Before you downvote, I’d like to clarify that I’m in no way against the griefing or PvP communities in any way, and I have partaken in both acts to some degree. The purpose of this post is to spark some potential self reflection for those who engage in these activities with an elitist or “bravado” attitude towards those who don’t.
With that out of the way, I’d like to present a simple point of view on the attitudes and rhetoric expressed by fellow griefers in the ongoing issue of griefing in elite. By this i mean the terms such as “carebears” and the like. These terms are used to describe players who are too afraid to play in open because they may die to another player. While I frankly agree this is true, I ALSO think that the very same term can be applied to the griefers who have grade 5 engineered ships which not only have triple the health and damage absent any downside, but have experimental effects that render their ships completely invulnerable to even the best pilots who use unengineered ones. To date I have never encountered a griefer willing to face me in a fight without engineering. Thus, they to are carebears, as they refuse to engage in a fight they have a chance at losing. Griefing random players rarely carries any risk for the ganker who is running a PA FDL with bank cancellation and such. That is why I have such a problem with the griefing community. The griefing itself isn’t the problem, it’s the dubious claim that these gankers are somehow more brave or more skilled pilots than their victims. You want to prove your skill? Run an unengineered build against another unengineered build. Otherwise, just accept the fact that you weren’t ever in any danger, and that skill had nothing to do with it.
