NPCs are damn too strong.

[Curios]

Wow, I'm agreeing with Pavel on something.

However I myself and many others were repeating this since forever that NPCs are the decoration not the gameplay element. We're here to deal with players not with NPCs. However my view on this is extended not to just nerfing NPCs but to also nerf all stationary weaponry to the point it have no impact on gameplay.

NPCs can be given a armor mult which'll give them some time to live.
Their guns must be dealing close to no damage.
They should not have bots or bats on board so shooting them down to take regens issue is removed.
Not more then 2 encounters spawning at a time.
Not more then 3 ships per encounter. (BS + 2 Cruisers, VHF + 2 HFs, HF + 2 LFs, Transport + 2 Fighters, Freighter + 2 fighters, etc)

NPC capital ships must follow this trend. Strong hitpoints but crap cosmetic guns.
Crap cosmetic guns must apply to the stationed objects as well.

P.S. But devs NEVER listen to anything said on forum. At least since I'm playing here I can't count a SINGLE idea that was discussed on forum that was implemented into the game, EVER.

So good luck with this because usually all what is said is rounded down in the game.

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[Lythrilux]

I agree with Pavel completely, especially that I usually play unlawfuls.
It's really not fun to die because the NPCs in Liberty house space just all pile on me and offer so much resistance that I can't deal with that + the player(s). I also find it unfair that I can't have my own form of decent NPC backup. But for all I care, just get rid of moronic NPCs altogether please, or nerf them for decoration.

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[bloogaL]

Couldn't agree more with the OP. Can't imagine what was going through the developers' minds when they thought this kind of buff was at all necessary.

And while we're at it, let's put gate weapons back to a reasonable level of strength again. Cruiser DPS coming out of those when you're trying to pirate is irritating and really not needed. Your piracy victim jumps through the gate? Say goodbye to a portion of your hull by default once you're through as you wait to actually be allowed to move your ship out of the firing line of the gate.

And now a little more off topic, the moving of lane ring hitboxes. Nobody wanted NPCs to shoot lanes out by themselves, I'm fairly sure. Try pirating at a gate, any unlawful NPCs that spawn will shoot the closest lane ring out, stopping traders before they actually reach you, giving them plenty of time to turn and run. Need to run from an overwhelming force of lawfuls.? Sorry, NPCs shot the lane out again. Friendly NPCs shot the lane out again.

Pirating in core systems should not be easy at all - if NPCs have no impact, three pirates when there are insufficient lawfuls online can shut down any and all trading through a system - which makes the traders log off, which leaves the pirates whinging about low server activity and the traders begging to nerf pirates.

It's possible for a trader to log a different character, you know, one that can shoot the pirates. It's also possible to go trade somewhere else, or go and play another completely different character somewhere else.

NPCs can be given a armor mult which'll give them some time to live.
Their guns must be dealing close to no damage.
They should not have bots or bats on board so shooting them down to take regens issue is removed.
Not more then 2 encounters spawning at a time.
Not more then 3 ships per encounter. (BS + 2 Cruisers, VHF + 2 HFs, HF + 2 LFs, Transport + 2 Fighters, Freighter + 2 fighters, etc)

NPC capital ships must follow this trend. Strong hitpoints but crap cosmetic guns.
Crap cosmetic guns must apply to the stationed objects as well.

Just do this, devs.

[Jack_Henderson]

I am 90 % lawful player, but I agree: NPCs are still too strong. Not by much and it has become a lot better by the last changes, but they are still.

Angering some in midfight can change the outcome really fast.
Roleplaying while under NPC attack is a pain. There is no way you can do it (and have fun), while thrusting around all the time.

I do think that the NPCs we have now should only be kept for:

House/faction main systems because these are the safe ones where the strength of the House is clearly visible. They are not meant to be raided easily (and cap patrols discourage that), and they are also meant to be safe for their own people.

Logic would also say that the systems before the main system, but these are often bottlenecks and they cannot have too strong NPCs for gameplay reasons.

I am torn between actually appreciating strong NPC snubs in mining fields (they slow solo mining down because you have to shoot them) and hating them. But they somehow make groupmining more attractive (the transport shoots the NPCs, miners keep mining), so ye. Keep them there.

About installation armament: Gates should have strong, slow pulses only to discourage caps camping there without harming snub too much. Cruiser and BS piracy right at the gate when you can do nothing is lame. If they cannot sit at < 1k, that danger has been dealt with.

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[Alphablood1]

So ur saying inRP and gameplay everyone should be unable to kill anyone and only a few selective humans aka players can kill everything

To me that sounds like a bad idea in both RP and out of RP it makes no damn sense NPCs should atleast be able to take on players they are the real server police they can make sure 5 oc dreads dont sit on newark or some damn thing like that which i have seen 5 OC dreads at manhattan before ganking

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[img][/img]
Leader of the Atlantian Empire Military Force|AEFLSM
-Greetings-|USS. Mining Industries

[Thyrzul]

The NPCs we have now are quite fine... in capital systems. Anywhere else, they are just too much. Make two sets, one unchanged, and one nerfed, use the nerfed in non-capital/borderworlds. As many said before me, on a server where player interaction should be the main feature, NPCs should stay as decoration. And for god's sake, REMOVE THAT DAMN CD!

