EVE General Discussion

So, cursory browsing of the EVE-O forums over the last few days has shown me that there are A LOT of players out there that have absolutely no clue how Null Sec, and specifically Null Sec PVP works in this game.

That is not really a bad thing in and of its self, except that these people are stating their uninformed opinions about Null Sec as fact, and perpetuating the misconceptions about Null which tend to keep most people in EVE from ever trying it.

Because of this, I have decided to take a few minutes to address some of these common misconceptions.

1. It is impossible to move through null sec because every single gate is constantly camped.
Ignoring the obvious hyperbole here, gate camps are actually very rare in Null Sec (with the exception of a few choke point systems.) What most players run into and then rage about being a gate camp is usually just a roaming fleet. Null sec fleets will almost always comp a dictor as they are essential for shaping fights and delaying a pursuing force during egress. If a scout spots a lone pilot jumping into the system that the fleet is currently in, the fleet will often take a second to bubble up and try to catch it.

Even if you do not notice that you have been scouted, these types of "impromptu camps" are very easy to avoid in nearly any ship that you could conceivably be jumping blind through a gate in. Actual gate camps show up on the map and the only pilots who get caught by them are those who for what ever reason do not check their map for the free intel.

2. Null Sec PVP is nothing but blobs.
Are there blobs out there? Certainly. Blobs exist in EVE, and anyone who PVPs has to be aware of them and take the precautions to avoid them. Blobs are slow and terribly cumbersome. Generally speaking, they are only used to fight over SOV structures and POSes and these days they usually just get titan/jump bridged directly into their target system. This means, they are for the most part easily avoided. Just do not ever get chumped into fighting over some idiot's tech moons and you should be fine.

For the most part, roaming gang PVP in Null exists in the 10-30 man gang range. There are plenty of these size fleets in space to go shoot at. Hell, just a couple of days ago both Test and Goons (the two alliances with the greatest stigma for blobbing) had 20 man fleets out that we ran into. There are also plenty of opportunities out there for solo pilots to find good fights. This takes skill, patience, and very good judgment to pull off though.

3. Null Sec PVPers are just looking for ganks, not good fights.
This is for the most part wrong. There are certainly quite a few players, corps, and alliances that are out there looking for nothing but kill board padding. This is however not the norm. These groups tend to push any of their members who actually have any kind of skill and enjoy playing the game away into better corps.

Will PVPers take a gank if it lands in their lap? Yes of course they will. However, most fleets are formed with a specific purpose or target in mind. The fleet comp and numbers are generally decided on in order to meet the target on roughly equal footing and actually get a good fight. Unfortunately targets often move, disperse, or were never there to begin with. A fleet might be flying much lighter than initially assumed, or the fleet might find a completely different target all together.

4. Living in Null Sec takes a huge amount of time and complete abandonment of real life.
This is just plain wrong. Yes there are some Alliances out there that have unrealistic expectations of their members. They are certainly the minority. It is completely possible to live and prosper in null while only dedicating a "casual" amount of time to the game. There are plenty of corps and alliances that are made up almost exclusively of people who fall into the less than 2 hours a day category.

5. Living in Null Sec requires years of SP training time in order to accomplish anything.
Completely wrong. The barrier to living in Null Sec is knowledge of game mechanics and the cunning to figure out how to accomplish the things that you are setting out to do. One of Rote's most active FCs currently has less than 6 million SPs, and has been actively contributing to fleets since he was only a few months old. Yes, SPs some what limit what you can do out here. As a low SP pilot there are certain things that will be out of your reach, but there are plenty goals you can work towards and plenty of ways to succeed.

More than anything else, living in Null Sec requires that you are capable of setting goals for your self, and are willing to put in the effort required to reach them. (Note: Effort != Time) People who do not do well with out some sort of structure always guiding them in the one "correct" direction will not do well in Null.



I will leave you with this solo/small gang PVP video as proof that there is life outside of the blob. It is getting late here and I can't be arsed to type anymore:

Pretty Explosions

Only according to uninformed myth... oh wait, that rather ties into the title of this thread doesn't it?
(In case my clumsy wording doesn't get this across, I'm totally agreeing with you).

