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Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM



We're talking Eve Online here. For the uninitiated it's the single most expansive, complicated, brutal and rewarding game universe known to man. This is an ever changing world that is constantly evolving, revising itself and then subsequently exploding into a burning apocalyptic hellfire of nerd-rage, 'sperg and pubbie tears. Every player crammed into the one persistent server struggling to make their way, forge friendships and then betray everyone in the name of the almighty Inter-Stellar Kredit.

GOONSWARM INTRODUCTION

On your own you are utterly helpless, you are a victim to the whims of maniacal warlords, pawns of some Machevellian's schemes and the burning wreckage left in the wake of a goon's jihad attack- But together you are Goonswarm and a part of one of - if not the - most influential powerblocs in the game.

GOONSWARM RECRUITMENT

Eve Online is the haven of the UO reminiscent, the WOW burnouts, the SWG refugees. This is the final game you turn to when you demand more satisfaction and immersion from the pixels on your screen. You want something bigger, something compelling, a game where what you do actually has meaning and consequence.




EVE is an oddity in the modern day MMO market. Popular MMOs are polished, tightly controlled masterpieces of design; where the player triumphs over strong NPC bosses with the aid of their friends using specific means provided to them by the developers.

Not so with EVE. This is chaos at it's most entertaining, it's most frustrating. Boasting an economy unapproachable by anything to date, a production and manufacture system that boggles the mind. Tactical space-warfare and a tumultuous strategic theater spanning over seven thousand solar systems. Whether you succeed or fail is entirely dependent on your own intelligence, perseverance and ability to adapt to this ever changing galaxy.

OFFICIAL BUTTERFLY EFFECT TRAILER

You start from the most humblest of beginnings, one tiny little fish in a vast ocean of thousands just like you. It's only after banding together with like minded individuals can you form a corporation and begin to exert your will upon this ocean. These corporations may eventually merge with other corporations to form alliances and allowing you and your allies to take control of these vast swathes of space. From here these alliances unify into great powerblocs. Each with players numbering into the tens of thousands, all this in order to stand off against the imperialistic threat of merciless rival blocs. This is survival of the fittest at it's best. The have-nots, the losers left squabbling in the dust for scraps.

AUTO-UPDATING ALLIANCE INFLUENCE MAP

This is unscripted, there is no developer's backstory for you to follow. You're the one creating this narrative of epic galactic conquest. There are no levels or character attributes that determine how well you fight, it all comes down to your own ability and understanding of yourself, your ship and your enemy. As your character matures new paths become available, will you be the generic gunship grunt? The provocateur that infiltrates enemy alliances, bringing them to their knees? Or will you be the charismatic fleet commander that leads 300 other nerds into the holocaust?




If you can imagine it then it is at your disposal. From the most basic frigates and nimble interceptors. From mass-produced cruisers to advanced electronic warfare platforms. Assault ships bristling with weaponry, covert recon ships that can report enemy positions back to the main fleet. Stealth bombers capable of annihilating entire formations before vanishing. From all manner of industrial hauler and logistical support craft to the workhorse battleships and sniper ships of which most heavy lifting is assigned to, spewing super-heated death across the 200km gulf between opposing battlefleets.

FLEET WARFARE EXAMPLE 01

FLEET WARFARE EXAMPLE 02


FLEET WARFARE EXAMPLE 03

But all these are just gnats compared to the big-daddies of space, the capital classes. Carriers and super-carriers with massive compliments of fighter craft, drednoughts that take weeks to manufacture and assemble only to melt within seconds under the sustained fire of a capital fleet hot-drop operation. And of course the imposing titans that dwarf all, prominent amidst even the most massive of fleets.

SHIP SIZE COMPARISON CHART

New classes and variants are constantly being dreamed up and added to the game, a consequence of changing tactics and strategy. Currently the latest models of hilariously expensive strategic cruisers are finding their way into fleets. These are fully customisable cruisers with interchangeable hulls. Now not only do you have the option to decide your loadout of weaponry and support systems but even design your own unique ship.

Massive starbases with fixed guns, protecting the moon mining installations, the FTL jump networks that link all your vast territories together. Deployable outposts housing the production lines, cloning medical facilities and market hubs. All the services you could possible need. These are just some of the toys you will have the chance to play with and be blown up by.




ALLIANCE PRESENTATION BY EX-CEO DARIUS JOHNSON

GOONSPACE - A RETROSPECTIVE FILM


In a time remembered by few and experienced by even fewer still, from the humble beginnings of the badlands region called Syndicate this upstart group of goons sought to make their mark. Theirs is sordid tale wrought with strife, oppression and betrayal culminating in a final, glorious comeuppance of the highest degree. It was here that the foundations of the Great War was laid. Now the largest and arguably most influential alliance in the game, Goonswarm numbers in the thousands. A highly structured organisation that has brought nothing but grief to the established power base and old boys club of old, completely reshaping the face of the galaxy in the process. They now occupy the home of their mortal enemy; Band of Brothers. After disbanding their alliance, scattering their member corps to the far corners of space and stealing their very identity. Goons now find themselves at the pinnacle of their success, the only way they can go now is down.


The most vilified and reviled prior to Goonswarm's entrance. Red Alliance consist of predominantly Russian players and were an obvious and vital ally in the lead up to the Great War. Taking in the battered and displaced Goonswarm, providing refuge and the spring board into the southern conquests. These are a seemingly invincible group, tenacious and cunning. Much of where goons are today is owed to this group. However, Red Alliance has recently fallen upon hard times, finding themselves assailed by the Southern Coalition. Representing a tightly-knit conglomerate of alliances like Deathsquad and Solarwing who currently reside in the north eastern regions of space.


