SwagVault MMO Blog

EVE Evolved: PvP masterclass – Introduction

One of the most perplexing things about EVE Online has to be the fact that although the game is essentially designed around PvP, a lot of players avoid it entirely. In this new series of articles, I will explain PvP from the bottom up, with a particular focus on helping anyone that has always wanted to give EVE’s high quality PvP a try but wasn’t sure what to do. In this first article, I examine the different types of PvP available in EVE Online and suggest ways to get involved in them even if you’re just finishing the 14-day trial.

Types of PvP:
In most MMOs, PvP means organised battleground matches or one versus one player duels. For those games lucky enough to have open world PvP, the options are a lot more varied. In EVE Online, the exact right combination of factors come together to create what on a good day I can only describe as the best PvP experience I have ever had in a computer game. Rather than just being something fun to do, PvP in EVE arises as a natural consequence of normal play, used by players to push forward their own agenda in a harsh, dismal space-borne society.

Continue reading as I help you choose which type of PvP suits you the best and suggest ways to get involved in it.

PvP in EVE can be split into five main distinctive groups: Piracy, 0.0 warfare, empire war declarations, faction warfare and suicide attacks. Each of these groups offers very different styles of PvP and finding the one that appeals most to you is important if you want to have a lot of fun. This list of groups is by no means definitive, there are various other niche PvP styles such as corporate infiltration and aggressive market competition among traders is often described as “market PvP” or “economic warfare”. Since I covered suicide attacks extensively in a previous article, I’ll concentrate on the other four groups in this guide.

Piracy:
The idea of being a space pirate, sailing the space-seas and holding ships to ransom is appealing to a lot of people. At its heart, piracy is attacking unsuspecting ships and either destroying them for the loot or asking for a ransom fee. As attacking players unprovoked in high security space will cause the police to destroy your ship, piracy is largely restricted to low security space and 0.0. In low security space, piracy at stargates and stations is also limited somewhat by the presence of powerful sentry guns that attack agressors. Because of this, many pirates have taken to camping stargates in groups of large ships that can tank sentry guns for hours on end to kill anyone coming through.

Piracy as a profession has changed a lot over the years due to game mechanic changes like the warp-to-zero change and the hitpoint buff. Perhaps the biggest change has been the drop of profitability for mining in low security space, giving very few targets here for roaming gangs to attack. This has led to a lot of corps switching from small roaming gangs to camping gates or moving their operations to 0.0 systems. Some more experienced players have even taken to using probes to hunt down players running missions. Getting into piracy and learning the ropes can be tricky and the most established corps have high skillpoint requirements. If being an outlaw is your cup of tea, it is highly recommended that you find a pirate corp willing to train new players in PvP.

0.0 Warfare:
Unlike launching pirate attacks in 0.0, protracted 0.0 warfare is largely a matter of politics and competition. Corps and alliances compete over the valuable resources in deep space and launch massive PvP efforts against each other. 0.0 warfare is mostly based around large fleets mobilising to attack an enemy fleet/installation or defend your own installations against an attack in progress. Huge efforts to disrupt sovereignty by destroying POS (player owned structures) are undertaken, which most pilots agree isn’t nearly as much fun as the fleet clashes. Fleets in large alliances can reach massive sizes, with hundreds of pilots on each side of a battle. Fleet operations are decided largely based on the tactics employed and structure of the fleet, with battleships being the preferred all-purpose ships.

Effective use of intel-gathering scouts, fast tacklers, electronic warfare ships and good damage dealers are critical to the outcome of an engagement. When two fleets clash, there’s a battle of organisation as each fleet’s commander tries to use his fleet most effectively against the other. The addition of 0.0-only combat mechanics like warp disrupt probes, anchorable warp disruption bubbles, bombs and titan doomsdays makes 0.0 fleet warfare a unique experience. Getting into these battles can be easy as corps will want as many pilots in the fight as possible. Even new pilots in frigates can fill the role of tackler and once in a cruiser can fill almost any role. The recruitment channel is always buzzing with corps within alliances recruiting new members and finding a good one shouldn’t take long.

Empire war declarations:
Player-run corps in EVE Online have the ability to declare war on each other, bribing the police to look the other way while they attack. A lot of corps start out their PvP careers by fighting empire wars as this lets them choose which targets they want to attack. Some corps choose to attack small corps or non-combatant mining corps, hoping to get some easy kills and practice hunting and gang skills. Getting into warring corps should be relatively easy even as a new pilot and since they choose their target corp, it could be a good way to ease yourself into PvP.

In my experience, empire wars are well suited to solo and small roaming gang PvP. The skills learned through these small-scale operations can be applied to any other field. You could use empire wars as a practice ground before moving into piracy or 0.0 warfare, for example. War declarations also covers a large proportion of mercenary contracts, though the best mercenaries and some pirate corps are known to take up large mercenary contracts against corps based in low security space or 0.0. Mercenaries that operate via war declarations in high security space are often hired by empire corps to force their enemies out of competition for resources or market share.

Faction Warfare:
Faction warfare is like an empire war declaration against a massive number of players. Corps and individuals can sign up to a faction’s combat militia, which makes them part of the faction’s ongoing wars with their opposition. As described in some previous articles, small gang warfare and medium-sized fleet action are both available here. There have even been instances of POS warfare between the Gallente and Caldari militia and some major clashes with pirates and capital ships.

Faction Warfare is quite close to how 0.0 territorial conflicts are fought and has been used by many corps as a training ground before heading into 0.0 themselves. Getting into faction warfare is extremely simple, requiring only 0.5 standings with your chosen faction to sign up. A large number of player corps also exist to recruit new players into the war effort and some supply their members with ships and equipment with which to fight.

Summary:
There are a lot of different ways to PvP in EVE Online, some more newbie-friendly than others but all equally thrilling. If you play EVE and never engage in PvP, you’re missing out on some of the best, most adrenaline-rushing experiences the game has to offer. In part 2 of this guide, I will delve into the world of small gang warfare, with a particular aim at new players and those not able to risk a lot of isk in PvP.