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[~}P{~ Legendary]

The only problem with the npcs, that they have infinite powercore.
Actually, I never understand why everyone said that img npcs were overpowered.. Back in those days, I was just sitting in my indie oc, waited near Java, and shoot npc patrols.

I can still out-TS a bs with a cruiser.
Still shoot down cruisers with razorboats, and nova/snac heavybombers.

When 4.87 came out, and when I saw that they buffed the npcs, I was happy.
I pretty suck at snub pvp (I could be better, just some fps issue), but cap pvp is my strenght. So when they buffed npcs, I just launched, and enjoyed a little challenging PvE.

I know, I know, this is mostly RP server, not pvp oriented. Npc should serve no purpose, but imo.. Just delete some useless systems, and there we go, players meet others more frequently. Then we can nerf the npcs.

Just imagine if the devs delete npc patrols. Trading is going to be boring, sitting hours next to lanes, and really unbalanced fights.

Or, we can just make one, or maybe two ooRP npc challenge systems, just like in the Underverse. One lawful for unlawfuls, and an unlawful for lawfuls. Kinda like guard systems, just more powerful npcs.

Right now, I love the new npcs, seeing outcasts dromedaries near Barrier Gate, Gladiator, and the new sair freighter escorting each other, and so on.

Feel free to burn my post down, I'm just writing down my ideas.

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[Syrus]

I, being an lawful or semi-lawful 98.31% of the time, had a horrible encounter at the Barrier Gate Station one time.

Me, flying an IMG Battletransport, Civilian Transport shield (that small one, yes) and a pirate, flying a borderworlds gunboat. He stopped me right at the station. Had a very short talk, normal pirating stuff. Was considering whether to do some longer RP or not, considering I was in no danger as I could just dock on the station, 1k away, or fight back if necessary, but before I could make the decision a patrol of IMG ships spawned: two fighters, two civilan freighters, I think. Pretty sure it wasn't much more.
Let's just say, I was not expecting a gunboat shield could drop that fast, but the pirate had problems very fast, taking hull damage as the few NPCs dropped his shields in seconds almost. When I was then still deciding about whether to pay or nor or what else to do, a patrol of, I think it were rogue VHFs (Greyhounds), spawned and did the same to me, what the IMG patrol did to the GB...so, there was no other option than to cut the talk short and just quickly pay the small demand.

I was shocked to see what heavy impact just a few NPCs have on even the more heavily shielded ships and I felt bad seeing how hard it was for the pirate even around a station that's "friendly" to them.

First of all, can't NPCs changed, so that they don't fight you around BGS?
And second, I think all NPCs who're not around absolutly major bases (like primary planets; e.g. Manhattan, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston in Liberty or New Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart in Rheinland, etc. or other high security zones like Norfolk, Westpoint and Fort Bush in New York or in main systems like Alpha, Gamma, Iota and Omega-52) should not have absolutly top equipment. They shouldn't have anti-shield guns, shouldn't have heavy mines or heavy missiles, they should have lower shields and no armor buff, they should do some damage, but at best only 25% of the high tier ships. Still be a bit annoying, but not disrupting gameplay.
Certain points like JGs or normal stations should still retain heavier, but not absolutly max tier equiped, NPCs...


EDIT:
Also, remove heavy guns (Cerberus turrets) from NPC caps. Unlimited powercore just makes them overpowered...

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[AeternusDoleo]

Cerbies are the least powercore-unfriendly weapons on the heavy turret repertoire. I explicitly didn't put mortars on them to prevent them from being too overpowered. 4.85 Isis-esque NPCs would make for more tears. Players tend to be able to fire their Cerbies all out as well.

That said, NPCs still too powerful apparantly. Guess I'll have to work on this again. New plan:
- Drop ALL NPCs to D16 or lower (except guard systems and cap patrols, which are always d19)
- Adjust loadouts - again -. Reduce armor and shield values, but leave D17-19 intact as is.
- Cap loadouts left intact. Where there's enemy caps, you shouldn't be unless you expect a fight.

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Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.

Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.

[Lythrilux]

Cerbies are the least powercore-unfriendly weapons on the heavy turret repertoire. I explicitly didn't put mortars on them to prevent them from being too overpowered. 4.85 Isis-esque NPCs would make for more tears. Players tend to be able to fire their Cerbies all out as well.

That said, NPCs still too powerful apparantly. Guess I'll have to work on this again. New plan:
- Drop ALL NPCs to D16 or lower (except guard systems and cap patrols, which are always d19)
- Adjust loadouts - again -. Reduce armor and shield values, but leave D17-19 intact as is.
- Cap loadouts left intact. Where there's enemy caps, you shouldn't be unless you expect a fight.

D16? D17? D19? I'm confuddled.

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