Production NPCs

Hello. I had an issue and contacted the help desk. They directed me to contact a CSM about my complaint.

I had a recent run-in with a roving band of “production” NPCs, while roaming through a .5 high sec asteroid belt. First, I was roaming with a brand new player who I was training, when he was attacked and lost his ship I had just built for him. I thought for sure he accidentally aggressed them or something but he insisted he did nothing. Then, later, without any aggression on my part whatsoever, they scrammed and jammed me, then tore through my pvp Caracal in under a minute. A few minutes later, while discussing the incident with a miner in local, he was likewise attacked and lost his Retriever the same way.

To me, this is unacceptable. I find no reason why it is necessary to have such a strong NPC presence in high sec. These production frigates had the strength of Level 3 or 4 combat site NPCs… i was scrammed and jammed with little/no option, ripped open in under a minute. Frankly, I’m extremely annoyed with CCP adding these unnecessary elements to the game, and I cannot understand the reason for their existence in the first place (nor the existence of NPC mining groups that mine the belts dry). I don’t think its a balanced approach to using NPCs out in open space like that. .5 is still high sec, having NPCs that aggressive and strong is far too much. It aggravated me to lose a pvp Caracal… I can only imagine the angst it may cause with new players, or players who lose their ships to NPCs. And it is SO unnecessary. If I want to take on NPCs like that, i’ll run level 4 combat missions!

Keep those types of NPCs tucked away in mission sites or anomalies, where they belong… not out in open space wiping out player ships left and right. I thank you for your attention

Is there a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in system? Then it’s easy, band together with others, kill the FOB and the aggressive NPCs are gone. Else avoid systems with FOBs (shown in the agency windows).

With respect, “its easy” applies to some players more than others: not everyone has the ability to “band together” with others on a spur of the moment action. And, “get friends” cannot be the answer to every legitimate complaint someone has. There is such a thing as the ‘solo’ or ‘small gang’ pilot. Surprisingly enough, not everyone wants to be a cog in a gigantic corp or alliance. One cannot claim that Eve is a giant sandbox where players make their own experience, while CCP introduces mechanics that funnel players into large groups, or make it very difficult to be a solo or small gang player.

Avoid systems? We already have players and player corps running others out of hi sec systems… and now we have to suffer the NPCs doing the same? In my opinion, that is not a reasonable expectation either. We’re still talking about hi sec here… and there are already spaces for these types of NPCs to dwell… not to mention the fact that every other type of space in Eve online is like the wild west. Players should not have to worry about losing their assets to very aggressive and OP NPCs… in hi sec. Look, if CCP is so determined to make every type of space in Eve a war zone, then they should simply eliminate the facade of security status. Get rid of it entirely… whats the point?

I would be interested to see if the large mining corps/alliances get the same attention from these NPCs? In ice fields, for example. I would be very interested to see the reactions from all involved if these NPCs were ever to into an ice field and start taking out Orcas and Obelisks. So far, i’ve only seen them attack individual solo players out there in the belts. I think in the same of fairness… if CCP is going to allow these NPCs to roam the belts… they should also show up at the large mining anomalies the mega corps rely on.

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They do. They can spawn in ice systems and can a do explode Orcas and other fleet mining equipment:

They seem to be equal opportunity pirates.

It’s clear you are unhappy with losing something, but this is Eve where ships are disposable and explode when you least expect them too. These NPCs are really just a new flavor of Incursions, something that has spawned for years and mess with peoples routine in highsec, and once you get how they work, they are as trivial to avoid. Their presence is advertised in the Agency tab, and you generally can just warp away when they show up. They are only a risk really to players unaware of them as you seem, players who purposely engage them, or the AFK/botters who aren’t really playing the game.

The last CSM seemed to be cool with the mechanic but it isn’t my place to speak for them nor do I have more than a glance into the discussion as provided by the CSM Minutes. Perhaps they can confirm that it is working as intended, but I can’t imagine that they’ll decide that just because you lost a single ship to a mechanic you didn’t fully understand that it is broken.

Thanks for the comments. After looking into it, i did find people who have lost mining ships and such. Still not sure if they persist in the ice fields or other anomalies?

I’m really not upset so much at losing the single ship as I am the imbalance of the whole thing. There is no comparing standard belt rats with what these things do. And speaking as a solo/small gang pilot, I am actually more upset with CCP introducing disruptive elements into the game that make it harder and harder to fly as a solo/small gang pilot. They continue this dogged agenda of funneling their players into large corps or alliances. Not everyone enjoys being a cog in a large corp/alliance … and I am one of them.

Also, I am thinking of the new players to Eve who we all need very badly… and I can see how this mechanic could easily frustrate a new player and drive them out. Before I lost my own ship, a brand new player to Eve that I met lost his brand new Kestrel that I gifted him because he had the audacity to peek into an asteroid belt in .5 space. He told me what happened and I thought for sure he aggressed them by accident- I late found out is account was entirely accurate.

I lost a ship to these NPC’s when I first encountered them simply because I forget the first rule of Eve - “If something arrives that you weren’t expecting, run away !”. Since then I’ve made a point of looking-out for them, so now I run away from the big ones, or go to base, swap to a cruiser, and kill them all in the small ones.

Looking at the kills @Black_Pedro posted, then the NPC pirates are only an issue in the lower end of high sec. As always, it’s an increased risk for the improved ores there.

I’ve taken part in FOB assaults. Very easy to under estimate them - the defence fleet fights like capsuleers. Logistics and e-war. But reasonably lucrative - 30m ISK to each member of the fleet for each FOB demolished.

I like it that the NPCs are openly attacking players in what they view as their space. It makes New Eden feel a little brighter and more alive.

And hopefully this will extend into null and disrupt their nice little safe lives there…

Sure they do. It requires effort but today’s average entitled person is just not willing to put in the work it takes. Its much easier to come to the forums and demand/suggest something be done about ‘insert what I don’t like about whatever here’.

I think this is generally an issue of “I didn’t expect that” rather than the mechanic being broken. I do know that in some places the FOBs are being used to kill everything in the system - go wack it, wait for the response, run away, and then let the angry rats kill everybody in the system for you - but unless that was what happened here, I think this is just something folks need to be cognizant of and prepare for in those lower end high-sec systems.

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