"Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it"
-- (Move, Thousand Foot Klutch)
Controlling the movement of your ship is critical in Eve for successful combat, from frigates to supercapitals. First of all however, I will state the most important lesson to be learnt:
If in combat, you rely on the orbit button, you are doing it WRONG!
Now that I've got that out of the way, here's the right way of doing it:
Manual piloting is the best way of flying your ship, ie. double clicking in space to where you want to go.
In addition, in most situations, orbiting is simply the wrong thing to do. I see this all the time - blaster boats that orbit @ 500m then complain about Blasters being "useless" since they can't track. If you want to maximize your outgoing DPS, use keep at range instead. If you want to minimise incoming DPS, use a tight orbit (against turrets, with missiles you want to have a wider orbit to achieve maximum speed or alternate between approaching and pulling away whilst staying in your optimal).
An excellent example of the wrong use of orbit is in an ex-Tusker's PvP video - Anxiir's Highly Addictive video. Fast forward to Anxiir's Cruor vs Hawk fight. Anxiir's Cruor has a 90% web fitted and dual neuts, meaning that the Hawk is moving very, very slowly (I seem to recall <50m/s). However, Anxiir is unable to track him and thus dies without actually landing a single shot, despite being in his optimal the entire fight! Why? Well, his Cruor has Conflagration loaded (close range T2 ammo so tracking penalty), which isn't helping, however he foolishly decides to orbit at 500m - this has the double effect of being hit harder with the Hawk's rockets than he should have (he wasn't able to get up to top speed) and of increasing the Hawk's transversal massively, even with him webbed down to a very low speed!
Now, let's look at some scenarios:
1) You're in a frigate who landed on top off an armor Battlecruiser and are then webbed. Using "Orbit @ 500m" will see you die - the medium guns on the enemy BC will be able to track you without a problem. However, by using manual piloting to maintain as tight an orbit as possible, the BC will still not be able to track you.
2) You're in an Interceptor and need to keep a Zealot (long) tackled until your Rapier can get webs on him. By using orbit, you leave yourself open to him "juking" you off his tail, or worse still - him coming to a complete stop and then blasting off in another direction with an overheated MWD which will result in him achieving fantastic shots against you. By manually piloting, you can stay on his tail whilst maximizing your transversal through keeping your course at least 15 degrees from his (with you being faster, this is possible). If he tries to pull away with a sudden manoveur, you're already ready to get back on his tail and should be able to survive.
3) You're in an Shield BC fighting 2 Armor BCs. Using orbit at 20km, they can easily spread out so that they are 15-20km apart and thus you will inevitably run into overheated web/scrambler range of the one you are not orbiting. This seems to happen frequently with people I fight and is so easy to work around.
These are just a few choice scenarios and I haven't even touched all the benefits of manual piloting rather than relying on orbiting, such as keeping point on an enemy whilst still staying aligned so you can warp off/burn off if another enemy lands.
Until next time, fly dangerous.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Location, Location, Location
There are many factors affecting the "quality" of your PvP. Some of them are pretty obvious, such as skillpoints, whilst others such as your choice of corporation are less so. Another fairly interesting point is where you are based at (currently).
For example, most PvPers advocate settling down in a region so that you learn the locals - who likes to play station games, who likes to whip out Carriers and Falcons when they are losing etc. so that you get used to their antics and can just adjust your playstyle accordingly, knowing who to engage and steer clear of.. However, they fail to realise that the reverse is true - the longer you stay in a region, the more the locals get to know about you and they will also adapt in return.
Case in point, the Tuskers are based in Hevrice, in Gallente low sec. We've been here for over 2 years and every local knows of us. Whilst in some ways this is helpful - most gangs will come to Hevrice for fights, knowing that we do not enjoy docking games, use ECM or Carrier support, in other ways this is unhelpful - our reputation as good PvPers means that some gangs turn and run when we approach. When asked why, we're often told that 1 Tusker = 2 "normal" PvPers. This makes us proud (understandably) but also sad at the same timesince we're all about the good fights and we just missed one. :(
At the same time however, they may reship specifically for us. It's no secret that most of our gangs are Shield BCs and thus Recons in particular are a serious threat. Saying that, even they do not guarantee success, even when they also have sentry guns as well as more numbers on their side, as shown here.
