I was reading The Downward Spiral of Lowsec over at Sleepless in Space earlier, I found that I tended to disagree with a few of the author’s points. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to reply here with my opinion of things and a few questions for the author. Before I begin, though, I want to state that I believe Low sec is fine, as is. There are a few mechanics that I’d like fixed (GCC, bounty system to name a few), but otherwise I love living in low sec.
Think about the current state of Low Sec. Now imagine if with a wave of your hand you can make all the pirates disappear, and no one can go back to that life ever again. Low Sec suddenly becomes a different place, doesn’t it? Miners flood in to get ore. Missioners run missions and make even more isk then in High Sec. Exploration is more rampant. Industrialists flood the area to make more goods and services. Low sec suddenly becomes a very profitable place to live.
So, basically, what you’re saying is that my play style is the reason Low sec is terrible? And if, suddenly, myself and the rest of the pirates were to stop playing, low sec would be on its way to being fixed? But, what, exactly, would make industrialists and mission runners move to low sec over null or high security? And why would non-pirates agree to not shoot each other.
The current perception that Low Sec is full of pirates and people shouldn’t go there is so pervasive that nothing short of a full scale revamp is going to be able to change it.
I actually agree that the current perception of Low Sec is a problem, but I disagree that a full scale revamp is needed. All that’s needed is for the successful Low Sec Industrialists, mission runners, etc. to be more vocal. But they won’t, because they probably have some secret-to-success they want to protect. On the other hand, we loud, obnoxious pirates don’t have many secrets to our ways and are more than happy to let everyone know about our exploits, therefore contributing to the perception.
This perception can also be attributed to a “vocal minority” situation. The vocal minority of “carebears” that get ganked and then whine and cry about it (usually with help from us pirate bloggers who post the tears) outweigh the voices of the (possible) majority of “carebears” that are able to stay alive in lowsec.
Okay, I’ll play. Name your item. Hell, name ten items. Then tell me why I shouldn’t be able to make/produce/find any one of those in Null Sec. Any story line response. Anything. If the only thing you come up with is “cause we need it to get players to low sec” that is the wrong answer. Eve is a sandbox. NOTHING should be restricted as such. If I want to get a special kind of gas, I should be able to find it in a wormhole. An asteroid that I can’t find in high sec? I better be able to find it in Null Sec, which is supposed to be even less safe then Low Sec. An item that drops off a rat NPC better have a chance to drop in Null sec where I take on giant complexes of those guys. What, because it’s Null sec they suddenly don’t use that item anymore?
Another point I semi-agree on. I don’t think there should be any “special” or unique item available only to low-sec residents UNLESS CCP can implement it with a good storyline reason.
The next bit is about FW, but since I have no experience with it, I won’t repost your bit here or respond to it.
Another one of my favorites is the Pirates getting sovereignty mechanics or somehow making Low Sec more “pirate” or “criminal” centric. I usually always guess that the guys suggesting this idea are pirates. Because no one but a pirate would think this is a good idea. Hey I know, what Low Sec needs is more powerful Pirates! They can own their system and shoot anyone inside it for free!
Again, I agree. (I promise, I’ll start disagreeing soon enough). I hate null sec because of sov warfare. It’s a blob-supporting mechanic and If it came to low sec as it’s implemented in null, I’m not sure how much longer I’d play the game.
They should get benefits for being flashy red, like no GCC so gate guns can’t target them. Yeah! Endless gate camp ganks with interceptors! Wooohooo! Hey, we should be able to “pay off” or “bribe” docking masters so when that guy tries to leave station he can’t just warp off or re-dock which just denies us the kill. Oooo oooo I know! A pirate only cloak that removes my name from local! F-yeah!
I wouldn’t mind some way to “bribe” docking managers. Low sec is the seedy part of town, so why wouldn’t the guy take a few extra isk? Of course, the only thing that should be remotely allowed is for the “target” to be denied re-docking. He should still be able to warp away and such. Gate guns would still fire, etc. The guy just wouldn’t be able to re-dock. There’s plenty of things that could go wrong, but I don’t think we should eliminate the idea just yet. And bribing shouldn’t be a flashy-only possibility.
The next couple paragraphs talk about the bounty system and increasing rewards in low sec. The bounty system does need a lot of work, but there will never be a way around pirate alts collecting the rewards. I, personally, think a contract-type system would be the best bet. Basically, the gankee pulls up a new system that allows the gankee to browse a list of bounty hunters. There would be a system that would allow former customers the rate the bounty hunter on performance, leave comments, etc. The gankee would then be able to choose a bounty hunter from the list and assign a contract to them for an agreed upon sum. They could also choose rewards like x amount for a ship kill (with scalable rewards in terms of ship class) with a y bonus for the pod. They could also do a time-limit contract where the Bounty Hunter gets x amount for each ship kill and y amount for each pod within the time limit up to a certain amount (to avoid having a ridiculous amount for the gankee to pay). The Bounty Hunters would have a separate system that would allow them to choose how many contracts they want to see and accept/deny the contract. Once the Bounty Hunter accepts the contract, the gankee’s ISK will go into contract limbo (so the Bounty Hunter will receive their reward). Upon completion of the task (or time period), the amount earned will deposited in the Bounty Hunter’s wallet and any remaining portion will be returned to the gankee.
This, by no means, would negate the “pirate bounty hunter alt” problem, but it’s a start. I literally just started thinking about this while typing, so I’m sure there are quite a few problems with it that I haven’t thought of. I have no intention of bringing this to the Assembly Hall.
