PvP How being chronically ganked has changed how I play Elite

[CMDR Plexus Ironrot]

So let me preface this with that I am not upset AT ALL TBH it really livens up this game for me! So I am around almost 1200 hrs on this account so I am not really a greenhorn but I am not really a pro either. My entire time playing this game has been affected by the typical gank 4v1 6v1 3v1 etc etc. Me always being the one. So I have been ganked.....a lot...like its got to be a good chunk of all my deaths in this game if that is anything to tell you. I have been in one to may lopsided fights starting from very early on in my game play ( literally my first 30mins in i was interdicted by a Cmdr and promptly blown up) So it has really shaped how I do things. I build every ship with combat or Fleeing in mind even down to the engineering.I don't fly the big 4 they are coffins to me. I always look at every ship and how I think it will perform in PvP I constantly try to improve and stay ahead of the curve in the PvP community or at least know how to counter some things but alas you cant prepare for everything. Gankers are smart and they adapt quickly Every system I am in I am constantly checking for other cmdrs making sure to see what their loadouts are if I can and VERY early on I learned what was a PvP ship was and what was not. I don't trust ANYONE. I have been back stabbed by so called friends more then once. I have been tricked into winging with people to only be murdered at the first opportunity. I fly small. My main ship is a All pa DBX because 1. Cheap rebuy 2 Packs a punch (dat large) 3 Small Ship so hard to hit 4 Can out jump anything else combat fit. Every ship I spend hrs working in EDSY or Corilios Building tinkering and setting up ships for the inevitable attack. One thing I take to heart now is you are going to die at some point either fight it out or just Self Destruct, For a long time I wanted to be a Pro PvPer however I won't ever have the skills for that and it kinda takes the fun out of Elite for me knowing I won't ever be on that level. My experience with ganking clans like Nomads have actually been good seeing how I don't feel so cheated out of my ship being quickly out skilled\classed by them however the more cheaper tactics of Packhounds feel cheap and low skill and like I have been cheated out of my ship. Rail my Power Distro down have skill for the aim not High DPS gimbal frags and a set of packhounds..Point and click..[down] boo. Now its half the fun trying to survive and just being on your toes in populated space Granted my home system I am relatively safe to fly my T6 and T9 in peace. I could play in solo but the thrill of that interdiction and the High skill combat is not there in PvE.. I do all my PvE with PA's and small ships so I have to work at it. Maybe I am weird but I really enjoy seeing these guys skill. I don't feel bad when I lose because I am outclassed I feel bad when I lose to cheap tactics and low effort weapons.

I am not talking 1v1 or wing fights. That is are a WHOLE other beast. That is high skill high coordination High danger Ganking can be high skill but low danger do to it only being one target. (does not mean they will win but lets just say the odds are in their favor) Ganking to me would be what it would be like in the Dangerous parts of space where a lone CMDR will get jumped if he\she is not careful and pay the price for their mistake.

Plexus


MY question to you guys. How has it changed how you play? Do you hide and avoid them like the plauge? Or do you seek out the thrill of high skill combat?


(not sure why this was moved from the main discussion page to PvP? I mean it pertains to elite as a whole but sure i guess bury it here I don't pretend to know whats going on)

 

[Borko]

Oh, i hide in solo and don’t feel ashamed. I salute you that you can be repeatedly ganked and take it in stride; i’ll freely admit that i lack that ability. I play to relax, and being jumped by murderhobos is the exact opposite of that. If solo didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be here. PvPers — who by nature are some of the best pilots in the game — need content to keep things interesting, i get that. I simply believe that it’s up to FD to provide that content, not me.

o7

 

[Havvk]

inb4 "Git gud" followed by some long and drawn own speech about how you're wrong and show play their way or else.



I don't hide from them, I just ignore them and let them have their little foaming-mouth circle jerk while I play my way. Fly safe and don't be content. o7 CMDR

 

[Vevvev]

It taught me how to get out of PVP interdictions, which kinds of ships to fly, how to properly high wake out, and other combat mechanics. If I can't beat the guy in supercruise I try to see if I can beat him in normal space. If I can't beat him in normal space I try to high wake out.

