"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
I'm absolutely loving Borann, though I'll be the first to admit this is a controversial subject (thus the preamble above). For me Borann has been the next best thing to the now defunct community goal or interstellar initiative, in that it is a gathering place for a large community of players. I think I've grown to know as many players by name via the system chat in Borann as I have this forum, though like this forum that hasn't always been a positive experience
But what I've really enjoyed about Borann is the gameplay it has provided me. I've embraced PvP piracy from both sides, in that some days I'm the pirate, other days I'm the prey. And sometimes, like last night, I'm both predator and prey, as I hunt other pirate ships in my own pirate ship. Unlike most CGs or places like Deciat, Borann seems to attract more actual pirates rather than "shoot first, ask for LTDs never" gankers (at least in instances I've been in), which in turn has led to more enjoyable interactions with the miners that I pirate. Precious few have clogged on me, nor am I getting nasty comms for pirating. In anything, comms have been friendly and even role-play like. I've negotiated "peace treaties" with other players, warned players when more "dangerous" pirates are hunting the ice fields, helped players who are tumbling dead-in-space after I shot out their thrusters, enjoyed "taunting" the system with my pirate bravado, etc. It's been seriously great fun, the most fun I've had in game for a long time.
Which leads to another quote, "All good things must come to an end." While everyone else grinds for fleet carriers, I'm taking the next month or two to enjoy this unique environment while it lasts. Pirating in a ring in normal space would be nigh impossible without an incredibly popular hotspot like we have in Borann. This is game play that is unique and thrilling (reminds me of my years as a submariner) and sadly an anomaly rather than something ED normally offers. With the death of Interstellar Initiatives, Borann is quite frankly one of the few things keeping me playing after three years. Every night feels different, feels fresh, thanks to the PvP aspect. On that note, I have zero interest in ED's G5 FDL meta arcade PvP, so this is NOT a "pro-PvP" thread of the likes you are used to. But for me, true piracy, where the goal is to make a profit using the tools of a grifter, taking only a modest cut from one's mark and never, ever killing a mark (it's bad for business) so not to discourage miners from playing in Open, this takes a whole different level of thoughtful approach and strategy that I absolutely love. Then add the variability of the encounter, be it the overly-armed miner or other pirates competing for dominance, and, well, it's the best thing to happen to Elite (at least for me) in a long, long time
I'm absolutely loving Borann, though I'll be the first to admit this is a controversial subject (thus the preamble above). For me Borann has been the next best thing to the now defunct community goal or interstellar initiative, in that it is a gathering place for a large community of players. I think I've grown to know as many players by name via the system chat in Borann as I have this forum, though like this forum that hasn't always been a positive experience
But what I've really enjoyed about Borann is the gameplay it has provided me. I've embraced PvP piracy from both sides, in that some days I'm the pirate, other days I'm the prey. And sometimes, like last night, I'm both predator and prey, as I hunt other pirate ships in my own pirate ship. Unlike most CGs or places like Deciat, Borann seems to attract more actual pirates rather than "shoot first, ask for LTDs never" gankers (at least in instances I've been in), which in turn has led to more enjoyable interactions with the miners that I pirate. Precious few have clogged on me, nor am I getting nasty comms for pirating. In anything, comms have been friendly and even role-play like. I've negotiated "peace treaties" with other players, warned players when more "dangerous" pirates are hunting the ice fields, helped players who are tumbling dead-in-space after I shot out their thrusters, enjoyed "taunting" the system with my pirate bravado, etc. It's been seriously great fun, the most fun I've had in game for a long time.
Which leads to another quote, "All good things must come to an end." While everyone else grinds for fleet carriers, I'm taking the next month or two to enjoy this unique environment while it lasts. Pirating in a ring in normal space would be nigh impossible without an incredibly popular hotspot like we have in Borann. This is game play that is unique and thrilling (reminds me of my years as a submariner) and sadly an anomaly rather than something ED normally offers. With the death of Interstellar Initiatives, Borann is quite frankly one of the few things keeping me playing after three years. Every night feels different, feels fresh, thanks to the PvP aspect. On that note, I have zero interest in ED's G5 FDL meta arcade PvP, so this is NOT a "pro-PvP" thread of the likes you are used to. But for me, true piracy, where the goal is to make a profit using the tools of a grifter, taking only a modest cut from one's mark and never, ever killing a mark (it's bad for business) so not to discourage miners from playing in Open, this takes a whole different level of thoughtful approach and strategy that I absolutely love. Then add the variability of the encounter, be it the overly-armed miner or other pirates competing for dominance, and, well, it's the best thing to happen to Elite (at least for me) in a long, long time
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