Annotated Index to PvP

This article should be cleaned up or improved.
The reason is: Update information regarding the Low-Sec Campus because it does not exist anymore

This page is an annotated index to the many PvP combat sources that can be found in this Wiki. It complements the PvP page category, which is an alphabetized list with no annotations but does include a wider range of entries.

When you edit this page, please try to keep text to the minimum needed to describe the link you are adding.

Common to All PvP

These include information that applies whether you are doing PvP solo or in a fleet.

Forums and Chat

Forums

• Combat Fleets Every fleet is announced here - included beginner fleets and E-UNI courses. The announcement includes the date/time of departure, the kinds of ships needed, and the general goal of the event.
• Classes All E-Uni classes are announced here ahead of time.
• Player versus Player Combat Wide-ranging discussion of PvP.
• Ships, Modules, Charges and Items Questions and answers about ships and equipment.
• Combat Lounge Discussion of doctrines.

Chat

The EVE University Chat Channels page lists channels that might be of some use if you want to discuss PvP. Here are the ones most useful to beginners:

• EVE University (E-UNI): channel is open to the EVE public and people there can try to help. Preface questions with "Q."
• Questions (EVE Uni): questions channel for EVE University members. Preface questions with "Q."
• Campus Channels: each of the E-UNI campuses has a channel, and it is not unusual to find discussions of PvP events or problems related to the campus.

Most E-UNI chat channels are password protected for privacy. You can acquire these passwords from this E-Uni forum post. You need to be an E-Uni member to access this post.

Members might also find the #fitting-chat and #eve-uni-general channels in the University Discord helpful; non-members can ask questions in #eve-uni-public-help, which is open to all.

Killboard

• zKillboard: E-Uni losses and kills are automatically posted here.

Timers

• Timers: log-off, weapons, remote assistance and other timers that affect your ship's status during combat.

General Introductions

These give general descriptions of PvP organization, strategies, tactics, ships, skills and so on, but without digging into the nitty gritty details. Each may cover a variety of topics.

• Support skills: key skills which boost the performance of lots of equipment.
• Rules of Engagement: who you can shoot at, and when.
• Safety Settings: how not to shoot people by accident.
• Safety Tips for Operating in Low Sec: low security space is dangerous; be aware, be prepared.

Tactics

Ways to find fights, win them, and manage their risks.

Hunting

• Identifying war targets in Local: includes how to set up a watch list.
• Directional scanning: use the built-in beyond-visual-range sensors on any ship to find trouble, or to avoid it.
• Probe scanning: transfer basic exploration techniques to PvP and use them to hunt targets.
• Bookmarks: useful in scouting, and in setting up safe spots in systems.
• Cloaking: the mechanics of EVE's stealth systems.

Combat

• Targeting: methods and time considerations.
• Tackling: the central act that starts most PvP combat in EVE—stopping a target from warping away.
• Overheating: get max performance from a ship by pushing modules to their limits.
• Electronic warfare ("EWAR") in general. EWAR interferes with enemy ships to decrease their effectiveness in battle.
• Electronic Countermeasures ("ECM", "jamming"): a powerful subtype of EWAR that breaks enemy target-locks.
• Capacitor warfare: make opponents helpless by draining their capacitors.

Dealing with losses

• Insurance: insure to ensure you can afford to lose your ship.
• How to save your Pod: know how to preserve your capsule ("pod") if your ship is lost.
• Ship Replacement Program: (for EVE University members only) get reimbursed for ship losses during University fleets.

Ships

Capabilities, uses, comparisons.

• E-UNI EVE Ships Matrix: an easy-to-use collection of links to every ship available in EVE.
• Ship Class Tactical Overview: brief description of each, organized by class.
• List of PvP Ships by Bonus
• Signature Radius: every ship has one; it determines many aspect of weapons targeting and damage.
• Drone-capable ships: includes bay size, bandwidth, etc.

Hardware and Software

Weapons. Ammunition. Fittings.

