Had a simple idea that perhaps the new encounter tech that is present in nullsec with the new pirate faction hubs could be added to missions. How this would work is that instead of a mission having a corresponding level (1-5) it would instead scale the encounter to the type of ship you bring in.
The payout in LP and isk would still be affected by the systems security with this new idea. However, with the levels of mission removed an option to also do a harder version of the same mission would be optional for greater PVE rewards (including isk and LP payout).
This could also end up touching up further each of the missions currently offered in the game with any new tech that was utilized in the new player experience, and in other new encounters to bring any improvements to them if needed.
So in short:
Mission scales to the type of ship(s) you enter the encounter with
Each mission is perhaps touched up a bit if needed (textures, layout, storytelling dialog, etc…)
Missions would also have the option to upgrade to a Hard difficulty from normal for greater rewards
When scanned down these Missions would show their current difficulty either at the gate or in the scan information window.
No. This is a terrible idea. Any mission system that pays well enough (with a matching level of difficulty) to make veteran players want to take anything but a battleship into a mission will be instant death for newbies. So either you balance around veterans and make lower-class missions challenging and profitable, removing the ability for new players to start doing missions at all, or you balance around newbies and create a redundant feature that veteran players have zero interest in. The current system works just fine for its intended purpose of separating endgame content from newbie-training content.
Does this mean I can spawn a mission with BC level NPC crowds with my alt and then just run them in easy mode with my Glass-Cannon BS? Or spawn BS level crowds and run them fast with my carrier?
The current system provides a reasonable progression for new players. Many, perhaps most, are running level 4 missions in battleships by the time they are 6 months old. Highsec missions present very little challenge to veteran players - it’s basically a question of ISK/hour - how quickly can you farm them.
I like the idea of using CCPs new adaptive AI to scale missions to the perceived threat. Ship type doesn’t work - veterans and new players often fly the same ships. There’s a big difference between the veteran with an optimal fit efficiently clearing the site and a new player struggling in a ship they can barely fly.
The question is whether the AI can realistically assess the threat based on how fast the initial rats are being cleared? If so, it could create an elite spawn for the veteran player - with T2 salvage, possible faction loot and higher bounties, or a rookie spawn for the new player with lower value rewards.
Well it definitely would be interesting to see that happen, a scaling AI difficulty intelligently capable of such tasks would be pretty cool imo! I also thought another possible benefit of this would be perhaps any and all missions would pretty much be flexible in difficulty. So, you wouldn’t have to go to system X to do level 4 missions any longer, but simply go to the nearest mission agent for whoever.
The problem is how the AI responds to your attempts to manipulate it. I believe the threat should always be able to somehow asses your capabilities and respond in kind. So while maybe it initially spawns a certain wave, the next wave would respond to the carrier and spawn as soon as the trigger for wave 2 was killed even if the carrier left the mission. Not sure if that still leaves open some kind of potential for abuse however.
That also could cause the need to adjust and tally rewards based on multiple difficulties depending on each wave that spawns, or just leave it at whatever the initial wave would have corresponded to level wise and lock it in place.
The current system creates mission hubs. Places where industry players can buy mission loot/salvage and sell ammunition or other supplies mission runners need. Hubs also attract predators (aka gankers) who provide a necessary element of risk.
This is true, however the community could adjust and chose central locations which to stock, or continue to stock the ones already in place. As for predators, they are cunning enough to hunt down their prey, and with this and the community chosing central market hub locations to restock at they’d have no problems. I’d argue that this would also add more target locations to their choices.
I would like to see a system were a roup of friends could do the same missions and getting more loot and bounties aswell harder targets and/or more of them.
would promote actual group activity without financial sacrifice!
Hardly. Incursions do that because they have insane DPS and tank, and even they are being run with alts now again. L5 missions don’t despite being intended for just that purpose. Instead, L5 missions get blitzed with carriers or run with alts because all the money lands in your pockets and not some other guy’s. Burner missions were also intended to be run with small fleets but they are also mostly being run with alts because of the before and despite their massive LP rewards.
Your suggestion only creates even better farmability for alts and not actual players. Any system which gives better rewards the more people are doing a thing does that.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a new mission system along side the current system.
Specifically, I wouldn’t mind seeing dynamic missions pop up from random NPCs, rather then having set agents, which give you different options and rewards.
Think like expeditions, but instead of farming sites for them, you talk to a random agent, or maybe even a random agent contacts you.
And give these kinds of missions a vague naming convention so you’re not just looking up a guide, fitting out your ship, and rolling them.
Would be cool, could also be a potential to move some pirate faction standing gain out of nulsec and into low.
All possible ships * all possible mods * all missions beginning * some randomly and dubiously assigned difficulty level (assuming the mission runner made no selection choice).
The computational power for this going on all day would be a huge drain on CCPs resources with at best a dubious increase in player benefit.