And the hyperbole rolls on. Is it really that hard for some people to survive in Open? Is it really that much of an emotional challenge if your ship is destroyed?
I was blowed up today on route to JM - and I actually had to help my attacker in order for him to destroy my stripped down AspX. I was on my way back from Selene with a load of freshly engineered size 1 & 2 Thermal HRPs (still hadn't updated some ships after the FSS/DSS update), so I was in an oddly fitted out high range runabout. I knew he was going to interdict me - his ship was named "It's a miner". So I thought I'd try and rabbit my way to JM - evade & low wake, none of this easymode hi waking!
Interdiction #1: submit, four pips to engines, boost madness, he didn't land a shot - low wake
Interdiction #2: submit, four pips to engines, boost madness, a couple tickle shots - low wake
Interdiction #3: submit, three pips to systems, boost madness, lost one shield ring - low wake
Interdiction #4: so close to JM! Hold course! Maybe we can drop out before the interdiction fails, nope failed. Flip and boost past, three pips to system, open cargo hatch, boost madness, he stayed with me that time & finally landed enough shots to eat through my shield...
Because my cargo hatch was open. That's on me. Or maybe, that was part of his tactics - be so bad at killing a runabout AspX that I got bored and sloppy? So really, I gave him more than enough chances to chase me down and destroy me, then gimped my escape in order for him to succeed. After destruction, I payed the pitiful rebuy, switched to the Chieftain I keep stored at JM, then sat outside the station entrance for a while checking ships & squad tags.
There was a Thargoid hunter Anaconda, what looked like a PvE Anaconda, a Beluga miner, an un armed Cutter, an multirole DBS, a multirole Python, a few other random non-PvP ships, and one obvious PvPer (possible SC ganker based on his Squadron - Die Anonynem PvP... unless that is clever reference to Die Bart Die) who kept switching between his PvP Krait, FDL, and Corvette. He settled on the Corvette. I followed him to SC, and sure enough, he had his hardpoints (FSDi?) deployed. Hardly the picture of swarms of gankers infesting the most notorious hive of scum and villany that is JM. Oh, and I also got a few o7's and a random friend request while I was trainspotting.