A modest proposal to ease the transition of newbros out of highsec

EVE Technology and Research Center Player Features & Ideas
1

A big problem for EVE is player retention, and a big part of that is the enormous number of players who don’t ever leave highsec. Staying in highsec comes with some perks, there’s a perception of safety, that this is a PvE area, and all it costs is lower profit and slower progress. This is a big trap, because EVE’s PvE is for the most part quite dull. Sure burner missions and abyssals have more challenging elements and can be done exclusively in highsec, and I for one consider them reasonably fun, but that’s offset by the multitude of players who do only highsec mining, or only level 4 missions. These players don’t have a great time, and if it doesn’t make them quit outright it makes them bitter towards the part of the community that doesn’t enjoy EVE and does participate in PvP, which is where EVE shines.

The big barrier here is the transition to lowsec. Many of these players will have set a shortest path between two systems, maybe gone through Huola as a shortcut a few times, felt relatively safe, and then stumbled into Ahbazon and been deleted in the gate camp. Many more will think lowsec is too dangerous entirely, and never even considered entering it, because they came from a game like WoW or Final Fantasy, where PvE is the default and PvP is a rare optional mode. Lowsec is just too scary for them, and indeed the wrong lowsec system can be quite deadly.

To wit, I propose turning 0.5 into a sort of intermediate security system, where CONCORD is active on the gates and stations, just as it is in highsec, but belts, moons, and deadspace all are unpoliced, as they are in lowsec. This allows highsec players to dip their toes into a PvP environment without worrying that they’ll immediately be caught in a gatecamp with no hope of escape. It lets them do PvE in a PvP-enabled area where, as long as you diligently dscan, you can be effectively completely safe, and it enables small gang and solo PvP playstyles in an target-rich environment, because more of the highsec-only players will dare to do PvE in ”medium” security systems. And finally it doesn’t negatively impact existing playstyles, haulers can continue travelling through Uedama as they do today, and gankers can continue ganking them just as they do today. And because the economic areas in ”medium” sec aren’t protected the way the infrastructure is, you can add some lowsec sites to the roster, spawn some lowsec belt rocks, and raise mission payouts or add level 5 missions (with reduced payout compared to true lowsec).

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

2

thats why exordium was created..

maybe some of us have our own reasons why we stay in high, or other alts will go to other areas..

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This is the crux of the problem with your suggestion imo.

The majority of lowsec which borders highsec is not camped, gone are the days when there were a dozen or more lowsec groups who just permacamped the first gate into lowsec.

Sure there’s a couple of systems on major trade routes which are camped some of the time, but most of lowsec isn’t camped.

So right now, these worries you speak of, are completely unfounded, and thus this is an education problem and not a game mechanic problem, and no amount of changing mechanics will fix it.

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4

I agree, but circumstances of geography and economy means highsec players are most likely to enter specifically systems like Amamake and Ahbazon, where you genuinely do stand a decent chance of just getting caught right away. That’s why I think acclimatisation to PvP with a lowsec-lite environment that specifically lets them safely arrive in system and take a look around first is a worthwhile idea.

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5

I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think the change you propose will learn em.

They’ll still leap like lemmings into the arms of the Amamake pirates.

vOv

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6

If you search on my comments about Exordium – stupid name btw – you can see, I never felt this was “the way” to help new players. This is why, I believe, Exordium has proven to be a failure and ultimately will cost Fenris players.

I have been casually playing Eve Online since my friend John invited me here to assist him. This is probably the very best way to get new people here into this or any other game. John didn’t do it for the referral, because he doesn’t even have the referral program on his accounts. He simply said, Hey Wendy, I have a game kind of like Star Trek and I remember how much you hated that one, so you want to play another space sim game?

Here I am, telling you, I hate science-fiction, I mostly play high fantasy like Black Desert. So what makes me return to Eve Online? John is here, his daughter sometimes likes to play, and I have recruited a few others. Although I must admit, my husband plays the game less than I do, and he is a real sci-fi fan. I am here because of friendship.

