CSM9 Report: Week Fifteen
Xander Phoena
Somer / RMT
I didn’t think I’d every be writing about this again at any length but here we are. It is being reported on reddit that Somer are once again operating a pseudo-RMT scheme in which if you buy a PLEX from them, you will be offered a ‘PLEX credit’ with which they will buy the PLEX back from you for above-Jita price. Using this method, it is claimed they turn extra ISK that they have into actual $$$ at a rate of around $19/1b ISK. On top of this, they are claiming on their own site that CCP has ratified this process. I have a lot of thoughts on this but I don’t want to give any opinions on the matter until CCP have made their position clear. CSM9 has talked with CCP already about this we are discussing the matter. If you remember where I was when the last Somer situation arose less than a year ago, you can probably take a guess at what I might be thinking about this new situation but until CCP states what has happened here from their position, any opinions on the matter are being made with incomplete information. I will be monitoring this situation incredibly closely over the next few days.Hyperion
This is more a PSA than anything. CCP Seagull has now detailed exactly what is coming to Hyperion on 26th August and you can read the list here. One that was the most interesting to me was the change to 100mn microwarpdrives with the cap usage being halved. This coincides with the prices of Machariels at al all-time low of ~625m ISK – I paid over 1b for my one two or three years ago. I expect you are going to see a lot more Machariels roaming your neck of the woods in the not too distant future. I am super excited about the new L4 Burner Missions incoming too. PvE in PvP fits is something the game has needed for some time and this is as close as CCP has managed to get so far. These will cause the deaths of so many unprepared pilots and as an indication to where Eve PvE may head in the future, these are an incredibly enticing glimpse. And yes, I too would like to see these segregated from L4 agents but CCP Fozzie has stated that this isn’t off the cards for the future as well as Burner Missions for other ship classes such as cruisers. Watch this space.
Wormhole Townhall
Corbexx hosted a very successful wormhole townhall on Saturday which included a certain CCP Fozzie in attendance as well as Sugar Kyle. Turnout was excellent with over 300 pilots in heading onto Social Sleeper Club’s TS. And people were very vocal indeed about the WH changes announced for Hyperion. Most of them almost to a man are unhappy about changes coming to w-space, particularly the likes of the mass spawn mechanic. For those of you who think this was somehow a 0.0 cartel push to nerf wormhole space, I don’t really know what to say to you other than it simply isn’t the case. I have kept any personal comments on wormhole changes to an absolute minimum in our internal discussions because I am simply not educated enough on that area of the game to speak with any authority. I know Corbexx is working hard both with the wormhole community and CCP and I think we now have to wait and see what Hyperion brings to w-space once it hits SiSi. If alterations need to be made, the great thing about a six-week development cycle is you won’t need to wait six months to see them.Nestor
Two weeks ago, I suggested that changes may be coming to the Nestor at some point in the future. Turns out those changes are coming a lot quicker than even I imagined and you’ll see them in Hyperion. As I mentioned in the last episode of the CZ podcast, there were two ways they could go – either buff the Nestor in some way or drop the price. What CCP have actually done is an amalgam of the two. The rate at which Drone Nexus chips drop from the relevant Sentient NPCs has been substantial increased which should see more of them available on the market leading to a price drop. On top of this, the Nestor is being given a 5000m3 Ship Maintenance Bay allowing nearby friendly ships to refit and its sig radius has been dropped a little from 465m to 420m. This makes the Nestor much more of a mini-carrier than it previously was and combined with the expected price drop should render the Nestor far more popular than it previously was. CCP will be monitoring Nestor use closely and are ready to make further tweaks if the hull still proves to be unpopular (or indeed, too popular at it’s new price point). I think that does us for this report. I suspect a very interesting week ahead what with the ongoing Somer situation, ATXII continuing after a fantastic opening weekend and Hyperion less than two weeks away.About the author
Xander Phoena
The good looking, funny, intelligent member of the team, Xander set up Crossing Zebras with Jeg in April 2012 mainly because he was talking too much about Eve on his other podcast. Playing the game for almost five years, Xander still has absolutely zero clue about how to actually play Eve but somehow still manages to talk a good game.
