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CCP- what r you guys thinking towards marauders? not finished stats, just general role change

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Author
Harvey James
The Sengoku Legacy
#221 - 2013-07-02 14:40:08 UTC
Malcanis wrote:
Daniel Plain wrote:
Malcanis wrote:

You're hearing: "Malcanis is advocating a completely different role for marauders and it's a done deal."

i indeed understood you as disapproving of the pve role of marauders. if you are not in fact against having a more pve centric marauder class, i will not argue.


Well as a point of philosophical principle I'm not really keen on the idea of a whole shipclass designed around PvE - I'd far rather see EVE's PvE have fewer, smarter rats that act more "realistically" so that PvE requirements look pretty much like PvP requirements, and don't condition players to be able to take on 20 cruisers with their Faction fitted BS.

But until that glorious day, PvE-focused Marauders don't do any real harm.

I think it would be fair to say that I'm against haveing an even more PvE-centric Marauder class. I would like to see Marauders made viable for PvP, and if my guess is right, they'll have a whole new role that needn't affect their PvE capabilities at all. Which doesn't preclude a review of their effectiveness at mission grinding, I suppose.

Of course my guess could be dead wrong and Fozzie, Rise & Ytterbium are planning to make the Marauder a specialised gas miner or something even more off-the-wall P


Incidentally my understanding of the progression ladder for ships is that it's generally:

T1 -> Navy Faction -> T2 -> Pirate Faction


my main hope is they remove the e-war bonuses and some utility highs ..and give them some unique flavour .. they clash with pirate battleships too much.
i would like too see more of a pvp focus after-all you can mission with any ship really why waste 4 perfectly good ships on pve.

T3's need to be versatile so no rigs are necessary ... they should not have OP dps and tank

ABC's should be T2, remove drone assist, separate HAM's and Torps range, -3 HS for droneboats

Nerf web strength, Make the blaster Eagle worth using

Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#222 - 2013-07-02 14:42:52 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
It doesn't need to be smarter [...] It just needs to be more clever.

am i missing something?

I should buy an Ishtar.

The Djego
Hellequin Inc.
#223 - 2013-07-02 14:43:53 UTC  |  Edited by: The Djego
Malcanis wrote:
Well as a point of philosophical principle I'm not really keen on the idea of a whole shipclass designed around PvE - I'd far rather see EVE's PvE have fewer, smarter rats that act more "realistically" so that PvE requirements look pretty much like PvP requirements, and don't condition players to be able to take on 20 cruisers with their Faction fitted BS.

But until that glorious day, PvE-focused Marauders don't do any real harm.


What other game or even MMO ever managed to do this? While the idea sounds nice, it is unbelievable hard to balance in the end, to end up with a challenge for people in her faction BS while not completely crush a newer player.

Malcanis wrote:
I think it would be fair to say that I'm against haveing an even more PvE-centric Marauder class. I would like to see Marauders made viable for PvP, and if my guess is right, they'll have a whole new role that needn't affect their PvE capabilities at all. Which doesn't preclude a review of their effectiveness at mission grinding, I suppose.


For what reason you believe marauders would be not viable in pvp?

Is it the role bonus, that you don't have to use? Is it the fitting that prevents you from fitting heavy neut in that utility slots(yes the Vargur is gimped for a good reason)? Is it the active tanking bonus that is even useless in most pve content? Is it sensor strength and lock speed, what are fairly negotiable drawbacks outside of solo pvp? Is it because shooting the crosses or squares is a completely separate thing and not dependent on the same principals of damage types, dps, range and the tracking/missile formula? Or is it actually(if you think a bit about it) that most marauders just need a little help to better define her role and provide different stuff than pirate faction/pirate BS hulls.

I think it would be better to simply rework marauders as I mentioned before, because if you take a 2. look I might not only speak about pve when I suggest changes.

Improve discharge rigging: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=246166&find=unread

Debora Tsung
Perkone
Caldari State
#224 - 2013-07-02 14:44:43 UTC  |  Edited by: Debora Tsung
Caitlyn Tufy wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
Sure I'll break the NDA for you immediately, check your PMs

I'm just saying if i'm right about my guess, then don't pin your hopes on an incremental improvement on the marauder's ratting power, but expect a completely new role to be added to the marauders' repetoire.



marauders...

