EVE Online is defined by its players, so it's fitting that one of the largest PvP events outside of warfare is run by the very people who make up the fabric of New Eden. The 10th Annual Frigate Free For All Event kicks off this Saturday, giving players both new and old alike a way to play PvP without risking it all.
Coordinated by the Alliance A Band Apart and its pirate corporation, Stay Frosty, the event sees players converge on the Ouelletta system, all with the aim of greeting other capsuleers with lasers, rockets, or whatever is necessary to send some killmails. (Full Disclosure: I am a member of Stay Frosty and the greater A Band Apart Alliance.)
While it's an event any capsuleer can join, the Frigate Free For All is also a great way for new players to learn some PvP without risking their own ships. The event organizers will be handing out ships (over ten thousand are docked and ready to go), so players can duke it out without worrying about making up their losses.
Via the blogpost announcing the event:
"This Saturday Stay Frosty & A Band Apart will be hosting our 10th Annual FF4A Event in the system of Ouelletta and you are invited. Participating is easy. Ouelletta has a high-sec entrance as well as close access to multiple points of entry, so it is easy to get to. And we have three NPC stations, each of which is fully stocked with their share of over 10,000 fully fitted frigates we are going to be handing out to anyone that wants one. No matter what you do inside of Eve Online - this is your chance to experience the thrill of PvP with as little effort, risk, and loss as possible within the rules of the game."
Stay Frosty CEO Rixx Javix adds in the blogpost announcing the event some tips for those new to the FFA, including avoiding raising your security status by only shooting who is shooting you, as well as making sure you have a jump clone nearby in case you are podded. There will also be some special ships undocking to log onto kill mails, and Javix teases that some CCP developers might also show up to the fray to be taken out as well.
The Frigate Free For All enters its tenth year of the event, even after the politics of Lowsec space put this event in jeopardy after Stay Frosty's structures were destroyed back in 2022. However, thanks to there being multiple NPC stations in the system, it's lived on and provided a great area for many players, including myself, to log their first PvP kill and start the journey towards becoming a hardened F1 jockey.
Featured image via Rixx Javix