• Fitting ships: general principles for fitting.
• E-Uni Forum: Ships, Modules, Charges and Items: questions and answers about ships and the stuff that goes on a ship

Weapons

• Turrets and turret mechanics: general treatment of turrets, and the details of their workings.
• Missiles and missile mechanics: general treatment of missiles, and the details of their workings.
• Drones and drone mechanics: drone types, and nitty-gritty details of their workings.
• Bombs: unguided area-of-effect weapons for use in nullsec and wormhole space.
• Smartbombs: area-of-effect weapons centred on the user's ship.

Defense

• Tanking: detailed treatment of tank types and tanking techniques.

Fleet PvP

• E-UNI Forum: Combat Fleets All planned' E-Uni fleets are announced here, with the date/time of departure, the kinds of ships needed, and the general goal of the event.
• The Rookie's Guide To Fleet Ops: comprehensive introduction to fleet operations.

Fleet Organization and Doctrine

For members

• Overview Guide How to set up your Overview Window as required for participation in E-UNI fleets.
• Fleet Squad Member Duties: ways that you can contribute even as a basic squad member in a fleet.
• Fleet terminology: lists the terms used by fleet members.
• Fleet interface: windows you need to use, and sometimes leave open.
• Fleet Watch Lists: keeping track of nearby ships.
• Doctrines: consistent doctrines create effective fleets.

For commanders

• Forming fleets in EVE University: not official policy, but thorough checklist of recommended actions.^[Verify]
• Fleet Command Guide: "Fleet Command in EVE is as much a task of psychology as it is a task of military preparedness and skill."

Roles

• Logistics: essentially, EVE's PvP "healer" role.
• Scouting: detailed treatment of covert ops scouting in high and low security space.

Tactics

• Gate camps: trapping enemy ships at warp gates, and how to escape from such traps.
• Pipe Bombing: trapping an enemy fleet travelling through nullsec with an interdiction bubble and using smartbombing battleships to destroy them.
• Spider tanking: a fleet tactic in which ships use remote armor repair modules to repair one another

Solo PvP

• Solo PvP: collection of general information on common ships and contexts for solo PvP.
• Directional scanning: the standard tool for finding targets and spotting threats in solo PvP. See especially offensive scanning.

Other

Please add to this category any links that do not fit above.

E-Uni wars

• Wartime Operations in EVE University: important information if E-Uni receives a war declaration and you are operating in highsec space.
• Principles of War: mass and economy of force, unity of command, maneuver, surprise, security, center of gravity.
• E-Uni Forum: The War Room Each ongoing war is listed here for discussion.

Factional warfare

Factional warfare ("FW") is a PvE/PvP hybrid whereby players join teams and perform PvE missions in an environment that encourages PvP. Factional warfare is generally seen as a "stepping stone" to full scale PvP.

IMPORTANT: EVE University does not participate in factional warfare; members of the University must leave to participate in factional warfare, or create an alt character with which to participate. EVE University used to have affiliated corporations which participated in Factional Warfare, but this is no longer the case.

• Faction warfare: full discussion of factions, objectives and rewards.
• Faction warfare strategy and tactics: choosing a militia; mission mechanics.
• Faction warfare missions: enemies, ships, strategies.
• Faction warfare standings: keeping your standings in balance.

Other Indexes

• PvP page category: automatically collects the links to all wiki pages that include the "PvP" category tag.

Frequently Asked Questions

These FAQs may shorten your search time, especially if you are new to EVE PvP. (In the end you will still have plenty of questions. If you cannot find the answers in UNIWiki, you should proceed to ask in one of the E-UNI chat channels, or check out the E-UNI forums.)

How do I learn about PvP in EVE?

Do you mean Fleet PVP or solo PVP? Are you a beginner, or are you looking for additional information? Are you trying to fit a specific ship? Or are you looking for good PVP ships in general? As you might guess, it's not as simple as it seems - so read on.

