NidenShareTweetOn Thursday’s o7 show, CCP Fozzie announced Thera – a massive system populated with NPC stations in wormhole space. The system will have no local, revolving connections to K-space, no statics to W-space and not allow capitals or starbases. Essentially a ‘roaming’ thunderdome, or, as CCP put it, “The Mos Eisley of EVE”, a Jita of scum and villainy.Thera represents a new type of space for capsuleers to populate, a hybrid, if you will, of W-space, lowsec and nullsec. Will it be the best of all worlds? Or a recipe for disaster? What groups will it attract and what kind of gameplay will it provide?Sho: Giant system. Check. No Concord. Check. Stations. Check. Need new underwear. Check.
Apoth: I just came a little.
Georgik: I can’t say I’m sold on this idea at all. Jita wasn’t forced, it occurred over a few years of “Hyper-travel lanes,” level 4 missions and close proximity to northern null. The build it and they will come mentality won’t really work with Thera. The lack of industry options is going to turn off the Industrialists, and there isn’t really any drive to go sit in Thera for the typical wormhole-er. As a former neighbor to the 100+ AU system of Innia, in Black Rise, finding fights was impossibly hard, but I did get the occasional FW plex kill. With Thera though, no local, nothing in scan range, and no way of knowing if someone is cloaked, how is any “thunderdoming” going to occur. Not to mention the ceaseless station games that will be played. I see this being hot for a month and then participation sharply falling to a few die-hards who will never be evicted and run at any sign of a fair fight.
Niden: Thera is a wild and crazy idea, I like it! Certainly, as Georgik points out, it could end up in disaster, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. It has the potential of becoming a dynamic wildcard that stirs things up as it connects to various places throughout New Eden, while also hopefully being a ‘fight club’ internally – truly the Thunderdome of New Eden! Naturally the fear is that it becomes the antithesis of this: a place ruled by one group that just sit on it, stifling dynamic PVP and trade. However, the vision for this place as a haven of pirates, brigands and shrewd traders, teeming with unsavory life, is so intoxicating that not trying to make it happen because it could go wrong would in itself be a mistake. No guts, no glory.
Blackhuey: New content is almost never a bad thing, with the obvious exception of Incarna. I like the Thera concept but feel it will fall short of its lofty thunderdome or “W-space Jita” aspirations due simply to the logistics of stocking the stations; though anyone (or any group) who can get a freighter full of PVP supplies through will make a fortune. Early movers will have an advantage and I would be very surprised if the larger groups in Eve weren’t already formulating plans to move in ships and clones for opportunistic raids. It will be a perfect home for nomadic subcap PVP groups, and I expect to see a lot of killmails in Thera and any K-space it is connected to.
Xander: I think as a potential signpost of where CCP may be willing to take Eve in the future, Thera is astounding. I know I am biased but I just think CCP continues to be ever more brave and bold, killing such untouchables like the skill queue and clone costs while experimenting more with stuff such as Thera and the dojo.
As to how Thera will play out itself? Who will live there and suchlike? I have no idea but I will certainly be paying the place a visit at the first opportunity.
Tags: cz minutes, Thera
12 year EVE veteran, Snuffed Out scumbag, writer, graphic artist, producer, Editor-in-Chief of Crossing Zebras and the second most influential player in EVE, according to EVE Onion.
Niden
Niden
