# Mercenaries - A good idea? **URL:** \ **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:** 7
**Author:** ![Salt\_Foambreaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/salt_foambreaker/32/280119_2.png) [@Salt\_Foambreaker](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Salt_Foambreaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/124 "2019-04-30T14:51:15Z")
Another person who has not read the new player FAQ. They should making signing the FAQ IRL, including initialing the PvP Section, a requirement for posting. ---
**Author:** ![Salt\_Foambreaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/salt_foambreaker/32/280119_2.png) [@Salt\_Foambreaker](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Salt_Foambreaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/125 "2019-04-30T14:52:10Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > Remember - my idea doesn’t involve nullsec. It’s for high and low only 🙂 That makes it 10000000x times worse, lets screw up low sec too. ---
**Author:** ![Taloris\_Aldercain](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/taloris_aldercain/32/317529_2.png) [@Taloris\_Aldercain](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Taloris_Aldercain)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/126 "2019-04-30T14:54:35Z")
Not to be off topic, but all PVP MMOs have PVE activities. In these instances you can’t cater to just one crowd over the other, otherwise you have them all progressing towards PVE with PVP areas. It’s why we have so few existing PVP MMOs right now. It’s possible to have the OP’s idea work, but not as an NPC entity, and would allow those using it to still find themselves in a situation where they can either risk using them for the additional sense of security, or find themselves either being blown up or held for ransom by a ship those “T3” drones can’t destroy. IE more the same but with a use for amarr neut/vamp ships. It’s a matter of figuring out how to do it right. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/127 "2019-04-30T15:58:07Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > @Daichi_Yamato contruted excellent points that I really enjoyed reading and thinking about. Space friend!😊 ---
**Author:** ![Scoots\_Choco](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/scoots_choco/32/262262_2.png) [@Scoots\_Choco](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Scoots_Choco)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/128 "2019-04-30T16:13:21Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > The NPC mercs would only be available to pilots in high/low sec. Using a merc in nullsec/wormhole space would have huge disadvantages/consequences. So… I don’t know if you know this, but pilots can move back and forth between nullsec and the other spaces. So I just make my money out in nullsec, come back to highsec, and then start causing trouble for everyone. I don’t see how this stops my idea. And why would there be disadvantages? These are supposed to be Mercenaries, not rent-a-cops. > [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > Combat/Escort (levels 1 - 5) > Adds 150 - 900 dps to a player’s offensive capabilities Can I shoot and kill these Mercenaries? Or will they be unkillable and just be free extra DPS? I will make the point that 900 DPS is very small for a max level Combat/Escort ship. A single Catalyst can easily get 600 DPS as a reference. > [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > The Merc feature would not be allowed outside empire space. Again, I can still just move back to Empire space. Nothing is stopping me from taking my corporation of 60+ people into Empire Space for a week to start hiring NPCs and harassing the locals. Seriously though, none of this is a good idea. It only seems like it if you’re a risk averse highsec player who is too socially awkward to reach out (in an MMORPG of all things) to talk to other people around you. You’re letting the irrational fear of “everyone is out to get you” cloud your judgement to the point where there are hundreds of scared highsec players who can’t see themselves trusting one another, even though they don’t pose any threat at all. ---
**Author:** ![Salt\_Foambreaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/salt_foambreaker/32/280119_2.png) [@Salt\_Foambreaker](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Salt_Foambreaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/129 "2019-04-30T16:16:02Z")
Did I ask for your stuff yet when you leave? DIBs on stuff! ---
**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:** [April 30, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/130 "2019-04-30T16:21:53Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > > The NPC mercs would only be available to pilots in high/low sec. Using a merc in nullsec/wormhole space would have huge disadvantages/consequences. > > So… I don’t know if you know this, but pilots can move back and forth between nullsec and the other spaces. So I just make my money out in nullsec, come back to highsec, and then start causing trouble for everyone. I don’t see how this stops my idea. > > And why would there be disadvantages? These are supposed to be Mercenaries, not rent-a-cops. > > ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/original/3X/e/e/eec8cbafb86ae788abc56bda2738490525ddd893.jpeg) Natocha\_Daisy: > > > Combat/Escort (levels 1 - 5) > > Adds 150 - 900 dps to a player’s offensive capabilities > > Can