When I started this game, like many others, I chose the path that wasn't a dueler. I wanted to make money, gain xp, build a town, and try my luck on jobs. My stats were not dueling oriented and I didn't have the equipment to duel.
I was constantly being dueled and KO'd although I wasn't a voluntary participant. I was told it was part of the game to be bullied around. I like many aspects of this game but I never liked the fact that duelers can prey on the non duelers without incurring any prosecution or penalties. We now have bounty hunter, but with all the money in the game, it is a minor deterrent.
The very definition of duel is the voluntary participation of the parties involved. KO'ing an unarmed, unequipped, and unwilling person is not a duel.
Stats of 600 victories and 50 losses don't impress me, and can be interpreted many ways.
I do like the bounty hunter and the ncp dueler updates. What we really need are prison cells, ncp deputies, and a posse.
I fall in the category of born again dueler. I moved from defenseless for most of my levels to being able to put up a fight. Even if I lose a duel, at least, I can dish good damage. Every victory I earned (except for 1) was well earned defending myself against an aggressor(someone who thought he could beat me).
This is my opinion and I don't expect everybody to agree with me. I understand that some people play the duel part of this game like an arcade game and that is what they enjoy.
We like this game for different reasons, and everybody has rants on certain parts of it.
The versatility of the game allows many styles of play, and to each his own.
Born again duelers are as legitimate as all the other types.
Pedro Vasco