My understanding is that Faction items are very similar to AURUM items. You pay GÇ£xGÇ¥ currency to get an item that has a lower skill requirement than the ISK variety, right?

HereGÇÖs my question: If I have proto skills, why would I fit faction items? I donGÇÖt need the skill dropGǪ. Because I have already maxed that particular skill. Therefore, once a person gets proto-level skills, the incentive to play FW goes downhill.

IF FW is supposed to be an ISK sink, the above paragraph is incongruous with this goal. If I donGÇÖt need GÇ£early-accessGÇ¥ gear, I donGÇÖt need loyalty points. If I donGÇÖt need loyalty points, I donGÇÖt need to do FW. So I am back into running pub matches and making ISK.

NowGǪ if factional gear had lower fitting requirements and similar statsGǪ. Or had better stats but was more expensive to fit (and higher cost)GǪ THEN youGÇÖd have people playing FW matches to get their LP in order to get their faction weapons.

FW has the opportunity to be more of an end-game type of playGǪ. You skill up to get into a more competitive game (more high-SP players), get better gear, then perhaps move on to PC.

But based on the current modelGǪ. FW is positioned as a mid-game type of gameplayGǪ. Get some skills at pub matches, play FW to get LP and access to higher gear while you wait to get skills, then move back to pubs once you donGÇÖt need the help fitting proto gear.

The problem we have had in the pastGǪ. Protos showing up and pub-stomping, wonGÇÖt change. Protos need some game-mode that only they can get intoGǪ so that they will go away and give the basics and advanced players room to grow.

If high-level, richer players won't do FW because there is incentive for them to do so... how can FW be the ISK sink we all wanted it to be?

Thoughts?

NowGǪ if factional gear had lower fitting requirements and similar statsGǪ. Or had better stats but was more expensive to fit (and higher cost)GǪ THEN youGÇÖd have people playing FW matches to get their LP in order to get their faction weapons.

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..................................., facepalm.

The majority of the stuff in the LP stores is aurum gear...not the equivalent of it, but the exact same items you can buy for aurum.

BUT...each faction offers a Specialist PROto weapon that does exactly what you're saying...PRO stats, but much lower fitting cost. Also, there's a unique piece of equipment or two for each faction that's flat out better than everything else in the game. For example, the Caldari store has a needle that revives at 100% armor.

I completely agree with the OP. I have maximum core skills with 27million SP.

I can use all my proto items on my suit. I can fit everything necessary to do my job 100%. My modules fit like a glove with sometimes the EXACT PG/CPU that I need, and sometimes I'm just under by one or two pg/cpu. Why do I care about fitting requirement items when I don't need them? I can already fit my good stuff without them.

FW modules should be like in EVE where they DO MORE. Bigger Bonuses. The only items I have seen with this are those Nanite Injectors and Nano Hives. 100% (over 80%) and 35% (over 30%) respectively. Forgive my ignorance but I didn't check to see any other modules bonuses. I don't even care about these bonuses because they don't SCREAM at me to be all that worth it anyways.

80% is damn near 100% and with a rep tool going automatically I'll clear that last 20% in 1 second. and 5% more for a nanohive is really quite pointless for its cost as the basic nano hive that does what... 12%? will already let me spam grenades with no delay. So what's the point of having 30% -> 35%?

FW will die out as soon as the ISK sink does its job and makes those FW tryhards go broke.