Ships & Modules

So yeah myself I've basically been a Blaster whore since god 2000 whatever. Was the first weapons system I had T 2 in, and was the one gun platform I just loved because you could roast someone face to face and keep on trucking. That coupled with the Megathron (which I still think is the sexiest ship to this day) i figured it was a match made in heaven.

Fast forward to a three year break due to lack of money, a period of serious self growth, and a fried laptop worth three grand and I find myself full time back on the one game that keeps me hungry for more. Except everything just feels different.

Like everything is out of place! I come back to these fleet comps of nothing but Drake's and Cane's and now a few of these Tornado's which I think are kinda cool but still...

I feel like the argument over Minmatar and Gallente ships including their main platforms hence blasters, autos, arty, rail etc has kinda just turned into a shouting match without end.

Take for example tonight. We fit up a shield, arty/ missile fleet. I think okay cool I can keep range, snipe, kite, etc. Well to my rather shocked disappointed self, we did mediocre compared to our normal AHAC/kitchen sink fleets I love to fly in because it feels more familiar.

I really think it has come down to a clash of play style to be perfectly honest. People are quite uncomfortable with daring to commit in a fight at close range nowadays as apposed to what I am used to seeing 3 or so years ago which was just slug fests of all kinds in peoples faces.

Has Eve come to the point to where it's just bland combat? Or is it just because I'm so set in my ways that range fighting seems such a bore? I think people are just different. The attitude, even the enemies are just foreign to me. Maybe it's because alot of the old vets quit, or moved on to other things.

I know I touched on briefly about how Minny used to be the most difficult race yet most rewarding in terms of street cred and ability as well as utility. I somehow feel combat in eve has been dumbed down. It feels now more of people as cannon fodder instead of how you were more valued as a pilot back in the old days.

Maybe it's because of population growth, fleet size increases, inflation and saturation of isk being readily available etc. I kinda feel like the game I knew and loved is slipping away.

Not because of well hybrids but simply just because I think the foundation of combat in which the older pilots had is no longer present in modern day pilots. The newer people. Sadly alot of people have no clue when it comes to pvp. Tactics, fittings, fleet comp, but most important how YOU individually as a person contribute to the greater whole of your effectiveness in combat.

I really think that we as part of the Eve community really need to take a long hard look at the fundamental shift we are taking. If there is no challenge or reward especially that feeling of elation like Lando in ROTJ when he blasts out of the second Death Star after you engage in a close fight that's nail biting and has you on the edge of your seat then whats the POINT?

Why should I shell out 15 bucks a month if that elation is no longer there? I mean seriously back in the day every fight was on the edge, it was smaller fights, more focused, more individual. You weren't just a number...

Maybe I'm ranting and maybe because it's late but someone help clarify what is it I'm feeling?

From a old dirty pirate B*#@!.

Yeah sorry. I kinda ramble. It's all relevant though I swear lawl. Basically cramming 6 months worth of wtf is going on into one post type deal. I mean it covers a range of issues. Just wanted peoples opinions.

I understand the post and what your on about.

The issue isn't about 'daring pilots' or even 'skillful experienced pilots' being more valued.

The issue is that 3 years later there is 3 years more experience, number crunching, guides, information... everything has been min/maxed, studied, extrapolated, tested, re-tested and everyone pretty much knows exactly the fits, layouts and tactics needed to be the 'best possible' they can be.

its just 'the internet' Im afraid, there is no more illusion, there is no more speculation or debate it all comes down to solid, hard, cold numbers that have been crunched, chewed, digested and shat out years ago.

There are one or two different 'fields of view' where it comes to large fleet setups (or even small fleets) but generally, they all fall into predictable and recognized setups that are simply 'the best' and anything else is 'not the best'

The only place where this might not be the case is where 'new corps' or 'new players' are pvping and still testing out stuff with their limited skills and knowledge... thats why, if I return to pvp then I think I'd be going Faction Warfare where things may be less serious a bit more light hearted and people undock with some crazy stuff :D

Seems like I'd be more likely to complain if I came back after 3 years and NOTHING had changed. At least I WOULD. Change is just part of life. Welcome (back) to eve!

I agree with The Snowman (well there's a phrase I never expected to say lol)

I think the ability to process the numbers to find the optimum means not only do the ones who want to be the best use just that set-up, but also it reduces the chance of some people trying something quirky from succeeding thus they get bored of dying and just fit in with the flock. I suppose at least then the game comes down to skills of player tactics and not set-ups, but I'd rather be back in the days of coming across a fleet of battle-badgers.

I think the only way to sort this is to make alternatives more viable. Perhaps new forms of EW such as sub-system targeting, new ways for unconventional load-outs to work in smaller gangs, etc. Increasing the differences in weapons, but still maintaining balance would also lead to greater variety, or even create brand new weapons - who says it has to be 4 as it always has been.

I would hope that this would cause multiple optimum load-outs, and with alternative ways of being effective also an inability to compare in numbers one set-up to another, if that makes sense.

This. Its why constant balancing is important in MMOs. It forces people to rethink tactics. In a month or three there will be T3 BC fleets flying around, and sometime after that, a counter to those (Im rolling the dice and topping off my long neglected Damp skills).

I also think part of the current low-sec roaming doctrine around drakes and canes is that they are less risky to fly. You lose them less often. Intentionally, or unintentionally, that makes a difference in the back of folks' minds.

In short, we need a new FOTM to spice things up.

Ipad typos. So sue me.

Lol. I know what a T3 cruiser is. Hmm meme... What is MACK TRUCK SPACE SHEEP?

I would love to see a certain part of Eve Space have a cap on how many pilots can be in one system or chain of systems. Keep things limited, force people to think instead of hot drop, drool and post a kill mail....

It does make sense. However maybe it's because the population was a lot lower 3-5 years ago it seemed more open and less the same old thing. Yet I think it's now the latter with the population increase and people refusing to try new things, or rather joining corps, and alliances that refuse to think outside the box.

Simply put the lemming effect. And that could be the most crippling effect on Eve. When CCP asks the player base for an opinion it's only going to be the majority asking for more of what their familiar with instead of what should diversify and add flavor to the overall experience.

Not sure most of those asking for nerfs ever used those "winmatar" stufz, thing is by force after trying hard with close range stufz (read wallente) I was tired of not having fun so I trained Minmatar and from the very first K sp on those I was already having fun, killing stuff and having some ability to choose either to engage either to gtfo.

Some ships, and very specially gallente, are completely stuck in roles that can't progress has the game and tactics progress, you can't imagine new tricks when"warp to" gets the nerf skick that hard you're just stuck at gates, station undocks and gank stuff on belts.
Now tell me, this is kinda that boring than mining or missioning once you've done this a few times.

A lot of people are crying because most of us posting on hybrids ask radical changes to adapt this race to actual gameplay/tactics like either give a lot more range to blasters or cut even more but increase dps by a lot, really titanic dps so when you comit or manage to get in fight range the stuff you're shooting at goes like pouf in 2 or 3 rounds.
They don't want it, they manage to be against but offer no options to improve this whole race/weapon system new tools to be on par with other and so offer more options other than "minmatar or amarr if you want to pvp"