Difference between revisions of "Safety Tips for Operating in Low Sec"

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Most players start their EVE careers in [[System Security|high security space (high-sec)]]. They learn the basics of flying and fitting ships as well as how to fight NPCs effectively. However, at some point every capsuleer will venture into low security space (low-sec). Maybe they are going because an agent has given them a mission. Maybe they have been seduced by the short cuts offered between areas of high-sec.  Maybe they have read about the vast amounts of isk that can be made by doing Planetary Industry in low-sec. Whatever the reason, most first timers in low-sec are quickly spotted by player pirates and blown up. This leaves many players with the impression that low-sec is very dangerous and they assume anyone who goes there just wants to have their ship blown up. They swear never to return.
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Most players start their EVE careers in [[System Security|high security space (high-sec)]]. They learn the basics of flying and fitting ships as well as how to fight NPCs effectively.  
  
To a certain extent, they are right. Low-sec ''is'' dangerous and you ''will'' lose ships there. However, low-sec is not nearly as dangerous as most player’s initial experience leads them to believe. In high-sec, CONCORD protects players from each otherTherefore, players whose experience is limited to high-sec have developed a mindset that allows them to ignore other players. Further, many of the features of the game that are popular in high-sec will lead to a quick and fiery death in low-sec. A change of mindset is required to operate in low-sec safely. This guide is your first step to learning that new mindset.
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However, at some point every capsuleer will venture into low security space (low-sec). Maybe they are going because an agent has given them a mission. Maybe they have been seduced by the short cuts offered between areas of high-sec.  Maybe they have read about the vast amounts of isk that can be made by doing Planetary Industry in low-sec. Whatever the reason, most first timers in low-sec are quickly spotted by player pirates and blown up. This leaves many players with the impression that low-sec is very dangerous and that a visit to low-sec is highly risky.
  
== Leave your shiny ships in high-sec (for now) ==
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To a certain extent, they are right. Low-sec ''is'' dangerous and players ''do'' lose ships there. However, low-sec is not nearly as dangerous as most initial experience sometimes leads players to believe. In high-sec, CONCORD protects players from each other.  Therefore, players whose experience is limited to high-sec have developed a mindset that allows them to ignore other players. Further, many of the features of the game that are popular in high-sec will lead to a quick and fiery death in low-sec. A change of mindset is required to operate in low-sec safely. This guide attempts to explain that mindset. It is primarily addressed to players who go to low-sec for purposes other than PvP.
In many ways, operating in low-sec is like going hiking in a remote wilderness full of predators.  Flying billion isk faction battle ships in low-sec is like hanging a huge piece of raw meat around your neck. Start with small (and cheap) ships and work your way up. The predators will still attack you from time to time, but there is no reason to attract every pirate within 10 jumps.
 
  
Basically, never fly anything you cannot afford to lose.
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== Plan Ahead ==
  
== Replace routine with seeking opportunities ==
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=== Leave your shiny ships in high-sec—for now ===
In high-sec, players tend to decide on some activity to pursue such as mining and then conduct it in the relative comfort and safety of CONCORD protection. In low-sec, it is more fruitful to assess your circumstance before taking action, adopting a risk management mindset where you weigh your potential gain against the loss of your time/ship/implants.
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In many ways, operating in low-sec is like going hiking in a remote wilderness full of predators. Flying billion-ISK faction [[battleships]] in low-sec is like hanging a huge piece of raw meat around your neck.  Start with small, cheap ships and work your way up.  The predators will still attack you from time to time, but there is no reason to attract every pirate within 10 jumps.
  
== Bring friends ==
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Basically, the familiar principle: never fly anything you cannot afford to lose.
There is safety in numbers.  Remember, pirates will generally only attack when they think they can win.  A bunch of friends will tend to scare away most of the small pirate gangs.  Just be careful though, if your fleet is too large or too shiny, the big pirate fleets will become interested in you.
 
  
Also, you can save yourself (and your fleet) from a huge amount of trouble by having a ship scouting ahead of you.  Cheap T1 fast frigates can do this fairly well, but T2 Covert Ops ships are best.
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=== Replace routine with seeking opportunities ===
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In high-sec, players tend to decide on some activity to pursue such as mining and then conduct it in the relative comfort and safety of CONCORD protection. In low-sec, it is more fruitful to assess your circumstances before taking action, adopting a risk-management and weighing potential gain against the loss of time/ship/implants.
  