Wikipedia says this:

Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to:

A person engaged in banditry or related activity
- Looting
- Outlaw
- Partisan (military)
- Raider (piracy)
- Robbery
- Theft

Any Ship that specializes on that is awesome. Lol

Stupidity should be a bannable offense.

Fighting back is more fun than not.

Sticky: AFK Cloaking Thread It's not pretty, but it's there.

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#225 - 2013-07-02 14:52:27 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
It doesn't need to be smarter [...] It just needs to be more clever.

am i missing something?

Smart and clever are not the same thing.

In this context:
Smart is a degree of complexity, that can interpret and decipher enabling it to adapt, much like a person can.
Clever is bypassing the need for smart, by simply using tricks such as randomization and basic safeguards to achieve the same effect.

To use a casino card-game analogy:
Smart is card counting, so you know with increasing certainty which cards are likely to next appear.
Clever counters this, by simply using multiple decks and / or swapping to a new deck before it can become predictable.
Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#226 - 2013-07-02 14:54:37 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
It doesn't need to be smarter [...] It just needs to be more clever.

am i missing something?

Smart and clever are not the same thing.

In this context:
Smart is a degree of complexity, that can interpret and decipher enabling it to adapt, much like a person can.
Clever is bypassing the need for smart, by simply using tricks such as randomization and basic safeguards to achieve the same effect.

To use a casino card-game analogy:
Smart is card counting, so you know with increasing certainty which cards are likely to next appear.
Clever counters this, by simply using multiple decks and / or swapping to a new deck before it can become predictable.

so essentially, you want to force all mission runners into passively overtanked rattlesnakes with fof cruises. brilliant idea.

I should buy an Ishtar.

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#227 - 2013-07-02 15:01:22 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
It doesn't need to be smarter [...] It just needs to be more clever.

am i missing something?

Smart and clever are not the same thing.

In this context:
Smart is a degree of complexity, that can interpret and decipher enabling it to adapt, much like a person can.
Clever is bypassing the need for smart, by simply using tricks such as randomization and basic safeguards to achieve the same effect.

To use a casino card-game analogy:
Smart is card counting, so you know with increasing certainty which cards are likely to next appear.
Clever counters this, by simply using multiple decks and / or swapping to a new deck before it can become predictable.

so essentially, you want to force all mission runners into passively overtanked rattlesnakes with fof cruises. brilliant idea.

ROFL

You have a terribly limited view about what is possible here...
Or do you simply assume PvP style missions to be overwhelming to this degree?

Do you consider as desirable the predictable mechanics possible to min max fits, that results in farming?

Maybe people might just enjoy the challenge of not knowing the details, and fighting with more practical and general fitting.
Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#228 - 2013-07-02 15:13:10 UTC  |  Edited by: Daniel Plain
Nikk Narrel wrote:

ROFL

You have a terribly limited view about what is possible here...
no, you have a terribly limited view about how well players can adapt to any 'clever' change that would be possible without rewriting the whole game.

Quote:
Or do you simply assume PvP style missions to be overwhelming to this degree?
i assume that mission runners will always fall back on the least common denominator that will grant them the most ISK/hour with the least risk and effort. flying a blinged out ship is a bonus.

Quote:
Do you consider as desirable the predictable mechanics possible to min max fits, that results in farming?
i consider farming inevitable in any pve situation in this game. ask yourself: how much would you have to change about mission running to have people run mission even if NO isk were involved? how many single player games do you know that keep you playing the same content for months if not years? and how likely is it that the limited graphics, mechanics etc of eve online can produce pve that is this exciting?

Quote:
Maybe people might just enjoy the challenge of not knowing the details, and fighting with more practical and general fitting.
and maybe people who enjoy these things can go and run FW missions, exploration or just go pvp to their hearts' content.

I should buy an Ishtar.

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#229 - 2013-07-02 15:24:11 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:

ROFL

You have a terribly limited view about what is possible here...
no, you have a terribly limited view about how well players can adapt to any 'clever' change that would be possible without rewriting the whole game.

i assume that mission runners will always fall back on the least common denominator that will grant them the most ISK/hour with the least risk and effort. flying a blinged out ship is a bonus.

i consider farming inevitable in any pve situation in this game. ask yourself: how much would you have to change about mission running to have people run mission even if NO isk were involved? how many single player games do you know that keep you playing the same content for months if not years? and how likely is it that the limited graphics, mechanics etc of eve online can produce pve that is this exciting?

