I’d like to suggest a new, opt-in clone system: an Authorized Infomorph Proxy. It would let a capsuleer train a shallow copy of themselves that can undock for a short, skill-gated window, with its own skill queue, not a copy of the character’s full SP.
The goal is limited autonomy that still feels like EVE: you pay training time, you take risk, and you never get a second you running 23 hours a day.
The idea in one paragraph
A proxy clone is a licensed, weaker infomorph. Runtime is earned on a skill: each level grants 1 hour of proxy session time per downtime. The proxy trains its own skills the same way a character does (queue, ranks, prerequisites). It can do simple, constrained work (haul, mine, ratting under strict rules, station chores). It cannot replace the player in PvP, capitals, or anything that should require a human in the pod.
Why it fits EVE
Clones are already bodies and backups (jump clones, medical clones, Alpha/Omega). This would be a third kind: a short-lived working copy with a battery and a thinner skill map. Lore-wise it is an authorized fragment of the capsuleer’s infomorph, not a bot and not a second account.
Core rule: runtime
New character skill (on the player, not the proxy)
Infomorph Proxy Authorization
Rank: 3
Primary / secondary: Intelligence / Memory
Prerequisites: Infomorph Psychology I, Science III
Authorizes a licensed infomorph proxy and extends its legal operating window.
Level Effect SP (rank 3)
I
Unlock proxy. 1 hour runtime per downtime
750
II
2 hours
4,243
III
3 hours
24,000
IV
4 hours
135,765
V
5 hours
768,000
Runtime does not stack or roll over. Unused time is lost at downtime. Starting a proxy session spends from that day’s pool. Docking pauses the clock; dying, jumping clone, or logging the character off ends the session.
Infomorph Proxy Endurance
Rank: 5
Prerequisites: Infomorph Proxy Authorization IV
Optional later skill if you want more stingy extra time: +15 minutes per level (max +1h15 at V), still capped so a fully trained player is around 6 hours, not a second shift.
How the proxy trains (same as a character, smaller tree)
The proxy has its own character sheet and one skill queue. It does not inherit the capsuleer’s SP, certificates, or combat implants.
Proxy skills only affect the proxy while it is the active session.
The player can set the proxy queue while docked / in station, even if the proxy is not running.
Proxy training continues whether or not the proxy is undocked (same as a character in station).
Remaps: none, or one slow remap on a long timer, so people don’t min-max it like a main.
Suggested training speed: same formula as a character, but no cerebral accelerators, no +5s. Keep it slow on purpose.
Proposed proxy skill tree
Group these under a new category: Infomorph Proxy.
1. Foundation
Proxy Neural Stability
Rank: 1
Prereq: (granted when Authorization I is trained)
Basic coherence of the proxy infomorph. Required for all other proxy skills.
Level Effect SP
I–V
Required gate; V required for any proxy skill V
250 / 1,414 / 8,000 / 45,255 / 256,000
Proxy Ship Command
Rank: 2
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability II
Which hull classes the proxy may undock in.
I: Frigates, haulers (industrial), mining frigates
II: Destroyers, mining barges
III: Cruisers, T1 only
IV: Battlecruisers, T1 only
V: Battleships, T1 only — never T2/T3, navy faction optional later, never capitals, supers, FAX, or bosons
SP (rank 2): 500 / 2,828 / 16,000 / 90,510 / 512,000
Proxy Core Fitting
Rank: 2
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability II
Each level: +1 low/mid/high “complexity” toward a simple fitting budget, or simply CPU/PG +5% per level on the proxy only, capped so it cannot fly player-maxed PvP fits.
2. Navigation (the clone has to be able to move without being a threat)
Proxy Warp Discipline
Rank: 2
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability I
I–V: standard warp-speed / spool behaviour for autopilot-quality warps; V required to use autopilot across more than a few jumps.
Proxy Alignment Protocols
Rank: 1
Prereq: Proxy Warp Discipline I
I–V: improved align-to-warp reliability (reduces “stuck on grid” failures). No bonus to ship agility beyond a small, proxy-only align helper.
Proxy Route Stewardship
Rank: 3
Prereq: Proxy Warp Discipline III
I: High-sec autopilot only, gates only
II: Prefer higher-security routes
III: May take player-set bookmarks / a saved route
IV: Low-sec only if Emergency Eject IV
V: Null not included, or null only in space the player has docked in recently (very conservative)
3. Safety (this is the skill that makes it “EVE” instead of a bot)
Proxy Threat Assessment
Rank: 3
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability III
I: Warp out if a player ship lands on grid
II: Warp out if local increases by N, or if a suspect/criminal appears
III: Ignore other players’ drones/wrecks; never loot player wrecks
IV: Dock immediately if a war target / kill-right is in local
V: Session ends and clone docks or self-destructs to station if it cannot leave grid
Emergency Eject
Rank: 4
Prereq: Proxy Threat Assessment II
I: Warp to station at 50% armor
II: 70% armor
III: 90% shield
IV: Any player targeting
V: Any decloak / combat probe on grid (best-effort)
A proxy that ignores these rules is a ToS problem. The skill should make cowardice mandatory.
