Fleet Carriers are the first major content update since December 2018. With a wait that long, everyone wants easy access to that content. That's understandable.
The trouble is - Fleet Carriers aren't meant for everyone. And I think that's OK.
Puts four pips to shields.
They aren't meant to be cheap. You're not supposed to get one within a day of playing. We have that scenario now, with players going from Sidewinder to Condy after a few hours at a Void Opal ring.
Carriers are for the Top 3% (according to Inara) - the Commanders who have, over time, built up billions of credits. Expecting a Carrier to cost just 2 A-rated Cutters is just......naive, at best. I thought the same way for a while, but look at the size of the things.
Commanders demanded something to spend their credits on. Some long-term objective to aim for. Credits were meaningless after a while and meant nothing. Some Commanders had mined everything, shot everything, robbed everyone, ganked everyone, gone to all the interesting places, scanned everything, Grade-5 maxed everything they wanted, obtained all the nice Powerplay toys, taken all the selfies they wanted, and had run out of things to do.
Well, here come the Carriers. You want a credit sink? Here it is. An objective to aim for? Here ya go. Think you've achieved everything? Think again. A long-term option for those who want one. An option which looks like its going to give players something to think about, and manage. An option to hire your own crew and build your own, dare I say it...Dominion? (minus shapeshifters). Loitering above my pads will be punishable by death, the fuel is 300CR per ton and if you say please I'll let you use my shipyards
.
A chance to set your own rules in your own instance of space.
And you know what? I like the sound of that.
It won't be for everyone, but its optional.
I can't help thinking that if Carriers were released as part of Beyond Chapter 4 (which was the original plan), perhaps the reaction to the 5B CR price tag wouldn't be so loud? With that plan, Commanders without billions of credits still had plenty of other content to dig into too. As if stands, I can understand why people who want that content, that carrier, on the day of release feel that the latest offering is far, far out of reach.
And yet, its not. Not really.
Pick a system which sells high-value goods (High-Tech, Refinery, Extraction), get the locals allied to your cause and get access to missions galore paying millions of credits. Use passive power-play effects (hello Aisling Duval) to get extra coin.
Bored hauling goods? Try passenger missions. No? What about system-state trading? Goods like Polymers can sell for millions of credits if you know where to look.
Nope? OK, go Mining. Don't like shooting rocks? What about exploring? No? Shoot Skimmers. Shoot Pirates. Shoot....whatever. Do whatever. But, try to have fun doing it. Its a game. And remember, Carriers are optional.
There are plenty of ways to make credits in this game now. I say that as someone who started on Xbox Early Access around four (?) years ago. Back then, becoming allied to a faction just meant that the station turned green in your HUD and there was no financial reward for that. Yay?
What I'm I saying? I'm saying that Fleet Carriers aren't meant for everyone. And I think that's OK. They're the premier item a player can own and are I feel are priced accordingly.
And there's nothing stopping non-Carrier owners from landing at one. Or even shooting at one. Just saying.
The trouble is - Fleet Carriers aren't meant for everyone. And I think that's OK.
Puts four pips to shields.
They aren't meant to be cheap. You're not supposed to get one within a day of playing. We have that scenario now, with players going from Sidewinder to Condy after a few hours at a Void Opal ring.
Carriers are for the Top 3% (according to Inara) - the Commanders who have, over time, built up billions of credits. Expecting a Carrier to cost just 2 A-rated Cutters is just......naive, at best. I thought the same way for a while, but look at the size of the things.
Commanders demanded something to spend their credits on. Some long-term objective to aim for. Credits were meaningless after a while and meant nothing. Some Commanders had mined everything, shot everything, robbed everyone, ganked everyone, gone to all the interesting places, scanned everything, Grade-5 maxed everything they wanted, obtained all the nice Powerplay toys, taken all the selfies they wanted, and had run out of things to do.
Well, here come the Carriers. You want a credit sink? Here it is. An objective to aim for? Here ya go. Think you've achieved everything? Think again. A long-term option for those who want one. An option which looks like its going to give players something to think about, and manage. An option to hire your own crew and build your own, dare I say it...Dominion? (minus shapeshifters). Loitering above my pads will be punishable by death, the fuel is 300CR per ton and if you say please I'll let you use my shipyards
.A chance to set your own rules in your own instance of space.
And you know what? I like the sound of that.
It won't be for everyone, but its optional.
I can't help thinking that if Carriers were released as part of Beyond Chapter 4 (which was the original plan), perhaps the reaction to the 5B CR price tag wouldn't be so loud? With that plan, Commanders without billions of credits still had plenty of other content to dig into too. As if stands, I can understand why people who want that content, that carrier, on the day of release feel that the latest offering is far, far out of reach.
And yet, its not. Not really.
Pick a system which sells high-value goods (High-Tech, Refinery, Extraction), get the locals allied to your cause and get access to missions galore paying millions of credits. Use passive power-play effects (hello Aisling Duval) to get extra coin.
Bored hauling goods? Try passenger missions. No? What about system-state trading? Goods like Polymers can sell for millions of credits if you know where to look.
Nope? OK, go Mining. Don't like shooting rocks? What about exploring? No? Shoot Skimmers. Shoot Pirates. Shoot....whatever. Do whatever. But, try to have fun doing it. Its a game. And remember, Carriers are optional.
There are plenty of ways to make credits in this game now. I say that as someone who started on Xbox Early Access around four (?) years ago. Back then, becoming allied to a faction just meant that the station turned green in your HUD and there was no financial reward for that. Yay?
What I'm I saying? I'm saying that Fleet Carriers aren't meant for everyone. And I think that's OK. They're the premier item a player can own and are I feel are priced accordingly.
And there's nothing stopping non-Carrier owners from landing at one. Or even shooting at one. Just saying.
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