The Safe Spot — Episode 12: Winning In Eve

After a nearly month-long hiatus, Rixx and I are back from the summer lull and easing into one of those deceptively simple EVE questions that quickly opens up into something much bigger: what does it actually mean to win in a game that never really ends? 

We start with vacation, heat, and the usual New Eden summer slowdown, then wander into sandbox metaphors, piracy, loss, leadership, friendship, aging, and why EVE is less a game you beat than a place you keep returning to.

The Safe Spot — Episode 11: Summer Rules

No guest this week — just Rixx and me catching up, comparing notes, and accidentally wandering into one of those bigger EVE conversations: what actually makes the game work after all these years. A little summer lull, a little corp movement, a little real-life desk tinkering, and then straight into the rules beneath the rules.

Brawl or kite: how a veteran pirate rebuilt my Hookbill for Faction Warfare

 

It's late. I've been dabbling with my Caldari Navy Hookbill fitting for the past hour. Trying to figure out what's the best setup for my first foray into Faction Warfare (or Factional Warfare?). I think I've got a good fit, but I'm not convinced.

Then comes the next question: what next?

I've joined the Caldari faction, read through all the WARNINGS, but I have not a clue where to go next. The Militia tab popped up, but the conversation doesn't seem too friendly (aren't we supposed to be in the same camp?), and I resist the urge to ask. I'd rather test the waters by myself first, though that might be a bad idea, since I'm now a flashing little blip on someone's overview.

Then I remember Rixx telling me about using Plexes to get into PvP.

So I message him. "I'm in a Hookbill, looking to find Plexes. How does one do that? Please don't laugh..."

The Safe Spot — Episode 6: "Exordium | Training wheels don't teach you how to crash"

In episode 6, Rixx and I dig into the biggest EVE Online announcement in a while — CCP's Exordium, a 53-system PvP-free region for new players. We've got strong opinions, open questions, a healthy dose of skepticism, and a quick recap of the latest Frigate Free-For-All. I was also fresh off a trip to France and still a bit jetlagged, so bear with me.

The Safe Spot — Episode 5: "Bad Patch"

In this episode, recorded back on March 24th, Rixx and I dive into what happens when CCP pulls the rug out from under your favorite ship mid-stride. Rixx has been on a PvP tear, stacking up fights and cracking the mystery of his disappearing video recordings, while I'm still reeling from the Catalyst major update that basically nerfed my entire gameplay loop. 

We get into patch notes philosophy, Pochven lore, blockade runners, abyssal arenas, and why the best advice in EVE often comes from the guy who just blew you up.

Weekend refit: My Merlin gets teeth and my skill queue a trim

These past few weeks, I've had the focus of a fruit fly on speed. Everything seemed like a shiny new toy. So this weekend, I sat down and took an honest look at what I actually wanted to do over the coming weeks, and also longer term.

On one side, there was PvP. I've been wanting to dabble for a while now, and I had a small collection of Merlins sitting in hangars without a proper fit between them. I knew the ship could brawl. I just hadn't put in the work to make it happen.

Then there was the Hecate I'd recently purchased. I'd started training for it with this idea of testing it as a fast-align, small-cargo hauler — something to replace the Sunesis now that the Catalyst update clipped its wings. A T3 tactical destroyer doing courier work. Admittedly a strange choice, but if the numbers worked, it could make for an interesting story.

And finally, blockade runners. Rixx brought them up during our last recording of The Safe Spot (YouTube | Spotify). He'd mentioned the Amarr Prorator as a solid ship for the job. So I started poking around the intertubes, and that's when I came across the Caldari Crane. Love at first sight. Covert cloak, decent cargo, warps cloaked — everything the Sunesis wishes it could do.

So there I was: a skill queue that looked like a capsuleer suffering from an identity crisis, ships scattered across half a dozen stations, and Merlins without a proper PvP fit. Something had to give. 

I needed to put things in order before this mess became my undoing.

Making sense of PvP in EVE Online: Merlin ship fitting and skill training

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.

Basic Tackling 101 Tutorial [VIDEO]

As I get ready to dibble and dabble in PvP, videos like these will become very valuable to me.

If you're aware of other (better) videos, please post the links below in the comments. I'll make sure to showcase them some time in the near future!

Will you be my PvP Sensei?

With the kind of schedule I have these days, it's pretty impossible for me to partake in any kind of official corp operations. Don't get me wrong, it certainly not because the guys from Mobile Alcohol Processing Units weren't playing nice or ignoring me, but circumstances just made it impossible for me to join them when there were combat operations. I either logged in and out before anything interesting was happening, or simply was too many jumps away for me to get there in time.

So I've decided to go at it solo. What! Blasphemy you say? I hear you loud and clear on that one. I myself have always told folks to get into a good corp as soon as they can find one. But right now, that play style doesn't suit me. I'm more like a 3rd leg, a fifth wheel or whatever expression you want to use.

