I’ve been hoping this isn’t true, but perhaps it’s time to accept reality. Apparently, CCP intends to double the EHP of barges and exhumers.
I’ve tried to be optimistic, but I also need to be honest. This is not good. It will encourage AFK mining, and ganking will become financially prohibitive.
Solo gankers will struggle if EHP is doubled. In order to gank a Retriever, they will need to use a battlecruiser. In order to gank a Mackinaw, they will need a dreadnought! I wouldn’t blame them if they quit, because it’s not reasonable to expect someone to use a Naga or a Talos to kill a barge.
In order to kill this Mackinaw, I had to use 4 ships. After EHP is doubled, I would need 8 ships. Either that, or I would have to use battlecruisers. This is just not financially sustainable, considering the Mackinaw only dropped 6 million isk in ‘loot’. I would not blame myself, if I quit ganking miners after EHP is doubled.
James 315 declared victory, but if CCP decides to double barge EHP, then we can only consider this to be a defeat. Highsec is worth fighting for, but I’m not going to drop battlecruisers on barges. That’s just asinine.
Some people have tried to cheer me up, reminding me that CCP has buffed mining before, and ganking survived (barely). However, this comes atop all previous changes. As the most active ganker in the game, I know there isn’t much incentive to gank, and there are few gankers left. If barge EHP is doubled, there won’t be much interest in ganking. Most miner gankers will quit, and I might be the only one left.
What will I do, if they double the EHP of barges? Certainly, I’m not going to waste my time and energy trying to fix CCP’s mistake. Let the miners all go AFK, and watch as the price of Veldspar plummets. The bots will proliferate, in tanky little Covetors and invulnerable Mackinaws. What can I do about it?
Maybe it’s time for me to leave Highsec.
I might even enjoy it!
A timely blog.
The picture is certainly bleak, if the proposed changes are implemented without substantial alteration. I believe you have correctly predicted the likely outcomes, too.
I tried to look at any counters which might have allowed gankers to continue making some kind of profit from the activity, but came up with a big fat 0.
I can’t work out whether CCP has significantly changed its attitude to ganking, intending to abolish it altogether – but in stages, or whether – and we’ve seen this in the past – they know that a buff to barge/exhumer survivability will be later countered with a nerf of some kind, to ‘balance’ things out.
A waiting game, for me.