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

MY question to you guys. How has it changed how you play? Do you hide and avoid them like the plauge? Or do you seek out the thrill of high skill combat?

The biggest issue for me is that the times they catch you with your pants down you are either smaller, slower, less protected, less heavily armed OR (usually)

most of the above!

Any time I been interdicted has been at a CG where I was hauling cargo. There was never going to be any “high skill” combat. I run or I die. One day I’d love to be attacked when I was evenly matched just to see how good these pilots really are!

 

[Havvk]

It taught me how to get out of PVP interdictions, which kinds of ships to fly, how to properly high wake out, and other combat mechanics. If I can't beat the guy in supercruise I try to see if I can beat him in normal space. If I can't beat him in normal space I try to high wake out.

I purposefully act like I don't know how to high wake out and such just so I can make the PvPers have something to be salty about. Unless I'm in the mood to have ing contests against somebody

 

[Kamiyoda]

So let me preface this with that I am not upset AT ALL TBH it really livens up this game for me! So I am around almost 1200 hrs on this account so I am not really a greenhorn but I am not really a pro either. My entire time playing this game has been affected by the typical gank 4v1 6v1 3v1 etc etc. Me always being the one. So I have been ganked.....a lot...like its got to be a good chunk of all my deaths in this game if that is anything to tell you. I have been in one to may lopsided fights starting from very early on in my game play ( literally my first 30mins in i was interdicted by a Cmdr and promptly blown up) So it has really shaped how I do things. I build every ship with combat or Fleeing in mind even down to the engineering.I don't fly the big 4 they are coffins to me. I always look at every ship and how I think it will perform in PvP I constantly try to improve and stay ahead of the curve in the PvP community or at least know how to counter some things but alas you cant prepare for everything. Gankers are smart and they adapt quickly Every system I am in I am constantly checking for other cmdrs making sure to see what their loadouts are if I can and VERY early on I learned what was a PvP ship was and what was not. I don't trust ANYONE. I have been back stabbed by so called friends more then once. I have been tricked into winging with people to only be murdered at the first opportunity. I fly small. My main ship is a All pa DBX because 1. Cheap rebuy 2 Packs a punch (dat large) 3 Small Ship so hard to hit 4 Can out jump anything else combat fit. Every ship I spend hrs working in EDSY or Corilios Building tinkering and setting up ships for the inevitable attack. One thing I take to heart now is you are going to die at some point either fight it out or just Self Destruct, For a long time I wanted to be a Pro PvPer however I won't ever have the skills for that and it kinda takes the fun out of Elite for me knowing I won't ever be on that level. My experience with ganking clans like Nomads have actually been good seeing how I don't feel so cheated out of my ship being quickly out skilled\classed by them however the more cheaper tactics of Packhounds feel cheap and low skill and like I have been cheated out of my ship. Rail my Power Distro down have skill for the aim not High DPS gimbal frags and a set of packhounds..Point and click..[down] boo. Now its half the fun trying to survive and just being on your toes in populated space Granted my home system I am relatively safe to fly my T6 and T9 in peace. I could play in solo but the thrill of that interdiction and the High skill combat is not there in PvE.. I do all my PvE with PA's and small ships so I have to work at it. Maybe I am weird but I really enjoy seeing these guys skill. I don't feel bad when I lose because I am outclassed I feel bad when I lose to cheap tactics and low effort weapons.

I am not talking 1v1 or wing fights. That is are a WHOLE other beast. That is high skill high coordination High danger Ganking can be high skill but low danger do to it only being one target. (does not mean they will win but lets just say the odds are in their favor) Ganking to me would be what it would be like in the Dangerous parts of space where a lone CMDR will get jumped if he\she is not careful and pay the price for their mistake.

Plexus


MY question to you guys. How has it changed how you play? Do you hide and avoid them like the plauge? Or do you seek out the thrill of high skill combat?

Well Im glad you find it "Thrilling" but personally I find PvP in this game pretty tedious and boring for little to no gain so I don't bother unless Im feeling in the mood for shenanigans.

