A friend of mine recently convinced me to give Eve a shot. He never stops going on about it, so i thought i would give it a look in. I had deliberately stayed away from it in the past given that the game has been around so long, and i figured that as a new player i couldn't hope to be competitive.

My friend seemed to think otherwise.

I cannot for the life of me see why he thought that...

PvP here is awful. I had expected to get stomped, sure, but i figured that somewhere amongst all of the stomping there would be a moment or two that would make it somehow worthwhile.

Nope.

It's miserable.

I've watched Abbadon21's PvP guides on youtube and have done some reading on the subject. It makes no difference. In most fights i am lucky if i even manage to fire my guns before i am destroyed. I figured that for every Rifter i lost i would try to learn something - and i have: i don't stand a chance.

It annoys me that i was right. I shouldn't have bothered. Unfortunately i've signed up for 3 months of this. Sigh, what a waste.

as a new player i couldn't hope to be competitive.

... i am lucky if i even manage to fire my guns before i am destroyed.

As a new player you are not supposed to fire guns in PvP, if I am correct. PvP in Eve is about team work and newbees role is to tackle, keep enemies pinned down. And take the loot after the battle ;)

PvP here is awful. I had expected to get stomped, sure, but i figured that somewhere amongst all of the stomping there would be a moment or two that would make it somehow worthwhile.

Nope.

It's miserable.

I've watched Abbadon21's PvP guides on youtube and have done some reading on the subject. It makes no difference. In most fights i am lucky if i even manage to fire my guns before i am destroyed. I figured that for every Rifter i lost i would try to learn something - and i have: i don't stand a chance.

It annoys me that i was right. I shouldn't have bothered. Unfortunately i've signed up for 3 months of this. Sigh, what a waste.

A friend of mine recently convinced me to give Eve a shot. He never stops going on about it, so i thought i would give it a look in. I had deliberately stayed away from it in the past given that the game has been around so long, and i figured that as a new player i couldn't hope to be competitive.

My friend seemed to think otherwise.

I cannot for the life of me see why he thought that...

PvP here is awful. I had expected to get stomped, sure, but i figured that somewhere amongst all of the stomping there would be a moment or two that would make it somehow worthwhile.

Nope.

It's miserable.

I've watched Abbadon21's PvP guides on youtube and have done some reading on the subject. It makes no difference. In most fights i am lucky if i even manage to fire my guns before i am destroyed. I figured that for every Rifter i lost i would try to learn something - and i have: i don't stand a chance.

It annoys me that i was right. I shouldn't have bothered. Unfortunately i've signed up for 3 months of this. Sigh, what a waste.

So you wanted to play for a month and win against people with years of experience?

Can I have your stuff? I'll give it to someone who doesn't expect to have a level capped FOTM to use in a few weeks to "win".

So you wanted to play for a month and win against people with years of experience?

Because that is what i typed, right? Infact i'm pretty sure i stated the opposite - hence my apprehension to even start playing this game to begin with.

Obviously reading comprehension isn't one of your strong points.

Because that is what i typed, right? Infact i'm pretty sure i stated the opposite - hence my apprehension to even start playing this game to begin with.

Obviously reading comprehension isn't one of your strong points.

I have tried to learn - believe me, i have. I've spent more hours reading and watching videos about what to do, than i have playing the game. I mistakenly thought that if i learnt some useful combat skills and techniques, i might be able to offset my lack of skill points and crummy hardware.

I can't for the life of me find the part where i stated or even implied that i needed instant gratification / winning?

PvP is supposed to be one of the bigger draw cards for the game. However, PvP is only an exercise in frustration for new players - and this is pretty much what i had expected from the start. I didn't expect to be an invincible pirate pwning badass roaming 0.0 in my tech 1 Rifter. I expected that players who had been playing the game for years, and had accumulated stacks of ISK and skill points would stomp my guts out. This is why i never really bothered with Eve in the first place (before i was convinced otherwise).

I'm not saying the system is wrong and that it shouldn't be this way, im simply making an observation.

Again, i don't expect to be able to go toe to toe with veteran players.

What I had hoped was that maybe, if i was lucky, that at some point in amongst getting reduced to space scrap, i might actually chance across someone else unfortunate enough to be on the same level as myself; another lowly newbie in a lowly tech 1 frigate - and the thing is, i don't even care if i lose - i just want to be able to participate in something other than a completely one sided beat down. There just doesn't seem to be all that many newbies (or anyone tbh) playing the game, and what player base there is seems to be quite top heavy. I guess that is just what happens when you have a game that is as old as Eve is now.

I have tried to learn - believe me, i have. I've spent more hours reading and watching videos about what to do, than i have playing the game. I mistakenly thought that if i learnt some useful combat skills and techniques, i might be able to offset my lack of skill points and crummy hardware.

I have tried to learn - believe me, i have.

It annoys me that i was right. I shouldn't have bothered. Unfortunately i've signed up for 3 months of this. Sigh, what a waste.

I can't for the life of me find the part where i stated or even implied that i needed instant gratification / winning?

PvP is supposed to be one of the bigger draw cards for the game. However, PvP is only an exercise in frustration for new players - and this is pretty much what i had expected from the start. I didn't expect to be an invincible pirate pwning badass roaming 0.0 in my tech 1 Rifter. I expected that players who had been playing the game for years, and had accumulated stacks of ISK and skill points would stomp my guts out. This is why i never really bothered with Eve in the first place (before i was convinced otherwise).

I'm not saying the system is wrong and that it shouldn't be this way, im simply making an observation.

Again, i don't expect to be able to go toe to toe with veteran players.

What I had hoped was that maybe, if i was lucky, that at some point in amongst getting reduced to space scrap, i might actually chance across someone else unfortunate enough to be on the same level as myself; another lowly newbie in a lowly tech 1 frigate - and the thing is, i don't even care if i lose - i just want to be able to participate in something other than a completely one sided beat down. There just doesn't seem to be all that many newbies (or anyone tbh) playing the game, and what player base there is seems to be quite top heavy. I guess that is just what happens when you have a game that is as old as Eve is now.

I have tried to learn - believe me, i have. I've spent more hours reading and watching videos about what to do, than i have playing the game. I mistakenly thought that if i learnt some useful combat skills and techniques, i might be able to offset my lack of skill points and crummy hardware.

The fact that you have spent time outside of EVE trying to learn is great, believe me. But EVE is also the kind of game were you wont "really" learn until you do it. So keep going out there, look for fights, get blown up in cheap ships, and eventually you will know what ships you can stand up against, and what ships you should run away from if at all possible.
PVP also has some luck involved in it. Finding a "fair" fight can be very hard, but they are out there.

You said you were also looking for other younger players to fight against... I can imagine this is quite difficult since many new players have a.. fear or concern about PVP since they are convinced they need X amount of SP to do anything in PVP.

So, there really is not much advice i can give you...
Ask in local for players around your age that wants to duel for practice.
Go on roams with your corp/alliance/friends.
Join a group like RVB were you can* get useful advice, and get a chance to see both smaller and larger fleets.

*As far as i know RVB don't officially "train" new players but if your patient and polite some of the older players there are willing to set off some time to help you and answer questions.