I call QQ on power gamers wanting to always have better stuff than new players. Having children, a busy job, or other non-game demands on one's time should not preclude someone from being able to enjoy the game as fully as a power gamer.

People who have that much time to play games should be spending that time building empires with nullsec alliances in EVE. Then at least they can train into Titans and know that no newbie will have that ship.

Of course, the Goons might still gank it with free rookie ships...

It's not about power gamers vs casuals. When the game has been out for more than a year, non of that will matter. There will still be new players and ppl with a huge amount of sp, probably playing in the same match... It's about making it take years to max out all of the skills. Once a person gets to a certain sp point, they will probably never buy another booster ever again.

If you are that crazy about getting stuff in dust, go ambush and try and get 1000 WP a match.


I am not sure what you are suggesting. Not everyone is made of infinite free time. I played the majority of one day, a good deal yesterday but still have not gotten the cap.

Maybe have it refresh each day and accumulate for those so addicted to the game who have little patience or planning?

JI am a power gamer and do not play games when they are not rewarding my time.

I can see the OP's point of view though. Why play a match when there's no real benefit (at present) to spend ISK outside of restocking dropsuits? They've built up the "Just one more level" kind of thing which is a problem, especially since they've let players decide how quickly they get SP for at least a short term based on whether or not they played.

Just wanted to let CCP know for their statistics. I played until I maxed it out and now will be logged off until it refreshes. I had every intention of playing all weekend long and during the week. Instead of logging onto Dust I will be logging into other games and giving them my money until my cap refreshes. I am a power gamer and do not play games when they are not rewarding my time.

I don't intend this as a rant I am genuinely trying to convey a power-gamers perspective on the cap situation.

My personal take on the matter is as follows.

It used to be that I could log in and make 50-60k SP per round. This obviously was to much and I totally understand why I can now only make 10k per map ( I finish in the top 3 regularly so 10 is my average ). I have no problem grinding away at 10k per map knowing it will take years to max out the existing skills even if I played 4 hours a day every day nonstop. I like how Dust ( and eve which i have played for 10 years) allows a new player to spec and become powerful in one discipline very quickly and older players to max out their specs in multiple disciplines. I hear and understand the argument that you don't want to create 'god' players of ppl that grind all day and to have a huge advantage over casual/new players. I feel that Dust avoids this inherently because I can only train 5 on any given skill.

A new player comes in and trains Assault riffles to 5, he can now fit the same gun as me at lvl 5 no matter how long I have played. Meaning if i play assault and he plays assault we are as even as it gets. Now the difference is that I can swap to sniper where maybe he cant because I am an older/power player. But to me that is balance, that guy has the same potential to grind just like me to get the sniper and everything else up.

I think the amount of SP you can gain per match is balance and should stay as is, but the SP cap should be removed to allow players to better themselves at 'max' speed knowing that max speed is still slow enough that they will never hit the point that they run out of skills.

I would love to know what other power gamers think about this and how they feel the SP cap should be handled. CCP if you would weigh in on the experience you are intending for power gamers as well that would be awesome.

You logging off is good. Angry Birds awaits you.

Bejeweled Zen Mode never, ever ends. Imagine the lovely sparklies. Ooh.

While you were on your phone I logged into my second char. Capped that one too. Haven't started a third as I have Dark Souls to play.


Grief PK, what does the PK mean?

Your first name being Grief we already understand.

Isn't fun rewarding enough?

I mean, i've played HL, CS, Quake2 and 3, UT, for long time, and there was not a SP, or any bullshit as a reward... just fun.


If anyone is interested in my opinion, there shouldn't be any sp reward per each match, just like eve, not even a passive gain, you train skills in real time, and if you dont have any skill in the queue, you dont train at all, just like in eve.


This way ppl would play not to reach the cap, or to farm, or whatver, but for the fun, besides isnt this what all games are about?

Oh look, another post highlighting the fact that SP caps are a pain when SP gains seem to be the only thing to play for.

Yep, we know the game's not complete.

As soon as the devs can make it happen (without breaking the rest of the game) we'll have planet control to fight over, at which point we won't care about SP except as a means to an end.

Personally I can't understand why CCP are taking so long to deliver it, but we know where they are heading and all this complaining that we haven't got there yet is getting a bit tiring.

I can see the OP's point of view though. Why play a match when there's no real benefit (at present) to spend ISK outside of restocking dropsuits? They've built up the "Just one more level" kind of thing which is a problem, especially since they've let players decide how quickly they get SP for at least a short term based on whether or not they played.

If there was an eve style skill set up then fine, that's the way it would have been and I'd have accepted that, however I can't stand the idea of some grey dusty little man sitting somewhere telling me that if I put in the hours I will not be given the rewards I've earned.