 

[Slange Lands]

OP I too salute you for your perseverance. Some thoughts:

1. Do not give up your dream of being a pro Pvper. If you are not physically disabled and have infinite patience, you are guaranteed to get better provided you are taught correctly. You will probably never be top tier, but I bet with the proper practice and mentoring you will be something awesome. There are some things that you simply can't learn by yourself, I have a feeling PvP in Open is one of them. There are many player groups and discord channels devoted to PvP. Join a squadron. You seem like the perfect student. Do not impose limits on yourself. However, you must get the right help and knowledge.

2. As for those who use cheap tricks for cheap thrills, well there will always be those. That's life. Maybe you can get gud with ECM's ? Don't know if those work against packhounds. But if I wanted to learn to use ECM's, I would fill up all my utility slots with them and fire them off at different times to see if they are effective or not.

3. Use every death that you feel cheated of as an exercise in increasing mental steeliness. Your ship is not you. You are the commander that respects skill and perseverance. If you have the credits, just ignore the larval commanders and carry on. Once again, it is a certainty that you will meet turkeys in life, but likewise, there are some incredible commanders, too.

4. Try CQC and full FA off for grins and real skill?

best wishes,

o7

 

[CMDR Plexus Ironrot]

OP I too salute you for your perseverance. Some thoughts:

1. Do not give up your dream of being a pro Pvper. If you are not physically disabled and have infinite patience, you are guaranteed to get better provided you are taught correctly. You will probably never be top tier, but I bet with the proper practice and mentoring you will be something awesome. There are some things that you simply can't learn by yourself, I have a feeling PvP in Open is one of them. There are many player groups and discord channels devoted to PvP. Join a squadron. You seem like the perfect student. Do not impose limits on yourself. However, you must get the right help and knowledge.

2. As for those who use cheap tricks for cheap thrills, well there will always be those. That's life. Maybe you can get gud with ECM's ? Don't know if those work against packhounds. But if I wanted to learn to use ECM's, I would fill up all my utility slots with them and fire them off at different times to see if they are effective or not.

3. Use every death that you feel cheated of as an exercise in increasing mental steeliness. Your ship is not you. You are the commander that respects skill and perseverance. If you have the credits, just ignore the larval commanders and carry on. Once again, it is a certainty that you will meet turkeys in life, but likewise, there are some incredible commanders, too.

4. Try CQC and full FA off for grins and real skill?

best wishes,

o7

I have a muscular issue I play this game with one hand on a Xbox Controller for the most part (tho i am trying to use both). I was in all of the PvP discords at one point but the drama was not worth it and people where just hateful at times (sadly only a select few people and it was prob my fault not sure) so I dropped discord entirely. But thank you for your words of encouragement!

 

[xxThe_Dice_manxx]

I'm a terrible combat pilot at the moment as I've been away too long and so much has changed, mind you I was never really any good.

Anyhooo I salute you sir, Your outlook is admirable and I wish you safe shifts.

I'll just keep on keepin on in Mobius As I get too paranoid in open, a nervous wreck.

o7

 

[Morbad]

Does your CMDR's ship have to be destroyed for it to be considered a "gank"? I generally build my CMDR's ships to survive a hypothetical worst case scenario PvP encounter (active pursuit by two full wings of equivalently engineered vessels, all with superior pilots than myself). While I do occasionally screw up badly enough to lose a ship, it's far from common. Lopsided encounters, where my CMDR is heavily outnumbered happen several times a week though (usually cause I take a combat vessel and go looking for trouble), and I usually enjoy them. Asymmetric encounters present a different set of challenges from duels, for both sides, and I find them both more involved and more relevant...though I do make some effort to stay a competent duelist.

This is a multiplayer game. We are meant to be each other's content. Personally, I'm entirely happy with this as a player, but I make sure my CMDR makes his opponents earn their victories.

Have yet to feel cheated when my CMDR has been shot down. Even that one time I was tagged by a suicide rammer while docking...the tools needed to avoid this were at my disposal, I was just negligent. Anyone who can catch me off guard deserves their win.

