What Is PvP?
Sooner or later, this will be the reason you are playing EVE Online. Then, there will be more things to do, and when you find them, you can’t wait to learn and try them. You’ll have long evenings, spending the time, counting rewards, filling up your wallet, satisfying your love of the game. You’ll see how you’re growing up, how you can drive better and bigger ships day by day. Stronger and faster weapons will be controlled by you, and in a while... you won’t find any NPC who can face you.
However...
Imagine... you’re playing chess on your computer: it’ll be fun for a while, but later, the program, and its every step, will be well known, and thus, it’s turning into a monotone game. The only purpose to gather experience for the real fight. This is just an opportunity, to learn the rules of chess. Most likely you would like not only to know the rules but use them against somebody, feeling the adrenalin rushing through your veins. Then, YOU WILL NEED PVP!
This is that part of the game, when you use your ship and all of its equipment to defeat or destroy the enemy controlled by another human player.
You are flying in the space, when somebody appears 5-10-20 kilometres from you all of a sudden. Within a second, you realize this is an enemy, and you start the targeting system, locking the ship fast. Once this is successful and the targeting is stable, you activate the strongest cannons of your ship, loaded with the best ammunition found in the universe. You’re watching the disappearance of the shield then the metal armor then the hull with well-placed hits. Obviously, the enemy won’t be quiet and numb, he will do something. The most common reaction is shooting back. Or flee... (if it’s a fast ship.) Or he calls some backup... Might as well, 30 of his friends can appear at once, and this “meeting” may be your worst nightmare.
Meanwhile, your blood pulsates in your vein, and the battle-fever carries you with it. PVP in EVE is complex and many-sided, not like a cube, but sort of... a globe. The previous examples just a small part of the whole PVP system. Choose your own style: be a lonely warrior, hunting for the prey, or you could be a pirate, who brings the worst days for the couriers, or even you could be the champion of the truth who is hunting the pirates down, turning them into ashes. You can be a member of a hundreds of ships' fleet, rampaging the whole galaxy, changing the life of thousands of players, a member of a fleet... who is watched by tons of people, cheering or hating whether you manage or fail. If you are suitable for it, lead the fleet, be the commander. Be the one, who chooses the tactics, who leads hundreds of people. Who says the word – FIRE!, and battleships and stations will burn.
The only one way to avoid PVP is if you are not sitting in a ship, and you don’t undock from the safe station. But this is like... watching the switched off television – you can do it, but you won’t enjoy the TV shows. Perhaps you are scared because you’ll be shot down by thousands of battleships at once at the moment of undocking.
But this is not so serious, don’t be paranoid.
In the centre of the galaxy, there is a safe zone with plenty of solar systems, called High Sec. While you are moving through these systems, you are in a relatively safe situation. These systems have 24 hours police control, and if somebody attacks you without or with any reason, they come all of a sudden, killing the aggressor immediately. If you are lucky, it’s happening before you are shot down; if you’re not, you can watch nothing but the revenge (By the way, this police control is called, CONCORD).
If you are a nice guy, not disturbing others, not carrying expensive stuffs, not sitting in expensively fitted ship, then, these systems are going to be safe for you, and nobody will hurt you.
Around the safe systems is the next outer ring, the Low Security zones. No CONCORD here, this is the pirate’s paradise. Come here only when you’re in a team, or sitting in a fast ship. You can be a target here any time. Why? Because you made the biggest provocation in the EVE: YOU EXIST, AND YOU ARE THERE. But if you do anything here, aggression or robbery, if you hurt anybody, then, you’ll be officially a “bad guy”.
Beyond the Low Sec ring can be found the 0.0 systems. This is the real no man’s land. You can count on nobody but your friends and team mates only. There are no good guys and bad guys any more but enemies and friends. If somebody is not with you, then, they are against you.