Affectionately referred to as the Carebear Coalition, these are a relatively peaceful and loosely bonded group of alliances. They are utterly massive in size and if their recent capital losses have anything to say, endowed with near bottomless pockets. Flanked by the Tau Ceti Federation, old friends of both the goons and Red Alliance of whom could be considered the 'good guys' of the galaxy. Those with the mettle and self-respect to stand up against Band of Brothers and their gaggle of two bit vassals. It would be foolish to disregard this massive group as an easy target as was evident in the past MAX campaign where the Band of Brothers were utterly shamed and dominated at their hands.


Magnificent bastards. These are the elite of the elite, the most skillful tacticians and players in the entire game. Winning the last two alliance tournaments they are home to the greatest PVPers around. Excelling primarily at small-scale guerrilla warfare this alliance is small, but it's this size that allows them to not be tied down and affording them a freedom not enjoyed by many. Pandemic Legion also played a vital role in the Great War. One of their members; Kugutsumen AKA Anthony Z, the hacker, has exposed numerous scandals involving developer misconduct in the past. He continues to fight for the rights of the average player by exposing the cheating, fraud and down right lies perpetuated by other alliances and the even the game developers.


This is the burning aftermath of the Great War. A collection of failed alliances and trounced power blocs. Consisting mostly of an alliance named Atlas, they are home to the latest iterations of our mortal enemies and the numerous vassal alliances deluded enough to hang around after betraying themselves in the Great War. To their side is the Russian offshoot; Against All Authorities. This powerbloc isn't one of mutual respect but one of necessity. If they weren't holding fast, united, they'd be dead already. But don't count them out of the fight yet, Atlas on their own has an impressive capital fleet that is currently ravaging Red Alliance territories almost unopposed.




On your own this is all impossible, you will fall into the cracks to be lost forever. Fortunately for you this path has been tread by a thousand goons before you and guidance, tutorials and credit is in abundance. We have in our possession an incredibly comprehensive wiki that is capable of providing you with all the information you could possibly need. We have mentors available to train you in the ways of waging inter-stellar war, from the most mundane of tasks to the more overwhelming mechanics of the game. You will never be alone in this regard as the one thing Goonswarm recognises is that it's most valuable resource is new recruits. Veterans are more than willing to bury you with credits to help you on your way, what may seem like a fortune for the new player is but pennies to already established players.

Newbie training ops are commonplace, fleet classes specifically formed to tutor you and take you through step by step. From warping to tackling enemy ships, running away and staying alive to how to suicide your vessel in the most effective manner.

CHAR CREATION 101

BASIC TACKLING 101

PRODUCTION 101

OVERVIEW SETUP 101

FLEET OPERATIONS 101

FLEET OPERATIONS 102





Alright, you ready for this poo poo? Just follow this link;

GETTING STARTED AND JOINING THE SWARM

Attention Eve Vets - Doomsdays GONE - Pos Warfare GONE- Resub Today!

CCP is releasing a new expansion called dominion on December 1st that addresses a lot of reasons why you may of stopped playing such as doomsdays ruining all the fun, endless pos shooting and extremely laggy fights. Well, Lag has been fixed! Fleet battles below 500 are lag free, and it now takes around 1200 or so in system before it starts becoming unplayable. Poses are now being taken out of the equation for conquest! No more days and days of shooting poses to take over new systems! Doomsdays have been removed from the game, and transformed instead into a single shot anti-capital weapon, so no more going twenty jumps just to get doomsdayed jumping into a gate.

Let me reiterate, this is no longer the lovely game you left. It is an entirely new game altogether. Dominion combined with the riches of delve means we will be able to make our space even more of a fortress utopia, and the new changes in dominion will force bloated empires to either recede or invite tons of horrible pubbies to live with them. As for action we have multiple alliances pledging to invade our space on December 1st so we will use every goon we can get!

CCP'S UPCOMING FPS; DUST 514 PRESENTATION

EUROGAMER DUST 514 PREVIEW ARTICLE

INCARNA (WALKING IN STATIONS) TRAILER

OLD AMBULATION (WALKING IN STATIONS) TEASE





Propaganda is taken very seriously by just about all organisations within Eve Online.
The following are examples of the sort of the materials our artists have produced in the past.




RED SWARM FEDERATION

GOONSWARM ONLINE 2008

RESPONSE TO BOB WITHDRAWL





GOONFLEET FOREIGN LEGION
It's not unusual for Goonswarm to be fighting in several
places at once. During the Great EVE Wars, BlackOps and
SpecOps (when it was still active) were often deployed away
from the bulk of the fleet, either to aid an ally of ours
or to fight an enemy while the rest of the fleet was busy
fighting another campaign.




GOONSWARM INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
So you want to be a spy? Spies provide GIA and the directors
with valuable sources of intel. One well placed spy in a director
level position can wreak havoc with enemies. By working as a spy,
you help to ensure that goons live and enemies die. To be a good
spy requires real life skills, and is not for everybody.

MITTANI EXPLAINS BOB DISBAND




JIHADSWARM
It takes ages for high-sec miners to even pay for their Hulks.
Allah calls upon his warriors to destroy all non-believers in a
forceful thrust of suicidal surprise sex. JihadSwarm is a semi organized
group of goons who get sadistic pleasure in destroying high sec
miners while they are half sleeping at their desks wondering why
they even play this game.

SHEIKH KARTTOON'S JIHAD

9-11 MEMORIAL REENACTMENT




BLACK OPS
Black Ops is a specialized team of individuals who spend their
time living in enemy regions, preventing them from making
money and generally harassing them in their home systems.
Targets are chosen by the directorate and the squad deploys
for weeks or months, disrupting ratting, mining, hauling, and
all forms of economic activity in a region.




