I’ll be upfront: this is fairly new territory for me. Not EVE Online new of course, but more like spaceships new. More like small-ship PvP fundamentals, up close, personal, and a tad more complicated. That part is definitely new.
So I’ve been dabbling, searching, and reading lots. Asking questions about fitting ships. Undocking. Going for PvE missions. Then re-docking. Staring at my ship's fitting, trying to decipher it all like if they we’re ancient runes, and hoping to understand not just what works, but more importantly, why it works.
This post is me trying to make sense of it all — out loud. So bear with me.
If I’ve misunderstood something, I genuinely want to know. If I’m on the right track, I’d like that confirmed too. Either way, I’m hoping some veteran PvP pilots will help steer me in the right direction. Maybe after having had a good laugh at my expanse.
(By the way, I wrote this long post as much for others trying to figure out PvP as for myself — a way to process what I’m learning, and to make sure all this research doesn’t just vanish into the void of New Eden. It’s something I can always come back to.)
The Merlin I’m flying right now
- 3x Limited Light Electron Blaster I | loaded with Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Mid slots
- 5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
- Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
- X5 Enduring Stasis Webifier
- Medium Shield Extender
Low slots
- Damage Control I
- Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
- Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Rigs
- 3x Small Core Defense Field Extender I
From what I've read and understood so far, this already feels more PvP-adjacent than I originally intended. MWD. Scram. Web. Shield buffer. Blasters. A MAPC to make it all fit. No active tank safety net though. If I mess up, the ship explodes. That part is… educational.
What I’m planning to change (and why)
The first big realization: triple shield extender rigs are a blunt instruments, and rigging 3 of them might not have been the smartest move. They give me more raw shield hit points, which sounds great on paper, but they don’t address resistance holes — especially EM. That means certain types of damage chew through that buffer much faster than one expects.
So the first adjustment I’m planning is:
Rig changes
- Drop the two extra Small Core Defense Field Extender
- Add a Small EM Shield Reinforcer
- Add a Small Thermal Shield Reinforcer
Same general idea — shield buffers — but with a more balanced and forgiving damage profile.
Longer-term, once fitting skills allow it, I’m also aiming to:
- Move from Electron blasters → Ion blasters
- Reduce or remove reliance on the MAPC
- Gradually replace meta modules with T2 equivalents
Nothing flashy. Just tightening the ship and removing compromises as I improve my skills — see below for that part.
The skill reality check (aka: where the real work is)
Here’s where things got interesting. My gunnery skills are actually in decent shape:
- Small Hybrid Turret V
- Motion Prediction V
- Sharpshooter V
- Surgical Strike V
- Rapid Firing V
- Controlled Bursts V
No complaints there. (Right?)
Where I’m clearly paying the price is in fitting, capacitor, and survivability skills. So here’s the plan I’ve put together, in priority order:
Fitting & fundamentals
- Power Grid Management V (currently III)
- CPU Management V (currently IV)
- Weapon Upgrades V
- Advanced Weapon Upgrades IV (not trained yet, oops!)
Capacitor & mobility
- Capacitor Systems Operation V
- Capacitor Management V
- Acceleration Control IV
- High Speed Maneuvering IV
Tackle & tank
- Propulsion Jamming V
- Shield Management V
- Tactical Shield Manipulation IV
The PvP “switch”
- Thermodynamics IV (currently not trained at all, once again, oops!)
All in, this comes out to roughly 40-50 days of focused training as an Omega clone. Not insignificant, but also very targeted — and applicable far beyond just the Merlin.
What I think I’m learning so far
This is the part I’m still sanity-checking. Here's how I see things from what I've learned so far.
- The Merlin isn’t about raw DPS — it’s about control.
What I mean by that is that this ship wins fights by deciding how the engagement happens. The scram shuts down escape options, the web slows the target, and the blasters should do their best work when everything is forced into very close range. Even if another ship has better damage numbers on paper, it shouldn’t matter much if it can’t move, can’t pull range, or can’t apply its damage properly. - Fitting skills unlock choices, not just better stats.
Training CPU, power grid, and weapon fitting skills doesn’t just make the ship stronger — it removes compromises. It’s the difference between “this almost fits” and “this fits cleanly.” More importantly, it gives me options: different guns, better modules, or alternative layouts instead of being locked into whatever barely works. - Buffer tank buys me more time, but resists buy decisions.
A big shield buffer gives you a cushion when things go wrong, but resistances slow damage down. When damage comes in more slowly, I should have time to think: to decide whether to commit, disengage, overheat, or change tactics. Without that, the fight becomes a panic reaction instead of a series of choices. Not good at all. - Heat isn’t optional; it’s part of how fights are won.
Overheating isn’t about being fancy. It’s about shortening critical moments: breaking a tank faster, holding a scram just a bit longer, or closing distance when it really matters. Not using heat means leaving performance on the table when it counts most. - Most losses will be my fault — and that’s okay.
Not because the ship is bad, or the fit is wrong, but because positioning, timing, and decisions matter more than numbers. And mostly timing and decisions. If I can understand why I lost, that loss becomes part of the learning process instead of just another wreck.
At least… that’s what I think I’m learning.
Over to you, PvP vets
So here’s where I throw this out to the community:
- Am I fundamentally misunderstanding how the Merlin should be approached?
- Is this a sensible PvE-to-PvP learning path, or am I building bad habits?
- Are there skill priorities here you’d reorder?
- Is there something obvious I’m missing that will get me podded faster than necessary?
I’m not looking for perfection. I’m looking to understand why I might get podded in such a fitted Merlin, and eventually, why someone else does instead.
If you’ve flown Merlins into oblivion and learned the hard way, I’d genuinely appreciate your perspective.
Fly safe, and live dangerous.
No comments:
Post a Comment