Risk is something that everyone in Eve is familiar with. It’s
ever-present, always gnawing at you just beyond conscious thought. Depending
how a capsuleer handles risk can make or break their experience in New Eden.
For
many of us, our first run in with the realities of New Eden comes very early in
our career. Whether it be an ill-advised trek into low sec, buying that
seemingly lucrative BPO, or simply having a run in with a few too many rats, it
is very quickly burned into our minds that the universe is out to get you. The classic
reaction to this state of affairs is to find the nearest proverbial rock and
cower underneath it. Sure, this sort of response will minimize the chances that
Eve will deliver a swift kick between the legs but personally I find this
course of action distasteful. I don’t pay a monthly fee just to have a heaping
dose of anxiety. I don’t need that. I have mental illnesses for that.
Alternatively,
and this is the mentality I subscribe to, we can embrace risk and realize the
purpose it servers in Eve. Risk isn't there to paralyze the player. The permanence of loss and similar mechanics
are here to give our actions of a sense of significance. As a point of
contrast, think of dying in most MMO’s. There’s little to no consequence. At
worst your gear gets damaged and you get a debuff of some sort. Death is
reduced to an inconvenience. As a consequence, when you narrowly avoid the reaper’s
scythe, much of the joy of victory is lost.
Back in
New Eden, death takes no prisoners. First, when you’re ship kicks the bucket it’s
gone. Forever. Nothing short of an act of God will bring it back. That’s anywhere
from a few thousand to billions of ISK down the toilet. Next, if you get podded
you actually die. Not you despawn on place and respawn another, you literally die.
There’s a corpse to prove it. That’s all the implants gone for good and
possibly a portion of your skill points. That’s a lot on the line.
Yeah,
it’s pretty scary when you spell it out in such a black and white fashion. I
even had a pang of anxiety there. Paradoxically, this anxiety is a good thing.
When you have something to lose and you know it, overcoming the odds and
achieving victory means all the more. I play video games in order to experience
the emotional highs and lows that you don’t ordinarily experience in everyday
life. Risk is essential to delivering such experiences. I've put a lot of time
and emotion into this game, and when my progress in danger of being taken from
me, it matters.
In the
end, I can’t tell you how to play Eve. All I can recommend is to push beyond
your comfort zone, try that one thing that you’d never do. It’s only by doing
this that you can experience everything Eve has to offer.
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