[POLL] Should we bring corvettes back to their normal price?

Discussion in 'Beta Discussion' started by Dalwin, Dec 18, 2017.


Should we bring corvettes back to their normal price?

Poll closed Dec 23, 2017.
  1. yes, restore them to full price (aprox 200 LP/HP)

    6 vote(s)
  2. yes, but only in conjunction with a server reset

    10 vote(s)
  3. no

    9 vote(s)
  4. undecided

    1 vote(s)
  1. Dalwin

    Dalwin Member

    For Steam release the price of corvettes (T3) was slashed by 90%. This made things a lot of fun for new players for a few days, but it also had negative consequences on overall balance.

    Pros to cheap corvettes:
    1. It gave new players a chance to try different things
    2. It was fun to get that much action without having to grind the LP/HP first
    3. It gives someone who has lost a high value ship a cheap way to grind LP/HP to recover

    Cons to cheap corvettes:
    1. They distorted play balance so that it seemed that initiative is more important than other factors such as shield strength.
    2. Killer swarms of suicide high initiative corvettes made all frigates (T4) essentially unplayable and even T5 highly risky. This is again a balance issue and already forced a response of making all ships T4+ more survivable by adding hull points. To really test various ships' survivability we need to have corvettes at full price. For all we know the hull points change goes too far.
    3. It allows or even encourages a play style of using the T3 to farm directly to T7 while skipping all the classes in between.
  2. infested

    infested Member

    Yes change them back at their old price. Right now they offer big rewards for zero risk. If you combine that change with a server reset it will be even better.
  3. 0b1000010

    0b1000010 Member

    No, if you change the price to full value, players are going to have an even harder time catching up. And more frustration factors of getting a T3 and losing it (even 200 xp)
  4. Dalwin

    Dalwin Member

    One piece of feedback I am getting from many players on this issue is that when corvettes go back to normal price we should all have free access to all three of a side's free starter ships instead of being stuck with the one you picked before you even knew how to play. This is also important because if you are trying to train officers on your free ship, you need to have something else to fly while that one is in the dock.
    petlahk likes this.
  5. revinance

    revinance Moderator Staff Member

    I don't think they should be 200 that's far to much. you need to hit a enemy t3 8 full rounds to get the lp back. i would say start with 50 and see how it goes and if that's to low go higher. You can say yes but you can hit t4's but those people will be a lot better then most t3 players with this system so i voted no.

    Edit: this will only work if the majority are players you fight. if you fight mostly ai the current prices have to stay in that case.
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2017
    petlahk likes this.
  6. Gazy

    Gazy New Member

    I do believe a cost of 200 is too much for a corvette, they are learning ships and die a lot. If you can't get your price back in a single match, you are in a downward spiral and will force people to use "free" starter ships for a significant amount of time.
    petlahk likes this.
  7. Black Turtle

    Black Turtle New Member

    Yes, higher prices on Corvettes would be welcome and a server reset is something i also support.
    I agree that the gains from ai, may be too low for increased corvette cost. Nonetheless i still think the prices should be raised
  8. Beernchips

    Beernchips Member

    Recent changes on corvettes (Genari AF4 nerfed + sol shield changes) makes it too early to have full price corvettes not until changes where tested to see t3 are balanced now
    petlahk likes this.
  9. Dalwin

    Dalwin Member

    But the game shouldn't be so much about the corvette wars. The natural progression from corvette to frigate and so on upward is badly distorted by the effectiveness versus price of the high initiative corvettes. All the units in game have a cost to purchase which is based upon their stats. If you make a ship better, it's cost goes up to keep things in balance. The 90% off discount of corvettes throws that whole system out of alignment.
  10. direstorm

    direstorm New Member

    Would argue in favor of keeping T3's at the same price and even moving the gun on the t4 ship tender around to the front so that people can have a cheap t4 / t5 option that lets them feel like they're contributing when everyone on the enemy team has a t5.
  11. Superman0X

    Superman0X New Member

    I believe that there are multiple issues here (and only one is being addressed).

    Problem 1: Every player gets a Free ship. This ship is the effective baseline that all players start with, and compare too. When players look to grind for LP/HP, they compare the cost of each ship vs the free ship, as well as how well it can be used to earn. This is currently a T3 ship.
    Problem 2: Currently all T3 ships are very cheap. Because of this low cost they can be used in place of the free ship to grind LP/HP with little risk, and often better perceived grinding potential.

    If T3 ship costs are raised, then players will just grind using the free ship. This will make the gameplay a bit more stagnant as players will not feel like they have any other reasonable options. It will also discourage the use of other T3, as they will have a significantly higher risk (cost) and the potential return will not correspond. The issue is the relative value between the free ship and the other T3 ships. I believe that the only way to truly fix this is to change both the free ship, at the same time you restore the prices of the T3's. I would suggest that instead of a free T3, everyone gets a free T1. This would mean that moving up to T2/T3 would be reasonable upgrades, with clear advantages over the free ship.

    Problem 3: There is an increase in the amount of LP/HP that you get for shooting a higher tier ship, but it is generally not enough to make up for the superior advantages of the higher tier ship.

    If we are lowering the tier of the free ship, we should also look at the rewards for imbalanced matches. Providing a larger return for low tier vs high(er) tier would both help to equalize the balance faster, as well as discouraging farming of low tier with high tier ships. It would encourage more equal battles on all sides. If a player is constantly fighting against ships 2x the tier of their best ships, they should be able to quickly earn large amounts of LP/HP to catch up and challenge their opponents.
  12. petlahk

    petlahk New Member

    I Ditto this. 200 is way too much, especially considering the costs of the ships after T3s. 50 sounds like a good place to start it.

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