Eve Online could be a lot better, but I am not about to run for CSM, or make suggestions Fenris will never listen to either. It needs a lot of love and attention and the Fenris developers are working on tutorial zones and HUDs this year. I didn’t come here because of a HUD, the UI on the whole is messy. If I had just randomly downloaded the game and started playing, I would not have stayed here at all without John’s guidance.

How do I play? What is my style? Well as I said, I am a casual alpha player, but I don’t hang in HS for long. When I get online, I leave HS for LS or my characters will be in LS already. I mine LS for gas. I was mining kernite as well, until last November, when it bottomed out in the market. I make ISK selling, but I am not about the ISK because there is nothing that appeals to me to buy. When I feel up to it, I go looking for gas, mine, and haul it to markets. As a miner, you cannot do much PvP combat unless you are masochistic.

When playing combat, I normally do abyssal space solo or with a friend. I seem to have no problem with T0 and T1 but beyond that it is pretty much death awaits. I have tried missions and found them boring and redundant. They lack story and let’s face it, the new generation don’t read much these days ( e.g. TL;DR ). The past two weeks I tried to do FW with no success, unless you call losing a success.

Based on my experience, you have new players now entering Exordium and probably exiting even faster. I guess we will start to notice more people staying or leaving the game when the numbers are crunched. I suspect the ones who stay will not venture outside of Exordium, because it is “safe”. I don’t play these games to be safe. I play for a challenge and to fun.

Have fun!

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7

These topics never go anywhere. No amount of enticing will make someone leave one part of space for another

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Highsec is its own endgame.

They need to start worrying about retaining the players that didn’t leave in the first 60 days.

Also stop acting as if new players are all fools and bumbling carebears when they enter the game. Some of the greatest players to ever play this game are currently entering Exodium now. #nonibnubgroomers

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9

This won’t work: high-sec people won’t go in there.

It’s good to not worry about gate-camps or being locked in station by campers. But as soon as you undocked? Say, you do lvl4 mission. You need to spend some time in there. And you will be scanned out. And then? Okey, you watch d-scan and leave the site in time. And then? You can’t go in there and local “pirates” have nothing else that to wait for you. So, mission timer runs out, you lose bonus, then you lose the mission. Until, of course, you log off and return day after at different time and see that the system is empty. But “the system is empty” just means that the whole idea has failed and the everyone has left system and won’t return most possibly.

The same is about mining in belts - it requires you to stay for some time and when someone has started to hunt you - you got nothing to do.

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10

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water… Why would I want to get cyno-dropped by any number of roving Black Ops forces? Nope.

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11

Yes, it is about the way they get introduced to this game. Remember I might never have been here at all, without some couching. While I do go into LS, to make ISK and attempt to PvP with my other account in LS, I seldom venture into wormholes or null. I know what is inside a wormhole, and I am saving exploring null for later.

Months ago, I was shopping and saw an old friend who I knew was into science-fiction. They were there with their son, I think he is about mid 30’s. When I was asked what I have been doing in my spare time, I told them both I was playing Eve Online with friends and suggested they try it too. The son immediately retorted, That game is so toxic, why would you play it?

The son hadn’t even played this game, yet “word of mouth” has him against playing or trying it out at all. The only way to entice another – to do anything at all – is directly being honest about the game. I did get my friend to at least give it a look after explaining the mechanics. I don’t know about their son, but I made him laugh when I said, “That’s strange, because I never get tea-bagged by other ships when they blow mine up.”. There are toxic players in all games, recently I replaced all the Monopoly pieces with the Sorry tokens, to avoid debates over who gets the dog and the racecar.

Tell people the game is about real loss. Your ships don’t simply respawn in battle. Explain the vast options of careers beyond the 4 Fenris offers in game. Be honest about the scammers and spammers they will encounter. Ask them what they find entertaining in other games, then show them that same aspect in this one. Once you get them playing, then explain why you like to inhabit high sec, low sec, null, Pochven, or J space.

