Think of these ships not as naval vessels, but large planes. We move in 3 demensions people, not 2.
Don\'t use the Somali Pirates as an example, we don\'t have the capabilities for inter-ship combat via EVA.
A man with an RPG (or even several) pale in comparison to the Challenger II tank, where they detonate and all the crew year is a quiet thud before turning their main gun... So yeah, who wins there?
Shields were meant to protect against the more maneuverable ships which could otherwise dodge AMCs and missiles with ease. Don\'t forget that, while a good pilot in a small ship made almost entirely out of guns can dodge indefinitely, a cumbersome dreadnaught cannot protect itself indefinitely, and arguing that their protection is the turrets is rendered pointless by the facts that everytime we log on, we have to reconnect them, and then rely on their GOD AWEFUL aiming to protect us.
So in reality, the little guy rarely wins against the better equipped opponent, but the big buy often soaks and deals damage pretty well, especially in the way that a tank is meant to.
That\'s kind of why it\'s called \"tanking\".
