DMC. "Maybe use your ganker skills as a Bounty Hunter?"

Solstice_Projekt · September 7, 2019, 9:08pm

Great comment!

I’ve been there before. Thanks to me requesting it, GCC pods are legal targets.

https://forums-archive.eveonline.com/message/474125/#post474125

I admit one could say I’ve asked for it to be “easier”, but that’s really not the case. Back then there were moments were I sat 20 minutes next to a ganker, in my stiletto, waiting for him to find a worthy target so I can snatch his pod and get his bounty. The fact that it drove me to -10 really quickly was just too much of a hindrance, PLUS the ridiculous 15min punishment for killing a pod that’s a criminal anyway.

Today the whole scene changed. Being a bounty hunter isn’t cool anymore, because the way things work now forces you to suicide gank.

There aren’t enough people with reasonably priced, public killrights.
Those who have reasonably priced, public killrights are most likely a scam.
Bounties usually aren’t high enough to make the payout worthwhile compared to the time and cost invested.

It’s not the cost, it really is the time that bothers me the most.

When you wait 20 minutes for your target to become a target and you know you’ll get 170 million ISK from it (back then that was quite a nice lump of cash), then that’s completely different to knowing that you might get lucky enough to find a target that’s well fitted.

Those who believe I could just ship scan the targets are forgetting that that just further narrows down the list of potential targets.

I’m also kind of disappointed from reading you’re thinking I’d care about buffing my killboard. After all these years you really should know me better. Killboards are for peasants who have nothing else to be proud of.

I’ve never really been a bad person.
I just really, really miss the RPG in MMORPG.

I’d happily go bounty hunting as a suicide ganker if the landscape changed into a direction that made it an actually fun and engaging activity, which would allow me to entertain people one way or the other.

I don’t make people quit. I don’t like quitters, so why would I be doing that? To anger myself?
People used to love having me around.

It’s a good suggestion, but in the current game it’s not meant for RPG, unless I want to RPG some poor guy looking for targets. : - )

PS: Looking for targets. Someone said “go to lowsec”. Tell you what: Lowsec is boring.
No faction police = no real need to put effort into it = boring.
Hell, after playing in a 1.0 a 0.5 is almost too easy.

The only times I’ve had fun in lowsec was when I was playing with residents and as far as I know there aren’t too many residents in most systems anymore.

You know … People playing Pirates. The RPG in MMORPG.

So … okay. Bounty Hunting in nullsec? Is that a thing? I can’t tell. It seems silly to me to assume masses of nullseccers have bounties on their heads, because why they?

The reason why I avoid nullsec is because it’s literally islands filled with people who are friends of each other hating on people from other islands who are friends with each other. Thousands of friends, all together. There’s roamers, yes, great, but that’s like playing an arcade game. LogIn, start roaming, log off. Meaningless and boring, just like all the people there.

Highsec has a unique quality. It’s like a big city filled with tons of different people who don’t really relate to each other and just keep the economy going. It’s a great stage I loved being a part of. : - )

General_MoneyBags · September 7, 2019, 9:09pm

TL;DR

Solstice_Projekt · September 7, 2019, 9:12pm

I’m reading your posts, sooooo …
Anyhow … you’re free to have the last word, but I won’t respond anymore.

Circumstantial_Evidence · September 7, 2019, 9:42pm

Blackout NPC nullsec is really anti-social. Lack of local results in no one speaking up, that just gets you noticed. Perfect strangers want to know what you’re up to… especially if it’s mining or ratting - so they can “help.”

When NPC null local had names in it, local could occasionally result in a ‘social connection’ because players could take a look at the names and history, and make a decision to attempt a convo or not.

It takes more work to rat or mine in ‘safety’ than it did before, especially outside the “capital umbrellas.”

Solstice, if you have tried all the blobs in highsec - Hek, Dodixie, mission hubs, etc and are just not finding what you are looking for - it could well be gone. The only constant in life, is change.

