While the antiquated LP store system has many problems, the two biggest issues that I think should be the primary focus of any rework that happens for it should address are overlapping rewards between factions, and intra-faction npc corp module distribution.
With this in mind, a reworked LP store should
Offer rewards unique to the faction and NPC corp.
This can be a combination of unique Faction weapons, and NPC corp-specific modules subdivided underneath that.
A good example for how this would look would be faction weapons and ships (ex. Caldari Navy Hookbill/Caldari Navy Rocket Launcher) be available for all NPC corps under the faction, with specific modules or implants being found only in specific NPC corp LP stores, (ex. Zainou implants ONLY available at Zainou stations) allowing for the value of different NPC corp LP to raise overall, due to the increased scarcity of common faction modules.
All factions have unique modules with no faction navy overlap.
A major issue with the current distribution of faction modules is how there is a wide variety of faction modules for one type of module and few if any variants of another. This can be best seen with things like tackle modules, which find common variants among Caldari, Gallente, and even Khanid LP stores but entirely lacking inside Amarr and Ammatar LP stores.
This can be solved by leaving unique weapons, ammunition, and ships as available in every NPC corp in a specific faction, but unique specific modules being available in private companies or departments underneath that faction as previously stated; this ensures even faction-wide access to modules but more specialized equipment be bound to specific NPC corps, ensuring that they all have at least one valuable and unique item to offer for their LP.
Organize NPC-corp specific factions under the tiercide model.
Having npc corps offering unique items means an increase in the overall variety of those items, and that implies a need to reduce overlap for current and new items. Using the âCompactâ, âRestrainedâ, âEnduringâ, âAmpleâ, and âScopedâ model for module tiercide should extend to faction modules as well, allowing for a wider variety of options to be seeded among the vast number of NPC corporations that exist. While you might have the availability of faction weapons, ammo, and ships be universal within a specific faction, offering sub-faction variations of those with particular bonuses that fall in the tiercide module categories ensures access to items unique to an NPC corpâs LP, and that it has some use to someone, even if it is niche. Faction weapon scaling could still apply in the same way, with a faction âcompactâ version being available to a specific npc corp that canât be found in a Navy store (example âImperial Armamentsâ npc corp producing laser crystal ammo with a lower capacitor cost than Navy, but still having navy ammo be available).
Ensure all factions have a common number of unique faction ships & weapons.
Each faction, including lesser factions such as the Thukkers and Ammatar should either have a t2 and/OR faction-specific set the following: 1 frigate, 2 cruisers, 1 battlecruiser, and 2 battleships. For independent factions such as the Khanid or Thukker that already fill that role with t2 ships, they would offer a new and unique battlecruiser and battleship from their respective LP stores, as the other necessary slots are filled with their t2 ships.
Exceptions can be made for unique sovereigns like Morduâs Legion, Concord, Sisters of EVE, and Society of Conscious Thought because they are either multinational organizations or they do not have a specific racial backround. However, the pirate factions and other sovereigns like the Ammatar, Syndicate or ORE would see a completely new set of ships unique to their LP stores.
Introducing new faction modules to items that previously had none in their respective faction LP store (ex. âSisters Large Remote Armor Repair Moduleâ, âThukker Large Remote Shield Boosterâ, âAmmatar Large Remote Capacitor Transmitterâ) allows for faction NPC corps to offer specific modules entirely unique to that faction, that canât be found in any of the main 4 empires.
Incorporate random or timed event sales/markups for LP stores.
Adding a function where an in-game event, either lore-related or player-related like the domination/loss of an FW warzone could offer limited-time discounts on things like tags or LP costs of items from their store. This enables the hoarding of LP outside of a rainy-day fund to be useful, with pilots dumping their NPC corp LP on sales increasing activity in an area, or leaving an area for better mission farming during a negative event for that NPC corp or faction that causes a markup in price. This further encourages player mobility across New Eden, to be less inclined to permanently congregate around specific mission-running systems and remaining static. This could also be affected by such things as trading good shortages from a plague or famine that can be alleviated by selling more of the required trade good to and from certain NPC corps, giving pilots who enjoy hauling as a profession something universally useful to do as an activity.
Add more faction structure modules.
Something that has gone completely unused since their introduction is the possibility of adding faction STATION modules for Upwell structures. A Hyasyoda research lab is only available as a reward for an epic arc mission, but wouldnât it be more useful to have as something to buy from a Hyasyoda LP store? This also can help fill the game with evening out the deficit or abundance of NPC corp or faction might have of modules in a particular area, acting both as welcome new content and a value buffer to ensure relatively even numbers across the different factions for their LP store item totals.
I genuinely believe this is the best way forward for a comprehensive LP store and faction module redesign, as it is in-line both with CCPâs history with tiercide and player needs.
