Powerplay Could FDev answer a small question please?

CMDR Endincite

CMDR Endincite
Is "Off-Nav" intended?

Off-Nav is our term for flying just past the Nav beacon in SC, dropping, and finding only Powerplay ships in the beacon's instance ~60-100km out for undermining. Currently the most common method of organized undermining that I know of.

What's an exploit and what's not is a fairly constant turd-slinging contest, and we'd appreciate this one settled.

Thank you for your time.
 

withnail

withnail
I think it is ok.

Although blocking the Nav does force them into SC, which makes for more entertaining cat and mouse gameplay.

Providing they are in open and not resorting to PG undermining of course.
 

Euklides Diophant

E
I'm interested to know as well.

Personally I think the off-nav or just nav beacon and Res undermining is detrimental to the goal of powerplay to provide a team game, when both can be done far off from the actual point so that no one can reasonably intervene.
Even if it wasn't like that and you were only able around the actual point to get the spawn there would only be a finite amount of instances in play, meaning more than 4 doing the action would be forced elsewhere, likely private/solo. (because the old supercruise undermining is slower)
While you can block the instance as withnail said, it is more likely to put said underminers into private than actually a goose chase with a 100km radius of some ship not visible until you get within 8km.

Just remove the powerplay NPCs from nav beacons and res sites and revert it to the old method of undermining in SC instead of going up and down a nav beacon.
Not only does it have the mentioned side effects, but it also clashes with the viability of expansion conflict zones who was already with supercruise undermining of questionable viability for merit per hour. (only in big efficient wings did it really surpass)
 

aspiringexpatriate

aspiringexpatriate
The only thing I know about FDev's comments about the Nav Beacon come from the 2.1 Patch Notes.

Update spawning ambient AI in normal space, and add powerplay ships when at stations, nav beacons and RES locations
Click to expand...

Now, that only says PP NPCs were added to those locations. It made simple travel annoying until 2.2 when PP NPCs needed you actually carrying merits to become an active target.

However, this doesn't specific off-beacon, because NavBeacon spawns are usually only within 10km of the beacon, right? When dropping off-beacon, you don't see the standard NPC spawns, just the PP ones. (Which is what made it a beneficial tactic to players who wanted to maximize merits per hour.) Does anyone know if that 'rule' about PP NPC spawn also holds true around stations and RESs? I know PP NPCs are usually more than 5km out from the station, but I don't know RES spawn rates enough to round out that example.

So when it comes to asking FDev about the viability or intendedness of the 'off-beacon' Power Play spawn, I think we're left with two questions:
  • Why are PP NPCs spawning further out from the Nav Beacon than 'standard' NPCs? Is that intended? Or a misplaced decimal?
  • So you get 2 CMDRs in the same instance. Why does only one CMDR generate PP NPC spawns for the entire instance? Shouldn't both CMDRs generate their own spawns that both CMDRs can then see?
In my opinion those are the more specific questions that should arrive after Endincite gets his basic answer.
 

bigity

bigity
Undermining is weak enough as it is. This would essentially kill undermining IMO.

PP needs massive revamping - including worthwhile incentives to push PP players to Open (like the previously mentioned bonus to the power's gains from merits generated and turned in while in Open mode).
 

withnail

withnail
Time to earn merits via fortification is less than time taken to earn merits via undermining.

The Nav beacon thing isn't an exploit until they have got the merit earning disparity sorted out.

And it seems from the other thread by Sandro that they don't even participate in Powerplay and have no idea what the Powerplay community want, let alone read this sub-forum.
 

Martin Schou

Martin Schou
withnail said:
Time to earn merits via fortification is less than time taken to earn merits via undermining.
Click to expand...

Merits earned via undermining is pure profit compared to hauling. Yes, I can make 10k merits way faster with haulage than I can via combat, but it'll cost me in the neighbourhood of 45 million credits to do so, AFTER the rating 5 payout has been included, whereas 10k merits via undermining will net me 50 million credits from the payout and another million from handing in the merits.
 
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