Nobody likes losing

Welcome to the twenty-fifth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month’s topic comes to us from @Tetraetc – “Tetra’s EVE Blog” – who asks: “Have Alliances and the sovereignty system limited the amount of PVP and RP potential in Null sec? Imagine a Null Sec where anyone could build outposts wherever. Would the reduction of the alliance game mechanic, and the removal of the sovereignty game mechanics (or the modifcation of it from Alliance level to Corp level for that matter) force more PVP into Null sec, or would giant power blocs like the NC still form themselves?”

I have been thinking hard on this post.  One reason is because this is my first post that will participate in CK’s blog banter; the second reason is because this topic has been on my mind for a very long time.

I should start by writing the following sentence: nobody likes losing!  Especially in a game like EVE Online where losing a ship does not only mean respawning at a starting point but will set you back many thousands, millions, or billions (depending on the case) of isk.  For this reason, and especially in null sec where the stakes are very high, players team together and fly together.  I remember that in my younger days in Esoteria we used to be told to never fly alone, otherwise you die.

Alliances, pvp, rp; they are all game mechanics, and as long as a game mechanic is available it will be used.  I do not think that alliances limit in any way the pvp element.  From my experience I agree that the pvp element is “not right” and that it needs improvement, but it is not the fault of the game mechanic.  The cause is the players’ attitude to losses.  In more than 2 years of daily online time, I have very rarely met solo pilots looking for pvp, and the ones I’ve met and popped were noobs.  On other occasions I ended up the victim of a gang (many players flying together) and this fact, i.e. not standing a chance as opposed to losing, pushes me to avoid pvp where possible.

Wait a minute …

I like what I have just wrote: “not standing a chance to win, rather than losing, pushes me to avoid pvp where possible”!  I like it.  Come to think of it, this is true.  This is the source of my frustration at the game.  I do not think I am in a position to extrapolate this claim to the general population of New Eden, yet it could be true.  This could be the cause which if addressed properly increase pvp in New Eden.

I hope you liked my first post.  It has been written down as it came to my fingers and I liked the experience.  Hope to do others soon.  In the meantime you can check out other contributions to this edition of the blog banter.

Handown