Warfare & Tactics

So the other day i find a nice caldari system to do some plexing and when i get to the site all npcs are dead and an ally is just chilling out, i look at the site timer and it says 26 minutes. I thought small outpost timers were for 15 mins, so i am confused.
Also should i be fleeing from fights that come to me or try?

Any advice would be great! thanks

If a site was being run by an enemy before you entered the plex then the timer will be longer than standard.

e.g a WT ran a small plex for 5 mins before being forced out of it. You would then have to run down the standard time (15min) + the 5 mins he ran it for making your total time to run the plex 20mins.

This is one of the things I feel should be changed to FW plex as it is just stoopid!

Take fights as much as you can, but don't take losing ones for the sake of fighting, unless you have good reason. Train up a tech II tank at the very least, then get some weapon systems under your belt. If you're new, then the best bet you can make is to pick a frigate hull you enjoy, and specialize in it. The frigates are pretty well balanced, so it's really a matter of taste, but by sticking to just one for now you'll not only get the skills to fly it as well as any of the vets and you'll also learn the engagement profile of the ship (arguably way more important than SP). I wrote this a while back about a rifter and it was well received, so I'm gunna post it here because I'm procrastinating doing my work.

The most recent [Rifter] tweak switched out a tracking speed bonus for a fall-off bonus, and the best way to take advantage of this is by scram kiting; you have the range to hit that far, and when you're out at 8-9km, tracking is a non-issue with autocannons.

I don't mean to sound condescending if you know this stuff, but in the case that you don't, here's a little primer for solo / micro gang frigate pvp. We can broadly generalize three types of ships / fits: 1) brawlers, 2) kiters, and 3) scram kiters. 1) is close range, high tank, high damage, poor damage application (incursus is an example). 2) is far range, low (no) tank, low damage, high damage application (Slicer or Condor are examples. 3) the middle path; medium range, medium tank, medium damage, decent damage application (Rifter or Tormentor are examples). We're gunna look at why the Rifter is well suited for 3).

Firstly, high base speed. This means that it can control range, and stay where it wants to. The fall off bonus means that with faction ammo, you can apply damage very well out to about 11km, with my skills and fit. 3 mid slots means that it can fit all the scram kite gear (scram, web afterburner). Here's my fit for solo:

[Rifter, Solo]
Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Tracking Enhancer II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Warp Scrambler II
1MN Afterburner II
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Republic Fleet EMP S x1000
Republic Fleet Fusion S x1000
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S x1000
Barrage S x1000

Stats are (without heating) 106 dps out to 11km, moves along at 1100 m/s, tanks 72 incoming dps, and has a base tank of 3k. Underwhelmed? Well don't be, there's a big difference of paper dps, and applied dps. Though incursii can do over 300 with some fits, they're slow as balls, gotta be right beside a ship to do so, and it's dependent on cap to shoot its guns. The rifter can stay far away from such ships, plink them down slowly, and dive in with the neut to turn off their rep and finish em off.
Best thing to bear in mind while using a ship like this is target selection. I find with scram kiters in general, you're looking to fight brawlers or cap intensive ships; things that can't hit you out to 8 or 9 km, or that cannot function without capacitor. Blaster boats like the merlin or incursus are great examples of these, and laser boats like the tormentor won't even be able to turn on their guns if neuted. You don't have much tank on your ship, but the distance you can maintain is part and parcel of your tank. The fact that your guns fire without cap, and theirs need cap is part and parcel of your offense; doesn't matter how much dps they do if they can't fire their guns.

Like I said, I haven't tried this out to much yet, but conceptually it seems viable. My general hunting plan has been: look for brawlers, stay out around 8-9 km (set orbit to 7500m), fight, and if necessary, move to the edge of neut range and shut em off. Pro tip: in frig fights overheat funcking everything. You can burn modules for about a minute, and most frig fights are over by then. A trip to the repair shop is a cheap price to pay for keeping your ship. If you don't have thermodynamics trained, do so. It's invaluable.

Last note before I stop my ramble, a huge advantage of missiles and projectiles is that they don't have restricted damage types. Learn to choose the right ammo for the job. Rule of thumb: Shield ship? EMP ammo. Armour ship? Explosive ammo. A non-idiot pilot will use a rig or something to plug their resist hole, but there are a lot of idiots out there. Don't be one of them. Always plug the resist hole. Always. There are exceptions to the rule when you know what you're doing, but until then, no exceptions. Always. You'll get better paper tank with a trimark rig or a shield extender rig, but if your opponent chooses ammo wisely, then you'll have less effective tank. No ship or fit is a win button; frigate pvp is pretty balanced. If you choose your targets right, get some luck, you'll come out ahead more often than not.

o7