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EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
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Choosing a Race
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Toby Templar
State War Academy
Caldari State
#1 - 2011-12-04 12:31:23 UTC  |  Edited by: Toby Templar
Dear Seniors,

CHOOSING A RACE

BACKGROUND: I played EVE for a few months back in about 2004. Recently, I have once again become hooked on this wonderful game. So I signed up for a 14 day trial and I am almost at it's end.

Before I get an actual account and start my first character, I feel that it is extremely important to get my choice of race 'right'. I am fully aware that in this sandbox, I can eventually fly any race's ship with sufficient training. Nonetheless, starting my account is a big step for me, and I want to make the best possible choice so as to have the most enjoyable time as a (re)new(ed) player, which I can fondly recall years down the road. :)

I have done some research, including listening to all of Seamus Donohue's Youtube videos (I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to Seamus! :D ), I've listened to half a dozen Eve Uni classes (including those on *Insert Race* Ship Fittings 101), and I've read up on several ship entries in the Eve Uni Wiki.

CRITERIA: The last time I played, I started off as a Minmatar. However, this time round, I've decided that I will *not* pick Minmatar for my starting character. At least not at first. This is based on my personal preference, irregardless of how good their ships are. Additionally, I want a race which primarily has ships which are *great* for PvE and I can accept ships which are 'not bad' for PvP. This is because I intend to make Mission Running my primary source of income early in the game.

CHOICES: Here are my thoughts of the races:
- Amarr: My first initial choice. I love how their ships look. I absolutely love them. The Armageddon, Apocalypse and Abbadon are the best looking battleships in my opinion. Now that's a strong pull factor, and I would have picked them had I not had some worries:

I am *especially* worried about the limited damage type for lasers (EM/Thermal). I feel that it's a big vulnerability for both PvE and PvP. For PvE, how viable is it to just stick with agents who give missions in which the rats are vulnerable to EM/Thermal? Aren't they mostly Ammarian agents? But I suppose I have to work up standings with other races as well. Won't I be having a very hard time with them? Isn't it very easy for players to have Anti-Amarr setups in PvP where they massively resist EM/Thermal? How viable is using non-EM/Thermal damage guns/drones on Ammarian ships? It seems a bit blasphemous to mount anything other than lasers on Ammarian ships...

I am also worried about the capacitor dependence of Ammarian ships. Lasers use lots of cap. Don't Ammarian ships consistently have cap problems? Do Amarr ship fittings constantly have to deal with cap problems?

- Caldari: My second choice if Amarr is not chosen, mainly because I heard good things about their missile ships being good at mission running. Additionally, their missile ships would not have the Ammarian problem of limited damage types at all. They have the perfect flexibility to equip missiles based on mission requirements. So it seems to neatly 'solve the problem' I have with Amarrian damage type. Additionally, I really like the idea of passive shield tanking, and I hear that some passive tanked missile boats can still fire and operate their tank with zero capacitor. That seems to neatly 'solve the problem' I have with Amarrian capacitor reliance. Additionally, there are Fire-and-Forget missiles which a missile boat can use even when jammed. These seem to grant strong PvE and PvP advantages.

- Gallente: I haven't done much research into Gallente. I don't seem to be the type for using drones. So they would be a faraway third choice.

QUESTION: Please, please help me out. I could really use some advice. Please point out if you think my thinking is wrong. Do let me know if you've had the same problem, and how you made your choice. I'd even appreciate you telling me if this is a silly question and if I should be thinking differently.

Thank you!
Velicitia
XS Tech
#2 - 2011-12-04 15:17:31 UTC
Back in '04 race mattered -- i.e. you could min/max a Caldari Achura into a pimped out industry/research alt really easily. Nowadays, it doesn't. Your race, and bloodline just get your character looks, and your school is just a tag on your character sheet. Everyone essentially starts out with Frigate II, Gunnery I (well, Caldari get Missiles I), Mining I and maybe an ore processing skill or two.


Looking at your breakdown:
1. Amarr are "OK" at missioning and PvP. You're gonna want to be in a fleet for PvP ... and definitely max out your core fitting skills early on (Engineering, Electronics, Energy Systems, etc). it's not so bad having EM/Thermal damage ... you can round out your damage profile a little by using drones (assuming your ship supports them).

2. Caldari are essentially only good for missioning. Though, now that hybrids have been given a pretty good buff in Crucible (to the naysayers, yes it still needs tweaked but it's a start), you could probably jump into a Rokh and be "OK" at PVP.

3. Gallente are essentially "in between". Not the best at missioning or PVP, but not terrible. The Hybrid buffs (if continued properly) will probably solidify the Gallente in PvP over the next few months.



with that in mind, read the back story, and pick whatever race sounds the best.

One of the bitter points of a good bittervet is the realisation that all those SP don't really do much, and that the newbie is having much more fun with what little he has. - Tippia
Xercodo
Cruor Angelicus
#3 - 2011-12-04 18:40:42 UTC
Yup the only things separating you from being able to fly any race from another is a matter of a few hours to catch up with whatever few little racial skill they give you at start. So pick your race and bloodline based either on who you wanna look or your opinion of their backstory.

The Drake is a Lie
Amonestos
Ministry of War
Amarr Empire
#4 - 2011-12-05 04:21:52 UTC
I agree with everyone else, and I love flying my Amarr ships.

I would like to throw in that some missions take noticeably longer in an Amarr ship because of the limited damage type. These can be skipped or drudged through (our tanks are usually good enough that despite not doing maximum damage, you can take everything they throw at you, meaning those missions can still be accomplished) but more importantly, I would suggest grouping up. Doing missions with another corpy or something. Makes missioning much more enjoyable and the damage reduction because of resists in those few scenarios won't even bother you.

That being said, I like Amarr a lot. I don't really regret my decision at all, though it gets difficult knowing every race has some really cool stuff. Whenever I start flying another races ships, I miss something I felt I took for granted in my Amarr ships, and end up piloting them again :)

Mostly, like others have said, pick based on back story and looks :)
Jonas Xiamon
#5 - 2011-12-05 06:33:14 UTC
Pick the race you like the best regardless of ships, then learn to fly which ever ships you want, probably Amarrian based on your description.

I usally write one of these and then change it a month later when I reread it and decide it sounds stupid.
Keno Skir
#6 - 2011-12-05 22:22:58 UTC
I love Amaar ships too, my abaddon is my favourite even though its one of the cheapest and i still fly it the majority of the time by choice. I'm minmatar by race and have battleship 5 for both min and amaar but have much prefered flying amaar battleships so far. That's not to make any statement of dps or any particular stat, just works best for me.

Black Lanterns Blog <- Read my ramblings -.-

250,000 Bonus SP when you start an Alpha Clone HERE <---
Lance Battery
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#7 - 2011-12-06 06:24:53 UTC  |  Edited by: Lance Battery
I'm pretty sure that even though Amarrians love them laz0rs, they also have a few ships which offer other weapon systems - missiles and drones - because, despite their pride, they feel that they are antiquated and must catch up to the technological advancements of the other empires. I personally think that the Amarrians, being buddy-buddy with the Caldari State, should have a few more viable missile ships, but that's just because it'd be nice to have that damage diversity while still carrying lasers, which are excellent against shields. You hit the nail on the head with the capacitor vulnerability, though. I just hope that if I max out the relevant skills early and use appropriate hardware, I can still fire my lasers (and perhaps run my armor repairers -.-) even while being cap-drained.

On the upside, I heard one of the Amarrian battleships is excellent for mission-running, though the Drake (Caldari) is king of that category.