ZuesAwoken

I think that I agree with what ShioriStein is saying. Combat should be about combat, and with bigger, tougher ships, the capability to repair could extend fights to ridiculous points, where damage is barely being done, and nothing is being accomplished. Repairs should happen after a fight is over. This lets players focus on the fight, especially when there are massive ships that can already really take a beating. Players can get in fighters or manually control turrets for better efficiency. The other thing that this does is make fights more risky. Not being able to repair mid-combat means that you can't just take a fight without thinking about it. Could they have reinforcements? Could we lose our ship? This makes the game less about PvP, and more about diplomacy. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE WONT BE ANY PVP. The point of combat IRL (and how it should be in games) is when diplomacy has failed. Just because your ship is bigger than theirs and they broke your trade contract doesn't mean that you should blow them out of water. Maybe you convince them to give the you another shipment for free, while threatening them with your bigger ship. Maybe you disable their engines and force them to limp back home, taking more of their resources, even if the it's only time. Maybe they are stubborn and refuse to acknowledge the infraction. Guess what. Now you should blow them up. They made a mistake, you need to show them that no one messes with you. However, this is your last resort, because you will become weakened in the fight, and could be picked off by another ship, even if it is weaker than yours. PvP has an effect even where there is no PvP, because there is always the threat of what COULD happen. The capability to repair mid-fight limits that threat, and that can result in the entire universe becoming more PvP oriented, because there is now no longer a penalty for engaging in combat, and people will resort to it much quicker. The point of DU is to be a dynamic universe where all will thrive. Guess who loses in a more PvP oriented world. Traders, miners, farmers, construction contractors, etc. When the world is less PvP based, the pirate with the bigger ship will still get the shipment from the trader, just not necessarily from blowing it out of their cargo hold. The threat of PvP lingers, but doesn't prosper, letting everyone thrive.