Scarcity in the Stars: Capsuleer Day XXII

Communications Center General Discussion
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I already have written about my little corner of Matar low-sec space. Lately it looks more like Jita - many new names in local… Don’t know what to expect :face_with_hand_over_mouth:
However, today in the nearest high-sec system i have completed 3 combat sites. Loot fairy was in a good mood so I’m pretty happy.

Why am i writing this? Just to reiterate on: there are places and time periods when these sites are plenty and not very populated.

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124

Yep I agree.

I’ve had a productive day in HS sites today with some decent drops, skin, and booster wise.

What has got me a bit confused though is that I can take my Paladin in a HS site, but not my Noctis which is strange.

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125

I finally completed the event. It took about ten times as long.

CDXII Completed
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126

oh no u didnt

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Most of the loot…

CDXXII Loot
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2025.05.05.11.56.11
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128

LOL they “greatly reduced the spawn rates of all event sites”. thats how eve makes sure it F’s with people…CCP is stupid beyond belief…

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Scarcity in EVE Online—referring to CCP’s deliberate reduction of in-game resource availability starting around late 2019—has been one of the most divisive and controversial decisions in the game’s history.

Here’s how it’s been received over the years, broken down clearly:

:red_triangle_pointed_down: Initial Reaction (2019–2020): “Scarcity Era Begins”

  • Intent: CCP wanted to reset the economy by reducing mineral yields, limiting moon mining output, and making capital/supercapital production more difficult.
  • Player Reaction:
    • Negative: Many industrialists, miners, and alliance logistics coordinators were furious. The cost of ships—especially capitals—skyrocketed.
    • Nullsec backlash: Large alliances like Goonswarm and TEST criticized the changes as anti-player and overly punitive.
    • PvE Burnout: Mission runners and miners quit or scaled back—content became less rewarding.
  • Reddit, forums, and media: Frequent posts complaining about the game feeling “empty” and “grindy.”

:counterclockwise_arrows_button: Mid-Scarcity (2021): “Where’s the promised rebalance?”

  • CCP promised that scarcity was temporary and a “rebalancing” phase would follow.
  • No immediate relief → player trust deteriorated.
  • Player count dropped to one of the lowest active userbases in over a decade.

:warning: Tipping Point: “Rattati vs. the Community”

  • CCP Rattati (a key dev) made dismissive public remarks like “we’re not here to make you happy, we’re here to fix the game.”
  • Community backlash intensified:
    • #CCPlease movement.
    • Large content creators and veterans left or scaled down engagement.
    • Jita protests and unsub threats mounted.

:collision: “The End of Scarcity” (Late 2021):

  • CCP announced a partial rollback of scarcity with the New Dawn patch.
  • Reception: Mixed to negative.
    • Positive: Some mining buffs and ship production improvements.
    • Negative: Many felt it didn’t go far enough, and new mechanics (like compression changes) were seen as half-baked.

:chart_decreasing: Lingering Effects (2022–2024):

  • Trust in CCP eroded.
  • The long-term damage to the industrial base, capital ship pipeline, and new player retention was significant.
  • Scarcity is now often cited as a primary reason for EVE’s declining concurrent player count in that era.

:brain: Current Sentiment (2025):

  • Veteran players: Still bitter. Many blame scarcity for gutting alliance wars and killing the “cold war economy.”
  • Newer players: Less directly impacted, but suffer from legacy market instability.
  • General consensus: The idea of economic correction had merit, but the implementation was heavy-handed, prolonged, and out of touch with player needs.

Summary

Scarcity was intended to fix the economy but instead alienated a massive portion of the player base, damaged trust in CCP, and contributed to a significant dip in player engagement.

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130

while i agree with most of your post, the spawn time is reduced so it should make things slightly more bearable

ofcourse it was even better if the stupid even never got extended, or even better, never conceived

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131

It figures. I go to Jita to “store” all of my loot from the event, and guess what…

CDXXII Sites Jita
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Now that I don’t need the sites to spawn, they’re everywhere!!!

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The irony is…

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Unmistakable…

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Yeah, if they’re going to tweak the spawn rate they should do it at the beginning of the event…

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135

I guess I’m not done the event; they added another 550 points of rewards…

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136

I just noticed that. I thought I had somehow missed it before.

I’m glad to know that I’m not crazy…

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137

Did you know then?

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And…back to “scarcity”…

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And that’s the way they should be running things. If they only made changes to keep players happy, EVE would be ten times worse because most of you want some pretty stupid ■■■■.

Scarcity came about from nullsec being able to make billions upon billions of ISK hand over fist, every minute of every day. CCP corrected that.

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140

So let me get this straight: Players asking for changes is stupid, but when CCP nerfs nullsec because players were making too much ISK, that’s not them responding to player behavior?

Scarcity was literally CCP reacting to how players optimized the game—yet somehow when other players point out broken systems or miserable mechanics, they’re the problem?

You can’t have it both ways. Either CCP responds to players and balance is justified, or all changes are invalid if they’re reactive. Scarcity was a player-driven problem met with a developer-driven solution. Just like every other balance patch ever.

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141

Is the top reward really yet another “rare” Drifter plugsuit… maybe, if you’re lucky??? But likely something less than even that?

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