Have fun!

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12

(Gets told that low sec isnt dangerous and is actually fun)

(Makes the big mistake of believing his lie)

(Goes into low sec trying to do something)

(PVP player comes and hunts me)
(I dock up)
(PvP player stays out there for a hour until i log off and go to another game)

0/10 experience.

The only reason you would go to low sec is to die to the low sec PvPers.
There is no PvE or mining or anything in Low Security Space. Only PvP.
And if you try to do PvE in low security space, you get hunted and killed.

Anyone saying low security space is not dangerous and you can PvE or mine or whatever safely there, is wrong and lieing, and only saying that so they and their friends can come kill you.

Dont believe them, they are the other half of the playerbase that plays Eve Online. The part that love ruining other peoples day. If video games didnt exist, they would be ruining other peoples day in real life. But kinda hard to do that nowadays with all the tools the police have to find them. So they do it in Eve Online instead.

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Exordium is the bleachers.
High-sec is the kiddie pool.
Low-sec is the shallow end of the pool (where all the little kids pee).
Null-sec is the deep-end.
Wormhole space is the jacuzzi.
Pochven is the refreshment stand.

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Do not zoom in on this image.

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15

To be honest, should just remove all content in low sec and null sec, and replace it with PvP.

Too many people keep saying to come to low sec or null sec, when really all those people are PvPers looking for their next target, and need to create lies and false statements of riches and safety to get people to come to low sec and null sec so they can kill them.

Proposal:

  • Remove all content in low sec and null sec
  • Only have PvP in low sec and null sec. Nothing else. Not even asteroid belts.
  • Give players a reason to PvP there, such as ISK per pvp kill, depending on the size of the ship that was killed, like frigate, destroyer, etc.
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you said its safe, then turned around and said, actually, its not safe, it was a trick, and now my ship and pod are gone and im back at my home station.

either that or the systems become unplayable because pvpers are everywhere, so these systems become empty because they are literally unplayable. You go in, 5 minutes later you are either dead from pvpers while trying to do a mission, or docked up in station, which at that point might as well go to high sec and do your mission there, because this system you are suggesting has become unplayable.

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When I call it a target-rich environment, I did not say that they’re all easy targets. Be diligent about d-scanning and leave or cloak up if combat probes near your location, and you’re effectively completely safe. The PvErs that most consistently would get caught are those who don’t d-scan, or who go AFK without cloaking up first. Keep an eye on d-scan and ”medium sec” will be basically a more rewarding highsec, with consequences for inattention. It teaches evasion behaviour that will let the same players feel more confident about heading out into lowsec and nullsec.

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56fde6056a87e07992c8a44744acd0eb2160e398_2_1094x1000~2457×227 45.8 KB
I zoomed in… holy baby jebus

19

Then get good at the game. Team up with others. Protect the income sources and your ship(s) while being out there.

What do you think how all those people out of HS are surviving and actually make a living?

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20

This “modest” proposal turns 20% of HS into effective LS. Since that space is mostly used by non-newbros doing fleet mining, L4 mission running, T6 abyssal, and LOTS of Incursions occurs in 0.5, your proposal is just going to be pain in the rear, if not simply a loss of space to run activities in. If people don’t go in 0.4 and lower for whatever reasons, the same reasons will apply to your new 0.5 effective LS systems.

As Lucy Alfrir said, except some obvious systems like Tama, most border LS systems are not camped. Though I’m a carebear, I still do region wide buy orders for some items (in selected regions), and PI in a border low-sec system, and go out in low once every 90 days to collect. Local chat is mostly empty, no gatecamp, and at best I will come accross someone doing pretty much the same : travel from gate to gate to station.

Your proposal will just increase the size of the empty space called Low Sec, and remove space for HS content. HS pilots will concentrate in 0.9 to 0.6, missions runners who decline missions in low will now decline missions going into 0.5, etc.

No one wins.

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