Friend every good player and you won't have to MM.
But I like having rivalries with half the vet community....
well basically technical vets (hi lvls) that are not up to my standard of what a vet is (like the 5 major competitive clans of olde-who those clans were? compete for it)
Basically I don't like adding "vets" that don't play at least the quality of old lvl 10. With me at old lvl 10 as my point of reference (technically I'm old lvl 13 now).
I mean I can rely on rowho to do his job correctly. I never have to check his work. And in turn he knows I'll give him the win he wants because he trusts in my skills and tactical ability.
Those kinda ppl are what I consider friends in the game sense.
Heres another case study for you.
Me and rowho and Rinn were on the first dev match. We were crew to one of these supposed vets. lvl wise everyone's averages tallied up to us having a technical advantage with more supposedly skilful pilots and crew.
This "vet" let 4 ships escape. And for each kill we died, because of idiotic positioning (killing that one retreating ship into the arcs of two enemy teammates was so smart... we all saw it coming except this "vet"), arcs were constantly wonky as lower lvled pilots outsmarted this "vet."
Next time. This "vet" was on an opposing team. I was the pilot. Rowho was glad of it. He knew I could turn this around.
Match ended 7-1 with a muse ship dying on our end. If I didnt pilot on that session. Rowho wouldn't have gotten the dev match win he wanted.
Do I count as a friend / Rival to play and hopefully win with?
I always like a challenge and a good cooperative match with friends. 
Yes mann ur on the list.
well kamo... that will be my definition of a "vet."
But a vet to me is a person I can rely on to do his work correctly without having me constantly lose focus because I have to check what you're doing. And I'm going to keep using that word to refer to that calibre of people. And I think alot of people think in a similar vein.
To call people of less calibre to that (its not even asking that large a calibre-I'm not asking for a old lvl 15s here), vets, merely from your definition wrinkles my nose in pedantic disgust. But whatever.
@logic. you can retire it if you want. But its a word permeated in the community lexicon. Good luck getting others to stop using it.
A veteran by the actual historic term if a guy that fought a battle or two and lived. And as such, they continue to live because of the prowess given to them by experience (or else they'd be dead).
As such in respect to that use of the word. I correlate my use of the word to that. Where the experience is proportionately reflected by demonstrated prowess.
No one dies in guns. Theres no crippling punishment for playing badly. So merely having a hi lvl/match count doesn't get you vet lvl prowess (as any idiot can get exp and grind lvls and matches). Hence the dissonance of your use of the word.
