EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

EVE Online offers a rich and open-ended world of PvP, without the conceits of arenas, PvP-specialized areas, or even level limits. Because of this, it can be difficult for players to find meaningful PvP encounters that they have any hope of winning. This is an EVE guide with five ways to find PvP encounters.

EVE Online is a game with an intimidating array of options, with such numerous options that many new players have trouble deciding what to try. Nowhere is this more apparent than in PvP, where the open-ended nature prevents un-skilled players from even trying it. This guide is an attempt to show players that PvP is approachable, accessible, and (occasionally) winnable.

5. Gate Camps

An oldie but a goodie: sit on a gate at suitable range, and attack anybody that comes through. Usually, a high-traffic gate is best, since that will ensure that the highest number of potential targets will pass through your gauntlet. This is best done in groups, though also can be fun in a tough solo ship. My favorite solar system to do this in is PF-346, though I hear HED-GP, R3-K7K, and EC-P8R all have good pickings, too.

Most solo camping is done with survivable ships that can escape back through a gate or else quickly outdistance any superior forces. Ships in the former category include most battleships (I see the Raven doing this fairly often), while notables in the latter include pretty much any Angel Cartel faction ship, especially the Dramiel.

In a group, players will traditionally include at least one player in an ECM-using ship like the Falcon or Rook, so that if a superior force jumps in on them, they can jam the attackers and allow their friends to escape. Remember that when it comes to camping gates, it is not a matter of if a superior force will break up your camp, but when.

As always, having a scout on the far side of the gate is a good idea. Ideally, that character would be cloaked, in an NPC or otherwise innocuous corporation, and be near enough to the gate the far side of the gate that you are camping to let you know about incoming ships.

When it comes to gate camps, the main skills tested will be catching people before they escape, and assessing incoming hostile groups for whether they are too risky to fight or not. Smelling a trap and learning when to trust your instinct is crucial. And remember that, in EVE PvP, if you think it is a trap, it probably is.

4. Roaming Fleets

This is probably the simplest means of finding PvP possible. Get your ship and, optionally, a fleet of your friends, and take off in search of adventure. In this case, adventure usually takes the form of solar systems that have been listed as having a high number of NPC kills and/or a high number of players in space. Burn through any ships you find on the way, and hope to find some juicy stuff. For fleets like this, it is usually only a matter of time before you bite off more than you can chew: perhaps it is a defense fleet, or a drake with a cynosural field and a Nyx on standby. In any case, the hope is to find vulnerable targets and destroy them, before you are forced to flee or are slain.