This extends even to individual players. I'm fairly well known in the Gallente low sec area and increasingly I've found it harder to get 1v1s or even 1v2s. Whilst I'm not complaining (more people coming to kill me means more potential kills for me!), this does mean I am increasingly having to withdraw from fights or call in corpmates to help me (1 Shield Hurricane vs Arazu/Hurricane/Hurricane/Hurricane/Hurricane/Falcon/Rapier is not something I can deal with unfortunately). Molden Heath was a perfect example of that - when I visited there the first time in February, I got into a ton of fights over a two week period. When I came back in May with the rest of the Tuskers, we didn't get nearly as many since people had learnt to recognise me, most of the local PvPers only coming out when they had a trap ready (which is fine for me). If not, they would stay docked or run away (not fine for me).
Of course, the actual selection of the Region, and indeed the system is crucial. Many PvP and pirate outfits live in PvP "hotspots". Whilst this makes sense at some level (PvP on "demand" when you undock), in reality it actually often leads to reduced kills since most members of the corporation will just stay in their home system and not roam, reasoning that "If I roam, I'll miss out on an epic kill in Amamake with the rest of the guys!".
In fact, there are some alliances out there that have almost perpetual gatecamps set up, who run at the first sign of an enemy gang - P I R A T E S I'm looking at you. Check out their killboard then compare it to The Tuskers. They have more members (174 vs 81), but we happen to have significantly more kills than them. Why? We roam since Hevrice itself is not that exciting - however we do have excellent PvP opportunities nearby - the German pirate blue train in Ouelletta, Old Man Star, Gallente militia in Old Man Star, Caldari militia in Enaluri etc.
As for the Region, it really varies region to region. As a rule of thumb, I find faction warfare space has more PvP, but the gangs are typically larger than the rest of low sec. Saying that, faction warfare space is choked full of T1 Battlecruisers and Frigates, whereas the rest of low sec tends to fly more "pimped" ships such as Faction Battleships since there are smaller gangs out and about. A system based in Faction Warfare space, but with easy access to non-FW space would be ideal personally, or the other way around.
Null sec has not been mentioned here since I have never lived in 0.0, although I have roamed into it a fair few times. I would suggest sticking to living in low sec with easy access to 0.0 if you do want to PvP in 0.0, the logistics in low sec is far easier and you can quickly pop into 0.0 if you wish to. NPC 0.0 tends to have smaller gangs than Sov 0.0, but again it really varies on a case by a case basis. I found Great Wildlands to be much better for solo PvPers than Syndicate, which has more lame Dramiel/Falcon/Sabre gatecamps in it.
Final word on location - don't live in the ass end of nowhere such as in Aridia - find a decent spot where you can hit 4-5 "hotspots" within 10j. This will allow for easy roaming and might encourage gangs to divert towards you. Before you know it, you could be forming your own "hotspot", as is the case with Hevrice now.
Fly dangerous.
For example, most PvPers advocate settling down in a region so that you learn the locals - who likes to play station games, who likes to whip out Carriers and Falcons when they are losing etc. so that you get used to their antics and can just adjust your playstyle accordingly, knowing who to engage and steer clear of.. However, they fail to realise that the reverse is true - the longer you stay in a region, the more the locals get to know about you and they will also adapt in return.
