# 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:** 9
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/164 "2019-05-01T15:18:33Z")
Real quick, since it’s a bit off topic but has to do with my suggestion of having these “mercs” as a drone of sorts - how useful are logi drones? ---
**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, 3:20pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/165 "2019-05-01T15:20:09Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > Real quick, since it’s a bit off topic but has to do with my suggestion of having these “mercs” as a drone of sorts - how useful are logi drones? Not ‘that’ good to be honest. They’re more for ‘assist’ heal rather than focused instant repair. x5 Medium repairers are quite good for fast-repairing the smaller ships. ---
**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, 3:21pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/166 "2019-05-01T15:21:47Z")
did u get my ingame reply to your mail? ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/167 "2019-05-01T15:32:56Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > Real quick, since it’s a bit off topic but has to do with my suggestion of having these “mercs” as a drone of sorts - how useful are logi drones? Logi drones are pretty useful but compete for drone bandwidth and drone bay space with other drones such as ECM and in case of logi ships, whore drones. If every ship, regardless of their drone bandwidth or bay, could have extra ‘logi drones’ in addition to their current drones, these logi drones would completely change the nature of fights I suppose. Free reps for everyone will require a complete rebalance of ships, rat damage and such. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/168 "2019-05-01T15:35:35Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > Is that the answer to everything? Well, ‘joining a corp’ _is_ the correct answer to people who are looking for others to help them. Why ask for NPCs to replace what a corp could offer you? That would take away part of the purpose of corporations! Or give us NPC cyno mercenaries, then I would finally be able to fly a capital ship solo! ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/169 "2019-05-01T15:43:26Z")
Not in game at the moment, but I’ll check. > [@Gerard\_Amatin](#): > > Free reps for everyone will require a complete rebalance of ships, rat damage and such. That goes without saying it’d be more work to do that then introduce a new drone or just let them rep more. I had kind of planned to leave out logistics with this doc I’ve been making, and that just helps confirm why I was avoiding logistics as an option for them. ---
**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, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/170 "2019-05-01T15:44:00Z")
> [@Gerard\_Amatin](#): > > > Is that the answer to everything? > > Well, ‘joining a corp’ _is_ the correct answer to people who are looking for others to help them. Why ask for NPCs to replace what a corp could offer you? That would take away part of the purpose of corporations! > > Or give us NPC cyno mercenaries, then I would finally be able to fly a capital ship solo! Capital ships in Eve serve no purpose unless you’re part of a great collective. However, due to various considerations, not everyone can be part of an Eve player-run collective. In theory I would, but from all my experiences they have not been effective. ---
**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, 3:47pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/171 "2019-05-01T15:47:15Z")
> [@Taloris\_Aldercain](#): > > > Free reps for everyone will require a complete rebalance of ships, rat damage and such. > > That goes without saying it’d be more work to do that then introduce a new drone or just let them rep more. I had kind of planned to leave out logistics with this doc I’ve been making, and that just helps confirm why I was avoiding logistics as an option for them. The Drone mercenaries would be separate from ordinary drone bandwidth though right? Also, I can’t see why them doing logi would be a problem: Concord’s response is able to almost instantaneously reduce a battleship to space dust. A Concord merc in logi mode could similarly be capable of a quick repair response. ---
**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, 3:48pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/172 "2019-05-01T15:48:37Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > 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? This kind of comment seems to show me a lack of understanding about what actually happens in the game. Most people who gank ships regularly in high sec space already know how much damage they need to deal in order to kill a hauler or a miner or anything else. It’s not hard to calculate since effective health points. I don’t know of many scenarios where gankers who are unable to kill their victim would willingly engage a target. If they can’t kill the target, Concord kills the gankers shortly after. This is also why gankers use cheap ships that deal high alpha strike damage (Tornadoes) or high DPS (Catalyst). Your little scenario about being attacked while in an extra tanky ship is mostly a fantasy that doesn’t happen often enough to warrant this change. ---
**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, 3:54pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/173 "2019-05-01T15:54:43Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > Your little scenario about being attacked while in an extra tanky ship is mostly a fantasy that doesn’t happen often enough to warrant this change. My little scenario about being attacked while in a ship assisted by an npc mercenary capable of neutralizing 1-2 ships of equal dimensions to my own ship is not too far-fetched and would add considerable fun to the game design 😃 ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/174 "2019-05-01T15:57:00Z")
If that were the case it would make more sense to be its own separate entity with its own set of restrictions and limitations, which works against what I’m writing up (though could work as a second version, albeit more complicated). As scoots brings up though, which is a good point, you can’t really design this solely around a ganking scenario (especially if they can be operated in lowsec). It did give me a new idea to add into the document though, which I’ll be adding later. ---
