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Skills not only give you the ability to use new gear, they also change the way the gear you are already using works. | Skills not only give you the ability to use new gear, they also change the way the gear you are already using works. | ||
For example, each level of the skill "Light Missiles" increases that damage that a light missile does by 5%. This means that if you train this skill to level 5, your light missile damage will go up by 25%. Similarly, the "missile bombardment" skill will decrease the flight time of your missiles by 10% per level, or 50% when fully trained. (Note, by the way, that Light Missiles only applies to "light" | For example, each level of the skill "Light Missiles" increases that damage that a light missile does by 5%. This means that if you train this skill to level 5, your light missile damage will go up by 25%. Similarly, the "missile bombardment" skill will decrease the flight time of your missiles by 10% per level, or 50% when fully trained. (Note, by the way, that Light Missiles only applies to "light" missiles, while missile bombardment applies to all missiles. This makes "missile bombardment" a very valuable skill, and consequently, it takes longer to train it to level 5.) | ||
Skills also modify equipment. "Missile Launcher Operation", for example, increases the rate at which your missile launchers fire. This has no effect on the missiles, themselves, but you fire them faster | Skills also modify equipment. "Missile Launcher Operation", for example, increases the rate at which your missile launchers fire. This has no effect on the missiles, themselves, but you fire them faster. Other skills make your ship faster, more agile, harder for enemies to target, and so on. | ||
Skills also modify | Skills also modify NPC interactions. Under "Social" skills, for example, "Connections" makes NPCs like you more, which means they are more likely to offer you better missions to run. And "Negotiation" increases the amount of money you receive for successfully completing a mission by 5% per level. | ||
'''BOTTOM LINE:''' don't worry about finding "better gear". Worry about increasing your skills to make the gear you already have work better. Being able to use one kind of weapon at level 5 is better than being able to use five different weapons at level 1. (And as you play the game, you will have plenty of time to train up on additional weapons ... and almost all long term EVE players do.) | '''BOTTOM LINE:''' don't worry about finding "better gear". Worry about increasing your skills to make the gear you already have work better. Being able to use one kind of weapon at level 5 is better than being able to use five different weapons at level 1. (And as you play the game, you will have plenty of time to train up on additional weapons ... and almost all long term EVE players do.) | ||
===Combat follows the laws of physics.=== | ===Combat follows the laws of physics.=== | ||
Combat in most online games is immediate. You take a swing or shot at your target, and you get instant feedback as to whether you hit or missed. In EVE, however, all combat is ranged combat, and it is conducted over kilometers with physical weaponry in space. Thus, the game computes hits and misses using trajectories | Combat in most online games is immediate. You take a swing or shot at your target, and you get instant feedback as to whether you hit or missed. In EVE, however, all combat is ranged combat, and it is conducted over kilometers with physical weaponry in space. Thus, the game computes hits and misses using trajectories, and your results are always at least a little bit affected by this. | ||
For example, let's say your ship is equipped with missiles. And, let's say your missiles travel at a speed of 1K (thousand) meters per second. So, if your ship is | For example, let's say your ship is equipped with missiles. And, let's say your missiles travel at a speed of 1K (thousand) meters per second. So, if your ship is 10K meters from a target when you fire a salvo of missiles, it will take them 10 seconds to arrive. On the other hand, if you are using a projectile turret (think: big guns on a naval battleship), the turret will have to turn to track its target. This takes some time, so the speed of the target and the speed of the turret both figure into the likelihood of a hit. Projectiles are much faster than missiles, though, so you will see your results almost immediately. | ||
The net result of all this, when balanced for game play by EVE, is this: | The net result of all this, when balanced for game play by EVE, is this: | ||
* close range weapons fire faster and hit sooner than long range weapons | * close range weapons usually fire faster and hit sooner than long range weapons | ||
* bigger guns on bigger ships do more damage per hit, but take longer to fire and have difficulty hitting small, fast moving targets | * bigger guns on bigger ships do more damage per hit, but take longer to fire and have difficulty hitting small, fast moving targets | ||
* weapons skill training greatly ... greatly ... increases your ship's damage potential (as long as you are using the weapons for which you have trained) | * weapons skill training greatly ... greatly ... increases your ship's damage potential (as long as you are using the weapons for which you have trained) | ||
'''THE BOTTOM LINE:''' which gear you use is not | '''THE BOTTOM LINE:''' which gear you use is not as important as your skill level for using the gear. Pick a ship category and a weapons system that you think you will like and then train all of the skills for those to at least level III. While you're training, do missions and other kinds of combat to learn how to use your weapons in combat. | ||
===Combat "happens" in the heads up display.=== | ===Combat "happens" in the heads up display.=== | ||