IDEA: Remove Massacre Missions

[StiTch]

I see no reason to remove the missions if you can't over-profit them like we can now. I mean, I am generally of the opinion that the income is much better attached to combat than crap-hauling, but FD seem insistent on the best money making methods to be lazy as possible.

I DO 100% agree that we need a new intensity of CZ with more engineered ships. But I also would say a new intensity of RES is needed. In general, we need more worthy opponents to be available.

 

[Deadspin]

Well, let's start by recognising that you're conflating two separate discussions.

Firstly, there's the basic issue of whether it's reasonable to be able to achieve full military rank, and the ships that go with it, in a couple of days.
You can currently take on 20 missions which can all be completed with a single operation.
FDev are changing this so you'll only be able to complete 3 such missions at a time.
So, I think it's fair to say that FDev certainly DIDN'T intend for rank progression to be possible so quickly or they wouldn't have felt the need to change it.

Secondly, there's the issue with comparisons with real life.
I'll start by pointing out that it wasn't me who made that comparison.
Somebody else did that by saying "If I want to buy a car, I don't have to wait 20 years for it to arrive".
I dunno if that person is very rich and, as a result, is unfamiliar with the concept of saving-up but the simple fact is that most people certainly can't just go out and attain things as soon as they want them.
Whether or not that should be the case in a game is a different matter but, of course, the fact that FDev have sought to reduce people's ability to achieve things quickly suggests that's how they want it.

Let's face it, if FDev did want people to just be able to get Cutters and Corvettes in a short period, they could just bin the whole rank-progression thing entirely and set the game up to offer people a couple of Naval rank missions every day instead.

I'm not trying to say that I don't think they should change it, let me apologize if I came across that way. Having scummed these forums since Beta I just tend to be a tad amused when I see posts that are along the lines of the original one I quoted. I think the best example was one player who, in days prior (many months ago now), had contributed to a thread on how to properly scum the boards for a certain popular loophole and then, two posts later in another thread, chastised Frontier for allowing it to exist as he flew off in his fancy new fully fit Cutter.

The hypocrisy of this forum is astounding, really, which is what I was pointing out with my post.

Of course FDev never intended for anything to be manipulated in such a way but I feel that they were very naïve when it came to building this game up for the online community after not having taken part in it for so long. I also feel that part of the problem is how the galaxy sym itself works. With every attempt they've made to patch out one exploit or another they've broken another aspect of the mission system or negatively affected some part of the BGS.

 

[CptXabaras]

I see no reason to remove the missions if you can't over-profit them like we can now. I mean, I am generally of the opinion that the income is much better attached to combat than crap-hauling, but FD seem insistent on the best money making methods to be lazy as possible.

I DO 100% agree that we need a new intensity of CZ with more engineered ships. But I also would say a new intensity of RES is needed. In general, we need more worthy opponents to be available.

This.

I would really love to see some not even Solo-able content that requires me to have at least a friend in wing to be doable

 

[KronenBrg]

Rather than the mission in its current state how about a Ram tah style mission. You enter a CZ or Station in War system. Get an auto mission Which says, kill ships for Fraction X in CZ and we will give you extra $$$ for each ship destoyed. You then just enter the CZ kill fraction ships and then turn in. Means no mission stacking 1 kill = 20 kills (3 in 2.3) and you not need to leave the CZ except to rearm or turn in CBs.

That's how I think it should work. You can only take one mission, and the payout this mission scales up depending on the number of CZ kills that you get for the faction that gave you the mission, your current combat rating, your current standing with the faction giving you the mission and the colour of your space goat.

The more kills, the more risk, the bigger the reward, but only one mission.

There should also be a visible "end" to each CZ, where one side has clearly won the battle there and no more hostile appear. But at the same time another CZ spawns somewhere else in the system, where the battle continues.

And one last ask. Some form of feedback to let everyone know where in the life of the War you are. Right now there is no real linear feel or sense of connection between the Massacre Mission and the War/Civil War. Put some graphical sign, similar to PP, to show which side is winning, and by how much.

That's my wish list. It might not be yours.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

That's how I think it should work. You can only take one mission, and the payout this mission scales up depending on the number of CZ kills that you get for the faction that gave you the mission, your current combat rating, your current standing with the faction giving you the mission and the colour of your space goat.

The more kills, the more risk, the bigger the reward, but only one mission.

There should also be a visible "end" to each CZ, where one side has clearly won the battle there and no more hostile appear. But at the same time another CZ spawns somewhere else in the system, where the battle continues.

And one last ask. Some form of feedback to let everyone know where in the life of the War you are. Right now there is no real linear feel or sense of connection between the Massacre Mission and the War/Civil War. Put some graphical sign, similar to PP, to show which side is winning, and by how much.

That's my wish list. It might not be yours.

I've suggested the same, but then, when I think about it... isn't that what Combat Bonds essentially do already?

Granted, when comes down to a credit-to-credit comparison, Combat Bonds aren't always worth the ammo it takes to collect them, and there is a little more to the mission stack than JUST the payoff.
Many times these missions also include:

Inf+
Rep+
Materials
Commodities (most of which are useless these days, but that'll likely change at some point).
Faction Rank

And Combat Bonds don't offer any of these things.
Now, if we could "Ram Tah" it, with payoffs of Inf+, Rep+, Materials, Commodities, and Rank every so many kills (say, every 10 Kills, an Inf+, every 20th kill a Rep+, every 30th kill a material/commodity payoff and every 50 kills a Rank percentage gain of some merit) then we would have a good solution to the Combat Zone mission issue.

Those who want to play Leonidas at Thermopylae in a CZ are certainly free to do so until this really is Sparta.
Those who want to show support for their favored faction and get out can also do the same.