((This is another idea shamelessly borrowed from the Takeshi Kovaks novels by Richard K. Morgan, however I feel it can be aptly applied to the Eve universe))
What is a weapon but a tool?
An engineer does not walk around with a force hammer simply because he is an engineer. The hammer is designed for a specific purpose, and is only useful in that purpose. It is the engineer who repairs or builds, not the tools he uses, and it would be a very poor engineer who is only able to use a force hammer.
The same case applies to weapons, they are tools of destruction, but they serve no purpose when they are not needed, nor when they are ill suited for the destruction that has to be wrought. As valuable as a force hammer is to a surgeon trying to revive a patient, so valuable is a sword to a capsuleer.
An Interceptor will do a poor job of taking down a pos, just like a Dreadnaught makes for a rather ineffective tackler and scout. These too are just tools in the arsenal of a combat pilot, and using the right one is essential. It is the pilot who is the destroyer and his value is measured in the tools he can use and their applicability to the situation.
There is an inherent danger in using tools not fit for a job, or carrying them without purpose. Firstly, a situation might develop where the tool is forced to fulfil a purpose that it was not designed for, or worse, a false belief that any problem can be solved with that tool. This is often due to the second inherent danger where a questionable, even dangerous, emotional attachment to the tool might be formed. When someone relies so heavily on a certain tool, that they feel naked without, or becomes blinded to the usefulness of other tools, that person becomes a danger to themselves and any team they are part of. Even more dangerous is when the tool is placed above that of the tactical demands of a situation, be it the survival or unfit usage of the tool. Lastly, a certain predictability is created, which might be exploited by observant enemies when someone is known to favour a certain weapon over others.
In the end, the capsuleer is whole, he is the destroyer, with or without his tools.
((Future articles will deal with the question of capsuleer self defence and further discuss the danger of seeing a ship as more than the tool it is.))
What is a weapon but a tool?
An engineer does not walk around with a force hammer simply because he is an engineer. The hammer is designed for a specific purpose, and is only useful in that purpose. It is the engineer who repairs or builds, not the tools he uses, and it would be a very poor engineer who is only able to use a force hammer.
The same case applies to weapons, they are tools of destruction, but they serve no purpose when they are not needed, nor when they are ill suited for the destruction that has to be wrought. As valuable as a force hammer is to a surgeon trying to revive a patient, so valuable is a sword to a capsuleer.
An Interceptor will do a poor job of taking down a pos, just like a Dreadnaught makes for a rather ineffective tackler and scout. These too are just tools in the arsenal of a combat pilot, and using the right one is essential. It is the pilot who is the destroyer and his value is measured in the tools he can use and their applicability to the situation.
There is an inherent danger in using tools not fit for a job, or carrying them without purpose. Firstly, a situation might develop where the tool is forced to fulfil a purpose that it was not designed for, or worse, a false belief that any problem can be solved with that tool. This is often due to the second inherent danger where a questionable, even dangerous, emotional attachment to the tool might be formed. When someone relies so heavily on a certain tool, that they feel naked without, or becomes blinded to the usefulness of other tools, that person becomes a danger to themselves and any team they are part of. Even more dangerous is when the tool is placed above that of the tactical demands of a situation, be it the survival or unfit usage of the tool. Lastly, a certain predictability is created, which might be exploited by observant enemies when someone is known to favour a certain weapon over others.
In the end, the capsuleer is whole, he is the destroyer, with or without his tools.
((Future articles will deal with the question of capsuleer self defence and further discuss the danger of seeing a ship as more than the tool it is.))
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