutral.

Have you raced an interceptor with a shuttle before? Say between Amarr <-> Jita. or H-ADOC <-> Farit ?
(in brief, shuttles are surprisingly quick)