Case in point, the Tuskers are based in Hevrice, in Gallente low sec. We've been here for over 2 years and every local knows of us. Whilst in some ways this is helpful - most gangs will come to Hevrice for fights, knowing that we do not enjoy docking games, use ECM or Carrier support, in other ways this is unhelpful - our reputation as good PvPers means that some gangs turn and run when we approach. When asked why, we're often told that 1 Tusker = 2 "normal" PvPers. This makes us proud (understandably) but also sad at the same timesince we're all about the good fights and we just missed one. :(
At the same time however, they may reship specifically for us. It's no secret that most of our gangs are Shield BCs and thus Recons in particular are a serious threat. Saying that, even they do not guarantee success, even when they also have sentry guns as well as more numbers on their side, as shown here.
This extends even to individual players. I'm fairly well known in the Gallente low sec area and increasingly I've found it harder to get 1v1s or even 1v2s. Whilst I'm not complaining (more people coming to kill me means more potential kills for me!), this does mean I am increasingly having to withdraw from fights or call in corpmates to help me (1 Shield Hurricane vs Arazu/Hurricane/Hurricane/Hurricane/Hurricane/Falcon/Rapier is not something I can deal with unfortunately). Molden Heath was a perfect example of that - when I visited there the first time in February, I got into a ton of fights over a two week period. When I came back in May with the rest of the Tuskers, we didn't get nearly as many since people had learnt to recognise me, most of the local PvPers only coming out when they had a trap ready (which is fine for me). If not, they would stay docked or run away (not fine for me).
Of course, the actual selection of the Region, and indeed the system is crucial. Many PvP and pirate outfits live in PvP "hotspots". Whilst this makes sense at some level (PvP on "demand" when you undock), in reality it actually often leads to reduced kills since most members of the corporation will just stay in their home system and not roam, reasoning that "If I roam, I'll miss out on an epic kill in Amamake with the rest of the guys!".
In fact, there are some alliances out there that have almost perpetual gatecamps set up, who run at the first sign of an enemy gang - P I R A T E S I'm looking at you. Check out their killboard then compare it to The Tuskers. They have more members (174 vs 81), but we happen to have significantly more kills than them. Why? We roam since Hevrice itself is not that exciting - however we do have excellent PvP opportunities nearby - the German pirate blue train in Ouelletta, Old Man Star, Gallente militia in Old Man Star, Caldari militia in Enaluri etc.
As for the Region, it really varies region to region. As a rule of thumb, I find faction warfare space has more PvP, but the gangs are typically larger than the rest of low sec. Saying that, faction warfare space is choked full of T1 Battlecruisers and Frigates, whereas the rest of low sec tends to fly more "pimped" ships such as Faction Battleships since there are smaller gangs out and about. A system based in Faction Warfare space, but with easy access to non-FW space would be ideal personally, or the other way around.
Null sec has not been mentioned here since I have never lived in 0.0, although I have roamed into it a fair few times. I would suggest sticking to living in low sec with easy access to 0.0 if you do want to PvP in 0.0, the logistics in low sec is far easier and you can quickly pop into 0.0 if you wish to. NPC 0.0 tends to have smaller gangs than Sov 0.0, but again it really varies on a case by a case basis. I found Great Wildlands to be much better for solo PvPers than Syndicate, which has more lame Dramiel/Falcon/Sabre gatecamps in it.
Final word on location - don't live in the ass end of nowhere such as in Aridia - find a decent spot where you can hit 4-5 "hotspots" within 10j. This will allow for easy roaming and might encourage gangs to divert towards you. Before you know it, you could be forming your own "hotspot", as is the case with Hevrice now.
Fly dangerous.
Monday, 29 August 2011
Placeholder
I'm going to be busy for the next few days, so here's something to tide you over until I get back - a Battle Report from a few days ago.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Flying with the Wolfpack
As I've alluded to previously, it is important that the corporation you're in is the correct match for you. For me, joining The Tuskers meant that I was in a group of people who had first hand experience of the realities of solo and small gang PvP in Eve Online.
