So it’s a nifty event! Offers some new challenges and requirements I personally don’t often do (i.e., hacking).
Good Stuff:
-site frequency seems common
-incorporates skills I normally don’t use (hacking)
-manageable targets
-nifty rewards
Some issues though:
-no ISK bounties
-no SKIN for the Hurricane, Mammoth, or Wreathe :’(
-lots of extra Freed Slaves…and nothing much to do with them, or any place to turn them in…
-environment is literally tilted sideways by 90 degrees -unable to extract Vial of Mikramurka (fixed)
-too many novelty items, not enough Cerebral Accelerators; would be nice if we could turn novelty items into Minmatar stations for ISK or LP -no specific point display for depositing Slaves in transport (but points still awarded)
-after a labor camp prison is hacked, only the player who hacked it can access it, even if that player is no longer on grid (i.e., an opposing player gets a notice saying special tools are required, then when attempting to use said tool on the jail, he gets a notice saying no tools are necessary - no cargo container window opens)
Bad News:
-the Minmatar pilot declares that he can stay for 15 to 20 minutes on-station when you enter the site…your Agency timer for the Emancipation Proclamation Part II says 10 minutes, and it doesn’t pick up on your depositing slaves until AFTER the ship fully warps out…not nice…not nice at all… (Emancipation Proclamation II (i.e., deposit 400 Freed Slaves into Republic transport for 10 points) is NOT completed upon depositing slaves - it is completed upon the transport warping off the grid 5 seconds later…which means that if you’re down to the wire, and you dump the slaves even with the clock still ticking, you could still lose out on points: this has happened to me and a few other pilots)
-there seems to be a “delay” affecting the event, including items delayed appearing in wrecks, audio delays after destroying enemies, salvage delayed in appearing in cargo bays, and even spawns being delayed until the next slave pen is hacked
-why does it feel like as the event has gone on, CCP has decreased the ratio of enemy spawns?
-my God, do you think we got enough firewalls in hacking the jails? I once had four Firewalls on back-to-back nodes! It took me 7 times to breach one of the jails!
Just my thoughts on the matter. Still a fun event…if you can put up with the soul-crushing [censored]-blocking firewalls every other damn node!
Amended: 4 firewalls on back-to-back nodes…think that’s a little excessive?
I wish there were a little more variety in the activities. It seems like just “warp to 0, drop off slaves, hack a cell block, free new slaves, maybe shoot some rats, rinse, repeat”
Way to many large collide-able objects cluttering the sites and the hacking quickly becomes tedious after a few sites, but otherwise an ok event.
I’m curious what ships people are using for this event, I’m running the sites in Ammatar space and haven’t seen hardly any competition at all. I’m using a HAM Covert Loki which makes the hacking and combat a breeze.
I like the Event. The concept is good but it can definitely be made better.
A Battle Group should spawn when first landing on grid and all subsequent Battle groups should be random spawns that are not dependent upon a successful hack.
The total amount of Slaves within the site should fill the Hauler without having any excess Slaves left over, meaning if there are 9 ‘Cell Blocks’ in the site, then all 9 should be hacked in order to fill the Hauler and complete the site.
The loot drops were a bit lackluster, too many Metal Scraps and Tech 1 modules. That stuff drops all the time with regular NPC’s, this is an Event which should drop special items. The Minmatar ‘Lore’ items was nice but should have made them able to be turned in to Minmatar stations for ISK. Also there should have been a lot more Fireworks dropping. I definitely like getting ship skins but the color just don’t look Minmatar. They should be various shades of Light Brown and Dark Tan with Red highlights to resemble rust.
The Reward crates should have included various Male & Female ‘Liberator’ Apparel items so that by the time the last reward crate was received, players would have a full set of ‘Liberator’ Apparel for both Male and Female characters instead of just a pair of caps in the last crate. Also could have included a special ‘Liberator’ module and or Implant, something special like the C3-X ‘Hivaa Saitsuo’ Ballistic Control System or the CreoDron ‘Bumblebee’ / ‘Yellowjacket’ Hardwiring Implants.
