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Fanfest 2015 - Low Sec Faction Warfare Round Table

This is a lot of short hand and question condensing. I'm sitting in a chair and writing as fast as I can.

Q: Entosis link - Is this something that we can see in FW warfare plexes as a way to force people to fight for them instead of being in cloaky stabbed frigates.
A: It is not ruled out. We want to see how it works in null sec before we do this. We may move towards using it for FW IHubs and how they are fought over. These ideas are borrowed from the capture point. No commitments.

Q: Rebalance medium FW complexes to allow BC to enter
A: We cannot bring back the glory days of BC fleets welping into each other with no logi. Rebalancing what is in complexes we can do. We've been looking at how T3D and recons are used since released. Maybe we can have new sizes. There are a lot of options.

Q: How do T3D in small complexes look?
A: No decisions have been made yet. We are watching and we'd like to have them all released in the game before we step back and do the rebalance.
A: What do you think? (Fozzie asks the room)
The room seems t be fine with T3D in smalls at the moment. It is noted that T3D are OP.
A: T3D are to good in general but that may be leading to the problems instead of the T3D as a concept being in small complexes. They are keeping an eye on it. Unless something dramatic happens they will not revisit it before the last one is released.

Q: FW PvP should be more viable as a way to gain loyalty points. How do you feel about it.
A: We've disucsed things like decoupling PvP from the Tier payouts and just capping it at level five payouts. (Fozzie asks what do people think and they like this). It is the most dramatic thing that we can do and not make it exploitable.

Q: How about a way to have PvP contribute to system control?
A: This came up in the null sec session about indexes. It is to hard to balance. How the game is supposed to know who is a friend and who is not and what  is a ship set out and what is not. The problem is that it lets you pay for system control with ISK and if that can happen someone will do it.

Q: Make all of low sec contestable space for FW and/or have Pirate Faction Warfare.
A: It is always good to have things to shake up the warzone. And here are some ideas we have had to do that is breaking down the current alliances between factions and letting factions attack each other. Allow the Caldari to take over Amarr space. We are concerned that if we allow all of low sec to be contestable tat it will dilute the warzone and dilute what makes FW what it is. It is also nice to have differences. People will feel that FW is being forced on them when they purposefully live and play and do things in non-FW space. However, having the pirate factions active in low sec in some way is very interesting.
Q: It is odd that hte pirate factions are all in 0.0. They should be near choke points.
A: It is something that CCP Bittek has always wanted to explore but it has been a question of time. Pirate factions and how they work would be interesting but it should not be a clone of FW.
(Note: I am against having all of low sec FW space)

Q: There is not a way to force FW people to fight. If we come into their complex they just leave and come back when we are bored. Could the plexes get HP so that we can destroy them and at least deny them their complex if they won't fight for it?
A: This is the type of thing that an Entosis link could help correct. They do not want to go in the direction of structure shooting.

Q: Suspect timers. Can we just get one for entering the complex?
A: Hesistant because it may not be clear to a new player. But then again, they are in low sec and anyone should be attacking them anyway.
Q: Maybe safeties control entry and exit. So if their safety will not let them be flagged they cannot enter?
A: Concerns that the sudden lack of access to complexes seemingly randomly will not be clear.
Q: How about just being able to flag yourself suspect?
A: Flagging yourself suspect was never an idea that took off when crimewatch was redone. Maybe.

Q: Health of non-FW low sec?
A: We have a non-FW low sec session for you to go to! We know that the two spaces are different and like that. We want good reasons for people to live in that space. Nothing is ever perfect but we have managed to get low into a better place. Its improved and it has improved in organic ways not designed ways. We are trying to nudge things forward and continue these improvements instead of coming down with a huge change that says 'this is how it is now'.

Q: Back to the pirate faction ideas. Would they be the current 'evil' pirate groups or other groups like Mordu or SoE?
A: That is hard to comment becuase that is far down the design path. It would be up for debate. We would start with just the 'main' pirate factions.

