EVE General Discussion

"Guys, dang it, sheesh, stop trying to kill us and stuff, we're just exploring. " -- Meriwether Lewis to the Sioux indians.

Exploration is my bread and butter, and I too was excited about the Stratios.

I probably can't put it any better than others already have- You need to learn how PVP works, even if you aren't going to seek it out yourself. We explorers need to be as vigilant and gritty as the PVPers who oh so enjoy gunning us down. And in fact a huge part of the fun of exploration in lowsec/nullsec is the adrenaline rush of knowing we could be besieged by gangs of PVPers at any moment; Remove that, and it's just another dull mission grind.

I'd buy an Anathema and practice jumping around gates cloaked, if that is the area you seem to be having difficulty in. If you can get it down pat, you'll avoid 85% of the gatecamps. Beyond that, just read up on PVP strategies you might encounter- And make sure to use the directional scanner.

check the kills on dotlan
check the kills on in game map stats
check killboards for system name
dont follow the autopilot shortest route from trade hubs to lowsec
travel through wormholes
make perch bookmarks, safe bookmarks, insta dock/insta undock bookmarks
add known gatecampers to watchlist, check when they are online
fly out after downtime, play in the evening time, fly back next downtime
scout the gate ahead in a fast frigate
scan gate from perch/planet/poco to see if smartbomber BS is on it
if no celestial near gate, dump cap then warp partially then scan
travel fit ship (inertia stabs and warp core stabs in low, mwd in mid, improved cloak ii in high, hardeners in rest)
mwd + cloak through gates, refit for pve in lowsec station or out of one of those depot things
if they have interceptors/dramiels/other decloakers just burn back to gate
dont fly what you can't afford, if you think you will quit upon losing it then it's unaffordable

that title should say:

blah blah blah...now leaving again because I'm still stupid.

1/10 So transparent I would say you make a better window than a wall.

Eve is a PvP game by essence. It has always been, and will not cease to be - God forbid.


It's basically the same as saying "I know people who stopped playing Battlefield 3 because they couldn't roleplay in the game".
The game has an appeal to some people thanks to its specific features. You can't succeed in pleasing everyone, otherwise it loses its meaning and specificity, and those who were playing it will be the ones who leave. Same situation as yours, only reversed.

Now, if you really do love exploration, you should keep in mind that true exploration is never safe, and behave consequently.
If you're combat adverse, then learn to avoid combat. It's absolutely feasible, you just need the experience to do so.
Even if you don't like to PvP yourself, accepting PvP as a core reality of Eve makes the game way more deep, exciting and interesting.

Also, listen to that guy :

Try it, even if it's to learn to avoid it.



So, now to fully answer your question :

There is no "or". It's "both".

[quote=
I really want to enjoy this game, but the constant tread of PvP gangs, are just making this game not for me.

I want to explore, but from what I understand you have to go to 0.4 and below to find anything. And only a small portion of the game world is 0.5 and up. It feels like playing world of warcraft where you can only be in Goldshire.

I'm I missing something here?, is there a way to enjoy this game PvE style, with exploration, finding places with probes, hacking lost locations, finding great treasures and such, or is it just cold facts, EVE is a mostly PvP game?

[/quote]

The constant threat is what I like about eve. I suck at PvP, but like the danger.

Gate guns.
Again and again and again and again. I just never learn.

You know OP, if you don't like PVP, I hear there is a perfectly acceptable 'EVE-killing' alternative that's just been released.

If you want to explore here's how you do it.

Most of 0.0 is empty a lot of the time the deeper you go the more likely that is to be true. Archaeology and Hacking sites have no PvE based combat in them so even modest exploration ships can easily go in there and run the sites. Get yourself a cov ops frigate or even a T1 and just fly out to null sec somewhere and start finding sites you can run. Fly all over the place and if you don't make it back once in a while the loss is not that big.

If you, one day, would like to be an advanced student find a wormhole with a static exit to null and see where it goes everyday, this having the added benefit of circumventing traditional camps as well, though getting back to high sec to sell your stuff gets a little trickier depending on how the connections are running. Unless you can set up in the very rare wormholes that have static exits to both null and high sec. Cloaking and warping back to your wormhole if someone shows up in local is a virtual guarantee of escape also as it will take them some time to figure out where you even went and that's if they don't just assume you logged off. Even if they do get it right if you're not off the wormhole entrance and are just sitting there uncloaked by the time they probe out your exit you deserve to get caught in a big way. Just don't forget to bookmark your exits on both sides is all.

I'm here for pvp a lot of the time and I can tell you that neither I nor pirates in general are gunning for you specifically, we will attack anyone who appears to be in a vulnerable position because gaining the advantage before the fight starts is a big part of success in EVE and so if you are not aware of the dangers or how to avoid them you're going to put yourself in vulnerable positions all the time and it will be pointed out to you every chance someone else gets. You need to join a corp or alliance like EVE Uni that will teach you at least the basics of how to avoid dying in the fire. All that being said you will still occasionally find yourself landing on a gate as a 15 man gang jumps though. In which case just drop your pants and relax, you don't want to die with a wedgie.