I think we have a fundamental breakdown in understanding between the PvP side and the PvE side. PvPers say "we don't even want the loot! We just want to put holes in some ships!" - but what they don't seem to understand is that doubles the frustration for the PvE player, especially depending on the loot itself.
If, for example, I run up to a Ghost Fort and spend twenty minutes clearing the place, only to get sunk on the way back to an outpost, that's not a big loss. But if I spend two hours or more fishing, only to get mobbed by a galleon crew who throw my crate full of fish overboard? That's painful, and downright heartbreaking.
Most PvE-ers aren't "weak" or "scared." We just have a different focus. I just don't like PvP. The "thrill" of sailing up on some random stranger who's doing a tall tale or fishing or something, derailing their day, and then mocking them for sucking at the game? I don't get it. It leaves me absolutely cold. Those same people find fishing for an hour to be horribly boring. I'm a teacher. I need the peace of a little "boring" when I get home, so I can live with that!
I keep hearing PvP-ers say "you'd like it if you tried it!" and "you'll like it more when you get better at it." I've crewed on enough PvP-oriented ships to understand that not all who engage in PvP are jerks. Not all of them target the weaker, smaller crews, or the obviously new players. Not all seek to humiliate as well as to defeat their opponents - some even help out the newbies, etc. Crewing PvP has helped me understand the drive to win the battle, but I still don't think I'll ever like trampling all over someone else's plans for their game time. I've had PvP encounters that were fun, where everyone was pretty fairly matched and we all said "gg" when it was over, and meant it. I've also seen the pirates who gloated and did inappropriate rude things to the dead opponent they just spawn camped for the 10th time.
But I mostly play solo sloop, and that seems to attract the very worst of the PvP element, looking for an easy target, a quick kill and a chance to gloat. I keep a little notebook by my PC, and just for fun, I started keeping track of what I was doing when I was targeted by the more toxic elements of the game. You'd think that having tons of loot, an emissary flag level 5, etc., or some big flashy item like a Chest of Legends on board would guarantee PvP attack, but that's just it. Alas, that's not it. I am far more likely to encounter those toxic players when I'm playing what I think of as "the small game," with no shiny cosmetics on, no emissary flag, only picking up a few pieces of loot at a time, or if I'm doing a Tall Tale or obviously just fishing, than I am when I am with a crew that leans into the risk/reward game.
I get that the PvP folks want someone to fight them. I'm not that someone. Why should I, who paid for the game just like everybody else, not have the ability to determine if I want to fight, or not? I'm not playing the game "wrong" if I don't want to engage in a battle I'm going to lose and instead run or log off. I didn't see anywhere in the promotional material for the game that it was my responsibility to be entertainment for the thrill seekers. I just want to log into the game and have a reasonable expectation of controlling my own "destiny." My play time, particularly during the school year, is limited and precious, and as much as I love the game, there are days when I log out unhappy and unsure whether to play anymore because the progress I worked toward was wasted by someone who didn't even want what they stole from me.
Surely, we can find a way to at least mitigate the instances of targeting players who don't want to fight and steer the fighters toward each other. I don't need an isolated server. I just want there to be a bit more balance. Surely, there's a way to at least level the playing field a bit.
