It worked precisely that way for me. It’s the kick up the ass noob players need to get them into PvP and not a lifetime of pretending to ‘play EVE’ while they mine AFK. The desire to ‘get even’ is precisely what breaks noobs out of that mould. It makes players realise that EVE is not simply Farmville In Space but is fundamentally a combat game…..and the fact that 95% of the ships are combat ships is a huge clue there !
Ganking is not just part of the game, but is an essential part of the game.
This, absolutely.
To me, the most 1337 PVP available in EVE is hauling. A battle of wits between you and the gankers, a battle where you need to move Billions of ISK worth of stuff from A to B using only your knowledge of game mechanics, ship fitting and the habits and skills of the enemy.
In what other game can you do this?
High sec ganking should be a banable offense you simply should lose all of your accounts….THIS would end it permanently….
Finally, a voice of reason!
That would end it permanently, but it doesn’t need to be ended.
High sec ganking is part of doing business in High sec. It is a legitimate game play with relatively easy counters.
Gankign adds friction to moving goods and created localized markets with localized prices. It creates opportunities for other players.
It is a little hint of danger in an otherwise solved and boring high sec.
The only problem is there is counterplay to ganking. The best one is be aware of your surrounding and don’t be on grid when the gankers come. These obvious counter has been pointed out since ganking became a thing. Watch local, dscan, look at the level of destruction of the systems you are hauling through on the map, scout ahead, fit a tank, use the mwd/cloak trick, use a webbing alt, bring logi, stay away from crowded popular systems, and above all don’t be lazy and take silly risks.
I mostly run missions and move goods from one trade hub to another. I also do a fair amount of afk mining for industry. I am the natural prey of gankers, and yet I have never been ganked. I am just aware of my surroundings and don’t take silly chances. I am by no means an all-star EvE players. What I do everyone can do.
If you think I am wrong, I am happy to discuss it.
If there’s no counterplay, then why do only bad players get ganked? What gameplay actions are non-bad players taking to avoid being ganked that don’t amount to “counterplay”?
Most of the discussion around highsec ganking focuses on DPS math and fitting choices. That part has been debated endlessly.
The more interesting issue is structural.
In most areas of EVE, conflict escalates.
Nullsec wars escalate.
Lowsec fights escalate.
Wormhole evictions escalate.
Highsec suicide ganking does not escalate.
The aggressor chooses the time, place, and target. The engagement is pre-calculated. CONCORD guarantees a fixed end point. The attacker loses a disposable hull. The defender loses the objective.
Then it resets.
There is no meaningful post-engagement vulnerability window. Kill rights are trivial. Wardecs rarely apply. There is no sustained exposure that allows reciprocal pressure.
So the question is not whether “counterplay exists.” Of course mitigation exists.
The question is whether there is meaningful reciprocity.
Risk versus reward is one discussion.
Reciprocity versus insulation is another.
Highsec ganking is efficient because it is insulated. It resolves instantly and does not create prolonged strategic consequences.
That is the part worth discussing.
I would argue that 98% of NULL pvp does not create prolonged strategic consequences either. For many years, I’ve split my time between ganking and null pvp, and for BOTH, there is a rare chance that someone who is killed will come try to camp you in or harass your activities for a short time, which is the extent of any strategic consequence I’ve ever seen. While I’d give a slight edge to null pvp having more reciprocity, it sure isn’t much. Now if we’re talking about a major invasion into someone’s null-sov space and reciprocity therein, that’s really not the same comparison at all to ganking.
That comparison misses an important distinction.
Nullsec has zero security by design. It is explicitly lawless space. If conflict there does not escalate, that is consistent with its structure.
Highsec is advertised and mechanically framed as a space of relative safety under empire enforcement. That framing creates different expectations.
When a space is presented as a “haven,” players reasonably assume that aggression will carry different structural consequences than in null.
The issue is not whether PvP exists in both areas. It is whether the security tier meaningfully changes the reciprocity of that PvP.
If highsec aggression resolves instantly and resets with no sustained exposure, then the practical difference between “secure” and “lawless” becomes narrower than the labeling suggests.
That is the distinction.
hisec is not framed as “safe”
The advertisement frames highsec as a haven of relative safety. That framing creates expectations of meaningful structural protection. The mechanics deliver punishment, but not prevention or reciprocity. That distinction is where much of the friction comes from.
This is just a silly word play claiming that avoiding being ganked does not count as “counterplay”.
But again, there is a counter play that exists after the initial destruction of the gank victim’s ship. Youtube ganker MacGybo has several videos on how to foil a hauler gank by stealing the loot out from under the ganker.
If you want to learn how to counter ganking I found MacGybo’s videos on hauler ganking very education.
Isn’t it relative safety that 99% of hisec dwellers are unaffected by suicide ganking? 
Not logging into the game is counterplay, then?
Source?
Personal experience. 
That’s funny. Now you represent ALL of Eve Online?
There’s a term for that…
Indeed, so show us your source, factual evidence that proves suicide ganking in hisec is a problem.
Really? You think that anyone is claiming that not logging in is counterplay? Not being on grid is certainly counterplay though. If you are in a ship that you don’t want to get into a pvp fight with, it is the best counterplay.
@Uriel_the_Flame represents me in this fact. I have never been ganked once in the game, although I am the primary target for gankers. I run lvl 4 missions with a marauder in highsec. I afk mine. I am hauling stuff from one trade hub to another for resale. I just pay attention to my surroundings.
Just follow the precautions that so many have outlined repeatedly in innumerous reincarnations of these threads, and the number of times that one is ganked will become vanishingly small.