Use a LS NPC station to store your loot. That’s one advantage LS has over null and W.
Park a blockade runner in the LS NPC station and use that. Also install a JC in it.
That’s the risks associated with going to LS. I lost a raven in LS as well as a VNI, shrugged it off and went back and got new ships.
300m, that sounds about what my implants would have cost alone without factoring in the ship and loot.
What are the players gatecamping risking though? I guess horde might get fed up of getting popped there in a bit, and drop a fleet on them. They can always burn back to that nifty high-sec gate in their cruisers though… So no need to panic.
Get a bigger fleet and go gank them back?
Ninja loot them?
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For me personally, after this morning’s revelation, I see no point even considering to risk jumping low-sec gates in anything larger than a condor.
if (risk != reward) {
Do something else.
}
Explore null and W then.
Comes with too much risk. Much better off avoiding that aspect of the game altogether. If I die in the abyss one of 2 things has happened: 1) My internet went down. 2) I piloted badly.
null and W are quieter than low. Less riskier and no gates needed.
Eh. True, but i’m not a massive fan of bubbles. In null you still need to jump gates unless you solely use filaments.
TBH it is feasible to only use filaments to change systems. Eventually you can scan down a WH if you wait long enough in-between jumps. You’ll never know what’s on the other side of the WH though, unless it’s a direct - high sec link. WHs are less likely to be camped than gates, due to the massive number of WHs out there and the few players that go through each.
Still, it’s cumbersome to wait for each and every filament jump and WH’s in null are rare enough that you could be using 20 filaments (with a 15min timer for each) before you manage to find your WH out.
Carry lots of noise filaments for quiet jumps around null randomly, use WH’s to exit to an NPC station to store the loot, be it LS or HS. Filaments are cheap as chips.
You can log off and on when in space.
Also, use the gate camp check and your map tools and dscan.
T3SC ships were for this purpose to begin with if you want something beefier.
Once you get your loot to an NPC station you can courier it out with a contract or blockade runner.
I recommend you pack an expanded launcher and carry combats to scan your route too. Also fit a cargo container so you get more cargo storage.
The only downside to this proposition is the fact that by the sounds of it both you and I have a bit of experience with trying to explore in both low and null sec. For a new player, they likely won’t even know about filaments, let alone strategize on how to use them to completely navigate around the poor design of gates.
I don’t go near low for exploring as I know it’s basically brawling.
Only advantage there is NPC stations for storage and JCing. Perhaps a market too.
I would go to low for ninja looting though.
Perhaps a red flashy lamp on the gate to indicate gate “activity” in the past 30 mins?
I find null to also be far far superior in terms of loot. It’s not that hard to fill an Astero up with 100m worth of loot. The chances of you bringing it home if you use gates are next to no-existent though, as most folks who are into their exploration know. I would argue that they most likely know this due to the experience of jumping unwittingly into a rather irritating gate camp.
Astero would not be my choice but each to their own.
Perhaps a red flashy lamp on the gate to indicate gate “activity” in the past 30 mins?
I like flashy lights.
The gate already has visual indicators on some activity no?
A light would do it nicely, if it was proximity based. Traffic light system maybe?
Roaming NPC fleets for low-sec. If for no other reason, than to balance the risk-reward factor of camping gates. Players shouldn’t be able to sit on grid for hours at a time… every 30 mins an NPC fleet warps to gate, providing a safe jump window of opportunity… Perhaps add a nice blue light to the gate to signify that the “train has arrived”.
CCP already have most of the code for this from the wandering triglavian mining menaces.
Not sure anybody really pays attention to the indicators already on the gate anyway. Many play zoomed out for performance.
Hate Astero’s now. Not suitable to null due to 2 high slots limited to probe launcher and cloak. I’d take an Anthema with an interdiction nullifier over it any day of the week.
Then they would deserve to die, due to poor piloting. At least the indicator would be there. Alternatively I would propose that players could click the gate on their overview and the standard targeting info up top right (by default) could display the same indication.
So in summary… The idea as it stands:
Low-sec ONLY wandering NPC faction specific fleets visiting gates frequently, but for only 5 mins at a time every 15 mins (3 periods of danger, 3 of safety per hour). 75% dangerous. Randomise the timers on a per gate basis. Add a gate specific indicator to signify the NPC fleet’s presence.
How this would impact the game:
Gatecamps can exist, but they will need to be mindful of when they can and can’t camp that specific gate (move to another gate when the navy come to yours). Windows of opportunity would exist for the mindful capsuleer, for safer passage into low-sec. This would be beneficial for new players, allowing them to experience a higher level of danger than high-sec, whist still allowing them to be relatively safe if they pilot well.
For example, A player explorer could check the gate before jumping into low-sec, but can still get caught by a combat probing ship - if they don’t diligently watch D-Scan whilst hacking their slightly juicier relic sites. If they jump when the gate is red, that’s their choice and they may or may not die (just like today). A player would have to gamble if they don’t wait for an open window. There is a conscious choice that must be made and a risk assessment.
Complicated routes of multiple jumps through low sec, with the benefits of heightened safety, would be less feasible (which is a good thing) due to the fact that not all gates are in sync. Want to jump through 10 low-sec gates in safety? You had better wait a good long time for all those green lights.