There is one other way to protect FT - and it doesnt depend on coad.
I think its pretty clear that the majority oif those who fly FT want to keep the 3 teams balanced. The buffers and capture dweebs are a minority, but even as a minority they can dramatically change the game for everyone (like the minority of Rooks who initiated the capture this rotation).
A rook
cannot stop another rook from mounting a buff run, and cannot stop a few disturbed individuals from trying to capture a FT base. However, any Nit or Bish CAN stop those events, just like a Rook could disarm the Bish or Nit FT bases.
All FT capture and hangar dropping would stop if we'd just pork each others fields. We dont have to wait for HTC to agree with programming changes, we can do it ourselves.
When I logged in on the 21st, the Bish had 2 FT bases and dominated numerically. Rooks were psuhed right up against their base, and at times the base was capped/vulched. The Rooks were able to repeatedly break cap by 1) using Osties and 2) continuing to up in significant numbers dispite the vulches. Once free, some headed off to kill ord and troops at the bish base -- and the battle was weathered. The same strategy will work for Bish and Nits, but they dont seem to ably generate the numbers to significantly break CAP and turn the tide.
On the vulch issue...I had always understood that vulching was a time honored AH tradition, and that vulching performed an almost Darwinian service by punishing (and eventually discouraging) those who upped against overwhelming CAP. I am not an accomplished Vulcher mostly because my gunnery is too uncertain to get the targets before the Grand Masters pounce. I have been able to vulch in FT, and I probably have let the realtive newness of the thrill keep me at it more than I should have. I'm not a scorer and probably never will be (except for that one, long distant tour when I think I have a shot at breaking the top 100 -- jsut to do it, never again).
I'm also not an Ace or even a vet, but I keep trying to learn. Piloting is an individual sport, and its hard to measure progress without looking at tour length stats like KPD. Like a lot of mid range players, I like to land kills, but I dont have the skill to do it like the BKs or top flight players do. A vulch or a pick helps me land kills, and I've been picked (and honorably punished for my tactical mistakes) enough to have little hesitation in returning the favor. I suspect that many whose behavior "violates" some posters' sense of propriety are likewise scrappers just trying to accomplish something. If my flying has offended, or disappointed someone's sense of honor -- well, I can't say that I'm sorry for shooting, but I'm sorry for the bruised feelings.
