Allegiance - Why bother? (What is in it for me other than cookies)

Cobblars · May 26, 2015

Hi all,

Trying to find an answer to a question about allegiances and I am finding it hard to wonder why I would want to choose one over the other right now.

I appreciate you can get perks, like the option to buy a certain ship for example, however after this benefit I find little other benefits.

So what is in it for me please? Many thanks in advance for any support surrounding this issue.

EAGLE 5 · May 26, 2015

Why easy, esprit de corps, camaraderie, fame, fortune, men singing songs and all that .

SteveLaw · May 26, 2015

A sense of purpose or place. It can flavour your experience and actions if you play within the game universe rather than just play the game.

flobadob · May 26, 2015

One example - there was a recent community goal to ferry non-lethal weapons to Persephone. If you had the required empire rank (Count) you would have got the permit to a star called Facece which sold the stuff. Would have been much easier to use this star than the one I was forced to use 50LY away, as I didn't have the permit at the time.

This is minor benefit however to the changes that are coming with the power play update. Just a guess.

Cobblars · May 26, 2015

OK, thanks all. Not trying to be negative, or stupid, more making sure I am not missing something.

Played MMO's before where there were no benefits really other than you preferred the look of one over the other.

All cool - happy so long as I don't find myself a month down the line and thinking "oh crap, what have I done!!"

DrakeAurum · May 26, 2015

Well, hopefully it would give you something to do in the game that's meaningful to you, a reason to play other than just to try and make some small numbers turn into bigger numbers. That's certainly what I'm hoping to get out of it.

Apos · May 26, 2015

Is this about ther powerplay update or just the current system in place where you get ranks in Fed/Empire?

Cobblars · May 26, 2015

Both tbh Apos.

Reason for now other than owning a specific ship as well as for the powerplay update, if the information is even known.

Apos · May 26, 2015

Cobblars said:
Both tbh Apos.

Reason for now other than owning a specific ship as well as for the powerplay update, if the information is even known.

The power play update will also provide modules as extra perks.

Other than that, it all comes down to enriching gameplay as far as immersion goes and not min/maxing.

Which is really important for long term playing of such a game. The community is turning too credit hungry and steps should be taken to go away from that.

EAGLE 5 · May 26, 2015

I do think cookies, songs of great deeds, and some unique swag are great reasons..... the downside is that this game went from being Frontier Elite to something more like a World of Warcraft with how this is being executed. I can't help but feeling the RPGesque questgrinding vibe from this execution.

digitalscream · May 26, 2015

In 1.3, pledging allegiance to a Power and staying loyal gets you cool Power-specific weapons and modules, too.

Trust me when I say that the Elite galaxy is about to get a hell of a lot more dangerous. We've got all sorts, from weapons which destroy shields in a few shots (but leave the hull alone) to a multi-shot rail gun.

Cobblars · May 26, 2015

EAGLE 5 said:
I do think cookies, songs of great deeds, and some unique swag are great reasons..... the downside is that this game went from being Frontier Elite to something more like a World of Warcraft with how this is being executed. I can't help but feeling the RPGesque questgrinding vibe from this execution.

Now I am "getting it" I can certainly see the benefits of introducing this sort of measures. But did not consider what you are hinting at - grinding killed MMO's for me, having to log on to do my dailies became as enjoyable as doing household chores!

EAGLE 5 · May 26, 2015

Cobblars said:
Now I am "getting it" I can certainly see the benefits of introducing this sort of measures. But did not consider what you are hinting at - grinding killed MMO's for me, having to log on to do my dailies became as enjoyable as doing household chores!

Well that is the feeling that I get, however, to be fair, this is just day 1 of the beta of that particular game mode so, it may very well be that there will be changes that will lessen the RPG feel and somehow facilitate better integration with the Elite we all know and love. Ultimately the player has the choice whether to participate in the Power Play structure or skip it and go on their own.

Cody · May 26, 2015

Always the lone wolf - that's me!

SteveLaw · May 26, 2015

I believe that in Power Play higher rank also gets more influence when voting.

Privata · May 26, 2015

Diversity and unity ! thats what its all about !

Hans Slowlow · May 26, 2015

For those who espouse the merits of immersion, I agree with the spirit of what you say. I also agree that the game should not become a narrow grind for credits.

However, look at it from the perspective of a new player who is scraping together enough to properly outfit a Cobra.

Such people are looking at the fact that a Python costs 55 mil and then they learn that they should not even consider getting one without bringing 150+ to the table if they expect to be able to outfit it even moderately well.

Anacondas are a pipe dream for such people and they are reading in these forums of people who keep two and a small fleet of assorted craft to do with as their fancy strikes.

Given this, it should not be any wonder that many players will seek to maximize their earning potential and thus question the particular need to align themselves with a faction by completing missions that do not return an immediate monetary reward.

Count me among those relatively new to the game. I have a maxed out Vulture and 40 mil credits to my name. I am still in the building stage. I’ve completed almost zero missions that do not advance my desire to explore more of what the game has to offer. To me that means stacking up a wad of cash. Factions be damned.

EAGLE 5 · May 26, 2015

SteveLaw said:
I believe that in Power Play higher rank also gets more influence when voting.

Real life simulator then

Apos · May 26, 2015

Hans Slowlow said:
For those who espouse the merits of immersion, I agree with the spirit of what you say. I also agree that the game should not become a narrow grind for credits.

However, look at it from the perspective of a new player who is scraping together enough to properly outfit a Cobra.

Such people are looking at the fact that a Python costs 55 mil and then they learn that they should not even consider getting one without bringing 150+ to the table if they expect to be able to outfit it even moderately well.

Anacondas are a pipe dream for such people and they are reading in these forums of people who keep two and a small fleet of assorted craft to do with as their fancy strikes.

Given this, it should not be any wonder that many players will seek to maximize their earning potential and thus question the particular need to align themselves with a faction by completing missions that do not return an immediate monetary reward.

Count me among those relatively new to the game. I have a maxed out Vulture and 40 mil credits to my name. I am still in the building stage. I’ve completed almost zero missions that do not advance my desire to explore more of what the game has to offer. To me that means stacking up a wad of cash. Factions be damned.

I understand the sentiment, been there not long ago.

But then you realize that, as far as affecting the universe itself, it doesn't matter if you are in a vulture or a python. Someone doing 10 missions with a cobra within a day has influenced the world around him more than someone with an anaconda who did 1.

Although the players aren't to be solely blamed for that. (nevertheless, the "please tell me the 5% treshold so I get max profit with minimum effort" bunch are truly annoying.) The game itself hasn't been too good at giving players "the spark" to invest into factions and their place among them.

Hopefully this update is a step towards the right direction when it comes to igniting that spark.

And when PvP gets meaningful, you might get to appreciate those small ships even more. Because I doubt many people would be happy to pay their anaconda insurance 10-15 times a night.

Hans Slowlow · May 27, 2015

Apos,

Thank-you for your well thought out reply. It makes me re-evaluate my approach to the game.

I read it partly as "Why rush to the end when your actions matter as you travel along?"

Admittedly, I've not really attempted to have an influence.

I am not one to ask how to squeeze the last drop of credits out of that asteroid floating over there. However, I will admit to giving some thought about how to make a fist full of credits quickly (but that is another topic).

You are very correct in pointing out that I could help shape to course of events (albeit perhaps a minor role) in the ED Galaxy even now. After all I DO own a totally tricked out Vulture that can seriously kick ass. And I know how to massage the throttle and stick enough to toast any fool careless enough to challenge me.