PVP is everywhere. This is that part of the game, where you are really playing with the other players. When you not just live next to each other but your actions directly affect the others’ actions. When your enemy is not the computer but the more unpredictable human brain. PVP is that part of the game, where you are really in. This is the stage, where what counts is what you are capable of, and how much experience you have.
Sooner or later, PVP will be the game in game, why you are playing EVE Online...
The Definition of PvP
PVP means Player versus Player. ( I don’t think that this is news, but who knows?) When a PVP occurs, your enemy won't be an Artificial Intelligence but another human player. His reaction is not controlled by foreseen algorithm. No. The human is thinking. Which means, you won't be able to predict his manoeuvers, fits, and whether somebody is coming to help him or not.
The EVE’s speciality: everybody is playing in the same universe. One simple fight could cause a whole war among hundreds or thousand players.
That's why PVP, unlike the NPC hunting, requires different preparations, fittings, strategy. Besides, PVP has its stake: if your ship is destroyed, and your pod too, you'll lose everything – the ship, and all of the Implants in your head. Furthermore, if you didn’t upgrade your clone, you can lose a certain amount of your skillpoints This non-ignored nuance makes PVP exciting and unique among other human players.
PVP means not just the 1 versus 1 fight, but, based on the actual situation, can be 10 versus 1, or possibly even 500 versus 500. Thanks to the EVE's system and the vivid fights, many type of PVP can occur. But neither the attendance, the learned skills, or the ships with the best modules can guarantee your achievements if you have no experience in battle. The most easy wins are happening due to the scared and ignorant enemy, and not because the slight amount of the skillpoints. That's why every player has to understand: the best and only way to increase your experience is the fight against other players as much as you can.
In PVP, the experience, the mental preparation, speed, and organization, furthermore (if we are speaking about a fight among multiple players), a great commander (FC: Fleet Commander) ismore than necessary.
Why Is PvP Good?
It depends on the people. There will be someone, who is seeking the challenges, travelling across the galaxy, others wants to be a part of a bigger event, and then, in the end, they lean back in the chair, thinking, being satisfied; “I helped to build our empire.”
Besides, some players, even though they’re not enjoying the fight with someone else, cannot avoid the self-protection in the area where they live. In the latter case, these people can’t avoid the fight with pirates, who are hunting for the tradesmen’s goods, or with the enemy conquerors who want to take the systems where they live. Due to this, the best way is to prevent the losses, and studying how to protect ourselves. We must get more and more experience in the area of PVP.
Even though there are countless opportunities, PVP is everywhere in the universe of EVE.
Why is the EVE Online’s PVP system different from other games’?
EVE Online is, maybe, the most complex MMORPG. Due to this, most of the players are coming from the near adult age. Compare to other games, the biggest difference is in PVP system. Thereare not separated PVE or PVP servers, the two game styles (as it was mentioned before) are mixed with each other in a huge universe. 80% of the reachable systems are based on the challenge among players, where they are gathering under a flag of a small or a big company.
And now, we reached an interesting point of the PVP system: Every single pilot, even the bigger communities, can set up a standing based relationship, which is the base of PVP, and political activities.
The smallest communities are called as Corporations. Then, these Corporations could set up a bigger organization among them, called an Alliance. Both the Corporations and the Alliances can set up the standing among them, and this can be both positive or negative. This is the implementation of the real life politics, because these situations are created and controlled by the players, not by the server. Compared to other games, this is a big difference. Joining this life means you won’t be a member of a server-controlled organization, but a real, player created one.
This is how the EVE Online politics work. The relationship among the player-controlled-areas decides who the enemy is, and who is not. This is the origin of the vivid PVP situations, because nobody wants to see enemy players on friendly territory, letting them to steal the resources, or even conquer the whole systems.
