EVE General Discussion

Hey guys,

So I've been playing EVE for about 2 months now with my brother (We both started at the same time). We've been doing our best to get into pvp and have been met with nothing but death after death. This is fine with us, however, as we take each loss as a learning experience.

Yesterday we finally got our first kill. It was vs a Tristan and, obviously, wasn't even a real fight. But hey, I'll take it.

Anyway after this kill we were feeling good about our abilities to scan and track easy targets when we came across a Caldari Navy Hookbill. I was a bit worried that it was a Navy issue ship and, thus, may be slightly more powerful than our slashers, but i'll take a 2v1 frigate battle any day.

We started the fight from 300km out. Having Slashers with good afterburners we were able to run the Hook down after a few minutes. It was at this time that he turned and headed straight for me. I attempted to turn around and kite him back towards my brother and it was at this time that everyone engaged. In less than 10 seconds my Slasher went, "POP" and my brother only got the Hook down to 1/2 shields before he eventually met his inevitable demise.

My question to you guys is.... How the hell did this happen? how can a tier 1 frig hold such an advantage over other tier 1 frigs? We had him outnumbered and still never even stood a chance. It's been bothering me ever since I logged off last night. Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

TL;DR How the hell can a Caldari Navy Hookbill dispatch 2 slashers in less than 30 seconds!?

Well for one slashers are paper thin. You took on a combat frigate with an attack frigate. Since he burned right at you he probably webbed you, ruined any speed advantage you had, and let loose with rockets that were able to do full damage since you weren't moving as fast.

You MIGHT have stood a chance had you both been in rifters with heavies tanks.

^ this gave me a chuckle.

I realized it was a faction ship but I really didn't think there would be that much of a difference. Before entering the fight I check the market and the price for the Hook was the exact same as the Slasher (If not slightly cheaper).

That's what had me all confused, because, for all intents and purposes, it seemed like a pretty equal ship.

Thanks for this....

I did not know there was a difference in T1 Frigs.

So I guess the new question is; Are Slashers good frigs for a new player to get into PvP with? If not, what would you recommend?

RIFTERS!!! Rifters with friggin laser beams. Ok, maybe not, go autocannons, but stay RIFTERS.

Get Rifters. More slots, heavier tank. More expensive, but worth it.

Experience and accumulated skill points can count for a lot. If properly employed. Anyone in a faction-frig is either 1) too rich to know better, or 2) (more likely) been around long enough to make the best of their skills and hull. Navy Hookbill is a pretty serious hull, and will reward a bold, experienced pilot.

Learn from this, then go get yourself some more action.

Rifters, and get all your basic skills up high as you can. Worry about fancy stuff once your core skills are solid.

Or, if you like things that leave smoke trails, try a Merlin or Kestrel.
But first, get those basic skills UP. That'll do you the most good.

What has been said about the difference in ships is true, but you also need to be forthcoming with information about how you and your brother were fit.

The best ship won't be of much use if it isn't fit at least halfway correctly. Not to imply there is only one way to fit a particular ship, but some things work well and other things don't work at all on a given ship.

Player skills may have had a small impact as well (most noteably on your damage in this case), although personal skills and tactics used may have had a bigger impact. For example he may have been able to keep a high transversal speed on you (making it difficult for your weapons to do significant damage). If he did so since you were AB fit your speed was slow enough to allow his rockets to do full damage to you while his speed remained high enough to keep your guns from tracking well.

AB fits do have uses (usually vs ships using larger guns) but in this case may have put you at a disadvantage, allowing him to dictate range and transversal speed easily.

This is speculation, so as I said some more information about your fits would be helpful.

By the way, your attitude is excellent toward this game.

Many folks will profess that EvE combat consists of nothing more than hit orbit and press F1. You two already know more about combat in EvE than they do.