Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Option 1 will not only get the out of highsec, it will get them out of EVE. That's not the gameplay they want- if it was, they'd be in lowsec already. This is not an option.

I have a suggestion to implement option 2 in a way that actually encourages conflict, but does it in a way that lets players decide how much risk to take on, and still gives pirates space to ply their trade. Yes this is a shameless plug, but there's already some good discussion over there- https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=187645&find=unread

The economy of EVE will always be heavily centralized on hi-sec as long as that area provides very low cost, highly effective security. There are some solutions to this, off the top of my head...

1) Increase the cost of the security provided in hi-sec. Instead of having CONCORD protection be free/very low cost, put a price on it. The model that comes to mind would be to have CONCORD act like a kind of insurance; pilots choose to buy insurance (or not) from CONCORD, which gives them protection against being shot at in hi-sec under the same rules that exist now. Pilots without insurance would not have such protection; anyone can shoot at them without CONCORD retaliation (though sec-status would still take a hit). The insurance premiums would be made up of two components: a base rate that devs can tweak and a multiplier based on sec status (criminals pay higher rates). New players get free coverage. Once the system is in place, pilots have the option of choosing between paying for their security (hi-sec is more expensive than present), staying in hi-sec without security (hi-sec is riskier than present) or moving out to low-sec/nullsec to take advantage of better risk/rewards.

2) Longer supply lines/harder logistics. Economics centers in hi-sec because it is safe, but also because that safe-haven of cheap goods is readily accessible from unsafe areas. Make hi-sec harder to access by making transit either more expensive (gate tolls, export fees per m3, jump fuel prices, etc) or more difficult/laborious (shorter jump ranges). Same effects might be achieved by expanding low-sec/nullsec systems outward into more regions, but player-groups would probably just cluster in the space around hi-sec anyways.

Having just moved into a nullsec sov space for the first time, I have a different perspective on this than I had previously.

Neutrals have already provided some fun exciting moments, but I'm pretty sure I can make easily 2-5x as much per hour in high-sec missioning than I can currently in nullsec ratting. (( FYI - I'm a "mid-level" player. The best ship I can fly is a T2-fit Heavy Missile Drake (~330 dps with T2 missiles for me), and I can solo L4s in it (sometimes slowly). I've tried missioning a Raven, but my Cruise skills are not good enough to put out the dps. ))

The contributing factors are:

1) logistics and loot sale.... The #1 reason I make more in high-sec missions is that for me loot/salvage (with a tiny amount of effort) is worth 2-4x more than bounties and rewards (L3 or L4). I can do my own loot/salvage in nullsec if I want to be anti-social, but I simply have no means to get anywhere close to the same sell prices. The corp logistics pays a percentage of average value. I can make nearly 2x as much doing it myself in high-sec. Note this is NOT "trade profit" as some like to say, because it's not trade arbitrage. I'm just patient about selling items for the best price instead of quickly selling to the highest bidder.

2) fleet needs and neutrals... So far, in just a single day in nullsec, we've had neutrals in the system three times interrupting ratting. It was exciting! Awesome, totally new for me, and very very unprofitable. High-sec wardecs are equally unprofitable and not fun like this, so I suppose that's better. Still, if I was in highsec, I would have much more profit.

3) Heartier targets... The targets take longer to kill AND I get less profit out of them (because of #1). So far, running belt rats or Den / Rally / Hub Anomolies is so unprofitable I couldn't even afford to use T2 ammo if there was any on my nullsec market (which there isn't).

4) As a mid-level player, soloing L3s or slowly soloing L4s puts me into a bit of a sweet spot for solo high-sec mission profits. New players can make much more in a nullsec corp just by salvaging or tagging along with higher players. Higher level players may make more by using advanced solo-play (carriers, T3, dual-account, logi) along with their own logistics for item sale.

It's true there are other activities in nullsec, but they all come with the #1 logistics challenge. I don't mine. It's just not my style. I do like PI, but doing well in PI is again about getting good sale prices. I'd have to pull 2x more out of the planet to break even given my available logistics.

Unless I come upon some magic new strategy, I might be back to making money in highsec missioning and PI, to finance the thrill of nullsec PVP roams, exploration, and territory defense.