Compare again to other MMORPGs, the second biggest difference is the complexity and opportunities of the teamwork. Obviously, you can find the classic roles, like the healer, damage dealer, crowd control, but there is no limit. No matter how many player wants to join the fight, everybody can, and thus, you’ll be a part of great epic battles among huge fleets. To do this, plenty of preparations, planning, examination of tactics, equipment’s mass production become necessary. Generally, the smaller fights and battles are the most frequent events, where the tactics is the first priority. This is not just the click-like-a-crazy game, pushing two buttons, no. You must follow every tactical movement, listening to the commander, taking positions on the battlefield, and in some unforeseen situations, you need to improvise. Every battle and fight needs some preparations, and because of this, wiping out or taking up the strategic sources of the enemy are recurrent. This could be either a simple small action, or the biggest fleet operation you’ve ever seen. And thus, a proper number of players is required.
Eventually, let me say something about my personal opinion: PVP in EVE is the final stage of the game, and can be more and more enjoyable with your advanced character. In a while, most of the players can’t find any challenge in the High Sec systems. Everything becoming tedious. Boring routine. Where there is no risk, no chance to taste the real opportunities. However, in Low Sec and 0.0, getting both the real experience and the billions of ISK could be relatively easy. The boring routine shall be replaced by excited moments, well organized teamwork. This is the MMORPG part of the EVE, because in High Sec, you could fly alone, in safe, but doing this in the less secure systems requires great teamwork, and cooperation. With more and more advanced characters, the players have to move forward, enjoying this game much better, and in order to do this, you must know PVP... because this is not just a phrase, but a complex knowledge.
The Psychology Of PVP: Fear And Intimidation
“Don’t Panic!”
The battle’s achievements in EVE Online are not always based on the difference among the ships or the power relations. Beside strategies, the mental preparation, the presence of mind, braveness, agility, experience are more important than the shiny fittings and tons of skillpoints.
“It must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.”
Many people think that PVP is avoidable, or can be a passed over to someone. Who lived in Low Sec, or 0.0 systems knows, this is wrong. Many players say: “Okay, I'll be hiding till pvp players fighting, because I am an industrial player.” These people are docking instead of the combat, and if somebody attacks them, they activate the warp drive, running away. They think, only the money making and other peaceful activity is enough to keep the status quo. In the EVE slang, they’re called as “carebears”.
In spite of the different game style, all of them can be important to the Corporation, or the Alliance, they cannot be changed, or controlled by each other. It is important to understand, PVP is that part of the game which makes these game styles in Low Sec and 0.0 complex. PVP provides the home and survival, and thus, this is the base stone of everything.
If somebody always flee from the combats (especially in daily, intensive game style), the permanent uncertainty, fear and frustration will be unavoidable. Some player are unable to get over the first PVP losses, and they quit the game, or going back to the safe High Sec zone.
But this is not a solution. Everybody shall recognize, sooner or later, that the billions of ISK means nothing. It’s not equal to the high PVP experience. These are strictly separated from each other; without PVP, you can’t play freely, self-confidently. You need to change your mind a bit, thinking in a different way, otherwise, the game becomes boring. And nobody wants to play with a boring game, because the real challenges in EVE, the great opportunities of the teamwork, everything shall be gone...
“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Some players are unable to enjoy PVP, they don’t even want to sit in PVP fitted ships. They think, to avoid the dangerous situations, not joining to the OP fleet save them from the ship losses, and they can do whatever they want. But this is wrong.
This is not the key for the long life in EVE. There will be always someone who wants to try hunt them down, and thus, no place to hide, and not even respects for their losses. These players are the easy targets, because they aren’t able to protect themselves from the dangerous enemies. This is a general problem, the non PVP players can’t hold the systems against an invasion, and not even from a small attacking fleet.
As I mentioned before, the EVE allows many game style, including carebear activities and PVP efforts.
But PVP is different, nobody can do it instead of you. It doesn’t matter what you like, what are you interested in, sooner or later your home systems, your Corporation, your Alliance, and the daily life, politics, standings, are demanding the attendance in the combat situations, wars, POS attacking or defending, beside your favourite in-game occupation.