Sometimes I'm not particularly eager to have my CMDR engage in fights with high-risk/high-time-investment foes, but the setting is enormous and it's not hard to avoid the handful of hotspots. It's not like we're compelled to participate in CGs or even loose out on much for not participating. Sure, once in a while there may be one that my CMDR has a vested interest in, but these are rare exceptions. The rewards for CG completion are also dwarfed by more mundane tasks/missions; getting to 50% in a CG usually means credits equivalent to one good mission that can be done in a tenth of the time. So, if I'm not particularly eager to fight, I just don't go.

 

[Florenus]

I started to play ED Solo, but decided to give Open a chance after few months. While in Bubble I play in Open now.
I'm not a fighter, so ships I usually fly are not build for that purpose. When I need some action I log into Arena.

I give other players fair chance at taking a stab at me. If all they do is destroy me under 5 seconds (which usually happens in CG systems, not much anywhere else tbh), I might give them another chance, maybe, by flying where they were again, but after that I'll avoid them by switching to Moebius PG or Solo.

It's an MMO, so you can't set difficulty level on other players. While I play (let's say) on Medium, Exploration mode, they represent some Hardcore, Bring-Out-The-Pain difficulty (And sometimes completely different game).

I appreciate the danger, but at certain point it's more annoyance than anything else. And because I enjoy other things in elite more than fighting, or high waking interdictions, I'm not sure I want to surrender to their style of play by making engineering choices to counter theirs, or run around corners like a frightened mouse.

If someone enjoys it, it's fine. Fortunately there are options and I don't need to play the game they think is fun.

 

[Chaparral]

I fearlessly fly against NPCs in Elite. Hundreds of assasination missions across 3 accounts (wings included), Elite on my primary and high combat ranks in combat on the other two.

I do not feel the same way about players in Elite. No matter how pve capable my ship may be, it and myself are absolutely outclassed by dedicated pvp ships and pilots.

I used to fly in Open at newly revealed sites like barnacles to meet other players and discuss the possible direction of the onfolding story, but quickly learned these are the spots the "pvp" players hang out.

Like the OP I only fly cheap ships in Open.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with using the mechanics of a game as designed, even if that means crushing soft target players.

In my opinion, FDEV is stupid, lazy and inept for never looking at how other actuall AAA mmos handle pvp and pve. This will always be a sad indy manure show until these apes figure out how to apply so many of the time-honored solutions to PVE and PVP. Flagging for duels, PVE PVP designated servers, PVE PVP WVW designated instances, actual balanced mechanics for PVP, and for gosh sakes central regional megaservers instead of the foolish shoestring cheap p2p. There is no competitive PVP /WVW rank and reward system. Instead we get hot modules, sit on the pad overnight notoriety, and ineffectual ATR.

Sorry about the rant. I guess it's like a macro in my hands at this point that pops out like a voice attack response when there is a PVP in Elite thread.

 

[Morbad]

In my opinion, FDEV is stupid, lazy and inept for never looking at how other actuall AAA mmos handle pvp and pve. This will always be a sad indy manure show until these apes figure out how to apply so many of the time-honored solutions to PVE and PVP. Flagging for duels, PVE PVP designated servers, PVE PVP WVW designated instances, actual balanced mechanics for PVP, and for gosh sakes central regional megaservers instead of the foolish shoestring cheap p2p. There is no competitive PVP /WVW rank and reward system. Instead we get hot modules, sit on the pad overnight notoriety, and ineffectual ATR.

Outside of issues intrinsic to P2P, I don't think this ineptitude.

Frontier clearly does not want to duplicate how most AAA MMOs handle PvP and PvE. From my point of view, this is a very good thing, because the dichotomy is extremely artificial and overtly emphasizing it is categorically incompatible with a plausible, immersive, setting.

If anything, I'd like to see the distinctions that already exist be blurred considerably. We should have NPC AI that is competitive with the best of players, and our CMDRs should be able to leave the Pilot's Federation and give up those hollow sensor indicators, in exchange for losing their comically good insurance (as an example).