So earlier this week, I took the jump and left MAPU. I plan on staying in Heimatar for while, until I get familiar with my Close Range PvP Vexor setup. After reading up on the great advice that given to me after I mentioned I was fitting a Vexor for PvP, I've decided to use @00sage00's setup suggestion and am now on the hunt for those missing modules. Soon though, I'll be ready to test the waters with this new ship. First I plan on testing it out on NPC missions and pirates. But I know that soon, I'll have to face some real opponents.

Before I do that though, I thought I'd through a friendly request for some one on one lessons with fellow capsuleers willing to meet face to face and teach me the basics of PvP. I've read and will try to put into practice the wonderful advice that the Tweetfleet Father has put together in this wonderful post of his, "Piloting Savviness".

So if your willing to visit me and share some advice, I promise to be nice when I share our story on this blog of mine. But be aware that this is the setup you'll be facing... ....come to think of it, give this much of info to a potential opponent might not be a wise decision... of what the hell!

Close Range Vexor PvP Setup


Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator

Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Hammerhead II x5
Warrior II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5


Now if you'll excuse me, I have a podcast to do!

Getting ready for my first Player Kill - A Vexor PvP Setup

After roaming systems near or within the Heimatar Region over the last 2 weeks, I've finally gathered all the necessary modules, ammo types and drones for the all 6 Gallente Vexors I've setup for PvP. And though I'm based out of GERBOLD, earlier this morning I traveled to EBODOLD, a dead-end system of 0.4 security level. I'd been told that there was a good plex in the area, one where I could test out the Vexor setup I've been so diligently putting together for my first foray into the darker side of EVE, the Player-vs-Player.
The system has but only one station, fittingly numbered CK-19. I feel at home already! My plans over the next few days are simple: test out that PLEX as I get to know my Vexor setup. It'll give me the opportunity to go through to great PvP Guides I've recenltly come across: the first is "Piloting Savviness" by @00sage00, and the second is "The New Rifter Guide" by @wensley. Both are available in PDF formats by the way.

In the mean time, here's my PvP Vexor Setup. Experts such as Wensley and 00sage00 are more than welcome to critique and provide their advice. God knows I need it!

HIGH POWER

• 1x Medium YF-12a Smartbomb
• 4x 150mm Railgun II

MEDIUM POWER

• 1x DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I
• 1x Y-58 Hydrocarbon I Afterbuner
• 1x J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I

LOW POWER

• 1x Emergency Damamge Control I
• 1x Microcell Nanite Explosive Hardener I
• 1x Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
• 1x 1600mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates I

DRONES

• 1x Warrior II
• 5x Hornet EC-300
• 2x Ogre II
• 2x Infiltrator II

Murder, plunder and betrayal in EVE Online

I took a break last night from my usual time spent in EVE, to do some clean-up in my PC game collection, CDs, boxes and game manuals. I tried re-installing a few just for the fun of it, only to realize that many of them just don't look as good as I remember them, or simply can't display well at my current default LCD resolution (1280x1024).
Looking at all the CD cases, I came upon the original case for EVE Online. The original game published by Simon & Schuster Interactive back in 2003. Looking at it I started reading the text on the back and was amazed at what I saw.

Some of what I read still applies today: Explore a vast Universe - Develop your Character - Choose a Profession - Join the Community - Player Driven Economy. All of these can still be used to describe EVE 5 years later.

Then I read the finer text and realized how blunt and gory they were pushing EVE at the time. This isn't a place where you'd expect to find carebears. It sounded a lot more hardcore PvP to me. Listen to this,

"Immerse yourself in the vast virgin territories of EVE where power is the Holy Grail and the ultimate aphrodisiac. Conceive a new life without boundaries, where murder, plunder, betrayal, and delusions of grandeur will lead you to boundless glory or the brink of ruin. The galaxy is yours to control if you have the brains, strength, and cunning to succeed."

Wow! Where are the miners, traders and other industrialists in this description. This sounds very dark and almost suicidal! And talk about the sexual undertone also - immerse, virgin, aphrodisiac, conceive, life! Who wrote this stuff!!!

Thinking about it, I do recall that way back in 2002, before EVE came out, it did give off a kind of ruthless-cutthroat-industrial-hardcore-spacer feel. It was exotic, different & mysterious. The game also seemed simpler back then. Now, it's become so complex, it's beyond anyone's reach to master it all. I can't believe anyone out there masters everything about EVE.

If you want to see the back of that CD case, I've put it up here on my Flickr account.

So how did you get into EVE? Through the CD or a digital download? Direct download of the game, or through the 14-day trial? And have your initial impressions of the game changed since you became a capsuleer?

I'd love to know!

Vexor set-up for both Solo and Gang PVP

The Gallente Vexor has got to be my favourites cruiser, if not ship period! There's something about the look of the ship, it's armour tanking abilities, or the fact that it it can carry a good stack of drones with its 100m3 drone bay. And so I'm always looking for a good ship set-up, playing around with various configurations. I can't tell you how much time I've spent docked at a station, putting and pulling ship modules, then undocking and testing theses set-ups. Its' a good part of the fun of EVE.

