What's in a name?
Ninja. Ninja salvager. Ninja looter.
Griefer. There are many names for what we do (a lot of them not fit
for publication) and they lead to confusion sometimes. The reason for
this is that the profession has changed over the years, evolving with
game mechanics and player behaviour. The basics remain the same but
the focus has shifted considerably.
We'll start with the word "ninja"
in general. In EVE, "ninja" is a prefix used to indicate an
activity that is done quickly, stealthily and surrepitously – in
most cases at the expense of some other party who isn't watching. For
example, a ninja miner might sneak into a system at a time where the
regular occupants are logged off and quickly munch up their rocks.
Ninja plexing is done in low- or null-sec systems where a pilot
sneaks into hostile territory and runs their PVE. In RvB's "Ganked"
roams, a ninja poop is a quick trip to the toilet done outside the
officially sanctioned bio breaks.
Ninja salvaging & looting
The ninja salvager came about as EVE
sprouted salvageable wrecks (yielding materials used in the
production of rigs) and combat scanner probes (which allowed one to
find people in deep space). For a while these materials were wildly
profitable and ninja salvagers distinguished themselves by sneaking
in after a mission runner and quickly salvaging all his wrecks before
he even knew they were there – thus earning the "ninja"
moniker. More daring types also took mission loot, earning a nice bit
on top of the salvage. Looting, however, causes a criminal flag on
the offender and allows the mission runner to open fire.
Over the years, nerfs to loot and
salvage in general and the introduction of the Noctis have cause the
profitability of this enterprise to plummet. While it remains a good
income source for novice players, many spacerich veterans nowadays
scoff at sifting through the recyclables. However, ninja looters in
particular had found another source of income: blowing up mission
runners who opened fire on them. This was achieved by either looting
in a PVP-fit ship, or warping out and coming back in something more
shooty. The bread and butter of "ninjering" today was born.
Those who stuck with the profession after the nerfs have nearly all
turned to this type of baiting. They have kept the name "ninja
salvager" even though their actions are now focused on blowing
up shiny players' ships instead of gathering materials.
 |
| Not as shiny as it used to be. |
Griefing
To many, the modern style of ninja
salvaging reeks of griefing. Ninjas attempt to bait the unwitting
into lopsided
fights, dropping heavy-duty PVP ships with remote repair backup onto
hapless active-tanked PVE boats. Ninjas are therefore commonly
accused of being rubbish at PVP and this is generally true. However,
CCP holds a very narrow definition of griefing:
"A
grief player, or "griefer," is a player who devotes much of
his time to making others’ lives miserable, in a large part
deriving his enjoyment of the game from these activities while
he does not profit from it in any way."
Emphasis
mine. For ninjas, goading the foolish into unfair fights, violencing
their boats and stealing their stuff (and, to add insult to injury,
salvaging their wrecks) is a source of income. For most it is even
their primary
source of income. I made my first billion ISK in EVE purely by
robbing other people blind. In this lovely, crazy game of ours, we
may cause a lot of grief – but griefers, sir, we are not.
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