== Have an escape plan at all times ==
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=== Plan and fit for attacks ===
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{{related class|Fitting (CORE class)}}
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Players will understandably attempt a wide variety of tasks in low-sec space, using a wide variety of ships, and it's not possible to give one-size-fits-all advice on fitting for attacks. But here are some basic suggestions:
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* Small, light ships such as [[exploration]] frigates and small mining ships such as the [[Prospect]] might have few or no slots to spare for defensive modules. These ships can use fast align times and (in some cases) cloaks to avoid attacks. The [[Venture]] mining ship has a built in resistance to warp disruption which lets it escape from basic tackling.
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* Consider fitting a meaningful [[Tanking|tank]] appropriate to your ship's size and module layouts, even if you don't plan on entering combat by choice. Being able to survive damage for a minute or two can be especially useful if you're working in a system or region with friendly pilots near.
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* ECM can disrupt an attacker and let you escape their tackle. Bear in mind that ECM counts as an offensive action, and will give you a one-minute timer which prevents you from docking up, tethering on a player structure, or jumping through a gate.
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** Ships with a meaningfully-large drone bay can consider packing a flight of [[ECM]] drones. ECM drones use a chance-based mechanic, and won't always save the day, but they can briefly break an attacker's target-lock, allowing you to warp out. When you deploy them against an assailant, be aligned and ready to warp out, in case they work.
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** Large ships can fit ECM burst jammers, which offer a chance to break the target-lock of ''every'' ship close to you.
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{{Example|Read the article on [[Fitting ships]] for basic principles of fitting. }}
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=== Bring friends ===
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There is safety in numbers.  Remember, pirates will generally only attack when they think they can win.  A bunch of friends will tend to scare away most of the small pirate gangs.  Just be careful though, as if your fleet is too large or too shiny, larger fleets will become interested in you.
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Also, you can save yourself (and your fleet) from a huge amount of trouble by having a ship scouting ahead of you, or sitting as a picket near a chokepoint through which attackers would have to pass to get to you.  Cheap T1 fast frigates can do this fairly well: the [[Atron]], [[Slasher]], [[Condor]] and [[Executioner]] are all highly expendable and extremely fast T1 options. T2 Covert Ops ships work even better.
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=== Have good bookmarks in any low sec system you frequent ===
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{{related class|Bookmarks (CORE class)}}
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Whenever you enter a new low sec system and are planning to stay longer than it takes to get to the next gate, or you are planning travel through the system frequently, create at least a minimal set of bookmarks. You should always have the following bookmarked in any system you frequent:
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* Tactical bookmarks and off-grid d-scan bookmarks for every gate and station.
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* A minimum of three (five is better) safe spots that are near nothing and are not in a direct line between any two other things in the system.
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* An instant undock bookmark for each station you use.
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* If you are planning on doing Planetary Industry in the system, you will need tactical bookmarks for the customs offices that you use.
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* If you are planning to mine or kill [[belt rat]]s, you should have tactical bookmarks on all the asteroid belts.  
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{{Example|Read the [[Bookmarks|bookmarks article]] for more information on how to create and use them.}}
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=== Turn off the Auto Target Back feature ===
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The auto target back feature is one that seems like a good idea but, in practice, is a very bad one. You should always manually lock your targets, so you always know exactly what you have targeted. Pirates can target you to try and get you to fire on them first. If you have auto target back turned on, you are much more likely to do this accidently. Furthermore, the auto target back will work on any ship that targets you, including friends. In the middle of a battle, you don’t want to kill a friendly support ship that locks you in order to (for example) repair your armour.
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To turn this off:
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# Press the {{button|Escape}} key to bring up the Options window
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# Select the "General Settings" tab
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# In the middle column near the bottom, set the "Auto Target Back" entry to "0 targets"
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== Stay Alert ==
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Once in low-sec, you need to monitor the space around you carefully.
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=== Have an escape plan ===
  
 
This one is pretty self-explanatory. You should always have an “out” planned in your head before you need it. What this plan will be is determined by what you are doing and where you are doing it (i.e. mining vs. hauling vs. mission running vs. pirate hunting). Taking 5 seconds to pre-plan your escape route will get you out of more trouble than anything else in this guide.  
 
This one is pretty self-explanatory. You should always have an “out” planned in your head before you need it. What this plan will be is determined by what you are doing and where you are doing it (i.e. mining vs. hauling vs. mission running vs. pirate hunting). Taking 5 seconds to pre-plan your escape route will get you out of more trouble than anything else in this guide.  
  
== Never use your Auto Pilot to fly anywhere for any reason  ==
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=== Never go AFK in space  ===
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This should be obvious. Never leave your computer while you are in space, always dock up. The only possible exception to this is if you are using a cloaking device, in a [[Safe spots|safe spot]].
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=== Never use your Autopilot to fly anywhere for any reason  ===
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Your autopilot will warp you to a point 15km away from your target station or gate, then slow-boat you to the target. During that time, any hostlie player will probably kill you. Even if you were at your computer, the time it takes to align to a new destination and accelerate to warp could prove fatal.
  
