School's Out!

        Read the latest CCP Dev Blog and rejoice!

        It's been a hotly-debated topic for what seems like forever - the Learning skills. Like most beginning pilots, I mocked the fact that I had to spend an entire month to learn how to learn before I could learn the things I wanted to learn, lest I give up time due to the lack of efficiency.

        Now CCP has announced their intent to implement what seemed to be the most agreeable compromise, unsurprisingly devised by the CSM. Learning skills are going away and we're receiving +12 to all attributes instead, plus a reimbursement of all skillpoints invested into Learning.

        "Great," I thought, "I can accelerate my skillplan and be a month ahead of schedule." Then the comment feedback got my wheels turning.

        First was Trebor Daehdoow's suggestion that if your neural mapping allowed for Learning skills to train at a rate higher than what you were currently working on, then train Learning skills now before the reimbursement and get a return investment of skillpoints that's greater than what you would have gotten if you had just continued with your skillplan.

        Then came a comment from Ishina Fel who said, "Time to make a list of all those CHA-based skills I want maxed..." With CCP Zulu's announcement just a few days ago that the PLEX-for-remaps idea was getting scrapped, I was annoyed that I would have to train Charisma skills at a low rate because I don't see a Charisma remap plan as worth a year of training time. I would run out of skills that I would want.

        Wow, what a double whammy to solve both of those problems. I have switched to training Eidetic Memory V which is bringing me more skillpoints per hour than my current skillplan. Then I can drop those reimbursed skillpoints into Leadership at an equivalent rate of 2200-2300 an hour instead of 1350 without the need for a remap!

        What will this buy me? With currently 2 million in Learning which will turn into about 3 or 4 million by the time we get reimbursed, I can go from zero in Leadership to having Leadership V, Wing Command III, Warfare Link Specialist III, and a couple of levels each in Skirmish, Armored, and Seige Warfare Specialist. Not bad. It may be a little bit of a sidestep, but it's a perfect opportunity to take advantage of Learning skills one last time.