Q: Is there a special reason why there are no scout sites in low sec incursions?
A: No. It was just hat scout sites had no value before. We can revist that

Q: On the Entosis link: What if the size of hte ship it is on when used on the ihub affects the size of the plexes that spawn. A cruiser opens up cruiser sized complexes. It lets you pick the fights. It lets you not have to wait for plxes to spawn but force them. 
A: Interesting idea

Q: Can you remove WCS from low sec? At least make them cap intensive or rebalance them so that they penalize people and can't be used on frigates.
A: Restricting module usage by security status is always a bad idea. We need to look back to things like the Entosis link. It kind of addresses that type of gameplay issue and that is a direction we are watching. I want to see how it does in in null sec first. Stabs allow for interesting gameplay. We are trying to address the bad experience part.

Q: Are you concerned that the sov changes will negatively effect low? That people will leave low now that sov is in a better state? People who came to low to get activity they could not in sov?
A: We want people to live wherever they want to live. We want them to have reasons to live there. The sov people say that everyone is going to move to low sec. We expect a lot of movement but there is no number of people in any area that we are trying to hit.

Q: Have neutrals come in and mess with the factions that are plexing?
A: This is similar tot eh earlier idea of more ways to disrupt people.

Q:Data and Relic sits in low are not profitable. The loot needs to be improved.
A: If there are more sites or less sites that changes the value about things. We look more to find more things for people to consume and use up.

Q: Tiers only affect low sec. How about them doing something to high sec too?
A: The idea has been around for a while. We like it but it is about balancing. Team space glitter may have some bandwidth to work on revamping FW missions for instance but it is going to be bang for your buck type of work instead of a full restructure,

Q: People are wondering why we are having this war. What is the point? Or they don't even know its happening.
A: Visability is a huge problem. We are looking for more NPCs to move around. Things like convoys or ships having celebrations for warzone wins. We're looking to give it more life.

Q: Sites in low sec - The Wormhole people are complaining that LS sites are spawning in wormholes
A: We could decrease the spawn rates a bit. We would want to talk to WH people a bit to see how they feel. We could look at the number of spawns and what is being done.

Q: About security penalties. The only difference is if you agress someone you get a sec hit. There is no difference in the hit for where or why. Would you look into decreasing this a bit?
A: When we did crimewatch and the penalties for it, we discussed making low sec hits lower. It did not seem that they were very bad at the time. Then tags for sec came in and made this easier to change. If we do look a this we'd want to look at it in a broader way and add more depth to the sec scale and the reasons for having your sec where it was both good and bad at all levels.

Q: Docking in high sec and the stupid responses of the NPCs. Look at locks outs in high sec maybe?
A: We can look at this and maybe make changes to the NPC and their responses as well as examine lockouts.

Q: Some rolleback on plexes?
A: Do you want super fast active rollback or slower passive rollback or both? (Both with more energy towards super fast active.)

Q from Sugar: Faction Standings loss from militia/militia violance in null sec, such as warping out of a bubble. Do people like it or not?
A: Fozzie asks the room how they feel about standings loss for FW in null sec and wormholes. Do they think it would be a problem if in null sec there were no militia ruls anymore? Worries about overviews and stuff?
Response from the room was let anything go in null sec.

Comments

  1. As a long time FW Player and FC, allowing Neutrals to effect the FW Structures is something I absolutely do not agree with. Faction Warfare players have to deal with problems of our own that Neutral Players do not. Mainly the station lockouts and letting people overtly effect the FW status while being free of the consequences thereof does not sit right with me.

    Rollbacks are something I am more ambiguous about now then I was before the changes to plexes. Plexes already take god awfully long to capture, especially solo, making them take MORE time at this point would be especially redundant.

    Rocking the Warzones would be awesome but, and I need to stress this here, NOT THROUGH ONE TIME EVENTS!! The introduction of new mechanics should be what shakes up the Warzone not CCP sending a fleet of NPC's our way or anything like that. Events hold attention briefly and then the malaise begins to set in and people begin to get bored again. This has happened before and should not be repeated.

    Mechanics wise, it has never sat right with me that T1 and T2 Cruisers should be treated similarly, the same with T1,T2 and T3 Dessies. Splitting Up the Smalls and Mediums, 1 pair for T1 Dessies/Cruisers down, the other two for T3 Dessies/T3 Cruisers down would be difficult however, because adding two new plexes might decrease capture time more then CCP would want.