I just want to be able to straight up sell LP to other players without having to convert it into modules and whatnot first. Give us mission runners and standings services a reason to have millions of LP.
Maybe introducing constellation mechanics similar to the FW donation system in lowsec, allowing you to donate LP for corporations to upgrade constellations in low and hisec?
Making it so the upgrade tier of a particular faction of corporations in that area increases bonuses to payout & industry, allowing for passive economic warfare.
As an example, if youâre in Gallente space running Caldari missions in a backwater Gallente constellation, you can gain upgrade bonuses to Caldari npc stations in that constellation, with the possibility of negative modifiers for Gallente and Minmatar stations in that constellation at higher upgrade levels. Neutral faction stations would remain unaffected.
I like the idea as well. Of course, it does make converting LP easier, but it also help plex/MPTC prices by providing something else that people can easily invest in and easily use for wealth storage. Like, if you want to easily and safely store your wealth right now, you basically have one option -buy plex.
Unfortunately, thereâs at least one problem that I can see with this -namely, the money men at CCP probably want Plex prices to be high as possible. I also wonder what would happen to LP prices. Like, making LP easy to invest in and use for wealth storage would apply upward pressure on LP prices, but being able to easily sell off every scrap of LP would also probably result in a but ton of LP suddenly flooding the market.
Itâs already the case. A faction is basically divided in Three LP stores : combat, noncombat, and fw. each of these three LP store have items that are not present in another catalog.
The issue, is that some items from a faction/corp are stat-wise equivalent of other from other faction corp, meaning the corp are devaluating each other from those offers.
Example : corpum and centum armor rep are the same. same for faction.
A solution would be, to make sure EACH faction module has a small difference that justifies this choice. So no more imperial navy EANM with same stats as dark blood, amatar, khanid, true sansha.
See above.
Already the case for many items. Typically, gistum is compact+enduring, and pithum is rapid+T2, for shield module. Same for centum/corpum and corelum : corelum is compact enduring, centum/corpum are just upgrade. But thatâs not always possible, how do you tiericide the nano platings ?
What I was attempting to state is how you have crossover of modules and ammunition between different faction entities, like having Imperial navy stuff available in Ammatar space or Republic fleet stuff available in Thukker stores. It would amount to trimming the crossover modules and replacing them with something unique to the faction to reduce module overpopulation.
Idk if Iâm explaining it correctly, but the biggest offender to use as an example would be how hardwiring implants are available in literally EVERY LP store in the game. Limiting them to the named npc corps that produce them means that the LP store for Noble Appliances or Zainou become decently popular hubs since they sell a lot of exclusive items. This helps distribute players out along the stations in empire space a bit better by making it WORTH going to that station in the ass-end of nowhere, or in low/null. Scarcity drives profit.
Realistically, upgrading a constellation with LP would just increase rewards for missions and reduce industry/research costs like it does in lowsec, albeit to a smaller degree and with different bonuses likely. Additionally, having the amount of LP it would take to upgrade a hisec constellation would be huge, including some hilariously overblown buffer after max cap that you can keep dumping millions of LP into.
I understand that. Still, every LP store is a mix of core offers(implants), faction offers, and additional âbranchâ for that faction. The sharing of very common use items ensures that every corporation can have a minimum value offer (implants).
Well, I was talking to Quake God about selling LP directly to other players with that reply. But, I suppose I can talk about your suggestions.
I like this. It would provide for more meaningful fitting choices, and it could provide some consistency for all the faction mods. I wouldnât say that each faction must be unique though. I mean, it would be nice if they could do that, but I donât think that they can without straight up removing mods from some of the LP stores. And, Iâm not sure that that is a good idea, because it will probably make âbalancingâ the isk to LP ratios of the factions even harder; which, in turn, could result in certain areas of space/FW Militias being drained of players as they all flock to significantly better LP stores. But, I donât know.; could be wrong about that.
I like this too. My eye grow wide with greed as I think about faction service modules dropping from upwell structures.
The only really useful suggestion I see, is the first response.
The OP is a ânice to haveâ at best. There are so many more important things they could be doing than adding a bunch more items which for balance sake would end up being more or less the same thing.
Most of it is REMOVING items, see: 10 pages+ of hard wiring and implants. Think of it like this; the LP stores should specialize in specific kinds of outfits so most of them have at least 1 unique item to farm for; while you can probably find what hardware or electronics you need at a Super Walmart, youâre probably going to a store that specializes in those things since there is a greater variety and higher quality at stores that specialize in that.
Likewise, an NPC corp like Propel Dynamics would have nice items like faction nanofibers, mwd, overdrives and the like. Localizing, rather than generalizing stores leads to them being more valuable.