Player Kills should be removed as a stat along with all associated badges and weapon (railgun) upgrades. There are too many ways that this stat can be artificially inflated through exploiting, at best, or griefing, at worst.

Players can use trial accounts to easily get free kills.
They can swap kills with friends without even engaging in a proper fight.
They can grief-kill noobs for free kills.

All of these things equate to receiving a reward with no risk and little effort. Some of you may get all huffy and say you'd never do such a despicable thing. But can you be so sure the players around you wouldn't?

This also inflates their egos along with their PK stat and harms the community. What you end up with is a community full of exploiting, noob-killing, smack-talking, egomaniacal griefers prowling the space-lanes in search of easy kills.

If the PK stat is removed, then people will be free to fight simply because they enjoy it, not to inflate their "score" or get better weapons.

For anyone who happens to be feeling an uncomfortable shrinkage right now, just relax. I'm not suggesting we all sing Kumbaya around a boiling 'roid. I'm just suggesting we meet a little closer toward the middle. There would still be nonconsensual PVP although I do think it should be kept mostly in gray space. But everyone would be able to relax a little bit and enjoy the game without having to worry about their PK score. Would a slightly kinder and gentler game be such a bad thing?

Clearly your epeen is too small to understand the significance of numbered player kill stats! I suggest an ego inflation.

congratulations go to kucharik for his accomplishment. you, sir, just awarded yourself a nedal!

Without a PK stat, there would be nothing to identify for a new player who to fear and who to approach.

I've changed me mind. I wholeheartedly endorse this suggestion!

Without a PK stat, there would be nothing to identify for a new player who to fear and who to approach. If anything, the PK stat should be MORE visible, not less.

You are quite honestly thinking too much. Displaying a number does not change someone's behavior. Pilots in VO do what they do because they are rewarded for it. Right now, and until the faction system changes, there is no penalty for station-killing a newb. This is the target for change, not something as meaningless as a number.

Also, you give way too much value to the railgun. In the hands of most folks, it's a near-useless weapon.

Don't worry, kucharik. Everything makes more sense and is more fun once you get a handle on the pvp thing. Until then, Serco and Itani space might be that kinder gentler refuge you seek.

Also, you give way too much value to the railgun. In the hands of most folks, it's a near-useless weapon.

Tell me, how'd that last Deneb run go, exactly?

???

The last Deneb run I participated in was over a year ago, and I sat at the Latos wormhole with a quad-rail, pot-shotting racers.

...and I reiterate, in the hands of most folks, it's a near-useless weapon. It's a battery-hog and has limited ammo. I can't count the times someone's come gunning for me with rails, me in a 'Taur (not the smallest of targets), who wound up full of holes from my chain-gatt.

There are a few folk (not me) that are/were deadly with a rail, but IMO they're the exception, not the rule.

When I fly rails I nearly always win. The last two Deneb Runs were won by pirates killing all the racers. The first we won I killed 3 of the 4 racers with quad rails.

They're just not that good at dodging pirates.

to be honest my Pk is the only reason i play recently

and i always come back to vo for the Pvp

Well, in that case, I vote get rid of the damn thing already!

Besides, what are we, accountants?

Impavid stole all our kills!

And he blew me up too claiming accidents!

yea rails seem to be prone to accidents, got tram and shar that way, (doh).

As for removing the pk stat, as long as i can still buy advanced rails, i really don't care too much. I do look at it, but it's more of a "oh hey look at that I've hit some other interesting number". However showing pk's by nation can be useful, for instance more than half my pk's are itani, this can tell a newb a lot about who's coming up to great them.

Above 500 it is just a statistic anyway . Like any statistic it should be evaluated rather than believed.

Consider two players , x and y . x has 2000 pks . y has 1000 pks . So y is half as good at combat than x ? Of course not , x may have been in game a lot more , or be a noob ganker , or increased pks by swapping kills.

Evaluation of the statistic depends on knowledge gained by observation of behaviour, and that is part of the game.

I see no reason to remove it.