Still looking for a good PvP setup for my Myrmidon

The saga continues. After recently posting about the tribulations (1) (2) of my PvP experimentation, fellow EVE Online player Arrghs was kind enough to suggest the following PvP setup after chatting with him in a private channel.

HIGH SLOT: 3 Nos, 3 Electron IIs
MED SLOT: AB/Web/Scram/Electrochem injector
LOW SLOT: 2 Medium Reps, therm/kin/exp hard, Damage control

Though I haven't really tried the setup yet, something tells me that this one should work a bit better, especially since this time, I'm getting all Tech II weapons and gear. I'm currently in the process of gathering the right modules, and also training accordingly to meet all these new requirements. Add to that the new tactics that I'm learning (like not to fly solo in low sec), and I should have an easier time during my next encounter.

It'll most likely take a week or two to get where I need to be in order to able able to fly such a set. Once I've got the complete setup, I'll let you all know.

PVP Myrmidon setup

So after an evening of hard work, here below, is the PvP Myrmidon setup that we put together last night.

Here is the list of modules from the Highs to the Lows:

• High Slots
• 4x Heavy Electron Blaster I
• 1x E5 Prototype Energy Vampire
• 1x Drone Link Augmentor I
• Medium Slots
• 1x Sensor Booster II
• 1x 10mn Afterburner
• 1x Warp Disruptor I
• 1x Patterned Stasis Web I
• 1x Medium F-RX Prototype I Capacitor Booster
• Low Slots
• 2x Medium Armor Repairer
• 1x 1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
• 1x N-Type Kinetic Hardener I
• 1x N-Type Explosive Hardener I
• 1x Armor Thermic Hardener I

So this is the setup with which I left Khanid Prime earlier this evening, on my way to defend FIX properties in 49-U6U. That was 15 jumps away. Right after I completed my fourteenth jump, 6 pilots jumped with me in 5V-BJI. Unfortunately, even the best PvP setups can't help you when the odds are stacked up 6-to-1. Let's just say I never made to 49-U6U! I'll post the evemail (or killmail as it's called) in the comments section. The one thing that I'm proud of, id the length of time I lasted, even with six ships pounding me!

After waking up in Badivefi, I can say that I've learned my first lesson on PvPing: never travel alone in low sec. Guess I learned that the hard way. But do not despair, I plan on getting funds from the corp, getting a new Myrmidon, and setting her up with the same setup. This time though, I'll try using my brains a little bit more!

The Carebear that dreamed of going pew pew!

I've been playing EVE for over 4 years now, and have mostly been what is commonly known as a carebear within the EVE community. That is, a player that either does PvE, mines, manufactures, trades, or any combination of the previous, as opposed to PvP.

I've always wanted to go after the rats that have destroyed my ships, looted my cargo, or ruthlessly podded me. The funny thing is that though I've always acted like a carebear, I've trained like a PVPer. Case in point, of my 32 million skill points, 8 million are in Gunnery, almost 7 million in Drones, and 2,5 million in Missile Launcher Ops. That's almost half my skill points in combat. Talk about a harmless carebear! Not!!

So tonight, I've spent all my time in a hangar in Badivefi, chatting away with two professional PvPers, Alexis Aristide and Sine Tamar, going over a PVP Myrmidon setup. I can't wait to take her out and let it rip on some poor unsuspecting pirate - and I'm not talking the NPC kind.

I'll let you know about the setup we came up with and tell you how I did in my first PvP engagement where I wasn't the victim!

Fly safely all - there goes the carebear in me!

EVE TV, what a blast!

I hope you had a chance to see some of the PVP competition that was broadcasted live on the net. Not TV per say, but close enough in my book and was damn nice to see all those CCP interviews in addition.

I must say I was really impressed with the quality and professionalism of the broadcast. But then again, this is CCP. I really hope that we will be able to download the complete broadcast (bit torrent please) since I missed most of it. What I did see though really got me into it.

Except for a few bumps here and there in the beginning, thing mostly went well.

A few gaming news site are noticing as it's being reported over at ArsTechnica, 1UP.com, VirginWorlds and Slashdot.

If you're curious, then book you calendar for this Friday through Sunday and tune in to EVE TV to watch the rest of the competition - it runs from 15:00 to 21:00 GMT.

EVE Online voted Best MMORPG, Best PvP, Best Graphics and favorite Developer

Last week, MMORPG.com released the results of its Reader's Choice Awards in which EVE Online and CCP won 4 awards.

• Reader's Choice Favorite Company at 44%
• Reader's Choice Best Graphics at 51%
• Reader's Choice Best PvP at 55%
• Reader's Choice Best Game at 40%

Though I voted for EVE Online for all these categories, I'm happily surprised it did that well overall. This shows the quality of the game and the dedication of the EVE Community. Seriously folks, we're that great, I'm telling you!

Read all about it here.