EVE Online pilot places a $75,000 bounty on rival alliance
In what might be the largest real money bounty ever placed in a video game, one EVE Online player is offering $75,000 to be shared among pilots willing to help him evict one of EVE's most notorious alliances from their territory. EVE Online has long been known for its explosive drama as players murder, steal, and betray their way to the top of its political food chain, but this is something else entirely.
The high roller’s name is 'holder2k,' and he’s offering a contract through Paypal where pilots can register to help destroy a group of players' bases and forcibly remove them from their star system. If the operation is successful, each pilot will get an equal share of the $75,000 bounty. While it's unclear how holder2k will judge each pilot's participation, he does say that "the money can be contractually recalled if you try to take money and run."
But even if holder2k's bounty is legitimate, some serious obstacles are blocking his way. For one, the alliance he's decided to pick a fight with is none other than Hard Knocks, a vicious gang of killers who were the first to build EVE's version of a Death Star. Complicating matters further, the star system holder2k wants to evict them from is nicknamed 'Rage,' and it's a hellhole of defensive towers and warp disruption bubbles all designed to make sieging it an impossibility. Even if holder2k manages to assemble an army capable of that, there's still the issue of Hard Knocks' 'Fort Knocks' Keepstar citadel—the aforementioned Death Star with a 'doomsday' weapon capable of obliterating an entire fleet with a single shot. That's assuming holder2k can even rally a reliable force. It's more than likely that players will sign up only to do what they can to sabotage holder2k's plans.
Another massive problem for holder2k is that his offer violates EVE Online's Terms of Service, which states "you may not market, sell, advertise, promote, solicit or otherwise arrange for the exchange or transfer of items in the game or other game services unless it is for in-game sales of in-game services or items." That essentially means paying real money to get people to do things in EVE is a big no-no. He could, theoretically, turn his $75,000 into PLEX—an item that can be purchased from developer CCP Games and sold in-game for EVE's virtual currency, ISK. But then holder2k loses all ability to hold his hired mercenaries accountable, as players are free to steal and cheat without consequence according to in-game rules.
Source and more: http://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-pilot-places-a-75000-bounty-on-rival-alliance/
In what might be the largest real money bounty ever placed in a video game, one EVE Online player is offering $75,000 to be shared among pilots willing to help him evict one of EVE's most notorious alliances from their territory. EVE Online has long been known for its explosive drama as players murder, steal, and betray their way to the top of its political food chain, but this is something else entirely.
The high roller’s name is 'holder2k,' and he’s offering a contract through Paypal where pilots can register to help destroy a group of players' bases and forcibly remove them from their star system. If the operation is successful, each pilot will get an equal share of the $75,000 bounty. While it's unclear how holder2k will judge each pilot's participation, he does say that "the money can be contractually recalled if you try to take money and run."
But even if holder2k's bounty is legitimate, some serious obstacles are blocking his way. For one, the alliance he's decided to pick a fight with is none other than Hard Knocks, a vicious gang of killers who were the first to build EVE's version of a Death Star. Complicating matters further, the star system holder2k wants to evict them from is nicknamed 'Rage,' and it's a hellhole of defensive towers and warp disruption bubbles all designed to make sieging it an impossibility. Even if holder2k manages to assemble an army capable of that, there's still the issue of Hard Knocks' 'Fort Knocks' Keepstar citadel—the aforementioned Death Star with a 'doomsday' weapon capable of obliterating an entire fleet with a single shot. That's assuming holder2k can even rally a reliable force. It's more than likely that players will sign up only to do what they can to sabotage holder2k's plans.
Another massive problem for holder2k is that his offer violates EVE Online's Terms of Service, which states "you may not market, sell, advertise, promote, solicit or otherwise arrange for the exchange or transfer of items in the game or other game services unless it is for in-game sales of in-game services or items." That essentially means paying real money to get people to do things in EVE is a big no-no. He could, theoretically, turn his $75,000 into PLEX—an item that can be purchased from developer CCP Games and sold in-game for EVE's virtual currency, ISK. But then holder2k loses all ability to hold his hired mercenaries accountable, as players are free to steal and cheat without consequence according to in-game rules.
Source and more: http://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-pilot-places-a-75000-bounty-on-rival-alliance/