I shoot and kill these Mercenaries? Or will they be unkillable and just be free extra DPS? > > I will make the point that 900 DPS is very small for a max level Combat/Escort ship. A single Catalyst can easily get 600 DPS as a reference. > > ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/original/3X/e/e/eec8cbafb86ae788abc56bda2738490525ddd893.jpeg) Natocha\_Daisy: > > > The Merc feature would not be allowed outside empire space. > > Again, I can still just move back to Empire space. Nothing is stopping me from taking my corporation of 60+ people into Empire Space for a week to start hiring NPCs and harassing the locals. > > Seriously though, none of this is a good idea. It only seems like it if you’re a risk averse highsec player who is too socially awkward to reach out (in an MMORPG of all things) to talk to other people around you. You’re letting the irrational fear of “everyone is out to get you” cloud your judgement to the point where there are hundreds of scared highsec players who can’t see themselves trusting one another, even though they don’t pose any threat at all. You can’t take your 60+ nullsec corp players into highsec and harass people with NPCs because NPC mercs can only attack if you are attacked first! NPC mercs cannot be targeted first. ---
**Author:** ![Gerard\_Amatin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gerard_amatin/32/481361_2.png) [@Gerard\_Amatin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gerard_Amatin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/131 "2019-04-30T16:27:53Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > You can’t take your 60+ nullsec corp players into highsec and harass people with NPCs because NPC mercs can only attack if you are attacked first! > > NPC mercs cannot be targeted first. So it’s a defense fleet only? Is this supposed to make high sec ganking impossible? Because high sec ganking is intended to be part of the game, EVE has been created with the possibility of danger and pirates in mind; why else would there be a safety setting ‘red’ if not to allow players to be pirates and blow up victims in high sec? Sure, Concord exists to punish people who do that, but they don’t show up immediately, like your NPC mercenaries would, so pirates do have a chance against people who don’t bring some friends/ to protect them. Your NPC mercenaries however would replace those ‘friends’, making it impossible to be a high sec pirate. I get that you want to be safe in high sec, but PvP danger is intended to be part of the game, even in high sec. If you do want protection in high sec, ask other players. That _is_ intended gameplay. ---
**Author:** ![Salt\_Foambreaker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/salt_foambreaker/32/280119_2.png) [@Salt\_Foambreaker](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Salt_Foambreaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/132 "2019-04-30T16:39:01Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > NPC mercs cannot be targeted first. This idea gets dumber as you go. ---
**Author:** ![Scoots\_Choco](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/scoots_choco/32/262262_2.png) [@Scoots\_Choco](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Scoots_Choco)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/133 "2019-04-30T16:51:21Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > You can’t take your 60+ nullsec corp players into highsec and harass people with NPCs because NPC mercs can only attack if you are attacked first! So I just start a wardec and then I can shoot people’s structures in complete safety because I’ll have a group of NPC Mercenaries defending me? Also, these aren’t Mercenaries. They’re rent-a-cops. Beyond this, the situations when these would be used don’t occur in actual gameplay. I feel like you have a fantastical idea about how the game works, but don’t actually know what happens. For example, what good are these “mercenaries” if your hauler gets instantly popped by a pair of Tornadoes off a station undock? Do the Mercenaries then attack these Tornadoes? Well Concord already does that, so how much better would these be? If these “mercenaries” only attack when you are attacked first, how does this change the scenario for when you get ganked by a couple of Catalysts? They pop you in the first 4 seconds of firing with their 600 DPS. And then what? After you’ve already died, do the Mercenaries fight back? Concord, again, already do this. ---
**Author:** ![Taloris\_Aldercain](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/taloris_aldercain/32/317529_2.png) [@Taloris\_Aldercain](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Taloris_Aldercain)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/134 "2019-04-30T16:57:53Z")
@Natocha_Daisy So been working on expanding what I suggested earlier (these “mercs” being like a T3 non-faction drone variant that low skill players could use), but unfortunately the forum doesn’t have a PM system (since I’m not done yet and don’t want to make the post yet. Still a lot I haven’t covered yet, currently on how it affects cloaked ships within empire space). Any way of getting in touch privately to give you a better idea on what I was suggesting? I’d mail you in-game, but as you mentioned earlier you haven’t been in-game for a period of time. On topic - I don’t really have a way of keeping this post “on topic”. So… @Scoots_Choco, you bring up a good point on what use would they be when a ship gets insta-popped. Something I haven’t gotten to yet in this idea I came up with, and probably be really hard to figure out from a newer player perspective since all they got are frigs and the rookie ship. ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:09am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/135 "2019-05-01T09:09:50Z")
