Should independents have it harder?

[Ayem]

You don't have to join a player faction to be part of an npc faction.

RepEx were about before I joined the server, but I played an independent Republican behemoth called Phaethon and didn't have to deal with any kind of active politics.

I think encouraging players away from the faceless "independent trader" ID and into something with more history (I'd like to see some Gateway again, I miss those guys) is a good thing.

However, I think this encouragement should take the form of RP encounters. Stop people for a chat, follow them around in "convoy", halt them etc. dependant on the character you're on and suggest alternatives to the Independant Trader. Rescue a few independants with the Kishiro "Special Response Security Team" and offer the company spiel (and with your experience in piracy, you'd be among the best qualified to work in that field). SECOM and ALSOK are Japanese security companies that work for and inside other companies to protect areas, personnel, objects etc. as well as perform surveillance, installation of security, preventative and intimidation devices.

Rather than fiddling with prices, which are odd enough at the moment, offer a concrete answer to the local pirates. Kusari gunboats with missile launchers are probably enough to clean those bombers out of space before they manage to kill a large/dodging transport.

Even if they die, taking revenge and letting the victim know will make them feel all warm and gooey inside, and endear you to them forever after.

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