Faction War Dev Blog is Out!

I just got done reading the recently released Faction War dev blog, which detailed the changes that will be implemented in Inferno.

I was very impressed by how well written it was! It layed out what they were implementing quite clearly, while also giving a lot of examples and formulas for how everything will work. On some of the more controversial topics, they gave some of their basic reasoning for the change. Thank you, thank you CCP!




First, they talk about the name changes that will be implemented. Occupancy will now just be Sovereignty and the Control Bunkers will now be Infrastructure Hubs. None of the mechanics are really changing, just the names. (ie: we will still plex for sovereignty in the same way we used to plex for occupancy, and the mechanics surrounding the control bunkers will stay the same as pre-Inferno.)

Second, they talk about visibility, and show some screen shots of the new Faction War window. Not only will they have statistics and information, but a Leaderboard and tons of details on how the war is going. They also show some changes to the system UI, where FW pilots will now be able to see how far they are from taking a system.

This one of the features I am most excited about. Not only will this encourage people to join Faction War, but it will help current Faction War pilots organize and strategize on a whole new level. We will now have tools to function as a conhesive militia, rather then a bunch of disjointed corporations, alliances and individuals stumbling around in the dark.


Next, they talked about station lock-out. This has been a hugely controversial issue among FW pilots. One of my primary issues with the feature was the time table, so, I was really happy that they are changing this! Instead of taking a minimum of 6-7 hours to flip a system, it will now take a minimum of 30-35 hours. Thank you for listening CCP!!!

This means that the ability of a militia's ability to take and keep sovereignty in systems will not be based on time zone issues, and time-zone 'ninjaing' but on how well the militia performs as a whole.


Next, they talked about system upgrades. I'm a little wary of the idea of neutrals benefitting from upgrades that Faction War pilots have to pay for with LP. However, being a militia pilot who also runs a neutral trade alt in the warzone, I can (begrudgingly) see the benefits of it. We'll have to wait and see what happens. In the end -- the 'benefits' to neutrals aren't particularly game shatteringly awesome--so I don't think we're going to have some huge influx of market alts flooding our stations or anything. Mostly, it will just affect the people who live there currently.


Next they talk about warzone tiers, and how these tiers will affect LP payouts and store prices. Tiers will be based on how a faction is doing overall--system capture, upgrading, and etc.

Wait, what? I admit I reread that paragraph about five times. Tiers? Payouts and prices based on tiers? It sounded really familiar....Okay, so I realize they were probably coding this long before I started blithering on about tiers on this blog, but a girl can dream, right? Ask and ye shall receive.


After that they went into the new LP payout system: "In the reward ladder, helping your faction in territorial warfare should reward the most, followed by PvP, and then finally PvE with missions."

I felt like clapping after that, but I restrained myself. They went on to give details on how plexes and pvp would be rewarded, and I was quite impressed. We're not just getting lp payouts, we're getting massive lp payouts. Between the modules I pick up from kills I loot, and the ability to purchase fleet stabbers with the LP I earn, my pvp style will be virtually 100% self-sustaining. And anyone who pvps will know how huge that ultimately is.


Finally they go into research agents changes and how they are adding datacores to the LP store. While this will have interesting market significance, I think I covered some of that in another post. One thing I am glad about is the fact there is no market overlap. That means the overall EVE market may see changes in prices on the tech 2 market based on what Faction is doing well in the war.


Overall, I think the changes are going to be great and will impact Faction War in many good ways. I'm really excited about several key things, particularly the FW UI changes, sovereignty teirs, and pvp payouts.

Time to gear up and get ready for Inferno!




*Also, there was no mention of resetting the warzone. I'm really glad... because with how much I bet various people that they wouldn't do it, my wallet would be in the red right now if they had...