EVE New Citizens Q&A

Gallente is pretty good for small group PvP. Minmatar is better for solo. Amarr for big fleets. Or at least that's how it was before I quit. PvE kings have always been caldari.

You could consider the T1 Minmatar cruisers Rupture and Stabber as decent starting points.
Then eventually go on to Vagabond or Cynabal (requires Gallente skills as well) as solo pvp cruisers.
There are many options though, depending on your circumstances and these are just some ships I've enjoyed and had much fun with.

Let me break it down by racial focus and give some pros and cons.

Minmatar:
Tanking Style: Primarily shields but a lot can fit for armor.
Weapon Style: Primarily projectile weapons (Autocannons and Artillery) with a few missile based ships.
Electronic Warfare Style: Stasis Webbifiers and Target Painters.

Pros:
- Some of the shield based ships get bonuses towards shield boosting ("manual" regeneration)... allowing for astounding "burst tanks."
- Ships are usually agile and fast for their class, making such ships ideal for "hit and run" tactics"
- Autocannons track very well and have a large "falloff" range, giving them flexibility in short range engagements.
- Artillery deals large "volley" damage, which is good for ending a fight quickly and/or despite "healer" support.
- Certain ships have bonuses to certain types of Ewar allows you slow down enemies at range and/or hit enemies more effectively.

Cons:
- Tend to be a bit "flimsy" as they lack the overall HP of some of their racial counterparts.
- Due to the nature of "falloff range" mechanics and tracking, Minmatar weaponry tend not to deal as much "on-paper" damage.
- Artillery has the lowest tracking ability and fire rate of any long range system in the game.
- Very intensive skillpoint-wise. You'll have to master several weapon and tanking specialties to get the most out of them.


Gallente:
Tanking Style: Armor
Weapon Style: Primarily hybrid weapons (blasters especially and railguns) with a solid drone-based lineup.
Electronic Warfare Style: Warp Disruptors/Scramblers and Sensor Dampening.

Pros:
- Blasters deal the most "on-paper" damage of any weapon system in the game and have the best tracking.
- Railguns have the longest range of any weapon system in the game.
- Some Gallente ships can be shield tanked to great effect.
- Some ships have an armor repair bonus that makes them very good for solo and small "brawler" type fights.
- Drones are an automated weapon system that require no ship resources beyond "bandwidth" and drone bay capacity.
- Certain Gallente ships have bonuses towards "tackling" (see: "pinning") enemes at range and/or rendering them unable to engage at range.

Cons:
- Blasters have the shorest range of any weapon system in the game.
- Railguns deal the least damage of any long range weapon system in the game.
- Not the first choice for "fleet" style combat due to the limitations described above.
- Drones require significant mirco-management and can be destroyed while in combat.
- Weapons are dependent on capacitor power.
- Weapons deal "fixed" damage types (Thermal and Kinetic)... so "resistance holes" in an enemy tank can't be exploited.


Amarr:
Tanking Style: Armor
Weapon Style: Laser weaponry (Pulse Lasers and Beam Lasers) with a "small" emphasis on drones.
Electronic Warfare Style: Energy Neutralization and Tracking Disruptors.

Pros:
- Amarrian ships tend to possess the largest HP of ships in its class, some by virtue of their ship bonuses.
- Lasers have very flexible engagement ranges due to the fact that they can instantly change ammo (which affects weapon range).
- Pulse Lasers deal the second highest damage in short range combat.
- Amarrian ships are the "preferred" racial ships for medium to large gang combat at short to medium range.
- More "even" resistances to damage.
- Certain Amarrian ships have bonuses towards "crippling" ships by stripping them of their capacitor power and/or rendering their weapons unable to track targets effectively.

Cons:
- Most ships are "one trick ponies," having limited fitting options and flexibility.
- Amarrian ships are some of the slowest in the game.
- Laser weaponry has trouble tracking ships at very close range.
- Lasers are HEAVILY dependent on capacitor power.
- Lasers deals "fixed" damage types (EM and Thermal)... so "resistance holes" in an enemy tank can't be exploited.
- Amarrian ships are "skill intensive" in the fact that they require high power, gunnery, and tanking skills to use effectively.
- Ships tend to be "weak" on their own.


Also... there are exceptions to all of the above in each race. What I have provided above is just a "general" outlook.

i think ill try my luck raising my amarr skills - anny suggestions on which ships to focus on for solo pve and some small scale pvp?

i was mearly asking as a beginner :) about which ships (npt the same i guess) to train for for those purposes

I only just finished the training tutorials myself, but I found the Punisher the best of the Amarr frigates for combat when I did the tutorials and it was OK for Level 1 agent missions but the Coercer seems to really rock at level 1.

Minmatar is good for small gang as well. Let's not forget the falcon either.

For solo PVE it all depends on what you are shooting really, but a tengu isn't a bad thing to train for (Missile boat).