I am just as excited as everyone about 1.9 and it's arrival next week. Looks like lots of changes to a game that hasn't had any meaningful changes in quite a while other than data tweaks. A new map, NPC market, map moods etc. Great.

But looking at the changes more closely makes me wonder if some of them won't undermine the gaming experience in the long term.

One of the hooks that kept players playing the game was how valuable and hard to come by skill points were. You had to plan. If you got excited by grinding for a week to increase armor damage by 3% you knew you were hooked.

The sheer scarcity and value of SP is what made the game feel like an investment; a time and emotional investment that you had really created and a character that had value.

It took work to skill something up and when you have to work for something you appreciate it more than if it is simply given to you.

Flash forward to 1.9. Now if you cap and log in everyday you will earn 960,000 ISK per week unboosted. On top of that, you can reallocate it as often as you like. You can also triple boost it and instant boost it. Loyalty ranks are going to boost SP earned per battle AND daily SP bonus. So it will actually be more than 960,000 per week.

As a result, I feel Skill Points will be practically meaningless in 1.9.

Another attribute of DUST 514 was always the economy. You are a mercenary and had to manage the economic aspect of your character. Most players can't afford to run proto all the time. The economics is what made deaths MATTER which is what separated this shooter from all others. You don't just run in guns blazing. Tactics, planning, thought, etc were important because those suits aren't cheap.

Flash forward to 1.9. Many players are going to be awash in ISK after selling off assets in the market, and everyone will earn more ISK from this new feature. Again, Loyalty Ranks will provide more ISK rewards per battle and better vendor prices when selling assets. So ISK won't be as important and Deaths will matter less.

Finally, flash forward 3 months from now. Everyone who wanted has respec'ed, some multiple times.

Everyone is flush with SP, some having triple boosted 750k for 12 weeks.

All the skills you wanted are unlocked.

Special Events mean nothing anymore as a result.

You have all the ISK you will ever need.

If you devalue SP and ISK by providing too much of it, will the game still keep players emotionally invested?

What's left?