CCP manages to make even the act of giving out gifts an interesting gameplay decision. Other studios should take note.
Along with a long list of ‘stuff’ to select, CCP has also given out two implants recently, both of them a +3 boost to a stat along with a 1.5% bonus to CPU and Capacitor. If you plug in both implants you get a set bonus.
Now +3 to a stat is decent-enough, but it is a significant step down from the top-end +5 implants. Of course those don’t give the other bonuses, which then raises the question: would you rather have more CPU/Cap, or train skills faster?
For me this is a tough one. On the one hand, at 27m and 21m SP on my two pilots, I have plenty of needed training left. On the other, my CNR could really use more CPU, and more Capacitor is always a good thing. Because I play daily, the option to have a training clone (all +5 implants) and a combat/whatever clone won’t work for me.
I’m leaning towards the +3 implants. Any bittervets have some thoughts?
Note: The reason my CNR is having CPU issues is because I use an XL shield booster, rather than a medium booster like I often see in other fits. I’m also still using T2 ballistic units rather than faction ones (that whole not-enough-ISK thing). I like the XL booster because it provides a great “oh shit” fallback if you need to pop a few scramming frigs and get out of a mission. I’m sure that once I finish up some training, and get some more faction mods into it, that will become less of an issue, but for now the XL stays.
Unless you need the bonuses as well as normal implant bonuses then keep them, don’t implant them.
There are already +cpu, +cap and +grid implants available for ~25M isk or so.
What’s important about the CA-1 and CA-2 implants are that they stack with the regular implants.
Or alternatively, sell your implants on the contract market and buy as many regular implants as you want.
I already have the slot 6 CPU implant for launchers. Still need more CPU. The thing about these is you are getting more CPU from the stat slots (1-5), not the 6-10 slots you would normally get it from.
Unless I’m totally missing something here…?
No, you’re exactly right. The key selling point about CA-1 and CA-2 is not that they give great bonuses, but that they give bonuses in implant slots that generally don’t provide boosts.
There’s also an attribute remap which, in my opinion, is way more valuable than any other gifts on the list (they are 50M ISK or so tops).
Seconded. That remap is worth hundreds of millions of ISK, as it amounts to bonus SP!
Nevermind my last comment.
I’d go for +5 (or +4 stats implants) and solve fitting problems in other ways. +3 is a bit low for my taste, especially when affecting Int and Per.
I don’t know how much pvp you’re doing, Sync, but implant management when your character is in danger changes things. There’s a skill called Informorph psychology which allows you to install jump clones. There are also some weird rules regarding jump clones but there’s a jump clone service corp that you can join for a day, set your clones, then leave if having trouble.
This allows you to have the following setup:
One head full of implants that you wear while doing safe stuff.
One medium risk head with maybe just 2 attribute implants for low sec/wormhole/highsec pvp (where you can probably escape in the pod if you lose your ship)
One empty head for dangerous things like nullsec.
Makes life a lot easier and gives a value to the mid level implants.
Still as the others have said for your Christmas gift you’re probably best with the remap.
Option 3) Get CA-1 and CA-2 on every alt. Hold for 6 months to a year when half of the market will have been destroyed, sell at a profit.
Use the +5s. Your choice is basically a better fit (ie, a little bit of extra dps = a little bit faster mission running = a little bit more isk/hr) or extra skill points. You can’t put a price on skill points.
Plug the implants into a pvp clone. That’s an area where a couple percent of fitting room can completely change the ship and the way you fly it.