EVE New Citizens Q&A

FW is a common suggestion, yes. At least FW plexes.

You also may want to check out RvB, agony or your local highsec ganker or war dec teams.

Frigate PVP is in a pretty good spot when looking at weapon systems, so sure. Have a good time with missiles.

You high resist fitting is often used for active tanked uses, so that you get more efficient use of your booster.
Pure raw buffer still works too, depends on what your looking to fight etc.

I would recommend getting into fleets and gangs anywhere things blow up for a little bit, at least until your comfortable with ship roles and fitting styles.

The other option is the standby of "go buy 50 t1 frigs and fittings, and happily go get blown up" as a way to learn.

Welcome to the explosions side of the game btw, best of luck :)

Faction Warfare isn't bad for small ship pvp, although you are likely to face opponents in expensive ships and fits. In FW you may also destroy your faction standing with the opposing faction so if you ever decide to leave FW it may cause you problems down the line. I would personally recommend RvB as a beginner because they are a pvp environment with rules that are favorable for new pilots (restrictions on t2 and faction ships for example) and are used to helping out beginners with fits and techniques. If you do decide to join make sure you do your research first and get your ships and bookmarks in place at the right station. Whichever route you choose, good luck.

could always switch to merlin blaster fits as well if it comes down to reaching out and touching someone.

Side benefits of manufacturing for fun and profit. Also, yay! side benefits.

EDIT: Eh, I'll cross that river of blood when I come to it. Probably with another one.

FW works well for small scale pvp as well as getting started. Take note though you'll be jumping into the deep end if you are really new to the game as you will fight newbies like yourself that fit their ships so bad it's almost sad, cloaky/stabbed farmers that run away/cloak, HG pirate set militia/pirates with loki links that will ROFLSTOMP you, casual 1v1'ers, blobs, small gangs, gatecamps and people who really made a name for themselves in pvp that can mostly win most fights but still lose sometimes if they make a mistake.

I suggest you join a FW corp that takes in and trains newbies like yourself or you'll find yourself on the receiving end of what I posted above. It will help your life in FW alot. Also if possible don't base in highsec as you will just die to the highsec-to-lowsec perma gatecamps unless they got chased off.

Make sure you know the region you'll be operating in by heart as well to avoid wasted time due to blueballs and/or gatecamps. Make notes about the locals of the region you'll live in so as to avoid the ones with alts to kill you and those that are linked. Learn to fly your ship so you don't die. Range control is king in PVP.

Just accept the fact you will die alot without killing anything while learning how to PVP so fit your ships cheap. 1~3 mil frigates are the usual budget for effective ships. Get large stacks of them so everytime you die it doesn't hurt your wallet. When I was new to FW I had stacks of 50 condors that I regularly chew through because I kept getting stomped.

Learn how to use DSCAN because it will be your best buddy and nagging wife for life while in FW. Always warp to 10 to plexes so you don't snag your ship on the accel gate. Fix your overview if you are using the default one because you will shoot friendly militia that are criminals which will get you a standings hit. I can't stress the last part enough as I've been shot at by friendly militia noobs enough times. Usually killing them then talking to them will make them fix their overview. Make instadocks/undocks on your staging system so you don't get station camped. Make safe spots on what will be your regular stomping ground so you can hide from anyone chasing you.