Quote:
Maybe people might just enjoy the challenge of not knowing the details, and fighting with more practical and general fitting.
and maybe people who enjoy these things can go and run FW missions, exploration or just go pvp to their hearts' content.

You make it sound like people want to always expect to win, and hate uncertainty.

I happen to know that players like risks. I could visit many places where people flock to, simply for the chance of winning.
They are called casinos.

Is EVE a casino? Obviously not! But the point remains that people enjoy a challenge.
PvP is considered a necessary element in the game because the spectre of absolute safety bores people, and they don't play boring games.

Challenging missions, where the results were not an obvious win every time because they are predictable, can be balanced.
Loki Feiht
Warcrows
THE OLD SCHOOL
#230 - 2013-07-02 15:51:20 UTC  |  Edited by: Loki Feiht
Ok well if you are intent on changing these things then lets start from the brass roots, the ship classes name.

Definition of marauder
noun
a person who marauds; a raider

marauder can also be translated as:
bandit, brigand, buccaneer, cateran (Scot.) corsair, freebooter, mosstrooper, outlaw, pillager, pirate, plunderer, raider, ravager, reiver (dialect) robber

Now, please tell me where exactly collecting missions from a static agent comes anywhere close to any of these descriptions?
My opinion is that current ships that would fit these would be mach, cyna, vaga and other kiting (Guerilla) small gang type ships, which are being nerfed :(

So, if you are going to 'rebalance' around with the current iterations and they are t2 (specialized) ships then gear them towards small gang and solo playstyles (Lightly armoured, fast, good damage projection and application) while adding a new set (or 2) of t2 bs

Ps read my thread \o/

The thing is gamers like to take risks but due to eves seriously underwhelming pve content people are used to it being too easy and predictable

More NPC - Randomly Generated Modular Content thread https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=220858

Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#231 - 2013-07-02 16:07:33 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
You make it sound like people want to always expect to win, and hate uncertainty.
it depends entirely on the people and on the game. when i play a pvp game with an elo system, i expect to win about 50% of the time. when i buy and fit a firetail and go out into lowsec to pick a fight, i expect to lose more often than win. when i casually grind lvl4 missions while drinking beer and watching game of thrones, i do not expect to 'lose' very often.
Quote:

I happen to know that players like risks. I could visit many places where people flock to, simply for the chance of winning.
They are called casinos.
and there is plenty of risks for those players pretty much anywhere else in the game, including hisec. (btw, i think that pirates hunting mission runners should be much more common than it is.)
Quote:

Is EVE a casino? Obviously not! But the point remains that people enjoy a challenge.
is being able to finish the mission the only challenge you can think of?
Quote:
PvP is considered a necessary element in the game because the spectre of absolute safety bores people, and they don't play boring games.

funny, if missions are boring and people don't play boring games, why are people running missions?

I should buy an Ishtar.

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#232 - 2013-07-02 16:08:11 UTC
Loki Feiht wrote:
Ok well if you are intent on changing these things then lets start from the brass roots, the ship classes name.

Definition of marauder
noun
a person who marauds; a raider

marauder can also be translated as:
bandit, brigand, buccaneer, cateran (Scot.) corsair, freebooter, mosstrooper, outlaw, pillager, pirate, plunderer, raider, ravager, reiver (dialect) robber

Now, please tell me where exactly collecting missions from a static agent comes anywhere close to any of these descriptions?
My opinion is that current ships that would fit these would be mach, cyna, vaga and other kiting (Guerilla) small gang type ships, which are being nerfed :(

So, if you are going to 'rebalance' around with the current iterations and they are t2 (specialized) ships then gear them towards small gang and solo playstyles (Lightly armoured, fast, good damage projection and application) while adding a new set (or 2) of t2 bs

Ps read my thread \o/

The thing is gamers like to take risks but due to eves seriously underwhelming pve content people are used to it being too easy and predictable

This I can certainly agree with.

Players want to be challenged, and have a sense of accomplishment. If a reward in the game comes with it, all the better.

Whether people admit it or not, games with "I WIN" buttons are deadly boring, because you can push the button.
(metaphorically speaking)

Farming missions is not considered a risk, just a time sink, if you do it right.
Those can be left in the game, as is, certainly.
But don't call them challenging, or worthy of a ship design with the expectations this ship implies.