DeMichael_Crimson · September 7, 2019, 10:02pm

Well, correct me if I’m wrong but I thought you were looking for something different to do in High Sec space that was similar to what you use to do. Also I was under the impression that you didn’t really care about ISK value.

The way I see it is you’d be targeting players who have a bounty. The amount shouldn’t matter but still something to keep in mind. Granted some targets may require a little planning before hand, basically evaluate them, check their habits and equipment they use, decide when and where it’s best to engage them, best type of equipment to use, etc.

Hell, maybe once in a while mix it up and do a quick venture into Low Sec border systems for some actual PvP engagements with no Concord intervention.

I don’t remember ever saying that about you. And for the record, I was being serious with my suggestion of using your knowledge and skills as a Bounty Hunter.

Solstice_Projekt · September 7, 2019, 10:11pm

You’re probably right. I should put some effort into looking at how feasible it is nowadays. You’re also right in saying that it’s not about the money. I mentioned it because I was thinking of the amount of potential targets, but you made me realize that one’s a bounty hunter even when he kills people with 100k isk bounty.

The idea does feel kind of weird, though. When there’s no distinction between targets, then it’s just “suicide ganking” all over again.

Hm.

In any case … thank you.

DeMichael_Crimson · September 7, 2019, 10:28pm

The distinction would be only targeting those with a Bounty.

Granted the tactics may be similar to Suicide Ganking. However, targets gained through Killrights would definitely add more gameplay for you to engage in, such as checking with Locator Agents, researching the character, preparing the correct ship and equipment to use, etc. That’s where the actual planning before hand comes into play.

Hell, might even be more profitable too. Also doing Killrights bypasses Concord so it’s not really Suicide Ganking, you’re just getting first move on the engagement, right?

Anyway, for a quick rush could also jump on those with Suspect / Criminal Flags too. Just something to think about.

Foggy_Bernstein · September 7, 2019, 10:50pm

@Solstice_Projekt

I think you might find that spending more time trying new and creative things in game and less time crying in the forum could be the solution you are looking for.

Or keep writing essay after essay that makes you look like a whiny douche. Up to you.

Qia_Kare · September 7, 2019, 11:05pm

One is a bounty hunter if they hunt a target for pay. They don’t have to have an official bounty hanging around their info window. All you need is a target, a client willing to shell out some bucks to see them dead, and yourself to make it happen.

Perhaps you know this already, but I’d like to be sure you’re not limiting your options to ones defined by game systems.

dewk · September 7, 2019, 11:11pm

Basically you’d call this role as a hired gun or merc, different role to bounty hunter.

Two are paid gankers, the other is (or should be) law enforcement.

Xuixien · September 7, 2019, 11:14pm

I’m not seeing any whining in the OP. I think ya’ll are projecting your own TrIgGeRedD state.

DeMichael_Crimson · September 7, 2019, 11:14pm

Also includes Assassin.

noun: assassin ; plural noun: assassins

a murderer of an important person in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons.

Qia_Kare · September 7, 2019, 11:17pm

What I mean is, if I say I will pay to unspecified persons a sum of money upon proof they caused the death of a person I select, that is a bounty, even if it does not appear on an official in game window.

DeMichael_Crimson · September 7, 2019, 11:26pm

Actually that would be a private contract, sometimes involving a deposit to be paid first.

A Bounty is made public which anybody can collect.

Khergit_Deserters · September 8, 2019, 2:06am

Whoa, whoa, hold on, ye hosses. A brand new thread, about previous posts from a certain poster? Cannot be done, probably in any internets communications worlds. Forbidden, except when:
a) Original post was by an established poster, and it involved alcohol; and
b) The accused replied.
After that, it’s game on. So let it be written. So let it be done.
-Pharoah Rameses

Compo · September 8, 2019, 5:47am

ISD2

Zhalyd_Lyehin · September 8, 2019, 5:52am

As long as it does not involve a killright and the person who takes the bounty actually loses their ship/s trying to attack the bountied person, it could work. Should it involve a killright and the attacking person can just willy-nilly shoot at people without losing ships, it will not work. As long as you can place bounties which can create killrights on anyone, it does not work.

