So for years now players have been asking for the simple solution of personal defense for their ships. This has been the simplest solution to the problem IMO. What has been increasingly the motive of the development, is to insure the attackers success. There have been suggestions of reliance on an abstract, that is really no solution at all IMO. Get 'Escorts'. As if all the player doing career gameplay are somehow required to be pacifistic or vulnerable. Countless times we have heard CIG say that they want to offer freedom to the players for their chosen path. Except when it comes to this. It is almost as if this is some sort of taboo to the development or something. What is so bad about giving the player being attacked the proper ability to hold their own? The way the development has been going, the outcome of pirate victory is increasingly more inevitable. The defenses given to most ships is just a stall tactic. There are hard set design keynotes that cannot be undone at this point. So, what are the players left subject to these things supposed to do? I can't find an answer that the game truly intends to provide that is not a joke. So I have to say I agree with the decision to just hit self destruct when you get accosted. Use what meager defenses you were provided to run out the clock and watch it all go up in flames. Reputation, credit loss, time spent, and use of heirs be damned. This is effectively the choice of the cornered prey. No matter the outcome in most any scenario other than somehow being able to read the mind of your attacker you loose. IMO the current design of the game forces one group of players to be subservient to another. This does not seem like fun no matter how it is presented. Unless the person is a masochist IRL. This is just a horrible experience. The Idea of escorts should not be so present in the line of choices. That game play does not even promise to be loads of fun even for them IMO. You will have players say that they would relish the choice to play that way. However, that is until they have to sit idly by for hours as someone else plays something they couldn't care less about. There is no way that could be considered fun. Unless you enjoy watching things dry. There is serious reconsideration that needs to be done surrounding this. The current direction seems like a lot of fun lost for a lot of players due to some philosophical resistance to proper self-defense.