So as I read the forums, I constantly see threads claiming that we need respecs, that respecs will save the game, that respecs are harmless, that CCP is stupid to not have them, and so on. This thread is meant to, in the simplest way possible, show you why you're wrong.

1. They're harmless!

No, they're not. As you can clearly see, as soon as CCP touches something in a way that reduces effectiveness in any way, shape, or form, people cry respec. Why? People don't like to see their effectiveness reduced, so now they want to move on to something else. Users of buffed equipment, oddly enough, remain silent.

2a. It's money!

It's pay to win, which CCP is trying to avoid.

2b. It's not pay to win!

Except it is. Let's take the Caldari Logi nerf as an example. CCP is nerfing them. The Cal-Logi players now want a respec because it's not as effective anymore. The only reason these people want a respec is so that they can drop the not-so-OP equipment and dump everything into the next flavor of the month. If we have aurum respecs, we would see people with a credit card always using the FotM setups because they can afford it, while those who can't are left behind, forced to live with their decisions.

Let's look at it this way too. Everyone knows of the Core Flaylock by now. Let's pretend that the upcoming nerf to them is actually how they've been all along. Let's pretend that the new upcoming stats for this weapon have actually been in place since the flaylocks were released, and they're actually getting buffed to their current state. How many people would buy a respec so they could go stomping around the battlefield with a flaylock primary and completely obliterate those who only had enough SP saved for, say, Flaylock 2 or 3?

3. But they messed with my stuff!

Not one item in this game will be left in its current state. Every single item will eventually be reworked, for better or worse. Take a look at Eve Online. CCP is performing what they call "Tiericide" on all of their ships (reworking stats, slot counts, bonuses, etc.). Not one ship is escaping this massive iteration. Please visit the Eve Online forums and see how the Eve players are handling watching the results of their SP investments being changed. The funniest part? They continue to rebalance these ships even after they get their tiericide rework.

4. They added new stuff!

Cool. Now everyone gets to start on an even playing field, save those who planned ahead and rightfully deserve to reap the rewards of foresight.

5. It's why the game is dying!

Books could be written about why the Dust player count isn't very high, and respecs might get a one sentence honorable mention, if even that. Bugs, lack of content, little / no Eve interaction, among multitudes of other things, is why the player is remaining stagnant, not because you can't get your instant gratification.

6. Not everyone skills FotM!

I know that not everyone's intent is to become OP and boost K/D ratios out the derp. These few people with good intenions, however, make up the minority. Even if these people made up a vast majority, they'd still get completely beat down by the FotM chasers.

7. You're a CCP fanboi!

Problem? :trollface:

Will nothing sway you?!

Sure! There are times when respecs are fully warranted, such as when CCP reworked the entire skill tree into the node system we have now. The upcoming vehicle iteration may also be a candidate for a partial respec, since its goal is to completely change the role and effectiveness of every vehicle on the battlefield, and will also affect AV equipment as well (since you can't balance a role without looking at its counter). I won't be butthurt if it doesn't happen, and I won't be jumping for joy if it does.

Feel free to litter my beautiful thread with you incomprehensible word vomit. I'll mull it over and verbally berate you in the original post.

TL;DR - Pick an underlined topic, read the response.