I Give Up....

In theory, I really like the idea of keeping Talvorian's security status high enough to travel through high-sec. I do, honestly.

Granted, when I travel through empire space, I tend to "prefer less secure", but having the ability to run to Jita for a battleship or battlecruiser is more convenient than waiting for corp logistics to delivery them. Well, usually more convenient. I really appreciate the freedom to do as I will. Particularly when I was relocating all my ships from Syndicate to Fountain (which I can talk about now that I got my dread out), cutting through high-sec without being killed was incredibly useful.

That said, the allure of running below -5 is almost irresistible. Gate guns hit hard, and a lot of pilots don't want to initiate an engagement for fear of gate guns. When I was on my descent to -10.0, I found that the additional fights i got from pilots freely engaging my pirate self far outweighed any disadvantages from me not having gate gun protection.  and I've found that me being perma-flashy really loosens the inhibitions of pilots I come across.

And let's not forget the psychological effect. I've always found myself to be more concerned about a red flashy pilot with a skull next to his name landing on grid than I am about a normal pilot.

(Side note on the overview... if you've not already done so, I recommend that you set the background of every neutral and no-standing pilot to be black rather than clear. Windows tend to overlap - particularly if you're dscanning - and you'll thank me when you notice a black-backgrounded listing appear on your overview.)

Plus, let's face it... the action is still in lowsec because of the easy accesss to empire trade hubs and its central location. And if you're looking for fights in lowsec, your sec status is bound to drop.

But, as I said, I tried really hard to keep my sec status above -2.0. I honestly did. On the 9th, I bought 150 mil worth of tags to repair my status, and managed to bring it up to 0.4.  And then this happened.

Three days. It took me three days to drop by four and a half points. Is it even worth it for me to try anymore? I have a hauling alt that can Viator-deliver any solo and small gang roaming ships. I'm blessed with a corp logistics group that is awesome and can bring in anything larger. The only skills I'll ever need to inject are new releases. I don't high-sec gank, I don't run missions.

And so, I give up. Good-bye, Jita. I have long enjoyed your embrace, but now, I'm sorry... you just can't provide what I need anymore.

I long for the wilds of low-sec, with its loot-laden Leopards and unwitting pods. Give me noble pilots willing to warp in solo to engage me. And yes, I even love your 0-isk killright bait Nightmares who know what it means to spring a trap.

Up until now, I held onto the hope of keeping access to all parts of the game, and rebelled at forsaking high-sec entirely. What changed?

There's an old meme that you don't go to Old Man Star... roams would inevitably end in Old Man Star. Time and again, the residents would swarm in and quickly dismantle anyone who ventured in. It gained a frightening reputation for it's fearsome pilots and "you-fly-in-you-pod-home" reputation. It was a scary place.

Yesterday, my corpmates and I went roaming and ended up in Old Man Star, hunting down some folks who happened to be there. Quite accidentally, our roam took us there; we didn't plan on it, but rather were chasing a pilot a couple jumps. We just happened to look up and find ourselves there. And in that moment, I no longer feared the reputation of the pirates in OMS.

I was one of those pirates.

In that moment, I made my choice, crossed my Old Man Star.

So... yarr.