GOONWAFFE BOMBENEINSATZGRUPPE
After the undeniable success of Cefte/MrVee’s experimental bomber
gangs used effectively in the east to grief Atlas and AAA, we are
formalizing this new strategy by creating an alliance funded and
organized bomber group, to be known as Goonwaffe. The idea is that
groups of 10 or more bombers can simultaneously wipe out hundreds
of battleships so long as they are clumped together. Essentially,
they are a doomsday replacement that can strategically be deployed
and used much easier, and with far less financial risk.

FOREIGN LEGION BOMBER WING

MISTER VEE'S BOMBARDIER BEES




ASSORTED GOONFLEET VIDEOS:

LITTLE BEES
SUAS PULLS THE ADAMA MANEUVER
SUAS SINGS 'I ROBBED A GOON'
TYPICAL STAHL VID WITH NIN TRACK
THE EPSILON CHRONICLES PT1
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS
PUBBIE TRICKED INTO JUMPING CARRIER TO FLEET
RHO UNVEILS SAM'S MOTHERSHIP; SALLY
GHOST RIDE, A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE
IMAGINE: SAGA OF BOB AND GOONS
VICTORY CELEBRATION 27-TITAN CONGA & DD

Christian Ethic fucked around with this message at Oct 25, 2009 around 14:06

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Silent Movie
Jul 23, 2007




but in all seriousness, join Us

CainFortea
Oct 15, 2004



I don't think it can be said enough times, but the old herky jerky lag fest days are long over, and they're getting even better now. On top of that the new expansion seams to be CCP's way of appologizing to everyone all at once. If you quit a year ago or so you'd hardly even recognize the game now.

shortspecialbus
Feb 16, 2006

Someday, I Will Drive This Short Bus Myself

It's a terrible game.

But bitching about the game is probably 90% of the fun. Seeing as the game itself is no fun for 95% of the time.

However, lag is actually pretty much gone. Which actually makes that 5% of the game really really awesome.

Twisted Perspective
Sep 15, 2005

Have you ever met the French..?

No lag.

No doomsdays.

No BoB (we killed them).

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

TLDR; PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM LATER IN THIS THREAD

TheMaster42 posted:

A ton of people have had questions about choosing what ships to go for, so I thought I'd try for a comprehensive guide.

Choosing What Ships/Weapons to Train

Eve has a very wide variety of ships and equipment that are actually viable. In addition, there are a lot of skills that contribute to the effectiveness/power of a particular ship's setup, and having focused long-term goals is a huge help in the mid-term (0.5 - 2 years played).[1]

Quick and Dirty Summary

Goonfleet public wiki has a short summary about races: http://wiki.goonfleet.com/index.php...racter_Creation


Weapons systems

When choosing a race to train, the first thing to consider is the type of weapons they use. Eve ships are geared toward using one or more types of weapons, so with very few exceptions, you will be using certain weapons for certain ships.

There are two "grand"[2] skill paths for weapons: Turrets and Missiles, and several other systems of note: Jamming (aka ECM; can stop a ship from affecting others), Logistics (healing), and Drones (little "fighters" that shoot, jam, or heal).

(Drones are special in that almost all ships have some drones, so training time here is rarely a waste. There are even a few ships that rely on drones for the majority of their damage, so they're almost a "grand" system, in a way.)

The crux of the issue is that training in one of these gives you no benefit in another. So if you start with turrets, then switch to missiles, you'll be starting from scratch.

On top of this, turret weapons are subdivided into 3 more categories, where the larger portion of training is not shared. So it's quite easy to "waste" time training up one system if later you prefer a ship that uses different systems.

The Different Systems

Turrets: (Short Range / Long Range)

Each category of turreted weapon has a short range and long range version.
  • Energy Weapons: (Pulse Lasers / Beam Lasers)
    Lasers are found only on Amarr ships and provide the 2nd best DPS at short range, and the best at long range. They require the most energy (capacitor) to fire, but this usually isn't a problem as their ships have larger capacitors to compensate.
    Players complain about Pulse Lasers especially being overpowered, because even though they are the "short" variant, they easily hit "medium" range at full damage, AND have the 2nd best DPS of short-range weapons, AND have little problems hitting ships at close ranges anyway. They're currently the flavor of the month, with no signs of changing soon.

  • Hybrid Weapons: (Blasters / Railguns)
    Some Caldari and all Gallente ships use hybrid weapons. They don't require as much energy to fire as lasers, but they don't fire for free, either. Blasters do the highest damage of any short-range weapon, but can only deal that damage point-blank, where their battleships have problems hitting enemies that closely. Railguns are very long range, but deal mediocre DPS that far out.

  • Projectile Weapons: (Autocannons / Artillery)
    Minmatar ships use projectiles exclusively, and (when good) are good in spite of them. Projectile weapons need no energy to fire, and can shoot even when a ship is completely out of capacitor. Autocannons deal the worst DPS of the short-ranged variants (though still good damage), but have little problems hitting targets that close. ACs can actually hit out to almost medium range, but get extra DPS penalties for doing so. The long-ranged Artillery weapon is currently in a woeful state. It has the hardest time hitting out to extreme ranges, and deals the worst DPS of the three. However, Projectiles are slated for some major tweaks this next patch (Dec 2009).

Missiles: (Short Range / Long Range)

Missile weapons are found mainly on Caldari ships, though several other ships here and there make use of them. Minmatar have multiple ships with a couple missile slots you should use to maximize DPS, and one or two Amarr ships are missile boats. Like projectile weapons, they require no energy to fire, and can continue to shoot even when the ship's capacitor is empty.

Missiles have fairly low DPS, but have the advantage of being able to select the damage type they do (see: Damage Types), making them very useful for ratting and mission-running (PvE).