If you want to become good (or even excellent) at solo and small gang PvP, join a corporation that specializes in it and by specializes, I mean only flies <10 gangs when there are only <10 pilots on. The feedback and ideas you get during and after engaging enemy gangs with a few gangmates is truly invaluable, this is one of the reasons I like to write After Action Reports (AARs) after major fleet fights such as this one recently - they give you a real chance to examine what went wrong and how you can prevent it from happening again.
Corporations that are willing to set upper limits to fleet sizes are truly rare but will typically encounter much more PvP than corps that only fly larger gangs, simply because more enemy fleets will engage them. The majority of gang fights are consensual - both gangs scout each other out and move to engage each other. If you find yourself having to titan bridge to get fights, this should be an indicator that your gangs are getting too large for the optimal amount of pewpew available in your local area.
Now, how to find such corporations? Most of them do not openly recruit, instead recruiting through word of mouth. Thus, your best chance of finding such a corporation is to ask decent PvPers you know of any corporations they respect and then chat to their recruiters about policies etc. whilst flying in gangs with them to make sure they are "the real deal" - there are a ton of corporations (even pirates!) that advertise they are all about small gang PvP and good fights which actually translates to hours of gatecamping then docking when a challenging fight comes along.
Having a good look at killboards is the best way to figure out what kind of gangs they fly in - generally you want at least 10-15 kills a day, with most of them being in small gangs (<10 or so) or solo.
Most of these corporations typically recruit in batches - for example The Tuskers keep recruitment open until we feel we have met our target goal (X total members typically) then we close recruitment again. However, we recognize that people are looking for corporations throughout the year and keep recruitment open for a select few - typically those with references within the corporation.
A useful starting point for these corporations is below:
P.S. It was my birthday yesterday, hence the delay for this post. Any gifts would be appreciated - I am currently space poor after a string of investments and any donors will receive their 15 minutes of fame on this blog.
If you want to become good (or even excellent) at solo and small gang PvP, join a corporation that specializes in it and by specializes, I mean only flies <10 gangs when there are only <10 pilots on. The feedback and ideas you get during and after engaging enemy gangs with a few gangmates is truly invaluable, this is one of the reasons I like to write After Action Reports (AARs) after major fleet fights such as this one recently - they give you a real chance to examine what went wrong and how you can prevent it from happening again.
Corporations that are willing to set upper limits to fleet sizes are truly rare but will typically encounter much more PvP than corps that only fly larger gangs, simply because more enemy fleets will engage them. The majority of gang fights are consensual - both gangs scout each other out and move to engage each other. If you find yourself having to titan bridge to get fights, this should be an indicator that your gangs are getting too large for the optimal amount of pewpew available in your local area.
Now, how to find such corporations? Most of them do not openly recruit, instead recruiting through word of mouth. Thus, your best chance of finding such a corporation is to ask decent PvPers you know of any corporations they respect and then chat to their recruiters about policies etc. whilst flying in gangs with them to make sure they are "the real deal" - there are a ton of corporations (even pirates!) that advertise they are all about small gang PvP and good fights which actually translates to hours of gatecamping then docking when a challenging fight comes along.
Having a good look at killboards is the best way to figure out what kind of gangs they fly in - generally you want at least 10-15 kills a day, with most of them being in small gangs (<10 or so) or solo.
Most of these corporations typically recruit in batches - for example The Tuskers keep recruitment open until we feel we have met our target goal (X total members typically) then we close recruitment again. However, we recognize that people are looking for corporations throughout the year and keep recruitment open for a select few - typically those with references within the corporation.
A useful starting point for these corporations is below:
- The Tuskers - we're currently recruiting after all! Mostly fly <5, with the vast majority of our kills in <10 fleets.
- Shadow Cartel - gangs are typically on the small side <10), with organized fleets being much larger (<30)
- PODLA - infamous for their nano Drakes, these guys are the real deal.
P.S. It was my birthday yesterday, hence the delay for this post. Any gifts would be appreciated - I am currently space poor after a string of investments and any donors will receive their 15 minutes of fame on this blog.
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