While things have been flipping fairly steadily between the Amarr and Minmatar over the last year or so, the recent changes made it much harder to offensively plex --bad news for any militia caught on the losing side when Kronos went live.
API pulls over the last few weeks show Victory Point earnings (the points that determine plexes run) down significantly, and the low state of contestation across Minmatar-owned systems tells a tale of increased defensive plexing.
Meaning: the winners are going to win a while, and the losers are out of luck.
With so much Minmatar LP being flooded into the system, Minmatar faction ships and items are quickly reaching rock bottom prices--prices not seen since the Tier 5 binge days of Inferno. Factional cruisers are practically being given away at around 35-39 million ISK in Rens, and Firetails are now being sold and used like penny candy. (For a point of comparison, a comparable Gallente Faction cruiser might go for upwards of 70 million currently, with the Comet selling at around 16 million ISK compared to the Firetail's 7-8 million ISK.)
Furthermore, these prices do not seem to be triggering a flip as they have in the past. Even though the LP is worth much less, it is earned at such an alarming volume that the Minmatar are still making billions running missions in stealth bombers. With decent social skills, and Tier 4 Warzone Control, a single mission can net upwards of 70,000 LP or more, and take only a few minutes to run once collected.
It will probably take some time for the Amarr to muster enough motivation to run the thousands of plexes they will need to run to flip back the warzone. Especially given the current state of offensive plexing --and the fact they will probably have to do it short handed as far as plex farmers are concerned.
@GamerChick42: I wonder whether the recent changes are 1) making FW less remunerative for people whose principle focus is PvP, and 2) leading to fewer opportunities for militia fights as one side's advantage becomes semi permanent.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have enjoyed about FW is that it has allowed me to focus almost entirely on PvP and yet eke out enough ISK (through LP) to replace my ships, without the need for grinding. Fly into a plex: if somebody shows up for a fight, hurray! If nobody shows up, well, at least you earned some LP.
Now, as more and more of the dominant side's systems are stable, defensive plexing for them doesn't pay; and opportunities for offensive plexing may also diminish over time for the "winners." Discouraged "losing" militia may dwindle in numbers.
I hope this isn't what results, but it seems like the direction things are moving. Any thoughts?