EVE blogs examine CSM discussions on nullsec warfare
The first round of minutes from EVE Online's CSM summit were released yesterday, with two further parts to be released in the coming week. EVE blogger Keith Neilson was privileged to be present at some of the meetings between the CSM and CCP, and has posted a summary on his blog. Since the official meeting minutes have yet to be released, concrete conclusions on any specific points in the meeting can't be made. Keith was able to confirm, however, that nullsec PvP was heavily discussed at the summit. In particular, the effect of last year's Dominion expansion on nullsec warfare was examined, some problems were highlighted and potential solutions were explored.
The summaries on Keith's blog reveal some surprising facts about nullsec. CCP's lead economist Dr Eyjo is said to have voiced concerns over the fact that new players are moving into the more PvE-focused wormhole content instead of forming alliances and moving into nullsec territorial warfare. This is understandable, as wormhole systems are much more friendly to colonisation by small groups. They offer a similar level of rewards to nullsec but the size of a potential attacking fleet is naturally limited by the size of connecting wormholes. In anticipation of the official minutes being released later this week, Calais from EVE blog The Hydrostatic Capsule has delved into Keith's summaries and drawn some compelling conclusions about why nullsec is still the domain of massive alliances.
While Dominion was meant to open nullsec for smaller groups, Calais suggests that super-capitals and jump bridges actually prevent smaller groups from competing in nullsec PvP. "Where small teams should have the advantage of stealth and agility – the ability to strike fast and hard before melting away," Calais explains, "we actually see the very opposite." Using supercapital jump drives and jump bridges, it's big alliance fleets are able to outmaneuver smaller invading forces who can't afford to set up and defend the same infrastructure. Full details of the discussion between CCP and the CSM about nullsec PvP will be released later this week on the EVE devblog page.
