Monday, November 9, 2015

What Makes a Good PvP Experience?

Here's a question for the community.  What essential characteristics define an enjoyable PvP experience for you?

Do you need to face an enemy that has a chance of killing you, or do you enjoy catching your target unawares?  Do you enjoy large fleets, or do you prefer fighting solo?  Are there specific kinds of ships you prefer?  Where do you prefer to find your PvP?

And, here's the big question: Which of these are truly essential?  If you had to boil down your PvP preferences to that which is common to all of them, what would remain?  What really satisfies you?

And, just as importantly, when you hear someone brag about or post a kill in local, what aspects make you want to reach through the screen and strangle them for bragging about it?

What kinds of fights give you the shakes?  Let me know in the comments!

17 comments:

  1. Catching someone unaware that is not willing to pvp and killing it. The more juicy the target, the bigger shakes I get and bigger the satisfaction.

    The best place I like to hunt is wormhole space due to no local. Watching your prey from 200km and waiting for the right moment, without him even realizing, is what really drives my game.

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  2. Easy. Whatever gives you the shakes, which is usually fights whose outcome is not blatantly clear and you have to work for victory.

    I despise people who think billboards are a good way to measure anything. I don't care if they want to watch their stats but don't impose that rubbish on anyone else, especially newbies.

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  3. I think 90% plus of my PVP experience has been me dying, but I am OK with that. I think I prefer solo up to small gang and the 2 aspects I enjoy most (when solo) is that someone honours the 1v1 brawl without calling in tons of help, but any fight gives me an adrenaline rush.

    If income were easy I think I would PVP most of the time, generally cheap stuff, T1 cruiser down.

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  4. What essential characteristics define an enjoyable PvP experience for you?

    The challenge beaten, standing victorious.

    Two players; Two fleets. Overcoming by skill and perseverance the trails inflicted upon us.

    Armor rising and falling like waves, Drones swarming towards us. A decisive blow inflicted. They run.

    Looting the field, heart pounding, eyes semi-focussed. We did it. I did it.

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    Replies
    1. Trials.

      Honestly, of all the silly words to get wrong.

      Delete
  5. I love sharing the experience. When I solo I love telling people afterwards. I guess I'm quite Social wrt my Bartle type.

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  6. The best fights for me are when they are close. When you barely scrape out a victory, or just barely die before the other guy. Those are the ones I remember the longest and seem to be the most enjoyable.

    I used to pirate quite a bit, and a few fights where memorable, but most of them I've forgotten as it was just too one sided to really get the blood pumping.


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  7. What do I love about EVE PVP?
    Essential Characteristic: Small gang life in Anoikis…

    Why?
    Things that cause the Shakes to this day:
    -fights where the outcome is not certain, but you feel you have the upper hand because you trust your FC and Fleetmates;
    -fights were you have no idea how it's gonna come out... and Leroying in anyway... =]
    -getting jumped and being saved by your mates;
    -Leroying into save a mate;
    -landing reps in the nick of time; (I often fly Logi)
    -dropping a bubble right on time and target, and getting out alive to setup the next run.. (I love Lite Dictors)
    -landing, bubbling up and infini pointing them as are trying to get away... (and Hvy Dictors!)

    Things that help calm the Shakes:
    -close friends, the camaraderie of the shared experience;
    -an FC you trust even when you get whelped;
    -Fleetmates you trust and with whom you share the same moral ideals (even if they are a bit weird on Comms); =]
    -not getting blobbed;
    -and not blobbing;

    Things I simply love about my game:
    -no CONCORD or Sec Hits...
    -no limits on tactics...
    -no local...
    -no popo...
    -almost no chance of backup... whether you live or die is completely up to you.
    -landing back at the POS, in POD of ship, together... and laughing until your sides hurt... =]

    All the above is why I have for 4.5 of my 5 years in EVE, and Bob willing always will, live and die on the other side of the sky...

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  8. W-space murder is my prefered content. However, I've recently been enjoying griefing the less experienced k-spacer. The tears that flow and their surpise at being agressed in high sec is what really excites me. I roam high sec for hours and hours looking for players, locking people up, shooting their loot or mtu. Goading someone I know I can beat into agressing me first. Eventually a player weaker than me will agress and then I'm safe to return fire. Of course, I don't do this alone. All my buddies warp in to help. (Not sure I'd want to risk this sort of thing solo.) Once I know the victim is totally at our mercy I will strike up a convo to taunt and generate some tears - the more tears the better. It takes me back to high school except now it isn't me thats crying. Now I'm the one with all the power. (I used to get bullied a lot...but I digress.)

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  9. "Do you need to face an enemy that has a chance of killing you, or do you enjoy catching your target unawares?"
    ...Yes.

    "Do you enjoy large fleets, or do you prefer fighting solo?"
    Large fleets for big heavy duty battles, or solo/small gang for that Dirty Dozen/A-Team feeling.

    "Are there specific kinds of ships you prefer?"
    Cruisers and/or destroyers for gang/solo.
    Battleships and capitals for massive fleets (mostly - I can do cruisers there too).

    "Where do you prefer to find your PvP?"
    Null/Low - I hate highsec and/or docking games. Off-grid boosters also annoy me.

    "Which of these are truly essential? If you had to boil down your PvP preferences to that which is common to all of them, what would remain? What really satisfies you?"
    Cruisers at dawn! Seriously though, a reasonable challenge, involving ships that are fun to move around, in mid-small size battles.
    But nothing beats the thrill of an honest to goodness fleet fight with capitals hotdropping in, and the massive clash that goes with it.
    Big fleets and small and dirty gang fights are like apples and oranges. Each great fun in their own way for their own reasons, and comparing them to decide which is better is just wasting time that could be better spent enjoying either/both.

    "And, just as importantly, when you hear someone brag about or post a kill in local, what aspects make you want to reach through the screen and strangle them for bragging about it?"
    Any kind of gank kill (suicide ganking included) that isn't highly valuable or worth attention. Seriously, you ganked a random noob, congrats. Call me back when you kill something worth multiple billions, or was piloted by an idiot (or both, for extra hilarity).

    Final word? Big battles that decide the fates of systems/stations/alliances are awesome. But that doesn't leave out the cool gang fights. Each is memorable in its own way.

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  10. Oh and FWIW Anon 2:10 (whether a troll or for reals) is the kind of player we really need not in New Eden...

    I know saying this won't change anything, just sayin cause it needs to be said.

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  11. I like feeling that I have a chance, even if I actually do not.
    I also like being surprised by tactics / fittings of the opponent.

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  12. I love using ships that people underrate and hitting above my weight, I have been using the Atron and sure I have been getting killed but bagging a faction frig or two is what Eve is all about for me.

    Search Sheltark sykari on YouTube. Frigate solo pvp black rise is where I get my shakes

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  13. I get the shakes when I feel like I'm going to get away with something I perhaps shouldn't.

    Going Solo against ships that're either well protected or simply more powerful, taking with me a plan and a fit that should surprise them. Then seeing them go into structure and thinking 'Yeah this is going to work!'

    Basically being a shark in the water


    I'm not a big fan of camping anything, I find the idea of hisec ganking kinda boring. - I like hunting players that know they're in a combat zone (low, null, WH)

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  14. Any pvp that ends up as a story to talk about is probably the best to me. Taking 2 svipuls through a end of life hole to gank a gila running sites. Baggingthe kill after a huge struggle to break the gilas tank and finding the way home gone. Good times.

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