It is undeniable: games as a whole are getting easier each year, with more handholding, simpler control schemes, extended tutorials, and a relentless drive to seize the money of even the most drooling incompetent.

Simultaneously, games are getting more immersive and addictive, with the psychological feedback loops. What does a hobby with ever-increasing levels of addiction, ease, and immersion for its users create? A sense of entitlement - an entitlement that is a threat to every GÇÿhardGÇÖ game out there, but especially to, DUST514.

Despite CCPGÇÖs explicit marketing of EVE as a harsh universe full of mayhem and murder, there is a silent, ignorant herd of players who genuinely believe that DUST514 is just like the other FPSs on the market - the, hand-holding FPSs who will pat you on the back, wipe away your tears, and give you a 30-second respawn with no consequences.

When these people discover Dust514 is not a Call of Duty (CoD) they rush to the forums and loudly beat out their indignation and horror at encountering loss or danger, or both.

What is most interesting about these threads is not the mere fact that some idiot got blown up and was upset about it, but the absolutely unfounded presumption of safety expressed in such outraged terms. One notable flameout accused CCP of being GÇÿmisleading in its advertisingGÇÖ because DUST514 GÇÿreally is a beta

The ignorance demonstrated by this class of players is not an isolated problem, but part of a growing and dangerous trendGÇÖ.

It is this combination of ignorance and entitlement that threatens Dust514

It is this combination of ignorance and entitlement that threatens Dust if we could believe in the comforting Enlightenment fantasies that reason and education could save the day - the hope that someone coming to EVE:DUST 514 would do their research, understand the nature of the game, and participate in this most difficult of games with their eyes open.

Of course, one of the most horrifying lessons of EVE:DUST 514 is that the Enlightenment ideals are false; the power of reason doesnGÇÖt actually lift the population out of the muck, because theyGÇÖre too busy AFK

Consider what a player will need to do in order to be GÇÿgoodGÇÖ at Dust514. You will need situational awareness; you will need regional awareness. You will need to know whatGÇÖs going on in the market. You will need to know whatGÇÖs happening in future patches, so you need to keep track of dev blogs and adjust your training accordingly. You will need to know how to fit a vehicle or dropsuit properly for a task, which means you need a passable knowledge of skill system. You will need social skills, or youGÇÖll end up friendless, isolated, or the victim of a scam. You need financial sensibility - the ability to either live on a budget, or make so much isk that you donGÇÖt need a budget. And since most of these skills are pitted against other players, you must do them /better/ than the other players; what passed for competence in other FPSs is a laughable joke in Dust514 2012.

By contrast, in a game like CoD, BF3, MAG. You can dawdle around acting as if youre in an all-green clownsuit and never be punished for your ignorance.