EVE General Discussion

Don't have to be good. Just less terrible than the other guy.

It's what you said specifically. Rockets? Those are in-your-face weapons. If you're using short range weapons, distance from target is way more important than anything else, unless you're pulling the plug and looking for a way out - a point you already had in mind before you started, right? If you're going to lose control of range, then use light missiles, not rockets.

Take it from a freighter pilot. Even I know that.

Fight people you can kill.

That's literally all there is to it.

The somewhat lower-risk way that I took once I realized that the run-all-the-things, cap-stable mission fits I'd be using were doing me more harm than good was to outfit a cap-injected, active-tanked, MWD, drone-launching neutron blaster Brutix and take it into L3s. It's an absolutely horrible mission boat, but that was the whole point: It forced me to get used to pulsing (especially the MWD, because ~blasters~). I could flail and fail and chew through far too many cap boosters in relative safety, and stop once I got comfortable with that level of active management.

The advantages of that approach over the PVP approach are that you can isolate the problem of learning to manage your own ship until you're good at it, and the risk is comparatively low and rat spawns are far enough apart to make MWD management a thing that you have to worry about. The disadvantages are that you don't shake the PVP shakes, and you learn nothing about the current metas, or about which engagements to take and which to avoid and why.

Agony and OUCH are both good "learn to PVP" alliances.

This is a perfect example how high skill points(or decent fits) mean nothing without piloting skills.

Yes, for a beginner pvp in EvE is hard, solo pvp is even harder, but the rewards of mastering it make it all the sweeter.

I hear ya loud and clear, I don't understand what happens to me though when I engage someone. My mind behaves differently. I know I have to keep range and be within a certain distance but I experience some sort of mental block caused by adrenaline??? I don't know I just need to fight through it, and remember to fire all the things, overheat all the things, keep in range all the things and watch my own shields and armor always... I'm still not flying with reflex gut feelings, it's still very much a "remember you need to do A before you do B" instead of just instinctively knowing to do it.

I use to forget to launch drones before when I engaged someone, is that typical?

Eve was designed to punish solo play, it's monotonous, it's boring and repetitive on purpose. You are meant to team up.... My issue is finding fleets in my timezone and corps are not a good way to do that.

Incursions are a good way to earn isk, but I'm interested in earning experience, something very different. I want PVP experience both solo and in gangs. There are some good groups out there like the Spectre fleet, been flying with them and learning to about pvp but still there is no way to teach experience. You just have to do it over and over and humans are the most dangerous prey.

..Yesterday one of two caracals escaped from me when i killed the first because i was smashing f4 which is scram/point on most of my ships but on my sleip scram was actually at f5...
and thats only one example...

..so.. OP ..mistakes happen to everybody... don't be dismayed but try again ^^
also in frigates i don't engage destroyers... it coud be done but a margin for your error is very small...
good luck ;)

Edit:
Also about some people pointing out of practicing in missions somewhat...
I agree with this one to an extent, i practiced a lot in 600 Mil cap not even close stable, but with boosters ( always to few ) nano ( yup for missions ) tempest fleet issiue... if i make a mistake i lose a more than half a Bil ship ( to rats ! )...

You practice a lot of micromanagment habbits that way and to keep your cool...
But you can't practice real pvp situations in missions thou, just the brain to keep track of all things you need too...

Situation awareness is key in PVP.

Not so much if you fly with others and taking orders.

Just keep practicing. To some it comes very quickly to others not so they stick with the taking orders part.

Everyone does better in fleets. The point of flying solo is to challenge yourself and become better on your own without needing a crutch. Nothing in this game has been more thrilling for me, personally, than solo pvp, whether I'm winning or losing.