Herzog Wolfhammer wrote:I don't see where the ability to hunt (or bait a hunter) in exploration sites is going to be a problem.
Intel tools that afford protection still apply.
But consider that an exploration ship, while lacking in tank and sacrificing DPS for the probe launcher can still run a heavy AB to run off with and even field tackle gear too. I used to run a 100MN AB on a Cyclone with a large nuet just to keep tacklers off. (worked great on sleepers too).
Exploration is coming of age. I have yet to even find a site to test a mini game in, but this only leads me to look forward to getting a chance in the future, perhaps a late night session. Frankly the whole profession of Exploration has never been about the maximization of ISK in such manner that mission running in highsec or incursions or nullsec anoms are. Exploration is about that Lara Croft/Indiana Jones aspect of the game. Yes you might hit it big and haul in some serious ISK for mere minutes of work, or you might work all day at it and get nothing. But since 2009 I always found, along with many who like this play style, that it's all about "the find" as Indiana Jones would say.
If you explore and then at the end of it say " I can bring in more ISK in the same amount of time!" or "I didn't get all the cans because of spew/gankers/mini game" then exploration is not for you. The "Productivity maximization" crowd already has well-established content to earn ISK in. Just think of the scene from "Raider of the Lost Ark" when Doctor Jones was swapping the golden idol for a bag of sand, the look on his face, and what happened next (he was basically blobbed by his rival and ransomed for the loot). Think of that and you will get exploration.
I have done mainly this since 2009 and have a station lock box with so much valuable loot in it I can't keep track and I'd say most of my attempts at exploration are mediocre at best, and having been run off many a nullsec site by NPC and player alike (usually in half structure too).
This is the way that I'm looking at it. I explored a bit before the change. I liked it okay but didn't find it that fun. I like making isk like anyone else but when I play I like to have some fun doing it. I know what I can do if I want to max my isk per hour but balance that with whats enjoyable. I don't play this game with 'max isk' as a goal and I know many people who don't just play for that as well.
Since the change I've found exploration a lot more fun (fun is subjective of course). And for me the search aspect is part of it. Yesterday I explored for a few hours and made diddly squat. In the two days before I hit some big pay sites and pulled in over 500 million in the first two systems I hit. I like the not knowing what a days exploration will bring in. It makes the good days that much better. If I wanted to know I was going to bring in a certain amount of isk for every hour I play I would run things like missions or incursion where the reward is more predictable.
I'm also liking the risk vs reward decisions that need to be made. I jump into a system with a lot of sigs and several people in local. Do I risk it or not? The other day I was busy running a site while being alone in the system. Someone jumped in. I cargo scanned a can a saw two good Bps. Then I saw combat probes so I knew the guy was coming after me. (Now it will be seeing scanner probes or wondering if the person had pre-scanned the system). It then became a race to see if I could hack the can before they appeared. It was a hard can. First attempt failed. Then success and as I was pulling the cans in as fast as I could red appeared on my butt. My ship is fitted with escape in mind and I managed to get two more cans in before getting away. Then a check on the cargo hold. Yes! I got the BPs. The whole thing got my blood pumping. If I hadn't gotten the BPs I would have been bummed but the experience of taking the risk is what I'm after in the game as much as isk.
I like the new hacking game. Yep it's rng but the more I've done it I'm finding it part random, part luck and part skill. It's the same with the loot spew mechanic which I wasn't sure I liked much at first. Yeah sure you can't get everything but I'm finding I'm getting enjoyment from just trying to get the 'good thing' that's in the can and figuring out what I can do better to get more cans. It's less boring. Many of my corp have tried the new system, a few have decided that it's not there thing. For them the risk vs reward balanced with the randomness factor doesn't do it for them. Several are more like me.
I'm liking all the changes (not that it's perfect) so much that yesterday I completely changed my skill plan and short term focus to max out what I need for exploring.