My first encounter with a griefer

tl;dr: greifer showed up, tried to be a asshat, got attacked by system security, reported, blocked, and my friends and I still had a blast.

Hello Commanders. I would like to relate to you my first encounter with a griefer. Yes, a griefer. I have been playing Elite for about 2-3 months and I am going the roleplay route. I only have a handful of engineers, only managed to unlock one guardian module. I am not what you would call, a big fish. I do enjoy this game and it has been absolutely stunning in VR. I have recently managed to get a few friends into the game as well. The three of us like to wing up and go kill things in hazrez or help each other complete missions. Well, lat night we ran into our first griefer. So we were heading out and we notice a player in the system sitting in the station. We didn't think much of them because we are not really interested in bothering others. We are doing our thing, they are doing theirs. Also, we always play in open play because of the fun of meeting new players. Even if they are gankers or enemy because that is part of the game. But this person was no ganker. So while we were in this area, he shows up and immediately starts attacking my friend who has been playing for a total of three weeks. I jump in the middle and start firing back and it is getting exciting. I notice the player has prismatic shields, much stronger than mine, but hey, he attacked my friend and I have the disposable income. My friend low wakes out and heads to the station for repairs and I get completely obliterated. Fuck. Oh well, shit happens. If you don't want to risk it, don't play in open.

But then as we were leaving the station, there is the same player. They start ramming me as I exit the station. This is how we know they are a griefer. They have already established they have a better ship and can kill me without much problems. They know I have nothing in my hold because I just had to rebuy. So why continue to harass me? That is when we knew we had a griefer. So they rammed me a few times so I had to go into the station before I die again.

I repair, my friends and I leave and start heading back out to the hazrez. I get interdicted. I tried to submit and get out but I guess I was module sniped because almost immediately shields were gone and my thrusters were out. They destroyed me again. But again, better me than my friends since they were new and didn't have the credits I did.

On my way out, they are just hanging out following us. Not ramming. I had a sneaky feeling they were waiting for us to leave the no fire zone. Sure enough, as soon as I leave, they open fire. I immediately maneuver myself back into the no fire zone and the system authority start to lay into them. My friends and I watch the light show as they have to run away.

Well, to this particular griefer. It is very unfortunate that you play this game in this way. Whereas we are trying to have fun, and we usually say hi and try to make friends with people we come across and perhaps even invite them to join us because this game is so much more fun with friends, you take pleasure in just ruining other people's fun. Well, at least you try to. So one, you got reported because the ramming basically defines you as a griefer. But two, and more importantly, myself, my friends, and the entire discord of people I fly with have all blocked you. Which means you a have missed the possibility of meeting new people and enjoying this game with others. I would feel sad for you but you are the type of person that has some mental issues, so mostly I just feel empathy for the people in your life (if you have any) that have to deal with whatever you are. You did not accomplish your goal. You were a minor inconvenience. After you were blocked, we logged back in, went to the hazrez and spent the next few hours killing ships and having a great time. This game is so much better with friends but I don't expect you to know that (and that makes me pity you).

I, and my friends, will continue to play in open. The risk of being ganked exists and is part of the game. There is nothing wrong with that. The possibility to make new friends or have it out with some random commander is exciting and I look forward to those experiences. As for this griefer, I feel that eventually, they will have a greater chance of running into another person in solo than they do in open.

To all those who get ganked. It is part of the game. To all those who get griefed. This too, unfortunately, is part of the game. Hopefully there will one day be a better punitive system, but until then just block them and enjoy the game. More often than not, griefers are just sad and pathetic little shits who didn't (and still don't) get enough attention from mommy and daddy. Don't let griefers control your enjoyment of the game. And don't fly without a rebuy.

Good luck commanders. o7