Black Claw recently discussed the state of carebears in the game with his post, ‘Carebears need to harden the fuck up’ (http://blackclawtravels.blogspot.com/2008/10/carebears-need-to-harden-fuck-up.html). As I was reading his post and the comments to the post, I laughed and when I began to post my comment, I found that I was starting to create post of my own. So, Black Claw, cheers to you mate, you are a muse for me today.
For those readers who do not understand, pirates refer to a player as a carebear who is more than simply another target. They are a juicy target, with an expensive ship and the complete lack of abilities on how to use it effectively. They are the ones that think getting into a battleship after 3 months of play is a great idea as a bigger ship makes them safer. They are the ones that whine and cry when you blow them up in high sec and tell you to go to low sec. They are the same people who tell you the same thing when you blow them up in low sec, then tell you to go to 0.0 and of course, you blow them up in 0.0, they tell you to go to hell. If they would just tell you to go to hell when you blow them up in high sec, they would have done you a service and like myself, I would have not spent so much time trying to figure out where I was supposed to be when I blew them up.
Now, many carebears complain that they are too young to die. Many pirate will disagree with me as any carebear that is target locked with you is fair game. But alas, the wisdom of my inner Druid does flow forth from time to time.
Ahem..
“Don’t cut down all the saplings in the forest. If you continue to destroy the young ones of the wood, over time, you will find that you are standing in an empty field. Let them grow, nurture them. When they have grown tall and strong, then and only then, cut them down to the ground.”
Put simply, sometimes it’s worth letting those younger players go, if for no other reason, to let them grow up into a bigger, better target. Give them time, they will continue to grow their character, get in to that bigger ship and when you pop them, those tears will be well aged like a fine wine. In fact, you may be on the receiving end of a fine whine and that may make all that patience worth the time.
When me and my corp mates are out and about, roaming around, looking for a kill, we on occasion will lock down a young player, pop their ship and then give them a chance to save their pod. We don’t ransom them for isk, we ransom them for a joke. We give them a chance to find a sense of humor. Sometimes they are quite rude, loosing their venom upon us. Other times, we are laughing so hard from the wonderful joke that we let them go and wish them well.
I have to agree with Black Claw though, many carebears just don’t seem to understand. EVE is not WOW. It’s not a first person shooter that you can solo win in an afternoon. You have to spend time thinking, reading, learning how to play the game. EVE is a different class of MMORPG and once you understand that, you will have a lot more fun.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
Hee hee, the joke-as-ransom is a cute idea…I need to remember that. I’m not above sending some newer players ISK to help them recoup their losses if they engage in reasonable conversation. I often return their wreck loot to them, as a matter of fact. The mouthy asshats and the silent-in-Local ones–or those who reject my invitation to the Hellcats ransom channel–are fun to pop and squish.
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:05 am
Nice post, and glad you laughed.
I still disagree that young or new pilots should not be targets. Tonight, I attacked someone in a Rifter, while I was in my Taranis interceptor. They had been playing only 3 days. I destroyed their ship.
They’re now a member of my corp, because they decided they wanted to become a pirate and learn how to do to others what I did to them.
An hour later, I found someone else only a couple weeks old, in a Thrasher. Again, I was in my interceptor. This time I tried ransoming them for 1 million ISK. They ignored me, so I destroyed their ship.
I got close to 10 million ISK from reselling the loot and salvaged components they dropped.
Anyone, of any age, can be a worthwhile target in lowsec. You never know what will happen from it. They can grow from it, and can even benefit. Or you can. It CAN be a winning situation for yourself or even them, regardless of their age.
November 2nd, 2008 at 10:42 am
Eve is the kind of game people can take offense to so many parts of. In the end it is ridiculous to restrict yourself by anything but the game rules. People who complain about losing something that ruins them financially should just know not to fly that ship. A decently fitted Incursus isn’t much, Vexors aren’t too bad in terms of cost. Flying that Mega even in 0.8 is a bad idea if you can’t buy and fit another 2. Fly. A. Cheap. Ship. Kthxbai
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I have no trouble with the idea that “carebears” oughtn’t to expect to survive in lo-sec.
What narks me is the assumption that, that said, a carebear in hi-sec, simply going about his business missioning or moving his cargo is in some way *asking* to be shot down.
I’m not saying hi-sec should be risk-free, but carebears can choose the risk option by taking missions (try Human Cattle part 5, solo, when you’re not sure how to tank — the NPCs don’t care about trash-talk, they just blat you),or by doing silly things like shooting at people with bounties. Or start a war-dec.
The rest of us are content to only get 100K ISK at a time, and we don’t really want our entire lives blown away in 2 seconds for someone whose argument is “Dying’s good for you — Hell, you dying makes me feel top o’ the world”
November 2nd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
It’s a shame that so many “carebears” resort to insults and whining, when a little application of brains on their part could help them stay alive. Keep an eye on local, make sure your overview is configured in a “threat assessment” mode, and keep watch on it. Don’t hesitate to break and run from a potential fight that you can’t win. Do this even in highsec; habits you acquire where it’s safer–notice, I said, NOT “safe” but “safER”–will stand you in good stead later on.
When I run recon missions in lowsec to map out the safe spots and resources for possible later use by corp members, I don’t come decked out in a BS or BC full of juicy gear, I fly a frigate built for speed and maneuverability, and I keep a close eye on possible threats so I can bug out if I spot a potential “situation” where I’ll get splattered across the sky like a family-sized can of tomato paste. The pirates and PvPers may sneer at this, but the strategy works.
And we NEVER engage in smacktalk in local. Back while Lexx and I were flying for Chilled Solutions, someone in another corp that was part of their alliance smacktalked another pilot–and that pilot had a mercenary corp wardec the alliance. Lexx got herself ganked and podded as a result–and no one in the corp seemed to give a crap. People and whole corporations left the alliance as a result, including us, and one of the FIRST things we established was the “no smacktalk” principle. “LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS!”
Basically: don’t fly stupid!
November 7th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Ha! I love the druid insights! Keep them coming.
BTW, I don’t think 1 week old newbs know enough about the game to have even made the choice to be a carebear, yet. I certainly don’t have the skills to even outfit all the modules I need yet, much less hold my own against a pirate! I just hope sticking to .9 and .8 missions gives me time to build up ISK and experience to have a cushion before I venture too far into the gank zone! I am working toward an Atron tackler that I could afford to lose in PVP, and my brother and I want to try out PVP after a few more weeks of skills! Can a team of newb Atrons wreak any havok, or will we just be easy killmails for the first ship we cross paths with? I’ll keep you updated!