NPSI stands for "Not Purple, Shoot It", and refers to a community of public, no-strings-attached PvP fleets, many of them open to newer players or pilots with less PvP experience. The name comes from a joking rule of engagement encouraging pilots to fire on anyone not in their fleet (since EVE's interface marks fleetmates purple by default).
NPSI fleets form a valuable part of EVE's social landscape and offer one among many ways for pilots to try PvP combat.
Mechanics
NPSI fleets are advertised by an organizing fleet commander ("FC") or group, usually in a public calendar such as NPSI.rocks (the largest and most comprehensive).
A fleet advert will usually give a time, a designated FC, and a gathering-point in New Eden, plus a link to the planned doctrine and to a voice server that will host comms (most commonly, but not always, on Discord). Often a public in-game channel will be used for players to "x-up" to indicate their readiness to join the fleet.
Some NPSI fleets are explicitly designated as newbie-friendly, with free ship handouts and fittings designed for low-skillpoint characters. Since you can insure your ship, joining a fleet for new players with free ships and getting blown up can be a profitable exercise! Many other NPSI fleets actively want to include new players; if curious about joining a fleet but unable to fly its doctrine ships, try contacting the fleet commander in advance, as they might be able to suggest a simpler and cheaper option which will still keep up.
Diplomacy
Despite the "NPSI" name, NPSI fleets almost always permit individual members to hold back from shooting their own allies (or "blues") if the fleet encounters them.
Security
No one expects public fleets to be paragons of secrecy, but you should not stream your gameplay while in a NPSI PvP fleet unless the fleet commander gives you explicit permission.
NPSI and EVE University
EVE University members are welcome to join NPSI fleets provided that they keep to the University's rules throughout. The most important ways to keep to the rules are:
- Not shooting people who are allied—"blue"—to the University, even if the rest of the NPSI fleet engages them
- Not shooting structures, even if the rest of the NPSI fleet engages them (structure warfare potentially violates the University's commitment to neutrality)
Members should also note that a public fleet's chat and voice comms won't always be like the University's internal culture. NPSI fleets are almost always friendly and welcoming, but they reflect a variety of different social standards found in other corporations in EVE (and indeed some NPSI fleets can be a good way to "sample" what the sponsoring corporation is like).
Notable NPSI groups and resources
- NPSI.rocks: the most comprehensive NPSI calendar
- Spectre Fleet: the largest single NPSI community
- Bombers Bar: longstanding NPSI group specializing in black ops attacks using stealth bombers
- F.U.N. inc: another longstanding NPSI group