Originally by: Becq Starforged

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SOLUTION

The basic mechanic that needs to be modified is the docking/gate timer, which prevents performing those actions within a minute after the last aggressive act was committed. A common suggestion has been to simply increase the docking time, but that is a bad solution for two reasons. First, unless the timer is fairly long, it doesn't address the issue of capital ship docking games, especially the lowsec version, where the capital ship has plenty of time to de-aggro and dock. Second, the longer the time is, the more irritating it will be to legitimate attempts to dock or use a gate, for example after a fight is finished.

Here is a better solution:

Quote:

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Very simply, the timers that control station docking and gate jumping after aggression should be modified as follows:
* So long as a ship does not commit an aggressive act (weapons, drones, EW, remote repair of a combatant, etc), no timer applies to docking or gate use (beyond the usual session change limits).
* If a ship acts in an aggressive manner, that ship gains the usual aggression flag, and the station/gate timer is set to one minute. Until the timer runs out, the ship cannot dock or use gates.
* Once flagged, any hostile act whether it's by the ship in question or against it will reset the station/gate timer to the full one minute.

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That third bullet point represents the change in a nutshell. Let me clarify that point:

Currently, the timer to enter the station or jump through a gate resets itself each time you attack, and only runs down if you abstain from attacking for the duration of the timer. So if you stop attacking for a short time, you can re-enter the station regardless of what your opponents do. What I'm suggesting is that the station timer be reset any time you fire OR any time someone fires on you, so long as you have an aggression flag active to them.

This means that if you leave a station and see a camp there, you can still dock again so long as you hold your fire. But once you return fire, you are committing yourself to the fight, and the station will not shelter you if you fare poorly. If this happens, you still have the option to flee away from the station (assuming you aren't scrambled or can outrun your pursuers), and if you can avoid combat until the station/gate timer runs down, you can return to the station and dock. It also means that as long as you are flagged (aggression flag, not the station/gate timer), you will regain the full station/gate time if anyone you are flagged to fires on you. It also means that if you hold fire long enough for your aggression flag to expire, you are free to dock or jump even if you are attacked again on the way.

In short, this is not an nerf, it simply plugs a hole in the game system to prevent exploiting a technicality to engage in fights with zero risk.

Constructive criticism or other comments are welcome.

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