    I laughed hard when I read the question of 'Low Sec Sovereignty' in the other Lowsec Keynote. FW IS 'Lowsec Sovereignty'. However being Diet Sov isn't the way we want FW to be treated by CCP. Finding ways to differentiate between the two through mechanics would be awesome, not copying and pasting Ideas from Null Sov to FW.

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    1. I agree with this, as a non-FW player. I love killing the ships, but allowing non-FW players to interact with FW sites is too easily exploitable. I'd rather that all FW plexes appear within 30 km bubbles or something, so when you activate a gate you're immediately taken into the middle of a bubble. If you want to enter, you've got to fight.

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    2. I like this idea but the bubble would have to be bigger than the capture zone elsewise farmers would sit right on the edge and still warp out

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    3. The shortcoming with 'FW IS "Lowsec Sovereignty' is that you're restricted to the Empires. Being able to visibly plant your own flag in a lo-sec system has been an idea simmering for quite a long time among players, including hi-sec/lo-sec industrialists.

      I am torn on the idea that neutrals (like me) can influence the FW capture status: Yes, it would suck for honest solo FW players; but at the same time it would give me at least some satisfaction the next time a stabbed farmer-Vexor runs away from my frigate.

      And another view point: if you can't defend your PLEX against a random neutral coming by, why should the Empires reward you?

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    4. @Talvorian & Zif

      The Bubble Idea is interesting, but might be too limiting for fleet engagements on the scale commonly had between FW entities.

      @ Druur

      For most people actually in FW that I have met there is little difference between The Empire's and our own Militia Corps/Alliances. When we succeed the respective Empire succeeds and etc.

      Remember what I said in my previous post about copying and pasting Ideas for Null Sec to Low Sec? Most if not All versions of 'Planting Flags' Would either be worthless or simply be a slightly nuanced copy of the current null sec system, and would thus destroy and difference between Low-Sec and Null Sec.

      Null Sec is where the problem has its roots, I think. Most of those people, I'm assuming anyway, want to plant there flag without having to deal with the tens of thousands pilot strong Null Sec Blocs. Luckily Fozzie Sov looks like it should allow smaller, determined entities to carve out their own territory in Null Sec then is currently possible.

      The people you are fighting that warp out of a plex in stabbed farmer-Vexors don't really care whether or not you capture that plex, he's in it for the LP and capturing that plex from him is barely above making him warp out in the first place. Same thing on a fleet scale, most FC's in militia that I know, are not going to welp there fleet into a superior force for a simple plex timer.

      What I would be concerned with is exploitation of the mechanic to circumvent the FW system itself. Lets say I want to keep a system with stations from being defensively plexed and I don't want to store my ships in a POS. I can simply drop FW become a neutral and then base out of the station for however long I need. You could adjust when or how a corp could withdraw from militia or some other fix, but then you'd be increasing the barrier of entry etc. It would cause a whole mess of exploits for people actually concerned about Warzone control so neutrals could snub someone that ran from a plex.

      STABS however, are a completely separate issue of course, but as you can see from CCP's many previous statements and the statements at this round table, WCS add 'Interesting Gameplay'. I would love for someone to have asked CCP what 'interesting gameplay' Stabs add to the game.

      The Cynical part in me reads 'so many people pay money for stabbed plexing alts that we don't want to mess with that income right now'


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  2. The comments about T3 dessies concern me a bit. As it is they have taken over the roles performed by many other ships in lowsec (all the AFs, T2 destroyers, etc). Not making any changes to them or small plexes for many months until all the overpowered T3 dessies are released just means the T3 destroyers become the only ships the "leet" people fly for small plexes, just like garmurs and worms in novices.

    Unfortunately for the lowish SP new pilots who are directed towards FW life just keeps getting harder, as well as for those who like to fly a wide variety of ship types. Combat Recons in mediums, T3Ds in smalls, and garmur/worm in novices.

    - Than

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    Replies
    1. Well, when they take out the old tutorials, they'll stop directing them into faction warfare right after the military missions... :)

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