That's a pretty nice, succinct addressing of some of the more common myths surrounding null. However I'm sure that in a few moments someone that tried their hand at null sec once and ended up in one of the more extreme corporations will chime in with their expert opinion on how life actually is for the majority of null sec citizens.

One of these days citizens of Empire space will realize that the only difference between themselves and the average citizen of Null Sec is location, level of organization, and knowledge of game mechanics.

Good post.

I actually started my own EVE career in nullsec, fighting with BRUCE back in the day when they tried to take over Fountain. It was quite a ride...

Good for you sir, and yes, being with a good corp makes things a lot more viable (and interesting). I will point out that those choke points are only a brick wall if you are unfamiliar with the tactics necessary for getting past them. That simply comes with experience.

OP

I forgot to mention it before, but nice video linkage.

Being in a corp is not exactly a requirement, but it is the best way to learn how to live in Null. There are tons of mistakes that a person could potentially make, and being in a good corp will allow you learn vicariously from those who already made them long ago. There are a few people out there who can suffer through the learning process on their own, but they are few and far between.

Playing solo will also severely limit what goals you can reasonably expect to be able to achieve. This game is all about competition, and if you chose to compete alone you are going to have to make up for the handicap by being two steps ahead of everyone else.

Finally, someone who gets it. Fantastic post.



Just to illustrate this, on your average week I play maybe 2 hours of EVE, and on an EVE-heavy week, I play maybe 10-15. It has never impeded my ability to function in nullsec *at all*.

If anything, the mere fact that my ISK income is vastly higher than highsec *saves me* tons of time. 90% of my EVE time is for the purpose of fun, not funding said fun.

You forgot to point out that every day the people that spend significant amounts of time in null sec, whether they are part of a null sec corp or not, run into countless people that are not blue. Amazingly they manage to survive and accomplish their goals without dying every day, otherwise they would not be able to afford to live there or go there often.

Obviously the easiest way to learn the ropes in null sec is to join a decent null sec corp and benefit from your corp mates experience and help. Going solo and hoping to accomplish anything of note is difficult (but not impossible) anywhere in the EVE universe.

The only people that cannot survive in null sec are either those that don't have the experience to do so yet, or those that refuse to believe (despite all evidence to the contrary) that it can be done. I'm wondering which of those two camps you belong to.

Edit: Confirming that one of the most lucrative professions in null sec is portraying someone participating in actual combat in video's created for the sole purpose of luring unsuspecting players into null sec. All that fun they had was purely incidental.

So despite the fact that most of these posts are encouraging people to try their hand at joining a null sec corp (or at least that it's not nearly as bad as most would have you believe), you take the stance that what they say to be true is in fact false.

Yet you admit that even someone like yourself survives there at least half the time quite nicely, whether that be as a null sec corp member or an independent entity.

If your life in null sec is so terrible, why do you spend time there (this should be good)? More to the point, why are you so desperately trying to convince people that they can't survive there?

By the way, your appearance was predicted in the third post in this thread... try to be on time next time.

Well look out nullsec for the flood of Empire folk embarking on their voyages.
1. Thats right only the choke points are camped.
2. 20-30 man gangs aren't blobs at all.
3. There are a bunch of gankers out there but they will only get you if you let'em.
4. Sure join a corp of fellow players who are rarely on, they will have your back... when they are online at least.
5.Lastly don't worry at all about skill points just learn game mechanics because in a blob you will likely be tackling anyways.

Your post fails because you have validated all the reasons why empire folks don't go to nullsec. BTW there are plenty of empire players with goals. Living in nullsec is merely there to say you did it. Once you have lived there for a month you realize that you could be having more fun in an empire corp, PVPing in low sec and with war targets. Nullsec is just tedious and thats why some folks don't go there.

This man sure loves his sov mechanics. You know I do respect the goons and your overall influence in EVE. Your CEO has influenced CCP to ruin their own game.