How to Ruin Low-Sec

Image courtesy of Hussars On-line

It could just be Summer doldrums. Or it could be the aftermath of recent expansion changes, or the prelude to fundamental shift-change, or simply only recent aberrations - but whatever the reason - our Low Sec neighborhood has been changing recently. And not for the better.

And look, I get it. Change is the only constant. Change is good for the soul. Blah blah yadda yadda. So don't start with the, "Rixx is whining" crap. Do us all a favor and actually consider the words. All I am doing here is musing, commenting, and generally pointing out some concerns that have been building since Kronos was released.

Yesterday I was flying around in a Kestrel. Which is just about as low as I can go and still be in a decently capable ship. Finding good fights has become increasingly challenging. (Although I did manage this fight with a Thrasher!) Even so, at various points, Dramiels, Daredevils, Comets, Sentinels, and various other ships more capable than the lowly Kessie - ran away from it.  This is nothing new. The aversion to actual PvP is legendary among certain factions in space. Let's take that as read.

Finally I manage to find an Incursus who would probably have beaten me fair and square had he stuck around to fight. Instead he warped off, probably stabbed several times for protection. So I burned off the gate a bit to check d-scan, when an Ishtar landed and red boxed me. He launched his Sentries. He really did. I laughed and warped off. Unlike the Incursus, that fight would not have ended well for me. There is no place in which my Kessie would have won a fight against an Ishtar. Not in Low Sec at least. And barring stupid, badly fit, young characters flying things they shouldn't be flying. This pilot was 2006. Did I also mention that he had links in local up and running?

Whenever our local neighborhoods get insane, we often head down various pipes to spread out and seek fame and fortune in other lands. This is pretty common, a daily activity. At some point during the day, Stay Frosty pilots are pretty much everywhere. Lately however, our ability to do this has been getting increasingly difficult. More and more of Low Sec is being "camped" these days. Especially commonly used "pipes". Camps in Low Sec are nothing new of course, and there are well known systems that are typically camped. And still are. However, we've noticed a sharp increase in new camps along different avenues. Long-lasting, semi-perma camps using multiple T3 sensor boosters with Ceptors and other fast locking over-kill machines. (Typically cheap Frig/Dessie support, which is something relatively new.)

This type of lazy PvP isn't new. But we are all noticing an increase in it across a wider spectrum. In addition, more and more we are seeing small gangs with Griffin support, or with nasty combinations of cheap Frigs escorted by expensive Pirate ships (Gilas, Garmurs, Daredevils, etc.) or all-to-common Ishtars. All backed by an amazing growth in T3 booster support.

In order to identify known Booster alts, Stay Frosty labels them orange, so that we can all see them in local. There are systems in which there will be 3-4 orange pilots in local, and yesterday I counted 10 in one System.

There is some debate about the root cause of these recent changes. Is it a localized phase that will normalize eventually? Is it in direct relation to a more active Low Sec? Is it a response to us having moved to a different area? There are certainly legitimate reasons why local might be evolving. And we'll have to wait and see if these are long-term trends, or short-term responses.

As I said earlier, I get it. Change is the only constant. And ABA will adapt to meet any challenge. We'll change along with the Meta, of course. But more significantly, IF this is indeed a trend. IF Low Sec is slowly evolving into a more organized, self-contained, group-based region - then I worry about the future of our casual play-style.

And that is all it is right now, just a worry.