Blog Banter 21- The Middle Child

Welcome to the twenty-first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked "Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?" Is it? I'd like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What's needed? Or is everything fine as it is?

First of all, I'm not in the blog pack.  But I'd thought I'd respond to it anyway, as its food for thought.  Now I don't live in low sec, but I have ventured there.  In my early days of the "pew pew" (bout 6 or so months back), I'd occasionally take a few of my corpies and we'd go and romp around low, trying to find a frigate or a cruiser soloing things while trying not to get pushed around by the real pirates.  We'd go for an hour or two, and either get podded to hell or come back empty handed but proud that we didn't epic fail.  So that's mainly my experience.

As for low security being the forgotten place of EVE, I'd have to disagree.  I think its that deep dark place that most of us would like to avoid, like that bad neighborhood or back alley.  Its a foreboding place, and quite daunting to the "pew pew" noobs that we were back in the day.  Not to say I'm not still a noob, I just know my way around a little better now.  

As for how CCP is treating it, I feel that it is like the middle child.  Null is the oldest, and CCP's proudest achievement while Empire is the baby, getting all the extra love.  Where the middle child is forced to get by in the shadow of the oldest and competing with the youngest for extra attention.  So yes, I think CCP is treating it differently.  First of all, Faction Warfare, according to most other bloggers (I have never participated in it) is quite broken, glitched, bugged, whatever.  Also, tactics need some lovin'.  While I think its great that they made it only possible to use bubbles in null, gate guns are still a pain in the butt for any frigate trying to hit up targets on the gate.  

Which brings us to the fourth part of this banter.  I think that gate guns should be removed.  Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but it would definitely encourage people to use smaller ships that don't have to have enough tank to withstand the gate guns.  Hell, I'd "pew pew" in low sec more often if I could take out a thrasher fully fitted for gank and just run around there looking for targets.  That'd be fun!!

Oh wait, there's a third part?  Hm... to make a living.  Well, all the people out there seem to be the scum and vile villainy of the universe, so its probably not clean money they're earning.  It is possible, but not easily done, to make money out there.  You can PLEX, you can rat, but you run the risk of having a gang pop up on you.  But again, this is true for any low/null sec system.  Except in null you are probably in an alliance with friends to tell you if there is a camp on the gate or station.  But is the risk worth the reward?  I don't think so.  Ratting in low sec is not nearly as profitable as null, and not nearly as safe as empire.  Mining is risky, but doable, but again it can be more profitable elsewhere.  The only real profit is in selling ships/trading out of low sec hubs.  To make it more profitable in low security, they should probably make ratting a much more profitable experience.

So, there's my schpeil on low sec.  What do you think about the situation out there?

Oh yeah, don't forget to check out the other "real" blog banter entries:

Blog Banter 21 – Fish Heads and Baby Ruths
Low Sec = Wild West
Arr, Yer be talkin' bout me lowsec
Low Sec: I Wanna Talk to You
Making Low Sec Matter - Project kick-Off
In the Ghetto  
Blog Banter 21: Friggin' Low Sec