The Marauder should be the tool players want, for the challenge needing such a tool.
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#233 - 2013-07-02 16:12:59 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
funny, if missions are boring and people don't play boring games, why are people running missions?

Answer: Currently, they are doing it to generate ISK, so they can use this ISK towards doing more interesting things in the game.

We don't really disagree here, I suspect.

You want players to have a farmable income, like these missions we have now.

I want something more challenging, and not need to turn to PvP for it as my only option.
The Marauder can certainly be a ship capable of fielding the most challenging PvE content, as much as, (if not better than), any other ship in the game.

There is no point where these goals are actually in conflict, both can exist together as play options.
Nagarythe Tinurandir
Einheit X-6
#234 - 2013-07-02 16:19:16 UTC
maybe marauder get the ability to "pull" isk and/or loot out of custom offices and/or ihubs.
that would be awesome.

totally overpowered but equally cool: pull loot out of cargoholds.
a tractorbeam fitted on marauders can be used against player and player made objects, like POS or custom offices and pulls out a can with stuff from one of the holds the object or ships has.
imagine the swarms of marauders blocking out the sun in front of jita 4/4...
even if this was an agressive act with concord showing up.... so much fun.
t2-non-cloaky industrials could be made immune to that. imho those are somewhat underused compared to their cloaky brethren.
Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#235 - 2013-07-02 16:26:01 UTC  |  Edited by: Daniel Plain
Nikk Narrel wrote:
You want players to have a farmable income, like these missions we have now.

I want something more challenging, and not need to turn to PvP for it as my only option.

again, have you tried FW missions, wormhole sites, (lowsec)incursions, 10/10 DED complexes, etc. etc.? hell, if all you want is a challenge i dare you to load a rookie ship full of plex and get to VFK-IV and back.

I should buy an Ishtar.

Loki Feiht
Warcrows
THE OLD SCHOOL
#236 - 2013-07-02 16:39:48 UTC  |  Edited by: Loki Feiht
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
You want players to have a farmable income, like these missions we have now.

I want something more challenging, and not need to turn to PvP for it as my only option.

again, have you tried FW missions, wormhole sites, (lowsec)incursions, 10/10 DED complexes, etc. etc.? hell, if all you want is a challenge i dare you to load a rookie ship full of plex and get to VFK-IV and back.


I have, and i didnt find them interesting, challenging in some spects yes, I suppose I can agree

Eve needs its small ways to farm isk in a lazy way, there are tonnes of players who, as stated above like to do something easy while watching movies having a beer and talking to some friends, these should always remain in some limited way at least but a lot can be said for puzzles and mysteries, the sense of discovering the universe is promoted as a major aspect of eve to new players but lets be honest, where is the discovery? using google or guides? but this is a discussion for a different thread.

CCP has a habit of naming ship classes and then making those ships not really 'fit the bill', recons for example, slowest cruisers (unlike real world reconnaissance vehicles) and hacs (which are the fastest cruisers....) their naming conventions are often misleading and now, moving towards tech 2 rebalancing they still arent considering why they put these specialized ships under these class names.

Also, getting a rookie ship to vfk isnt that difficult but loading it up with plex just screams "im an idiot that cant think of any type of real argument so i'll say something stupid and ridiculous"

More NPC - Randomly Generated Modular Content thread https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=220858

Silent Rambo
Orion Positronics
#237 - 2013-07-02 16:45:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Silent Rambo
Daniel Plain wrote:
funny, if missions are boring and people don't play boring games, why are people running missions?


tl;dr; PvE should be more like PvP so at least some lessons learned can be transferable to PvP.

People run missions for ISK, so they can do things that are much more fun. Its like doing your chores before you go out on the town. Sometimes a little bit of grind is alright (makes the fun more fun when it happens), but missions are a little too far into the abyssal grind machine.

Something needs to happen with just pirate NPCs in general. My vote would be to reduce there numbers, give them actual fits for the actual ships they are in (that possibly change, but adhere to a single philosophy for the faction they represent), raise bounties slightly, and make them more like actual ships you would see in EvE. Make missions harder in a more realistic way.

The whole mission level system works somewhat, but why not implement a more dynamic system. If you are in a fleet, there are harder enemies, or more of them all dependent on the amount of people in your fleet. Reward cooperation in a more dynamic way that makes solo missioning still fun, while adding challenge to missioning with a group.

