EVE Online News

Thieving Capsuleers!

CONCORD has been working on a major upgrade to the Encounter Surveillance System (ESS) and the new version is finally ready to roll out. The new ESS will come online alongside the Dynamic Bounty System (DBS) and together they will reshape ratting in Nullsec as you know it.

[h2]ESS History[/h2]
The original ESS was meant to offer Nullsec residents the chance to juice up their systems with better bounty payments at the risk of having of their earnings stolen by roaming player pirates. The concept was strong but clever players highlighted several cases - including risk/reward-related and deployment location issues - that exhibited much opportunity for improvement. With lots of learning now in-hand, the aim is to revisit the concept with more focus on creating a flashpoint for conflict across Nullsec.

[h2]Key Takeaways[/h2]

• The ESS is no longer optional and will be present by default in all sovereign Nullsec solar systems.
  
• The location of the ESS is public and sits behind an acceleration gate with specific ship class access.
  
• Payouts from the ESS happen automatically to contributing PvE bounty earners and no longer need to be retrieved in person.
  

[h2]Breaking the Bank[/h2]
Like the current ESS, a percentage of bounties generated in the solar system will be delivered to the ESS rather than the player's wallet. Unlike the current ESS, the take will now be split between two banks:

• The Main Bank – This is where the majority of the money goes. It pays out automatically every 3 hours to contributors, but can be stolen from at any time by invaders.
  
• The Reserve Bank – This is the real jackpot. A smaller portion of each bounty is placed in the Reserve Bank where it sits until claimed by someone on grid who has a consumable key required to unlock it. When stealing from the Reserve Bank, you will be paid over time at a rate that spools up to a maximum then winds back down. You will get to decide how long this cycle takes to complete, and in turn, how much you stand to gain. These keys will be available via gameplay content at a later date, and its availability, as well as the timing of its release, will depend on how the players will interact with the ESS after going live. More information to follow later!
  

For those wanting nitty-gritty details, you will have to wait until the feature is live and log in to discover them.

[h2]Earn Your Keep[/h2]
The new ESS will have a unique set of on-grid rules to encourage good fights and avoid troll-like tactics. The ESS rule set, which affects a 75km radius around the structure, contains the following:

• Warping is disabled
  
• MJDs are disabled
  
• MWDs are disabled
  
• Cloaking is disabled
  
• No cynos may be lit
  
• No filaments may be activated
  

Together, these conditions will demand commitment from anyone hoping to get their hands on someone else’s hard-earned ISK. Of course, the meta that develops around the ESS will be monitored and adjustments will be made as needed.

All-in-all there is much excitement to see how this new version of the ESS pans out. More action for residents and roamers alike will emerge as players plan heists and protect their space.

Fly it like you stole it!

Corpse-chasing Capsuleers,

As part of EVE's Halloween Horrors, there are frighteningly good savings to be had on all Omega packs right now, but only until 11:00 UTC on 3 November!

Get 15% off Omega and gain unlimited access to EVE's best ships and skills, as well as doubling your skill training speed this Halloween weekend and beyond. You'll also enjoy full access to the Contracts system in-game, and unlock exporting from planetary colonies.

Fly scary!

A frightful new Abyssal Proving Grounds event is now live in EVE Online as part of the Crimson Harvest, so make sure you have your Proving Filaments handy either from Abyssal Deadspace loot drops, or from the in-game market!

Until 11:00 UTC on 3 November, you can get stuck into a 4-player Tech 1 Frigate free-for-all, meaning that the permitted hulls for this event include the Breacher, Incursus, Kestrel, Merlin, Punisher, Rifter, Tristan, and Tormentor - with a meta level restriction of 5 for modules (no Faction/Deadspace/Officer/Abyssal modules). Pirate implants are also restricted.

In addition, combatants can enjoy double Stasis Webifier range and a uniquely spooky Abyssal environment for this Proving Grounds event!

Don't forget, you can keep track of Capsuleer performance and prowess in this event using the leaderboards.

Please also refer to this forum thread for information on an important policy change regarding the use of capsuleer logoff timers and alts in the Proving Grounds.

[h2]Crimson Harvest Daily Login Gifts[/h2]

As part of EVE's Halloween Horrors and the returning Crimson Harvest event, you can log into EVE Online daily and receive free Crimson Harvest gifts until 11:00 UTC on 9 November as an Alpha or an Omega!

