I know making veterans happy and attracting/retaining new players is a very fine rope to walk. As a new player I have a suggestion:
I enjoy the security and combat missions a great deal. They are all PvE and really do not affect the balance of the game in any great way. The problem is, I am afraid to do them because of all the damn faction hits. I have been told to refuse this one or don’t accept that one. Let that one expire. Always be in a location where you have access to 2 or more agent givers. One night I flew around for a full hour before I could find a mission. I have stopped them all together. And it sux cause I love them more than any other part of the game.
In short:
Please get rid of faction hits for pve missions. It is needlessly confusing for new players. Frustrating as well. in truth you do not even seem to gain that much from doing them. Make far more mining in my Orca. I just love running them… the missions should be the easiest thing (And one of the most fun things) in the game for new players… and not to worry about damn faction hits doing them.
There are no faction hits when you complete normal PVE missions. Only storylines impact your faction standing. If you run missions against other empire factions, shoot their ships and installations, then of course you should experience a standing loss. That is the most normal thing in the world. Or do you want to remove standing hits for killing pirates, too, that attack you in the belts or missions? Because they offer missions – very valuable even – and you might want to run missions for them at some point. No, pirates should still get standing hits? Well, now you are confusing people for real.
What is confusing about the fact that you have to suffer consequences for killing people and destroying assets and supporting a faction against another faction? It would be much more confusing if you could just go around being a massmurderer and not experience any consequences. Unless CCP starts to say that actions should be meaningless and starts to take (even more) steps into this direction, removing consequences for your actions is a terrible thing to do. If new players can’t or don’t want to understand this, they have no place in EVE.
Instead of removing this very important aspect of “Your actions have consequences”, CCP can do a better job at explaining how to avoid the standing hits and how to fix your standings. They could also make the Data Centers more obvious to notice and usable repeatedly. Not to mention that the negative standing is a joke anyway. You can still travel through hostile space just fine even in a battleship, you can still dock in HS stations of factions with which you have -10 standing and you can use all their services. The only thing you can’t do is linger around in hostile HS space.
No. It is not confusing. You kill someone then their friends don’t like you. Pretty simple. You don’t have to refuse missions. Train diplomacy to reduce the impact, or embrace the police chasing you in enemy space. Keep in mind some of the best paying missions also are against other factions. Seems like a good balance to me.
It’s not balance. It’s just a big warning sign for anyone who understands the impact this will have to avoid this content in its entirety.
Who runs missions? Mostly players who started running them right away before understanding what would happen (and unfortunately ruining their characters forever), or dedicated mission-running alts.
This is not good gameplay. The entire faction standing system is trash, and needs to go.
It sux for new players. I ran a bunch of missions killing everything not understanding. I go do a mission, ships attack me, I kill them … BAM! … I lose caldari faction. Just wrong IMO. So now, the one thing I love to do in the game most I am afraid to do. I even trained my Brutix NI cert to 3 but am now thinking what was the point. I want to fly it but where? Into low sec where I get blown away cause I have only been playing for 3 months and against peeps who have been playing for 10 years.
No, as a new player, pve missions are a great way to learn my ships, fly around and kill bad guys. Not take faction hits everytime I do one.
CCP wants new paying mature players? This may be a good place to start.
Algathas you are missing the point. It is needless complication of something all new players like to do. Not everyone has 10B SP. If you want new players have to give them something to do other than mining in high sec cause they get blown up doing anything else. Heck, get blown up anyway. But, at least let us do some relaxing PvE stuff like missions. It will not affect the game at all. Just let inexperienced player learn the game is all and have fun while doing so without thinking, damn, now that faction hates me… or that one… or now I will get blown up by NPC’s as well.
It just plain sux that I can not do the missions I wish to do. I love this game. I pay for this game but… I am seriously wondering why. So much potential. So much imagination but all I can do is mine. I get blown up doing anything else and I have tried. Missiojns are a great alternative but… that faction thing. So I have a shiny ship I can do missions in but have no clue on how to do missions without hurting faction.
pretty sure all missions will hurt some faction standing. if you fight against sansha you lose sansha standing. same goes for caldari and the others. only accept missions against those youre willing to lose standings with. also soe epic arc is a decent way to repair standing with the main four factions.
Please realize that you are playing a ROLEPLAYING game with lore and culture, and different factions are SUPPOSED to hate each other. You need to pick a side.
Full agreement, the whole standing crap is a failure. Overcomplicated and no fun. You spend more time on third party sites to check what you should and shouldn’t do instead of just shooting. Meh.
The missions do show which faction you are fighting against but last time I checked, it wasn’t communicated in the clearest way. I did learn the hard way.
The thing is, you get your starter career missions and SoE and think WOW, what a great game. Then you start playing and it is not quite like that at all. Start thinking why are so many factions going down. And not by a little. Takes for ever to get faction up and it drops so fast. I refused a bunch of missions only to find out I lost rep with the faction I wanted. That is dumb.
Another thing, I have factions with different NPC mission givers, Corps and the main state faction. I mean it is faction faction faction everywhere. Up down. This giver this corp… etc. For god’s sake just give a new player a place just to go mindlessly kill bad guys with a little bit of reward. Not really asking a lot at all. It is just WAY to complicated for something that should be very cut and dry.
Just pointing out what I see as a new player. Great game concept. An ingrained very mixed player base of 75% good people and the rest. (Much toxicity and elitism over a game which is not abnormal I suppose) If you want the game to continue after years of playing the game must appeal to new players. That means better new player content… not this rent a skill stuff… that is a very strange concept in a video game for me.
Setting a low level spot for new players to “Quest” is a long lasting tradition in all MMO’s if I am not mistaken.
… and not a lot to ask as a paying customer I might add.
One of the fundamental principles of Eve is “every action or decision has a consequence” - it makes things much more engaging and rewarding. If you decide to work for Amarr, then don’t be surprised if the Minmatar start to distrust you. Likewise, kill a Caldari ship would make the Caldari a little less happy with you.
Now, I could agree with making this a little more obvious, for example with a warning pop-up (one you can tick box not to see again if you wish) as a learning point for new players. But just to get rid of a key aspect of the game because some don’t understand that actions have consequences feels wrong to me.
Bit of background: I’ve a long focus on Amarr to the point that I’ve got characters that are definitely limited elsewhere - and I’ve worked one back to being reasonably accepted most places. It’s a fact of life in Eve High-Sec: keep the Empires happy if you want complete freedom, or accept the consequences of your decisions. I’m happy with that - it’s part of the game.
People will be wanting save points and undo buttons next.
I get what you are saying but… It is TO COMPLICATED. Simplify it. All I am saying. And yes, clear information when giving the quest as to what faction you are going against. Who says Caldari pirates have to be liked by the Caldari state anyway? Maybe let lev 1 and 2 missions not affect factions. Maybe there should be no faction hit for refusing a mission. That would be the best and easiest compromise I think. Or maybe offer a series of missions to pick from. There are actually many solutions but… it as it stands it is not very user friendly at all… especially to new players… without new players this game, despite how great it is… is gunna go the way of the Doddo. That would suck, it is a great conceptual game.