Crime & Punishment

Guys: Just relating my experience from way back, believe, don't believe, as you like. I don't recall how long it lasted, but I distinctly remember trying to gank miners in HS belts, using several different ship types, and getting insta popped over and over.. corp couldn't do it either, so we trotted off to low sec, then out to null sec. CCP has constantly changed stuff so maybe this was pre what you guys remember, dunno.. Just sayin, this is what happened.

Why do people play a MMORPG with the sole intention of grinding isk to afford PLEX? Hulkageddon is the best thing that ever happened to EVE.

To the OP, I genuinely feel for you. I'd just say:

1. Once you leave empire, basically assume everyone who isn't green or blue is out to get you.

2. Once you leave empire, you're ship will get blown up - it's just a question of when.
2b. It will probably be when you least expect it and have got complacent.

3. Gankers have set up their ships with the sole purpose of blowing you up with little risk to themselves.

4. If you can't write it off and get another easily, don't fly it out of empire.

EVE is a griefer's paradise. You've got to understand that, or you won't last long. Treachery, scamming, betrayal, lying, cheating, stealing...all are rewarded in EVE. No one trusts anyone but a personal alt, and sometimes not even then. The only way to play in a group you can trust is to have multiple accounts and play them all yourself.

Yet for all that it's nothing personal. After the trauma of losing your first expensive ship and feeling the helpless rage of being unable to respond, it's hard to get over it and continue on. You feel like tens and maybe hundreds of hours of grinding ISK in mining and missions has just exploded right along with your ship.

What you need to remember, though, is that EVE only works if ships explode. A lot. The entire game economy is based on the idea that ships get blowed up. The guy who just ganked your hauler has probably had his ass handed to him more than a few times. It's all part playing EVE. I've lost way more fights than I've won, mostly because I can't be bothered to train up in PVP skills. I'm a mission-runner, a miner, and an industrialist; the occasional lost ship is just part of the cost of doing business. It's nothing personal.

If you just lost a Hulk to the Goons, just thinK how bad an alliance out in nullsec feels when they lose a Titan! My loss may take a week or two to make good; that downed Titan may take months of time and tens of billions of ISK to replace. From the player perspective, the lost Titan is a tragedy of epic proportions -- but in the context of the game, it was almost inevitable. A weapon unused is a useless weapon, and every use of your ship carries with it a risk of loss.

Also, don't forget that even in a low-trust environment like EVE, there are lots of good and helpful folk around. Eve University, Red vs Blue, Chribba, and just random kind folks can be found all over. (Like that solo miner near Amarr who fleeted me and gave me a nice boost without asking for any payment at all. Thanks!)

I've found that I learn more from losing ships than winning fights. My wins are often a case of luck, or being way stronger than my opponent. But when I lose, I often gain valuable insight on how to properly fit my ship in the future, better routes to use, and better ways to use my scanners and other means of "situational awareness" (like scouts).

Being "good" at EVE doesn't mean that you win all your fights. Nobody wins all their fights. Being "good", in the end, means surviving and having enough ISK to buy more ships.

Ahh nothing like the taste of tears early in the morning.