The point of EVE ultimately is about watching your opponent’s multi-billion ISK ship explode into a million little pieces after which you can pick over what remains like a vulture and – with some luck – do disturbing things to his corpse.
Yes, Yes, we all know how EVE is “many things to many people” but when you get right down to the nitty-gritty of it, indulging your atavistic impulses is what EVE is really about.
What is a corporation? In EVE corporations bare little resemblance to real life.
For one thing pilots don’t work for a wage or the like, rather they are taxed on their bounties or expected to fork over some of their income either in terms of minerals or ISK.
The question then of course are “corporations” in EVE merely the equivalent of Guilds in say a MMO like World of Warcraft.
Rifter: The Rifter is a very powerful combat frigate and can easily tackle the best frigates out there. It has gone through many radical design phases since its inauguration during the Minmatar Rebellion. The Rifter has a wide variety of offensive capabilities, making it an unpredictable and deadly adversary.
Special Ability: 5% bonus to Small Projectile Turret damage and 7.5% bonus to tracking per level.
When one compares Frigates, one ultimately compares them all to the Rifter.
The Rifter is without question the best Solo-PvP Frigate you can fly. It is also one of the easiest ships to fly, and has a great deal of versatility in fittings that allow to be effective in a multitude of situations. As a fleet support ship tackler the Rifter excels, despite being somewhat of a more expensive proposition when compared to other tackler ships.
Incursus: The Incursus is commonly found spearheading Gallentean military operations. Its speed and surprising strength make it excellent for skirmishing duties. Incursus-class ships move together in groups and can quickly and effectively gang up on ships many times their size and overwhelm them. In recent years the Incursus has increasingly found its way into the hands of pirates, who love its aggressive appearance.
Special Ability: 10% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret falloff and 5% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage per skill level.
The Incursus is considered to be by many to be the best Gallente T1 PvP Frigate available. It is faster and more agile than it’s cousin the Tristan and yet also has a rather large Capacitor reserve combined with fittings that allow it to inflict as much damage as the Tristan, making an affordable and effective PvP ship.
Politics in EVE, as is sometimes true in real life; tend to be based around not so much what you stand for as what you stand against.
More importantly, you ally yourself with others not because you particularly like your new found comrades but because you find that you and they have a mutual and emphatic dislike of a third party.
The tired old cliche of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” is very much truism a in EVE.
In the 0.0 regions of EVE, with its various power blocs, this manifests itself at the highest level of organization in what are now called the Supra-Alliance Coalitions.
Tristan: Often nicknamed The Fat Man this nimble little frigate is mainly used by the Federation in escort duties or on short-range patrols. The Tristan has been very popular throughout Gallente space for years because of its versatility. It is rather expensive, but buyers will definitely get their money’s worth, as the Tristan is one of the more powerful frigates available on the market.
Special Ability: 5% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage and 7.5% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret tracking speed per skill level.
The Tristan is called the Fat man with good reason. Not as fast and agile as the Incursus, nor as easy to fit as the Rifter. Nevertheless, despite these draw backs this often maligned ship has a number of advantages that compensate for its short comings.
In the beginning…there was the Blob.
And the Blob was EVE, and EVE was the Blob.
And in the lag infested void of the nether reaches, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And CCP did hear the lamentations of the unjustly Podded, and did pledge to correct this grievous oversight.
And verily, they upgraded the hardware, yet this did not suffice.
And verily, they upgraded the software, yet this did not suffice.
And then in the byzantine depths of their corporate boardrooms and computer kiosks,
from the minds of over caffeinated Icelandic artificers,
Did there come forth a great Epiphany!
And lo! the mighty Titan was born.
And verily, the multitude spoke, and they said:
Oh Bugger.
Executioner: The Executioner is another newly commissioned ship of the Amarr Imperial Navy. The Executioner was designed specially to counter the small, fast raider frigates of the Minmatar Republic; thus it is different from most Amarr ships in favoring speed over defenses. With the Executioner, the Amarrians have expanded their tactical capabilities on the battlefield.
Special Ability: 10% bonus to Small Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% Small Energy Turret damage per skill level.
The Executioner is often criticized for its poor performance as a DPS craft, given its limited high slots and small capacitor. Most pilots ignore it in favour of heavier ships like the Punisher or support frigates like the Crucifier. Some pilots wait till they are able to fly it’s T2 variants such as the Malediction, emphasizing their tackling capabilities. However with the proper fittings this tiny, cheap and nimble ship is a very useful and effective support ship.
Griffin: The Griffin is much used by the Caldari Navy as a support vessel in combat squadrons, using its impressive array of electronic gadgetry to disrupt the operation of target ships, making them easy prey for traditional combat vessels.
Special Ability: 15% bonus to ECM Target Jammer strength and 10% bonus to ECM Target Jammers’ capacitor need per level.
There is little doubt that the Caldari EW Frigate – The Griffin – is one of the ugliest looking ships in EVE.
Something of a cross between an ostrich and a construction crane, the Griffin looks like a creation of Hieronymus Bosch on an acid trip.
Few people fly the Griffin and those that do specialize in EW prefer to fly the Black Bird or even (Despite its Mutilation in Apocrypha) the Recon variants.
There is also the the T2 Electronic Attack variant the Kitsune, but they are still a rare species despite its formidable abilities.
There is an argument that intermittently and with no particular reason tends to burst onto the series of tubes that is the internet.
This is about the current undisputed 800 pound MMO Gorilla – World of Warcraft, and it’s relation to EVE.
The Undisputed King of MMORPGS, with its vast following across the globe tends to elicit such statements from EVE players:
“Q: What happens when someone quits EVE to go play World of Warcraft?
A: The Average IQ of both games increases.”
raventimoshenko