# Mercenaries - A good idea?

**URL:** <https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811>\
**Category:** Player Features & Ideas\
**Created:** [April 29, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811 "2019-04-29T13:37:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 14

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**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/265 "2019-05-14T20:48:52Z")

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I like it.

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**Author:** ![Fabric\_Dieiing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/fabric_dieiing/32/133192_2.png) [@Fabric\_Dieiing](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Fabric_Dieiing)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:36am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/266 "2019-05-16T10:36:46Z")

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Worst idea ever - every NPC for PvP actions is a bad idea

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**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 11:26am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/267 "2019-05-16T11:26:15Z")

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You have to say why.

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**Author:** ![Hillbert\_Alexis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/hillbert_alexis/32/263334_2.png) [@Hillbert\_Alexis](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Hillbert_Alexis)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/268 "2019-05-16T20:13:06Z")

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> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#):
>
> I don’t think allowing mercs to join fleets would be a good idea.

Then how do you control them? New input window or are they purely automated?

I used to play freelancer and always liked the idea there were ships out on patrol. You could find them or intercept them and kill them, but in eve such a thing would need to be more than just that.

> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#):
>
> You have to say why.

Trust me when I say there are some posters who aren’t posting anything. You found one.

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**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/269 "2019-05-16T20:29:36Z")

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> [@Hillbert\_Alexis](#):
>
> Then how do you control them? New input window or are they purely automated?

Please refer to my opening post for details.

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**Author:** ![Steve\_Ronuken](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/steve_ronuken/32/373894_2.png) [@Steve\_Ronuken](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Steve_Ronuken)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/270 "2019-05-28T19:27:41Z")

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Not a fan of using NPCs for combat. There are player mercenaries out there.

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**Author:** ![Merin\_Ryskin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/merin_ryskin/32/259354_2.png) [@Merin\_Ryskin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Merin_Ryskin)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/271 "2019-05-28T21:19:07Z")

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> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#):
>
> You have to say why.

Do you really need help with something so obvious? EVE is a player-driven PvP game, replacing players with NPCs removes a key element of EVE’s design. If you want mercenaries then work together with other players to arrange it, don’t whine and cry and demand NPCs to do it for you because you don’t want to have to make friends.

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**Author:** ![Josh\_Elize](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/josh_elize/32/134594_2.png) [@Josh\_Elize](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Josh_Elize)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/273 "2019-06-18T12:31:28Z")

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ewww.

Not only could I probably not afford a player mercenary, they’d probably scam me anyway. That’s the only reason they would be eager for me contacting them.

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**Author:** ![Josh\_Elize](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/josh_elize/32/134594_2.png) [@Josh\_Elize](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Josh_Elize)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/274 "2019-06-18T12:33:12Z")

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NPC’s are available 24x7. Eve Online “friends” are not 🙂 Nor would they be interested in doing what you want to do.

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**Author:** ![Daichi\_Yamato](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/daichi_yamato/32/252995_2.png) [@Daichi\_Yamato](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Daichi_Yamato)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 12:36pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/275 "2019-06-18T12:36:52Z")

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> [@Josh\_Elize](#):
>
> Not only could I probably not afford a player mercenary, they’d probably scam me anyway. That’s the only reason they would be eager for me contacting them.

Welcome to eve.

Player driven. Emergent. Immersive.

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**Author:** ![Josh\_Elize](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/josh_elize/32/134594_2.png) [@Josh\_Elize](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Josh_Elize)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/276 "2019-06-18T12:39:42Z")

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Well then thanks but no thanks 🙂

Maybe if the game had an Agency for player driven services or better presentation of this aspect of the game then this so called “PvP” might actually work for normies.

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**Author:** ![Merin\_Ryskin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/merin_ryskin/32/259354_2.png) [@Merin\_Ryskin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Merin_Ryskin)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/277 "2019-06-18T21:17:37Z")

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> [@Josh\_Elize](#):
>
> Well then thanks but no thanks

Then EVE is not for you, and you can go back to WoW.

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**Author:** ![Josh\_Elize](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/josh_elize/32/134594_2.png) [@Josh\_Elize](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Josh_Elize)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/278 "2019-06-19T06:20:46Z")

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I’m not a WoW player. I prefer MilSim and sandbox survival games mostly.