Unlike turrets, which hit targets instantly, missiles actually fly through space before hitting their target. In large-scale fights, this makes them rather useless as targets die before most (if any) of the missiles reach their targets.[3]

Another problem is short-ranged missiles are actually designed to hit larger, slow-moving targets. This means even in a short-ranged fight, missile-users with such weapons can only make use of their increased damage by going for Battlecruiser/Battleship targets. So even for small-gang engagements, their DPS is often only modest.

Others:
  • Drones
    Drones are extremely versatile: different drones can deal damage, jam, and heal to some degree. Virtually all ships have at least some drones, so time spent on drones (lights and mediums especially) is almost never a waste.
    Their downside is, they have to get right on top of their target before they can shoot/jam/heal, so their travel time is sort of worse than missiles (though once they get to their target they can stay on it).[4] Their range is also limited by skill, and is troublesome to increase beyond medium range. In large-scale fights, drones are virtually useless, and even actively discouraged as they add lag. In small-scale (and especially solo) fights, however, drones can be extremely powerful.
    Like missiles, different drones can deal each of the damage types in Eve, making drone boats (ships whose damage comes from drones) fairly competent in ratting/missioning (PvE).
    Gallente ships are known for having large amounts of drones, and they have a ship in each size category whose main DPS comes from drones. The Amarr also have a line of ships that rely on drone DPS, but once again, virtually all ships have at least some drones.

  • Jamming (Electronic Counter Measures, aka ECM)
    Each race has its own type of electronic warfare, but only the Caldari version is worth its own mention, or specializing in: ECM. Only certain Caldari ships can (effectively) make use of ECM, as well.
    ECM jammers have a chance to make a ship lose all its targets, and be unable to retarget for 20 seconds. This effectively stops a ship from dealing missile/turret damage, logistics healing, or giving drones new targets.
    Effectively, an ECM ship can lock down 2-3 other ships in any given fight. On the small-scale, this is pretty much the most powerful thing you can do in any fight. However, once there are more ships in the enemy fleet than can be locked down with ECM, the rest can simply target the fragile ECM ship and take it out of the fight early. So in any large fight, you will be shot at (and likely die) first.

  • Logistics
    Any ship can mount a (very) short-range module to heal another ship, and the skills required to do so are very low. Generally this is only effective on battleships because of the short range and higher speeds of other ship classes. But there are 4 ships in the game (one for each race) that get huge, huge bonuses to logistics, both in how many they can fit and run simultaneously, and in the amount of range they can heal from.
    These ships are extremely powerful and able to counter the DPS of 3 or more enemy battleships. Used in groups of 3-5 or more, they're able to repair each other and keep an entire fleet together under withering fire. Even in smaller groups, they can be very powerful when properly protected, though their fragility can become an issue. Lastly, the ship itself is kind of expensive.

Recap:
  • Training in one system will not get you any benefit in another, so specializing will save you training time.
  • Major avenues are turrets, missiles, drones, ECM, and logistics.
    • Turret Weapons are further subdivided into lasers, hybrids, and projectiles.
  • Virtually all ships have drones, so time spent here is usually not wasted.


The Races

Most races specialize in a limited number of the above systems, so choosing what weapons system or race to train will heavily influence (or dictate) the other.

Another variety to consider is the method each race uses to increase their maximum HP and self-heal. There are two tanking types: armor and shield, and both are generally effective when used properly on a ship (most are suited for one or the other), so all you need to know is training each type takes about 15 days for a Tech 2 tank.

Races:
  • Amarr: Sole user of Energy weapons (lasers). Armor tanks. One line of ships that rely on drone DPS. A ship here and there that uses missiles.

    Most Amarr ships focus on damage dealing with lasers and large armor tanks. In a game focused on dealing damage and surviving, they're currently the flavor-of-the-month. Many of their ships are the highest-DPS variants in their class (or close to it: Zealot, Harbinger, Armageddon, Abaddon), and generally very sturdy (virtually every single ship).

    Arguably, their ships lack versatility (not many mid slots), but that doesn't keep them from having some good solo ships (their drone-based line: Pilgrim/Curse).

    They have arguably the best fleet-sniper in the game (Apocalypse), and the damage type on lasers make them excellent for ratting in Delve (elsewhere, they're lackluster for PvE).

  • Caldari: Mostly Missiles, with some specialized ships having Railguns for long range. Only race with ECM Jamming ships. Shield tanks.

    Caldari ships all shield tank, and, with few exceptions, deal damage with missiles. This makes them the best race for mission-running (Drake, Raven), and fairly good for ratting (though less so in Delve, where the rats unfortunately deal bonus damage to shields).

    They are unfortunately almost completely deficient in solo-viable ships (though many argue soloing in Eve is not viable to begin with), but can be amazing in small gang PvP with their ECM line (Blackbird, Rook, Falcon, Scorpion), and competitive with their hardy ships and reasonable, long-range DPS (Cerberus, Drake), or astounding with short-range missiles against battleships (Raven).

    Unfortunately for fleet fights, missiles are almost completely worthless, but Caldari pilots willing to train up Railguns as well will find an amazing fleet sniper eventually (Rokh).

  • Gallente: Heavy emphasis on drones; all ships use Hybrid weapons (blasters and railguns). All ships use armor tanks, but some ships have interesting shield tank options.

    Gallente ships are known for having lots of drones, usually many more than other ships in their category. They also have a ship in every size category that gets most of its damage from drones (Vexor, Myrmidon, Dominix, Ishtar). Their ships are also very versatile (lots of mid slots), but are only really allowed to shine in small groups.

