Faction warfare strategy and tactics
- Note: this is a draft page on Factional Warfare strategy and tactics
Factional Warfare strategy and tactics
In Factional Warfare you can fight for one of the four empires against its enemies for control over areas of low-sec. This page gives tips on how to make the most of the PvE and PvP opportunities in Factional Warfare (FW); for a more detailled look at the FW mechanics see Factional Warfare.
Before joining
Skills
Before joining Factionalal Warfare, you should at be able to fly a frigate with the "holy trinity" of midslot PvP modules (a microwarpdrive, a scram or warp disruptor, and a web). This will allow you to start looking for and getting into fights.
A good knowledge of the #overview and some FW-specific settings, as well as some practice with the directional scanner (D-Scan) is also helpful. FW provides plenty of PvP opportunities for both solo players and fleets; if you want to try flying in fleets, then it may be worth refreshing your memory of basic fleet operations (see The Rookie's Guide To Fleet Ops or attend the classes Fleets 101 and Fleets 102).
Ships, items and ISK
While it's possible to make a decent income from FW, it's recommended that you stock up on a few ships (including fittings, ammunition), and have enough ISK (or other ways of making ISK) to cover your losses while you get your bearings. Also, it's a lot less frustrating to just jump into a new ship and keep flying if you lose a fight (rather than have to go back to a trade hub and first buy and then fit a new one). Start by bringing smaller ships (frigates and destroyers), and decide later if you want to start flying larger ships.
Keep in mind that, once you join FW, about half of empire space (including two of the four trade hubs) will be very difficult to get to; this means that you won't be able to run missions or trade in the "enemy" half of empire space, and that any ships or items you have stored in enemy empire stations will be hard to get to. Therefore, move all the ships and modules you think you want to use out of enemy empire space. Additionally, in the medium term, it may be worth having a trading or hauling alt to keep your FW character supplied.
Choosing a militia
Which militia (Amarr, Caldari, Gallente or Minmatar) you choose is very much up to you. Some players choose it purely on role-playing grounds, while others look at the current state of each war zone (specifically, each faction's tier) and try to maximise their profit - although keep in mind that Factional Warfare is highly dynamic, and while a faction may control most of their war zone one month, the picture could look very different the next.
Additionally, there is no limitation on which race' ships you can fly - you could fight for the Minmatar while flying a ship built by their hated enemies, the Amarr. Deciding which parts of empire space you would like to continue accessing can also be a factor - so don't enlist with the Gallente if you want to continue going to Jita (which is a Caldari system)!
Once you have chosen a militia to fight for, move yourself and your ships to a staging system. You can ask in #militia chat what the common staging systems for your militia are, or, to start off, you can pick a high-sec system on your faction's border with the war zone (this keeps you reasonably safe from enemy militia, while still being only a jump or two away from the war zone). It may be helpful to pick a station owned by your militia's NPC corporation (e.g. State Protectorate if fighting for the Caldari), as this gives you easy access to your militia's #LP store and agent(s) for running #missions.
Gate camps and blobs Maps
what activities are most suitable to high and low tiers
Plexing
Opened vs unopened plexes (check whether it's on the overview ("visited")) - can decide to warp-and-cancel to make it more difficult to track you down. Share rewards when in fleets D-scan from a distance or from acceleration gate (note that some enemies like to camp the acceleration gate!)
D-scan once inside the plex to spot ships approaching acceleration gate Warp-in spot clearly defined by beacon - either stay close (brawler) or stay away (kiter/sniper)
friendly NPC not much help in a fight - do little damage and no e-war. choose plex size to fight particular ship classes (keep in mind that there is still power difference - eg pirate frigates can enter newbie plexes) plex sniping
Missions
see FW missions page
i Hub bash
25M HP i-Hub bash: SB does about 300-400 dps, battleship 600-800 dps, tier 3 battlecruiser 600-800 dps add time vs dps graph
Making money
Earning Loyalty Points
Defensive plexes that provide very low skilled players with the opportunity to participate and earn Loyalty points. Offensive plexing: more LP! Use maps to find quiet systems
Converting Loyalty Points into cold, hard cash
maximising profit (donating LP, LP rewards scale with tier, cashing out)
Upgrade systems or not
system upgrades rarely worth it for the benefits, definitely worth it for the militia tier
Militias and fleets
communication within militias (chat channels) spies and intel
For Minmatar FW Amamake is a common rally ground, so a base near or in this low-sec system can be handy. For other militias, I suggest looking at the FW Map pack from Ombey's Eve 2D Maps [2].
Having Teamspeak, Ventrilo and Eve Voice ready for usage will help as well. In the Minmatar militia, Eve Voice is commonly used by all corporations, though the corporations usually have an internal TS or Ventrilo server. From hearsay, I heard that the Amarr militia has been using a more or less Amarr militia public Ventrilo server to handle militia fleets. I personally prefer Eve Voice as it is available for everybody and you don't need to setup an additional program. Identifying who is talking is also a little easier.
Overview settings
overview settings
Further, check your overview settings and adapt them. Personally, I have a separate tab with opposing militia members just as normal war dec's with a flashy background on overview. I also have neutrals on overview to identify “out of corp” spies in rookie ships.
Neutrals in FW space
neutral = pirate? (both as a target and a threat)
Travelling through enemy high-sec
travelling through enemy high-sec
