TLDR: This is for a discussion of CONCORD. Does it serve a key purpose in high-sec? Should it be expanded to low-sec? Has it outlived its usefulness and should be disbanded?
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This is an opportunity to weigh-in and have an insightful and productive discussion (regardless of where you fall on the subject).
What is high sec without Concord? What useful purpose would Concord serve in low sec while keeping low sec what it is supposed to be?
A1: A more expensive and less rewarding low-sec without cynos and most capitals (excluding freighters)?
A2: If implemented correctly, low-sec would function exactly as it does - with Concord only punishing criminals (<0.0 security, <0.0 Empire) who attack non-criminals (>0.0 security, >0.0 Empire). It could also act as a deterrent to null-sec just dropping in whenever they feel like it.
Why should criminals be punished in low sec? Itâs called LOW sec for a reason.
Last I checked itâs still Empire space (even if the borders shift somewhat). And those Empires still maintain various Empire stations, deploy Empire police, etc.
Itâs not unreasonable to punish criminals who commit acts of aggression against upstanding citizens while at the same time ignoring criminal vs. criminal activity.
Concord in lowsec should work like angry Faction NPCs (Low standings). Higher and stronger response as time passes. Otherwise we can create a new vigilante NPC faction that periodically hunts down wrongdoers.
They do that on gates with gate guns. Everywhere else is open season. That is why it is called Low sec.
Yes, I realize why itâs called âlow-secâ. Thatâs not really the question Iâm posing.
Q: Are low-sec residents generally happy with the current status quo?
Q: What (if anything) would low-sec residents be willing to change to potentially double the number of active players in low-sec?
Players who reside in high-sec generally do so for Concord protection. Not so much to avenge any losses from gankers - but more as a deterrent from being outright (legally) blobbed at every turn.
50% are happy (usually those that can use oppressive force to police space), 50% are unhappy (usually those on the receiving end of this oppressive policing).
Does it need to get more players? LS would also lose a ton of players because you remove the reason why they play to begin with. You would also just create a less rewarding, sort of 0.5 HS like space with more risk but lower rewards.
I donât know - hence the question. Again, youâre assuming that having broad (or even limited) Concord intervention would drastically change the activities of most low-sec residents when in fact they may not even notice anything at all.
if you cannot gate camp Aunenen, Tama, Moriotem or Hier at all any longer (one of the mainstays of low sec warfare) or drop on juicy, unsuspecting and ill-prepared targets anymore, that is going to be a big issue.
Maybe this is an inherent problem to begin with? Veterans can easily bypass these gate camps (covert ops cloak, cynos, jump clones) - so all theyâre really doing is catching the âlow-hangingâ fruit.
At some point this content is going to drastically diminish and/or disappear entirely. Thereâs a sucker born every minute - until there isnâtâŚ
With enough preparation, even Veterans are easy targets for the camps (decloaking objects are a thing, as well as smartbomb camps). This is the beauty of it.
However, actual veterans know how to get around this risk. Not just with cloaks, but with knowledge of these notorious systems, with alternate routes, with scouts. With tactics and smart instead of concord protection.
Yes, the only viable targets being the âlow hanging fruitâ. How much life do you think low-sec has left at this rate? Null-sec will continue to hemorrhage players (despite attempts to recruit from other regions), wormhole space will remain the same (unless CCP drastically nerfs it) and high-sec will continue to receive (and retain) the majority of new and existing active players.
High-sec and wormhole space donât have to compete for player activity. Low-sec and null-sec do.
Removing what makes low sec low sec is not going to fix that. It just turns into more somewhat high sec because you canât freely engage people (with limited consequences), which is the main reason for the existence of low sec.
The thing about Concord, just like RL Police, is theyâre not there to PREVENT crime. Theyâre Responders, they punish the guilty after the fact.
Your safety is not Concords problem and it never was.
CONCORD is a major factor to distinguish LS gameplay from HS.
Without CONCORD HS would feel like LS and with CONCORD in LS LS would just be âmore HSâ.
| Space Sector | Restrictive PvP rules | Criminals? | Capitals | Cynos | Main connection types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Sec | Yes | lose ship | No | No | Gates |
| Low Sec | Yes | exist | Yes | Yes | Gates |
| Null Sec | No | irrelevant | Yes | Yes | Gates |
| Wormholes | No | irrelevant | Yes | No | Random Wormholes |
| Pochven | No | irrelevant | No | No | Random filaments & Gates |
The other main difference as you can see is the existence of cynos and capitals in LS, which are not allowed in HS.
This brings me to a second point why CONCORD should not exist in LS: for the same reason capitals are not allowed in CONCORD space today CONCORD should not be allowed in space with capital ships. Capital ships are designed for unrestricted PvP and are usually too tough to be killed in âcriminalâ attacks.
Killing a FAX is tough enough already for a medium sized fleet, now imagine if CONCORD starts killing the attackers while they try.
Killing a Rorqual is nearly impossible with an umbrella to defend it within the 5 minutes of PANIC invulnerability. Imagine what happens if CONCORD always arrives to kill the attackers within 2?
Guaranteed survival of an invulnerable ship protected by CONCORD. This should not exist in EVE.
You cannot add CONCORD to LS now without adding massive balance problems if only because capitals exist in LS that would become impossible to kill âillegallyâ.
You can however easily delete CONCORD from HS without such massive balance problems. More ships will die for sure, but EVEâs entire PvP ship balance already exists elsewhere in the game and would do well in HS too with the lack of CONCORD.
However, CONCORD fills a crucial role for EVE as it keeps a part of space newb-friendly where new players can learn how to turn on their modules or use their directional scanner to spot threats without instantly being killed upon undocking their ship.
We need new players for the game and itâs good they have a part of space to play in until theyâre ready to take on more danger.
I think CONCORD is in a good place right now, restricted to HS only.
Calm down miner.
Mining is only an occasional hobbyâŚ
Yes.
Absolutely not.