Your auto pilot will warp you to a point 15km away from your target (Station or Gate) then slow boat you to the target. During that time, any pirate at the station/gate will probably kill you. Even if you were at your computer, the time it takes to align to a new destination and accelerate to warp will usually prove fatal.
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=== Think out your warp-in distances  ===
  
== There is no rule six  ==
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If you are going to rescue a friend, you want to warp to your weapons' optimal range. If you are going to an asteroid belt or similar location, you might want to warp in a long way off (60km+ at least) so you can see what is waiting there for you before you are close enough to engage. If you are losing a fight and warp away, any half skilled pirate will be able to figure out where you have gone and warp after you. They will warp to 0 hoping to catch you.
  
== Never go AFK in space ==
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The only time you might want to warp to 0 is when you are warping to a gate or docking at a station so you can jump/dock right away.  Be careful, though, when warping to a gate: a properly positioned and fit battleship can use smart bombs to kill small ships (like frigates) as they warp in.  This can happen often in the areas of low sec that act as short cuts from from one part of high sec to another.  If you are not sure that the gate you are jumping to is safe, warp to it at a far distance (or warp to a tactical bookmark: see next tip) and check it out first. If it is clear, then "bounce": warp to somewhere else, then back to the gate at 0 and jump.
  
This should be obvious. Never leave your computer while you are in space, always dock up. The only possible exception to this is if you are using a cloaking device, but even then it is not a good idea.
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=== Watch Local Chat's member list closely  ===
  
== Never warp to 0 when destination is unknown  ==
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Always, always, always have your Local chat channel window open and tall enough to see all players in the local system. You don't need to read the actual chat—indeed it is often better not to read the actual chat—but arrange your windows so you can see ''who is in Local''.
  
If you are going to rescue a friend, you want to warp to your weapons optimal range. If you are going to an asteroid belt or similar location, you want to warp in a long way off (60km+ at least) so you can see what is waiting there for you before you are close enough to engage. If you are losing a fight and warp away, any half skilled pirate will be able to figure out where you have gone and warp after you. They will warp to 0 hoping to catch you. The only time you might want to warp to 0 is when you are warping to a gate or docking at a station so you can jump/dock right away.  Be careful, though, when warping to a gate -- a properly positioned and fit battleship can use smart bombs to kill small ships (like frigates) as they warp in.  This can happen often in the areas of low sec that act as short cuts from from one part of high sec to another. If you are not sure that the gate you are jumping to is safe, warp to it at a far distance (or a tactical bookmark: see next tip) and check it out first.  If it is clear, warp to somewhere else then back to the gate at 0 and jump.
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Whenever someone enters the system, they will appear in the list. Double-click their name to open the "Show Info" window on them. You are looking for two pieces of information: their security status and corporation/alliance. If their security status is -5.0 or less, you should assume they are going to attack you (if they find you and think they can win the fight). If their security status is higher than -5.0, they might attack you so it is safest to assume they will until you know the area better.
  
== Have good bookmarks in any low sec system you frequent==
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If you're going to be in a system for a while, try clicking in the Local member list, and then pressing {{button|CTRL}} + {{button|A}} to select all members. Anyone else who enters after you do this will come in un-highlighted, making them more visible to you.
Whenever you enter a new low sec system and are planning to stay longer than it takes to get to the next gate, or you are planning travel through the system frequently create at least a minimal set of bookmarks.  You should always have the following bookmarked in any system you frequent.  Tactical bookmarks (or off-grid observation bookmarks if you know how use the d-scan) for every gate and station.  A minimum of three (five is better) safe locations that are near nothing and are not in a direct line between any two other things in the system. An instant undock bookmark for each station you use.  If you are planning on doing Planetary Industry in the system, you will need tactical bookmarks for the customs offices that you use.  If you are planning to mine or kill belt rats, you should have tactical bookmarks on all the asteroid belts.
 
  
Read the [[Bookmarks|Bookmarks article]] for more information about the different types of bookmarks and how to create and use them.
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If you spend enough time in same area of low sec, you will soon learn the local players and corporations and how they will react to your being in the system. From that, you will have better idea of who to watch out for and when someone new is in the area.  
  
== Always fight aligned when ratting or mining  ==
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=== Pre-align when suspicious ===
  
When you doing anything that requires you to stay in one place for more than a few seconds (eg [[ratting]] or [[mining]]), there is always the chance that a player pirate will find you and warp in on you. Remember, the bigger your ship the longer it takes to align and warp out. You should always be ready to warp out at the first hint of danger. It is not always necessary to run away, but you should ALWAYS be ready to.
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When you are doing anything that requires you to stay in one place for more than a few seconds (e.g. [[ratting]] or [[mining]]), there is always the chance that a player pirate will find you and warp in on you. Remember, the bigger your ship the longer it takes to align and warp out. You should always be ready to warp out at the first hint of danger. It is not always necessary to run away, but you should always be ready to flee.
  
