Introduction of the Q-Ship to bait and counter light raiders

EVE Technology and Research Center Player Features & Ideas
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1

It has long been the train of thought that industrial ships are one of the following.

*Targets
*Pinatas
*Easy prey
*Bait for a fleet
*Requiring escort
*Requiring active scouts
*Unsafe to fly through Jita, trade hubs and the pipes.

For too long the answer for carrying goods has been one of the following
*Do not carry more than X amount in value
*Fly with an escort
*Hire someone else to do it.
*Fly right after down time
*Use a jump freighter
*Use a Wormhole
*Use an alt.
…
Well can you blame anyone?
They are the aforementioned and those are the best ways to deal with it.

But what if?..

But what if the first thought to come to mind of a would be ganker, who has had his friend scan down the industrial hauler and verified no supporting fleet was immediately following him through the previous system, verifying that he was alone, was not (Easy kill!)
… But
(Is it really just a hauler? Is it really what it first seems?)

That dose not usually come to mind to those that wish to gank an industrial hauler.
Who’s ship’s scan sees all and know all.

But what if?..

That industrial hauler.
Was a wolf in sheep’s clothing? >;)
A ship not with an enormous cargo hold filled to the brim with valuables and no weapons to speak of…No.

A ship packed with powerful targeting computers.
Sporting a massive cap and power grid.
Powerful engines.
Extra hull reinforcements and armor plating.
A shielded hull with a false data transmitter, tricking ship scanners into seeing what the captain wants them to see and the overview showing just another normal hauler.
A full bracket of heavy drones, rail guns, missiles, bombs, lasers, auto cannons.

A… SURPRISE!!! :smile:

As soon as the suspected industrial ship locks on to the ship targeting it the facade falls away.
Relieving beneath, The Q-Ship!
A monster, a war machine purpose built to take down as many ships as possible, before going down.
A small gank gang nightmare.

Enter, The Q-Ship.
:slight_smile:

Any industrial type ship base could be used, including but not limited to, mining ships, industrial haulers, shuttles, luxury cruisers etc.

6 Likes
2

So what happens when someone uses a passive lock on it as soon as you undock?

3

It sees what you have preset for it to see.

You select what (Cargo and fittings) the ship will appear to be carrying while docked.

4

Calm down, miner…

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5

No idea which would make ganking harder is going to get pass the ganker lobby here at forums. Even if it was a decent idea which this one isn’t.

1 Like
6

Can you break it down into each aspect of why it would not work?

7

There are two people standing on either side of a dam. One is quite dry, the other is 30 feet under water, and can’t breathe.

So the first man gets the idea that the problem is the second man can’t get any air, but, if he were to drill a hole in the bottom of the dam, air could go through, so he does so.

I think you can imagine what happens, and you know why it happens. Air is not going to go through that hole. Water is going to come out of it. It is technically possible to force air through the hole, but it would require additional planning and equipment that is not available.

Your idea, I feel, is similar. It may be that under some circumstances it would work as you intend, but player behavior, like the water in the dam, is not likely to go the way you want it to.

The ganking community is quite engaged with the game, and willing to exploit every advantage even to the point that they are able to contend with CONCORD and make a very respectable profit on what they do. The industrial backbone of New Eden is decidedly less interested in taking active measures to protect themselves. Gankers would leverage any advantage of your proposed ship, while industrialists would not go to the trouble to exploit the advantages of it. Rather than present a risk, Industrial players want to avoid being at risk.

Water would leak out of the dam. Air would not go into it.

If this sounds condescending, it is not meant to be. I have fallen victim to thinking in this very way myself, and sometimes I still catch myself making idealistic mistakes that later seem obvious.

3 Likes
8

Uuummm…
Your analogy makes no sense… So I am not offended.
Just confused.

I understand that players will use these ships for purposes other than what they where intended.
In fact, I fully expect them to use them as surprise offensive ships as well and all kinds of mischief.

“while industrialists would not go to the trouble to exploit the advantages of it. Rather than present a risk, Industrial players want to avoid being at risk.”

What makes you think industrial’s will not utilize this tool?
In a direct form or indirect form?

What makes you think that industrial’s would not use this ship type in a small indi fleet to avoid risk by offering hidden firepower? Both presenting a risk to gankers and avoiding risk by leaving gankers unsure if a nasty surprise is waiting for them.

It would even give gankers more entertainment I would imagine, offer a new challenge.

9

Wonderful news! Your ship has come in! Well actually its been in about a decade plus already. — The Cheap and Tanky Nereus — Its actually possible to get that little guy to withstand 300dps passively. Bonus, it flies drones and can mount a gun. Get a few of your buddies together for some HiSec roaming fun. When the ganker ganks and goes flashy red skull your buds can start blappin, no worries about Concord.

Granted, once they are onto your game you may be in for a bit of an increased challenge.

The point here is, we have several hauling options already, DSTs being arguably amongst the best with 60k+ fleet hangars +2 Warp stab and BC to Battleship tanking.

Adapt, improvise, overcome and make the sand box work for you with what is already at hand.

4 Likes
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Nereus
A ship that is well known and has no real surprise…

The whole point of the Q-Ship is to surprise the enemy.
Not give them a heads up that they are going to get some struggle.

11

Because they want to ACTUALLY haul stuff and not bother with the PvP side of the game anyway.

All players have access to the same ships and game mechanics. And as always, this is not about ganker v.s. indi player, but a player who cares about game mechanics and uses them and all the available ships and tools to its full potential v.s. some other player who does not care at all about game mechanics.

3 Likes
12

When gankers see your ‘Q’ ship… they’ll know it’s bait.
So no surprise there…
If you would make it a skill, so that haulers can fit more or certain modules and/or drones, that would be more of a surprise.

1 Like
13

What will this achieve when the hauler is afk anyway?

14

You seem to believe that haulers will not hire mercenaries offering Q-Ships if given the chance to work in a hauler train and have firepower nastiness.

The full potential of what is available has been achieved and gotten stale and static in favor of gankers for the most part and for the reasons mentioned originally.

15

Bro, do you even read?

I guess not. :confused:

16

The hauler will not be AFK because it is not a hauler, but a purpose built warship that Looks like a hauler.
To draw in small gangs of gankers and engage them.

1 Like
17

You did not understand a word I wrote.

It is not the game that favours the gankers, on the contrary, there are special game mecanics which work directly against criminal activity in Highsec. It is the people who are the problem, because you have people who care about how the game works on one side and those who don’t on the other. No new ship or new game mechanic will ever change that.

Your ship will end up “favour” the people you don’t like.

1 Like
18

Will make things interesting then, now wont it? :slight_smile:

Gankers using a slow semi expensive ship that concord WILL destroy. XD

19

Sure, just not in the way you described in the op :wink:

20

Can you give 5 individual supporting examples?