Super FW Changes - But We're Not Super With a 'C'

So last week CCP announced the details of the Faction War changes after a couple of weeks of testing on SiSi.

The notable changes are:-

• If the opposing side control they system, you cannot dock in stations!
• The various UI windows and map filters for FW have been cleaned up.
• The control bunker is now an iHub allowing Loyalty Points to be used to upgrade the system if you own it
• Capturing a system will now take 5 times longer
• Items in the Militia LP stores will change prices depending on how your side is doing in the war (from 4 mes higher than current to 4 times lower than current)
• You will get LP for offensive plexing from 10,000 LP for a minor site to 30,000 LP for a Stonghold or Major compound (split between who was there)
• You will get 40,000 LP split between the fleet for "Bunker Bashing" (now iHub Bashing?)
• Capturing Plex in an enemy system will remove LP's from their upgraded iHUB. Even reducing the upgrade level if you do enough.
• LP for kills based on the value of the victims ship, cargo, modules, rigs and minus max insurance. T2 fit Abbadon = 8100 LP, T2 fit Punisher = 800 LP, T2 fit Machariel = 111,500 LP! Reward will be shared by fleet (that get the killing blow?)
• Research is getting nerfed generally in-game (CCP don't like this passive income) and datacores will be added to the Militia's LP store

As someone who pretty much as been in FW for the last 3 and a half years, I approve!

I do have some neutral alts doing research points, so not fantastically happy about the research nerf, but hopefully the other changes will balance this out.

Faction War has always been an ISK sink. We do it for the PvP and replacing ships with very little income from our in game "career" has always been an issue. Now there is a reason to plex! Now there is a reason to hold systems! Now there are income streams for those of us in the militia which involve shooting other players! Yes, things are looking good.

Of course, we don't know the real effect these changes will have. I remember an expansion most of Eve was looking forward to about a year ago, and that didn't really work out well did it?

The end of the CCP Dev Blog states....

"As a parting gift, here are some points for us to consider in the near future:.....The possibility of adding new advantages for upgrading a system through the Infrastructure Hub"

At Fanfest, one of the upgrades proposed by CCP, and was discussed at length, were cyno jammers. We WANT cyno jammers and we are really disappointed they aren't to be included in the first release of Inferno. This was apparently as a result of feedback at Fanfest. This is also really disappointing in that two vocal players can influence CCP so easily.

Why do we want them badly?

As discussed above, Faction War is not rich, well the proper PvP players aren't. Yes, the farmers who do missions in their cloaky bombers all day long may have a bit of ISK. But those of use who take part in proper factional WARFARE aren't rich as we spend all our cash on ships that die in a fire and ammo that we throw at the enemy!

What do rich people have in Eve? They have super-capital ships. Faction War cannot compete with those. I think there have been probably about three Titans in Faction War and they are only ever used for bridging. I've never seen a Titan used "in anger" in FW simply because FW players need to save heavily for a year or more, to be able to buy one. I've seen two super-carriers in FW before too. I know one of them is no longer alive (silly squid!) don't know about the other.

We cannot afford to buy them, we cannot build them (the required assembly arrays can only be anchored in sov holding null-sec), supers generally don't belong in the scale of warfare FW provides. Those 1 or 2 that have them in FW are scared to use them as replacing them is a massive task.

Overall, FW has very few supers and will rarely use them in anger (read hardly ever).

A week and a bit ago, we got dropped by 4 Nyx class supercarriers in the system next to our home. On that occasion we had expected them and had a counter plan. We didn't kill any of them, but lost a lot of ships. At the end of the same fight NC. dropped 3 titans and 20 more super carriers. Seriously, how can faction war players counter that? We can't.... ever!

Faction War cannot compete with supers, faction war is rarely about large scale capital battles, so a cyno jammer is going to stop the big alliances coming over to stomp on our sandcastles in certain systems. Currently, when the supers are dropped in numbers, there is not a lot we can do!

This was discussed at Fanfest and the tears started. So let me put on my cagoule and lets run through the biggest full-bodied whines (although at the round-table there were only two moaning).

"I am neutral and I want to be able to light a cyno anywhere!"

We're not talking about cyno jamming low-sec in it's entirety. We want to be able to cyno jam a couple of key systems where we can fight without one of the big power blocs dropping 300 super-carriers on our heads which we cannot defend against. You cannot light a cyno in every null sec system, so why should you be able to light a cyno in every system in low sec. Hang on, let me rephrase that from "in low sec" to "in A F'IN WARZONE"? Cyno jammers should be the top and most expensive upgrade meaning that people only donate that many LP's to systems that really matter to them. I consider that we'd only see two or three systems per militia cyno jammed, a drop in the ocean really.

"I am a trader with a jump freighter and that's going to effect my business!"

It's war. We're talking about the front lines here. Seriously, you think in a real war the "neutrals" just go about their business dodging the bullets! Low-sec is supposed to be dangerous, a low-sec war zone will be even more dangerous. However, with the added LP's and income streams for militia members, there will be more demand for goods in low-sec. Risk vs Reward. Just remember this is supposed to be war, and as said by General Arnold J Rimmer "There are always casualties in war. Otherwise it wouldn't be war. It'd be just a really nasty argument with lots of pushing and shoving". OK so there may be a couple of stations that you cannot reach with your JF. But with soaring demand and inflating prices, won't it be worth it in the long run? Want to supply a cyno jammed system? Contact the alliance who own it and work a deal out for escort through the gate. I'm sure most would love to see their home system with a well stocked market. Remember the 34th Rule of Acquisition "War is good for business" (there is some debate if rule 35, peace is good for business, is really accurate).

"Just ban supers from entering low-sec!"

Lets be realistic here. Supers have to move. If you prevent supers entering low-sec you'll at the minimum cause a massive headache for anyone wanting to move from one null-sec region to another. Worst case you'll trap supers in one area from which they can never leave. "Banning" supers from low-sec is not the answer (preventing fighter-bombers deploying may be another solution). Being able to cyno jam a few limited systems is.

So come on CCP, let us compete with the big boys. We are not null-sec wanna-be's and we have no 0.0 desires. We just want to fight and murder internet spaceships on a sort of level playing field. Cyno jammers would allow us to fight on better terms when the big alliances come looking to play!

Lets stop the "Oh they dropped a shit-ton of supers, lets head for home then!"

The feeback thread on the main Eve-O site. Place your support for Cyno jammers here....

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1272333#post1272333