== Use your Directional Scanner  ==
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Remember that "aligning while static" is impossible. EVE's graphics show your ship facing in one direction, but this is merely a graphical effect: as far as the game is concerned, you are ''only'' aligned and permitted to ender warp when you are '''moving at at least 75% of your maximum speed''' on a '''vector within 5 degrees of your alignment target'''. If it's possible to carry out whatever you're doing while also being aligned, make sure you are.
  
There is a special art to using the Directional Scanner (d-scan) to hunt people that takes time and a lot of practice to master. It requires almost no skill, however, to use the d-scan to see if you are in danger. Simply set the angle to 360 and distance to maximum. Click the scan button every few seconds. If you see a ship appear in the d-scan that you don’t know, be ready to have a visitor. If you see Combat Scanner Probes, then someone is looking for you, be ready to have a visitor. If you are in an exploration site and you see Core Scanner Probes someone is looking for exploration sites, be ready to have a visitor.
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=== Use your [[Directional scanning|Directional Scanner]] ===
  
Although the information above is useful for keeping you safe, the d-scan is an important tool for any low sec pilot to master, especially if they plan to hunt pirates.  Please read the [[Directional_Scanner_Guide|Directional Scanner Guide]] to learn more about the ins and outs of using the d-scan like a pro.
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{{related class|D-Scan (CORE class)}}
  
== Watch local closely  ==
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The directional scanner—"d-scan"—is an essential tool for both hunters and targets in all systems outside of high security space. Using it to hunt people is demanding, and takes practice, but it takes very little practice or knowledge to use it to check your immediate astronomical environment for threats.
  
Always, always, always have your local chat window open and tall enough to see all players in the local system. Whenever someone enters the system, they will appear in the list. Right click on their name and “show info” on them. You are looking for two pieces of information: their security status and corporation/alliance. If their security status is -5.0 or less, you should assume they are going to attack you (if they find you and think they can win the fight). If their security status is higher than -5.0, they might attack you so it is safest to assume they will until you know the area better. If you spend enough time in same area of low sec, you will soon learn the local players and corporations and how they will react to your being in the system. From that, you will have better idea of who to watch out for and when someone new is in the area.
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Set the angle to 360 and distance to maximum. Click the scan button every few seconds. (If you are going to spend any time in low- or null-sec space, consider binding it to a convenient button, such as a mouse button or the spacebar.) If you see a ship appear in the d-scan that you don’t certainly know is friendly, be ready to have a visitor. If you see Combat Scanner Probes on d-scan, then someone is looking for you, be ready to have a visitor. If you are in an exploration site and you see Core Scanner Probes, someone is looking for exploration sites, and you should be ready to have a visitor. Know the limitations of different kinds of search:
  
== Always fit your ship to handle PVP  ==
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* A player hunting using d-scan ''alone'' can only warp in on you if you're at a publicly-warpable celestial (a belt, a gate, a station, &c), or at a publicly-warpable combat site.
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* A player using d-scan and core probes can warp in on you at the above locations and at any location which can be scanned down using core probes, e.g. a wormhole or an exploration site.
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* A player using d-scan and combat probes can warp in on you at any of the above locations, and also at any other location in space, provided you're not cloaked.
  
This is one of the most difficult subjects to describe to players new to PVP. The difficulty stems from the fact that while every ship can be fitted for PVP, the best PVP fit for each ship will be different based on specific skills of the character, the play style of the player and what you are doing with your ship. Here are some basic principles that will help guide in fitting your ship to handle PVP, but remember there always exceptions to every rule, even these.  
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{{Example|Read the [[Directional scanning|d-scan article]] for more information on its use.}}
  
=== Capacitor is Life ===
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=== Never go [[GCC]] by a gate or station while in a small ship ===
  
If your capacitor is drained to zero, active defensive modules will be turned off as well as most weapon systems. In short, if you run out of capacitor during a fight, you are going to lose the ship. Be very aware of how much capacitor your ship has with its modules on and plan accordingly.
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If you attack a neutral player (anyone with a security status higher than -5 and that your corporation is not at war with) you will be tagged as a [[Timers#Suspect_Timer|suspect]] for 15 minutes. Everyone will be able to attack you without repercussions. If you are within 150k of a gate or station, the sentry guns will open fire on you. Small ships (frigates, destroyers, most cruisers) will evaporate under these guns in seconds.  
  
=== Use a propulsion module (i.e. afterburner or micro warp drive)  ===
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== What to do when caught ==
  
These will give you the speed to maneuver, dictate range and run away during a fight. Remember, however, that these modules use a lot of capacitor, so use them sparingly.
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If you get caught and tackled, all is not (necessarily) lost. '''Stay calm''', as there might still be things you can do.
  
=== You should always try to use a Damage Control Module  (unless you know you don't need one) ===
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=== Call for help ===
  
These will give you resists to your hull as well as boost your resists on Armor and Shields. Many of the smaller ships (frigates, destroyers, and some cruisers) with few mid or low slots, will often have a Damage Control as their only “tank” module.  
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If you're operating with friends, report what is attacking you, where.
  
