ALPHA Miners Need More Than ONE SHIP!

[Triniti_Crimson]

A “mining catalyst” could have 8/2/3 with mining boosts. Another destroyer could be used a base if catalyst was an aggressive choice.

I can see two counterarguments. First, just use a catalyst (or other ship) even though it does not get the boosts. Second, even if the ship could make sense, some sort of super-venture is too powerful for alphas [for various reasons given above]. I could see this as a non-expedition frigate T2 venture that is not for alpha clones (in which case, this may be the wrong thread).

[Archer_en_Tilavine]

There is a third counterargument: you could just upgrade to Omega to get the full game experience, including the ability to very, very, very, very, very quickly and easily pay itself off. Some players make 2B/hr from solo PVE content. From Abyssal you can make more than 150m/hr. Etc.

(Not that I’m encouraging this, but if you were desperate and vehemently against upgrading then you could use a Rokh. It has 8x hardpoints, a good number of low slots, and the PG/CPU/Cargohold to handle mining)

[Triniti_Crimson]

Sure, but I already have four Omega subscriptions. I am looking for solutions that make the game more interesting for everyone, especially Omega clones.

The problem is that mining is mining. You setup your ship and wait to collect ore/ice/gas. The basic process is the same no matter what ship you are using. From that standpoint, Alpha miners do only need one ship to figure out if they want to upgrade to Omega or not.

Is something like this the Alpha friendly mining Rokh we are looking for? The cargohold will fill in one cycle, so the miners need to be staggered and ore needs to be actively moved into a container.

[Rokh, Miner]
Co-Processor II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II

100MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
ML-3 Scoped Survey Scanner
F-90 Compact Sensor Booster
Cap Recharger II
Eutectic Compact Cap Recharger
Eutectic Compact Cap Recharger

Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II

Large Cargohold Optimization I
Large Processor Overclocking Unit I
Large Processor Overclocking Unit I

Hobgoblin II x10

Scan Resolution Script x1

The following Praxis uses the same design principles, but it does not have the cargohold problem. It is also cheaper.

[Praxis, Miner]
Co-Processor II
Co-Processor II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II

1MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
ML-3 Scoped Survey Scanner

Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II
Miner II

Large Cargohold Optimization I
Large Processor Overclocking Unit I
Large Processor Overclocking Unit I

Hobgoblin II x10

[Archer_en_Tilavine]

@Triniti_Crimson

I am looking for solutions that make the game more interesting for everyone, especially Omega clones

Multiboxing Omega and Alpha accounts simultaneously is prohibited, so this is a moot point. You cannot make Omega more interesting by buffing Alphas, and if you already have Omega accounts then use those instead of Alpha accounts.

@Triniti_Crimson

Is something like this the Alpha friendly mining Rokh we are looking for?

I don’t want to encourage Alphas to use mining BSes so I’m not going to comment on those fits. There are better ways for Alphas to spend their time to simultaneously have more fun and generate more revenue while also minimizing their liability than mining. Alpha mining should be restricted to guerilla harvesting small quantities of resources they/their group needs for immediate use and that’s it. Anything else is a complete and total waste of time. I used to lead WH mining ops where we’d launch an armada of mining frigates to mine ABC(D) ores for a few hours and those stockpiles would satisfy our needs of rarer minerals for months - while Omegas using Endurances (and Prospects) were preferred, Alphas using Ventures were very much welcome and contributed heavily. By contrast, we were constantly running out of Trit/Pye to the extent of occasionally buying compresed Veld/Scord to satisfy immediate needs; even max skill Endurances lack the yield of a Procurer (to be fair it’s not by much and it has a larger ore hold and superior survivability), so Alphas wouldn’t do much better.

