We all know that Eve is a complicated and horribly interdependent eco-system. Frankly it is well beyond the ability for any one person to grasp the infinity of connections. Pull one string and dozens of unexpected results will suddenly appear. This universe of ours just keeps getting more and more complex as time goes along - and next week's expansion will only continue to add to that complexity. This is what happens when your game is over two decades old. It is, after all, only natural.
From a micro-user perspective, a player solely focused on one very specific area, I continue to see troubling signs that concern me. Having said that out-loud, I must also admit that it is entirely possible that my own specific area of focus is being phased out. Squeezed out might be more apt a description. Goodness knows, Piracy in Low Sec is not popular. Especially solo and small gang Piracy in Low Sec. If anything, it is a slowly dying concept within the universe of Eve Online. This isn't hyperbole, we live this every single day. Corporations are dead. Players are gone. Systems are empty. Turtling is the new meta. People are proud to name their ships, "I will Run Away". Something that only a decade ago would have gotten you shamed out of the game.
While the new Insurgency mechanics have resulted in increased 'activity' in Low Sec - that activity has largely resulted in an increase in static exploitation. Bots, multi-boxing, and min/max schemes that avoid conflict of any kind, and turtle schemes that discourage engagement. And while the Friendship Machine philosophy that CCP has hung its hat on for the past decade continues to encourage fleets and large group activities - it has also run counter to (what I believe) is the greatest reason players choose to play Eve Online - engagement.
Avoiding conflict may increase your bank account - but to what end? We are strangely fixated on ISK per hour activities to the detriment of any sort of joy per hour in those activities. "Joy" is perhaps the wrong word choice here, perhaps satisfaction would be more appropriate. I would argue that for long-term player engagement a sense of personal achievement and satisfaction is what ultimately drives subscriptions. At least in my corner of the universe.
I see engagement dropping and it concerns me.
I have more thoughts along these lines, but I'll leave those for future posts.
Until then.