Psychology of Ruthless PvP 💢 What the Research Actually Says

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

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Psychology of Ruthless PvP What the Research Actually Says

I’ve seen a lot of players defend ganking or griefing by saying, “It’s just part of the game.” Fair enough. EVE allows it. But let’s be honest: there’s a big difference between strategic PvP and going out of your way to hunt the weakest players over and over again. So, what kind of players tend to enjoy that behavior the most?

It turns out that actual studies have looked into it.

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Research Highlights

Dark Triad & Tetrad Traits (Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, Sadism)
These traits strongly predict toxic behaviors like griefing, trolling, or targeting weaker players across online environments (sciencedirect.com).

Sadism & Callous‑Unemotional Traits
People with high levels of everyday sadism or CU traits enjoy causing distress, especially when anonymous. These traits are closely tied to harassment, camper-style tactics, and exploiting vulnerable players (en.wikipedia.org).

PvP Shooter Gamers Link
Studies show that online shooter gamers often score higher in narcissism and psychopathy, and tend to have lower self-esteem, suggesting aggression is compensatory (link.springer.com).

Toxicity in MOBAs & Large Samples
Research involving over 2,000 players found that competitive gamers, especially in MOBAs and shooters, are more exposed to and likely to engage in toxic behavior. Victims and aggressors reported increased anger rumination and anxiety (researchportal.tuni.fi, researchgate.net).

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TL;DR

Some aggressive play is just part of competitive PvP. That’s valid gameplay. But when players repeatedly farm newbies, ignore fair fights, and brag about it, research suggests it often reflects deep-seated personality traits, not true skill or strategy.

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This post is accurate.

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

I know the usual forum trolls will say, “It’s just a spaceship game, don’t compare it to real life.” But the truth is, studies show our in-game behavior often reflects real personality traits. The comparison is valid, whether you like it or not.

[Uriel_the_Flame]

Are you saying gankers are real-life psychopaths?

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Uriel_the_Flame

Are you saying

Read the post.

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[Uriel_the_Flame]

All I see in OP is a ChatGPT slop spam so I rather ask YOU what you think. So again…

Psychology of Ruthless PvP What the Research Actually Says

Are you saying gankers are real-life psychopaths?

[Arthur_Aihaken]

@Uriel_the_Flame

Are you saying gankers are real-life psychopaths?

I don’t know about gankers, specifically - but there are definitely some borderline psychopaths in this game.

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Arthur_Aihaken

specifically

He’s trying to bait me.

We all have our strengths.

Reasoning just isn’t one of his.

[Uriel_the_Flame]

@Swing_Vote1

He’s trying to bait me into a forum rule violation.

Speaking of psychology: that sounds like a severe case of paranoia.

You still haven’t answered a simple question. All you post is ChatGPT spam without content and when asked questions you can’t provide any meaningful answer of your own just post more ChatGPT nonsense.

I am not the only one recognizing this by the way, just the latest such:

The Case for a 100% Safe Highsec

I’d say you started the whole psychology bullshitting game, right? I only fed you your own medicine. Your ‘AI summaries’ reveal your true problem: not having arguments, thus inventing stories and problems, pretending to have ‘good intentions’ and thus claiming a moral highground you simply made up. Thankfully it’s so obvious that you can’t score points in the discussion, so this topic is doomed like all the others to vanish into insignificance and get locked and forgotten at some point, without …

I know though, you will keep your paranoid attitude and say people are against you for no reason, it is a conspiracy, and everyone else is wrong and anyone who disagrees with you is trolling.

[Syzygium]

Be careful, you are now part of the toxic system and basically the reason all those problems exist. That you don’t believe him without any doubt and follow him on the crusade is already proof that he is right.

[Uriel_the_Flame]

@Syzygium

you are now

It’s okay, doesn’t make a difference what’s in his mind, I only care about the real world and objective facts.

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Uriel_the_Flame

I am not the only one

The irony here is that rather than addressing any actual point, you’ve resorted to amateur psychoanalysis, name-calling, and parroting someone else’s insults as evidence.

If this thread is beneath you, there’s no need to keep replying. But if you’re going to continue, you might consider engaging with the ideas instead of defaulting to ridicule and groupthink.

