Raphael Celestine
Sovereign Front
14
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Posted - 2012.12.07 08:46:00 -
[1] - Quote
This thread again. 
Nikk summed things up pretty well, but I'll throw in my 2c anyway.
EVE is a PvP game in a persistent world with significant consequences to losing a battle. That creates positive feedback loops in any repeated battles between the same combatants. As such, it must have options for asymmetric combat, otherwise any pretence at balance vanishes.
As things stand, AFK cloaking is the only practical form of guerilla warfare in EVE.
Potential targets in EVE fall into three main categories: Structures, PvP pilots and PvE/industry pilots. The entire point of asymmetric combat is not to fight your opponent's PvP fleets directly, which rules them out. Reinforcement timers mean that you can't kill a structure without fighting those PvP fleets, so they're out as well. That leaves PvE pilots as the primary prey of guerilla operations (as they should be).
The trouble is, current game mechanics mean that an alert PvE pilot can avoid an attack relatively easily. Between POSes and stations, he can always have an unbreachable sanctuary that is only a warp away. Local chat means that he is warned instantly when a potential attacker arrives in system, well before the newcomer is in position to threaten him. To succeed, the attacker has to locate, travel to and tackle their target faster than said target can align and dock. If the PvE pilot is prealigned, he can be completely safe within one or two seconds.
AFK cloaking allows the attacker to disrupt their opponent's PvE operations despite the fact that the defenders have near-complete control over how and when combat can occur. By putting a cloaked ship in system, they create a threat that the defender can't drive off; the opposition is then left with the difficult choice of stopping all PvE or risking an attack. (Note that the choice is still entirely in the defender's hands: if they dock up, there's nothing the cloaky pilot can do)
None of that means that it's a good way to implement an asymmetric warfare mechanic. A system that essentially relies on frustrating your targets enough to make them take a risk doesn't fit well with a game that is supposed to be fun to play for both sides, and the current dynamic of AFK cloaking combined with hot-drops tends to produce either a onesided massacre or no fight at all. There are undoubtedly other, better ways of achieving that goal - but AFK cloaking can't be removed until after one of them is implemented. If you'd like to see it go the way of the dodo, find a replacement that you think is fair to both sides and then start pestering CCP to implement it.
TLDR: AFK cloaking is a poor way of implementing guerilla warfare, but it's the only one we've got right now. If you want to get rid of it, come up with a replacement rather than just complaining. |