The fallacy of your argument is that you are using as your comparator the lowest yield barge. The other barges, let alone the exhumers, all give better yield. That means the Orca is not overpowered as a mining vessel. Comparing a Procurer to an Orca is like complaining that a battlecruiser has higher DPS than a destroyer. Think how much a Procurer, or even an exhumer, costs, both in ISK and training time, and compare that to an Orca.
I am a solo miner. My progression was from Venture to Retriever, then, once I had made enough, to Mackinaw. Finally, to Orca. I still fly a Mackinaw and a Skiff in certain systems close to home. I fly a Prospect and an Endurance occasionally. If I go into a wormhole, it is usually a Venture. But the Orca was my aspirational vessel not because it is the best at anything - it is not - but because it makes longer range mining expeditions worthwhile and feasible. I will mine a lot less per hour than the locals, but after a day or two (or a week if playing time is limited) wander back with a useful load.
At the moment, the only thing where one could genuinely mine AFK in high sec in AFKâs proper sense is moon ore. And that is assuming that no one is going to bump you off the field, which is a big assumption indeed and not worth the risk.
I have never seen an ice belt in HS since scarcity kicked in where one could get more than five to ten minutes worth of mining from an ice asteroid before the multiboxing fleets muscle in. And those multiboxed fleets are a single Orca plus a flock of exhumers.
AFK Orcas are not a problem, because they are not a thing.
I would love to compare the orca 100% mining drone bonus, with T2 drones to a Hulk for Mack. I donât think itâs anywhere close. I will have to wait until later to tell you.
If so, CCP need to fix the damn progression path. If that means to introduce proper capital mining ships as the ânext stepâ after the barges/exhumers and take away that role from the Rorqual, so be it. (As a bonus, miners will not be required to learn fleet support skills to get into a better mining ship).
No it is not. No actual evidence has been offered that AFK mining is an issue. What we have, ad nauseam above, is endless assertion. Whatever you claim, you do not know that someone is AFK. As in genuinely away from keyboard, as opposed to, in certain circumstances, low actions per minute. There is only one way to tell if someone is AFK - bump the Orca off the field. If it attempts to get back, or retrieve its drone(s), then it is not AFK. If it ends up 150 clicks away, then it probably is AFK. That is the only true way of demonstrating AFK. Anything else is a wild guess, usually prejudicedâŚ
Put bluntly, your opinion is not evidence. It is just opinion.
Before you say that my comment is just opinion - no, it is a logical argument because I am pointing out the ineffability of knowing when AFK is happening other than with a hard test.
Because that is not the issue. The issue is: The Orca turned out to be too strong as hisec solo mining ship (at least that was CCP understanding, it seems).
Now, for the matter, it may be the case that some mining ship are crap in their current form but the end result is the same, too many Orcas fllying around while those other ships seldom undock.
Tht is the issue the CCP announced will be adressed.
I have just stated that the only time true AFK mining with an Orca in HS is at all a meaningful prospect is moon ore. If one is prepared to risk being bumped. It is not a meaningful option for ice, certainly not at the moment. It is not a meaningful prospect for HS belts.
And that leaves aside the fact that:
a) AFK is not actually a forbidden pursuit, unlike botting or RMT;
b) AFK mining in an Orca will produce so little real yield that it will not affect the game at all, certainly not ruin the economy.
c) anyone stupid enough is likely to practise true AFK mining for longer than a pee break is likely to pay a high price. At the very least, their drones will quickly run out of targeted asteroids, they are likely to get attacked by rats, and they are vulnerable to gankers or bumpers.
Gosh, on that basis maybe they need to nerf Catalysts, Thrashers and Tornadoes because gankers like flying them and do not fly enough Tristans or Cormorants?
No, I am speaking as someone who actually solo mines in an Orca and would not contemplate mining AFK with it, not because I have a religious belief that AFK is a sin, but because, as an experienced Orca solo miner I know it is a damned stupid and unproductive pursuit.
This is the biggest problem. They have not clearly defined the issue they have with the Orca, so instead we get an army of Forum Warriors all saying what we think the issue is and spouting off our âfixesâ. If CCP would share this information, maybe we could provide constructive discussions instead of a bunch of worthless in-fighting.