I want to raise serious concern about an event that happened on 2025.05.28 @ 06:12 in the Stoure system (0.7 Highsec) in front of the Poteque Pharmaceuticals NPC station.
My fully fitted Golem, with full tank, was destroyed within seconds by a group of Drifter (Sleeper) NPCs, including a Vigilant Tyrannos Battleship, right 20 km from the undock point.
I was in Bastion mode, locked them just to check their stats — I didn’t even shoot — and they immediately aggressed. Within seconds, I took over 47,000 damage and lost a 3B ISK ship without a chance to escape, align, or react.
This is not wormhole space. This is Highsec.
Players who want to enjoy solo PvE content in distant regions like Solitude shouldn’t be punished with capital-level NPC threats spawning in mission hubs.
I have never complained about ganks — even though I’ve lost billions in Highsec — and I purposely relocated to this remote system to avoid PvP disruption and play peacefully. This time, I was punished by a PvE mechanic that feels entirely out of place for Highsec.
I respectfully ask CCP and CSM to review the spawn behavior of these Drifter fleets, especially near NPC stations in high security space.
PvE players deserve a fair playing field, not instant deathtraps at station undocks.
Look, if you want to minimize the lethality of Edencom and Triglavian fleets in high-sec - I’m all for that (you probably want to add Drifters to the list).
But seeing as how this mechanic has already been in-place for quite some time and how often CCP takes suggestions on the forums into consideration, well…
PS. To me “fully-tanked” means something on the order of 200k+ EHP.
I agree — Drifters belong in the same conversation as Trigs and Edencom when it comes to unexpected lethality in high-sec.
Just to clarify: I was in a mission-fit Golem (around 160–170k EHP in Bastion) designed for PvE, not PvP. I wasn’t expecting capital-level damage at the undock of an NPC station in 0.7 space.
The goal here isn’t to nerf all threats — just to flag when those threats feel out of context for the environment.
I haven’t aggressed Drifters in this or any nearby system — I only locked them to check their stats out of curiosity.
I was in Bastion mode, didn’t fire a single shot. Yet they insta-aggroed and melted a 3B ISK Golem in seconds.
This wasn’t wormhole space, this was Stoure 0.7 — near a mission-running NPC station. That kind of reaction seems out of line for highsec expectations.
Not necessarily in the same gaming session. Maybe you shot them in the past and after several days or weeks they still maintain their aggro. If I recall correctly there are specific measures you have to take to remove it.
Also not sure if they abide standings and what your standings are with the drifter faction.
Yes, I’ve killed Drifters in highsec — but only the types specifically balanced for highsec PvE, like standard roaming versions that a Golem can handle without issues. I did not fire on these particular Drifters in Stoure. I only locked them to check their stats, and they immediately opened fire.
If CCP allowed us to use Dreadnoughts in highsec, I’d gladly take them down too — but right now, there is no ship in highsec that can survive their alpha strike and reliably kill them.
They deal damage and aggression on par with level 5 missions, yet they’re inserted into highsec where players have no access to the tools needed to deal with them properly.
This is not balanced PvE. PvE should have clear mechanics and counterplay, not be a death trap with 47k damage just seconds after undocking from an NPC station.
When engaged they usually warp in another wave of Autothysian Lancers but there is also a chance a drifter battleship will warp in.
Tip- Preliminary investigations show the Autothysian Lancers will continue to aggress you until they destroy a ship your character owns. If you accidentally engage them and survive the initial encounter board a cheap frigate and let them destroy it. Authothysian lancers cannot be scanned down but they can be attracted to your position if you enter within 50km of a Jove Observatory (only do this to sacrifice a ship). Once they destroy your ship that character will be cleared from aggressor status and you will no longer be targeted by roaming patrols. A frigate or larger ship is suggested as a corvette is not typically engaged by Autothysian lancers, even if your character is on their aggro table.
Also:
if you’re near a Jove Observatory or a Drifter Wormhole and Autothysian Lancers or Drifter Battleships show up
So if you’ve warped to an observatory site (that session or maybe even in the past not sure about the latter) maybe that was what triggered them. If I recall correctly they tend to follow you around even if you warp away.
Further info:
Seems to describe your situation thus it is likely you have aggressed or triggered them in some manner that session or in a past one.
Thank you for the detailed information and sources — I genuinely appreciate it.
