... Afterburners V are worthless skills.

Longer duration means less cap use over time. I have at least one fit on one alt where Afterburner V makes all the difference in the world.

What fit would that be? Just asking out of curiosity because I can't think of any fit that would need it unless you're going for cap-stability but then, I never needed a capstable ship.

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What fit would that be? Just asking out of curiosity because I can't think of any fit that would need it unless you're going for cap-stability but then, I never needed a capstable ship.

Anyway - I know what the skill does, but especially when using dualprop, having it at IV allows for more flexible switching between propmods, which imho is more desirable than the decrease in cap use for a mod that hardly uses a significant amount of cap anyway.

What fit would that be? Just asking out of curiosity because I can't think of any fit that would need it unless you're going for cap-stability but then, I never needed a capstable ship.

Anyway - I know what the skill does, but especially when using dualprop, having it at IV allows for more flexible switching between propmods, which imho is more desirable than the decrease in cap use for a mod that hardly uses a significant amount of cap anyway.

Level VI is missing, that's all.

Agreed. This and maybe even level 7. A major shortcoming is that the skill system is not open-ended. Take a glance at Eveboard and you'll see that most skill categories are dominated by characters (myself included) that have maxed out all skills in that category. To me, it seems that there's just something fundamentally wrong with that.

I couldn't disagree more.

Care to elaborate? Perfect disagreement would suggest that there should be no skill system.... that any player should be able to fit and fly any ship from day one, build and sell any item with maximum efficiency from day one, head the largest corporation from day one, fly the most challenging mission from day one... that there should be no focus or specialization in the game... is that your position?

"I'm bored with eve, what do I do now."

In my view, an extension of skill levels would restore the ability for dedicated characters to continue training to higher skill levels in order to differentiate themselves, or perhaps even err in the direction of training way beyond the point of relevant marginal utility.

IGÇÖd like to see players have the option to train more deeply into their chosen skillset rather than be faced with the realization that their pursuit is done, that thereGÇÖs nothing left to be gained.

(edited to put the quote in the proper context)

Thank you, OfBalance, for your well-articulated reply. This


is exactly what I am concerned about. Finishing a set of skills needed to excel at a given activity leads directly to that state. At nearing nine years of age, the game has a significant and growing base of players that are running into that wall with their chosen pursuit. Sure, one can diversify by training something new, and many do. But why cap a skill set at current limits? What harm is there in making the mechanic available to train to yet higher levels for additional marginal gain in skill?

The fact that specialization has faded into ambiguity is not so much the proliferation of alts in the game, but more a result of the relative ease with which any character can gain the skills needed to excel in a given pursuit. In my view, an extension of skill levels would restore the ability for dedicated characters to continue training to higher skill levels in order to differentiate themselves, or perhaps even err in the direction of training way beyond the point of relevant marginal utility.

IGÇÖd like to see players have the option to train more deeply into their chosen skillset rather than be faced with the realization that their pursuit is done, that thereGÇÖs nothing left to be gained.

(edited to put the quote in the proper context)

However for the new players entering the game it is generally overwheleming already and the skill system in eve is a daughting task when starting with 1 million points. In most places they are told to specilize in a choosen feilds so that one day he can be on the same playing feild as everyone else. By removing this skill wall, new players will say "they simply will never catch up" and they never will.

Also there is the fact that some skills would become overpowered a simple example is the minings skills. it would upset the market the only characters to make use of training these skills would be the auto bots. Invention skills improvements i could agree with maybe untill everyone must have 6-8 to even be competive.

I see your point in relation to combat skills, however for the industry side of eve this would create an unblance.

If you're concerned about boredome or lack of depth, let me be the first to assure you that additional ranks of an existing skill with ever-more-marginal benefit will not be the solution.

Don't get me wrong: I think there's a lot of missing depth in research, mining, manufacturing, and various other industrial pursuits. However, I think these issues are related to the existing skills being "blah," and the interface or even actions themselves are lacking the creative design required to really engage the player, rather than have them desire to automate the process as much as possible.

Supposing I had the option to produce from a given bpo 1% more efficiently than anyone else in the game, I don't think that would improve my quality of gameplay as much as an overhaul to the POS interface. If I were presented new content over the top of these issues (as we often have), it wouldn't be long before I got back to the same point.

No assurance necessary. Current skill caps are just one of many factors contributing to this issue. I'm not suggesting that expanded skills would be the definitive solution to the issue. I believe that expanded skills would diminish one of the factors that lead to the issue, while enhancing the challenge of sustained, long-term skill development.

Excellent points. If we expand the scope of the discussion beyond the current skill system to include other game design elements, we'll readily find areas of opportunity to much more significantly enhance game-play.

Do this and I will quit eve.

This will make the game less fun for new players as well. Having a reachable goal and being able to get max skills in a favored category without spending 4+ years to get it means new players feel like they *can* compete with older players, otherwise, WHY bother? Major put off.

This is a very bad idea. It ONLY helps the oldest of the old players.

Do this and I will quit eve.

This will make the game less fun for new players as well. Having a reachable goal and being able to get max skills in a favored category without spending 4+ years to get it means new players feel like they *can* compete with older players, otherwise, WHY bother? Major put off.

This is a very bad idea. It ONLY helps the oldest of the old players.

Emo aside

I couldn't disagree more.