The fundamental problem is that our "job" is really our hobby and we get paid in the ability to do our job better.

We fight for fun, it's an end in itself. We don't have anything to spend the money on other than more and better equipment to better in match.

Therefore people have the incentive to be careful with their money. If they have little they "play scared" and will naturally shift to a loss averse strategy. That's either cheap fittings or hiding in the redline. Neither make for great fights, though the latter is the worst.

Those that have a fat wallet can play to win, but those who don't are constrained. It's a fact that people are more affected by potential loss than potential gain, so rather than doubling down for a win you would likely see an even faster switch to loss conservation strategy.

I'm not sure you can fix that as long as all the money is coming from DUST.

Go back and read Zdub's post

You are missing the point. Those with a fat wallet are still not encouraged to win. They are only encouraged to queue into the battle and move around a little bit to avoid getting kicked. That's it.

@ Thor Odins Son:

Zeffron is a better God.

K.

You are lying about not being profitable at Advanced fittings.

Heres why:
Not every game is 18 kills and six deaths.

Most are 10 to 20 kills and LESS than 6 deaths.

So you end up makeing a PROFIT and even if you remove from that a tiny ISK loss when you get a rare 6 death or more game you still end up makeing a PROFIT.

Every one of my fits has the cost, i.e. Logi ammar GEK SMG Hacker 34K, Minmatar sault CBR SMG FAST 39K, min scout min shotG scan fast 8K, militia heavy forge smg 10K........et all. every suit be it Mk-0 Gk-0 or Ak-0 etc. has a price tag at the end.

I'm saying that a fat wallet allows you to play for the win without specific encouragement from the game.

I do it just because I like to win. It's simply more fun for me to pull a win out of a loss and that makes playing worth it.

So I'll sacrifice a handful of very expensive logi fits to lay down more uplinks and ammo and triage hives to get my team back inot the battle and take the objective (mostly in Domination).

I do it because sitting in the redline is real bore.

Then when my team does well by themselves and I don't have to work so hard I make up for it and put the money back in my wallet.

going on and on about 18-6 with 2k warpoints and winning but still losing isk really just hurts your own cause here man, it makes you come off as a guy who's just butthurt that this one match sorta went against him, and invites all the "don't fly wat you can't afford to lose" lines that we've NOT heard a million ******* times by now because those people are totally clever and original and handsome.


that being said, it IS often true that the most profitable way to play the game, is to not play the game. and i don't see the changes to faction warfare helping that at all. even if we have a secondary market by then, which we won't, who's gonna buy the stuff? the guys sniping from behind the redline?

if most people already can't afford prototype gear, what makes anyone think people will be able to afford faction gear? especially ENOUGH faction gear to pay for you being in faction warfare?


the games entire reward structure is kinda ****** up when you think about it. the very bottom of the ladder is: PVP. which is in and of itself, an isk sink. one way or another ****'s getting destroyed. value is being removed from the game. if we're lucky we'll make enough isk to cover that loss, but unless you're exceptionally good, or exceptionally an ******* who hides behind the redlne, you're guaranteed to lose SOMETHING.

hell, i'll even walk it back, i'm willing to accept that a lot of those redline snipers aren't trying to be assholes, they're just broke, or know they will go broke if they do anything else. they're doing dusts equivalent of lvl 1 missions or hi-sec veldspar mining. which is pretty ****** isn't it? why don't we have anything better for them to do?

the more i think about this the more i think dust needs PvE before another isk sink.

Dont get too hopeful, PvE will be another ISK sink as well. The only thing that will generate ISK would be if they added industry.

Steps to making money without AFK'ing and still have fun in the game
- Dont try to be a hero. Its just as important to judge your teammates abilities as it is your enemies. If you team is crap, dont waste your suits on them.
- Unless you have good gun game, do not run around outside of the blob. I get a lot of my kills by roving around the perimeter picking off tryhards who try to solo cap objectives. There is a reason for the phrase 'strength in numbers'
- Learn when to retreat. I have seen so many fools run into a situation, see that they are heavily disadvantaged and decide to go out in a blaze of glory. Here is a hint: Even if you kill one of the guys you just ran into, you will lose money by getting killed. Run away, regroup and reengage when you are at an advantage.

You are probably right about PvE, but one can only hope. I picture mission running like Eve with PvE that is leveled for more risk and higher payouts.

Your tips for playing smarter are true and good advice, it really depends on my level of impairment.

That explains why you suicided while closing the gap between your MD and me recently. Haha, it does help the sting of blahberries.