Originally posted by Edkenny
I want to get the game, is it fun for a new player? How does PvP work? Just need info before I get it, tried STO, and TOR, Both let downs in space combat.   Never mind found my old post with the info.

It can be fun but you really have to know what you are doing from the start - which is best done by hooking up with a good guild.

Originally posted by Edkenny
I want to get the game, is it fun for a new player? How does PvP work? Just need info before I get it, tried STO, and TOR, Both let downs in space combat.   Never mind found my old post with the info.

You can download the client and try it out for free. The standard trial is 14 days, or you can click through a referral link provided by an existing player to get a 21 day trial.

"How does PvP work" is too large and general a question to answer easily. In general, you try and "tackle" your enemy, and then apply damage to him in the hope of killing him before he kills you. 'Tackle' means using a warp disruptor of some kind to stop him warping away.

You should be aware that PvP in EVE is very, very strongly group orientated. 1v1 PvP is by far the rarest kind.

This is partly due to the fact that PvP is full loss, full loot (If you lose a fight, you lose the ship you're in and any modules fitted to it and any cargo in its hold, although only about half the "stuff" will survive), so people obviously want to stack the deck in their favour before engaging.

It's also due to the fact that there's no "best" ship in EVE. EVE ships are generally fairly specialised, and all of them have glaring weaknesses to at least one other kind of ship. So in a mid-sized general purpose gang of, say, 20, you might have have a couple of small fast "tackle" ships, 2-4 "logistics" ships (ships that repair other ships) 0-3 Electronic Warfare ships (ships that prevent hostiles locking, or make them easier for everyone to hit, or suck out all their capacitor so they cant move or shoot), and the rest of them will be DPS ships.

In terms of skillpoints, tackle is the easiest role to skill for - with a focused training plan, you'll have all the skills you need to do it well within a few weeks at most. The tackle applied by a 6-week noob is exactly effective as that applied by a 6-year veteran.

There's a vast amount of finer detail, but in general, most fights go like this: one side is generally stronger than the other, and tries to ambush the other side, or trick them into fighting. It is not unusual for the "larger" side to find that it's suddenly outnumbered after all - there are several game mechanics that strongly facilitate this. Then the fight usually resolves into the strong side trying to catch the weak side and destroy as many of their ships as possible. A popular EVE proverb goes "Fights in EVE are a game of cat and mouse, and usually happen when both sides think they're the cat".

The longer big battles occur when some strategic objective is threatened and the side that owns it is very strongly motivated to defend it. In this case they will often engage even if they have what seems to be a smaller fleet. Although numbers give a big advantage, a coherent "doctrine" fleet, experienced pilots and above all a good Fleet Commander ("FC" in EVE jargon) can make up for a surprisingly large disparity.

Just keep in mind that in EVE, PvP mostly happens before the actual engagement, if there ever is one to begin with.

Sounds weird I know, but it's true. If you expect EvE to be a game where you hop into a ship and go pew pew enemy ships, prepare to be disappointed (although RvB comes quite close).

I am a returning player after nine years.  One thing to keep in mind.  If you are technically gifted, this game is for you.

I think I am going to enjoy learning all over again.

Just to throw it in there, if you interested is seeing what may be considered "end game" pvp, or high level pvp play than give this a watch. This is probably the greatest eve video ever made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrYe_4vHzgE

Originally posted by outfctrl

I am a returning player after nine years.  One thing to keep in mind.  If you are technically gifted, this game is for you.

I think I am going to enjoy learning all over again.

I don't think it's so much being a "technical" person as being a curious person.  I find figuring things out and learning to be part of the fun.

A lot of players say they wish they could start over as a completely new player without knowing anything about the game so they can experience it for the first time again.  Have fun!

Originally posted by dave6660

Originally posted by outfctrl

I am a returning player after nine years.  One thing to keep in mind.  If you are technically gifted, this game is for you.

I think I am going to enjoy learning all over again.

A lot of players say they wish they could start over as a completely new player without knowing anything about the game so they can experience it for the first time again.  Have fun!

 

Actually, that is the way I feel.  I have over 3,000,000 skill points with like 4-5 ships on my main.  I have been playing my noob alt to learn the game again.