These require a Low slot in your fit and sometimes your ship benefits more by using that slot for something else. As a general rule, you should use one until you know enough about PvP ship fitting to know you don't need one.
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Ideally, you will be on voice comms together. If this is the case, speak about your character in the third person (a spoken "I" is not an identifiable figure) or name yourself at the start of your message. Then calmly state what is attacking you, where, and what you're flying, and ask for help. Ideally (again) you will be in a fleet with your friends. This will let them warp directly to you.
  
=== Use the right tank for your ship ===
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=== Manoeuvre ===
  
One of the most tricky things that you can do when fitting a ship is getting your tank correct.  It is also one of the most debated subjects in the area of "proper" ship fitting.  Many ships benefit most from passive buffer tanks.  Some ships give bonuses to active repair modules so may be better suited to the active tank.  Other ships are best fitted with speed tanks that use only modules that affect agility and top speed to avoid damage.  Read these articles on ship tanking to get a feel for the philosophy of ship tanking-then do what will work best for your ship with your skills.
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If you have a microwarpdrive fitted and are not warp scrambled, only warp disrupted, you might be able to break out of a single tackler's orbit by executing a [[Manual_piloting#Slingshot_Maneuver|slingshot manoeuvre]].
  
[[Armour_Tanking | Armor Tanking]]
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If you are warp scrambled, or you only have an afterburner fitted, at least make sure you're moving. A consistent feature of EVE's combat system is that moving targets tend to take less damage. Ideally, move laterally to any turret-using ships on grid, to impede their tracking; you might find that in the heat of the moment you can't identify what you're being attacked by, in which case just be moving.
  
[[Shield_Tanking|Shield Tanking]]
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=== Fight back ===
  
=== Never rely on someone else’s fit. ===
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If your ship has any damage-dealing weapons and/or drones, focus them on your attacker, or on one of your attackers if there are several. Damaging an attacker imposes more combat stress on them, and increases the chance that they'll make a critical error.
  
You can get PVP fits from the Internet, other players, even blogs and wikis. While these can be useful to study, always remember they are tailored to the pilot who created them and will probably not work for you without modification.
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If there are several attackers but only one is tackling you (look for the warp disruption/scrambling icon next to their name in the overview), try hurting the one that is tackling you: if you can drive them off or blow them up, you will be able to warp out.
  
=== If you are in E-Uni, you can always get help in the chat channels and Mumble.  ===
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=== Overheat ===
  
== Never go [[GCC]] by a gate or station while in a small ship  ==
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[[Overheating]] your modules wrings more performance out of them; if you survive, you can worry about repairing them later.
  
If you attack a neutral player (anyone with a security status higher than -5 and that your corporation is not at war with) you will be tagged as a [[Timers#Suspect_Timer|suspect]] for 15 minutes. Everyone will be able to attack you without repercussions. If you are within 150k of a gate or station, the sentry guns will open fire on you. Small ships (frigates, destroyers, most cruisers) will evaporate under those guns in seconds.
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Many modules overheating at once might risk burning out something important... but if in doubt and working in your own combat stress, '''just overheat everything'''! Worrying about repairs can come after you survive. If you get blown up anyway, you'll have left your attackers with a repair bill for all your burned-out modules.
  
== Always have the Auto Target Back feature turned off  ==
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If, though, things happen slowly enough for you to think about it, your order of priority for overheating is:
  
The auto target back feature is one that seems like a good idea but, in practice, is a very bad one. You should always manually lock your targets, so you always know exactly what you have targeted. Often times, pirates will target you to try and get you to fire on them first. If you have auto target back turned on, you are much more likely to do this accidently. Further, the auto target back will work on any ship that targets you, including friends. In the middle of a battle, you don’t want to kill a friendly support ship that locks you in order to use their “helper” modules (remote repair, remote sensor boosters, energy transfers, etc…).  
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# Your propulsion module, if it's not scrammed: this will increase your chance of shaking the enemy's tackle off.
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# Your defensive modules: overheating these will help you tank more damage, increasing the time for help to arrive. Remember that active hardeners can be overheated, as well as armour repairers and shield boosters. Even a passive or buffer tank therefore often has components which can be heated!
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# Your offensive modules: putting more DPS on the enemy will heighten their combat stress.
  
