Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Background: One use of the Covert Jump Portal Generator module is helping newer players - in less skill intensive Stealth Bombers or Recon ships - participate in Black Ops content being undertaken by more experienced players with full jump drive and Black Ops skills. This module requires Astrometrics V to use.

Astrometrics V is a scanning skill and not necessarily useful for a combat-focused BLOPs pilot barring some unrelated reason for having it. Level 5 is an ~12 day train. There are an enormous array of combat skills that BLOPs pilots I know would rather spend 12 days training. (FWIW: my corp currently tops zkill for most BLOPs kills this week, so I know a few.)

This means fewer jump portal generator modules -> less [new player]+[experienced player] engagement -> net negative for new player retention.

Primary Proposal: Remove Astrometrics V requirement from Covert Jump Portal Generation - OR - lower it to Astrometrics IV, which is a much quicker train.

Secondary proposal:

A second mechanic that disincentives more experienced players from jump portal generating is that it often causes them to miss the same content they bridge others to. Yes, some charitable people already have alts for this. Training an alt to handle this duty should be quicker/easier in order to promote new player retention through participation.

Possible solutions:
- Allow Blockade Runners to use the module (use jump fuel from the main cargo bay). The BR functions in a purely support role (fuel truck + bridger) so that a combat trained pilot doesn't miss any combat opportunities, and a non-combat focused alt can handle this duty.
- Detach the portal from the BLOPs, allowing the BLOPs to jump?
Problems: 1. The BLOPs is no longer held committed while the portal is up. 2. How would this work with fuel?

As a newbro I too appreciated getting my Hurricane hotdropped. The aeons and thannies landing alongside were probably [experienced players] guiding their [new player] brethren throughout this "engagement", hm?

10/10 topkek

Except it isn't the new players who have to spend the 12 days - they gain the benefits of it being trained by someone else. It's the player with jump drive skills and battleship 5 who has to spend the 12 days to help the new players. Unfortunately for the newbies, cap pilots have better things to train - Carrier V, Fighters V, Capital Hybrid Turrets V, Dreadnought V, etc... ROI = 0 for the person training it and that's why I'm arguing it should be changed.

what are you talking about we make our new players hunters before they ever even have the cov ops frig skill.



as for the idea -1 the skill is a time sink and the bridge needs to stay on the blops

I are very sorry but even at age 10 I cannot condone hotdrop shenanigans under a mask of "player retention".


You do know exactly what it is, a lot of wasted time and resources to hotdrop one boat with 3000 blackops and bombers and call that pvp.
Shame on you! Now back in the corner and feel bad!

idk we have used blops to get a lot of new players into pvp. saying hotdrops are not good for retention is the same as saying HS ganking is not good for retention

then its a good thing you don't need to use a cov cyno

I don't hate you, silly.

Just teaching newbies how to blobb to "win" is not good gameplay. Teaching them to hold their ground on their own is a much better skill to teach.

Think about it, you have one of your newbies being ganked by someone and he screams on comms for help. Any support is 6 jumps away.
By the time you may or may not form a thought to help him, he is toast, sitting back in the same station as you and yelling / crying that "there was nothing he could do...".

And admit it, you have heard this before and you have been in that very same situation before.

Now imagine you would have taught your newbie how to separate a small gang(k) by gate aggression or move around in system from bookmark to bookmark until you manage to get there and even shoot his very own tackler on his own.

That adrenaline rush you feel when you "created" your first killmail by yourself is something you cannot teach or feel in any other world.

Ask yourself, what will keep your newbies longer in the game? Blood thirst or a giggle.

The world currently runs on spin and buzz word bingo.... didn't you get the memo?


But yeah, this boils down to I can't possible wait 12 days for anything (add obligatory rant about current parenting practices), so change this to IV (and do it now!)

Come talk to me when you've trained carrier 5.
For the fourth time.