Ships & Modules

EVE pvp can be traced back to many nerfs and buffs. EVE went from a game where solo, and small gang PVP actually used to be very abundant but we'll take a look at why it has become so hard to do anything without a blob behind you.

In no particular order -

1) Nano nerf, used to be that a smart pilot could engage a larger force and have a chance to escape if he needed to. Now unless you fly minmatar exclusively or angel ships (which are the FOTM, no coincidence there) you are unable to control your fights.

2) Resulting Web nerf that came with nano nerf, Also with this is the oversized afterburner means that you need about 6 nerfed webs to even hope to slow down these ships. Also solo with 60% webs means that close range ships will have a very hard time holding anything still long enough to hit them properly.

3) HP Buff - long ago almost every ship got a double hp buff which made active tanking a relic compared to passive tanking. More HP means longer time on the field, which means more time for the blob to come.

4) Jump bridges / covert cynos / capital ships period. The "HOT DROP" ruining solo and small gang PVP for years 8). Cant kill a capital alone lol!

5) Nos nerf / Neut Buff. Nos used to be used to help keep your tank and cap running. Now neuts are king and I dont recommend undocking any Ship without 2 cap boosters..... Neuts are out of control.

6) ECM drones - most overpowered module in the game, anyone can fit them and they seem to be just as strong as a maxed skilled falcon. Yes smartbombs kill them, but if they jam you and you kill them they still hold the jam for 20 seconds, which is huge in PVP. Also ECCM modules do not work!

7) Local - The most used intel tool in game, Once someone sees you in local, the ts, and intel channels go nuts and everyone docks.

8) Tracking Enhancers - Helps everyone but when you can now shoot short range guns outwards of near 80-100km, it becomes difficult to tackle anything. Time to reduce the range of all short range weapons to that of tackle mods. You want heavy firepower then you gotta brawl!

9) Logi ships - Lets face it, almost every gang these days has at least 2 logis, heck even if they only had 1 a solo guy cant break through the reps. With two of them, a small gang will have a VERY hard time killing them since repping does give you aggro. Make them rep less and give repping aggro so they cant just jump or dock!

10) POS warfare ----- Now you need a small RL army to kill enough pos's to challenge sov. Before you used to be able to play ping pong with stations. Yes it sucked for large alliances but small gangs could come in and begin to shoot enemy stations, the enemy couldnt just dock and say they'll leave casue they cant kill our pos's, they actually had to defend their stations, and several fights were made this way.



Anyways there used to be a time before any of this, and it was wonderful. But if you can overcome all these things and more, then you are in the 5%. So GL to everyone, and remembering all these changes just makes me sad 8(.

lol

Wild

There is not POS warfare anymore. It is used with SBU's. Bring a couple alts in cloaky haulers and drop a couple SBU's on the gates. You'll get a fight.

I wonder if CCP is aware of the problem... Anyone has a source of a dev saying "yes, we know it's Blob Online on are working on it" or "working as intended"?

Maybe, inferno being related to war... and with dust coming...

Why is solo and small gang PvP important? Empire building is about numbers and fleets and resources and strategy. Small time thugs mugging each other isn't important in the big picture.

"Oh why cant I have anyone weaker then me engage me solo" ... Afterall its just me in my t2/pirate ship with faction/ded/officer mods and t3 offgrid boosters.

Obviously not counting the alts covering the gates. (possible falcon alt incase things start to look bad, obviously gets cut off the fraps footage)

Oh the cry .. oh the sorrow ..


I do wonder why people tend to group up as a mean to increase their security and the chances of succeeding in what ever they are doing. Oh wait .. yeah ... they would like to win ! And afterall its nice to have friends.

People have been whining about solo PVP being dead for years, including before the nanonerf. It's far from dead, it's just hard by virtue of the fact that you're going solo against people who are not solo.

Some of you newer players seem to think this is a whine thread. Please dont assume that, thank you. It is truely a remembrance thread of what the game used to be and where it has gone over the years.

Especially after I just released a video about my success lately solo roaming, I am confused at how many people just jump in right away and say slanderous things, and think this thread is only about solo...... as I recall small gang is in the topic too. So yes you can cooperate, and yes empires are won with numbers.

I was just remembering a time when you didnt have to have 2k of your best buds to do something meaningful in this lack of a sandbox 8).

So please no more trolling and remember the good old days 8). Ahhhhhh the good old days, how I miss you lol!

WildCat

I remember 4 man roaming battleship gangs being a significant fleet.

4 Apocs roaming about in the big black of 0.0

Eve seemed so much more ... grandiose back then.

No, it isn't. Solo has always been hard, and therefore people have always (since I started playing) been bitching about how solo/small gang is dead. In fact, there was probably more bitching about "the blob" then than there is now.




Because nanoships were overpowered. That's the only reason why. A ship that is overpowered is going to have a better chance in a fight than a ship that is balanced.




I too thought it was a good mechanic that any ship that relied on speed/sig to avoid damage was completely and totally useless within web range.

Oversized ABs can be a problem, yes, but only when combined with high-end pirate implants and offgrid boosts to make the agility penalty managable.




Not every fight needs to be over instantly.


No argument with 4-5.




I don't like ECM drones, but 6 just makes you look dumb. Do the math.

and 8 implies that you have absolutely no sense of balance whatsoever. How exactly do you plan on changing blasters, pulse lasers and autocannons to account for this? Specifically, how do you plan on making lasers not utterly useless?

You can only shoot short-range guns out to 80-100km in the case of huge hull-based range bonuses, which are on ships that are meant to do that.

Repping should give aggro, but there's nothing wrong with logis otherwise. Bring ECM.



10 )Timezone warfare is not fun. Timezone warfare is, in fact, utterly stupid. Your change wouldn't help "small gangs", it would boost alarm-clock ops and abuse TZ differences between your opponent and you.

Well - some truth in both statements. I never wanted to be part of an empire or a sov-holding alliance - even the alliance I was part of the longest - Cry Havoc - became too sedentary for my taste.

Also, I just don't enjoy huge fleet fights - simple as that. The bigger the fights get, the less discerning the individuals skills become. You're clicking through a list of targets whilst being an entry in the enemies target callers list. I like fights where I as an individual can make a difference based on my knowledge about game mechanics. Gangs with 5-20 people I know relatively closely and who understand each other blindly - nothing beats the fun I've had in small mixed HAC/Recon gangs - and no - I've never soloed much.

Of course I also respect those who want to fight for their empires, be part of something big and regard a fight as epic if there are thousands of pilots involved, but it's just not my cup of tea.

However, stoicfaux is right about one thing: Whilst eve offers great catalysts to fight over for large empires such as moons etc..., small gang or solo warfare is completely aimless in this game, which is a pity and a huge missed opportunity.

Aynthing of value is safe behind millions of EHP and timers.


To use an analogy: I don't want to be Space-King Aethelred or one of his followers, I want to be the Guy raiding Lindisfarne.