It all boils down to the fact that the whole point of missions should be to get you ready for PvP, which missions just generally ****-ing fail at doing.

inb4: PvP is the only way to learn to PvP.
PvE will NEVER be like PvP, this statement is ****-ing obvious. PvE should be close though, and things that you learn while PvEing should be applicable to PvPing.

You really think someone would do that? Just log into EvE and tell lies?

Veshta Yoshida
PIE Inc.
Khimi Harar
#238 - 2013-07-02 16:51:25 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:
You want players to have a farmable income, like these missions we have now.

I want something more challenging, and not need to turn to PvP for it as my only option.

again, have you tried FW missions, wormhole sites, (lowsec)incursions, 10/10 DED complexes, etc. etc.? hell, if all you want is a challenge i dare you to load a rookie ship full of plex and get to VFK-IV and back.

Did you use the word challenging in the same sentence as FW missions? Lol

PvE content will always be grindable given that the planets governments have yet to release the specs for the AI's that control them (prove me wrong! Smile).
You can approximate it by have 2-3 large'ish overlapping pools of content that can be mixed and matched based on variables (ie. the idea of semi-randomized sub-cellars to common 'rooms'). But it will still be a matter of time before it has been mapped, classified and posted on a 3rd party online database ...

Without the AI we'll have to use elbow grease, so I propose:
CCP's content creation nerds employees be blessed with more co-workers and an effort be made to develop tools that will allow them to intervene in a minor way (ie. not full on GM drunken funzor) in any mission, plex or space to throw the player(s) a curveball ...
Examples:
A silly simple/common Lvl4 mission like "Damsel" .. Zor has gotten tired of breaking in new clones and made a deal with pirates from nearby belts/missions/plexes to aid him.
The equally silly/common Officer in the random belt has had enough of being hunted for his prized belongings and have a carrier on standby to hotdrop on the unsuspecting hunter.

Curveballs .. gimme!
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#239 - 2013-07-02 17:12:29 UTC
Veshta Yoshida wrote:
Without the AI we'll have to use elbow grease, so I propose:
CCP's content creation nerds employees be blessed with more co-workers and an effort be made to develop tools that will allow them to intervene in a minor way (ie. not full on GM drunken funzor) in any mission, plex or space to throw the player(s) a curveball ...
Examples:
A silly simple/common Lvl4 mission like "Damsel" .. Zor has gotten tired of breaking in new clones and made a deal with pirates from nearby belts/missions/plexes to aid him.
The equally silly/common Officer in the random belt has had enough of being hunted for his prized belongings and have a carrier on standby to hotdrop on the unsuspecting hunter.

Curveballs .. gimme!

That is DEFINITELY a good option, letting human employees tweak and send in unpredictable items.

My idea on this was basically, have multiple random options available for each mission. It would add replayability, as well as keep players from zoning out due to obvious and easily countered elements that make it a farm fest.

Having it scale based on ships used as well as number of player ships would take it even further.
Sergeant Acht Scultz
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#240 - 2013-07-02 17:42:07 UTC
Debora Tsung wrote:
Caitlyn Tufy wrote:
Malcanis wrote:
Sure I'll break the NDA for you immediately, check your PMs

I'm just saying if i'm right about my guess, then don't pin your hopes on an incremental improvement on the marauder's ratting power, but expect a completely new role to be added to the marauders' repetoire.



marauders...

Wikipedia says this:

Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to:

A person engaged in banditry or related activity
- Looting
- Outlaw
- Partisan (military)
- Raider (piracy)
- Robbery
- Theft

Any Ship that specializes on that is awesome. Lol



Actual Marauders can fit different of those "roles" but excel in any of them.

Marauders need to fit in the spirit of HARD HITTING BEASTS you don't want to cross on your way, change the salvaging ability to EWAR racial, adding an extra hard point slot, eventually (why not? heh?) give them a special abitlity to warp at closer ranges than 150km, T2 resists better balanced across the board and better base HP/sensor (this is clearly silly seriously).

T2 Battleships, requiring huge amounts of effort training are barely competitive with pirate faction ones, well I can not agree with this in a player content made game, and will never do.

removed inappropriate ASCII art signature - CCP Eterne