Player Features and Ideas Discussion

The PvE Exploration (Minmatar COSMOS) content known as "Genom's Secret Outpost" in Audesder is being exploited by AFK plex sitters (cloaked) and AFK plex farmers.

Among the reasons for this are that the "Genom's Secret Outpost" plex is a static plex with access gate restrictions. The only valuable loot in the entire plex resides in the third room, and players are (typically) required to activate no less than three gates to gain entry. The first of these gates requires a special key whereas the subsequent two gates necessitate clearing out all of the NPCs within their respective rooms. However, as the AFK plex sitters and AFK plex farmers have discovered, the valuable loot dropping rats in the third room will respawn regardless of whether there is someone inside the final room or not... be they cloaked or otherwise... Meanwhile, the NPC respawns in the first and second room will deny access, without being cleared first, to anyone else who would seek to subsequently gain entry and disrupt this farming behaviour (or run the site for themselves).

Previously, CCP has stated that they wish to curb AFK sitting and AFK farming of plexes. Furthermore, CCP took the action of removing all Static 2/10 plexes (Angel-Creo Corp) when it was discovered that it was only a small subset of veteran players who were routinely farming this content. Whereas the Static 2/10 plexes at least had some emergent value as PvP frigate battlegrounds, the "Genom's Secret Outpost" content has no emergent battleground value whatsoever... Thus, I propose that CCP seek to address this poorly designed PvE content as part of their PvE Exploration content overhaul in the upcoming Odyssey expansion.

Considering potential solutions, one option that would go a long way towards curbing this farming behaviour is that the "Genom's Secret Outpost" could be made to respawn in the same system at a different location after some random (or, given CCP's penchant for creating exploitable content, entirely predictable) interval. Alternatively, CCP could design the deadspace within the plex rooms to prevent cloaking devices from functioning, in order that players would at least be forced to fight or flee if they wished to repeatedly farm the static site. As another consideration, CCP could change the loot drops within the third room so as to remove the incentive for farming. Finally, CCP could simply remove this content as they did with 2/10 Static plexes. Although I understand that this plex is part of a Minmatar COSMOS (and thus not suitable to outright removal), the current state of having a static access-restricted plex violates the model that CCP has set out for its PvE Exploration content in EVE. This is because the current implementation of the "Genom's Secret Outpost" content ensures that this content is being dominated and harvested repeatedly and exclusively by a small subset of veteran players. Furthermore, it is the static plex multi-room design that gives rise to the AFK sitting and AFK farming behaviours that CCP claims they wish to curtail.

Considering all of the above, the "Genom's Secret Outpost" PvE Exploration content needs to be addressed as part of Odyssey's PvE Exploration content overhaul.

Would this qualify as a bug?

I don't know. However, I'm pretty sure that it qualifies as poor game design and a flawed (or at the very least inconsistent) detection and/or enforcement policy (re: bots and/or AFK pve conduct).

If by "ruined it", you mean that:

A) I'm personally responsible for the current-state of daily exploitation that occurs

B) Through disclosure of the nature and workings of this exploitation, I'm exacerbating the problem by giving rise to more abusers

C) I've just blurted out a spoiler that sabotages the discovery element of this exploration-based Minmatar COSMOS

THEN I would issue the following rebuttals, respectively:

A) I'm personally responsible for the current-state of daily exploitation that occurs.

As my original post illustrates, it is the confluence of a number of poorly conceived game design elements that gives rise to a scenario wherein exploitation and farming of this content is not only possible but rewarding. Further, I've done more to curb this behaviour that you have. I've "put my ass and isk on the line" to kill people who farm the room and I've reported bots who exploit said content.

Lo, this would-be defender of the helpless Ammatar Mandate NPCs is faced with a crisis of conscience each and every time he seeks to abate the turmoil and savagery cast upon the lowly Ammatar Mandate NPCs of the third room. Do I trespass against the stalwart Ammatar Mandate NPCs of the first two rooms if only to diminish the hardship endured by the once proud protectors of the third room? Whichever path I tread, I find only torment.. and in the still of the night, I can hear their screams.

B) Through disclosure of the nature and workings of this exploitation, I'm exacerbating the problem by giving rise to more abusers

The content is already being exploited. Ironically, if I spread the word about this resource in a bid to remove it, then I am conceivably exposing the harvesters to *some* level of competition that doesn't exist presently. Nah, you're right. It'd be better if I just allowed these veterans to continue their monopolistic exploitation.

Here ye, here ye! Noble white-hat good deed doers of New Eden gather around... there is a new piece of PvE content for you to farm in Audesder... and then 'complain about' (think: female dog) when CCP takes it away... Your pleas that it functions as a PvP battleground will be heard... Oh wait... I guess it's not really contested at all at present... Yep. I guess it's just a few people who get away with running the same profitable content over and over again. Working as intended. Moving on.

I guess I could attempt to out-compete the present abusers... but then again I hate PvE... and I'm not a bot... so I've got those two things working against me.

In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair! ...or *maybe* you could just buy my overpriced faction modules in Rens... I haven't thought that one through fully yet.

C) I've just blurted out a spoiler that sabotages the discovery element of this exploration-based Minmatar COSMOS

My revelation of Audesder is a definite spoiler for this segment of the Minmatar COSMOS arc. I've just treaded where no one in the EVE community has gone before. This makes me the first person to ever document Eve Online player versus environment content. Sites like Eve-Survival do not exist. Google is not your friend. There are no wikis. Thus, there is no relevant or up-to-date source of information that allows players to share information with one another... until now. I am a genius and an innovator. Thank you for your accolades; now accepting donations for my upstanding contribution to the community at large.

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So there you have it, foks. Ruining it for everyone.