How To Guide For Pirating In Eve Online (Noobs)

20 Tips for new Pirates In Eve Online

REQUIREMENTS In The Game

For a low SP character
Many new characters may think themselves useless as pvpers; but this is most definitely not the case. In a frigate you can take down, or immobilize, an opponent much larger than yourself. They key to not die is speed. Therefore it is totally essential for all new characters to train for a micro warp drive. Now that the missile changes have come to pass, an afterburner is probably more viable, though having the skills for a micro warp drive is a very good idea.

This will help you to take reduced damage from missiles and evade turret fire.

A new pilot should invest in the following skills:

Afterburner IV
High speed maneuvering I
Navigation IV


Afterburner IV is probably the most time consuming of the skills that you will need.

Next, you will need to be able to use a warp disruptor or warp scrambler, to stop your prey from warping away.

Both of these have their benefits, however i recommend using a warp scrambler as a lot of your targets may carry a warp core stabilizer, and the -2 scramble on this item is more likely to stop them from warping. Secondly, a warp disruptor uses too much capacitor to be run easily on a frigate.

To use this module you will need to train:
Propulsion jamming I
Navigation II (you should already have this at IV)
Electronics III

Since you now have the two main essentials: you may also want to fit a stasis webbifier (which has the same requirements for skills as the warp scrambler) to slow down your prey. However this may not be necessary if you are in an asteroid belt or at a planet etc as your target has nowhere to run.

Of course you need a ship to fit these to, and i recommend either the KESTREL or the RIFTER as both have the ability to lock down a target, while staying reasonably fast and dealing some good damage. For the kestrel, the choice between rockets or standard missiles is one best left to you. Rockets are better for close range combat as they have a better damage/time. For the rifter, experiment with the guns/missiles, and find out which suits your style best. An INCURSUS fitted with blasters is also a good option or gallente users. For amarr, the punisher is a solid frigate but lacks midslots. With pulses it can still be damaging and can absorb a lot o damage, so it is a useful ship in a gang.

At this point i would not recommend training gunnery skills too much.

Now, running a microwarpdrive and a warp disruptor, along with whatever else you wish to fit, is a drain on your capacitor. Capacitor power relays in the low slots can help you to sustain the modules.

These require:
Energy grid upgrades II
Science I
Engineering II

(don't worry about all this training: it doesn't take very long, and many of the skills are essential later on anyway)

The rest of the slots on your ship if you have any free) is really up to you.

WHERE DO I HUNT?
By now you are thinking; "Great I'm ready, where do i go to kill!"

Unfortunately it isn't that easy. To find targets, you need to go in 0.4 and below systems. These are often sparsely populated, but now and again you can find something to kill.

Try to look in the less busy low security systems, as this is where miners are more likely to be hiding. Fly around these until you see a possible target in local.

Then you use your scanner to see what ships are in space. (see "using the scanner" near the end of the tutorial) If the scanner shows a prime target, such as a hauler or a mining cruiser; off you go. To find him you can either

Browse the belts.
Use the scanner and narrow him down.

Using the scanner like this is difficult at first, but often quicker than going through the belts, and well worth getting used to.

USING THE SCANNER
First of all, position your camera so that it is facing in the same direction of your ship. From what i have seen, the "nose" of your ship when at rest points to the 5degree scan (although this is very difficult to find people with as it is so precise)

Firstly, set your overview settings to show asteroid belts, then do a 360 degree scan at full range (about 14 au)

Proceed to narrow it down until you have only the ship and the belt on the scan: the ship is most likely at the belt. Warp in. Don't worry about messing up a few times, this requires a LOT of practice.

Once you have your prey in your sights: its time for

THE ATTACK
Orbit your prey at your optimal range and engage your warp scrambler and weapons. If all goes well and you get him to structure, convo him (if you wish to ransom and not just destroy the ship) and ask for a toll. Choose this yourself, judging the value of his ship and modules and thinking how much he would lose if he went boom.

The actual technique you should sue depends on your ship, your fitting, and your opponent in the game. For most purposes I would suggest having a close range fitting (ie: AUTOCANNONS/ROCKETS/BLASTERS/PULSES for minmatar/caldari/gallente and amarr respectively. If you are using a MWD, then i suggest you engage it to close the distance between you and your foe. Once you are within range and hopefully under his guns) turn it off and orbit: this will save your capacitor for other essentials like guns and repairers.


I advise you not to pod kill your target, as the security status hit for this is very heavy, meaning you wont be able to go into high security space.

Once your prey has paid you (hopefully) let him go by deactivating your guns/scramblers. If he did not pay, send him on his merry way in his pod.

Do NOT go near the sentries for 15-20 minutes after you have commited a hostile act, as it will leave you in your pod. (sentres are cruel masters)

The new introduction of the criminal flagging counter is a very good indication of when you are flagged or not but I wouldn't trust it fully.

SECURITY STATUS
When you kill a player's ship, (and more seriously his pod) you receive a security rating drop. This can only be raised by killing battleship npcs, which is probably way above you at this point. Don't worry, if you want to be a true pirate, you can worry about this later: just make sure you don't get trapped in a low security system surrounded by a lot of high security ones, as you may find it hard to get out. Once you reach -5.0 you can be shot ANYWHERE without penalty, so be aware.

Security ratings:
-1.9 and above: you can enter all space freely
-2.4 and above: you can enter all but 1.0
-2.9 and above: you can enter all but 0.9 and above
-3.4 and above: you can enter all but 0.8 and above
-3.9 and above: you can enter all but 0.7 and above
-4.4 and above: you can enter all but 0.6 and above
-4.5 and below: you cannot enter secure space without being fired upon by the navy/concord

Expect to lose ships often until you get the hang of it. Don't worry: basic frigate setups are cheap.

Lastly: EVE is NOT a single player game, making friends is an excellent idea: and joining a pirate corp can help you to learn quicker and kill more (killing with friends beside you is much easier, and more fun)

Hope this helps, and if i forgot anything, feel free to post it.

Part II - Advanced Pirating Techniques
By now you should be reasonably experienced: and for most of these options you should be able to use a battleship.

The first is probably the best way to earn money, but you will need friends or a VERY good setup. [This bit is mainly up to you, you should know how to fit things by now]

SENTRY TANKING
My personal favorite: for this you will probably need about 3 well tanked battleships for sustained tanking, or perhaps one or two if you are not staying under sentry fire. I would not recommend capacitor boosters for this unless you have a secure can anchored somewhere in the system for easy access as they tend to run out very quickly. I would advise a close ranged setup with a web and disruptor, and a sustainable tank. Having an alt in an industrial ship to pick up the loot is also a good idea. To be successful your best bet is to have a couple of people in cloaked ships watching for a "blob" which would overpower you. Begin to align for warp every time something comes in the system, just to be on the safe side. Pick a semi busy low security system where you may be able to make some nice money. Incorporating a nos or two into your setup could be the difference between life and death if you get attacked by anything cruiser size and down.

SNIPING
I'll be blunt. I hate this, but it IS a very good (and generally safe) way to make money and accumulate a lot of kills. This can be done solo, but you may not be able to kill larger ships quickly enough. Having an alt boosting your lock time, tracking may help, as will having an alt in an industrial to pick up the loot. To actually get in position for sniping you must be 150km+ from the gate. I would advise changing spots every now and then and keeping a clsoe eye on local. If a covert ops ship enters system it is time to run away :)

COMPLEX HUNTING
Since RMR, complexes have been very good places to find targets in low security. A heavy assault cruiser, recon cruiser, or well setup battlecruiser is your friend here. An afterburner is nearly essential, as a microwarp drive will not work in dead space complexes. This is fairly simple: if you scan a ship in local and there is a complex simply check it out. If you "patrol" certain systems make a point of checking the complex every now and again. If it is easy you could do it for the security status and cash, if you are bored.

SCAN PROBING
By this point you will probably have had many people run to safe spots on you, or even leave ships and supplies at them. Probing is a great way to kill them or blow up their supplies in true pirate fashion. A covert ops ship with all the relevant skills is a great way to steal ships, or find your enemy. Simply scan the target down with the scanner, and drop a 3 AU probe in a "triangle" around his position (use moons and safe spots etc) Then hit scan. I advise turning on your cloak while it is scanning, and warping once the signal has been found while cloaked. There you go, have your gang mates war in and give your best "YARRRRR!" in local Chat.