1v1s are for Lazy People

I always love a good 1v1. There's some thrill in popping your opponent when your own ship is bursting with flames. For me, even if I come out of it one less ship, I usually have a smile on my face, and quite a bit of adrenaline pumping in my veins.

However, I never really understood peoples' attitudes toward arranged 1v1s. Honor, 'Pistols at dawn,' and elite solo pvp my foot.

Arranged 1v1s are a cop out, most often motivated by laziness and cowardice. It is a means by which people can (at least attempt) to control the pvp situation, remove external factors, and essentially remove a variety of risks from the situation.

For, there is  lot more to PVP in EVE then the engagement itself --more than the shooting of guns and dropping of drones.

There is The Hunt.

Some people are very good at the hunt. Some, not so much. There are guys I fly with who seem to have an odd knack for finding, and catching targets. Others I fly with seem to consistently bemoan the fact that they can never find...or catch things. More sensor boosters! More tackle!

There is also the aspect of being hunted during the hunt. Some of the best hunters I have seen, are those who make their target believe THEY are doing the hunting--shortly before being caught and realizing they were actually the prey.

There is also purposefully becoming the prey through baiting.

Beyond that, there is the psychology of the hunt, and the myriad of social and situational decisions that are made, often subconsciously. Is it a trap? What if they have ECM? Can I take their ship in my ship? Do they have friends? Do I have friends? How far away are my friends? Do they have the upper ground? Do I need to lure them to a new location? How do I get them to want to fight me? How do I catch them against their will? Will they run? Can I keep up? Will my point be long enough, or activate fast enough?

After the Hunt there is The Catch. In unarranged pvp, the catch is a lot more complicated than simply shooting your guns, applying your electronics, and doing whatever manual flying you think you are good at.
For, you cannot assume that the situation is in your control--there is a lot of things that could go wrong. And so you watch local --for a spike, or for a cyno. You watch your D-Scan. You dual box a scout, or ask on coms if there's a fleet next door waiting for their buddy to put a point on you.

You are flying to kill, and you are also flying to give yourself an out in case something goes wrong. You are committed, but eyeing the exits so to speak.

After The Catch, there is The Kill. Well, most of the time someone will die. Unless it becomes a stalemate, or someone successfully runs away.

For most arranged 1v1s, that's all she wrote. It's done. Go home.

For good old-fashioned pew, a spontaneous 1v1 is frequently the catalyst for a much larger engagement. You kill them, they send their friends to avenge their loss. You call your friends. Fight. Fight. Fight.
Or perhaps, they bring a friend and you kill them both. Ohhh. A 1v2. You won't see many arranged versions of THOSE.


At any rate. I do not know why people glorify arranged 1v1s. Don't get me wrong --there's nothing much wrong with them. (To each his own.) And, I realize there are probably cases where people simply want to call someone out, or get a fight to begin with.

But I find it to be a much more satisfying victory to defeat an enemy (and the friends of said enemy) on more open (and dangerous) terms.