Player Features and Ideas Discussion

BLUF: I would like to remove the entry skill requirement for Tech 1 mods/ships for the sake of opening the sand box to players with less than 3 months of skill points. --I would also like a continued discussion on items/functions of the game that detract from the sandbox elements throughout.

This word is being thrown around a lot lately with regard to the game play that exists in eve. While arguably this is true for a player who has already specialized and started to branch out, it's not really true from the start (feels like 3-6 months of game play). This is what appears to be required to overcome before the sandbox is truly visible and playable. IMO it is arguably why veteran players (I use that term loosely) and newbros seem to speak different languages and is also why recruiting for the game is difficult. Most people I know don't have the attention span to spend 3-6 months learning/grinding before they can actually play the game in the manner advertised.

--I'm not suggesting getting rid of specialization, but rather to expand on the starting points prior to specialization. I've noticed that only trading, mining and frigate (arguably also industry, but oddly not industrial ships) are available to a new player at birth or upon completion of the 8 or so hour tutorial. Every other item, mod, ship, has a skill requirement that is largely just a grind that limits that player for a given amount of time and provides a meaningless bonus as it is a requirement for entry. Allowing all players to jump in and fit mods at the most basic subset without training should provide meaning to that entry skill training while opening the entry into the sandbox elements a bit sooner.

So think about ships flying about with no role bonuses or class bonuses with mods that have no base fitting/usage bonuses. It would affect the game for sure, but how much? For the better or worse? Are there some skills that would completely lose value if this was implemented (perhaps--Hull upgrades?).

Then you are trying to recruit the wrong type of players.

FYI.. the price of PLEX is going up because the number of free players is going up and the number of paying players is going down. Simple Supply vs Demand. --This is the truth that everyone seems to ignore.

New tutorials that introduce the players into the other parts of EVE that require dedication and time such as PVP skills or PI - PVP tutorials should be set up so that the NPC 'pvp'er acts like a player and WILL pod you - you may also get free 'civilian' implants to get a taste for what it's like having to lose expensive equipment or even scouting skills.

Price of plex has gone up due to many factors.

It first started with speculation of what incarna would hold and aurum transactions. The whole WIS, outfits for our avatars thing. CCP made this worse as Hilmar had broadcast grand schemes in this area....schemes that never really materialized.


Then isk faucets opened up and players played the plex speculation market there.

And where are the numbers for loss of paid for subs. I and many I know pay monthly. We are fortunate to have jobs that allow us to not make eve a second job. I stopped paying starbucks for coffee long ago as well. Just one week of doing that covers eve quite readily lol. Real men drink black coffee anyway.

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New tutorials that introduce the players into the other parts of EVE that require dedication and time such as PVP skills or PI - PVP tutorials should be set up so that the NPC 'pvp'er acts like a player and WILL pod you - you may also get free 'civilian' implants to get a taste for what it's like having to lose expensive equipment or even scouting skills.

For example, a Basilisk pilot with Caldari Cruiser I and Logistics I (good luck to them, but at least they get to fly it)?

The issue is not a couple of weeks training to use every T1 module.
The issue is the lack of 'valuable' content for lower SP players to do.

Setting aside group PvP which everyone is able to contribute to.

A low SP player can not do effective solo combat, they might luck out and find some other newbie, but to solo does require SP
A low SP player can not do valuable PVE
A low SP player even struggles to do decent mining.

And the gulf between low end anoms/missions/wh's etc and high end ones when it comes to income is huge.
Bump those lower income activities up significantly and you will find newbies have a much happier time even if they are still in frigates & cruisers.
This is the actual 'newbie' grind is working through all the crap paying stuff to scrape enough together to afford something to do the more valuable stuff.

And since we are only addressing the lower end of income, this makes no difference to the maximum possible income in any area of space.

I've witnessed and coached multiple newbies who can barely fit all the slots on a Trasher in solo PvP, all T1. They did just fine because the aim wasn't to kill everything; the lesson was "why did you die?". After getting blown up about 10 times that player found a ship which was "easy pickins" for the Trasher, engaged and won at quarter of hull left. The shakes provided by that was wonderful, seeing someone who had lost all interest in asymmetrical PvP to go "I WANT MOAR". The content and targets are there, you just need to move to them.

Salvaging and looting can provide an easy 30 mil per hour if you're in, let's say, nullsec and cleaning up gunk left by 5 other players, this can be done with minimal skills. Mining is boring, you shouldn't be doing this, except as a "morale venture" for ice.

Can you read my point between the lines? If no, read the next part, if yes, good.

Solo activities are going to pay horribly on purpose if you're flying small stuff and no one will learn to PvP alone, they will use guides, videos or ask questions from older players. Expecting solo to be the be-all, end-all in Eve is going to just cause headaches. *Snip* Please refrain from personal attacks. ISD Ezwal..