General_MoneyBags · September 8, 2019, 6:20am

repurpose as a miner.

Black_Pedro · September 8, 2019, 7:07am

Not that there was much to take a hit, but targeted hunting activities such as being a bounty hunter took a big hit with the removal of the buddy/watch list. Even if you wanted to, you can’t efficiently track targets that say are on the bounty board, as most of them are logged out the vast majority of the time and there is no non-terrible way to determine when they are active and thus vulnerable.

We aren’t going back to the way it was before, but some new intel tools are necessary if you want players to actually try to track down each other for bounties or other reasons and not just shoot who they randomly bump into.

Solstice_Projekt · September 8, 2019, 7:50am

That typo is killing your post …
… and thanks everyone for posting.

Indeed, that’s a problem. I could use the bounty board, use locator agents, then travel to the respective places to find no one. I could roam around looking at random people to check their bounty, which is something I usually do regarding their age anyway.

We did that. Other miners didn’t like that. I still believe that mining is the future and the problem with mining is not that it’s mostly an afk activity, but that it’s being hogged by the people who should be doing it the least. Mining, as a profession, has the single most potential for content creation in highsec.
A topic for another thread.

Let’s see …

Well … searching for public killrights would be equivalent to roaming the not so old days of null trying to find anyone around … but that would reduce me to a station humper who sits at the Jita/Amarr undock all day in a Tornado, waiting for some fool with a public killright.

Which means that those people don’t really exist in meaningful numbers, as they’re being farmed at the hotspots already and I refuse to lower myself to sitting at a station. That’s not bounty hunting, it’s shooting fish in a barrel and reeks of desperation and killboard padding.

Like trigger99 hogging the Boundless Creation undock in Hek, shooting FW noobs who have no idea why they’re being killed. Partly their own fault, sure, but it’s still not any better than ratting in nullsec in terms of engagement and activity.

Well … that’s a problem. Not just for me, but for the game as a whole. It’s a problem with perception. A silent highsec is equal to a dead highsec system. There might be people in local, but everyone looks like he’s afk or a bot. Less verbal interaction equals less space interactions equals less livelihood, making the game look dead … especially for new players, who run around through highsec.

There isn’t even a question behind this … in case someone wants to object. Rookies seeing people talking in local in many places is significantly better than rookies seeing no one talking in many places. One makes the game feel more alive, the other doesn’t.

I’m running on outdated information,
but the trends don’t make me believe things changed for the better:

Hek is dead.
Dodixie is mostly dead and/or the community potential got severely reduced.
Amarr already had a resident outlaw (@Anyanka_Funk o7) and, it being a 1.0, it actually draws in the worst wannabes thinking they’re “tuff guys”. My respects to A.F. ( : - ) ) for operating there and being so true to her character.

Jita … see Amarr. The amount of low life station huggers there doesn’t make it a fun place to be around, not because they shoot, but because the high sec status makes people go wannabe tuff guy because they feel too safe.

Yes, that really is a thing.

Though Jita is always a bit different. Being red on the 4-4 grid means that someone, eventually, will come to try and catch you which is good, but for the rest it’s just a bad place to hang out. Low Signal:Noise ratio, meaning local isn’t really usable as a stage. Can’t operate at the undock (one gets blasted too quickly) because there’s no way of actually getting anyone there as a -10, unless you manage to instapop him quickly enough.

Furthermore does hanging out at the most crowded places actually not help the game as much compared to making a lowly populated place more lively. More and more people hanging out at the same place is a bad thing.

There’s a reason why I loved to be in Hek.
It was the only major place where all the cowards didn’t operate at.

Thank you all for your valueable input so far! I’ve probably overanalyzed the posts and went a bit off the tracks (as I always do, I guess?), but I’m at my first ~~coffee~~ cacao. Trying to stop drinking coffee every day.

This needs more input for better refinement.