Proxy Non-Aggression Interlock
Rank: 1
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability I
Locked at I for everyone: the proxy cannot aggress a player capsuleer. No suspect flag from shooting players, no EWAR on players, no bumping as a tactic. Shooting NPCs is allowed only if the relevant industry/PVE skill is trained.
4. Industry and logistics (the useful, boring work)
Proxy Mining Cycles
Rank: 3
Prereq: Proxy Ship Command I, Proxy Threat Assessment I
I: High-sec belts, strip/miner as fitted, dock when ore hold full
II: Player-set asteroid type priority
III: Ice (high-sec only)
IV: Anomaly mining sites in high-sec
V: May use mining barges/exhumers only if the player character already has the matching hull skill — proxy still needs Proxy Ship Command. Prevents a 1-day clone from flying a Hulk the main never trained.
Proxy Hauling
Rank: 2
Prereq: Proxy Ship Command I
I: Station-to-station in high-sec, player-defined cargo
II: Multiple waypoints
III: Player-owned structures in high-sec
IV: Contracts the player has already accepted (courier), high-sec only, collateral still on the player
V: Slightly longer routes; still no null pipeline
Proxy Station Logistics
Rank: 1
Prereq: Proxy Neural Stability I
Repackage, move to hangar, refill charges/ore hold, repair to a player-set isk cap. No asset safety abuse, no market dumping of the entire hangar.
5. PVE (optional, tightly capped)
Proxy PVE Patterns
Rank: 4
Prereq: Proxy Ship Command II, Proxy Threat Assessment III, Proxy Non-Aggression Interlock I
I: High-sec combat anomalies, T1 cruisers and below
II: Better target priority (e-war NPCs first)
III: Salvage own wrecks only
IV: Low-sec PVE off by default; only if you really want it, and still warp-out-on-player
V: Still no incursions, no abyssal, no C5, no pirate FOB command, nothing that prints wealth like a second main
If this is too hot politically, ship the feature without PVE and only add it later.
6. Market (very limited)
Proxy Order Stewardship
Rank: 5
Prereq: Proxy Station Logistics III, Trade IV on the player
I: Update existing orders in the current station only
II: Relist at a player-set % of regional
III: Buy orders for a small, player-capped isk budget
IV: Multi-station in the same system
V: Still no region-wide sniping, no instant market PvP
The proxy should be a clerk, not a trading bot.
Example total cost (player + a “useful hauler/miner proxy”)
Rough SP a player invests on their character:
Infomorph Proxy Authorization V ≈ 768,000 SP
(optional) Endurance V ≈ extra rank-5 skill ≈ 1,280,000 SP
Rough SP on the proxy for a high-sec miner/hauler (Neural Stability V, Ship Command II, Warp III, Threat III, Emergency III, Mining III, Hauling III): on the order of 1–2 million proxy SP, trained over weeks on a slow queue.
That is the point: you upgrade the clone like a character, and a new proxy is bad at its job.
Design limits (please keep these)
Metered time. 1 hour per Authorization level per downtime. No rollover.
Own skill queue. Never copies the main’s 50M+ SP.
No player PvP. Interlock is not optional.
No capitals / T3 / supers / FAX.
Loss is real. Gank the proxy, pod it, the clone contract / jump clone rules you already use should apply. Insurance, killmails, and Concord in high-sec behave as they do for a player. The human is still responsible.
One proxy session per account (or per character), not per window. No farm of five clones.
Visible in space. Other players can see it is a proxy (UI mark, different overview icon, or “proxy” in the show-info). Hiding it would feel like botting.
Omega-only is your call. If Alphas get it, give them Authorization I only (1 hour, mining frig / hauler). That keeps the upgrade treadmill on subscribers without creating a free ISK printer.
What this is not
It is not a license to bot. A 5-hour cowardly hauler with its own 2M SP is a trained clone with a battery. A silent 23/7 miner with the main’s skills is still against the spirit of the game. The skill system is how you make that distinction readable to players.
Ask
If this is even slightly interesting, a design pass on:
whether runtime is per downtime or a slow recharge
whether PVE ships in the first version
how killmails and war decs treat a proxy
…would be enough. I would rather have a stingy, lore-heavy clone than a powerful one.
Thank you for reading
