Endurance decides the victor.
Buffer, Resistance, Regeneration, Mitigation, Attrition.

Most pilots think a fight is over when they hit half armor. That’s why they lose.
95% of engagements are decided by who lasts longer, not who hits harder. People underestimate the power of surviving just a few seconds more—because in those seconds, their enemy runs out of ammo, capacitor, drones, or patience. A fight that doesn’t end quickly turns into a fight of who can’t keep going.

-From the victim’s point of view, they did everything right. They landed shots, played their hand—but their target just wouldn’t die. They watched their own ship bleed out while the enemy simply refused to break. To them, it was an unwinnable fight.

-From the aggressor’s point of view, the fight was a simple equation: Take damage. Absorb it. Keep absorbing until the enemy has nothing left to give. Then, once they’ve exhausted themselves trying to kill something they never could, finish them.