In some systems, maybe, as gankers will not be safe even in next door systems to that of the intended gank. But in places like Torrinos ( for example ) where one can enter straight from nullsec…I don’t see that it makes any difference. So it may be that the trade routes get attacked in different systems now.
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Very interesting point!
I’ve never been a fan of tethering. It’s a stupid mechanic. Get rid of it entirely and just dock the damn ships.
Including capitals in null sec.
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That is a lot of battle ventures and bait herons right there!
It is not that hard to achieve. I had done a full month without losing a ship to another player when focsuing on eve pve.
There is no such thing as PVE only in eve.
You might as well just shut the game down. The whole thing is risk versus reward.
Abyssals.
Still get ganked on the way out.
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One way to retain PVE-players could be to add some better options for offensive/defensive systems on otherwise “helpless” ships such as mining barges and haulers. It makes no sense for a giant expensive ship like a freighter or a Hulk to have no means to defend itself against comparatively tiny ship, or even two or three of them. Especially in a dangerous place like Eve.
For example a usable ability similar to the bastion module that, at a cost, gives the ship some emergency suicide gank protection that lasts a few seconds followed by point-defense system / short range defensive drones. Of course this system and the cost to use it would have to scale with the size and cost of the ship using it.
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It’s called fitting shield extenders and hardeners in the mids and DCU + plates or bulkheads in the lows, and higgs rig plus rigs to extend the HP more, and then go mining in a system with security status that isn’t 0.5. You warp in to a belt that is many AU away from gates and stations and structures, align to a safe place, and watch D-scan and are basically uncatchable. Literally press 1 button and warp away to safety in 0 seconds. If you make a mistake and someone catches you, then overheat the hardeners and you’re beefy as hell and they’ll need more than “two or three” to get you. Can even fly with annoying ECM drones with you to be even more unappealing.
And if you still explode then can still feel OK because for the effort you put into your ship to be unappealing prey, they had to put in even more effort to get you. You were that important and should feel great about being that special.
These options are already there it’s just people go “I must use 3x Mining Upgrade 2s and mine while sitting still”.
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If ganking were more prevalent then the game would be better balanced. The problem is that most miners never see a ganker, so they don’t know how to balance their fit to accommodate the risk.
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None of the modules you mention will help retain players. They will turn a ship from helpless to helpless and ineffective. Who wants to be helpless and ineffective while playing a PVP game?
The other steps you mention will make you safer. But if player retention is desired you can’t demand that inherently casual activities are performed with extreme vigor, enthusiasm and effort for hours on end. At some point this game will have to face the reality of human nature, or diminish further.
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Why doesn’t it make sense? Industrial ships are industrial because they dedicate their capacity toward industrial functions. The use of capacity toward defense would have to considerably compromise their industrial function instead of being overlaid on top of it, which is why, for example, you can choose between doubling a freighter’s cargo space or its hit points through the low slots it has.
Because gankers have a finite window in which to perform their attack, there are two distinct possibilities of intent here:
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This module buys a few second of protection, but not the entire duration of a gank. This effectively amounts to an EHP increase, since its activation would cut off a portion of the gankers’ total DPS output toward the target. If this is the goal, then why not just ask for yet another EHP buff to industrial ships instead?
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The module outlasts the gank attempt entirely, which means that ganking is no longer a possibility. Why do we need this?
Tell that to the ships that need mercenaries on board to safely travel the coast of Africa.
That is an assumption based on nothing. If you consider the size of a frigate compared to a freighter - Why should the freighter possess no system that can threaten a frigate?
Because this way gankers can still gank afk players or adjust their strategies around it. The point is to give the defender something rather than nothing.
That’s an escort, not a defensive system.
Why should an oil tanker not have a cannon on it?
You’re going to have to be more specific. How much of a defensive buff do you want to give industrial ships through this mechanic?
It is a way to cost-effectively protect a ship that would otherwise be defenseless.
Enough so that a player with a cool head that press the button at the right time can survive most suicide ganks.
Okay, well, you’ve convinced us that you want it, now you’re going to have to convince us why we need it.
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You can and should demand it. In what conceivable sense are people playing a game if they are not actual doing anything ? Mining should surely be more than just casual or AFK camping for money…otherwise why even bother with the whole mining charade. Why not just give people ISK for spinning in dock ?
If people are going to mind then they should be as subject to the dangers of space as anyone else, in a game that is all about risk and danger.
I don’t really need or want it. But I think some players could be retained if the game had more things that makes them not helpless. I allready said this, though. And it is also the topic of the thread.
Some players could be retained if every day they had 1 billion ISK and 1 million skill points in the redeeming queue for free. Some players could be retained if EVE’s gameplay were to be replaced by a series of pictures of naked women.
The question is why retaining some players needs to be an isolated priority over keeping the game healthy as a whole.
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