    Because blasters are so very short range (and drones have large travel times), to maximize DPS, Gallente ships need to be right on top of their targets. In anything larger than a small fight (5-7+ players per side), this is severely handicapping as targets die before ships can get there. However, the Dominix is an incredible and versatile small-gang battleship (especially for remote reps).

    On paper, a Gallente ship will generally outclass any other ship in its category in a 1v1 with its drones, tank, and extra mids, but most Gallente ships are too slow to solo-roam effectively in 0.0 (the Taranis being a notable exception).

    Lastly, the Dominix is second only to the Raven for PvE mission-running, but the Megathron is a sub-par (though perfectly passable) fleet-sniper.

  • Minmatar: Sole users of projectiles. Lots of ships with random missile slots. Lots of ships aided by drones. About half-and-half armor/shield tanking ships.

    To make the most out of Minmatar ships requires a lot of cross-training. As you progress through the ships, you'll need both armor and shield skills to use them all effectively. Their stand-out baseline ships (Hurricane, Typhoon) require solid projectile, missile, AND drone skills to get the edge on their competitors.

    They have an absolutely astounding solo-ship, the Vagabond, for those so inclined, but their fleet-sniping options are very poor. PvE, they are also lack-luster, having no way to switch their main damage type which Delve rats are resistant to.

    In small gangs, the Typhoon is an excellent close-range battleship once you've trained projectile AND missile AND drone skills, but otherwise their battleship selection is loathed and lamented by virtually everyone (especially Minmatar pilots). Long-range projectile (artillery) weapons deal the least damage and have the hardest time getting to long range, but the changes to Doomsday mechanics and projectile weapon tweaks may change all this come Dominion (Dec 2009), letting their fleet-sniper be competitive again (Tempest).

Recap:
  • Amarr: Lasers, drones, armor. Some missiles.
    • Solo: Good
    • Small gang: Excellent
    • Fleet fight: Excellent
    • PvE: Poor (everywhere), Excellent (Delve)
  • Caldari: Missiles, ECM, shields. Rails for long range.
    • Solo: Terrible
    • Small gang: Excellent (ECM), Good (missiles)
    • Fleet fight: Terrible (missiles), Excellent (railguns)
    • PvE: Excellent (everywhere), Good (Delve)
  • Gallente: Drones, hybrids, armor. Shields sometimes an option.
    • Solo: Poor
    • Small gang: Excellent
    • Fleet fight: Poor
    • PvE: Good (everywhere), Good (Delve)
  • Minmatar: Projectiles, missiles, drones, armor, and shields. Bad Battleships.
    • Solo: Excellent
    • Small gang: Excellent
    • Fleet fight: Poor
    • PvE: Poor (everywhere), Poor (Delve)


Training Times:

Last to consider is training for systems is not all equal. For example, it's quite easy to get ECM skills early on, and not so painful to switch to another system from them, but much harder to switch between say, Logistics and a new turret type.

All training times are (very rough) for a brand-new character with learning skills and no implants (so they're basically worst-case).

T2 Armor tanking: 12d
T2 Shield tanking: 20d
T2 Battleship Turret Weapons + Support Skills: 123d (96d to train a second set of BS turret weapons)
T2 Battleship Missiles + Support Skills: 47d
T2 Combat drones: 66d (43d extra to train heavy drones)
ECM: 30d (128d total absolutely maxed)
Logistics: 91d (33d more for Logistics V)
One race's Battleships (hull): 6d
Racial Frigate V: 12d
Racial Cruiser V: 30d
Battlecruisers V: 35d
Racial Battleship V: 46d


Closing:

It's very easy to get distracted in Eve and start training all sorts of things all over the place. Aside from everything mentioned here there is industry, research, trade, leadership, exploration, and on and on and on.

However in a fight there are only a limited set of skills that determine how much damage you can deal, and how much you can take. At that moment, everything else you may have trained goes right out the window. Specializing (training Tech 2 mods and then level V skills) will make all the difference in an otherwise even fight.

Conversely, it's quite easy to train frigate-sized ships and guns (and pretty easy for cruisers), and a sure-fire way to start to hate Eve is getting into an activity you feel you have to do (as opposed to just doing whatever you feel like), so ultimately... play Eve the way you see fit.

The best way to choose a race is to simply get in the game and see what the ships can do. Talk to people and see what their experiences are, what they like doing, and if their chosen skill path has allowed them to do it or not. Go on ops/fleets, and see which ships shine and see what you wish you could do.


Current as of Oct. 24, 2009.


Footnotes:

1: Once a character is older than (very roughly) 2 years, you can start running out of skills to maximize on a single ship setup, so you might as well cross-train at this point.

2: A "grand" skill path is not a real term used in game.

3: Missile flight times at sniping ranges can be 40 seconds or more.

4: Yes, sentry drones can shoot targets from further away, but since they can't move they require you to not be aligned while sniping, you lose them if you have to run suddenly, and to get better DPS than heavy drones requires rigging a ship specifically for them. They've really fallen out of use.



Whimsy posted:

I never played an MMORPG. Eve Online was my first one.

The worst thing about Eve Online is that, once you live beyond learning the basics, it sets the bar really high for other games. Everything happens all the time, and the community exists in one place. You make friends, but you'll make many more enemies. People will recognize you, and call you out. Some might remember you for something you've said or done, and maybe send you an eve-mail to see how you've been.

Despite the criticisms of the past, CCP has done some truly magical things with the game.

Whether or not you decide to (re)join Goonfleet, give the game a shot.

Angela Christine posted:

EVE isn't a twitch game. If you look at nearly any EVE screenshot, you'll see a list along the right hand side of the screen: that's the overview that shows you a list of certain types of objects you've chosen to show in the overview. You select an object from the list, then give the orders to lock on to it and shoot it (or heal it, mine it, salvage it, or whatever, depending on circumstances). You don't have to do it that way, you can click directly on objects in space, but the list is faster and easier. You can set up your overview so that the list also shows you how far away all those objects are, how fast they are moving, and other useful stuff.