There should have been various sites with different levels of difficulty so that all players could engage in the Event. Also I think the sites should have spawned all over New Eden instead of being located in a few specific areas.
All in all I think CCP is doing a good job with these Events.
Though i generally like the concept of the event, I have some gripes. So i will try starting with the good, before pointing out the frustrations.
Positives:
Incorporating Hacking was interesting and different.
The foes are not deadly tough, though still a challenge, if prepared for with the proper resists
The very concept of freeing slaves in the EVE universe is appealing.
Negatives:
Hacking was a challenge but not overly tough for lvl 3 skill, yet very frustrating for a lvl 2 skill; my success rate for lvl 2 skilled alt was about 1 in 4.
The spawn of foes was very frustrating. Often no defenders would show up until the 6th or 7th can was hacked, so they would then warp off very quickly. In one instance, they showed up after the 7th can was hacked and warped away before they could even be targeted. A lot of effort for no reward other than Agency points.
A special note on NPCs when they warp off. More than once, the battleship would be “entering warp” for 5 minutes or more. Invulnerable but still sitting there. I realize this is a game mechanic, and NPC ships are not the same as players, but when I’m hung up on an asteroid, or getting bumped, or some other thing while initiating warp, I’m not invulnerable by any means. Not until I am actually in the warp and moving along am I safe (for a time anyway). Having an invulnerable ship just sitting there is frustrating, especially knowing that it contains the only valuables in the site. If the warp-off process was a few seconds, then whatever, but 5 minutes?!? (Yes, i timed it.)
I’m not sure what was up with the NPCs in perpetual warp, but I agree that until they actually enter into warp they should be fair game. At first I thought they were hung up on one of the numerous objects but then I noticed a few sitting out in the middle of nowhere trying to go to warp. Go figure.
DeMichael Crimson and Tetsuhoshi have summed up all the relevant points for me.
I’m just going to add that the mechanic of thieving from cans needs to be sorted, either that or put event agents in stations so we can have our own instances to complete.
I am just starting to look at this event and wondered what ship is best suited for this?
I am omega and can fly up to a cruiser but wasn’t sure what was the most practical ship.
I used the shuttle on the last event after discovering I was a turtle in my frigates
Let me know what seems to be working the best,
Thanks
A T1 Cruiser should be able to take out the NPC’s, just make sure to fit up for EM and Thermal resists and shoot the same type of damage at them.
As for Hacking the cans, might be tough for an unbonused ship using a T1 Data Analyzer. Hopefully with high hacking skills it should be doable, might need to add a Hacking mod or rig.
I have max Hacking skills and am using my Loki without any Hacking sub-system bonus. I’m using a “zeugma” integrated analyzer and sometimes fail a hack every now and then. Integrated analyzers combine relic and data analyzers into one module which works in all sites. Integrated analyzers have identical virus strength as normal analyzers but lower base virus coherence, plus they only have one utility subsystem slot. However the integrated analyzers gain bonus coherence from both Archaeology and Hacking skills which gives them a higher coherence amount than normal analyzers.
Why does it feel like CCP decreased the ratio of enemy spawns?
I literally had 1 wave between 2 entire sites…and it wasn’t a Battleship, either!
And to make sure I’m not crazy thinking that SKIN drops are based on the region you’re in…this is my current SKIN count while operating in my choice region without straying outside its border (high-sec) - in fact, I’m keeping my operations confined to two systems at the high-sec edges of Genesis:
Ship Deployed: Machariel
Note: Data Analyzer I
Moving denotes operations done in systems other than starting two systems…which leads me to believe that if you keep getting the same SKINs repeatedly, it’s time to relocate.
Don’t know the exact amount of Cerebral Accelerators but it’s around 10. Seems to me the Fireworks are a rarity, I’ve only got 500 of them so far. Due to the amount of time left in the event, I highly doubt that amount will increase very much.
I don’t know if location actually has any bearing on loot items but I’ve been operating in Derelik Region.
