The case for open: an empathetic plea

Let me preface this post by first saying I'm not making any judgments or telling anybody how to play this beautiful game. One of the things that makes Elite great is the freedom to play how you want and do what you want. With that being said I want to make the case for flying in open and hopefully spark some genuine good faith discussion.

I fly in open 99% of the time and I wish more people did as well. I also understand why some CMDRs don't. Maybe its a fear of being ganked or pirated, maybe they've had a run in with a particularly toxic member of the community, or maybe they just want to be alone. These are all valid reasons however I think the upside of flying in open far outweighs any perceived downside.

Sure it might be frustrating in the moment, but let's think about it for a second: what truly is the downside of getting ganked? A few minutes of your time and a miniscule rebuy cost (you're not flying without the rebuy, right?…right?) Even a kitted to the gills cutter is looking at about a measly 60 million credit rebuy. We all know how easy credits are to make at this point in the game's life. 60 million might sound like a lot to a new player but let's be real if you're flying a cutter you're not new and 60 mil is pocket change. I would also argue that the exhilaration of escaping a ganker or even better defeating a ganker is worth at least 10 rebuys. This rush of excitement is just not something that is possible in solo or non-pvp private. Or let's say the big mean ganker got you and you have to eat that rebuy cost. There is a nothing quite like the sweet satisfaction of hopping into your gunboat, checking your session log for this scoundrel's name, and going on a personal vendetta bounty hunt to blast them out of the sky, again this is a gameplay feature that is just not possible if you don't fly in open. The one concession I will make is that flying back to the bubble with hour's worth of exploration data just to get ganked would really suck. However knowing my ship is loaded up with all that precious data and that getting ganked is a possibility adds to the excitement. Its the dangerous part of Elite Dangerous. It also adds a bit of logistical meta roleplay as I need to plan my return to the bubble a little more carefully. The feeling I get after I let out a sigh of relief after docking at a strategically picked out of the way port feels so good. Comparatively these same in game actions feel kind of hollow in solo or private, after all its just another standard docking procedure. All that being said in my ~2,000 hours of playtime I've probably been ganked less than 20 times, so in my experience people massively overstate ganking as an issue of flying in open.

In regards to CMDR pirates these interactions are just plain good old fashioned fun. A CMDR pirate is not in it for the money, there are dozens of better, more efficient, ways to rack up credits. These commanders are in it for the roleplay and I can honestly say I've had a blast the few times I've been accosted by CMDR pirates. Its fun to play out the interaction. Maybe you trade friendly insults with the "low life scum" and decide its your duty to clean up this sector of the galaxy one pirate at a time or maybe you just drop the few tons of requested cargo after a few diplomatic exchanges and be on your way. Either way these CMDRs are rarely if ever looking to blow you up.

If you just want to be alone then fair enough that's valid, you do you.

In summary all of my favorite moments and memories in the black have come from the emergent gameplay that flying in open offers and if more CMDRs fly in open then there are more opportunities for these moments to occur.

o7 CMDRs, over and out.