Insert Headslap Here...

...really.

It was so simple, and something I should have thought of weeks ago. I've been having problems with disconnects, major lag, etc. that seemed to be far worse in recent days than I'd had to deal with since I started playing EVE. So, one night, on the off-chance that it might help, when no one else was home I disconnected the wireless router I have hooked up for another computer in the house, plugged the broadband directly into my computer, and ran EVE to see if there would be any difference.

Holy crap...we're talking night and day here. No dropped connections, far less (though by no means no) lag, the sound going out a lot less often...basically, disconnecting that router improved the performance of pretty much every single aspect of the game it might possibly have had an impact on. It's not quite like playing a whole new game, but it is definitely like implementing one's own little private "patch", filled with performance improvements. Not too shabby a result for just reconnecting a few wires.

As far as the actual game itself goes, I'm still amazed at how much more ISK in general I'm bringing in with the Brutix versus what I was bringing in with the Myrmidon. I've spiffed up my guns...I've now got five 250" Prototype Gauss Guns plus a medium Nos in my high slots...and I seem to be plowing through missions even faster. I don't know if some of these missions used to be tougher and I'm just enjoying the delayed benefits of a CCP nerfing, if that's I'm just a better pilot in general, if perhaps I've just happened upon a fitting that works especially well for my ship and the mission I'm doing, or something I haven't thought of as yet, but whatever it is over the last few days I seem to be making ISK a lot faster than before.

Also, I'm looking forward to the Griefateer "war" being over. I'd like to get back to the main E-Uni group, but there's just no way I'm going to risk losing yet another ship to these assholes...two, totaling somewhere around 50 or 60 million ISK with all the components, is plenty, thank you. Simply put, I refuse to deal with "players" who have no honor and only "play" to annoy others...if what it takes is joining the Dropouts every time these selfish children decide to attack a school corporation, than that's what I'll do. I'm all in favor of a fair PvP fight, but to engage with these "players" would be a lowering of standards to a point I'm just not willing to degrade myself to.

Personally, I think the way they play and the tactics they use should be bannable offenses. They declare war on noob corps, wait until the ships are compromised, and then attack in force. Frankly, it really surprises me that CCP hasn't at least tried to address this problem as one thing I do for a fact is that it discourages new players from continuing to play long-term. After all, no one really likes a game, no matter how good it is, if they can't play for even a couple of hours without getting podded and set back virtually to the beginning of the game by griefer assholes. I know this for a fact because it was a key reason why I left the game when I originally tried it and didn't return for a year. I'd wonder how many did exactly what I did but never bothered to return and see if it had improved.

And yes, it has improved significantly from the first time I played, but nowhere near enough. I strongly suspect that CCP is losing many, many, potential long-term EVE subscribers to this. Maybe they're happy with the number they have and really don't care, but if they do and they really want this game to attract more "lifers" than just the very hardcore, they're going to have to put some sort of leash on the griefers...at the very least, allowing them to organize and declare war on noob corps should be forbidden.

These are not real players. They don't podkill noobs to accomplish any actual in-game goals, they do it to entertain themselves at the expense of other players. They hurt the game, and they hamper its continued success. There shouldn't even be a question...this crap needs to stop and it needs to be made to stop now. Simply put, these children should be made to either behave or go away, end of story.