This thread is specifically for those who would like to play in Open but feel pushed into Solo by wings of gankers who chain-interdict your slow mining ships while in supercruise. There is a way to have your Open cake and eat it too. If you are mining for an hour or more at a time, why not quickly mode switch from Solo to Open when you arrive in a ring? Finding and approaching a ship in normal space is much more difficult than supercruise (which is basically "easy mode" for gankers), meaning that most gankers don't even bother trying. I've been in the rings in Borann for a couple of weeks now, and I've yet to encounter a "kill for the lulz" ganker in normal space. What I have encountered twice now is two legitimate player pirates (and one of those encounters was arranged), which is a form of gameplay that many of you actually want but don't believe exists in ED because the gankers have taken over. For the last week, I have been one of those pirates!
As a "legitimate" honorable pirate, I promise you that I will not kill you, except in self-defense if you chase me in an SLF (which, thanks to telepresense, is not killing anyone). In fact, I have defended other miners against NPC pirates. It is bad business to destroy my supply chain, LOL. I've also actually HELPED newer players with mining. I don't rob from the poor, so if you're in a Harmless Adder manually scooping fragments, I've got your back! As for the rich, my cut is small - 32 tons max. And here's the thing, I have to WORK to find you. Unlike supercruise with its infinite radar range and easy-mode interdiction, I have to visually spot you in a sea of asteroids in an area big as the ocean. That's no trivial task (but for a submariner like myself, the hunt is part of the thrill). Of course you can try to fight or run, and if you are good, you'll succeed. My pirate ship is very modest, I'm a submariner not a battleship captain. Obviously other pirates are different, so I cannot speak for them. Some pirates are battleship captains, but watch your contact list and radar (battleships tend to show up from far away), and you should be able to steer clear of all but the best pirates.
So what is in it for you? Again, this is for those who are looking for the potential thrill of true player-vs-player interaction. If you are okay with PvP piracy but fear it's dead thanks to insta-kill gankers, then my proposal may be the solution you are looking for. Yesterday I had the most enjoyable PvP encounter of my three years playing this game, down in the ring of Borann A2, and nobody died! Well, my opponent "teledied" when he piloted his SLF to try to take me out, but that doesn't count
Playing cat-n-mouse in gorgeous, foggy ice rings lead to many a moment that reminded me of Star Trek 2 - The Wrath of Khan, gameplay I never thought I could have in Elite Dangerous. It was glorious, and if anyone else is looking for such gameplay, then I invite you to give my suggestion a try.
(Please make sure you are the intended audience for this post before replying. This is NOT a Solo-vs-Open thread. Thanks.)
As a "legitimate" honorable pirate, I promise you that I will not kill you, except in self-defense if you chase me in an SLF (which, thanks to telepresense, is not killing anyone). In fact, I have defended other miners against NPC pirates. It is bad business to destroy my supply chain, LOL. I've also actually HELPED newer players with mining. I don't rob from the poor, so if you're in a Harmless Adder manually scooping fragments, I've got your back! As for the rich, my cut is small - 32 tons max. And here's the thing, I have to WORK to find you. Unlike supercruise with its infinite radar range and easy-mode interdiction, I have to visually spot you in a sea of asteroids in an area big as the ocean. That's no trivial task (but for a submariner like myself, the hunt is part of the thrill). Of course you can try to fight or run, and if you are good, you'll succeed. My pirate ship is very modest, I'm a submariner not a battleship captain. Obviously other pirates are different, so I cannot speak for them. Some pirates are battleship captains, but watch your contact list and radar (battleships tend to show up from far away), and you should be able to steer clear of all but the best pirates.
So what is in it for you? Again, this is for those who are looking for the potential thrill of true player-vs-player interaction. If you are okay with PvP piracy but fear it's dead thanks to insta-kill gankers, then my proposal may be the solution you are looking for. Yesterday I had the most enjoyable PvP encounter of my three years playing this game, down in the ring of Borann A2, and nobody died! Well, my opponent "teledied" when he piloted his SLF to try to take me out, but that doesn't count
Playing cat-n-mouse in gorgeous, foggy ice rings lead to many a moment that reminded me of Star Trek 2 - The Wrath of Khan, gameplay I never thought I could have in Elite Dangerous. It was glorious, and if anyone else is looking for such gameplay, then I invite you to give my suggestion a try.
(Please make sure you are the intended audience for this post before replying. This is NOT a Solo-vs-Open thread. Thanks.)
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