Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Here is the key.

The so-called carebears don't hate PvP. They just avoid ship to ship combat because it represents too high of a risk profile.
PvP is present in every aspect of the game, including ship spinning, the moment you compare your score to someone elses.

Give carebears a way to engage that is not such high risk, and you will have them jumping in all over the place.

Give them a way to more safely engage, so they risk a trivial amount.
(They already consider the time lost, since they COULD have been ratting or mining. Punishing them by setting them back an amount of time equal to what it took them to earn the ISK to buy the ship is more than they are willing to gamble, so they don't)

Don't fly what you can't afford to lose.
Don't beat up on "carebears" because they are following this advice.

As a so-called carebear, I have to agree with several who've commented here that OP is operating under a mistaken premise. I carebear not because I haven't been exposed to it, but because I just don't see the point.

PvP is a challenge and thrill! You know what? If I want a challenge, I'll go to a friend's house and break out the dice for a nice session of table top RP, grab something like Axis and Allies, or even a chess board. That way at least we can sit around, laugh, joke, and tell "old war" stories. And if I want a thrill...Enh, I'll take my motorcycle on the Interstates or drive a few miles to one of the near by amusement parks. In other words, the argument that that PvP is more fun because of the challenge and thrill is null because if I want either, I'll go and be active as opposed to passive and sitting in front of a computer screen.

I also am not all that aggressive. It used to annoy the bejeebers out of me to even watch the kids that would destroy other's sand castles or lego contraptions. They didn't have to destroy mine. It irked me that they thought it was "fun" to destroy what others built. Seriously? That's bullying and nothing more, plain and simple. If I ever do get into PvP, rest assured people that do things like that will be my targets of preference.

Then there's the issue of bragging rights. Sorry, but who cares how many kills I have or how much ISK I've blown up? I really just don't get how anyone is amused or interested in this. It makes no sense to me. I simply don't have a need to measure my worth by polishing up my e-peen.

Finally there's the whole risk-reward issue. Given the lack of motivations stated above, what is the reward for engaging in PvP? Pretty much nothing. Yet I risk not only the ship, but there's always that potential that someone will decide to tear farm and pop my pod too. In other words, from my pov, there's no reward involved at all, only risk.

I guess truly finally, there's also the point that's been made that everything here on EvE is PvP. The moment you undock someone could decide to suicide gank you. Then there's wardecs, and probably several other factors that I've just not encountered. PvP is an integral aspect of EvE, and one you simply can't avoid. I don't even think choosing not to undock can insulate you completely.

To make a long post even longer, I will add that the idea of making the rats smarter is a cool one. I like the idea that your mission target could warp out on you, that their ships are optimized for the hull type too, or any number of things to improve the AI. So that part of the idea gets a +1.

Make pvp highly profitable to offset the risk and you'll have more carebears pvping. Right now it's one of the biggest isk sinks a player has

Offsetting the risk by the potential of gain already exists, and therefore demonstrates not being an effective incentive to PvP.

These are guys who grinded possibly for hours getting a ship and fittings they planned for ultimate game enjoyment.
Or at least all they could manage with what they had to work with.

Now, ask them to risk several hours of effort in a one minute contest, against an opponent who probably picked the fight because they think they have an advantage that will let them win.

From the carebear perspective, that is completely bonkers.

Now, a mission where they can play smart, and back off if things start to go badly, that makes more sense. Effort translates to progress, maybe not always winning, but the previous efforts to reach where you are have not been lost.

What's in your hangar has as much value to this perspective as the skillpoints, where as PvP often uses a disposable ship mentality, and the skill points letting you fly cheap but effective fits is your true valuable asset.

Which, let's face the reality here, at first you won't have a decent kill/death ratio. You are more likely to have a decent death/kill ratio in point of fact.

"Please point to the place on the doll where the PvE carebear touched you."

As for me why would I fight in a rigged battleground where I am going to lose everything for no chance of getting something.
And if you kill off all the carebears, who will make/farm your toys?

It's simpler than that. Show them the benefit of blowing someone up.

That's not as simple as you think.

That's how i learned to not jump a carrier in an "empty" lowsec system with all assets in tow.

This guy
I like him.