If you think you would like to try EVE, do it now. Because of how experience works, I recommend not waiting until things are settled and you can devote lots of time to it. You don't get XP for killing things, or accomplishing things, all you get for that is Isk (the in-game currency). You get "XP" simply for having an active account. The guy that plays 2 hours a week will "level up" just as fast as the guy that plays 40 hours a week. While it is true that you can do fun stuff with the swarm with just a few hours of training time, you have a lot more flexibility after a few months of training. So even if you won't have much time to devote to the game until January, starting now could mean having more fun in January.

OneEightHundred posted:

Right now Amarr is generally agreed to be the best race to train for virtually everything. They get a good battlecruiser, one of the best HACs, the best battleship (which has a variant that newbies can fly), one of the best ratting ships, and most importantly, they get all of this by training one weapon system.

More accurate would be:

Amarr: The best at everything because lasers are overpowered and so is the Apocalypse.

Gallente: Split between drones and hybrids, gets a really mean drone boat, some good interceptors, and a decent battleship but that's about it.

Caldari: Split between electronic warfare, missiles, and hybrids. Missiles are much shorter to train than turrets, you get the Drake (a good PvP ship) and the Raven (a good PvE ship) from them, but they're poo poo for fleet fights. With hybrids, they tend to focus on range over damage, making them kind of mediocre. The Rokh is a good fleet battleship, but burns capacitor really fast.

Minmatar: Mostly uses projectiles with a few split-weapon gimmicks like the Typhoon. Tends to focus on speed at the expense of range. Most of its cruiser and frigate sized hulls are great, but the battleships are really poo poo.


An important thing to realize with Gallente and Caldari is that WEAPONS TAKE A LONG TIME TO TRAIN. Caldari missile boats and Caldari railgun boats, for example, have very little training in common.

Anonymous Zebra posted:

One thing I also want to point out to the newbees is that stats have ZERO effect on your actual performance in the game. Stats only affect the speed at which you learn skills, but only your actual skill levels affect the hard math the game uses to determine your actually ability to shoot people/rocks/rats. This is basically the opposite of how most MMO's work, so its a good thing to point out.

euphronius posted:

I* blew up my first enemy tonight!! It was epic. I felt like Han Solo and Cpt. Picard mixed together while wearing Adama's uniform.

Someone "decloaked a drake". This was apparently a very big deal. I saw purple dots eat a red dot and yellow lazors go on the red dot. I spent many minutes enjoying the varied architecture of jump gates. A Sansha Mutant Lord tried to eat me and I ran away.


*20 other guys did. I shot my space lazor and did 0 damage and my warp disrupter may or may not have been on.

The Third Man posted:

Transversal isn't too hard to understand, you don't really need to worry about the math. All you need to know is that you should move towards your target fast, and at an angle. He has big guns that don't track your frigate well. Imaging a big slow cannon trying shoot a fast moving boat or something. If the boat is moving straight at the cannon, he can line up a shot easily. If it's at an angle, the gunner has to move his big rear end cannon into line with the moving boat, which is much more difficult. Think about how easy it is to shoot someone running at you as opposed to at an angle(transversally!).

GarethOmni posted:

I've tried to quit Eve but it's like crack.

Destroying the hard work of an entire alliance in empire is amazing, watching it melt under your guns is even better. I quote: "WHY IS THIS FUNNY, IT WONT BE FUNNY WHEN I'VE LOST EVERYTHING!!!". I once was excited about fitting a 1mn micro warp drive on my coercer.

The newbees are what makes the fleet, without more members to bolster our ranks, tackle in our fleets and effectively become the new space zombie apocalypse throwing hundreds of yourselfs to the fire in the hopes of killing one, then two, then three, and before you know it their entire fleet is down because of you and your comrades.

Sign up now, get your skills going before dominion hits. Because when it does you will need them, we will need you.

Just think of it, if we have a ship tackled and he has a mean tank that can hold out to 600dps and we have 20 rifters pumping out 30dps, guess who's billion isk fit ship is going to die to 20 frigates that arent even worth one of his modules?

The satisfaction you get from destroying that time is amazing.

Mach420 posted:

Make money by salvaging, ratting scamming pubbies, mining, being a empire runner for people who need to buy things, etc. Of those, salvaging and looting wrecks is probably the easiest to get into. Read the salvaging goonwiki article. Mining is an option too, but that is the most boring thing you can possibly do. Salvaging at a high level is much easier for a newbie than ratting. You'll make more isk per hour when you start out salvaging vs killing rats.

NOL has the best market in goon space right now. You'll purchase many things there, but you'll want to check the S-Mart subforums on goonfleet.com as well as empire prices for things such as ships, skillbooks, and certain rare mods.

Gropiemon posted:

Just to let some of the newer players know that I got down to Delve and started ratting in my Ishkur. In about an hour and fifteen minutes I made about 12mil. Of course this will go higher once I get a Myrmidon shipped down but I can already see that making money will be no problem.

One other thing to note is that I was browsing the wiki last night for a few hours and learned more real, applicable info than I have in more than a year playing on my own.

It's also funny when you realize that GF is seriously the most organized alliance in the game. I used to be in Paxton and one of the reasons I left was that it was so difficult to get ships and items hauled to 0.0. Not to mention the eternal drama of being a holder in Providence.

Goons new to Eve should really join GF (after the tutorial of course), it will be more beneficial to you than trying to do stuff on your own.