@Syzygium

That you don’t believe him

I cited actual studies, but don’t bother reading them.

@Uriel_the_Flame

doesn’t make a difference what’s in his mind

And yet, here you are…

[Uriel_the_Flame]

I’m here to discuss the thread subject but you refuse and just derail your own thread with your offtopic spam trolling.

So again:

Psychology of Ruthless PvP What the Research Actually Says

Are you saying gankers are real-life psychopaths?

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Uriel_the_Flame

I’m here to discuss the thread

No, I’m not saying that gankers are real-life psychopaths.

I’m saying studies show a statistically significant overlap between certain in-game behaviors, like repeatedly targeting weaker players for personal enjoyment, and personality traits like sadism, narcissism, and low empathy.

That doesn’t mean every ganker has those traits.

It just means the behavior itself is strongly associated with them in the research. So when someone finds that kind of gameplay especially thrilling, well, let’s just say the psychology speaks for itself.

I’m not diagnosing anyone. I’m just reading the map.

[Syzygium]

@Swing_Vote1

I cited actual studies, but don’t bother reading them.

Your studies have nothing to do with ganking, because gankers - for a laaarge part - are not intentionally farming newbie players, they couldn’t care less for the 3-day old Heron scanning in some godforsaken minmatar backyard. They have professionalized a profit-based system of making money in EVE and are picking targets of opportunity, no matter if flown by a newb or a veteran.

If I shoot someone in a FPS that jumps right into my gun because he is a newb, that doesn’t mean killing him is toxic, because I simply don’t care if he is a noob or not. I don’t follow him around, trying to get into his game lobbies, camping his respawning points. He just was at the wrong location at the wrong time. Happens, it’s part of the competition.

Same goes for 90% of the gankers in EVE. They don’t care a bit if the pilot is a Vet, a Newb, a Nullseccer or a Wormholer, a Carebear or a PvPer. If their calculations show that they can bring down the ship and walk away with a nice profit, they do. If they feel they need to send a message because someone is Autopiloting, they do. If they feel they need to blow someone out of a belt or system they want to sell “mining permits” in, they do.

All your ideas about “toxic behaviour” are simply thin air, applying to a tiny minority of EVE players. And those aren’t even all gankers. So “fixing ganking” is adressing absolutely nothing in this concern.

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Syzygium

not intentionally farming newbie players

Really?

@Aiko_Danuja

No, for real, I deliberately target weak ships, people who are AFK, new players, bad fits, I always try to aim for people who won’t fight back at all.

It’s a valid and successful tactic.

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

@Syzygium

And those aren’t even all gankers.

If gankers truly “don’t care” who they shoot, why are so many killmails full of empty haulers, untanked Ventures, and rookie ships? If it’s all business, why the blog posts mocking victims and collecting “tears”?

The studies aren’t about mechanics. They’re about the psychology behind repeat low-risk aggression. Profit can be part of it, but when players consistently choose soft targets and enjoy it, that’s where the data applies.

Not all gankers are toxic. But pretending none are is just denial.

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[Gealbhan]

[Swing_Vote1 (Swing Vote)]

I wonder why…

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[Syzygium]

Yeah, as you can see, new players are one part in a list of many. They are a target of opportunity like everyone else. And why not? Also Aiko is simply RPing here at the boards quite a bit, everyone knows it and exaggerating is just part of the game. Context, you know? The fewest gankers I know are focusing on new players. Simply because new players rarely have stuff worth looting.

Doesn’t mean they don’t snatch away a newb that gets into their path. But the number of people who deliberately focus on new player killings is so tiny, it’s not even remotely worth a discussion.

@Swing_Vote1

so many killmails full of empty haulers, untanked Ventures, and rookie ships?

“so many” is a tiny number when seen in context to the total number of kills happening in the game, or even in HS.

@Swing_Vote1

Not all gankers are toxic. But pretending none are is just denial.

I never said none are. Those who are simply are so few compared to the total population of the game, it’s not an issue at all. One can safely ignore them, most people will never ever meet them.

[JB_Hitmarker]

Woah there, calm down miner.