Lark
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Posted - 2004.06.26 11:55:00 -
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What to train?
Something that requires a lot of thought. I read 2 main complaints in this forum. That level 5 is not worth going for because it "only" gives you a few % bonus, and that people have run out of things to train.
First of all lets have a look at the myth that a the difference between level 4 and level 5 is not worth the time taken to train.
Now to some extent this is true for the first few months of training when you are getting a good range of basic skills. After that however you have to start thinking about what you want to do with the character.
In this game you have got to specialise in some way or another, whether its miner, fighter, mission doer, industrialist, whatever. You cannot be a jack of all trade in any meaningful sense because the specialists will beat you in every area of the game. This doesn't mean that you can't change tack, but if you want to be good at something, then you will have to dedicate serious training time to it.
When you have decided what you want to do, you need to look at the skills that are key to that specialism. When you are doing this think about the skills that you are going to use most and train them to level 5. The training time has to be considered in terms of the cumulative effect of the extra benefit gained.
Two examples:
1. If you are only going to manufacture stuff once every 6 months then there is no point training production effeciency to level 5. If you are going to an industrialist, where you are constantly building, then you need that extra 5% or your profit margins will be destroyed.
2. If you are going to fly missions then Navigation 5 is vital. You will constantly be traveling and the extra few m/s per second will over time save you hours, and improve your chances of getting bonus awards. If you are going to sit and mine most of the time, then the extra training time is not going to be worth the effort.
When deciding what to train think about how often you will use the skill and how much "edge" it will give you in your chosen speciality.
Now lets consider what other factors you need to consider before you start training.
1. Do you need skills in order to be able to do something specific that you want to do. example: if you want to fly an interceptor, then you need (racial)frigate 5, and evasive manouvering 5.
example: If you want to build an interceptor, you need Science 5, Mechanic 5, Frigate construction 2, Mechanical engineering 1, (racial)ship construction 1.
This is a no-brainer, if you want to be able do something you will need the skills to do it.
The more time it takes to learn the skills, then the more specialised you will become, and the smaller the set of players who will be able to do the same. This gives abilities that require a lot of training time market value.
2. Complementary skill sets. This consideration is for when you want to acheive a big improvement in a specific area of the game.
example: If you want to carry lots of big guns, then electronics, engineering and weapon upgrades complement each other, by increasing the the amount of fitting that you can do, and reducing the fitting costs. The time taken to train all these to level 5, will complement each other because you are multiplying the benefits, and the "edge" you will gain.
So to summarise:
When deciding what to train think about.
1. How often will I use the skill in the specialism that I am training.
2. Do I need the skill in order to do something specific that I need to complement my chosen specialism.
3. Can I link together skills, that will complement each other, and benefit the specialism that I am training for.
When you look at these factors you should be able to plan what you want to train several months ahead.
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