Growing up I was a devout Cincinnati Reds baseball fan. This was the era of the Big Red Machine and the coach of those teams, Sparky Anderson, never ever stepped on the foul line. Whenever he'd come out of the dugout to talk to the pitcher, he'd step over the line. Baseball, like most sports, is full of superstitions, rituals, and weird acts. Some are innocent, like a player crossing himself before an at-bat, and some are downright crazy - like Kevin Rhomberg (who played for the Indians in the early 80s) who would have to touch anyone back who touched him. To the point of insanity. The stories are legendary.
After yesterday's Twitter Tuesday post @Verdis_deMosays asked me about any superstitions that I may or may not have inside of Eve Online. There are players that won't undock without a copy of Pax Amarria in their cargo, or exotic dancers, or something else. I once knew a player that numbered his ships in sequence. I'm not entirely sure how that was sustainable.
As for me I'm not a very superstitious person. But, having given this some thought, I do have to admit to some odd choices that might very well be superstitions. For example, if I'm in a 1v1 fight with someone who puts up a solid defense and does well - I don't tend to also pod them. I prefer to let them go. Because I believe that act will come back to bite me in the ass. And my next fight won't go my way. I've even gone so far as to warp away even if they have left their pod at the scene. The funny thing is, if I stop and think about it, I might just pod them in spite of that feeling. Although that is rare, if someone puts up a good fight I tend not to pod them, unless they request it.
I also have some weird superstitious nonsense around naming conventions. Certain ships get the same name over and over again. For example, my Curse is always named Captain Carter. (Look it up and you'll see why) I always have a Machariel named Tweetfleet. But mostly my naming conventions tend to go in streaks that only get broken after a streak of bad luck. For the longest time I was naming my Comets after famous Detectives, Jack Lord, Columbo, Rockford, etc. That lasted for over a year or more, but then I ran into a few unlucky encounters and decided to change things up. I recently stopped naming my Astero's after former Stay Frosty pilot Joffy, once I started running into several unlucky encounters. The last of which saw me land at a plex gate along with dozens of other ships. Guess the luck ran out on that one.
I tend to break superstitions before they become patterns. I believe that patterns, predictable actions, are among the things that get you killed in Eve. So if I find myself doing the same things over and over again, I actively work on changing. If I have an exceptionally good fight in a certain ship I tend to dock it up and move on to something else for awhile. If I find myself undocking in the same ship over and over again, I tend to mothball that one for awhile. If I happen to have faction loot in my cargo I have to get that safely to a station immediately, because if there is another fight I am certainly going to explode if I have it in my cargo. ( I don't think that one is superstition because it's true!!)
How about you? Do you have superstitions when it comes to Eve Online?