Oh, please do! I would love to hear a logical discussion on why this game doesn't feel like it's full of adolescent boys just getting their kicks wasting time and ammo killing every clone again after they've just killed them. Yes, I know they can be revived, but if they're not, they'll just respawn anyway. Or maybe if you terminate their clone they'll decide they've had enough and leave the battle? Who knows?

I still disagree with the idea that it delays their return to battle under any circumstances. If they're waiting for a revival, they will lie there until the expiry timer runs out and then respawn in 3 seconds. But that can be 20 seconds after they've been incapacitated. The arguments about why it delays their return to battle seem to all conveniently avoid this possibility. I guess there is an implicit assumption noone will wait for a revival, and yet many of the arguments are about the fact that if you don't terminate the clone they can be revived.....

If someone revives them, so be it. They would have respawned anyway.

I guess as far as it being a satisfying habit is concerned, you have to have a particular mindset to see it that way. For me it's abhorrent. You've just killed them, they're lying there bleeding out, and you finish them off so there's no chance of them being revived. The fact that it's "satisfying" is what's disturbing about it.

I think you might be reading into it too much. It's okay to take a game seriously, as emotional investment can lead to improved performance and/or enjoyment. It's not okay to take a game seriously for the purpose of legitimately despising people you've never met or spoken to because of their behavior in a video game. I've learned over time not to take it so seriously, and I was gradually less bothered by losses and/or cheap tactics. I get where you come from, though. Online games bring out the worst in people, regardless of age or IQ. Especially games where your enjoyment is often at the cost of others, though that's simply the nature of versus-competition. There's a lot of psychology that goes into competitions with a complex meta and differing skillsets.



I'd have to get my hands on some statistics for definitive proof. However the vast majority of the forum-dwelling community and in my extensive experience as a logi confirm that far more than two thirds of players do not wait for a revival and immediately look for their next spawn point. For those who don't wait, terminating delays their process by preventing the respawn timer from reducing itself prior to selection. More often than not, it is strategically useful to terminate your defeated enemies regardless of what people "should do".



If they're revived, they're back in the battle much much faster. In addition, they did not lose their gear, which means that they did not raise your payout.



That comes down to a matter of personal opinion and interpretation. I for one don't really consciously think about the fact that I'm virtually murdering people. I play shooters because I enjoy the strategy and math involved; that's all I really think about. My purpose for entering this thread is that I disagreed with your mindset of making false assumptions about someone's character based on their behavior in a strategic video game. If you feel disrespected when being terminated, that's on you. Not trying to be rude, but that's how it is. You don't know their intention behind it or what kind of person they are in real life. You've only made assumptions and stated them as generalized facts.

Lastly; I also dislike the amount of effort and officer gear in pubs. But you never know, they could just be playing the game casually as they see fit even though it looks like they're pouring their life into one insignificant match. I prefer not to judge people's character for the way they play. A good friend of mine likes to put uplinks on high points. I despise that broken mechanic, but he's a seriously cool dude. It's not that I'm "forgiving" his actions because he's cool, but that I know not to falsely associate them. Because a cheap tactic / aggressive playstyle does not automatically equate to a disrespectful, childish, or unintelligent person. Make sense?

I hope this properly explains my side of things.

Thanks for the good points.

Now for a few of my own that instantly come to mind.

Yes, in FW and PC, terminating a clone would be strategic, and reasonable. In pubs, it feels vindictive, mindless and stupid. Where is the "strategy" in it? Why are there officer fits in pubs? Yes, I understand the concept of doing it because you want to be in the habit of doing it, so you don't forget to do it when you're in FW or PC, but then it's habitual, which is exactly my point. At least for people for whom it is habitual, because of strategic reasons, there is some point.

Perhaps it's good to terminate clones in officer fits in pubs. :)

Yes, in EvE the clones can have implants. Some of those implants can be hellishly expensive. Noone with any sense flies a modded clone in battle. So generally, podding is just a vindictive kill, and one which will bite you because they instantly awaken in their home station, hop in a ship and are back in the battle in as much time as it takes to get there. That can be a few minutes, but not the thirty minutes it has taken for some people to realise they are going to have to self-destruct because noone is going to pod them.

So yes, there is a vast difference in the time involved, but so is there a vast difference in the duration of battles. In EvE a battle can be days. In Dust, it's 20-30 minutes. So delaying the return of a clone by a few seconds actually does count. My stance is that terming a clone only works to delay them if they weren't going to just respawn anyway.

Interesting. I started this thread on the basis that I saw terminating clones as being simply stupid and pointless. The replies to it have made me feel it's more despicable than just stupid, in pubs, a necessary evil in FW and PC.

Ah well. I did try it again to see what all the fuss was about. I'm not going to be one of those who habitually terminates clones at least in pubs. I just can't see the point, despite all the arguments. I think the players who do it in pubs are just being ridiculously over the top.

I probably will however terminate clones in FW and PC on the basis of this thread. Some very good points and yes, I can see the point in depriving the opposing player of their gear if you get the chance. In FW and PC, this doesn't appear to be a stupid habitual tactic, but a real strategy.

Thanks to all who took the time to write considered responses. I learnt a lot. :)