> [@Gerard\_Amatin](#): > > Your NPC mercenaries however would replace those ‘friends’, making it impossible to be a high sec pirate. You’d still be able to be a high-sec pirate, but with npc mercenaries introduced you would have to ‘adapt’ to this modification. NPC mercs wouldn’t bring 100% protection from harassment. But it would bring some satisfaction to the solo players and newbros I specifically already talked about. ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:10am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/136 "2019-05-01T09:10:27Z")
> [@Salt\_Foambreaker](#): > > This idea gets dumber as you go. Do you have anything intelligent to add to this conversation? ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:13am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/137 "2019-05-01T09:13:30Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > So I just start a wardec and then I can shoot people’s structures in complete safety because I’ll have a group of NPC Mercenaries defending me? NPC Mercenaries CANNOT defend you against war targets. > [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > Do the Mercenaries then attack these Tornadoes? Presumably. > [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > If these “mercenaries” only attack when you are attacked first, how does this change the scenario for when you get ganked by a couple of Catalysts? They pop you in the first 4 seconds of firing with their 600 DPS. And then what? After you’ve already died, do the Mercenaries fight back? Concord, again, already do this. No they don’t in lowsec. ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:16am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/138 "2019-05-01T09:16:19Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > On topic - > I don’t really have a way of keeping this post “on topic”. > So… @Scoots_Choco, you bring up a good point on what use would they be when a ship gets insta-popped. Something I haven’t gotten to yet in this idea I came up with, and probably be really hard to figure out from a newer player perspective since all they got are frigs and the rookie ship. So, there could be 3 types of NPC Mercs: 1. Logi 2. Fighter 3. Transport ? 😉 ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:17am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/139 "2019-05-01T09:17:28Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > I’d mail you in-game, but as you mentioned earlier you haven’t been in-game for a period of time. Hi, feel free to mail me in-game: I get alerts on my phone. ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:20am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/140 "2019-05-01T09:20:10Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > these “mercs” being like a T3 non-faction drone variant that low skill players could use These mercs could be from a completely new race even - from somewhere linked to the wormhole drifter species. ---
**Author:** ![Scoots\_Choco](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/scoots_choco/32/262262_2.png) [@Scoots\_Choco](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Scoots_Choco)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/141 "2019-05-01T09:22:00Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > So, there could be 3 types of NPC Mercs: > > 1. Logi Just fyi, logistics does not work if you die before they are able to lock you up and send repairs to you. And given that most alpha strike Tornadoes can kill a hauler instantly, you will die before the mercenaries can begin to cycle their repair modules ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:39am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/142 "2019-05-01T09:39:06Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > > So, there could be 3 types of NPC Mercs: > > > > 1. Logi > > Just fyi, logistics does not work if you die before they are able to lock you up and send repairs to you. And given that most alpha strike Tornadoes can kill a hauler instantly, you will die before the mercenaries can begin to cycle their repair modules Good point. I don’t think mercenaries should really be able to defend you against a fleet of alpha-strike tornadoes though 😅 But if i’m in a tanky ship with high resists and i’m attacked by 2-4 wouldbe gankers in relatively small-medium sized ships, I don’t see why not? ---
**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 1, 2019, 9:40am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/143 "2019-05-01T09:40:32Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > > So, there could be 3 types of NPC Mercs: > > > > 1. Logi > > Just fyi, logistics does not work if you die before they are able to lock you up and send repairs to you. And given that most alpha strike Tornadoes can kill a hauler instantly, you will die before the mercenaries can begin to cycle their repair modules Even if it doesn’t work: a player having the option for his merc to provide logi support would be amazing. [Previous page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=6) [Next page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=8)