Top tier is, has been and probably always will be unbalanced. The ever increasing ‘sophistication’ of technology in top tier and the distinct importance of upgrade status mean the whole range at the top inevitably skews hard in certain directions given what vehicles/technology are favored at the time.
A player can save themselves a lot of headache by avoiding that perpetual mess, though people are free to engage it as they please.
To deny kills by bailing out is an embarrassing sportsmanship issue and is certainly a matter of griefing.
Bailing out is the passive, defeatist move of sore losers–desperate to deny opponents earnings in what is perceived to be an imminent loss–you cannot even honestly call it gameplay. Of course, many attack bailers flee from would fail…so often their vehicles are wasted for no reason except spite.
When you see someone bail out to deny an expected defeat, what you are seeing is contempt for competition. The player is so terrified of their own loss that they guarantee it just to swindle their foes out of what would be earned results. It’s an entitled, unsporting move…but that’s what they’re up to.
At its core, the mentality of bailers is toxic…part of the WT playerbase’s underbelly. People with the starch and talent to make it in-game don’t have to bail out, they stay with it–win, lose or draw.
It is not surprising to see the most prevalent poster here defending this griefing is a player known to rely upon a manipulated, cheesy setup. Amid their ‘free frags’ babble, they threaten to bail out on any competition they feel unfavorable about…but it’s the other people who want free frags! lmao
Does a person who goads an enemy into bailing win the engagement by doing so? Partially, but they don’t receive their rightful earnings for doing so. Resolving this would be complicated (there are legitimate reasons to bail out in other instances), but I suspect a mechanic like the TK apology setup could be put together.
As a matter of face, squadrons and other groups ought to discourage this: being a sore loser is far more embarrassing than being defeated.