I’m getting into solo PvP but having one heck of a time getting kills, dying more than I’m getting kills. I’m looking for any kind of tips possible for solo PvP and anything that would help out in the long run. I’ve tried a few brawling fits but doing solo I’m finding blobs just kind of demolish brawl fits pretty easy. I’ve tried a couple kite fits but not sure if I’m doing time right.
This is my killboard, it really doesn’t look appealing at all but I’m really trying to learn solo PvP and any help would be great or any kind of tips/fits would be amazing. I understand I’ll die a lot and that I’m fine with but I’m looking for any kind of tips and or coaching from anyone for solo PvP as im trying to become better at solo PvP. I’m usually flying in nullsec more than low sec but, I’m up for anything. So please help me out because I would love to become really good at solo PvP.
I have most experience doing solo frigate PvP and not cruisers and above, which is by the looks of it what you enjoy to fly. Just so you know where I’m coming from.
You are going to lose a lot of ships as a solo pilot. So you should definitely get comfortable with your kb not being green. Don’t be discouraged, a non-green kb just shows you actually take fights and don’t mind losing your ship in the process.
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of brawling ships when roaming solo in cruisers. Brawlers commit you in a fight, so unless you have some insane tanking setup that can tank a smaller fleet, then I prefer kitey since you will very often be jumped by a bigger group. Kitey setups allow you to isolate, kill fast and then evade the backup. However, I’m not saying that brawling solo ships cannot be done. It can clearly also be done if you know what you are doing (just look at BigMiker).
A good tip (that I have not done myself cause I’m lazy), is to record your solo sessions with the intent to review them afterwards and so you can spot your mistakes and hopefully learn from them.
You can maybe get some good tips/inspiration by watching some video footage of known solo pvp’ers (especially those who provide commentary), but otherwise there really is not much else to do than undocking and learning after each engagement. You need to train how to react in certain situations and doing that under duress. You only learn that by taking engagements and figuring out the limits of your ship.
I would do it on home turf your alliance probably lives in null wait for the enemies to come to you make use of your Intel channel and bridges to get to them faster and for the Intel.
If you’re solo you want to probably be able to escape if there’s a blob so like you said kitey ships are good. But if brawling is more fun for you you could try flying with neuts. Two smalls can quickly cap out another frigate or destroyer. Light ecm drones are also a gamblers way of escaping when hard tackled. Finally there is damage. The more time it takes for the target to die the more susceptible you are to reinforcement.
When starting a fight with neuts I’d have them overloaded to start to get them low as fast as possible. For ecm drones I recommend not launching until the fight kind of begins so they aren’t immediately noticed. In case of just damage make sure you are always using the full potential of your guns. If you can overheat you should.
So something more of the lines of…
VNI/Omen Navy Issue/Osprey Navy Issue/Scythe Fleet Issue/Brutix Navy Issue and probably nano fit ships for solo PvP and kite is better than brawling? I’m always open to the idea of changing up my gameplay to better suit solo PvP which might be switching from brawling to kiting which would be fine with me.
If you’re looking to blap harmless targets and profit from pvp, I’d recommend training for stealth bombers, Asteros or the Hecate. These ships are great for ganks against frigate-sized explorers and miners (explorers can drop alot of good loot). Most of these ships are relatively harmless, so you should win 95% of fights. Finding viable targets can take alot of time, though.
If you’re just after regular solo pvp, low sec is probably better than null. Use Pyfa or EFT (ship fitting tools that you can download) and design something that’ll counter specific ships and fits, and ONLY engage those ships, while running away from everything else. So if you’ve designed a kitey ship, run away from all hulls that you think are kitey (you’ll recognise them after awhile), and only engage brawley ones. This is assuming that you can start a fight at a good range. Or if you’ve designed a neuting fit, only engage those hulls that use lasers and hybrid guns, or are bonused for armor tanking (which usually depends on capacitor). Basically be the rock to someone else’s scissor. After experience, you’ll come up with ideas that’ll expand your engagement profile and win more fights.
I spend most of my time in FW space, looking for 1v1 frigate fights. As was mentioned earlier it’s easy to move in and out with jump clones if that is not your home area.
You’ll get the most fights flying t1 frigates and going into fights as the perceived underdog. My personal favorites are the slasher which I have taken down many navy frigates and a brawling merlin, which I have used to beat many cats and thrashers. Flying cheap t1 ships means I can commit to a fight and play it out until the end, win or lose. I do fly other ships, but those are by far my favorites, along with a dual neut stabber when local is very busy.
Another thing I have found, is that flying cheap crap usually doesn’t attract the attention of reinforcements once the fight is engaged, leaving you for most or all of the fight 1v1.
If you wish to use a kiting ship I would recommend sitting in a small or novice plex and letting ships come to you, so you can control the battlefield.
Going 1:1 as a solo pilot is great fwiw. You’ll only get better with experience! I find it helps to join a corporation that has a similar atmosphere. Sharing the experience in being antibleb really helps. Your killboard is not bad at all!
Faction warfare space is definitely a good start for a solo-PVP career. You easily get fights with and against frigates / destroyers and you can easily cover your frigate costs with the LP from taking or liberating complexes. Not to mention that the LP gives you cheap access to Faction Frigates.
Bookmark a safe spot in every system you come across. Preferably somewhere in the center of the system thus giving you eyes on as much as possible. Larger systems youll want 2 or 3. Youll use these safe spots as quick warp to points when first entering a system so you can study the situation. Keep eyes open for combat probes.
impulse is your enemy! Patience is critical! Be robotic/logical/techical in your decision making, never emotional. Get to know your enviornment, who flys what, tactics used by the different groups/players within your hunting grounds, behavioral patrerns, etc.
Be the master of whatever ship your flying! Know its strengths & weaknesses. Fit accordingly to the type of fighting you want to do. Dont be afraid to experiment. Know what is you can & cant go up against. All fits have pros & cons; counters.
Knowledge reigns supreme! READ READ READ. The better you understand how the different weapon systems work, armor/shields, different ship types lay outs, etc…the better youll understand how to approach different situations.
Eliminate all fear of loss! Become an apex predator. HAVE FUN!