Then don’t do epic arcs, do normal missions.
It’s almost as if you’re unhappy with the consequences of your self imposed choices& limitations.
Which I previously explained above is not sustainable because storymode missions DO have dramatic derived standings good and bad. The math simply breaks down over time, and they hurt in the long run. Please read the thread more carefully, so that you might offer more useful input.
Hell if they didn’t want to change how standings work fundamentally they could just eliminate the faction standing requirements for epic arcs and leave it to the corp and agent standings to determine. That would remove the feedback loop that makes this unmanageable.
I have. My input is twofold.
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FW requiring and resulting in standing issues is something that could require a rethink.
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if not then there’s consequences to one’s choices.
You said my first point is not the case, thus the second applies.
I said PvE grinds being involved in the FW and standings repair process is not a problem, not that there shouldn’t be standings consequences for the faction you’re fighting. I want something I can manage, not a negative feedback loop that can only break down given enough time. We agree on the rethinking standings point. Again, please read carefully! 
You can manage standings just fine, for all 4 factions. It just takes more effort than just doing it for 1 or 2. It’s like you want no downsides to your upsides, no consequences to choices, numbers only go up and always moar.
That’s a no go because standings (as much a I personally dislike the concept of them) have real value and “make everything easy and fast, always more” is the type of carebear mentality that got us scarcity and destroyed one of the main concepts in EVE.
(If you think we’re going in circles it’s because we are).
Edit for clarity:
The standing system has uses and there are tons of people who enjoy those types of goals and achievements, “make everything go up” would remove value and make it meaningless (just like income was pre scarcity).
I see no reason to overhaul the entirety of the standing mechanics just because some random dude with self imposed limitations wants to do FW on his main, but without the consequences.
Accept that your standings tank
Accept that you need to put in effort to not tank them
Accept that it’s probably better to do FW on a character who’s standings don’t matter
Accept that FW isn’t for you
Those are your current options, door number 5 is “perhaps start a discussion on the current standing penalties that FW tends to incur, if that should even exist”.
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No, it’s -2.00 standing
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Your voluminous posting makes it clear you can’t manage FW. Others can.
Dare to live in the universe as it is.
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The thing is that different people have different issues with FW.
The OP seems to care about having excellent standings with all four factions, and that it is hard to do so.
I for example have the issue that to switch FW sides and PvP with other players, I would need to do NPC missions. I don’t care about standings and NPCs, could care less if NPCs try to shoot me in Jita (players already do anyway), and I don’t do missions, so switching FW sides isn’t possible after tanking standings, unless I drag myself through a grind of gameplay I’m entirely not interested in, just to do small scale solo PvP.
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Well, I don’t understand why you would even need to enlist or switch sides to get small scale PvP engagements. Especially since FW is in Low Sec systems, should be fairly easy to get engaged in small scale PvP…
Anyway, I thought there were questions on fixing or gaining Faction standing which is what I posted. And since I’m mistaken about that, my part in this thread is done…
Isn’t that the entire purpose of FW, to provide a low-entry-barrier playground for small scale PvP with random allies?
Doesn’t FW have missions?
And since you don’t like missions and only want to do small scale PvP, should be easy enough to just go to those systems and find players to engage with.
Anyway, since I was mistaken about the OP and the direction this thread went, I’m pretty much done here, especially since I have no experience with FW…
o7
Oh, another edginess role model! Teach me senpai! I long to be as spicy and self-righteous as you! Maybe you can use some of that Omega money to open up an edginess school.
You don’t care about the topic of this post, that’s fine you don’t need to. Dare to live in a universe where your concerns aren’t the only concerns of importance.
A well written reply but this doesn’t really say anything intelligent or meaningful. All you’re saying here is “I had to do it this way and so does everyone else.”
What value does the standing system have in this case to the players? I’ve yet to hear one good gameplay reason for why it should be this way. I challenge you to find a single example, because there isn’t one. There’s no in-game quantity that would be more negatively impacted by allowing PvE players to try FW on their mains that isn’t already worse off due to multi-boxing.
It shouldn’t be changed just because I’d like a way to participate on my main and put in the work to negate the impact to standings. It should be changed because it’s restrictive, limits participation (thereby hindering the success of the system), brings no value to the game mechanics, and promotes the kind of pay to win alt spamming that is at the very core of everything wrong with this game. The “choice” you’re defending here is the forced choice of restrictions on a paid character (in effect a paid service). It’s bonkers, and if you think being forced to have several subbed characters for each activity in the game is a meaningful consequence, then I honestly don’t have the vocabulary to describe how ignorant and idiotic I find such a position to be. People should be able to work harder and smarter to have it both ways if they like, not be forced to pay for the ‘privilege.’
Maybe CCP makes a little money from the extra accounts. In the long run (I think), they’d make more money through subscription retention due to engaged players, especially if they don’t have to buy a second sub on top of the one they already pay for. Silly me.
But why do there have to be these downsides and consequences at all? FW already has consequences in the form of making participants risk their ships in order to create content for themselves and others. Why does there have to be an additional NPC consequence layer laid on top of that?
