Siege
Minmatar
Siegecraft Bounty Hunting
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Posted - 2006.09.01 20:54:00 -
[1]
The more I see the concept of a 'selective' warp bubble, the more interesting it seems at an item on its own. I can think of many fun uses for one, and some other folks here have put up great ideas for using it too.
But combining that with a 'warp to 0' as a solution to the bookmark issue, I just see too many possible problems with that. The current situation with instas basically requires gate camps with warp bubbles in 0.0 space if you want to force a fight with somebody. Without gate camps, and warp bubbles, a target that gets into warp is basically a target that can get out of the system. Warp bubbles make this an even more static situation, because it takes a few minutes to get into position and anchor them. PvP has lost its fluidity already, I'd hate to see life reduced to station camps even more than it already is. It promotes blobwars, overwhelming ganks, and reduces the possibility of fun skirmishes.
They are also issues of cost. A small warp bubble normally runs at about 6-7mil right now, and a medium at 20 or so in the regions I operate. Though I know they go for cheaper in some areas. For newer players that is a steep price to pay in order to conduct PvP combat if they are already having issues getting an 5mil isk cruiser. And if you make bubbles more important, as well as eligible to anchor in empire space, that price will go up. This further pushes lower isk players out of pvp combat. Interdictors are just another elite-only option. Having to drag a T2 ship around just to have ANY fight is a bit out of reach for many small corps already having to pay isk just to have the war in the first place. They need an inexpensive way to get into fights they want, as much as they need a way to get away from fights they don't.
Another problem I can forsee is that, for instance, you are in an empire corp that is currently at war. You know the enemy always comes through a certain gate, so you want to put up your selective warp bubble You go to the gate, and somebody you don't know has one there already. They aren't in you alliance and are at war with somebody not hostile to you. You can't anchor things within a certain distance of each other, so you're just out of luck. Try again some other time, because you can't fight today. No bubble, and they all are warping to 0, so you're ONLY chance is to maybe catch them when they uncloak after a jump or when they undock.
And leaving instas alone, to be honest it is a kludy system as it is. Even if you don't change how they effect game play, its still a goof system to operate. No matter what the final result is, I would like to see something better integrated into the functionality of playing the game that doesn't involve deciphering obscure little descriptions and digging 3 levels into a menu.
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