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?
As this is my first Banter, go easy on me :P
This has been a pretty hot topic lately. In the slew of issues players have called to be revamped, low sec life has been a big desire for quite some time. As a young pilot, I have a bit of a grasp on why but perhaps not as much as the older veterans and those that actually live in lowsec. I have visited it a good amount, but I have yet to base any operations from lowsec.
As for the first point, I think Low Sec has become the red headed step child of Kspace. In Empire, you have your trade hubs, beginning systems, and a place where players have a degree of “security”. In Null Sec, you have massive alliances in an eternal struggle for sovereignty and the ability to amass great wealth. Low Sec, however, has little attraction. There are a few things I can see “broken”.
As an industrialist and miner, there is no appropriate draw to even want to mine in lowsec. The minerals found there cannot justify the risk in taking expeditions to extract them. A pilot could make more money with far less risk staying in Empire or join a good alliance in null sec and make big money there.
Another issue I would think, would be the rather long timer for GCCs in low sec. I have read pirate blogs and I talk to pirates in game that obviously run into this on a regular basis. So why would a cooldown that is so long be of any use? Obviously, they are fine with taking the hit but to have to sit in a safe for so long is rather laborious. I wouldn’t say it makes pirates less viable but it’s a bit less attractive to have to do that all the time.
As for whether or not it’s profitable, just ask any pirate. For such a profession, it is often feast or famine. But I have seen enough gate camps with wrecks littering space that I know it has to be profitable in some respect. I know pirates want this so they have people to shoot at more often, since woe be their chosen career. I hear too often that pirates want carebears to have less going for them. I, frankly, think there's a place for everyone in Eve so while making low sec more viable is the right way to go, why should it include cutting down on someone else's experience at the same time? A pirate's life, let's face it. is hard. And for good reason, since they choose to go against the law. Take pride in the difficulty you overcome instead of whining to make it easier. But I digress.
As for what might be needed, I like the idea a blogger had a while ago. I cannot for the life of me remember who wrote about it, so if someone knows, leave a comment or Eve mail me. Their idea was systems dedicated to pirates and those dedicated to the goodies like bounty hunters or something. But I think the idea of havens has some merit. As of right now, the only way pirates can really lay claim to any low sec system is by presence. Whether it’s gatecamping constantly or ganking everyone possible, they simply have to make it known that this is their space and you shouldn’t mess with their terf. An idea I have had lately that reminds me of Freelancer is perhaps making a module that is capable of shutting down a gate altogether for a limited time. One time use, long cooldown or whatever the downside may be. This can trap prey in your system, allowing an interesting twist to small gang warfare. Which is another thing that could be focused on for low sec. Make small gang warfare more attractive and tenable, rather than blob fests rolling through. Not sure how to work that one out yet. I have also heard others talk about allowing a once-a-year security status reset, kind of like remapping.
But as I said, since I am a young pilot I may not be able to give as deep a solution or understanding. There are certainly those that are doing their best to rebuild what low sec should be. Mynxee has certainly taken the reins on this one.
That’s my few cents. What do you think? For those of you that frequent low sec space, what would you want better, added or gone?
-Mem
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