Seen that a lot more often lately, at least it appears that way to me.
People log into the arena looking for different things. Some just want to take bases, unopposed and as quickly as possible. You can tell who these folks are by the targets they select, usually an undefended base. And if failure looks imminent, or actually occurs, they find another undefended base to go after. Rinse and repeat.
Others seem content to up a set of buffs and venture off on a bombing run...you can usually tell if they are seeking action or just want to have a peaceful run over and back from where they take off from. Altitude is their friend, as not a lot of players want up a fighter and climb up there and thwart a mission that most of the damage can be repaired before the buffs land again.
Others, myself included, want to log in and fight someone. Win or lose, the action is what they seek. Kill, get shot down, doesn't matter. Combat is what they see as the game's biggest attraction for them.
It's frustrating when you encounter players who want their time in the arena to be something different than what you are trying to achieve.
The other night, actually a pretty common thing to see, I upped from a base that was under attack, with a huge enemy dar bar next sector over.
Once the enemy fighters showed up, all a lot of them seemed interested in doing was making high speed passes on you after you tried to engage an enemy, but extend(flee like a coward) once you maneuvered into a position to fight them. Rinse and repeat, high speed pass, never go below 10K, run towards their friends, who would try and come in on your 6, and continue running til they were out of icon range.
I tolerated that for about 10 minutes til the boredom was too much, landed, logged, and tried again the next night.
Sometime I wonder if they do that because their personal skills or ego won't let them risk actually engaging in a fight without overwhelming support from their buddies? Or is it something else?