This particular blog entry is a response to Black Arturus' latest blog entry, which you can read here:
My Case For Keeping High-Sec, by Black Arcturus
In a sense, Black Arcturs' blog post is somewhere along the right track; forcing anyone into nullsec is a moot point and a pointless endeavor; it always has been and always will be, as what attracts a player to high security space is the general safety it provides. The problem with high security space is the various things that discourage a player from venturing further. Level 4 missions and Incursions provide a safety blanket of easy, low risk ISK. It's a universal human trait to fear losing what you have.
The argument has been made that the solution to encouraging people to enter 0.0 space is to increase the rewards it offers rather than reduce the rewards in High Security space. You can’t rely on power scaling 0.0 to attempt to attract more people to 0.0 space; ISK is rarely the reward, in and of itself, but income is a necessity to living in null security space, much like anywhere else. I don’t think it’s possible to generate more currency than with Incursion farming. This is a fundamental flaw with the current state of Eve Game Design, as Incursions and Level 4 missions are utterly skewing the risk/reward ratio in favor of high security space. Balancing upwards is not a valid method to balance out this equation due to the already persistent and massive problems mudflation has introduced to Eve Online.
Ultimately, I disagree with the assessment that high security space is fine as it is; it is not. The current state of High Security Space introduces far too much currency into the economy and invalidates one of the major motivators for prospective pilots to go out and explore the deep end of the game through its safe, easy, ludicrous quantities of money minted each day.
Highsec doesn’t generate the stories that draw players to Eve Online. High security Space does not create the deep social connections that hold people in game for the long term. The only thing High Security Space provides is a safety net which, by all established player accounts, is only getting safer and more lucrative with each expansion. While safe cash and easy access to replacement toys are what every player wants in the short term, all that catering to these desires accomplishes is the degradation of the long term viability of Eve Online's sandbox and ever more rapid churn of players that burn through the limited content Eve Online has at its disposal.
Eve Online is at it’s best when players interact with other players. It’s far past time that players stop lobbying CCP for even more barriers between themselves and the player vs player experience.
It isn't either/or. There are a ton of things to do in Eve and lots of places to do them in. Nullsec is one of those "places", it isn't "THE" place, nor is it the "only" place to pay. My toon isn't a year old yet and there are tons of things to learn and explore. When I've done everything I think is interesting, and am skilled enough and rich enough to consider null sec, and bored with what is available in high sec, then I'll try null sec.
ReplyDeleteI can read about all the money people are making, but good, digestiable information isn't easy to come by. There's lots of trolling, white noise and complete BS mixed in to the information to the point that I learn nothing about null sec. I read blogs of players in null sec, but it's more commentary on what is happening, and not really explaining at a basic level what is going on, and what opportunities there are. The last thing I want or need to have "fun", is to move all my shit down to null, end up in a shield corp/alliance, and be thrown to the Russians or the Goons and have to go back to high sec to start over.
Good, usable, informative information about life in nullsec isn't easy to find for players who have never been there. It's easier to find out about living in WH space than null sec. I know. I've been looking.
. . In reading through your other posts, I see you've been playing for 5 years. Dude, you've forgotten shit about Eve, that I don't even know exists yet.
ReplyDeleteFor a new player like me, I can learn about parts of Eve with the tutorials and slowly making my way through all kinds of low level agents. Teaches me about all kinds of Eve play. Wormholes not so much, but I can learn about them by dipping my toe from high sec. How does a new player learn about about nullsec from inside Eve? It's not an easy thing, as I said before, and the only way is usually to try to run through low sec and hope you don't get your face melted. I know about Syndicate, but that is just the collection ground for everyone that got kicked out of everywhere else.
I think it comes down too different playstyles. If high-sec is nerved to hard, a lot of high-sec-people will leave the game in my opinion. And another thing: Who will buy your dead-space or officer items for millions of ISK if there are no high-sec carebearer? Should be a significant income-decrease for nullsec.
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