Urziel and Uziel: An excercise in duality.

Guess which one is the nice guy.

Having played Eve for over a year now with both of these characters, I find that each has taken on it's own persona of a sorts. It's odd in a way, but I think I understand Jester's post on hats a little more than I did prior.

Urziel is the nice guy, his skills are focused on mining, research, industry and production. It is under his alias that I primarily interact with the Eve community as a whole.

Uziel is the combat oriented guy. He can mine and haul, but that's about it. This is the guy who goes out to murder your space pixels if you cross him or his friends.

With the new campaign to burn Tenal to the ground in full swing I have spent for more time on Uziel than I have my other accounts. I find I've become more hardened and cynical towards the general community in the wake of the recent scandal and subsequent dog-piling by idiot journalists who can't be bothered to look into facts and the ever present PC police types in the world.

If you play this game and think that any part of it is super happy fun land, please quit playing now. I'm not trying to be rude or anything (believe me, I could go all trucker on you, but I digress) but eve is not a cheery place where people are gleefully mining veldspar in highsec, holding hands and singing kum-by-yah (sp). A friend once told me that EvE is short for Everyone vs. Everyone and from what I've seen in the last year I can't deny it as an accurate description.

Eve is dark by nature, and some would argue it attracts a playerbase of dark, socially awkward and/or sociopathic people. This may be true to a point but even people like Chribba (whom most would say is the closest thing eve has to a saint) can prosper and thrive. Why? The sandbox. This virtual universe we call New Eden is incredibly vast and it's the actions of it's players that shape it's course. Chribba is one of the oldest players of the game, considered by everyone (I've yet to hear of a single complaint about his servies) an honest dealer and host to numerous websites supporting eve's community. Does he own vast swathes of unsecured space? No. Does he lead a coalition of twenty thousand players? No. His greatest asset is his reputation.

Most people who come to eve without a friend soon find out just how much this game eats it's young. New players are scammed and victimized all the time. This may seem ruthless and evil to some, but in a way it's more a way of separating the chaff from the wheat. One of the CSM7 candidates Mike Azariah said it best. "There are two levels of paranoia in eve, total and insufficient." The ones who adopt a wary mindset are the ones who aren't tricked. The ones who learn to keep their ears and eyes open aren't caught unaware by Hulkageddon or the Ice Interdiction. The ones who get mad that such  things could happen typically don't last long.

One of the major alliances in the game is Pandemic Legion. They are known as some of the best theorycrafters and pvpers in the game. The slogan they used when they introduced the Armor HAC gang to counter drake fleets was "Adapt or Die." It doesn't matter what profession you choose in eve, the slogan rings true.

So now I stand at a crossroads. I've never been one to grief or suicide gank people, yet, in less than 30 days I will be sending Uziel to take part in the Goonswarm's attack on Jita. When the campaign was on The Mittani promised the Goons and the CFC that if he got ten thousand votes they would celebrate by attacking Jita. At the time I just shrugged. A victory lap to celebrate a huge milestone in the history of the Goons (and the CSM itself) and a chance to collect tears from pubbies and little else.

Then Suicidegate broke, and The Mittani was banned. Ten thousand votes down the drain (including two of mine). The Goons were pissed. The CFC was pissed, initially at CCP, later more at the sensational press that in a way had forced CCP's hand. It was then that Mittens wrote the current CEO Update and State of the Goonion.

The Jita celebration was still on in 30 days. Mittens himself would be there. The whole affair felt like it had taken a far darker turn. This wasn't about celebrating a glorious triumph. It was about revenge. Against who or what is hard to say. Only one thing mattered, Jita. Must. Burn. and so, I, the nice guy will be out there in my Tornado destroying Freighters and Industrials with impunity. Why? Because I want to. I want the pubbies to suffer, to fear our coalition, to cry great tears and feed them to us. Why? Because if you are there, after one month's warning you brought it upon yourselves. The same way the Gallente Ice Miners did. By not paying attention.

In the end there is no morals in eve. Only the winners and the losers. Your honor won't save you from a suicide ganker. Your reputation doesn't keep people from competing with you. Adapt, or Die.

Welcome to EvE.