In most online combat games you learn to use a weapon, say a sword or an axe, And then you use that weapon in pretty much the same way against all enemies. But EVE doesn't work that way. Each EVE ship has built-in strengths and weaknesses, so each ship is better off with particular kinds of weapons, and needs to be flown in a different way to make the best use of them. If you fight in a fleet you will likely choose a different ship with different weapons than you would use if you were fighting on your own. In fact, you might choose a different ship for a large fleet than you would for a small one.

The blunt answer to the question "how do I learn about PVP in EVE" is "go do it" - learn by experience. But here are some hints and suggestions about how to get started and where to look.

• SOLO PVP Every beginner's tutorial on solo PVP says more or less the same thing ... "buy yourself a handful of cheap ships, fit them as cheaply as you can, get insurance, make sure your medical clone is located in a convenient system, and then go down to low sec and fly around and wait for someone to attack you. You will lose ships, but you will learn PvP." If you would like to read a bit more about good beginning ships and fits, try this UNIWiki link. You can also go to YouTube and search on "Eve solo PVP" to find some videos.

• FLEET PVP The easiest way to learn fleet PVP is to join an E-UNI beginners fleet and go do it. Two of the fleet roles, tackling and electronic warfare, require relatively few skills and can be done by very new players. You can take the E-UNI courses on tackling and EWAR if you wish ... these are offered at regular intervals – check the calendar for times. This wiki has some guides to fleet combat for new players. And, you can always just ask about it in chat. Teaching players about fleet combat is one of the main things that EVE University does, it will be easy for you to get started.

• SHIPS Ships and their fittings are large part of the EVE game. There is no simple easy way to know what is best, but the advice that is usually given to beginners is to start with frigates, learn them thoroughly, and then move on to cruisers, battle cruisers and battleships. The two FAQs that follow this one have more to say about ships.

• TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES Strangely, combat techniques are not discussed very often in this wiki. Perhaps that is because most of them are fairly obvious - target, shoot, repeat. Or perhaps it is because the way you fight has so much to do with your own personality, and the way you have fit out your particular ship. The best advice is probably "get some practice in, and then ask your questions in chat or one of the forums." The odds are good that you will find someone who has been in your situation and is willing to discuss it with you.

What is the best ship for PvP?

The best PvP ship has shields that are 100% effective again all damage types, impenetrable armor, drones that can warp instantaneously to their targets and deliver a massive punch, an invisibility cloak that never goes down, and weapons that fire tiny little black holes that suck down their targets, no matter how large. [Sigh], but then everybody would have one and EVE combat would be rather futile, would it not?

OK, so there is no perfect combat ship. What you really want to know is, "How do I best spend my ISK to get myself into a ship that I can fly effectively with my existing skills?"

To answer that question, you first have to answer this one: "How, exactly, do I want to use this ship?" There are few, if any, general purpose ships in EVE. The most common uses of ships are: damage, tackling, EWAR, mining, hauling, exploration, and scouting. Once you know which of these activities you intend to do, then you can pick a ship whose configuration and bonuses match up.

For solo PVP you probably want a damage ship. This will be one that has the most defense for a sizable offense. But even in this category, there are choices. For close-in combat, you likely want short range powerful weapons and good armor - which requires a ship that supports turrets and has numerous low power slots. For missile combat you need launchers, and you probably want a number of mid power slots to mount shields in order to get the speed you need to avoid the enemy while your missiles approach. And of course, drone combat requires a somewhat different mix of capabilities.

For Fleet PVP you need to know your role. For tackling you want a speedy ship with plenty of mid-level power slots for mounting your tackling gear. For electronic warfare you want a ship whose bonuses support the kind of EWAR you intend to do. For scouting you will need to be cloaked. For the damage role, a variety of combat ships may do, but on the other hand the fleet commander may specify a certain kind of ship to fit the fleet doctrine.

