EVE General Discussion

No, I have only paid to play. Nothing of what I've bought brings any “win” with it. Both wins and losses have been the results of gameplay choices, not cash. More to the point, though, I've played in accordance with the mechanics that determine ability progression — mechanics that create choice and consequences and variety in the character ecosystem. Paying for all of that at once would mean skipping those mechanics and everything they bring. This is a pretty significant difference and is in fact so bad that they have a rule against it.

No. I am presenting them as proof positive that SP has nothing to do with PLEX. Hell, SP isn't even particularly closely tied to time since there is no fixed number (and certainly no guarantees) for how much you'll gain in any given time-span. Time creates an (unachievable) upper bound for SP, but that's about it.

If you take such pride in SP as to make the interpretation that it is in any way an achievement or offers any level of status, then that's entirely on you. At that point, it is also fairly hypocritical to then turn around and try to contradict what you just said and to rail against some perceived protection of status, since it is just an imaginary construct on your part.

…and that is exactly what the SP system avoids. Not only can you reach those older players — you can often fairly trivially surpass them. At most, total SP might be a bit difficult to catch up with, but as luck would have it, total SP is a meaningless stat beyond making it more painful to explode.

No, saying that your bad idea is bad is not an ad hominem for the simple reason that it doesn't make any judgment about you. If you want a play style that deliberately isn't supported by the game because it has long since proven to be very bad, then going for a game that offers that play style is probably the better choice.

Meanwhile, a day-old character can quite easily beat a decade-old character in EVE, thanks to how it has neither the caste system you're afraid of, nor the grind system that makes it a long and tedious and mandatory chore to surpass “higher-level” players if you ever want to overcome them. No inescapable caste; no mandatory grind; no progressquest meta-game; just playing the game and beating people in the process.

As for P2W, nothing you can pay for can't be had without paying for it (often more easily), and in fact, for you to be able to pay for it, it must already have been had by someone else without payment. Ask yourself this: how much “win” could it be if they're willing to just sell it en masse rather than hoard it for their own use? Introducing P2W schemes in EVE, such as paying to bypass mechanics, immediately breaks this entire system.

The remedy for that is to teach the new players how the skill system works so they understand that having more SP is not a “win” and that no matter what those older players do, there is no protection against new players. The new players would also be well served by learning that trying to pay your way to victory just ends in a needlessly expensive loss.

Because really P2W options are not a good way to "bridge the gap" between new players and veterans so don't even try it

Again, I DO NOT think adding SP-boosts-for PLEX (especially not cheap ones) might be a good idea (for completely different reasons than "it's pay to win", which is debatable depending on cost), just playing devil's advocate here...


That is, unless you specifically tie the amount of the boost to total SP, so that new characters get the largest boost while really old chars get basically nothing of significance.
In which case, it's actually an idea that has some potential (again, highly dependant on costs and actual accelerated learning curve change rate).
The only noteworthy side-effect would be fresh alts of old chars become easier to grow, but then again, "meh".

Yeah because missing the point then quote mining it makes you really clever.

/sarcasm

Does the game cost monetary value for play time?

Do SPs accrue over time?

And the corresponding values are consistent for everyone. Were you going to make a point about how making it inconsistent would make no difference?

I don't get what it has to do with anything, but it's funny so have a like.

I'm not seeing the comparison, though. Would you mind providing a little more clarity?