Don’t be fooled.
Since 2020, one of the most hotly debated topics has been long range projection via Ansiblex. I do feel confident to state that I’ve been among the loudest voices on this matter, explaining and illustrating again and again in posts, recordings and live broadcasts the reasons why this is a poison to the game, the benefits a fix would bring and the end result any changes should be aiming for.
This has given rise to Fake fixes, almost always peddled by players with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
How can you spot a Fake Fix?
A Fake Fix can be identified by looking into whether or not it will lead to the ideal situation. A proper fix would end with large groups having to make a choice: continue to live far from the action, or move close to it. Moving close to a frontline would come with the reality of not having a multi-region buffer between you and your frontline.
A proper fix puts a full stop to the paradigm of “crossing multiple regions in minutes from a central, deeply invulnerable, vertically stacked HQ.”
Let’s go through some Fake Fixes now to see why they are trying to change nothing of note. (Note: there may me side-merit to some of these proposals, but they do nothing to fix the major issues.)
- “Let smallgangs disrupt the gates”
This is a classic, repeated non-fix. This doesn’t prevent blocs from mass-movements of players, as all it takes is a forward team of some of the fleet being in fast ships to blob anyone from disrupting.
- “Make Ansiblex one way – so you can go out fast, but not in.”
This one basically explains itself. It deliberately maintains the ability to move full forces towards their targets.
- “Limit Ansi projection by stopping bubbled/warp disrupted targets from taking the gate.”
The very problem with Ansiblex we’re looking at here is of vast fleets travelling via them. It should go without saying that massive groups of players can despatch some interceptors and interdictors, and then carry on.
- “Limit the number you can anchor (through costs, sacrificing other upgrades etc.)”
Much like the early numbers for Equinox, this would just cause the “branch lines” to be trimmed, leaving the superhighways in position. It would do nothing to prevent the current meta of “commuting” to your frontline.
- “Open them and let everyone use them.”
Are you seeing this pattern yet? ANYTHING but remove the ability for the bloc to put vast forces through them over huge distances.
Don’t vote for a candidate that refuses to propose a real fix for this issue. It is the single biggest piece of the puzzle towards making nullsec a healthier ecosystem, and by pushing groups to live near the edges of their space rather than the middle, it ups the need to and the incentive to go to real war, and most importantly, spread out your forces if you wish to defend all of your space.