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

3. A Good Path Of Progression For Missile Users

If you want to use missiles (and most Caldari pilots probably do), you have a pretty clear path, starting with the Kestrel frigate, moving on to the Caracal cruiser, then the Drake battlecruiser, then to the Raven battleship (or possibly the Scorpion battleship). From there, you can get into "end-game" ships like the Phoenix dreadnought, the Widow black ops battleship, or the Golem marauder. These ships all excel at their roles and make up a selection of the most generally effective NPC-killing ships in the game, with major PvP applications as well. There are a plentitude of specialized tech one and tech two ships that use missiles as well.

2. Best Overall Fleet Ship

The Drake battlecruiser's combination of buffer tank (it has a lot of total hit points) and resistances (it avoids taking the full amount of any incoming damage) make it an ideal candidate for remote repair fleets. Any shield restored by a logistics ship is not subject to the same resistances that damage must be, and so the healing can quickly outpace the damage. Since the Drake is so tough, any Basilisks (the Caldari logistics ship) or Scimitars (the Minmatar logistics ship) will have ample time to repair the damage to the Drake's shields before things get hinky. The volley damage of the Drake's heavy missile launchers plus their great range allow Drakes in fleet battles to pour on huge amounts of damage to a single target, that hit all at once rather than spread out over time. They are thus very difficult to protect against, as is their ability to change damage types. Furthermore, Drakes are popular. They are probably the most popular ship in EVE Online by any serious metric, and so anybody can use them. Lastly, they are cheap as heck, and practically any player or corporation should be able to keep them in good supply. Together, these factors make the Drake the best overall fleet ship in EVE Online.

1. Bustling Faction Warfare

Missiles, capitalism, and shields. Yes, please.

Though I am told that it has gotten a bit less active for the average member, the Caldari-Gallente faction warfare is still regarded as having the most stuff to do. If cheap and messy PvP is your bailiwick, faction warfare is probably worth a shot. And the Caldari faction will keep you busy enough, for sure.

A spare word about joining any of the faction militias: be sure to make or bring friends, so you always have people to work with, since some of the more elitist faction warfare corporations will generally eschew newer players. This is true of all the factions, though, and not especially the Caldari.

0. The Most Well-Rounded Stealth Bomber

Stealth bombers are a ton of fun, especially for newer players that may otherwise have a lot of trouble with ambush PvP. For the purposes of fitting and being able to do everything at once, the Manticore is probably the best stealth bomber. The Amarr Purifier can probably do a little more damage, the Minmatar Hound is a better general bomb-dropper, and the Gallente Nemesis is the best-looking crappy ship, but the Manticore can do it all. It has four mid-slots for fitting things like warp disruptors, target painters, shield extenders, tracking disruptors, or remote sensor dampeners. Unlike the Nemesis, it has 328 base CPU for fitting all of those mid-slots. This is the most of any of the stealth bombers, which is a big deal since all of the missile launchers use CPU. Kinetic damage is fine for most circumstances, and great against most targets. Also important is that the extra fitting space makes the Manticore a bit easier for new players to use, which is important when trying to have as much fun, as soon as possible.

Caldari Are Damn Cool

Call me simple if you will, but I insist that the Caldari are the coolest race. The other races' story archetypes in EVE Online are all variations on stories that are, well, a bit too familiar. Freed slaves? Religious fanatics? Bickering plebeians? Please. But the story of the dark future ruled by ruthless, authoritarian corporations that squabble but let the cream rise to the top? That is something that EVE Online exemplifies very well, indeed. I like the other races' stories and various things that CCP's writers have done with them, but none of them resonate quite so well as the Caldari.