Low sec gate fighting in small ships is a very specific mechanic set.
Consider these things:
- The gate guns come to your aid. As soon as they agress you, the guns will start shooting them with about 300 dps… So if they are big enough to tank the guns they’ll need help locking your little boat fast. If they’re small enough to lock you easy they will not tank them long. This is a major advantage for you.
Don’t get confused and attack first… pirates are red but still cannot attack freely because of the gate guns. You can attack them freely… but then the gate guns won’t defend you because you engaged.
If they are accepting fire from gate or station guns in anything small, they won’t want the fight to last long. I’ve seen guys troll kill pvp’ers with a tank Nereus that just tackles aggressors who accept gate fire… and then tanks the pvp’er while the gate guns do the killing.
- as with any fight, mobility provides salvation. I recommend flying afterburner ships with either buffer or ancillary rep tanks for most fights involving gates/stations.
This allows you the option of burning back to the gate, if you haven’t agressed, and jumping through.
Remember, nobody can use a gate or enter a ststion for 60 seconds from the last offensive act. So if a camp catches you and you can get back to the gate (overheat that rig) you can jump through and they cannot.
If you are MWD fit, (especially with long range guns), your best strategy will likely be to run in a straight line away from the enemies to 1) avoid scramblers 2) force chasers to fly up your tail pipe where you can hit them perfectly
If you try to burn back to the gate with MWD… and someone has a scrambler… which any camp will… they will scramble you and turn off the MWD… and you’ll be parked.
Here is a continued discussion of mechanics:
Mo