EVE Blog Banter #21, low-sec love...

EVE Blog Banter #21


Welcome to the twenty-first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked “Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?” Is it? I’d like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What’s needed? Or is everything fine as it is?


-=o0o=-

I am not much one for complaining to be very honest; I play within the boundaries set out for me. Its not that I don’t have an opinion, I simply have no energy or time to fight for these ideals.
We are the only gamers privileged to have a democratically elected body to fight for our beliefs; the CSM. The Counsel of Stellar Management has taken up the unenviable task of fighting for game improvements on our behalf.

Perhaps next year I will run myself, as I will be kicking it in the Caribbean and hope to have spare time by the boat-load. I do have ideas and suggestions and as always; I do like to throw in my two cents and then run away, screaming like a little girl.

As a Low-sec dweller by choice I actually rather like how things are set out but if anything requires some attention than let it be these;




Traffic
Low sec could always do with more targets, more and more valuable missions please CCP. Let’s get more faction-loot-dropping-rats and more valuable, rare ores in our belts while you are at it.



GCC and timers;
There may be a thought behind these ‘aggression-timers’ that I don’t understand. However now that I am used to them I have to admit I use them as often in my advantage as they are a hindrance.

My only real issue with these GCC timers is that they last too long. Fifteen minutes of stopping your game-play is pretty serious if you have limited playtime already. Every time you do manage to find someone to fight (with you instigating the action against a pilot with -4.9 sec status or higher), with an explosion as a result or not, you have to sit out 15 minutes doing nothing. Reducing this to 5 minutes seems more acceptable.

Other aggression timers are hard to spot and hard to keep track of. My first few months in low sec there have been occasion I felt the need to petition the loss of ships due to gate or station gun fire. It took me a third petition before a GM explained to me the mechanics of the ‘invisible timer’. A what? Why? It would be nice to have this made clearer or abandoned altogether.




Sentry Guns;
Sentry guns can work in ones favor or against; it just takes getting used to. There is an argument however that says gate guns encourage gate-camps and blob warfare, not so nice. It is very obvious that the perfect damage at incredible range demands either a remote-repping gang (either rolling or stationary) or a sizable fleet of battlecruisers and above to share the sentry fire. This makes small gang warfare and or solo work incredibly difficult (unless your name is Lady Shaniqua).

It would be nice to see Sentry gun statistics amended so that as like with ALL other guns in the game; target speed, size and resists make a difference to the damage impact. Hereby it would become viable to engage at gate’s in smaller, faster vessels creating a more creative game-play.
Another suggestion would be to make Sentry guns destroyable with a re-spawn timer or perhaps Station-owners and Gate-managers can be ‘bought’ or ‘bribed’ with as result them switching of Station- or Gate guns for a set period of time.




-=o0o=-

That’s all I’ve got for the moment. I highly recommend you visit Mynxee’s Blog and in particular this post re low-sec improvements. Your input matters, so if you care about low-sec, give her your support!




Other participants;

CrazyKinux's Musing: The Lure of the Wild
Banter 15: Arr, Yer be talkin’ bout me lowsec TheElitist
Banter 21: Low-sec- Chocolate Heaven
Subs' suds: Forever a noob in Eve: Low-Sec - the forgotten part of EVE Online
Blog Banter XXI - Lo-sec = Low Priority? I am Keith Neilson
In the Ghetto A Mule in EvE
where the frack is my ship?: Blog Banter 21: What's good for the goose...
Blog Banter #21: Change? Sarnel Binora's Blog
Low Sec = Wild West ~ Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah
a merry life and a short one: Low Sec: I Wanna Talk to You
Low Sec = No Sec Diary of a Garbageman
EVEOGANDA: Blog Banter 21: Friggin' Low Sec
Drifting through the Stars: Blog Banter #21: Low-Sec - The Forgotten part of EVE Online
Captain Serenity: Eve blog banter #21 - Low Sec, The Forgotten Part of Eve
Low Sec: the Best part of EVE Online Nitpickin's
Aeroxe's Assault - “Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?”
Eve Blog Banter 21 A Scientist's Life in Eve
Latro's Bunker: Eve Blog Banter 21 - Low-sec
A "CareBears" Journey » Blog Archive » EVE Blog Banter #21: The Low Sec Conundrum
More coming shortly...