PvP: Do or Do Not, there is no Try

My last post on PvPing had... a lot of comments! And not just from my sphere of guildmates that read my blog religiously (and by religiously, I mean if they don't, I will bug them mercilessly until they read it, so they pray that they get a chance to read it before I actually spot them and can needle them), but from strangers! Friendly strangers. I think one offered me candy...

The comments I recieved were ... well, similar to what I posted, which is to be expected. Quitters, naked parties... sounds like college, actually.

Now, people can take the famous quote: "Do or Do Not, there is no Try" to mean several different things.

If you can't succeed, don't bother trying. That's Do Not, right?
If you can succeed, that's when you try. That's Do, right?

Wrong.

Success isn't what you're doing or not doing. You do your best. Or you do not do your best. You don't try to do your best.

It's something I see a little bit in myself, in friends, and in ... everyone. We all have this trait.

If we aren't good at a game, we stop playing it. I don't play chess or Monopoly for just that reason (unless the chess is 'Eat Me' and I'm just being the banker in Monopoly, I like to forclose on houses! Muahahaha!), because I'm just plain not very good at those games. And honestly, it isn't that much fun to keep losing.

More than merely stop playing it, you tell everyone, 'Oh, I'm terrible at chess!'... and then you don't even try to do well, which results in a swift victory for your opponent, which validates your opinion! 'See, I'm horrible!'.

It's a natural thing to do. We stop playing the things we're good at, or only do it if we're dragged into it, kicking and screaming and not doing our best, and we only willingly do the things we are good at.

This is natural. This is why we have professional baseball players and board certified surgeons in specialized fields. They were good at it, they kept doing what they were good at, and they got better.

Unfortunately, the game is not like real life. Even more unfortunately, BG's are more like baseball than the surgeon. I could be the best PvPer in the galaxy... but I'm partnered up with 9 scrubs who want to dance naked in Trollbane Hall... gonna lose.

Now, this isn't true for everyone. Some people willingly go ahead and realize that if they don't keep trying at something, they will never get to be good at it. They do their best, even if their best isn't very good, and they keep doing their best. Sometimes they learn, sometimes, they'll laughingly admit that they just don't have what it takes... but they'll do it anyway, because they enjoy the game that they play and the people they are with.

PvP unfortunately, boils down our personality traits and leaves us with the bare minimums.

Take me, for example! I have two modes when I PvP. I turn into Tourette Girl in the privacy of my own home and stay silent on the BG chat or I turn into the class clown, making funny remarks, lightening the mood and keeping everyone happy, even if we're losing.

The reason I keep PvPing, was because I needed some gear and because there's an addictive quality to some BG aspects, more pointedly when I was resto/balance. How many HK's CAN I rack up, doing nothing but tossing HoT's on people? Holy hell. That's a lot.

Being feral in WSG... yeah, just TRY to stop me from running the flag across to our base. Maybe we can't cap it because most of my teammates can't find their asses if you gave them a guided tour, but damnit, I'm getting it to our base.

My point... I'm not the best PvPer. I admittedly state that I do not have the mindset for individual one on one combat, when the person doesn't follow a set rule that I can understand. I can't build threat on him. I can't keep the healer CC'd reliably. I can't... PvE it. It's PvP. If it wasn't for Kathe needing BG gear, I'd still be sitting here vehemently stating that PvP is a nightmare (still is... but... eh.) and that I'd never do it! NEVER EVER EVER! NOooooooOOO! I WILL NOT GO! *nail marks being dragged into the cement*.

However. I do my best. I do not expect to succeed. But I do my best. I do my best because anything else is a failure on my part. I give my best because that is my nature to do. I do not quit. I do not give up. Even if everyone around me is dancing nekkid... I do my best. Because I am not a quitter. Because I am not an Alliance Loser. Because I am K. And K is great.

Er.

The attitude of Alliance players makes SENSE, even if I don't agree with them. It isn't any fun to LOSE all the time, even if they TRY (evil evil trying! nooo!), or rather, especially if they try!

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So, since some of them are in it for the long (or short) haul of a goal in mind (I need just 10 more badges! Just lose real quick so I can go to my next BG...), they turn it around. Losing despite trying sucks. Losing because you admit that *tittertitter* I'm so terrible at this game! *gigglegiggle*, isn't so bad. Losing because you CHOOSE to lose, even better! It's a loss on your terms. It isn't because you SUCK, it's because you lost on purpose! Huge difference, even if you aren't thinking of it in those terms.

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Now, you and I, and everyone else who is probably a bit more mature than your average PvPer... realizes that ... what I wrote just above ... is a load of crap.

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You make of your life, of your game, of your Battleground, what you put into it. If you put crap into it, guess what you get out of it?

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If you put your best into it, even if you LOSE, you get the best out of it. You really do win.