Alphas already have the privilege of playing for free, they do not need the devalue Omega accounts by giving them more Alpha-friendly mining ships or disservice their own gameplay experience by engaging in an activity as unfun and unprofitable as mining with Alpha-capped skill levels even if new ships were made available. The only bone I’d toss to Alphas is to let them use Civilian Mining Drones, and that’s mostly to give them a taste of the Omega experience and make them want it more rather than to make an impact worth mentioning in their yields.

[Triniti_Crimson]

Multiboxing Omega and Alpha clones is prohibited. Having said that, it is only a moot point based on assumptions like one person multiboxing that absolutely do not cover all scenarios. A minor nitpick, EVE is more fun if you play with people you like. My Omega experience is more fun if my hypothetical Alpha clone friends A) enjoy the game more, but B) perpetually refuse to upgrade to Omega. Sure, I would prefer that everyone upgrade to Omega, but people have their reasons not to.

I use my Omega accounts. Realistically speaking, if I introduce someone to the game, that person will start with an Alpha account. EVE is not for everyone, so there is not sense in paying for Omega prematurely.

Alphas can use a subset of the available game content. If new content improves the experience for Omegas, it will implicitly improve the experience for Alphas. (I am sure someone can contrive an exception.) All new features should cater to Omegas. Whether Alphas should have access to the feature or not is a secondary concern, a separate choice and an afterthought.

Would you agree that mining battleships are a bad idea for Alpha and Omega clones, regardless of the fitting? So far as I can tell, the battleship fits are really expensive ways to be only marginally more effective at mining ore than a venture. I like the notion of saying “you could fit a mining battleship, but it is a terrible idea because…”

EVE is a sandbox. The goal is fun per hour. Since fun is subjective, declaring an activity a waste of time does not make sense to me. I can agree with horribly inefficient.

Finally, I basically agree with you. Alphas should have less content, not more. The goal of the unlimited Alpha trial is to decide if you want to pay for Omega. One mining ship is enough to figure out if you want to be a miner. In theory, I could see giving access to things like one PI planet, but there is too much potential for abuse.

[Archer_en_Tilavine]

I don’t actually think giving Alphas a single planet would be a bad idea as long as the Command Center could not be upgraded (at least not by more than 1 level). This would make it more-or-less strictly academic but, again, make Alphas want Omega even more, but would have no economy impact and would be a complete and total waste of time for players to farm en masse. Max-skill 14-day cycle programs are already unprofitable, and L0/L1 command centers would be even worse.

As for trying more of the Omega experience as an Alpha, there is a compromise, actually.

A lot of players don’t know this, but on Singularity you can PLEX TQ Alphas to Omegas. Since PLEX costs only 100ISK, this means you can basically do it for free (and that includes unlocking the other two skill queues). Since they become Omega, this makes them multiboxable. ( You can even multibox the same character on TQ and Sisi at the same time if you want since they are technically separate accounts.) This would permit Alphas who have played long enough to have their TQ account mirrored onto Singularity (at most approx 3ish months) to test out the full Omega experience without paying for it. And since almost everything is seeded for only 100ISK, that includes trying out high end fits, fielding Keepstars, trying PI, flying Rorquals and Capitals, etc.

On Singularity there are two main ways to create skill farms you can use to try out higher level content than you would normally have access to; one of those ways enables me to generate more than 350 injectors every 14 days. One thing Alphas could potentially do is master revenue-generating gameplay before upgrading so that when they do upgrade they 1. actually make good use of the Omega capabilities and 2. are able to sustain Omega by ISK->PLEXing. I personally stockpile and give away those injectors to newbros for free precisely to help them master the game safely on Sisi (without fear of ISK loss or SP limitations) so they can go all out on TQ; with knowledge and experience, ISK and SP are easy to come by.

[Triniti_Crimson]

I could see giving Alphas one level in each of the PI skills. I guess that would work out to two planets with horrible skills. Either way, corp mates could tell the Alphas about the awesome power of Omega PI. Frankly, I think that is the general pattern everything Alphas can do should follow. Here is a taste, and your Omega friends can sell you on a paid account.