Null Sec Life

Well I have hung around null sec now for a week or so and was surprised how quiet it can be if that is what you are looking for.

As a new player, 0.0 has an entirely new set of terminology that does not build a huge willingness to venture out of empire space; gate camps, bubbles, pirates, large wars, etc.  I started post release of Aprocrypha but pre Dominion.  0.0 space appeared to be pretty much closed down ... yes there was stories about Band of Brothers (http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=990381&page=1) etc. that meant it was not completely out of bounds but for all intents and purposes, unless you join a corp that is part of one of the main alliances it is going to be hard to establish space all on your own.

Reports on renting space (sharecroppers) are certainly not getting the best of reviews: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/67275.  Whilst trying to find moons that make it worth it are difficult as most of them are taken (I assume).  Dominion has changed this to a small degree as held regions have been reviewed and reduced but still, most of the high value areas have remained in the grasp of the larger alliances.  See http://www.rifterdrifter.com/2010/01/a-quick-introduction-to-nullsec-politics-part-1/ for a review on nullsec post Dominion (also a good blog in general). Will CCP release infrastructure hub modules at improve a moons minerals?  We will have to wait and see.  What I did find out in my roaming was that this is definitely a sandbox; if there is a large war going on somewhere else with a large number of ships, it will crash the whole of EVE.

All this aside I have seen a large amount in the last week and learnt a huge amount to; how to avoid a gate camp, avoiding bubbles (or getting out of them when you cannot avoid them), null sec scouting, moon surveying and lots more.  Have seen too many macro ratters / miners in low sec (especially in the quieter areas of nullsec) and would still like to see some of the larger battles.

Corp Life

Playing EVE and not being in a corp is like having pizza without the toppings.  After 10 months of playing I still do not know why it took me 2 weeks to join a corp; I should of done it straight away. I would certainly have a very different outlook on the game had I not joined NERF.

For a new player the benefits you get from an active corp are huge, though it does depend on the corp you join. NERF was a hi sec industrial corp when I joined and in the intervening time we have had four hi sec wars (pretty sure it is four), moved to low sec, started some pvp, grown a reasonable amount (need much more), undertaken extended w/hole ops and had a very (very) short venture into 0.0.

In this time I have become a director (no want to be a CEO) and have the enviable task of getting people together for PVE missions.  Actually getting people to mission is not hard, there are regular fleets available ... getting people to do it for the corp is a lot harder (giving their hard earned loot to the corp hanger).

What now though?  Who knows ... there are lots of debates going on but one thing is certain we need to grow, we need to change to be able to do some of the things we dream up and so this coming year will hopefully see more change, more growth and some exciting changes.

In summary if your not in a corp ... get in one.  NERF is recruiting if your interested and we need all sorts of pilots ... join NERF! if you want to chat.

Projectile Ammo Savvy

Well I thought it was about time that I got a little more savvy with my ammo selection.   I have therefore put together the table below as a forum of quick reference.  Have added what I think is the best selections for the various factions and pirates.  Let me know what your experience is and I will update.