To turn this off:
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=== Save your pod ===
# Press the escape key to bring up the Options window
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# Select the "General Settings" tab
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If things go badly and your ship is clearly not long for this world, [[Pod saving|be ready to get your pod out]] as soon as your hull explodes. There are no warp disruption bubbles in low-sec space, so you stand a good chance of saving your pod if you are trying to warp immediately on the loss of your ship.
# In the middle column near the bottom, set the "Auto Target Back" entry to "0 targets"
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=== Learn ===
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Ultimately, all ships in EVE are temporary possessions, put at risk whenever you undock, even in high-sec space. It helps to think of them as expendable in much the same way that ammo is. With luck, you won't lose many ships in low-sec space.
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When it happens, though, try to accept it as part of the cost of doing business. Assess what went wrong, and what in your planning and execution you could have done differently.
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It ''may'' be worth talking (''politely''—and perhaps via a calm in-game email after at least a few hours' break) to your attackers. Low-sec PvP players vary wildly, and you should not let them talk you into giving them money or going to a particular location. In some ways, though, piracy is a more honest profession than scamming or [[suicide ganking]], and some players are very happy to offer advice. (Some pirates have even been known to reimburse new players after blowing them up, knowing that a cheap kill for a skilled PvP pilot can be an expensive loss for a newbie; it's probably best not to outright ask for this, but it goes to show that many players are capable of remembering that EVE is just a game.)
  
 
[[Category:PvP]]
 
[[Category:PvP]]

Latest revision as of 16:00, 31 January 2024

Most players start their EVE careers in high security space (high-sec). They learn the basics of flying and fitting ships as well as how to fight NPCs effectively.

However, at some point every capsuleer will venture into low security space (low-sec). Maybe they are going because an agent has given them a mission. Maybe they have been seduced by the short cuts offered between areas of high-sec. Maybe they have read about the vast amounts of isk that can be made by doing Planetary Industry in low-sec. Whatever the reason, most first timers in low-sec are quickly spotted by player pirates and blown up. This leaves many players with the impression that low-sec is very dangerous and that a visit to low-sec is highly risky.

To a certain extent, they are right. Low-sec is dangerous and players do lose ships there. However, low-sec is not nearly as dangerous as most initial experience sometimes leads players to believe. In high-sec, CONCORD protects players from each other. Therefore, players whose experience is limited to high-sec have developed a mindset that allows them to ignore other players. Further, many of the features of the game that are popular in high-sec will lead to a quick and fiery death in low-sec. A change of mindset is required to operate in low-sec safely. This guide attempts to explain that mindset. It is primarily addressed to players who go to low-sec for purposes other than PvP.

Plan Ahead

Leave your shiny ships in high-sec—for now

In many ways, operating in low-sec is like going hiking in a remote wilderness full of predators. Flying billion-ISK faction battleships in low-sec is like hanging a huge piece of raw meat around your neck. Start with small, cheap ships and work your way up. The predators will still attack you from time to time, but there is no reason to attract every pirate within 10 jumps.

Basically, the familiar principle: never fly anything you cannot afford to lose.

Replace routine with seeking opportunities

In high-sec, players tend to decide on some activity to pursue such as mining and then conduct it in the relative comfort and safety of CONCORD protection. In low-sec, it is more fruitful to assess your circumstances before taking action, adopting a risk-management and weighing potential gain against the loss of time/ship/implants.

Plan and fit for attacks

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Players will understandably attempt a wide variety of tasks in low-sec space, using a wide variety of ships, and it's not possible to give one-size-fits-all advice on fitting for attacks. But here are some basic suggestions:

  • Small, light ships such as exploration frigates and small mining ships such as the Prospect might have few or no slots to spare for defensive modules. These ships can use fast align times and (in some cases) cloaks to avoid attacks. The Venture mining ship has a built in resistance to warp disruption which lets it escape from basic tackling.
  • Consider fitting a meaningful tank appropriate to your ship's size and module layouts, even if you don't plan on entering combat by choice. Being able to survive damage for a minute or two can be especially useful if you're working in a system or region with friendly pilots near.
  • ECM can disrupt an attacker and let you escape their tackle. Bear in mind that ECM counts as an offensive action, and will give you a one-minute timer which prevents you from docking up, tethering on a player structure, or jumping through a gate.
    • Ships with a meaningfully-large drone bay can consider packing a flight of ECM drones. ECM drones use a chance-based mechanic, and won't always save the day, but they can briefly break an attacker's target-lock, allowing you to warp out. When you deploy them against an assailant, be aligned and ready to warp out, in case they work.
    • Large ships can fit ECM burst jammers, which offer a chance to break the target-lock of every ship close to you.
Read the article on Fitting ships for basic principles of fitting.

Bring friends

There is safety in numbers. Remember, pirates will generally only attack when they think they can win. A bunch of friends will tend to scare away most of the small pirate gangs. Just be careful though, as if your fleet is too large or too shiny, larger fleets will become interested in you.

Also, you can save yourself (and your fleet) from a huge amount of trouble by having a ship scouting ahead of you, or sitting as a picket near a chokepoint through which attackers would have to pass to get to you. Cheap T1 fast frigates can do this fairly well: the Atron, Slasher, Condor and Executioner are all highly expendable and extremely fast T1 options. T2 Covert Ops ships work even better.

