EvE Online – PVP – my opinion

After a bit of study on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that PVP in EVE sucks.

The outcome of 98% of all PVP in EvE Online is determined as soon as you undock your ship from station and head out to the void.

- Who has more Skill Points?
- Who has the “correct” fittings, ammo, consumables?
- Who has the most ships? (Note, 5vs1 isn’t really PVP, it’s just a gank.)

The other 2% determining factor is simply about who got the jump on whom, and if you remembered to trigger your equipment. To face facts, a 2M skill point “noob in a frigate” can blast a 40M skill point “veteran in a battleship”, if the “veteran” was afk and/or left his shield boosters or armor repairers turned off.

Skill Points?
Well if you’re going 1v1 with two ships that are equally fitted, including ammo and consumables, it simply is a matter of who has the most skill points. If Person A has 2.8M skill points in shields, and Person B only has 1.2M, guess who’s gonna die first… yeah, Person B. That’s not about personal ability, like the person controlling Ship A did anything specifically “better”, it’s just straight numbers. Person B is taking more damage, so his ship goes POP first.

Correct Fittings?
Recently I was a victim of PVP due to my own stupidity. I was flying an industrial ship with no guns, warp stabilizer or real defenses and made the mistake of jumping into a 0.4 security system. A solo gate camper took out my ship and that was sad for me, but of course it was my own fault. I didn’t follow the basic precautions for traveling in low security space.
One piece of hardware (a warp stabilizer) would have saved me a few Million ISK and the time it took me to buy and refit a new industrial ship. That’s not PVP, that’s just a stupid oversight on my part. One I hope not to repeat, again.

Most Ships?
Ok as I pointed out earlier, 5vs1 isn’t really a fight most of the time. I have been in situations where I should have gotten out fine, I was in a tough ship and if it had just been 2 or 3 attackers I probably could have outlasted them. But with 5 people on my ass, there was no way that my tank was going to keep up with their DPS. I was target scrambled, warp scrambled, webbed, and there was at least one NOS draining my cap. With 5 people attacking me, each could focus on one countermeasure and use the rest of their fittings for DPS. My ship fought well, but there was just too much DPS.
Contrarily, I have read some EvE-Pirates stories of a PVP’er going up against 10+ PVE’ers at once and kicking butt, but that goes back to fittings and skill points, not personal talent of the person flying the computer.


Some people pretend that there are Tactics involved. Like “Focus Fire” to take out specific targets “in order”. That’s not really what I would call a Tactic but rather just smart business. Focus your DPS is something that applies to both PVP and PVE, only noobs don’t know to do it.
Tactics is a word for what you do IN Station, not really so much for what you do out in the void. I propose that the outcome of any PVP Battle can be pre-determined by simply looking at what each “side” brings to the field of battle.
One PVP thing that I’ve seen used, but I do not consider being an actual “tactic” is fighting at a gate or station. That’s tantamount to saying I’ll fight, but just in case I didn’t load the right equipment and I start to lose, I’ve got an out so that you can’t actually blow up my ship. It’s a chicken sh*t way of playing the game, just like showing up for a 1v1 with 5 friends at your back. Some would suggest that this is a “time honored tactic”, but I contend that it is used simply because 98% of the battle was decided at the fittings screen back in station. No matter how well you personally control the mouse and keyboard, you simply cannot overcome the fittings screen, so your only hope is for a quick and unpreventable escape.

I’m tempted to mention that I used to play The Big MMO that shall remain nameless. In that game, the PVP wasn’t just about “focus fire”, there were actual tactics to be used in different situations and dependant upon what you were up against. It wasn’t just about who has the best gear, it’s about how you use your gear and abilities that really makes the difference. Timing your ability to catch an advantage, not just fighting when someone is at low health, but playing smart and using the environment. How you move your character can greatly effect the outcome of different PVP situations. Things like using the environment are simply not possible in EvE. You can choose when to pump energy to your shields or armor repairers, how often to overload your racks and use Nanite Paste, but if you didn’t bring it with you it doesn’t matter if you have the skill to use it. Nanite Paste sitting in your hanger does you no good. You lost the battle while you were still sitting in the station.

That's why I really only play EvE for the PvE.