Feeling guilty?

There's a problem that 'carebears' have when they venture into piracy - they feel guilty when they kill other pilots who aren't experienced at combat.

These poor, innocent souls aren't combat veterans, and they often know nothing about how to properly fit their ship. They're the wrong people in the wrong ship in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And it feels wrong to kill them.

When we DO kill them, these innocents without a clue, we feel guilty. We feel sorry for them, for all the work they've put into whatever it is they've been doing. Their emotional attachments, their naivety, their pure innocence. They lose so much when we take it from them.

How can we NOT feel guilty?

We used to be them, and we know how it feels to have someone attack us because we were weak, because we were new, because we didn't know how to defend ourselves. We used to be them, and now we're doing to them what was done to us.

The cycle continues, and it shall always be this way.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I have no issues engaging in combat with someone who is looking for a fight, who has fit their ship for war, and who is a veteran of many battles. In this case it's a dance of skill and wits. May the better pilot win!

No, my issue - and the issue of so many other 'carebears' - is the blatant destruction of the young pilot in their first battlecuiser, who has been flying only missions. Or the young trader or hauler who has never even fought an asteroid battle in his life.

When these naive fools venture into lowsec because they don't know how harsh it is, they can lose so much, and we feel so guilty.

I've gone through a few stages of 'growth', I guess you could call it. I know I'm not a bad person, I'm not evil. And so I've been trying to come to terms with this blatant killing of innocents. How do I console myself over what I'm doing?

Of course, I could stop doing it, but then I remain the same naive fool that I've always been. That's not an option. So there has to be another way.

I realised it only recently, when I was writing a previous post. I'm helping these young pilots grow.

These pilots are fresh out of flight school, or trader's academy, or miner's classes, or whatever it is they've been doing. CONCORD has been protecting them from the harsh realities of life outside of Empire space, and this protection has made them weak.

In order to grow, they need to learn how to protect themselves, how to find strength in their souls - and in their ships. They need to learn tactics, strategies, and the best way to achieve success in their lives.

Without hardship, there is no growth. We provide them with the hardship that they need to grow.

And if they can't find it in themselves to grow from their experiences, then we have helped them learn their limits. They will either return to the safety of CONCORD, living fearful lives, or they will find their strength and carve out their place in this harsh galaxy.

Or they'll quit and retire from piloting, returning to their life before they jumped in a ship.

Either way, we have helped them.

Immortality is there for all capsuleers. Dying in space is not permanent, it's just part of the ongoing cycle of life and death for those of us who are privileged. It's only through repeated death that they learn it has no significance. It's only through repeated financial loss that they learn to adapt their money and asset management.

We help them more than they will ever realise.

We help them become us. We shape them to be the best they can be. We become the best WE can be in the same process.

Everyone wins!

Kill someone today, and tell them "You're welcome."

I'm an Industrialist With Teeth!

I met the Super Gamer Housewife in EVE-BLOGGERS today (hi!) and was inspired by her most recent post to take an Eve Personality Test. The results were... interesting.

Industrialist with teeth
Take The EvE Personality Test today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

You enjoy Eve's economic model and you find that the greatest challenge of the game lies in mastering the market. System security status is a matter of profit/no profit for you, and you always factor in the possibility/probability of PvP in your estimates. To you, Eve isn't a PvP or a PvE game. It's a simulation of capitalizm in its purest form, and a place where the savvy wins the day.

Profile of Colonel Roc Wieler

I have a goal - to get into the Eve Blog Pack of 'elite bloggers'. It'll happen, it's just a matter of time. In the meantime, I will be linking to the profiles of the current Blog Pack bloggers as they're published, thanks to Crazy Kinux.

The first in the series is Colonel Roc Wieler. He's an interesting fella. I really enjoy his style of leadership, and his writing. You can read more about him here.

Name/Handle: Colonel Roc Wieler

Blog URL: Roc's Ramblings at http://everamblings.wordpress.com

The Art of War - Laying Plans

Some time ago, I created a 'handbook of war' for my corporation, which guided them and advised them on how to operate in times of war. It was called The Art of War (with thanks to Sun Tsu). I have decided to add this handbook to my blog, to share with everyone how to engage in war in the Eve galaxy. Follow these guidelines, and you can only succeed in your endeavours.

Chapter 1: Laying Plans

The art of war is governed by five constant factors: 1) moral law, 2) heaven, 3) earth, 4) the Commander, and 5) method and discipline.

1. The moral law causes people to be in complete accord with their CEO, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
2. Heaven signifies being available at any time of the day, any season, and any time zone.
3. Earth comprises distances, near and far; danger and security; open space and asteroid belts; the chances of life and death.
4. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, benevolence, courage and strictness.
5. Method and discipline is the marshalling of the fleet in its proper subdivisions, the graduation of rank among the officers, the maintenance of resources, and the control of the finances.

