The wardec cost is actually negligible, around 50m for most; and with 24/7 shield vulnerability, it will be relatively simple to find a time in which you can pretty much afk bash the initial timer. So I tend to disagree with your premise that players won’t be bothered to attack the structures due to to difficulty and cost.
The real question though is, if someone does decide to attack your structure, then is this change going to promote interesting game play, or the potential for troll tactics and tedious gameplay.
Troll reinforcements will definitely be a thing, although are actually a side issue compared to the major change which I was pointing out, which is that before this change you’d need to defend your structure once every two weeks, and after this change you need to defend your structure once every two days.
Pos are in the same position… hell with Pos people attack to see if it will RF already knowing there will be two timers on any active structure is a major deturant. These things are all over even with prime time vulns because randomly attacking just isn’t worth it
No it won’t be. A wardec provides 24h notice to the structure owner meaning it is impossible, without other intel, to know for sure that no one will show up to the shield timer. You do get the intended advantage you can pick the time of the first attack, but there is no element of surprise and even more advanced warning someone doesn’t like your structure and may be forcing a armor timer in the next days.
While 50M maybe a fraction of the structure value and negligible to a dedicated attacker, it is a pretty good troll deterrent. This cost, plus the 24h wait will completely prevent people just forming a fleet and wandering through highsec reinforcing every structure they see on a lark to make people form up for the next timer. That kind of trolling will just not happen in highsec.
So what’s left in the realm of trolling is a dedicated attacker prosecuting a war who decides to repeatedly reinforce but not show up. This is not fun nor profitable so I’d say will we see this next to never in highsec. Sure, people may reinforce and then stand down if a stronger defence fleet shows up like everywhere in Eve, but no one is going to prosecute a continued war of shield reinforcement only for any length of time.
That’s my read anyway. Let’s see what happens and then we can deal with it if it really becomes a problem. I’d say Tipa is correct in her read that “ISK tanking” is going away and these changes disadvantage the little guy. Of course, that is completely intended given they are to make structures more vulnerable. I am willing to have that discussion, but these crocodile tears over invented structure bashing trolls is a bit much. The real fear here is of structure bashers themselves who will now have an easier time disrupting structure functions. That I see as intended gameplay and while indeed the balance of attacker vs. defender may not be right and might need tweaks, these supposed trolls are nothing but conjecture right now and I am very skeptical will ever exist.
EDIT: To add more to the topic and give a “Casual Player’s Perspective”, I will relate my view from the other side. First, I have deployed Upwell structures for my own personal use and to see how it works and I have never had any fear to do so. Under the current mechanics I know it is far too tedious to shoot one, and I know the attacker would get next-to-no reward from it, so I do it with impunity. I just set the vulnerability TZ to Australia and worry not about defending it knowing I am both a non-lucrative target and TZ tanked and as expected, I have never been attacked.
As a small group, actually mainly solo player I also have had the occasion to consider attacking one for various reasons three or four times. Every time the topic has come up and planning of the initiative begins, we quickly come to the conclusion that none of us is going to alarm clock or take a day of work three times over the course of a week (and every single time they have been set to midweek, near downtime vulnerability windows) to shoot some structure which most likely will cost us more ISK to explode than we can expect to earn. So we don’t.
These changes have the potential to allow structures to really serve as conflict drivers for smaller and more casual groups in highsec instead of just sitting around uncontested cluttering up your overview. Not only do they move the first timer to the attacker’s time zone, they put pressure on the owner not to timezone tank the armor timer and actually show up or they risk losing their services. More people are likely to attempt a structure bash under this rule set than the current one.
I am mindful that this is a clear shift in balance towards the aggressor and will make my life more risky when I am playing as the defender, and also that these changes will disproportionally impact those using structures in a competitive faction offering market services or for industrial applications in desirable systems. I still think though since there is still a near complete lack of other reasons to actually explode a structure, my anonymous and private Raitaru is going to still be near perfectly safe as will most Upwell structures in highsec, and I think it reasonable that those making an income off of structures spend some of that on securing a defence for their in-space assets. Certainly, there is some room to increase the destruction rate from the anemic levels were are currently seeing in highsec and mercenaries could use something to fight over more interesting than camping a trade hub or lane.
Ultimately, I agree with the CSM and CCP that Upwell structures were too safe to generate much conflict for both casual players and large organized groups alike, and changes were needed. Let’s hope CCP keeps an eye on things in case they went too far as I am sure they will, but I will I think that a reduction in ISK and TZ tanking is overall a good thing for the health of the game, including for casual players.
My business model would be, mass wardec all “solo” structure owners (especially those with multiple structures), reinforce all structures and request 1B from each owner to stop trolling.
Without response, get them disabled and then killed (if worth the loot) of course. It’s not more difficult than ratting in nullsec, nothing to lose. There are so many structures, just pick those in your comfort zone to kill.
Don’t get fixated on the idea of trolling the shield. Like I said above, trolling the shield timer will be a thing, but is a minor issue compared to the issue of needing to defend once or twice every two days, instead of once or twice every two weeks.
You suggest hiring mercs (which we do already), but seem to forget that mercs cost ISK, and so effectively this change will increase the cost of defending by a factor of 7.
Imagine for a moment if some other game mechanic were increased in difficulty or cost by a factor of 7, and then you can perhaps see the problem.
In that case, it would be a really simple solution for any defender. Get one person to gun the structure. Hell, you could probably even hire someone super-cheap and just add them to the gunners list so you don’t have to even log in.
With the amount of time it would take to put these through a timer “solo”, it’s also unlikely that you’ll get many done in a single day. And since they all come out at the same time, that makes it easier for the defender as well.
That “need” is a bit subjective. If they don’t ever actually put the structure into armor (for whatever reason) there was never actually a need to defend. If they actually form but don’t show up, that’s a totally separate issue, one that happens all the timer for pretty much any conflict.
At a minimum, if the hostiles can form a threatening fleet, then you could have a single person/alt in the gunners seat, ensuring that the attacking force is of size and composition to deal with the citadel itself. Making an alpha alt or some such character with proper roles is an almost negligible cost unless you are over-extending yourself.
The “need” to defend will mostly depend on what the hostiles do. There is a bit of ambiguity on whether or not a group can do something, but that’s a typical part of the Intel work that a defender should be doing, in order to ensure resources are used effectively.
Yeah, it’s also a method that somewhat keeps TZ tanking a bit more valid too. Even if you can’t defend it, you can make the timer unfavourable for the attackers, and hire a gunner every once in a while. Helps keep that minimum level of attacker up as a deterrent.