Elite Dangerous | Powerplay 2.0 Update

[Rubbernuke]

AFAIK NPCs have engineered ships
And not everone has a lot of bounties, becasue not everyone fight to do some powerplay work. We can't reduce everything and whole discussion to one specific kind of play.

FD disabled roving PP NPCs (hunters I think they were called) so essentially rival powers (from an NPC point of view) don't come after you. FD also heavily reduced engineering in PP NPCs (the only engineering I've seen is with non PP NPCs such as ATR, high threat signal sources). Hell, the very first foray I did in PP2 in a stronghold the NPCs ran away and did not fire a shot.

And if Powers don't do that, whats the point of having powers to begin with, other than to be merit pinatas? Are they happy to let you just do what you want?

 

[Michael Ryan]

FD disabled roving PP NPCs (hunters I think they were called) so essentially rival powers (from an NPC point of view) don't come after you. FD also heavily reduced engineering in PP NPCs (the only engineering I've seen is with non PP NPCs such as ATR, high threat signal sources). Hell, the very first foray I did in PP2 in a stronghold the NPCs ran away and did not fire a shot.

So I understand you had possibility to play before that nerf and it was better? I am sure it was the reason why Frontier did it and it was valuable reason for that time.

And if Powers don't do that, whats the point of having powers to begin with, other than to be merit pinatas? Are they happy to let you just do what you want?

Eveyone needs to find own way.

 

[Ozric]

Can we stop with the derogatory tone about the way people choose to play the game! Honestly you'd think you'd be able to accept that everyone is allowed to play the game as they want, within the rules of the game.

You don't like the way they play that's up to you, but there's no reason to admonish others because of it!

 

[Helmut Grokenberger]

About that easy part and that thing that NPCs pose no threat... I have a little story to tell, just for some perspective.

After a few weeks of absence I managed to get back in the cockpit last night. Initially I didn't want to do PP, but eventually I got roped into doing the weeklies. One of the tasks was collecting pods in a specific enemy system.

So I went and did that. The system was annoyingly devoid of wreckage signal sources, so I went to the only one available, which was... I think it was threat 4. Threat level means nothing, right?

Wrong. I dropped into the signal source and was greeted by a wing of three PP Anacondas who immediately opened fire on me. Now despite being only an average combat pilot I consider myself an experienced player, dare I say: Veteran. And I came well prepared in a well kitted multipurpose build, so I wasn't in real danger. I dashed into the center of the signal source, deployed my collectors, waited for the drones to deliver the pods, and made like a tree and left.

Being well prepared and in a decent ship I suffered no damage at all, so I count that as a win. But I would say a player even worse than me, less experienced, and less prepared might have been toast. It wouldn't have needed a G5 murder boat to destroy a beginner player, I think.

Now there's the argument made that PP is endgame content, but I don't believe that. The way PP 2.0 was introduced and rolled out it feels pretty much like an offer to every player, maybe even newer / less experienced players more so than veterans.

While it is certainly true that NPCs pose no real threat to experienced "veterans", keep in mind that not every player is such a veteran. And maybe it's a good thing that, with PP 2.0, there is now even more content to be had for everyone.

 

[Rubbernuke]

So I understand you had possibility to play before that nerf and it was better? I am sure it was the reason why Frontier did it and it was valuable reason for that time.


Eveyone needs to find own way.

This was from streamers and patch notes (compared to what initial feedback was).

The problem came from two directions: PP NPCs dropped wherever you dropped (which is stupid for various reasons), and that AI was 'aggressive' (which to me IMO looked quite tame and normal).

This highlights that there is no real link between levels of activity and rival powers (as AI driven entities), and that there is no real NPC moderating force. This is in contrast to the BGS where the analog (criminality) results in security and ATR as well as roving bounty hunters.

About that easy part and that thing that NPCs pose no threat... I have a little story to tell, just for some perspective.

After a few weeks of absence I managed to get back in the cockpit last night. Initially I didn't want to do PP, but eventually I got roped into doing the weeklies. One of the tasks was collecting pods in a specific enemy system.

So I went and did that. The system was annoyingly devoid of wreckage signal sources, so I went to the only one available, which was... I think it was threat 4. Threat level means nothing, right?

Wrong. I dropped into the signal source and was greeted by a wing of three PP Anacondas who immediately opened fire on me. Now despite being only an average combat pilot I consider myself an experienced player, dare I say: Veteran. And I came well prepared in a well kitted multipurpose build, so I wasn't in real danger. I dashed into the center of the signal source, deployed my collectors, waited for the drones to deliver the pods, and made like a tree and left.

Being well prepared and in a decent ship I suffered no damage at all, so I count that as a win. But I would say a player even worse than me, less experienced, and less prepared might have been toast. It wouldn't have needed a G5 murder boat to destroy a beginner player, I think.

Now there's the argument made that PP is endgame content, but I don't believe that. The way PP 2.0 was introduced and rolled out it feels pretty much like an offer to every player, maybe even newer / less experienced players more so than veterans.

While it is certainly true that NPCs pose no real threat to experienced "veterans", keep in mind that not every player is such a veteran. And maybe it's a good thing that, with PP 2.0, there is now even more content to be had for everyone.

The 'threat' missing is Power NPCs pushing back outside of USS', POIs etc and in places like strongholds to make you think twice. I'm not advocating for instant death squads, but to link effort to the top guns so PvE becomes harder. What you have (and what people complain about) is that everything is universally easy rather than the game reacting to the vets who break records each week.

 

[Rebel Yell]

paceful activities

WHAT?

 

[Rebel Yell]

Honestly you'd think you'd be able to accept that everyone is allowed to play the game as they want, within the rules of the game.

Of course, we have to.

But honestly it's hard impossible to keep mouth closed when I read these kind of absurd and pointless statements:

"That's why playing in Open is just waste of time."

 

[Doctor Dread]

Of course, we have to.

But honestly it's hard impossible to keep mouth closed when I read these kind of absurd and pointless statements:

"That's why playing in Open is just waste of time."

...and exactly this attitude is why playing in Open is just waste of time.

 

[Paul_Crowther]

Hey folks. As this thread has deviated from its original course and changed trajectory into a black hole filled with arguments we're going to call it a day there. We'll post a new thread if we have any new Powerplay updates or information.

Cheers!