Know Your Enemy - Introduction

The main thing that separates a new pilot from a seasoned PvP pilot is the ability to size up the opponent before the fight starts. The tactics used for such are rarely documented, and never published in one place. Personally "hoarding information" is not something I believe to be good for the game. Many frustrated pilots quit all because no one has ever helped them get to the point of learning these habits, until now.


The reason this article is an "introduction" is that there is so much information to be presented on this topic, it will not be something that can be done in one day. In lieu of that fact, let me go over what I'll cover in these articles.

Keep Your Enemies Close

One major lesson is to learn how to size up ships simply by knowing as much about the ships as possible. Such things include knowing the bonuses they have, what resist holes they have, what sensor type they use, and what their slot layout is. All of these things help determine if your ship will easily destroy this ship, or possibly make you struggle to survive. Not only that, such information can help you take out a ship you never would have imagined popping with your ship.

Seeing the Weakness

One practice that is overlooked constantly, and even ignored by the arrogant PvPer is being able to see what guns a ship is using simply by looking at the graphic models on the ship. While this may seem quite unimportant to many it can be a real big advantage. Once you learn the average optimal and falloff ranges from each gun, you can easily exploit the weakness of the gun. This is a tool that must be utilized as such habits can put you in a position to take more than one ship on at once. Not only that, it helps you determine the fit that the pilot is using.

Know Your Enemy

Sometimes it is always helpful to look at your enemy's employment history. From their history you can make a fairly good assumption as to what skills they do or do not have. Not only that, but if there are enemies you run across frequently, you can find out a lot about their pilot with various resources to help you plan a strategic attack exploiting their weaknesses.

With all of these tactics not only will you get more kills, but you'll actually have a lot more fun. Keep watching as I'll be posting more on this topic in the following weeks.