Monday, April 1, 2013

Lowsec Highways

Saede over at her tumbler feed, Riordans ramblings, made a point a long time ago that I thought bore more attention than it received. She also made a post on the Forums

Anyways, the basics are this, in highsec there are various "Highway" pipes that connect various extended endpoints of highsec together. Basically allowing travel between hugely separated systems without having to go through lowsec. Some of these connections are well known like the pipe that goes through gankers heaven aka Uedama, but also just looking at the systems surrounding Jita and the Jita-pipes. For instance, The citadel, the connection gateway to what seems like everything, has direct connections to Essence, Sinq Liason, The Forge, Black Rise, Lonetrek and Domain. That's six regions. No wonder Jita is so popular, because it's so easy to get to.

Okay, so Highsec onviously has many more interconnections allowing for faster, easier travel and transport. But why not lowsec? Supposedly surrounding highsec but it has no ease of access. I am not talking about the highsec or lowsec island systems that are scattered around like delicate ecosystems of pirates and opportunists... I am talking about the chunks of lowsec that are locked away with litterally only one or two connection systems, and most times to single other area's of lowsec. Places like Solitude and Aridia come to mind.

In some cases, to move from one area of lowsec to one that should be "just next door," and sometimes is directly connected via highsec, can turn into a 20+ jump trek through lowsec, often times through other regions just to find the connection you need. Where are the highways so prevalent in Highsec? Why have they been left out here.

Before detractors start screaming the "making the game too easy pitch." Let me just say I am not suggesting a massed amount of new connections that make every lowsec region connected to every other lowsec region. Just a few additions and corridors that would make travel in lowsec that much easier.

Not only will this increase the mobility for pirates traversing lowsec, but also to other inhabitants of lowsec, like FW Fleets, Nullsec raiding fleets and even smaller alliances looking for homes. Lowsec would be more used because it would be easier to get to. Isolated regions could now draw people because there would be more ways in an out. (Solitude I'm looking at you). Providing the chance to increase lowsec population and increase the chances of a fight between roaming gangs.

As suggested by Saede, adding these jumps would dramatically help lowsec.


Saikamon-Soosat (The Bleak Lands - Devoid)
Sharir-Bairshir (Derelik - Derelik)
Maila-Ihakana (Forge - Forge)
Olettiers-Hysera (originally spelt wrong, this would be connection from Citadel to Sinq)
Kenninck-Ratillose (Placid - Solitude!)
Ashmarir-Rethan (Khanid - Tash Murkon)
Sibot-Soosat (Domain - Devoid)
Zinoo-Haras (Kador - Bleak Lands)
Karan-Agaullores (Aridia - Solitude)

It seems like a pretty simple change that would do nothing but good things for life in lowsec. Both for Pirates and for the good of lowsec.

5 comments:

  1. I get what you're saying but you are kind of handily forgetting many of the mentioned areas aren't that far apart via 0.0.

    Solitude isn't that remote tbh, it's only ~10ish jumps from Placid via Syndicate.
    Tash-Murkon is about the same to Khanid via Providence/Catch.

    And most the others can also be done relatively quickly by going through 0.0.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forgetting might be a bit of an overstatement, but yes, omitting that information.

      Solitude is pretty remote but really it's an outlier case. Yes I get the statement that things are "closer" through nullsec, but there are many cases as Sard brings up below where you don't want to or can't just quickly hop through Nullsec to land in some more lowsec.

      Let's use Solitude, to get there "through" Syndicate is a huge pain in the ass, well unless you either know about TXW being pretty free of camps most-times, but solo moving through lowsec in a combat ship is much different than moving through Nullsec. Mainly I mean that an AB fit Assault frig can work just fine in Lowsec, but catch it off a gate in a bubble, facing a camp and the thing won't even make it back to the gate before getting fried, a discouraging and distasteful waste. Nullsec gives more reasons to fit MWD, that lowsec doesn't really have. Sure there are insta-lock camps everywhere these days, go go RSB change, but it's much worse when you are looking for a fight, have to jump into nullsec unscouted, and land in the middle of a bubble camp.

      Besides, I think, my opinion follows, that it makes more sense to bring in more lowsec connection points to allow for lowsec to lowsec travel vice hop-throughs and already heavily camped gates.

      Delete
  2. I question the desire to add connections from highsec or nullsec to lowsec, though I like the idea of lowsec bridging more to lowsec. As it stands a large reason most pirates are local to their area is that its fucking awful trying to roam to other parts of space, without having to detour through high or nullsec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Lowsec to lowsec connections is what all of the suggested routes are (I think, it's been a few days of vacation since I looked at all the hops to be sure).

      Delete