The frightfully good rewards for the Crimson Harvest login event include up to 60,000 Skill Points, Deathglow Remnants SKINs, T-shirt and fireworks crates for Alpha pilots. As an Omega, you will receive all those Alpha gifts plus a further 175,000 Skill Points, more Deathglow Remnants SKINs, Agency Boosters, and a Cerebral Accelerator!

Please note, you will need to log in on at least 7 days of the Crimson Harvest campaign in order to receive all the gifts.

As part of EVE's Halloween Horrors, the chillingly beautiful Malagrin Marshglight SKIN returns to EVE Online's New Eden Store, and it is now available on even more ships, but only until 11:00 UTC on 9 November!

You can now purchase the Malagrin Marshlight SKIN for the Armageddon, Charon, Confessor, Cynabal, Dominix, Ferox, Hecate, Machariel, Naglfar, Nidhoggur, Panther, Phoenix, Prophecy, and Thanatos, as well as the hulls it was available on last Halloween.

You can also get 20% off the Inner Zone Vanguard SKIN for the Nemesis until 11:00 UTC on 9 November, giving it a decidedly strong Halloween feel, allowing you to bolster your fleet with a wing of spooky Jack-o'-lanterns!

Dynamic Capsuleers,

CONCORD is adopting a new Dynamic Bounty System (DBS) for bounty payouts across Nullsec space. This will reward those daring enough to hunt pirates in more dangerous space where their stronger presence is a greater threat to Capsuleer safety. Solar systems where pirate activity is under firm control by Capsuleers will see payments lowered. DBS is now live on the Singularity test server and will be live on Tranquility in November!

The universe will become both reactive to - and self-correcting from - Capsuleer behavior. These changes will not take the form of wild swings but will move slowly over the course of days to weeks in response to changes in activity.

This will see income generation more evenly spread across New Eden with large corporations needing to utilize more of their space over time if they want to keep their current levels of income. In addition, DBS will bring benefits to ongoing anti-botting efforts by making it easier to highlight suspicious activities and take appropriate actions.

[h3]How does it work?[/h3]

Every solar system will now have an ever-changing bounty multiplier that is applied to any bounty payout earned in the system. As an example, if the solar system multiplier is at 110% and you kill a pirate that has 100,000 ISK bounty, the payout will now be 110,000 ISK. However, some of that will be captured by the revamped Encounter Surveillance System (ESS), which you will hear more about next week.

This multiplier will always be visible via the starmap so that you can locate high-value solar systems in which to hunt pirates.



This multiplier will get adjusted constantly based on what’s happening in the solar system:

• Excessive ratting? Multiplier goes down
  
• High level of player combat and death? Multiplier goes up
  
• Empty system? Multiplier stabilizes at an equilibrium value.

Of course there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to set the rate of change, but the three points above are all you need to effectively plan your bounty hunting activities.

[h3]The benefits of DBS[/h3]

There are two main benefits that come from shifting to a more dynamic system:

1. Dynamic systems and a constantly shifting ecosystem provide opportunities for dedicated Capsuleers to separate themselves from others. Learning to predict future high-pay areas, hunting in current low-pay areas (where you know there’s excessively safe ratting happening), and choosing your daily ratting grounds based on a new set of factors every day will make every part of Nullsec life more interesting.
   
2. Spreading income generation across New Eden and moving away from massive ratting hubs supported by very concentrated infrastructure will create movement and more conflict. Empires will be stretched thinner and guaranteed protection will come at a more tangible cost.

This will ultimately determine how much space is necessary to support income generation based on individual player organization sizes and requirements.

[h3]Conclusion[/h3]

Abundance breeds complacency and scarcity breeds war.

Predictable inputs lead to stagnant outputs.

Autarky is Anathema to Free Trade.

The DBS will begin impacting the playing field between small entities and large entities when it comes to the efficiency with which they can exploit their territory. This is a step to innovate and improve EVE Online for its third decade by introducing more dynamic systems that respond to player actions. The results will be unpredictable and truly rest in the hands of the capsuleers.

[h3]Next Up[/h3]

Rumor has it that CONCORD is nowhere near finished with its updates to bounty payouts in Nullsec space and is targeting the Encounter Surveillance System (ESS) next, so stay tuned for more on that next week!

Fly safe