Calling Eve Online immersive is a helluva stretch, it’s a very basic interface and concept merely flooded with information and free form complexity. Its emergence factor only really happens at a snails pace on the whim of influential players which pareto dictates is a minority (unreachable for many). Along with a very clique based community as it thrives on politics. And an unusually high occurrence with what I can only describe as sociopathy (though obviously not all).

So yeah, perhaps it is not really for me. But at least some people try offer suggestions open for debate to try improve things. It is one of those games with so much potential and just doesn’t ever quite get there.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 9:42am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/279 "2019-06-19T09:42:56Z")

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> [@Josh\_Elize](#):
>
> Calling Eve Online immersive is a helluva stretch, it’s a very basic interface and concept merely flooded with information and free form complexity. Its emergence factor only really happens at a snails pace on the whim of influential players which pareto dictates is a minority (unreachable for many). Along with a very clique based community as it thrives on politics. And an unusually high occurrence with what I can only describe as sociopathy (though obviously not all).

You are the most incredibly smart person on this forum- I’m sure my post will be flagged very soon by the trolls here, so i’ll delete it later on, but I love your truth and honesty.

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**Author:** ![Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/anne_dieu-le-veut/32/148292_2.png) [@Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Anne_Dieu-le-veut)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/280 "2019-06-19T14:22:36Z")

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Why do people that obviously don’t like the game just leave instead of trying to make it into a single player game in a shared universe?

Yet another horrible idea. Even if someone at CCP (after having a stroke) decides NPC mercenaries is a good idea, why should they be limited to defensive only? That would be totally unbalanced.

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**Author:** ![Dark\_Lord\_Trump](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/dark_lord_trump/32/411482_2.png) [@Dark\_Lord\_Trump](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Dark_Lord_Trump)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/281 "2019-06-19T15:10:38Z")

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Can I hire NPC gankers to kill your NPC mercenaries?

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**Author:** ![Elena\_Laskova](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/elena_laskova/32/11436_2.png) [@Elena\_Laskova](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Elena_Laskova)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/282 "2019-06-19T15:24:35Z")

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> [@Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](#):
>
> Why do people that obviously don’t like the game just leave instead of trying to make it into a single player game in a shared universe?

Hardly anyone actually do this (a few do, but not many).

It’s a Straw Man, intended to make it seem as though reasonable comments and suggestions are actually destructive.

Consider the suggestion in the OP: it could be loosely described as a way to let single-account players gain _some_ of the benefits of multi-boxing in exchange for ISK.

There’s nothing unreasonable about it. It would be a lot less efficient than multi-boxing, so it cannot possibly be claimed to be “game breaking”. And it solves some minor but significant problems for players who are not currently able to generate enough ISK to PLEX a bunch of accounts, nor enough RL cash to buy multiple subscriptions.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/283 "2019-06-19T15:56:10Z")

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> [@Elena\_Laskova](#):
>
> Consider the suggestion in the OP: it could be loosely described as a way to let single-account players gain _some_ of the benefits of multi-boxing in exchange for ISK.

Not really for benefits of isk exchange, it’s more protection from gankers/gate camps.

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**Author:** ![Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/anne_dieu-le-veut/32/148292_2.png) [@Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Anne_Dieu-le-veut)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/284 "2019-06-19T16:30:59Z")

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> [@Dark\_Lord\_Trump](#):
>
> Can I hire NPC gankers to kill your NPC mercenaries?

Of course not! That would be “unfair”

> [@Elena\_Laskova](#):
>
> it could be loosely described as a way to let single-account players gain _some_ of the benefits of multi-boxing in exchange for ISK.
> 
> There’s nothing unreasonable about it.

It’s unreasonable because it’s one sided. Why can’t a ganker buy a merc for that little bit of extra DPS to bring down his target he might not be able to solo?

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**Author:** ![Natocha\_Daisy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/natocha_daisy/32/474632_2.png) [@Natocha\_Daisy](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Natocha_Daisy)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/285 "2019-06-19T16:34:01Z")

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> [@Anne\_Dieu-le-veut](#):
>
> It’s unreasonable because it’s one sided. Why can’t a ganker buy a merc for that little bit of extra DPS to bring down his target he might not be able to solo?

Hi Anne Dieu-le-veut,

Maybe you should be asking me these questions, since I am the OP.

So the idea is not to disqualify the attackers but to provide a layer of safety for new players. I think it could help them stick around.

[Previous page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=13)

[Next page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=15)