**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, 3:59pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/175 "2019-05-01T15:59:46Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > My little scenario about being attacked while in a ship assisted by an npc mercenary capable of neutralizing 1-2 ships of equal dimensions to my own ship is not too far-fetched and would add considerable fun to the game design This again doesn’t happen. If you’re flying something expensive and worth killing then the gankers will amass the numbers to kill anything. Simply saying something doesn’t make it true. You can take a look at zkillboard and the overwhelming majority of the hauling ship deaths in and around Jita and notice that a vast majority of them are poorly fit. The ones that tend to be properly fit usually aren’t shot at because the gankers don’t waste their time So no we have two scenarios, both of which won’t be helped by the addition of your Rent-a-Cop idea. Either the target is poorly fit and dies instantly before they can receive assistance, or they are properly tanked and gankers don’t target them in the first place. In neither scenarios do your Rent-a-Cops help ---
**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, 4:02pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/176 "2019-05-01T16:02:53Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > > My little scenario about being attacked while in a ship assisted by an npc mercenary capable of neutralizing 1-2 ships of equal dimensions to my own ship is not too far-fetched and would add considerable fun to the game design > > This again doesn’t happen. > > If you’re flying something expensive and worth killing then the gankers will amass the numbers to kill anything. Simply saying something doesn’t make it true. > > You can take a look at zkillboard and the overwhelming majority of the hauling ship deaths in and around Jita and notice that a vast majority of them are poorly fit. The ones that tend to be properly fit usually aren’t shot at because the gankers don’t waste their time > > So no we have two scenarios, both of which won’t be helped by the addition of your Rent-a-Cop idea. Either the target is poorly fit and dies instantly before they can receive assistance, or they are properly tanked and gankers don’t target them in the first place. In neither scenarios do your Rent-a-Cops help Scoots, please please read my earlier posts again - I don’t say anywhere that the mercs are meant to wipe out ganker fleets. They are meant to boost the morale and gameplay of newbros and solo players by providing light protection and defence from attacks. ---
**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, 4:06pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/177 "2019-05-01T16:06:47Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > They are meant to boost the morale and gameplay of newbros and solo players by providing light protection and defence from attacks. I do not see the merit in advocating for the implementation of a new mechanic such as this solely for the sake of making some people feel better. I refer you to the previous discussion about reaching out to other players and banding together. If your intent is only to “boost the morale” you can boost the morale of other players around you in a social MMORPG. -1 ---
**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, 4:09pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/178 "2019-05-01T16:09:56Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > I do not see the merit in advocating for the implementation of a new mechanic such as this solely for the sake of making some people feel better. Why not? ---
**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, 4:10pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/179 "2019-05-01T16:10:59Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > Why not? It is easier, both for the players and for the developers that the new players to (as the old adage goes) “HTFU” instead of wasting time designing and implementing a system like this. 🙂 ---
**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, 4:14pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/180 "2019-05-01T16:14:16Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > It is easier, both for the players and for the developers that the new players to (as the old adage goes) “HTFU” instead of wasting time designing and implementing a system like this. 🙂 telling players to harden up and get on with it is not going to take away the great gaping hole that exists in the area of player-led resources and opportunities. ---
**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, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/181 "2019-05-01T16:15:37Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > great gaping hole that exists in the area of player-led resources and opportunities. This “great gaping hole” can be filled by finding some friends and forming alliances with other players. It’s part of the social aspect of EVE Online and we should not be splitting people up into their own isolated bubbles with NPC rent-a-cops. ---
**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, 4:18pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/182 "2019-05-01T16:18:49Z")
> [@Scoots\_Choco](#): > > This “great gaping hole” can be filled by finding some friends and forming alliances with other players. It’s part of the social aspect of EVE Online and we should not be splitting people up into their own isolated bubbles with NPC rent-a-cops. New players would be helped by these mercs. They aren’t necessarily interested in looking for a corp straight away, nor is it in their interest as there is so much to learn about the game from the outset. Can you not at least agree? ---
**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, 4:22pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811/183 "2019-05-01T16:22:37Z")
> [@Natocha\_Daisy](#): > > Can you not at least agree? No, I cannot agree. The system would have to be designed in such a way that new players would be able to afford these rent-a-cops. I don’t know if you know this, but the average income of new players is incredibly low. You would have to make these rent-a-cops so weak due to their incredibly low price range in order for them to be affordable by new players. At which point, they become useless in actual combat/escort scenarios. Not to mention, this is a horrible crutch to place new players on, because they will refuse to leave highsec for fear of losing their rent-a-cop escorts that keep them only _feeling_ safe but don’t actually do much. Worse, I can foresee the development of these NPC rent-a-cops being one where users will start demanding for buffs and strengthening them on the forums (because they would have to be designed to be incredibly weak to begin with). And this will just cause a mess. New players should be learning how harsh the EVE Online universe is and realizing that the best place to improve is to reach out and develop with other real players. Not NPC Rent-a-cops. And finally, HTFU. [Previous page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=8) [Next page](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/mercenaries-a-good-idea/155811.md?page=10)