Christian Ethic fucked around with this message at Oct 25, 2009 around 14:02

shortspecialbus
Feb 16, 2006

Someday, I Will Drive This Short Bus Myself

Christian Ethic posted:

I agree completely with this sentiment. I'm finding myself going through my bitter-vet second wind. Last week i was raging in a DBRB op about how poo poo he is so much that i didn't pay attention, got too far ahead of everyone else and ran straight into the enemy fleet and was blown up.

Yesterday i was flipping out in a small defense fleet about how much of a pussy the guy leading it was, He said something like "Fine Stahlregen! You want to lead us then HMMM???" I immediately jumped ahead, straight into a SE gate camp and got murdered.

I feel like i'm turning into hydrosan here; a self loathing, beautiful faggot.

Yeah I had quit because of lag and other poo poo for about a year and a half and just came back in late May. It's been a lot of fun.

Also, reposting from the old thread:

shortspecialbus posted:

Tentacle Party posted:

If im currently skilled for T2 gear fitted Hurricane at the moment (8m SP), what should I be aiming for to be useful in december? Still HACs and BlackOPs? Or will BSs be back in style?

Logistics ships are probably the most fun you'll have in fleets, honestly. The only downside is you won't be on killmails, but they're really intense getting reps and cap where it's needed, and your whole fleet will absolutely love you. A fleet of 50 BS with 3 logistics ships will decimate a fleet of 100 BS with no logistics. Well, maybe. Either way, flying a basi in a fleet there is never the "ok click next primary press F1 wait for it to die rinse repeat" that you have in a battleship. You're constantly scrambling between reps and such. It's a lot of fun.

I'm only *slightly* exaggerating with the fleet numbers there.

Minto Took
Dec 04, 2002

"When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master."


Flying tacklers is still the most fun I've had in fleet fights.

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

I dunno, I'm actually a fan of putting stupid poo poo like double sensor boosters on my zealot or sniper with scan res scripts and instapopping everything before anyone else in the entire fleet can even lock them.

I get off on griefing our own fleet by denying them killmails.

Twigand Berries
Sep 07, 2008

Festive!

I get off on Dbrb's leg

4outof5
Nov 10, 2003

Sleepwalking

I only played eve for a bit and hopped around squads. I chose to join right in the middle of hell purging systems and bubble camps. Which in someways was a bad thing in that there really wasn't a chance to look after newbies like me. but I learned how to tackle and stumbled my way to whatever station it was that we had to bubble camp and I sat there for hours on end not knowing what the hell was going on just waiting to tackle some faggot who said goons couldn't be in space. I consider myself a reasonably responsible adult but I was there until 3 and 4 am on work nights being a hateful little bastard and it was a blast. If I wasn't busy playing other things right now I would probably join back up and really learn how to play. Ignore the "excel with graphics" naysayers the fun of this game is being apart of something infinitely larger than yourself. I had a too much fun doing literally nothing but trolling a chatroom and occasionally tackling someones ship full of years worth of work so that someone could destroy it.

Silent Movie
Jul 23, 2007


There's also lots of good roleplaying opportunities. You can be Osama tracking down untanked miners shouting Arabic obscenities into local. We're more accepting these days.

Janin
Oct 12, 2008



Christian Ethic posted:

GOONSPACE - A RETROSPECTIVE FILM

Sally

Adar
Jul 27, 2001

William "J." Fillmaff in training

I joined the game after four years of holding out because it seemed like a stupid libertarian wankfest that required Excel to make money and where a PvP action was 90% boredom and 10% mindlessly clicking buttons.

That's exactly what it is, but for some reason, it's also fun. Also, you can grief people as much as every other MMO put together and we're just the right guild for it!

shortspecialbus
Feb 16, 2006

Someday, I Will Drive This Short Bus Myself

Twigand Berries posted:

I get off on Dbrb's leg

Literally.

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

In other news it looks like Daric's hopes of joining goonfleet have been dashed, It'll take some serious 11th hour campaigning to turn this around for himself.

Oran Sound posted:


Should I let this dude into Goonfleet?

Yes 36
No 52

Velius
Feb 27, 2001


Christian Ethic posted:

I dunno, I'm actually a fan of putting stupid poo poo like double sensor boosters on my zealot or sniper with scan res scripts and instapopping everything before anyone else in the entire fleet can even lock them.

I get off on griefing our own fleet by denying them killmails.

I prefer a sensor booster/signal amp II fitting myself, you get two more targets and can fit a large shield extender. The Zealot is among the most fun ships to fly in fleets.

elegant!
Aug 10, 2004

you can be a
RAINBOW


Christian Ethic posted:

In other news it looks like Daric's hopes of joining goonfleet have been dashed, It'll take some serious 11th hour campaigning to turn this around for himself.

those stats are loaded; put the poll in GBS and he'll totally make it.

Elotana
Dec 12, 2003

and i'm putting it all on the goddamn expense account

Adar posted:

I joined the game after four years of holding out because it seemed like a stupid libertarian wankfest that required Excel to make money and where a PvP action was 90% boredom and 10% mindlessly clicking buttons.

That's exactly what it is, but for some reason, it's also fun. Also, you can grief people as much as every other MMO put together and we're just the right guild for it!
this is the credited response

Dieting Hippo
Jan 05, 2006

THIS IS NOT A PROPER DIET FOR A HIPPO

man, every time i turn the corner there's awesomebee in some new propaganda.

keep smiling you little bastard.

Random Number
Mar 26, 2007
I HAVE DECIDED THAT THE SQUARE ROOT OF -1 IS ACTUALLY 3!

While currently on a hiatus myself (burn-out and broke as hell) I spent about 2 years in goonswarm, not a vet by any means, but it's cool. Try Eve out, Fly tacklers and die, yell at DBRB and listen to him sperg out about how to rat and poo poo.

