Warfare & Tactics

Hello guys. When we heard of the new sov mechanics, Southern Syndicate decided that we're gonna take sov in the future, because we have a great target, and the new sov mechanic sounds like it will make sov warfare easier by a bit. Now, by all means, this is great, but it got us thinking; if sov will be avalible so easily, what happens to current sov holders? Specifically those who let sov, and earn a killer from doing it. Specifically Northern Associates, who is going to lose a ton of sov that is not maintained. I'm also concerned about Provibloc. Although Provibloc is so obviously better than Hero, there's no problem there, but we also know that Provi is a playground for newer PvP entities, and what happens if the bullies in the North come down to take Provi space? Of course, this is an exaggeration slightly, but if sov becomes easier to take, it will be taken more frequently. Reply with your theories as to what you think will happen. Thanks for reading. Fly safe o7

Taking Sov isn't the problem.
HOLDING it is the problem. If you can't field a fleet to hold it, then who cares who owns it.
Launching towers and losing them starts to be a liability at some point, so you just have to be prepared for that.

Me personally, I'd like to see lots more *small guys* out there, in little dead ends and pockets they can call their own.
It helps build content and experience for smaller entities.

Ye but what if they don't go home this time, and actually push them out of Provi?

Why would they? Power projection was nerfed and Provi is awful space to actually live in.

It won't be that easy come June. There are too many new fresh faces out there for sov, which is why CCP are making it a little easier for people to take renter sov, because they will barely be able to hold it all. I reckon 'Provibloc 2.0' will get greedy and invade Catch, and CFC will start to take N3 renter sov, but they're all crying about it anyway, except for Provibloc :)

It certainly looks (at first glance) as though the "friendly" renter racket has switched to the "unfriendly" protection racket.

The smart ones will diplo a couple of neighbouring entities (ie- renter status) to be on "bat phone" ready for the big bully that walks in.

Dynamics are changing, still think we need to see the change bed in and settle before all of these complaints but heck I'm in low sec so what do I know anymore. =-)

Why aren't they extracting rent now?

The new (should I say, proposed) sov mechanic is kind of like a hybrid between the current 'cap and flip' faction warfare system and the current sov system, minus any of the old EHP/DPS equations which were solved by cap and supercap blobbing.

The good thing is that yes, you may be blobbed by a big coalition, but they can ONLY start the sov grind during your prime time. Which means that you get to fight when you, ideally, have the best numbers.

Secondly, there's a lot of leverage to be gained via upgrading. Fully upgraded, the length of time required to sov-laser magic-ceptor the button increases markedly. This means that there's a kind of leverage at play; you defend quickly, and the enemy takes up to 16 times longer to cap. You can get a 16 times leverage over them, and all you need to do to stall their progress is get a link active on the same button and it pauses progress. Or resets it, whatever.

Also, importantly, this spreads a conflict over the constellation to a bunch of pin flags, and this will produce a more mobile warfare similar to FW. Therefore, the vast number of skill-less brainless dullards used to pressing F1 and following broadcasts will be picked off.

Ships will be smaller - there's no point trying to drop carriers on buttons, or battleships, or indeed anything below frigates. DPS and EHP are meaningless, so it'll all be Svipul and Garmur gangs and kiting nanofag crap like you get in FW. Link alts, in POSs, will be essential, and the slow and weak will be bubbled, blapped and sent home. Etcetera.

This is perhaps better and certainly more skilful gameplay, but it doesn't suit 200 man Tengu blobs. They'll have to split up into ten 20 man tengu gangs to cap all the buttons, and a smaller force can then take them out one by one and cap off the objectives. Ergo, it's not going to be a cakewalk for brainless F1 monkeys.

The other advantage is Prime Time, which suits the defender eminently. This, ultimately, is a little too much power to be given to a defender. I mean, you're a defender. if you're being attacked by someone, and not attacking first, you are on the defensive. This Prime Time mechanic basically means you get to choose when you get attacked.

It's ridiculous to think that defending yourself gets to occur when YOU want it. it destroys a whole slew of gameplay, logistical, numerical and organisational advantages some groups may have over others to win battles and win sov, and replaces it with some absolutely ridiculous idea that a victim gets to choose when to be victimised. It's artificial, contrived and bad for gameplay.

It will mean that Russians get to set their timers to disadvantage non-Russians, who cannot even begin a sov assault unless they stay up to stupid-o-clock. If they do, they won't have the numbers. They cannot apply numerical superiority to attack in an off-TZ to spawn a timer to come out in a better timezone. Just cannot hapen, it's a boolean choice and you can't budge he timer in any fashion.

As an Aussie it's particularly galling to think that most if not all timers in nullsec will magically land outside our timezone. So unless you buy sov off someone and reset to AU TZ, you can't do diddly squat. What a massive load of horse dung. And let's face it, who'd sell sov to Aussies, because once we reset it to GMT 11 +/-2 it's a horrible process to attack us, so it just won't happen.

This is the real problem with the system, IMO. I like the idea of more skirmishing warfare (and so does Fozzie, obviously). I think it's a bit crappy that there's no role for capitals, no EHP/DPS maths at play. Just blobbing with capping alts like in FW, and we have seen what that resulted in with the decloak prohibitions, etc etc.

Not like I am afffected. Wormholes, you're vulnerable 24/7. Yet we survive.

Im just curious though. Can you still blow up everyones stuff without doing all of that? That seems like a process you only go through if you actually want to take the space from the SovNoobs who will be coming out to play...if you just want to grief them to the point they simply abandon the area, you dont ever have to capture it.

It seems like the OldBros know what theyre talking about.

All the time, I'm wondering how the AU tz is playing atm, since nothing of importance happens during that tz. And then, a vast part of asian/russian tz is also halfway into the AU tz, yet I see them everywhere in null during EU.

Raises the suspicion some aussis just getting overly bugged over an issue that actually is none.