So I have been playing for 3 months now, I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp, making enough to plex myself. Have had our first wardec because a bunch of gate camping Prats took offence to me breaking through their camp so thought now would be a time to try out some lowsec ratting and a bit of PvP.

And I fully expect a "oh look another noob complaining about how hard the game is, how about you STFU and HTFU and go back to being care bear and leave the fighting to the proper players."

I don't wanna, and I'm not.

But.

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

I read fitting guides, watch tutorials, scribble down tactics and plans while on the train, and NOTHING helps to even remotely improve my chances.

Because the only thing to do when your a mostly 6m sp Indi character who can fly ravens on leve 3 missions is sit and stare at roids.

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

So I have been playing for 3 months now, I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp, making enough to plex myself. Have had our first wardec because a bunch of gate camping Prats took offence to me breaking through their camp so thought now would be a time to try out some lowsec ratting and a bit of PvP.

And I fully expect a "oh look another noob complaining about how hard the game is, how about you STFU and HTFU and go back to being care bear and leave the fighting to the proper players."

I don't wanna, and I'm not.

But.

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

I read fitting guides, watch tutorials, scribble down tactics and plans while on the train, and NOTHING helps to even remotely improve my chances.

Because the only thing to do when your a mostly 6m sp Indi character who can fly ravens on leve 3 missions is sit and stare at roids.

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

Any attempt to change this will be met with SEVERE negative feedback from the "old hands". And, I'm sorry to say, most of this game's population IS "old hands" and their alts. In other words, people who have something to lose. PvP won't be much of a faceroll for them if a 3 month old character is as good as their 3 year old character, as it is in most other MMOs.

, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat

Buy rifters and practice.

This is idiotic- the definition of insanity is repeating the same task over and over and expecting a different result.

Why repeat the same ****ing thing if you get blown up once before?

i have no sympathy, Adapt or die, you are in the wrong mmo

Go to Null, you should do just fine.

Buy rifters and practice.

Here are three basic methodologies for improving your chances in low sec:

1. Don't get caught: This is the idea of constantly refreshing and checking your directional scanner so that you can see if someone's attempting to probe you down. Checking local for potential hazards, infoing strangers, etc. is another part of this, and so is fitting ship agility modules that can help you align to warp faster. Make sure you're either zoomed pretty far out or have suitable overview settings to be able to react immediately if an unfamiliar pilot appears on your grid. Also check out map statistics - are there lots of players active in the system recently? Have their been any pod kills?

2. Don't get trapped: This is the strategy of accepting that sometimes people will get close enough to you for long enough to scramble you, and the objective is to be able to survive and get away regardless. Warp Core Stabilizers can achieve this, and you can still be able to fight if you fit your ships with this in mind: such as by adding a sensor booster with a range script, or relying primarily on auto-targeting missiles (which aren't great, but a lot better than their reputation suggests). ECM is another option here, and you can also try methods revolving around being faster than your attacker. If you can break his target lock, you can escape him. Be wary of pirates who are familiar with your tactics or are able to bring in friends.

3. Don't get found: Not as suitable for public spaces like asteroid belts, but very useful for missioning and similar activities, this is the strategy of making it harder for an enemy to scan you down. Basically, you need to get your (signature radius / sensor strength) as low as possible, and you do this by fitting ECCM modules and/or backup sensor arrays. You need to be able to achieve a very low end result for this to be at all useful, I'd shoot for around three and under: and you can still be found by a fully bonused scanner until you get down to a little over one, but it seems to deter more casual would-be assailants.

Edit: Important note - this doesn't work if you use drones.

Those are the three methods I use the most to help prolong my survival in low sec. Other options include bringing enough support to be a poor target, or, of course, winning the fights!

You go...alone... To lowsec to rat, and expect to be left alone by pirates?

This is a joke right? Like seriously...where's the hidden camera?

Also, caracal sucks for solo pvp...

Because the only thing to do when your a mostly 6m sp Indi character who can fly ravens on leve 3 missions is sit and stare at roids.

Well, this is what I've been trying to do.

With Merlins, Condors, Herons, Caracals, Moa's... Just don't last long enough to really learn anything useful.

I would imagine you are relatively proficient at industrial tasks no? You seem to have succeeded where you applied effort, at being an industrialist. I suppose if you wanted to be proficient at PvP, you should have spent time on it instead of manufacturing?

As a simple analogy, this is akin to getting a PHD in Literature and complaining that you are struggling as a Nuclear Physicist.

