[IDEA] Diminishing Returns on Biodome Drops

nukahn · Post by **nukahn** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:30 pm

It's apparently, on rebangs with a low biodome cost, a valid strategy to simply load up on biodomes, drop them on planets, and move on. An example being the number two player on a specific server has done nothing BUT drop biodomes. They have hundreds and hundreds of planets, they've got a considerable amount of exp, they haven't tended to ANY of their planets, just dropping biodomes and moving on. Even if a player goes after them to try to shoot them down they land on a planet and drop a biodome so the UN protection will protect them.

I'd like to suggest a "diminishing return" on dome dropping. Perhaps after your 10th (feel free to suggest a different number) it would start yielding less exp each drop. This would encourage players, rather than to dome-spam for easy exp, to tend to their colonies for exp.

MastrIan · Post by **MastrIan** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:09 pm

You are speaking strictly of the experience gained from just planting a dome? The 100 experience per dome dropped is generally insignificant, however I have seen this used on rebangs before, get into a barge load up with 24 domes and make 2.4k experience.
This isn't going to win anyone a rebang without the use of tokens for two reasons. At 40k per dome, 24 domes cost 960k, this is a small amount of experience for a moderate price, if you can afford to do this a bunch of times, you are probably doing something that is netting you a lot more experience. To drop 24 domes you will most likely need to go to at least 4-8 systems, in a barge without artis or wisdom you are using 11 gpw plus another 24 fuel to land on 24 different planets. The more you do this the further you are going to have to travel away from UN space or a starbase.
Reducing the amount of experience gained from dropping domes after X amount of times seems unnecessary to me, however this was done with killing lasers and after destroying a few hundred of them over a certain amount of time reduces the experience gained to 1. Perhaps dome spamming is now the replacement for that, but it requires a decent number of tokens to accomplish and actually beat someone who can easily accumulate 200k+ followers. If someone wants to so desperately get a medal by paying for one with tokens and isn't smart enough to just spend a tourney point and an hour on spice pirates, let the token noobs get their jewelry.

nukahn · Post by **nukahn** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:31 pm

Well I'm actively watching a player get past 80k exp on a rebang using that strat. No player kills, no npc kills, just huge amounts of colonies. We find her colonies all over the place, dome dropped as close to blast off as possible, no defenses, minimal colonists and construction.

DarkLStrike · Post by **DarkLStrike** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:00 pm

I think that is a valid strategy. It was even worse when you can build exp, a lot of players were doing this until the admins implemented a new colony system which discouraged most dome droppers and made them convert their playing style.

Presently, there are only a small amount of players who dome drop.

nukahn · Post by **nukahn** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:48 pm

DarkLStrike wrote: Presently, there are only a small amount of players who dome drop.

That may be so, but I just thought that since this is such a rich game with so many possibilities, that the winner shouldn't be the one who does the simplest thing over and over.

dirt · Post by **dirt** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:36 pm

nukahn wrote: That may be so, but I just thought that since this is such a rich game with so many possibilities, that the winner shouldn't be the one who does the simplest thing over and over.

But thats how you win, do the same thing over and over. The thing about rebangs is, if it makes you exp and it works, do it. Chances are good that a guy port hopping and dome dropping could get that 80k exp but it's how he plays. If it gets him a gold then congrats, if not, good try.

duece · Post by **duece** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:12 am

you can make a lot more than 80k through more conventional methods.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:07 am

dome dropping is part of the game - if that's the strategy they want to use - let them. If they want to use a only killing npc strategy would that be a problem for you? Or only gaining exp from taxi runs and discovering ports?

The point is it's there to be used as you see fit - and in many cases, the point of this game is to do the same thing over and over again (then again - maybe doing that, and something "different" each time is a strategy) - in the end, and after playing for a while - you'll realize that the majority of the game is repitition (such as any game really) with just slightly different settings and locations - why should strategy change with minimal game change?

If you're getting beat by someone who's dome dropping, find another method to beat them, or beat them at their own game. Dome dropping's dropped significantly since the colony changes, just be glad you wern't around then - exp gained now is minimal compared to the past (and yes - he will be gaining a little xp from his cols - he could also be doing taxi runs and exploring - you don't actually know that he isn't)