Have good bookmarks in any low sec system you frequent

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Whenever you enter a new low sec system and are planning to stay longer than it takes to get to the next gate, or you are planning travel through the system frequently, create at least a minimal set of bookmarks. You should always have the following bookmarked in any system you frequent:

  • Tactical bookmarks and off-grid d-scan bookmarks for every gate and station.
  • A minimum of three (five is better) safe spots that are near nothing and are not in a direct line between any two other things in the system.
  • An instant undock bookmark for each station you use.
  • If you are planning on doing Planetary Industry in the system, you will need tactical bookmarks for the customs offices that you use.
  • If you are planning to mine or kill belt rats, you should have tactical bookmarks on all the asteroid belts.
Read the bookmarks article for more information on how to create and use them.

Turn off the Auto Target Back feature

The auto target back feature is one that seems like a good idea but, in practice, is a very bad one. You should always manually lock your targets, so you always know exactly what you have targeted. Pirates can target you to try and get you to fire on them first. If you have auto target back turned on, you are much more likely to do this accidently. Furthermore, the auto target back will work on any ship that targets you, including friends. In the middle of a battle, you don’t want to kill a friendly support ship that locks you in order to (for example) repair your armour.

To turn this off:

  1. Press the Escape key to bring up the Options window
  2. Select the "General Settings" tab
  3. In the middle column near the bottom, set the "Auto Target Back" entry to "0 targets"

Stay Alert

Once in low-sec, you need to monitor the space around you carefully.

Have an escape plan

This one is pretty self-explanatory. You should always have an “out” planned in your head before you need it. What this plan will be is determined by what you are doing and where you are doing it (i.e. mining vs. hauling vs. mission running vs. pirate hunting). Taking 5 seconds to pre-plan your escape route will get you out of more trouble than anything else in this guide.

Never go AFK in space

This should be obvious. Never leave your computer while you are in space, always dock up. The only possible exception to this is if you are using a cloaking device, in a safe spot.

Never use your Autopilot to fly anywhere for any reason

Your autopilot will warp you to a point 15km away from your target station or gate, then slow-boat you to the target. During that time, any hostlie player will probably kill you. Even if you were at your computer, the time it takes to align to a new destination and accelerate to warp could prove fatal.

Think out your warp-in distances

If you are going to rescue a friend, you want to warp to your weapons' optimal range. If you are going to an asteroid belt or similar location, you might want to warp in a long way off (60km+ at least) so you can see what is waiting there for you before you are close enough to engage. If you are losing a fight and warp away, any half skilled pirate will be able to figure out where you have gone and warp after you. They will warp to 0 hoping to catch you.

The only time you might want to warp to 0 is when you are warping to a gate or docking at a station so you can jump/dock right away. Be careful, though, when warping to a gate: a properly positioned and fit battleship can use smart bombs to kill small ships (like frigates) as they warp in. This can happen often in the areas of low sec that act as short cuts from from one part of high sec to another. If you are not sure that the gate you are jumping to is safe, warp to it at a far distance (or warp to a tactical bookmark: see next tip) and check it out first. If it is clear, then "bounce": warp to somewhere else, then back to the gate at 0 and jump.

Watch Local Chat's member list closely

Always, always, always have your Local chat channel window open and tall enough to see all players in the local system. You don't need to read the actual chat—indeed it is often better not to read the actual chat—but arrange your windows so you can see who is in Local.

Whenever someone enters the system, they will appear in the list. Double-click their name to open the "Show Info" window on them. You are looking for two pieces of information: their security status and corporation/alliance. If their security status is -5.0 or less, you should assume they are going to attack you (if they find you and think they can win the fight). If their security status is higher than -5.0, they might attack you so it is safest to assume they will until you know the area better.

If you're going to be in a system for a while, try clicking in the Local member list, and then pressing CTRL + A to select all members. Anyone else who enters after you do this will come in un-highlighted, making them more visible to you.

If you spend enough time in same area of low sec, you will soon learn the local players and corporations and how they will react to your being in the system. From that, you will have better idea of who to watch out for and when someone new is in the area.

Pre-align when suspicious

When you are doing anything that requires you to stay in one place for more than a few seconds (e.g. ratting or mining), there is always the chance that a player pirate will find you and warp in on you. Remember, the bigger your ship the longer it takes to align and warp out. You should always be ready to warp out at the first hint of danger. It is not always necessary to run away, but you should always be ready to flee.

Remember that "aligning while static" is impossible. EVE's graphics show your ship facing in one direction, but this is merely a graphical effect: as far as the game is concerned, you are only aligned and permitted to ender warp when you are moving at at least 75% of your maximum speed on a vector within 5 degrees of your alignment target. If it's possible to carry out whatever you're doing while also being aligned, make sure you are.

Use your Directional Scanner

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The directional scanner—"d-scan"—is an essential tool for both hunters and targets in all systems outside of high security space. Using it to hunt people is demanding, and takes practice, but it takes very little practice or knowledge to use it to check your immediate astronomical environment for threats.