Wanted to add some info to show people exactly what the cap means.

Lets say the average player participates in battle for say 4hrs at 20mins per game while the cap is in place:

3000sp per hour

12000sp per day

84000sp per week

336000sp per month

Then have a little look at the sp required to level half the skills in game and it might start to sink in.

I fail to see the problem here, you still get 1/3 - 1/6 (dependent on how good you are at the game) when you hit the cap. Hell the active booster extends the cap and if you still hit it, you got 1500 SP leeway.
It is simply there because it means people with a working life are not stomped on by no-lifers. Simple as. EVE is completely passive.
If anything it gives you time to spend on other games, Dust isn't the ONLY game out there. It means I can play some Battlefield 3 without worrying that I'm lagging behind on Dust.

I call QQ on power gamers wanting to always have better stuff than new players. Having children, a busy job, or other non-game demands on one's time should not preclude someone from being able to enjoy the game as fully as a power gamer.

People who have that much time to play games should be spending that time building empires with nullsec alliances in EVE. Then at least they can train into Titans and know that no newbie will have that ship.

Of course, the Goons might still gank it with free rookie ships...

interesting posts.

btw, PK does stand for Player Killer, however it came from MUDS (multi-user dungeon), PRE mmo's. Now i'm showing my age.

I am a casual gamer and believe there shouldn't be a SP cap either. You should be rewarded for your time.

However, I believe there could be a bonus SP in place to assist the casual gamer maybe that changes on play style based on weekly sp gain.

The power gamer will always have the upper hand as they put in the time. This game, like eve, will allow you to specialize quickly and learn alot of things slowly. I dont believe there will be that much of a drawback from someone who has 3 mil sp vs someone who has 10 mil sp. Just 10 mil sp guy has more options and can generalize.

My 2 isk.

Wanted to add some info to show people exactly what the cap means.

Lets say the average player participates in battle for say 4hrs at 20mins per game while the cap is in place:

3000sp per hour

12000sp per day

84000sp per week

336000sp per month

OH NUMBERS! I like me some numbers.
Are ppl without boosters also hitting the cap in a couple of days?
Assuming each game is 20 Minutes then we have 1500sp (Active Booster) per 20Min
Let a day be 4 hours of play

4500 per hour

18000sp per day (4 hours)

126000 per 7 days (28 hours)

556000 per 31 days (124 hours)

However, 4 hours a day is pretty light for a grinder. It would be more likely that they are playing 8 hours a day and maybe 16 hours on non work days or school days. Yes, I know thats virtually no life outside of the game, and they usually only keep that up for a couple weeks before taking a break. But lets say they hit the sp cap on friday night and started grinding again on saturday (beginning of their 2 days off from work)

4500 per hour
36000 per 8 hours
72000 per 16 hours
Saturday-Sunday 144000 sp
Monday-Tuesday 72000 sp
Total grind with sp cap 216000 sp
This is what a power grinder would be likely to make in a week. I sometimes follow this pattern when I have nothing else going on, so lets say I had alot of stamina with no life and kept this up for a 4 week month.
864000 sp per month

Remember golden eye? There was no progression, there was no leveling. There was only the fun of playing a game. Personally i don't get the arguement of the game is not rewarding me. Isn't playing the game the reward. If I tell you every time you email me you get 2 xp would you do that just because I give you fake points? The fun is the game not the SP. IMO

I too doubt the cap existst mainly to protect the fun of casual gamers, since (like mentioned by others) they will fall behind anyway. There are more clever ways to deal with that.
For example an entertaining gamemode where everyone starts with standard-gear, so one can have a fair fight while gathering some exp.

To me it seems this SP-cap-thingy was either not well thought through, or planned as a temporary measure/some test in the first place.

Thus far, the game strongly focuses on gaining SP/skills as a main motivator. The things you can buy with real money are a clear indicator for that... Which also might be part of the problem: There isn't much else to buy yet. If powergamer can get their advantage by playing alone, they won't feel the desire to spend much money on the current offerings... I wouldn't.

I say to counter that, bring us hats instead! ...Or rather an equivalent.
Especially badass looking high-tier armor, some shiny energy cannons, a demonic face one can paint on their dropship and whatnot. As long as stats and skill requirements are the same as those of their counterparts, no one has a real reason to complain, and i am sure people would by it. People love to brag! Powergamer probably even more than casuals.

What the game needs might just be more variety in gamemodes and marketplace offerings. Different stuff for different crowds. And maybe that's allready planned. I hope so.
A SP-cap would be obsolete than. It mostly repells possible customers.