For something that’s basically being touted by CCP as this game’s defining contemporary PvP “jesus feature,” they’re sure adamant about putting unnecessary roadblocks in front of people who wish to try it. Telling these people “oh well if you don’t want to deal with it, then accept that FW isn’t for you” seems to be a very misplaced sentiment, when the alternative of asking CCP to do away with this system entirely appears to have no apparent downsides.
I’d totally sign up for FW, but I’m not interested in dealing with standings garbage and game mechanics like 1,200 DPS faction navy spawns that would interfere in every single one of my other activities, so I won’t. And I see no need to reward CCP with another alt account sub for a character that wouldn’t even be multi-boxed. I should be able to do all PvP on my PvP main without compartmentalizing a separate character into every single sub-activity.
Create rewards for those players, instead of punishments for others who are merely subject to the standings system as a bystander. Higher standings could result in bigger mission payouts, more LP, perks like being able to decline more missions, special rewards like achievement skins, medals, etc. As is, the only true benefit conferred by the standings system (aside from fulfilling minimum requirements to access agents) is lowering taxes. One would think that a system that mostly creates drawbacks, and confers very few benefits, isn’t particularly compelling game design.
I do. I take you earnestly and at face-value. You don’t grant me the same, and try to paint yourself as a non-toxic white knight and myself the opposite. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
At this point your continuous stream of replies only demonstrate your unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of today:
…which are all opinions. You believe it is restrictive, you believe it limits participation, you believe it brings no value, and you believe it incentivizes P2W alt spamming. Heck, I don’t disagree with you on some of those points!
But I’m not a delusional person: these are opinions, not facts, and if you’re explicitly not going to listen:
…then you’re just being an unbearable 
about it on these forums ignoring what other people are saying:
Standings changes are consequences. That is rule #2: this game has consequences for your actions. This is the “good gameplay” reason. You don’t have to like it, and I certainly don’t. This rule #2 is also why when you do suspect actions in lowsec FW while a non-FW participant to avoid standings losses… you get sec status hits instead! Your criticisms could be levied against that as well, you’re not making a unique argument and it isn’t special:
- sec status takes more time and isk to repair than to tank to -10
- sec status is not meaningful
- sec status promotes Alt Gameplay
Look, I very much despise the standings system in the game. I despise sec status. I also despise people that proudly make themselves intolerable. Try engaging with people earnestly instead of reaching for psychological defense arguments like “that’s off topic” or “I still haven’t been given a good reason that matches my invisible criteria of ‘good’” or “teach me senpai”.
So, yes, with all that, sometimes you just gotta say “man this universe is but am I going to log in today to play despite that?” which is what I mean by “Dare to live in the universe as it is”. You’re allowed to hope for a better universe and you’re allowed to be a about it, I will just call you out on the latter.
If you were actually earnest about the problem, you’d demonstrate a lot more intellectual honesty. The following is what I come up with at the top of my head, and even if it’s me saying these things, it is simply me acknowledging reality, I don’t necessarily agree with them:
Pros of faction standing losses and gains:
- FW actions has Faction consequences (the F in FW)
- When there are losses penalties (including derived penalties) there are gains (including derived gains)!
- In Game Lore consistency
- Gains are a reward for participation
Cons:
- everything that Negative standing has as consequences
- repairing Negative standing is hard
What these two cons show is: the problem isn’t the standing gain/loss itself. A more intellectually honest Position could be: „I’m OK with FW standings changing while playing, but negative standings repair should be easier (ex:bribery like sec status) and shouldn’t invoke the NPC Faction Navy, then the FW standings consequences wouldn’t be so bad“. But I’m sure just focusing on the derived standing loss and ignoring the derived standings gains is more „on topic“ 
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CCP should be buying drinks and giving private-room lap-dances to anyone who’s engaging in their consensual PvP mechanic. The fact that they think that a player grinding NPC missions is a more favorable outcome than that same player willingly floating around with a “shoot me!” sign taped to their back and voluntarily creating content in a game infamous for its players either farming tears or trying to avoid each other at all costs, is just such a massive lack of insight into their own game’s ecosystem that I’m actually not surprised at all because it’s CCP after all.
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This.
I would much prefer if I could do FW now, and bribe some NPCs at any later point as an alternative way to deal with the consequences.
I think that’s how security status works too?
That way I’m allowed to deal with the consequences my own way, rather than being forced into doing NPC missions.
Problem with that it that it destroys the standing gains and goals for a lot of people (certainly not me) who enjoy that play style. It would also make getting standing for trade characters extremely trivial.
Personally I’d be fine with the whole standing thing being removed meaning you can access any agent lvl you want (given omega), tax rates are more fixed and other standing related stuff is normalised as well. But as said, to many it’s a play style and achievement system they enjoy.
The solution therefore (probably) isn’t “make standing in general meaningless” but rather “don’t get standing issues from FW”. That way the majority of things stay in tact and the issue for FW is resolved. Hence:
Like how tags work to fix negative security rating, I would only expect to be able to bribe NPCs to negate a negative standing, not to gain a positive standing beyond 0 from such a method.
I don’t think it would interfere much with the goals of players who play to have high positive NPC standings if players can bribe NPCs to get rid of negative standings.
That would work I guess. Still think it’s easier, and less potentially problematic, to fix the source of the issue and not the repercussions.