To make it clear, this was not written by me at any point or in any way. Credit goes to Corvus
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So low Sec is widely considered to be the bridging point between High Sec and Null sec space; not just geographically but in a player’s “journey” through the game. Previous content updates have stunted player generated content in Low Sec. From the release of citadels, which made Faction Warfare pretty much a pointless endeavour. Invasions that have made logistics for small corp and solo pilots or anyone without a Jump Freighter virtually impossible without jumping through arbitrary hoops or having to pivot their playtime away from the things in game they pay the cost of admission for. To the Arenas, which have almost directly caused a decline in roaming content in Low Sec as the Arenas can be accessed from any “safe” High Sec system (namely trade hubs). Now, these key issues which not only affect me and the Faction Warfare community, but also Low Sec pirates. Without new blood in the form of players trying PvP, FW groups flying and fighting to take systems and the odd exploration pilot. There is not really a targeted sect for piracy groups to go after, apart from other pirate groups. Here’s the rub. In my opinion, many, if not all these content issues can be solved by revamping Faction Warfare and making it attractive for players to join. Some of the benefits of more populated FW ecosystem could mean. More pilots in Low Security Space, more targets for Piracy and neutral PvP groups to shoot at. More newbros leaving the stagnation of High Sec, leading to better player retention as new goals and new areas for these guys to explore (introducing the concept of danger to newbros who may not experienced this in High Sec). Frequent and bigger player generated content from FW system sieges and larger fights (that are not reduced to a crawl with TiDi). More experienced and better trained pilots moving onto Null Sec (expanding content there).
How to fix this?
The answers vary depending on who you talk to, the common thread being that a large amount of resources and Dev time is needed to solve these issues. CCP has made it clear that the game has a player retention issue but seems set on adding things and making changes to make this even harder. My suggestions for a better Low Sec and FW would be as follows…
Removal of the current citadels in FW Low Sec warzones… The citadels are a mockery of FW mechanics, where taking a system means you take away resources and assets from the enemy via the Station lock out mechanics. Replacing these completely with new FW or Low Sec structures such as FOB Structures (much like they did for Null Sec for jump beacons) or reducing the size of citadels that can be anchored in these areas would be a big help. Another suggestion is limiting the hangar space for the current citadels, preventing groups from living out of them in FW Low Sec space. This would in effect force groups to make tactical choices on what ships to bring to an offensive campaign in a specific system and return some value to owning a system NPC station.
Reworking the Loyalty Point and Tier system for Faction Warfare. Currently, the tier mechanics promote a “rich get richer” system where farming LP via complexing running and botting are the key to warzone control and bonused LP rewards. At this stage, FW could be completely devoid of all PvP players and the control of both warzones would still switch between factions on a regular basis. Many systems are worked up to a vulnerable state by farmers, who then leave to start farming the next system without attacking the I-Hub and conquering the system.
FW should be about PvP and taking systems, both of which should be rewarded highly. I would suggest linking the unused faction ranks system to kills on opposing FW players, translating PvP directly into rewards in the LP store and separating FW missioning from the system capture element of gameplay. Conquering systems should also be rewarded with larger amounts of LP, rather than on a per complex basis, i.e. taking a system, working towards a goal to receive a large reward rather than getting hundreds of smaller rewards for what amounts to being AFK in a complex in an unfitted frigate. Removal of barriers to entry to cheap PvP for low skilled players… FW and Low Sec should be the place for new to PvP players to try PvP. Its situated close to high Sec space and should be easily accessible for those without a full logistics wing or alt characters. The recent Invasions in High Sec border systems have had a direct hand in the reduction of players entering Low Sec via the use of NPC gate camps, whose capability of catching small ship vastly outstrips that which a similar player run gate camp is able to do. My suggestion would be to remove these from key systems that lead to Low Sec, making access to cheap, small scale and solo PvP available to those who want it. Introduction of Frontline Systems… Strategic systems where PvP would be focused on a key objective. A frontline system would be designated based on the number of friendly systems connected to that system (think trench lines in WW1). These systems would see high rewards for actively attacking or defending the system than other, more back water systems. You could also implement a timer mechanic where systems away from the frontlines replenish timers or spawn less complexes, therefore inhibiting AFK farming in quiet areas. This would integrate a risk versus reward flow of PvP, i.e. more LP or rewards from playing in frontline systems with more chance of encountering resistance from enemies. You could even link this to the Agency window, allowing veteran players to identify PvP hotspots or informing new players where the “bad guys” are. Targets of Opportunity: Keeping Veteran players in FW… With all things, stagnation is a killer of content. Many more experienced players tend to move from Low Sec and FW on to Null Sec as a natural progression on to bigger things (and ships) in the game. Frigates and Destroyers are all good for running complexes, but roaming content drivers Cruiser and Battlecruiser gangs are also wanted. A suggestion I have heard is a roaming high reward beacon, a randomly spawning objective that can provide content generation for those not
necessarily wanting to keep things small scale. These would offer bonus FW rewards to the faction that takes this beacon, providing a focal point for high tier gang content for FW and Neutral pilots.