The bottom line is that there really is no answer to the question "what is the best ship for PVP". What you need to do is go read about the activity that you intend to pursue, and see what kinds of ships are suggested for that activity.

How do I fit my <ship class> for PvP?

There are two good ways to find information about fitting ships:

• The first is to go look in the UNWiki Eve ship database. Every ship is listed there, with a link to a page that describes the ship in detail. At the bottom of that detail page you will find one or more fits for the ship. Usually these will be labeled in terms of their use … that is, Kiting Solo PVP fit, or Fleet Scouting fit ... although sometimes the names don't mean much and you will have to study the fit to figure out when to use it.

For example, suppose you have been training to use drones and are thinking about getting a Vexor. The Vexor page gives a summary of the skills you need, and it provides two fleet PvP fits: one shield tanked and one armor tanked.

• A second, and possibly more useful place, especially if you are an experienced fighter, is to ask in one of the E-UNI chat channels or forums. Q&A.E-UNI is especially useful for this kind of question, as there are often E-UNI experts on who are willing to talk at length about fitting ships. The general Chat.E-UNI channel is also good, as are the specific channels for the various campuses. Don't be afraid to ask what seems to be a simple or dumb question - fitting ships well is hard to do, and everyone knows that. Also, everyone loves their favorite fits, and they are usually willing to talk about them. E-UNI Forum: PvP Ship Loadouts includes a lot of information on ship fitting, though some of it is probably too technical for beginners.

By the way, there is no perfect fit. As you probably know by now, a ship's equipment interacts tightly with a pilot's skills, experience and psychology. What works best for one may not work well for another. You will find your perfect fit by trying different set-ups and seeing how they work out.

How do I find a solo PvP fight?

Main article: Solo PvP

If you are very new and want a gentle introduction to solo flight, EVE Uni hosts, at the time of writing, "Fight Club" events where players can practise solo PvP in friendly duels with ship and fitting limits to keep a fairly level playing field.

Solo PvP can be found in any area of the game outside highsec space.

Lowsec is the area most associated with introductory solo PvP, because the mechanics of the factional warfare complexes found in lowsec allow you to moderate the ship types that you fight. One time-honoured approach to learning solo combat is to fit a stack of cheap Tech 1 frigates, and work through them in lowsec combat. The downsides of lowsec are that the security status loss and gate gun interventions cramp your style somewhat, and that most people in lowsec are there to fight and are very well-prepared, so don't neglect the possibility of fighting elsewhere.

Wherever you choose to roam in search of combat, you'll likely have a better time if you fly cheap and small ships. Doing this will limit your exposure to losses; small ships also let you cover more ground in any given length of hunt, which gives you a better chance of finding content. There are larger and/or higher-cost options which can work well in solo PvP, but they normally require more player knowledge and skill to bring out their potential, and stepping into them without experience of the fundamentals will just generate costly lossmails.

How do I join a PvP fleet?

As an EVE Uni member, you are eligible to participate in any Uni fleet for which you are qualified and in which there are places available. Many fleets in the University especially welcome players without PvP experience and have pre-prepared ships ready for characters with limited SP. Scheduled fleets will indicate the expected experience level in their announcement.

Every scheduled fleet is pre-announced in the E-UNI Combat Fleet Forum. You can also find the fleet announcements listed in the E-UNI Calendar.

If you are based in a part of the University which operates in dangerous space, such as the Null-Sec Campus or the Wormhole Community, there will also be more free-form, unexpected opportunities to join in "quick-response fleets" when danger arrives.

Recommended Reading:

• The Rookie's Guide to Fleet Ops

Fleet requirements:

• Mumble access: make sure you have Mumble sorted out and operational.
• Have your Overview set to the E-Uni standard.
• Be prepared to lose your ship! (Covered by E-Uni Ship Replacement Program.)

Several groups in EVE host regular publicly-accessible PvP fleets which anyone can join. EVE University members are welcome to fly in such fleets provided they do not shoot structures or people blue to the University. See public fleets for more details.