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Friday, May 30, 2014

Viva Las Low Sec!

What's up with all the low sec only lotteries being added lately?

In my post on Tuesday called Low Sec Evolution I noted:
More recently we have seen a couple more low sec only features announced. Tags for Sec feature where special rats spawn in low sec belts and drop tags that can be turned in for rapid sec status, and coming this summer there will be special Mordu's Legions rats which will randomly appear in belts and drop BPCs to the new ships. A low sec only lottery if you will.
Then today there is a new dev blog titled Sweeping Death and Chaos: New Exploration Sites in Kronos and it introduces this:
When they've received sufficient data, they are going to launch an all-out assault on a site we're calling the Besieged Covert Research Facility. As we also noted, Mordu's Legion are really not going to want you there; your business with them will be done, and they will react in extremely hostile fashion to anyone who persists in interfering with their operations.

Further on, in the comments CCP RedDawn adds:
Sven Viko VIkolander wrote:
Just to get things straight:
1) The BPCs for the new pirate ships (Garmur etc) drop from Mordus rats in low security belts. (On test server I've yet to see one FWIW.)
2) Contested Guristas Covert Research Facility sites will (only?) drop data that can either be sold on the market or traded at the Mordus station. But otherwise these sites drop no loot? And these sites too will spawn in low sec?
3) Once enough data has been delivered to the Mordus station, Besieged Covert Research Facility sites will start to appear anywhere in low sec and they will drop the new ship skin BPCs, "low-grade" implants, and warp speed modules?
Is all of that correct or am I missing something?
I also have a question about the "Besieged Covert Research Facility" sites. Once they have been "unlocked," are they permanently unlocked such that they spawn all over low sec from there on out? Or is it more of a system where 1 is unlocked as a spawn for every X amount of data delivered to Mordus? (FWIW they are everywhere in low sec on the test server.)

1) Yes that's right.
2) Yes these Contested sites only drop the data you need to unlock the Besieged sites and they will be present in low sec.
3) Yes. The Besieged sites will be over all of low sec and drop what's mentioned in the dev blog.
 So there will be a new type of ghost site in low sec that drop sweet loot, and only in low sec.

Exploration in low sec has always been lucrative for the intrepid explorer but now we have the case where even belt ratting can reap unexpected and significant rewards. Belt ratting used to be the only way besides missioning for making money from PvE content but anomalies and exploration killed that off all over null sec. However, will it rise as a common method in low sec once again?

Moreover, from these data points we can extrapolate CCP's vision for low sec, and tangentially for null sec. Assuming high sec is mostly remaining the commons space it is now,  null sec will be the player constructed (and destructed) place of capsuleer empires where wealth and power is built from processes and cooperation, and low sec will be the "wild west" frontier where the individual finds his way through lucky panhandling strikes while avoiding the mafias and cartels and gang wars happening around them. Random sites and drops means large scale farming will not succeed in harvesting the wealth thus organized and militarized control will not be cost effective for the most part.

If this hypothesis is true, then we can make some (wild) predictions about future low sec content. It seems likely that pirate factions will continue to expand into low sec and destabilze Empire control in that area. It could lead to pirate factions taking over station in low sec, especially non-faction warfare space. Maybe then they would want a capsuleer militia to enforce and expand their control... leading to pirate militias participating in faction warfare mechanics?

What happens in low sec stays in low sec...

4 comments:

  1. We took a gang of nullbears out into the dangerous waters of low sec, maybe we can make a move on your turf now it's becoming lucrative!

    http://stabbedup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/bastn-frigate-roam.html

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  2. I love these lowsec-specific changes. In isolation, any one of these changes would be unlikely to result in much behavioural change (eg clone soldier spawns) but together, perhaps.

    Very much looking forward to finding out. Lowsec ftw.

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  3. As a diehard hiseccer, I hope you understand how unlikely I am to pay any money to CCP so everyone gets new content but us... ;)

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  4. ow-sec in general is more fun.

    But faction-warfare got destroyed.
    The winning side in faction warfare was made stronger, the losing side weaker.

    Farmers tend to be on the winning side... because taking a system became damn hard, and defending it became easier (because of the stronger NPC rats in plexes). Its insanely hard to conquer a system. If the "losing side" manages to do so... the enemy faction can flip it back easier (because they tend to have 2-3 times as many players, with the farmers on their side).

    Besides that, the farmers (which tend to be on the winning side) became way more powerful.
    Of course, chasing a cloaky condor out of a plex was a nuisance... now they tend to be in a warp-stabbed cruiser/destroyer (they got the money anyway). With a powerfull NPC on their side... which basically means, you need to bring at least 2 players to fight them... A harder thing, if you are outnumbered 3-1.

    Time will tell how it eventually turns out... but i fear that warzones won't flip sides anymore. And eventually the losing-sides players will yust leave faction warfare... only making the unbalanced problem worse.


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