my main arguments for why this would be good are as follows:
Falls in line with eve’s mindset of active play is better than passive play
addresses 100% imbalance in ability to use skill to evade/counter game-play
allows a chance, not guarantee, that a player at the computer can escape a loss
there is zero way currently for freighters to escape suicide ganking
this allows for suicide ganking to still be a very viable mechanic in the game (especially against AFK//Autopilot), and makes it so even with a MJD, freighters can still be probed down/warped to/chased down by persistent players.
Arguments against in order of the above:
people will say "then get an alt and/or get friends to help you. Response: while eve is geared more towards team play, forcing an individual to activate a second account as a “viable mechanic” is foolish.
A MJD does not require skill you just activate it. Response: if you activate it at a poor time, the gankers will just probe you down or use an interceptor to bump you again. which is still a viable action for gankers to use.
they have a chance if they just use scouts and make friends or use alts. Response: we all know thats untrue. once you set your eyes on a freighter…they are dead. we all know theres no escape.
They can escape because it takes a lot of skill to bump a freighter. Response: LOL we all know thats not true.
its ridiculous to give freighters even more ability to escape, they already got the 3 modules they can fit in lows. Response: 5 whole modules. all of which are passive. and none of which actually address “counter game-play” issues.
Suicide ganking is an amazing part of this game that really is an enjoyable activity. I 100% believe suicide ganking should not be removed. however, allowing players to use skills and fittings to have a chance to evade is not a bad thing. AFK pilots will still get what they deserve. people who misuse the modules will get what they deserve. Lastly, as all other real ships in the game (excluding shuttles) have active modules or some sort of “counter game-play” mechanic (EX: PANIC modules, Hull Energizers, Cloaks, MJD, Etc)…why should freighters be the ONLY ship with no counter-play available?
the one and only reason is because going whaling is too easy and too much fun, and too one sided and we all know it.
MJD can be warp scrammed, so, yeah. Wouldn’t do you a bit of good…
And yes, freighters CAN escape a suicide gank…
An MJD only places you 100km away. Any decent ganker would catch up to you in a matter of seconds in a bump Machariel or Fleet Stabber and scram you. Again…
Long story short, don’t fly stupid. Don’t make yourself a target. Don’t be lazy and/or greedy. Don’t load up a 1 billion ISK Charon with 30 billion ISK worth of cargo. Don’t fly a freighter untanked. Don’t autopilot. Bring a web alt. Use a scout. If you are getting bumped, bring friends to web and counter-bump…
There are already many hauling ships that can fit an MJD. It is complete intentional that the most powerful hauling ship in the game has some trade offs, like not being able to fit such mobility modules. Eve is built around such trade offs and freighters were intentionally designed to be slow and vulnerable to offset their amazing carrying capacity. You are asking to have your cake and eat it too; if the lack of an MJD means a ship isn’t suitable for your use of it, fly something else.
Freighters are probably already overpowered, at least in highsec, as evidenced by how many players choose them over the other hauling options on the table. I don’t think we need to make them even more powerful.
This pilot has his Bowhead max tanked, and an MWD. However, he was retarded enough to be carrying around 13 BILLION ISK in cargo. End result? He still got ganked because he was PROFITABLE. Again, don’t make yourself a target. The vast majority of freighters that jump in and out of trade systems every day get through just fine.
cake and eat it too would be to make suicide ganking impossible. but as the other commenter has mentioned, this MJD can be easily countered. so why would anyone have a problem with it, as it is easily countered?
allowing a non-afk pilot of a ship some form of counter balance to a mechanic/tactic that is impossible to stop currently, is not game breaking. its balance.
as it stands…a suicide gank that is properly set up is practically impossible to stop. and we all know it because we all have alts in CODE or any of the other goon alt alliances.
you said get a friend to counter web. you cant web a bumping mach. i was responding to your statement as it was written.
as for 99% of freighter kills ganked are not empty…you said 30 billion making them profitable. we all know that even under a bill is profitable. so by your logic you can only fly empty freighters.
cases in point from your link:
out of 13 freighters on that first page…8 were worth under 3 bill. which means below 2 bill in cargo, to almost empty. how is that not broken even by using your metric? empty or not…tanked or not…scouted or not…they are still ganked.
Long story short, OP. Out of the tens of thousands of freighters that jump in and out of Jita and various other trade hubs, the vast majority of them make it out alive just fine…
ever shifting lines in the sand for setting your standard for argument is a sign of weak argument.
i too love ganking. but now your argument is simply “well lots dont die so its fine”
well we arent talking about the ones that just happen to miss the guys when they arent in EU or US prime time.
“luckily missing” a gank is not a viable counter-play to a broken mechanic. my argument is to allow the opportunity to counter-play actively, not passively. and without the need to have multiple accounts.
Again, it doesn’t matter. The use of an MJD would be instantly negated in EVERY instance of ganking because EVERY gank squad has at least one ship with a warp scram. You’d never be able to use it. Ever.
so now your argument is that an active module has a counter play available. exactly my point.
this is exactly what im saying. allowing a freighter to have active modules can be countered by OTHER active modules and game play. that is eve, and you are illustrating the point beautifully.
And your freighter will still die. Only after your feeble attempt at saving it. So what, exactly, has changed? Other than it taking you a few seconds longer to lose 30 billion ISK?
active gameplay and active choices are what drives EvE. by your logic “a scram turns off a MWD anyways so why bother using a MWD? youll just die slower”
and as illustrated by the above killmails…you dont need 30 billion to be made a “target”
makes no sense. why is it only this scenario where you insist that having a counter to a module means you shouldnt use/have a module?
Because it’s pointless. You’d never get to use it. Ever. It’s like having a 2,000 horsepower supercharger on a car governed at 30 miles per hour. You’ll never get to use it.