I am puzzled by the indignance some players express when their opponent in a fight uses nanobots and shield batteries. In PvP matches, I completely agree with the practice of fighting without them, and always dump my own supply before entering the arena (wherever it may be at the time). This is akin to bare-knuckle boxing. 
But in gameplay, as in streetfighting, I fully expect my human opponent to use every means available to prevail in the contest. As I see it there are several very good reasons for this to be an acceptable practice in regular gameplay:
1. Human players are deadlier than NPC's, and NPC's can be threat enough to occasionally need to recharge.
2. Fighting NPC's teaches us to wear the opponent down, since most of them recharge, seemingly without end at times, especially for some of the stronger NPC ships.
3. If you are any good at PvP, you'll wear down your opponent in the same way, because the supply of bat's & 'bots is finite, and consumed more rapidly in the more advanced ships, anyway.
4. It appears that most players have a rank threshold they use to decide whether to engage another player in combat. But rank, unfortunately for the defending player, only measures the cumulative value of a character's net worth (ship assets and cash, with some value on exploration). Rank has virtually nothing to do with a player's combat experience (or lack of it), so a level 70 player might have never engaged in PvP at all, if they have been trading their whole career as a pilot. Yet this same player is expected to bare their chest and take their lumps in combat like a seasoned veteran!
5. Sometimes, in the course of role-oriented gameplay, a player is confronted by multiple opponents, who again, may far outstrip them in experience. Yet, the less-experienced player is somehow also dishonorable by using every possible means to survive the encounter? (I am only speaking of standard CF-issue equipment here, not cheats.) I think not...
6. If a player is going to engage another in combat, they had better be prepared to deal with whatever the defender has got. If they don't like the prospect of actually having to work at beating their opponent, then they are better off not to attack, instead of whining that the defender actually used (gasp!) all their equipment...
7. We expect that players' skills at PvP will improve with each encounter, but if the encounter lasts for 10 seconds or less, what will the loser have learned except to avoid the winner at all costs? Less-experienced fighters need every bit of help they can get to stay alive long enough to gain the experience needed.
8. Not all players are willing to play along with all other player's role-play. Everyone has the right to pursue their own goals in the game, and if some players cannot accept this, then we all have a problem, because some players are now imposing their will on others. For instance, I have no problem with the fact of piracy, or the existence of pirate clans, but I do not have to agree with the pirate's terms when they come calling. In the ensuing fight, MY role is survival, so why should I be held in derision for playing out a different role than the pirate, and using all available means to stay alive?
It occurs to me that NPC combat is the model for roleplay PvP, so it's only natural for players to recharge during battle. In fact, I have just as much respect for the pilot who recharges, as for those who do not, because they are operating more controls during the fight, which can be difficult to do. As you may have guessed from all this detail, you can expect me to use ALL my equipment if I am attacked outside match play. 