Yes, I now understand that I must have unknowingly triggered the Autothysian/Drifter aggression mechanics earlier by attacking Lancers in high-sec. The fact that they retain aggro for days or even weeks and follow you between systems is honestly impressive in terms of coding, but from a game design perspective — I respectfully believe it’s unfair and unbalanced in high-security space.
High-sec is not wormhole space.
In WH space, players expect to fight off capital-level threats. But in high-sec, if I want to “clear” myself from being hunted by these roaming fleets, I am literally forced to let them destroy one of my ships to reset the aggro. That’s not an engaging mechanic — that’s a punishment without recourse.
I don’t mind fighting them. In fact, I’d love to face Drifters in proper combat — even in a C5 or C6 wormhole one day, flying a Dreadnought. But in high-sec, I have no realistic way to fight back. My Marauder (Golem) was vaporized despite being full tank and bastioned, with no warning, no escape, and no counterplay. That’s not PvE — it’s just execution.
If CCP wants to keep these mechanics in high-sec, then at least give us the tools to respond fairly:
Let us bring the proper ships (capitals),
Or limit Drifter/Triglavian aggression to non-lethal scouting,
Or introduce a proper high-sec mechanic to clear aggro without needing to lose a ship on purpose.
I’m not asking for safety — I’m asking for fairness and the ability to engage with the mechanic, not suffer from it without agency.
You seem to lose Golems pretty much on the daily, 6 in the last 30 days, and this isn’t even remotely your dearest one.
At that point we have to ask if it’s “nasty NPC that can’t be avoided and this is bad game mechanics” or “player is a lost cause and that is why it happened”.
This is called powercreep and it makes the game better. I mean whats the point of adding new stuff like NPCs if they arent significantly more powerful than the existing ones. Yes players will get pissed off, but its not a big deal. Do you know what i mean? /s
Thank you for checking my kill history, Aisha. I’m fully aware of my losses, and I stand by each one.
I never once complained about losing Golems to gankers, PvP, or player-based threats. In fact, I moved far away from Jita routes to a dead-end pocket of Highsec specifically to enjoy peaceful Level 4 missions — not because I can’t handle danger, but because I value predictable, manageable PvE risk.
The issue isn’t that I “lost a ship.” It’s that I lost a 3B ISK Marauder in a 0.7 Highsec system to capital-level NPCs (Drifters) within seconds of undocking — despite being in Bastion mode, fully tanked, and not even engaging.
This wasn’t a mistake. It was a forced, unavoidable PvE death triggered by a background mechanic most players don’t even understand, with no tools in Highsec to counter or recover from it. If this were Nullsec or Wormhole space, I’d accept it. But what options are available to a Highsec PvE player to defend against 47,000+ alpha strikes from invisible NPC fleets?
So yes, I lose Golems. And I fund each one myself through mining, mission running, and LP trade. I just didn’t expect to need a Dreadnought to safely undock in Highsec.
Thanks for your concern. I’ll be sure to lose the next one even better.
Untrue, it’s entirely avoidable. If you had a history of being careful and not losing Golems in silly ways your words might be more convincing, but you DO lose Golems in silly ways in high sec (not just ganks) and then the conclusion becomes “player just isn’t paying attention for whatever reason and keeps making bad decisions”.
Explosions are a great learning moment, welcome to EVE.
I understand the temptation to dismiss this as “just another careless Marauder loss,” but your conclusion overlooks the core issue: this wasn’t a result of gank, poor tanking, or even PvP misjudgment. I lost the Golem to PvE NPCs that instantly aggroed and dealt 47,000+ alpha outside an NPC station in 0.7 Highsec.
If I made a tactical mistake, I’d own it — I’ve accepted every previous loss. But what I’m highlighting here isn’t carelessness. It’s a background PvE mechanic that has little visibility, no UI warning, no standing indicator, and no available Highsec counterplay.
I’m not asking to be protected from consequences. I’m asking why Highsec PvE content includes mechanics that:
Track aggression across multiple sessions
Spawn capital-level NPC fleets
Aggro silently without standing feedback
Leave players with no combat tools to respond, and
Offer no way to “earn back” safety without sacrificing ships
If this were WH or Null, fine. But in Highsec? That’s not game difficulty — that’s poor PvE transparency and balance.
Fly safe. Some of us are just trying to run missions in peace.
This is not wormhole space. This is Highsec.
I respectfully ask CCP and CSM to review the spawn behavior of these Drifter fleets, especially near NPC stations in high security space.
High-sec is not wormhole space.
If CCP wants to keep these mechanics in high-sec, then at least give us the tools to respond fairly:
