Coming Next:

The scanner and overview and safe spots....ugg so much to learn

Skills, Skills, Skills...........more skills!

Skills breakdown into to two categories. Those needed to fly the ship and the support skills to make flying that ship better.

The skills needed to fly the ship are simple and easy to find. Take the Rifter, that awesome little ship I am preparing to fly.

Just to assemble the ship so you can look at in you hangar, you need:

Minmatar Frigate III
Spaceship Command I

Simple enough and quick to train.

But that is far from all the skills you will need to be successful in flying the Rifter in PvP.

You need to fit the Rifter with the modules discussed earlier and that takes skills. You also need a myriad of support skills to make fitting, flying, and fighting possible.

To fit the high slots you need:

Gunnery I
Small Projectile Turret I
Missile Launcher Operation I
Rockets I

The mid slots:

Afterburner I
Navigation II
Propulsion Jamming I
Electronics III

Low slots:

Hull Upgrades II
Mechanic I
Repair Systems I

So there are the basics to fit an armor-tanked Rifter. Easy enough, but if I try to fit this all on my ship, I quickly run out of power grid and CPU. Plus this is only the basics and what if I want to upgrade to the better T-2 modules. For instance, I really want to fit a Microwarp Drive in place of that afterburner and some more powerful T-2 guns. More skills!

Let's look at some key support skills:

I like to break my skill training plans into logical units so training seems quicker and I accomplish more sooner (at least in my mind).

Energy Management:

• Engineering V
• Electronics V
• Electronics Upgrades
• Energy Grid Upgrades
• Energy Management
• Energy Systems Operation

Weapons:

• Gunnery V
• Sharpshooter
• Trajectory Analysis
• Surgical Strike
• Weapon Upgrades
• Advanced Weapon Upgrades
• Controlled Bursts

Other categories I use, include shields, armor, targeting, missiles, speed, etc. I encourage you to research the skills needed to support flying a ship successfully in combat. I use the forums and blogs to read about skills that will give me what I need to have edge over a flashing red target. The importance of good skills is second only to fighting experience in realizing success.

I use Evemon to setup all of my training plans. What an invaluable tool!

Rifter Reputation

What a reputation as a fine starting ship. The Rifter. A small ship with a huge reputation as a killing machine when used properly on well chosen targets. There are endless posts about this little beast.

Well, I got my first Rifter today. Damn, this little fragile looking thing can kill? Well only time will tell. I have been pouring over posts on how to fit and fly this small beast. I have discussed this ship with some fine pirates, including Mynxee, a sweet pirate with a killer instinct. She has a blog that is well worth every minute to read and enjoy.

After all this background work, I have boiled the setup of this ship down to three basic alternatives:

1. Armor tank with autocannons
2. Shield tank
3. Armor tank with light artillery

Hmm maybe I will get three of these babies and try all three. Oh, wait a minute, what about skills for all these setups. Let's look at the setups and then I'll see what skills I will need.

First the Armor tank option:

High:

3 - 150mm Autocannons (EMP)

1 - Rocket Launcher (Malkuth) with Gremlins and Phalanx

Mid:

1 - 1mn Afterburner

1 - Stasis Webifier

1 - Warp Scrambler

Low:

1 - Small Armor repairer

1 - Damage Control Unit

1 - 200 Rolled Tungsten Plate

This is a good standard fit that is considered a basic starting point to start fighting

Of course there are options to this fit, primarily involving the low slots. Maybe replace the DCU with a Gyrostabilizer. Tech 2 guns would be a great step up for this setup to add precious DPS to you attack. Any other tech 2 modules add cost but increase effectiveness (use at your discretion)

Shield Tank Option:

High:

3 - 200mm Autocannon (EMP)

Mid:

1 - 1mn Afterburner

1 - Shield Induction

1 - Warp Disruptor

Low:

2 - Shield Power Relay

1 - Overdrive Injector System

Armor Tank with Artillery option:

This setup in an armor tanked-option but instead of autocannons fit 250mm Light Artillery and a named 20K Scrambler. This setup gives you an alternative to close up in-your-face fighting of the autocannon setup. With artillery, your range is increased to keep out of your opponents web range, So you can deal effective damage in a range that limits you opponent the ability to web you and hit you with frigate-sized guns.

Well, I could go on and on about the merits of each fit but only time will tell for me which one I find most comfortable and reliable for my style of fighting. To any new pilot I can only recommend read the forums, blogs, and talk to lots of pilots to learn setups that are worth looking into.

Blackheart

Blackheart started her life with nothing but the smallest of starter spacecraft and a few books to learn how to fly. I read those books carefully for I was starting in a new life. No longer a well trained Gallente pilot but a Minmatar newbling. New ships, new ways of fighting, new weapons, and so much more awaiting me.


I read somewhere long ago to spend the early days studying and honing your learning skills (an investment in the future). My ancestors taught me to have patience and it will be rewarded. So that is where I started. I spend weeks getting my learning skills training to perfection. I have to say it seems to be well worth the time. I train skills very fast compared to my first character. Now there are many that talk about and calculate payback time for investing in these skills. I only know that I feel well assured that I train skills about as fast as I can and I am progressing faster then I ever expected.

Soon I will be flying in a Rifter.

Why? I ask Myself

Why. Why do I want to be a pirate. As a previous character in Eve I have lived through great null sec wars, super battles, titans, etc. I have fought POS's, beat up on station services, scouted for endless hours in enemy space, and for what. For the thrill of holding or gaining territory (sovernity). Life in 0.0 is hard but, for me, mindless after awhile.

From this boredom a new character is born. A character refreshed and revitalized about what is to come. PvP is the key ingredient in most online MMORPG's but none more than Eve. Sure you can be a carebear your whole career, but the real game revovles around mano a mano PvP. Look into the eyes of that pilot and may the best pilot win. Where else can you experience this revitalizing life more then as a pirate.

I was never the type of person to hide behind mining, mission running, or other mundane tasks. Yes, of course these mundane tasks are so very necessary, but I want to do them as an alt. Experience the trill of the fight in your gaming life. The thought of losing a ship to a better foe or defeating a superior ship excites me and calls me to keep fighting. With every skill point and fight you can become a better pilot and experience the thrill of the adrenalin rushing to your brain. That thrill was lost long ago while living in null sec. But, low sec, now that is an unknown exciting place for me. A place I always sneaked and sped through usually cloaked to get to my destination in Empire or 0.0. Never did I give the inhabitants of that section of space a second thought. But, no more. Today I plan to adventure into that space. To fight, learn, make enemies, and hopefully some good friends.

Blackheart