Ideally, the only way to fix it is to remove the problem. Remember the thought exercise at the beginning where I asked you to imagine Low Sec with no pirates? Get the Pirates to turn on themselves. This is a bit of a problem as currently there is no reason to. After all, pirates are not looking for a good fight. They are looking for a straight gank, don’t let any of them tell you otherwise. It only makes sense as a military objective is considered a success if your goal is completed with a minimum amount of collateral damage and loss of life. So its not like I can blame them.
First, what makes you think the pirates haven’t already turned on each other? You think all of us pirates are a big ole happy family? Gankage and ransoms of members of other “pirate” groups occur a lot. We’re already fighting.
Second, we aren’t always looking for a “straight gank.” I like good fights. I like close fights. Sure, I prefer being able to pwn everything I come across, but where’s the fun and the challenge in that all the time? Of course, our first and foremost goal is to make ISK by ransoming people. For some of us, that’s our primary (or only) form of income. If that means ganking people to do it? So what? I don’t complain about you taking advantage of those poor Sleepers for profit, do I?
So how do you get the problem to turn on itself. Short answer? You don’t. CCP needs to implement something that forces them to fight each other rather then picking on carebears and miners who really can’t defend themselves.
To repeat: WE ARE ALREADY FIGHTING EACH OTHER.
Look at the four sectors of space and measure their success. High Sec is successful for a player who wants to do whatever it is he does unmolested by non-consensual PVP. Null Sec is successful for players who want to carve out their own place in the world of Eve. Its their space, they fight, live and die for control of it. Carebears and miners can run ops in the middle of alliance territory in relative safety, or at least more safely then in Low Sec. Wormhole space is successful because, like Null Sec, you can carve out your own space and make it your own. You can also take out others trying to do the exact same thing. And for the most part you can run your ops unmolested by others. Low Sec doesn’t have any of these unique flavors other then “if you want to be a pirate and be flashy” this is where you go. And as such, Low Sec is in its current state.
All it takes is a bit of common sense, and you’re just as safe in low sec as you are in null. Watch your scanner and local and you’ll be just fine. Some pirate corps offer protection services as well, such as The Tuskers. As for it being something you can fight over, you’d be surprised how often that happens in low sec. Look at Amamake, for example. A nearby trade hub. A gate to highsec. Fairly heavily trafficked. Corps and alliances fight over dominance in that area all the time. And there plenty of other systems just like it. Some corps choose a “home system” and others will come and start pestering the corp. So what does the corp do? They fight back in order to remove the annoyance. We do fight for our systems.
You need other changes, like allowing things like bubbles in Low Sec and Sec Status hits for only killing pods. Just targeting and shooting at a ship should not be a sec status hit. This would allow for people to be more offensive without worrying about getting back into high sec.
The idea behind Low Sec is that CONCORD expects everyone to follow the rules that are placed in High Sec. They expect everyone to leave each other alone. Are these expectations unreasonable? Absolutely. So they penalize anyone who breaks the rules. Regardless of the situation. Is that guy targeting you? Yes, but he hasn’t fired. So why should you be allowed to shoot him down with no penalty just for threatening you by targeting your ship? This would just lead to even more fighting and what you call “a problem.”
I have a dream. I have a dream of a Low Sec that is like Null Sec where players and corporations can own systems.
I mentioned it earlier, sov warfare mechanics in Low Sec will ruin this game.
I have a dream of CONCORD having roving patrols and posts in Low Sec, who can and will CONCORD people who break the “law” in that system. I have a dream where CONCORD’s roving patrols actively seek to destroy pirates who are flashy red in system. Those that decide to become an outlaw should be randomly ganked by CONCORD so that there is a definitive drawback to negative sec status.
The reason there is no CONCORD in Low Sec now is because they don’t have enough man-power. We already can’t go into High Sec, so why should we be punished for living in one of the few places we are accepted?
I have a dream where gate guns and stations are safe havens for the persecuted, unlike Null Sec where there is no where safe. Perhaps like POS guns, gate and station guns should be small, medium and large to stop or discourage Gate/Station Camps that choke the influx of people into Low Sec.
Gate guns and Stations are safe(ish) havens. Like everywhere in New Eden, they provide some security, but not all. They are there to punish, not just protect.
I have a dream of industrialists and indy ships that can pass through Low Sec, unmolested by gate camps. These people are the backbones of the economy, and allowing them safe passage in and through Low Sec would harken a new age of business peace and prosperity as well as bring more people to the sector.
They already can if they know the right tricks or have some support. You’re assuming it’s completely impossible. It’s not.
The pirate take of freedom is nothing but an illusion that continues to choke the life from Low Sec to this very day. They want freedom but no consequences for their actions. They want targets to shoot yet they offer nothing in return.
We do have consequences for our actions. We can’t return to High Sec. We can’t engage on gates without being attacked by the guns. We have to wait 15 minutes after shooting at a player ship. Fifteen minutes is a lot of time in a game to just sit around, doing nothing. There are consequences.
If you are the pirate that says “Well I’m shooting the people coming in and ransoming them for all they are worth” you’re not exactly improving the situation are you?
Maybe I don’t want to improve Low Sec?
In the end, it comes down to opinion. I think Low Sec is fine. I live there and have lived there for a while now. For whatever reason, you think it’s broken. As for your “unbiased” view of the place, your article is based on the opinions of others. Some of what you’ve read may have fact basis, but is largely opinion. Spend some time in low sec. Try being a pirate. Try being a low sec industrialist or mission runner (or try and get in touch with successful low sec industrialists and mission runnners). Then post your thoughts on the place.
