Severus Smith wrote:I agree to some extend with the OP. EVERYTHING in New Eden should have a price. EVERYTHING. Truthfully, I would love to see a long winded receipt when I die that helps me track my ISK efficiency.
Death: Severus Smith
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- 50,000 ISK : Amarr Sentinel Dropsuit
- 15,000 ISK : Boundless Heavy Machine Gun
- 5,000 ISK : T1 Submachine Gun
- 1,000 ISK : T1 Locus Grenade
- 10,000 ISK : 2x T1 Shield Extender
- 15,000 ISK : 3x T1 Armor Repairer
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- 5,000 ISK : Alpha Clone
- 500 ISK : Reanimation Fee
- 10,000 ISK : CONCORD Security Fee
- 1,000 ISK Applicable Taxes
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Fitted: 96,000 ISK
Fees: 16,500 ISK
Total: 112,500 ISK
The above would be pretty cool. You could track your ISK efficiency and know how much you lost. You just have to price modules / suits better than the current DUST iteration (and the player market will help fix that). One of the BIGGEST things I can think of is to move away from the idea of Militia -> Basic -> Advanced -> Prototype. EVE does it well.
Civilian = Crap that you never use unless you're new or being funny
Tech 1 = Generalist gear that is good and decently cheap
Tech 2 = Specialized gear that is amazing in it's niche but incredibly expensive
It's like the above example of a Rifter vs a Wolf. In almost all occasions the Wolf will beat the Rifter (all skills equal) but the Wold costs 20x the Rifter. But that's because the Wolf is specialized for PvP (hence "Assault Frigate").
- Go try to tackle in a Wolf - it'll be outperformed by the 20x cheaper RIfter.
- Go try to scan in a Wolf - it'll be outperformed by the 20x cheaper Rifter.
- Etc...
The Wolf is amazing at PvP but cannot do other roles like the Rifter can. Hence why the Rifter is a generalist "Tech 1" ship and the Wolf is a specialist "Tech 2" ship. How should this translate to Legion? Tech 1 suits should be generalists while Tech 2 are specialists. This preserves the sandbox / modular feel everyone likes about DUST without making the Tech 2 suit the new "must use, OP" proto suit.
Consider this example:
Templar (Amarr Tech 1 Medium Frame)
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Price: 25,000 ISK each
Amarr Medium Frame skill bonus:
- 3% increased light weapon damage per level
- 5% reduction in weapon heat buildup per level
High: 1
Low: 4
Equipment: 1
Weapons: Light / Sidearm
Grenades: 1
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This is a Tech 1 dropsuit for the Amarr. It favors laser weaponry with it's bonuses and has a decent slot layout allowing for a sidearm and equipment. This gives it the ability to restock ammo, or repair, or scan, or whatever. And the sidearm gives some additional flexibility.
Justicar (Amarr Tech 2 Medium Frame, Based on the Templar)
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Price: 500,000 ISK each
Amarr Medium Frame skill bonus:
-3% increased light weapon damage per level
-5% reduction in weapon heat buildup per level
Assault Dropsuit skill bonus:
-5% increased armor plate efficacy per level
-10% reduction to armor plate speed penalty per level
Role Bonus:
-5% increased weapon RoF per level
High: 2
Low:4
Equipment:0
Weapons:Light
Grenades:1
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This is a Tech 2 dropsuit for the Amarr and is basically the specialized Templar. It gains a huge weapon RoF bonus, a speed bonus, and more armor. However, it loses its equipment and sidearm. This means this suit cannot restock it's own ammo and must rely on other support suits to do so.
The Justicar is clearly the better "Assault" suit. It will decimate the Templar in 1 vs 1 combat. However, it cannot support other mercs, it cannot rearm itself, and it is 20x more expensive than the Templar. This provides balance. If you want to field a Tech 2 suit you need a reason to justify risking 20x more ISK and to bring some friends. Most people won't "Proto stomp" a public contract (that awards 300,000 ISK if won) in a 500,000 ISK suit (without fittings). And if they do then the matchmaker should pair them up with people with a comparable meta level.
In the end, everything should have a price. Even suits / clones. And I personally like the Tech 1 / Tech 2 system in EVE where I can spend less to get a decent item, or spend f***tons more the get a much better, albeit specialized, item. Losing a few 500,000 ISK suits to win a basic public contract makes no sense. But losing a few 500,000 ISK suits to defend my corporations multi-billion ISK asset on Planet X does.