Ratchman
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Posted - 2010.01.21 15:22:00 -
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Factional Warfare is a good place to start, but there are a few hurdles.
Firstly, when you first join, getting into fleets can be problematic, as the paranoia over spies is quite strong (and that applies to all militias). When a Fleet Commander suspects there is a spy in the fleet, they are liable to automatically throw out all recent militia members. Don't take this personally, although I do think the paranoia is a little overblown. Spies are inevitable in a game like this. Frankly, I don't mind them when it means there is an enemy fleet out there looking for action.
If your in the standard militia corp, it is best to try and get some solo action, or perhaps some small fleet action, as there will be other new starters like yourself. Once you have a few kills under your belt (and a whole bunch of losses), people will be more trusting.
Alternatively, you can join a corporation involved in FW. This eliminates the need for standing, and makes it easier to get to know other people involved in FW (and you'll find it easier to get small fleet action). Corporations do have their own procedures about new applicants, again due to the need to protect themselves against malicious alts, so expect to join on a probationary basis to begin with.
Also, get to know the territory before racing around in lowsec. Certain areas, or routes, will be very active. Certain gates are almost permanently camped, and new players are hacked down consistently on these gates, so learn the alternative entry points to lowsec. There's a good map located here for the Caldari / Gallente area.
The golden rule with PvP is: don't fly what you can't afford to lose. If you make the assumption that you will lose your ship as soon as you undock, then you'll learn to cope with the losses. One problem that I think blights PvP is that people are so desperate to get the better ships (and therefore, the advantage), that they sink too much money into them, and of course they get very upset when they lose them. Remember: you're there to have fun.
In addition to what I've just said, solo PvP can be hard to find, but not impossible. This game allows people the freedom to dictate the type of combat people like, and it turns out that people don't like to get into a fight unless they have an advantage (who knew?). Therefore, expect combat to be unfair for the majority of the time. Sometimes, you get the bear, and sometimes, the bear gets you. This doesn't mean you can't fly around solo, but you do have to learn to pick your engagements, and when to run like the (solar) wind.
Just one word of warning: FW does seem to have fallow periods where little seems to happen. This seems to go in cycles as people join and leave the militias, but be patient and get to know people, and you'll have fun.
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