These five factors should be familiar to every leader; he who knows them will be victorious. He who doesn’t will fail.

Therefore, in your planning of the military conditions, let the following comparisons be made:

1. Which of the two corporations (or alliances) follows the moral law?
2. Which of the two leaders has the most ability?
3. With whom lie the advantages derived from heaven and earth?
4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
5. Which fleet is stronger?
6. On which side are officers and pilots more highly trained?
7. In which fleet is there the greater constancy of reward and punishment?

By going through these considerations, you can forecast victory or defeat.

The leader who understands this and acts upon it will win. The leader who doesn’t understand
it, and doesn’t act upon it, will lose.

The 5th factor of ‘method and discipline’ will ensure that lack of understanding and success will
be met with appropriate disciplining, usually removal from positions of leadership.

Bonus Tips on planning

1. Modify plans according to circumstances.
2. All warfare is based on deception.
   a) Therefore, when you can attack, it must seem as if you can’t.
   b) When moving your fleet, you must seem idle.
   c) When you are near the enemy, you must make them believe you are far away.
   d) When you are far away, you must make them believe you are near.
3. Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and destroy him.
4. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is superior in strength, evade him.
5. If your opponent angers easily, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, so that he may become arrogant and overconfident.
6. If he is resting, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.
7. Attack him where he is unprepared, and appear where you are not expected.
8. Planning strategies must not be divulged to anyone outside of the leadership structure.
9. The leader who wins a battle makes many calculations before the battle is fought. The leader who loses makes few calculations. The leader who makes no calculations will face annihilation! Victory or defeat is in the planning.

Next chapter coming soon: Waging War

Another kill!

In my desire to avoid my own death but to engage in the deaths of others, I'm doing my best to only fight in those battles where I am more likely to win. It's this reason that is encouraging me to join up with those other pilots who, in their nefarious ways, are going to help me find victory.

This is why I came back to Molden Heath! The violence, the adrenaline, the excitement of laying in wait for prey, and then striking hard, and winning! The few victories I've had in my short career only make me crave more of them.

Today, I joined with Temar, Jardin and Rebnok, skilled pilots who have been quite happy to help me learn their ways. I joined them in Atlar, and in our short time flying together we managed to kill ourselves a Drake. Among other kills as well, but I was unfortunate in that I had no sensor booster, and therefore by the time my target lock engaged, they were already dead.

I'm feeling less and less sorry for these people who I end up destroying... Instead of feeling sad for their losses, I'm starting to understand I'm here to help them grow as pilots. They will either find courage as they become warriors, or they will find wisdom and stay out of lowsec space. Or they will realise they're actually little girls and retire from being a pilot altogether.

Either way, it's my duty to help them realise their true calling, whatever it might be.

My short term goal is to match my losses with victories, and then to double the number of victories over losses. When I reach my goal I will have a party! Everyone will be invited - even those I have slain in battle. There is no shame in defeat, and those who join with me in battle, whether as friend or foe, are all brothers in arms. They will be welcome at my party.

Exciting times lie ahead, my friends. Exciting times.

The bloggers channel is becoming popular

A big thanks to Crazy Kinux and YoMma for them mentioning me and the EVE-BLOGGERS channel in their recent Micro Warp Cast #2. Very cool!

Since I created it a few days ago, it's been relatively quiet, with only a few other bloggers popping in now and again. As of today, however, that changed when it EXPLODED with guests! There were about 15 bloggers and other interested pilots sitting in the channel chatting about their adventures and misadventures.

It was awesome, and I really look forward to seeing this channel being a meeting place for all the Eve Bloggers in the Eve community.

If you're a blogger and you'd like to help promote it, please 'advertise' it on your blog or website, to spread the word. The more the merrier!

Ok, ok, I'm not very smart

I didn't think things through enough when I decided to fly on over to Gallente space. After being there a couple of days, doing L2 missions for the Federation Navy, I realised something.

I missed lowsec.

The nearest 0.4 system to where I was doing missions was 6 jumps away. It was too far! I couldn't just do a quick roam around some lowsec systems to see what I could see.

And they didn't even have any intel channels for me to sit in, mainly 'cause they weren't near any systems they needed intel on!

It made me homesick for where I'd come from, and I realised - I'm not home. Home was back where I came from!

The main reason I went to Gallente space was to do missions and earn loyalty points that could be spent on Gallente fleet battleships which, unlike the Minmatar ships, I could actually fly. As I was thinking of how much I missed Molden Heath and the border worlds of lowsec, I realised something else...

I could spend loyalty points on Minmatar fleet ships and sell them, and then use the money to buy Gallente fleet ships on contract!

So yeh, I'm not very smart. I'm impulsive, and just don't think things through.

So I'm back in Molden Heath now... And I really feel like I'm home.