Trying to draw parallels between Grenade and Mine damage is incredibly disingenuous. While Grenades are more accurate (per shot), they can only exist, one at a time, within a very limited area around the user. You also get a very clear warning when one is about to explode near you.
If you are fighting against someone using a Grenade, then you always know where the Grenade is coming from, roughly when and where the Grenade will land, and you have a good idea of where it can and can’t hit you.
To confront the threat, you only need to keep track of that one object (the Grenade user). By removing the user, you can also be 100% confident that you have removed the threat of his Grenade. This is actually quite convenient, since your target and the source of the threat are the same. By keeping track of that one ship’s location, you are maximising the information you have about, both, your target and his weapon.
Mines are completely different. They can exist in dozens of places at once, far too many to keep track of in your head. They can remain a threat, long after the user is destroyed, and where existing ships can’t see you. They are small, camouflaged, can easily be obscured by waves and FX, and they detonate without warning.
I think what separates Mines from other weapons, is that it’s virtually impossible to engage with them on your own terms. We usually have some degree of control over when other weapons hit us (with the possible exception of Sniper). For example, if I charge an EC user, then I’m ‘likely’ to get hit by an EC (perhaps that’s a risk I’m willing to take). If I retreat into cover, or out of sight/range, then I’m ‘likely’ safe from EC hits. We generally have some say over the level of danger we want to expose ourselves to, or at least we’re able to understand how much danger we are in (even when we don’t have much control).
Mines don’t give you that control or understanding. They are just all around you, sometimes behind you. Either you spot them in time, or you don’t, and you take an obscenely big hit. The only way to avoid them is to be incredibly slow and careful which, at a certain point, prevents you from realistically being able to play or enjoy the game.
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