Do what you like, enjoy every moment in the game, but always take some time to study PVP! You can think, you are good in special things, or you're just a small cogwheel in a big machine, who can be easily replaced by hundred others when it's time to fight. Nobody shall sit in any ship, chasing the enemy, protecting your home instead of you. It doesn't matter what you are good in, but if you don't fight in the main events when the Corporation or Alliance in need, you'll be named as useless (I heard worse words than this).
Due to this, making the first steps are essential. Practice as much as you can, gather more and more experience. The best place for this is the test server (Singularity), where you can try, or use anything, without consequences. You don't need to pilot T2 ships unless you can feel, you can do it. Use T1 ships, frigates, cruisers or anything. Go for more and more Fleet Operations, fight once you have a chance, in order to study the base steps of PVP.
„- You know, it's at times like this, when I'm stuck in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, about to die of asphyxiation in deep space, that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young. - Why? What did she tell you? - I don't know! I didn't listen!”
Most of the losses are the consequences of the panic, and non organized actions. The people not watching, or not using the communication channels, they are scared instead of the mostly needed self-confidence, which can be the demonstration of power by itself. Sometimes is enough, because several gang were chased away, or stopped when the scout, or the tank ships were shot down at the first contact. And the pod had been destroyed as well. Eventually, these players are reporting something else. They say, it's a big fleet, but it's just a few ships. Why are they doing this? In the worst case scenarios, if you could stop a bigger fleet than yours along with an organized fleet operation, that's a scary, powerful demonstration, and they won't know exactly what they are dealing with. The same reversed situation when you are caught by someone else. In these cases, the real enemy is not the pilots, who are trying to shoot you down, but the panic, the helplessness. But if you can destroy the warp jammer ships fast, making you able for escape, it maybe even chases them away. This'll help you in the successful escape from the traps, gate camps, anything. But some pilots are still scared, not recognizing the real options for survival. That’s why they die.
Systems where the intel is useless, where the dwellers are controlled by fear, where no defence fleet which can stop or chase the conquerors away, they are the main hunting areas for the smaller pirate gangs. The carebears are always easy preys, their ships are not fitted for PVP, because they’re only doing agent missions, asteroid mining, and they have no experience in self-protection.
Many new players are still not believe in, but even when the Local is more than fifty or seventy, a few experienced pilots can raise and keep the total terror. They will hunt down even dozens of ships, because the couple of hero-wannabe, but unexperienced pilots without organized operations are nothing but animals at the slaughterhouse. They’re going to be killed, one by one. In this case, a weaker fleet, but with brave, fearless, experienced pilots under a great fleet commander can cause a whole terror in the system, acting with high efficiency.
“If anything is more important than my ego, then I'll go to catch it, shoot it.”
The psychology of PVP is a very important element. Can be a good motivation, showing what they are capable of in person, or as a part of a team. And the standings are not just directions. The brave, loyal, heroic efforts are the base stones of the Corporations and the Alliances. Somebody wants to be respected, and others want to be just a part of a public game style. But if you have experience, you are fearless, self-confident, then you can be a useful member of your team, defeating more and more enemies, winning impossible-to-win battles.
Prepare for that, in PVP, you won’t be able to gather, to collect experiences alone. You’ll need a good gang, with a great FC (you know, Fleet Commander), furthermore, you’ll need partners who share their knowledge about the battles.
But you can study as much as you can, the real recognitions are coming from the battlefield; at the stargates, at the stations, in the deep space. You can understand what you may or may not to do, but you won’t feel it until you do the first mistakes, bad moves. Only then you’ll be able to do the real studying.
“I think I found it easier to hate them. I had to feel something; being neutral about it implied that I did not care enough to form an opinion. Without that, there would be no reason or drive to continue. The feeling of hate allowed me to be here, to do what needed to be done without pause or contrary thought.
I did not pity them, though, for I had run short of pity long ago; so much so that I had none to give, even for those who needed it.“