Also, newbies, learn to lead fleets, post a newbee thread in the war room and tell people not to bring what they can't lose and go roaming into AAA space or PL (on again off again ally) space. Coming in December there's going to be a hell of a lot of action and I may have to shovel some walks to re-sub for the month.

Dieting Hippo
Jan 05, 2006

THIS IS NOT A PROPER DIET FOR A HIPPO

Also, newbies, when you get accepted into GoonFleet, drop what you are doing in Empire and kill yourself. Go to a station with medical facilities, change your clone location to NOL Ishukone Factory, leave station in your pod and self destruct.

After that, bitch at people for free frigates. Lose those frigates. Ask for more. This is the best thing you can do.

wtfisnukes
Sep 16, 2009


Northern Coalition REPRESENT!

We saw a few of you folks out in the lag fest that was Omam today, it was awesome.

Senor P.
Mar 27, 2006


I thought Stahl had quit making videos.... (or maybe when I left.) For all the gamma squad folks, how you guys doing? Are we still

Krakkles
May 05, 2003
MIATA

Hey guys I just signed up for an eve account can I join Goonswarm?

I'll bring my Hulk to delve!

Jacobey000
Jul 17, 2005

We will be cruising at a speed of 55mph swiftly away from the twisted wreckage of my shattered life!

They even added a skill queue so you just have to log in every 24h or so! Seriously though, the new changes will hopefully make this game fun again and maybe we'll get guys to shoot - if you join now, you'll learn the game enough to be ready.

Goetta
Mar 17, 2006



Senor P. posted:

For all the gamma squad folks, how you guys doing? Are we still

None of them play Eve anymore so yes I suppose

CmdrSmirnoff
Oct 27, 2005
happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy

1) Are Stealth Bombers useful yet?

2) Do Amarr still get hosed all the time?

3) Is there any way to check out my character with no account? A WoW Armory sort of system? I left the game two years ago but set a long-rear end skill to train back then and during a free weekend last year.

 evilweasel
Aug 24, 2002

ALWAYS BETTER THAN THE CHARGERS

Stealth bombers are great, Amarr are probably the best race right now, and no.

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

1) Are Stealth Bombers useful yet?

2) Do Amarr still get hosed all the time?

3) Is there any way to check out my character with no account? A WoW Armory sort of system? I left the game two years ago but set a long-rear end skill to train back then and during a free weekend last year.

Yes, check out the foreign legion video links in the OP http://killboard.goonfleet.com/battles/1498 http://killboard.goonfleet.com/battles/1499

No, Amarr own everything.

Yes, If you can remember your password check the eve-o website. A subbed account is only required to log into the actual game. loving gay game

Christian Ethic fucked around with this message at Oct 05, 2009 around 06:20

Ephektz
Aug 03, 2008


It's been a while since I've played EVE. The new content almost brought me back; this next expansion looks even more fun. I think I'll join up again. I seem to recall having a bunch of Spec Op crap trained up.

Wrong Piteous
Jun 17, 2008


I was too slow.

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

1) Are Stealth Bombers useful yet?

Yes. They can warp cloaked now, and we've been using them in groups with hilarious results.

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

2) Do Amarr still get hosed all the time?

No. Definitely not.

I edited out my answer to the third question on the suspicion that it was factually incorrect.

CmdrSmirnoff
Oct 27, 2005
happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy

Christian Ethic posted:

Yes, If you can remember your password check the eve-o website. A subbed account is only required to log into the actual game.

Where the hell is it on the site? I logged in fine to Account Services.
(Guy above you said "no" too.)

edit: n/m

Moving on - I might give this a try again. I miss the game, and I should be a few skills away from Cap Ships (and probably ready for Black Ops ships right now).

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

Where the hell is it on the site? I logged in fine to Account Services.
(Guy above you said "no" too.)


If you're still looking; http://www.eveonline.com/character/skilltree.asp

CmdrSmirnoff
Oct 27, 2005
happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy

Christian Ethic posted:

If you're still looking; http://www.eveonline.com/character/skilltree.asp

Thanks, but it doesn't let me enter, and EVEMon refuses to update my characters too.

Christian Ethic
Nov 21, 2004

I met someone who looks alot like you, she does the things you do, but she is an IBM

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

Thanks, but it doesn't let me enter, and EVEMon refuses to update my characters too.

Oh poo poo, my bad then.

Devian666
Aug 20, 2008


Christian Ethic posted:

If you're still looking; http://www.eveonline.com/character/skilltree.asp

You can't check any character information on the site unless you are subscribed. You can only adjust account settings and subscription details.

Pringlescan4
Jul 06, 2006


One major difference is that in wow if you tried to kill a level 80 guy with ten level 1 characters the level 80 guy would probably wipe you out with one spell.

In eve if you catch a battleship by himself with a group of frigates flown by level 1 characters, the battleship is going to die. You CAN and DO make a difference in fights from day one, as even the newest player can hold down enemy ships for the rest of us to kill. You are making a difference and helping out our alliance on day one.

Exitlights
Dec 25, 2006
Calmly and clearly announce that the building must be evacuated.

Is there a public primer on the 10 hour hero? I'd like to grief some highsec pubbies every now and then, but don't have the inclination to play the game or pay for it. So, if I can get away with it in trial accounts, that would be excellent.

TimNeilson
Dec 21, 2008


Exitlights posted:

Is there a public primer on the 10 hour hero? I'd like to grief some highsec pubbies every now and then, but don't have the inclination to play the game or pay for it. So, if I can get away with it in trial accounts, that would be excellent.

one of the plans was posted in the old thread, so you could probably dig it up there.

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