Set the angle to 360 and distance to maximum. Click the scan button every few seconds. (If you are going to spend any time in low- or null-sec space, consider binding it to a convenient button, such as a mouse button or the spacebar.) If you see a ship appear in the d-scan that you don’t certainly know is friendly, be ready to have a visitor. If you see Combat Scanner Probes on d-scan, then someone is looking for you, be ready to have a visitor. If you are in an exploration site and you see Core Scanner Probes, someone is looking for exploration sites, and you should be ready to have a visitor. Know the limitations of different kinds of search:

  • A player hunting using d-scan alone can only warp in on you if you're at a publicly-warpable celestial (a belt, a gate, a station, &c), or at a publicly-warpable combat site.
  • A player using d-scan and core probes can warp in on you at the above locations and at any location which can be scanned down using core probes, e.g. a wormhole or an exploration site.
  • A player using d-scan and combat probes can warp in on you at any of the above locations, and also at any other location in space, provided you're not cloaked.
Read the d-scan article for more information on its use.

Never go GCC by a gate or station while in a small ship

If you attack a neutral player (anyone with a security status higher than -5 and that your corporation is not at war with) you will be tagged as a suspect for 15 minutes. Everyone will be able to attack you without repercussions. If you are within 150k of a gate or station, the sentry guns will open fire on you. Small ships (frigates, destroyers, most cruisers) will evaporate under these guns in seconds.

What to do when caught

If you get caught and tackled, all is not (necessarily) lost. Stay calm, as there might still be things you can do.

Call for help

If you're operating with friends, report what is attacking you, where.

Ideally, you will be on voice comms together. If this is the case, speak about your character in the third person (a spoken "I" is not an identifiable figure) or name yourself at the start of your message. Then calmly state what is attacking you, where, and what you're flying, and ask for help. Ideally (again) you will be in a fleet with your friends. This will let them warp directly to you.

Manoeuvre

If you have a microwarpdrive fitted and are not warp scrambled, only warp disrupted, you might be able to break out of a single tackler's orbit by executing a slingshot manoeuvre.

If you are warp scrambled, or you only have an afterburner fitted, at least make sure you're moving. A consistent feature of EVE's combat system is that moving targets tend to take less damage. Ideally, move laterally to any turret-using ships on grid, to impede their tracking; you might find that in the heat of the moment you can't identify what you're being attacked by, in which case just be moving.

Fight back

If your ship has any damage-dealing weapons and/or drones, focus them on your attacker, or on one of your attackers if there are several. Damaging an attacker imposes more combat stress on them, and increases the chance that they'll make a critical error.

If there are several attackers but only one is tackling you (look for the warp disruption/scrambling icon next to their name in the overview), try hurting the one that is tackling you: if you can drive them off or blow them up, you will be able to warp out.

Overheat

Overheating your modules wrings more performance out of them; if you survive, you can worry about repairing them later.

Many modules overheating at once might risk burning out something important... but if in doubt and working in your own combat stress, just overheat everything! Worrying about repairs can come after you survive. If you get blown up anyway, you'll have left your attackers with a repair bill for all your burned-out modules.

If, though, things happen slowly enough for you to think about it, your order of priority for overheating is:

  1. Your propulsion module, if it's not scrammed: this will increase your chance of shaking the enemy's tackle off.
  2. Your defensive modules: overheating these will help you tank more damage, increasing the time for help to arrive. Remember that active hardeners can be overheated, as well as armour repairers and shield boosters. Even a passive or buffer tank therefore often has components which can be heated!
  3. Your offensive modules: putting more DPS on the enemy will heighten their combat stress.

Save your pod

If things go badly and your ship is clearly not long for this world, be ready to get your pod out as soon as your hull explodes. There are no warp disruption bubbles in low-sec space, so you stand a good chance of saving your pod if you are trying to warp immediately on the loss of your ship.

Learn

Ultimately, all ships in EVE are temporary possessions, put at risk whenever you undock, even in high-sec space. It helps to think of them as expendable in much the same way that ammo is. With luck, you won't lose many ships in low-sec space.

When it happens, though, try to accept it as part of the cost of doing business. Assess what went wrong, and what in your planning and execution you could have done differently.

It may be worth talking (politely—and perhaps via a calm in-game email after at least a few hours' break) to your attackers. Low-sec PvP players vary wildly, and you should not let them talk you into giving them money or going to a particular location. In some ways, though, piracy is a more honest profession than scamming or suicide ganking, and some players are very happy to offer advice. (Some pirates have even been known to reimburse new players after blowing them up, knowing that a cheap kill for a skilled PvP pilot can be an expensive loss for a newbie; it's probably best not to outright ask for this, but it goes to show that many players are capable of remembering that EVE is just a game.)