I like this idea a lot. If it will open up more memory for other things then let's do this!

Going to be a stickler and say I hate the idea of them being called "Power Cores" when they provide both CPU and PG, but maybe we can brainstorm a better name.

Maybe make it so that with any BPO suit you can't change out the core; it's automatically fitted with a militia or standard BPO core.

But this makes me think of other BPOs. What about Apex suits? How do you justify buying (or already having purchased) an Apex when you can simply get a Quafe standard suit that will have the same slot layout and the same type of core? I won't spend all that AUR--or time in FW--just to get BPO modules that can't be used on any other suit.

Also, what about Frontline suits? Will they essentially be a standard BPO with a standard or militia core? And won't that deter anyone from buying a handful of standard BPO suits?

Just some thoughts that popped up in my head as I digested this great idea.

Banor, you get that amazing APEX color scheme!

I would be comfortable with a special APEX core that is somewhere between a standard and advanced core in PG/CPU. Let's call it Standard+ core. The Standard+ would be designed around allowing the APEX to run it's loadout + 2 - 3 advanced modules or an advanced weapon.

BPO suits would also solve the issue of basic aurum cores. By that I mean the sit would require no skills but not function without a core. Then the aurum standard core could require no skills to keep everything the same, and then regular ISK core that requires level 1.

This would also mean current BPO's would turn into BPO SKIN mod and BPO core mod.

It's impossible to have officer powercores that represent their officer frames due to them having different slot layouts.

Again, my main concern about this free BPO's for everybody is the financial aspect.

And if you turn our current BPO's to include a powercore BPO, then that is the equivalent of currently giving every single person in dust a bpo of everything in our current game for the price of one BPO.

Why is that the case? When you have 3 items (powercores), and one of them turns into a bpo (to compensate the old BPOs), that is such a massive gain into the system, we literally then have 1/3 of everything for free in the game suit wise, without having to finance CCP, without having to risk a whole lot.

So we either screw the people who bought bpo's financing ccp or we literally erase loss from about a 1/3 of the entire game under the proposal which traditionally was compensated by gameplay or giving money to CCP. Seriously, a powercore bpo is like one bpo to rule them all.

Just spitballing, but what if instead of 180 potential power cores(i think i've read this right) we had 12 power CORES (light, medium, heavy / mlt/std/adv/pro) and then a role subsystem (Scout, Assault, Logi, Sentinel, Commando) that gives modifiers to the suits' inherent stats much like the cores in FireFall?

For example the Scout role core would decrease health and regenerative abilites in exchange for a sizable increase to EWAR/Speed/Stamina?

The Commando would do a -H/S/G, +2L and a +15% to general speed, but take -10% to both health pools and decrease stamina regen?

As for the Light/Medium/Heavy cores, I figured it would make more sense for those to have +% efficacies to PG/CPU rather than grant a set amount, such that we don't end up with "Caldari Advanced Medium Power Core" and instead just have "Medium Power Core" Maybe with such a system we wouldn't even need MLT power cores.