The Stabbed Farmer Debate

I’ve been reading the latest spontaneous bantering between Rixx and Kirith Kodachi with some amusement. The discussion regarding plex farmers and what they should and should not be able to fit inside a plex is about as old as the Inferno expansion, when CCP introduced LP for plex. And, it feels a little like beating a dead horse at this point. (Or perhaps the dead horse’s ghost.) However, it never ceases to amaze me how this topic always comes up, again and again, in various forms.

The first problem I have with the discussion is that Rixx, and many other like him, have essentially claimed that warp core stabilizers are the problem. When in reality, they are merely a symptom of the problem. Removing them might satisfy an ideological itch someone has, but it won’t solve or fix anything. Just like taking a cough suppressant might make you more comfortable for a little while but it’s not going to heal your underlying illness.

Making farming harder will result in less farmers. It will NOT result in more pvpers, or better fights.

Secondly, I have to make a few comments about the argument I keep seeing regarding “Faction War being about war” and therefore people should be expected to fight, and etc.

Faction War IS about war. But war is not necessarily restricted to ship to ship combat, nor limited to ship to ship combat.

The war, as implemented by CCP through the game mechanics of Faction War involves plexing systems to contest them, ultimately to take over sovereignty. If you run a plex against a Faction you are committing an act of war. If you run a defensive plex, you are committing an act of defense for your militia.

Running plexes is not ‘less’ an act of war or defense, based on any particular module you do or do not have fit to your ship. And running a plex is not more or less legitimate based on whether you fought another player or not. In the end, he who finishes the plex, gets the rewards --both in LP and system control.

Furthermore, I find it a bit ironic (and somewhat funny) when pirates  make arguments along the lines of militia plexers not wanting to engage in war. Pirates are neutrals chasing around militia inside Faction War plexes. Technically speaking, they are the ones not participating in militia or committing to the war within the Faction Warfare warzone.

Thirdly, “because of new players” is never a good argument to defend bad game mechanics. Now that I’ve picked on Rixx and pirates, I might as well pick on Kirith a bit as well.

Faction War is like a tech 1 frigate. While it may have been designed to be accessible to newer players as far as requirements and skills, that doesn’t mean it’s ‘for’ new players. (After all, many veteran pvpers enjoy flying tech 1 frigates, just as there are many veteran players in militia.)

Anything easy or accessible to new players is easier and more accessible to older players. And I would bet that many stabbed farmers are not ACTUALLY new players. After all, anyone that aware of how to min/max the current FW meta, is probably not new enough anymore to be called new.

While I would argue that WCSs are not the real problem, I also would say that arguing they’re okay because new players use them to make ISK is probably not the greatest argument in their defense.

Fourthly, good gameplay is more important than someone not having warp core stabs fit to their ship.

In this post regarding stabbed plexers, Rixx talks about encounters he had where people also ran away unstabbed, and implies that in that case it was okay. He even implies that they ‘outplayed’ him.

In other words, the gameplay of people running away is okay. The only thing that’s NOT okay is if they happen to have warp core stabs fit to their ship when they run away.

To be honest, this seems fairly ridiculous to me. I’d rather CCP make changes that produces good gameplay (ie: more fights!), then make changes that make it so someone else can’t fit a module I dislike… 

Rixx also makes claims about WCS being a ‘crutch’. However, if we use that logic against Faction War then we need to look at all the other ‘crutches’ people use to avoid engagements they do not want to participate in. 

Such as plex restrictions making people ‘safe’ from ship sizes they don’t want to fight. A common crutch solo pirates use to hunt in Faction War zones. =)

Fifthly, and finally, not all is as it seems, or is chalked up to be.

Many proponents of the ‘remove Warp Core Stabilizers’ movement paint a picture of hoards of stabbed farmers running away from a poor solo pirate who only wants a good fight.

But this is EVE. And we know better, right? In the end, you have a low-SP alt running away from a high SP, experienced pirate who wants to gank someone. 

After all, experienced pvpers who are looking for challenging and serious fights are probably not going to spend time crying over the stabbed, tech 1 frigates that ran away.

In the end, I hope that someday the conversation regarding Faction War turns and that people start talking about practical changes that will improve the gameplay. I hope that someday we can get beyond these ideological 'issues' that people seem to get so obsessed with –warp core stabs, gunless farmers, and etc.  and turn to solutions and ideas that will make Faction War (and EVE) a better place for everyone.