When NPCs used to be dangerous

[aerelm]

Back in 4.85, people used to do their RP on the map then fly 200k off plane to have decent pews, solely to avoid the continuous spawn of "dangerous" (the way you put it) NPCs ruining the fun for both sides (and let's not even get into what a major pain flying around Gallia was back then). You would even see players shooting NPCs of their own faction during pews, simply because they were just that annoying. I wouldn't mind seeing a high difficulty NPC option for single-player, but most certainly not for the online server (Though, considering what a huge mess setting up NPCs is, I'd be surprised if such an option is ever implemented).

i.e. Having challenging NPCs might sound good on paper, but in practice, literally the only thing it does is ruin player interaction - which happens to be the whole point of this server.

P.S: Threads like this always share the same pattern - People in favor of stronger NPCs usually mention things like "hiring escorts", implying a trader view-point, while those against it come from a more combat oriented point of view, who know having even 1 spawn of strong NPCs can completely throw off the balance of a fight. What's funny about that is back when NPCs actually packed a punch, majority of the complaints about NPCs came from traders and even some trade groups who always flew with escorts were in favor of toning them down back in the day. If you're just trading for the thrill and find yourself bored during your runs, maybe consider changing your route or your usual trading hours, cause that's a much better solution than buffing NPCs.