I wouldn't say you've hit some eerie "3 month cliff" at all. I'd say you've never put skill points, practice, or time into ship combat, or learning the nuances of low sec, but simply expect to be proficient at both.

So I have been playing for 3 months now, I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp, making enough to plex myself. Have had our first wardec because a bunch of gate camping Prats took offence to me breaking through their camp so thought now would be a time to try out some lowsec ratting and a bit of PvP.

And I fully expect a "oh look another noob complaining about how hard the game is, how about you STFU and HTFU and go back to being care bear and leave the fighting to the proper players."

I don't wanna, and I'm not.

But.

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

I read fitting guides, watch tutorials, scribble down tactics and plans while on the train, and NOTHING helps to even remotely improve my chances.

Because the only thing to do when your a mostly 6m sp Indi character who can fly ravens on leve 3 missions is sit and stare at roids.

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

I have had an invite from a null alliance, might go see em.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp

Buy PLEX for $, sell PLEX for isk, buy a good char and a good ship. Then read lots of things.

sure pay to win is the answer to everything in eve, just ask ccp.

Well, this is what I've been trying to do.

With Merlins, Condors, Herons, Caracals, Moa's... Just don't last long enough to really learn anything useful.

If they war dec'd you, join Dec Shield. Dec Shield will get them locked forever into a mutual war that they cannot get out of, and it may cause some of their members to leave the enemy corp.

That's getting fixed, by the way.

I would imagine you are relatively proficient at industrial tasks no? You seem to have succeeded where you applied effort, at being an industrialist. I suppose if you wanted to be proficient at PvP, you should have spent time on it instead of manufacturing?

As a simple analogy, this is akin to getting a PHD in Literature and complaining that you are struggling as a Nuclear Physicist.

I wouldn't say you've hit some eerie "3 month cliff" at all. I'd say you've never put skill points, practice, or time into ship combat, or learning the nuances of low sec, but simply expect to be proficient at both.

Using a battleclinic fit is a very common mistake players make.

And I fully expect a "oh look another noob complaining about how hard the game is, how about you STFU and HTFU and go back to being care bear and leave the fighting to the proper players."

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

A lot of good info here. I think in general I have made a few mistakes

i) Not understod that industry and combat are mutually exclusive. You do one or the other, but not both.

So I have been playing for 3 months now, I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp, making enough to plex myself. Have had our first wardec because a bunch of gate camping Prats took offence to me breaking through their camp so thought now would be a time to try out some lowsec ratting and a bit of PvP.

And I fully expect a "oh look another noob complaining about how hard the game is, how about you STFU and HTFU and go back to being care bear and leave the fighting to the proper players."

I don't wanna, and I'm not.

But.

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

I read fitting guides, watch tutorials, scribble down tactics and plans while on the train, and NOTHING helps to even remotely improve my chances.

Because the only thing to do when your a mostly 6m sp Indi character who can fly ravens on leve 3 missions is sit and stare at roids.

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

My advice is to continue to mine and mission in high sec while you skill up.

This is very very bad advice. It causes newer players to fall into the "just a little bit more" trap that becomes ever more difficult to escape over time. Whether it's acquiring a little bit more skill points, or some extra ISK, these players will continue to put off engaging in the more difficult aspects of this game until so much time passes, that they don't even want to try anymore. The worst carebear CEOs I've ever seen give this type of advice.

So I have been playing for 3 months now, I have built up a reasonably successful Indy corp, making enough to plex myself. Have had our first wardec because a bunch of gate camping Prats took offence to me breaking through their camp so thought now would be a time to try out some lowsec ratting and a bit of PvP.

The whole experience is becoming stupidly frustrating, I go rat in 0.3 0.2 no problems. Make 400k and someone comes along and blows up my caracal, loose 14m get 7m insurance, net profit -6.6m.

Go back, refit, and repeat.

I have a tank that lasts all of 30-40 seconds against pilots that have DPS far in excess of mine, pilots who can warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.

And people wonder why the majority of players quit after 3 month?

I read fitting guides, watch tutorials, scribble down tactics and plans while on the train, and NOTHING helps to even remotely improve my chances.

The cliff has hit and I'm not liking it. How can you get over the cliff so not to be basically a target for everything else in the universe?

Well, I think people with that kind of thought were not really wanting to go the low/null sec route to begin with or if they did, they wouldn't stay for very long. Although I do see your point.

So try his luck with joining a null sec corp/alliance then?

warp scram me from 25km, TWENTY FIVE ******* KM.