In reading through posts by players who enjoy acting out high sec piracy I’ve come to an appreciation of reasons for suicide ganking / solo shooting as a legitimate game action that should remain a part of EVE in its peculiar niche among MMP games. I am adapting and evolving beyond my hard core “care bear” sensibilities to appreciate how there is no such thing as Non consensual PVP because undocking from any port in eve, even in 1.0 sec space, is consent to PVP.
So please, pirates, don’t jump on these conversation points as if they were the whinings of a cuddly bear trying to change the omnivorous predatory ethos of the game.
This being said when a solo shooter or gang and cargo scanning / scooping accomplices wait for targets right at the doorstep of a Caldari Navy Station, say Jita IV, 4 trade hub, there is no chance for the merchant being bumped while trying to get a jump vector. It’s shooting fish in a barrel and there are very few consequences when the shooters and scoopers are willing to loose their ships to CONCORD response.
From a role play perspective it does not make sense, no matter how rotten, incompetent corrupt, uncaring and dystopic the Caldari government and navy may be, for them to tolerate such brazen acts of piracy right at the gate of their highest volume trade centre with only the wet noodle of ‘throwaway’ pirate ship losses to the CONCORD response.
It should remain always possible for players to attempt to gank or solo kill merchants anywhere in High sec but, in order to balance the joy of piracy with the joy of being a cuddlier sort of merchant / miner / mission runner, the environment should make it riskier and more challenging for the aggressors and cargo scooping, cargo scanning accomplices. Wannabe care-bears need “big boy” pants and teeth, but they also need a fighting chance. And while popping merchant ships can be fun, and while it can play an important role in a wider strategy and as a sink for resources in balancing the economy…freighter jocks are players too and they need a balanced environment where they have decent chances.
Thus the following ideas are presented for discussion and consideration. They are not demands nor are they to be dismissed out of hand. There’s a lot of conversation on this forum that is beyond healthy debate to improve game mechanics for a diverse community of players who wish to be exposed to pvp in Eve as a uniquely a deep and toothsome game. There’s some stuff that is bullying and dismissive.
Please note I am not approaching this as an anti griefing policy. I am approaching this in a conversation (not a demand to have my ideas past but ideas to keep the conversation going and the imaginations flowing) to have a better environmental response to legitimate game play and to better balance the currently rather riskless joy of pirates with the risk of merchant haulers in high sec.
Also please note I am in no way an expert nor do I pretend to know very much at all. Eve is a deep deep deep game and we are always learning. I played back 13 years ago and recently re-subbed so I’m a noob all over again.
Please consider the following ideas:
a A warning before undocking at Jita IV 4 and other stations high sec stations where ganking has been a recurring problem
b actual change to the security status of systems in response to incidents of player on player piracy.
c Ability to look outside all stations in high sec as one can in player owned stations and in null sec.
d Use of cargo scanners near stations and gates in systems with security at or over 0.5 have a chance of being treated as a ‘suspect’ act in the game mechanics. The higher the sec rating of the system the greater the chance of the NPC authorities detecting the cargo scanner and flashing the banana of the ‘offending’ player.
e Insurance options on cargo containers where payout is factored by security status of system in which loss occurred and is voided if container passes outside into less than 0.5 sec.
f Similar insurance options on high value modules and rigs.
g Destroying an unarmed industrial ship outside a station in high sec empire space gives the pilot an immediate -5.0 (* security status of system) security status and -5.0 faction standing (* security status of system) with the empire sovereignty of the system in which it occurred and with the faction that owns the station where it occurred. So a pilot who destroys a hauler at Jita IV, 4 (.9 security) would gain immediate -5.00.9 = - 4.5 to their security status with concord, and similarly -5.00.9 = -4.5 to their standing with Caldari state and -4.5 to their standing with Caldari navy.
h Gates and stations have a chance of detecting fitted cargo scanners after so many minutes of a pilot loitering near a station or a gate. If detected the pilot whose ship is fitted with the scanner become suspect and receives -1.0 * system security rating to security status with concord, with the sovereignty that owns the system, and if outside a station with the npc corporation that owns the station.
i In addition to suspect timer starting on a pilot who loots yellow cans there is a serious and longer lasting effect on security status, empire standing, and in the case of stations, factions standing for pilots 3rd party or ganker fleet / corp / alliance members who loot the remains of destroyed non war decked merchant ships at a station or gate in a high sec system.
j Local persistent NPC Concord, customs and navy ship patrols appear at stations where there have been a lot of player on player destruction of merchant shipping. Sovereign entities simply would not tolerate through mere ‘punishment’ of pirates in their core systems. I get it that CONCORD is into punishment rather than protection but they need to make things more difficult for the pirates. Not impossible, just more risky to balance the risk taken by the merchants.
k Pilots with low security standing have their assets frozen by CONCORD in systems on the same scale as police are going to attack them in high sec. If pirate Pete want access to his hangars in high sec he can, improve his sec status.
l The SCC or some other NPC entity “follows the loot” through the data bases and apply stiffer financial / economic consequences to the looters of ganked ships as well as the shooters.
Temporary but significant response of banning open market buying and selling in high sec by accounts who have shot merchant ships or scooped victim loot at stations. Not as an anti griefing rule but as an environmental response to legitimate game play. Pirates have to fence their ill gotten gain elsewhere
m Pilots who destroy non war decked unarmed merchant ships near a gate or station are fined according to the value of the destroyed and lootable cargo and the destroyed ship and fitted mods, factoring in security status of system (so fines highest in 1.0 system and lowest in 0.5 system, no fines in low sec or no sec.), a portion of the fine is refunded to the pilot who suffered the loss in accordance with his standing with the sovereignty in which she / he was shot down and, in the case of a killing at stations, standing with the NPC corp that owns the station. To make it more interesting there can be a random probability of the fine occurring. Higher probability in higher sec systems and no probability in low sec or null sec. The fine can put a pilot’s wallet balance below zero, effectively garnishing future income until the debt is paid off. This kind of system would ensure that the joy of killing is possibly as expensive as the joy of being killed while hauling. But there’s still a chance of dodging the fine, or of the fine being worth the expense of the loot, so there’s a possibility of reward for the pirate and so danger for those of us who tend to get too sloppy and cuddly in our lack of operational security while hauling.
n Outside npc stations the faction that owns the station recovers the loot drop from ship losses and makes it available for the loosing pilot to buy it back at a fee calculated according to his or her standing with said faction. If that standing is below zero, no joy. The items are destroyed after a set period of time. Maybe the time isn’t completely predictable. maybe after somewhat random period of time they could have a chance of being available to the killer and or his corporate friends depending on killer’s criminal connections and standing with the faction holding the goods….for a fee……(some one suggested a variation this under the discussion of the re instatement of skill point based clones as a possible solution to balance problems posed by the non-problematic in itself instances of high sec piracy through variations on suicide ganking / solo shooting. Sorry I don’t remember name to give credit. I think the sneaky bit about killer getting an option afterwards is my own….
In conclusion:
the environment needs to be a little bit more unpredictable both for pirates and for more cuddly PVE oriented players who need to adapt to the predator prey omnivorous ecosystem inherent in EVE’s core philosophy and mechanics. Such things as random chances of fines and chances for cargo recovery to be corrupted in favour of the killer while usually being in favour of the victim keep us all on our toes.