 

[Havvk]

Sorry about the rant. I guess it's like a macro in my hands at this point that pops out like a voice attack response when there is a PVP in Elite thread.

Same. But at least we have the option to avoid them unlike other games of similar genres

 

[Hooplah]

Greetings,

I go where I desire without issues using the game tools. I go to a known PvP system in Solo. Upon arriving at the station I switch to Open then land. Surprise! I'm here. The gankers waiting for me at the sun don't even know that I was there. Upon departure I leave in Open. If I suspect I'll be followed upon arriving at the next system I go Solo. Other times if I desire a fight I'll just connect with players at the station. In non-populated areas I fly any ship in Open. The solution allows me to enjoy Open play at a minimum risk to losing an expensive ship. It is a great anti-ganker solution if the player is good at station docking per any awaiting PvPers.

On the aggressive side I practice, practice, practice with an extremely engineered PvP Fer de Lance with PAs and rails, SBCs, heat sinks, chaff, interdictor. PA range 3500m. Rails 6000m. In Solo I take on all NPCs but especially go for Deadly/Elite fighters as in Sidewinder, Eagles, Vulture, Vipers, Courier. Next are the Asps, Cobras, DBX. I'll take them on three at the same time. Becoming second nature with all the defensive gear and PIPS is also important. The point is to become very accurate "trying" to hit these fast moving small ships with fixed weapons and maneuvering to avoid incoming fire. It is not easy as these ships love SCBs and chaff. Incoming explosive rounds blow up in front of me and I cannot even see the enemy ship. Also even when the reticle is lined up the rounds can still miss at distance. But when I do hit the target at distance I get this big smile on my face!

Firing PAs is also not cheap. AT 2000 credits/round times 3 that's 6000 credits with one pull of the trigger. Back at the station it is easy to cost 64,000 credits to restock. More incentive to hit the target! Thus take out an Anaconda for a 200k bounty.

If it was only about kills I can park an engineered Corvette with beams and frag cannons and wait for the NPCs to come to me killing ten times more. It's about fixed weapons skill. The harder the target the better I'll get.

None of this suggests success going against live players. A great Viper/Vulture PvP pilot could buzz around me picking away at my ship while I never get them in my sights. PAs and rails probably isn't the answer in this scenario. A great Fer de Lance pilot would probably beat me as well having so much more live experience. But at least that pilot will know that he is not going to get the kill for free. I suspect many PvPers would appreciate an actual challenge. I'll be happy to accommodate them.

Getting killed doesn't bother me. Understand how is worth a few kills.

Regards

​

 

[Havvk]

Greetings,

I go where I desire without issues using the game tools. I go to a known PvP system in Solo. Upon arriving at the station I switch to Open then land. Surprise! I'm here. The gankers waiting for me at the sun don't even know that I was there. Upon departure I leave in Open. If I suspect I'll be followed upon arriving at the next system I go Solo. Other times if I desire a fight I'll just connect with players at the station. In non-populated areas I fly any ship in Open. The solution allows me to enjoy Open play at a minimum risk to losing an expensive ship. It is a great anti-ganker solution if the player is good at station docking per any awaiting PvPers.

On the aggressive side I practice, practice, practice with an extremely engineered PvP Fer de Lance with PAs and rails, SBCs, heat sinks, chaff, interdictor. PA range 3500m. Rails 6000m. In Solo I take on all NPCs but especially go for Deadly/Elite fighters as in Sidewinder, Eagles, Vulture, Vipers, Courier. Next are the Asps, Cobras, DBX. I'll take them on three at the same time. Becoming second nature with all the defensive gear and PIPS is also important. The point is to become very accurate "trying" to hit these fast moving small ships with fixed weapons and maneuvering to avoid incoming fire. It is not easy as these ships love SCBs and chaff. Incoming explosive rounds blow up in front of me and I cannot even see the enemy ship. Also even when the reticle is lined up the rounds can still miss at distance. But when I do hit the target at distance I get this big smile on my face!

Firing PAs is also not cheap. AT 2000 credits/round times 3 that's 6000 credits with one pull of the trigger. Back at the station it is easy to cost 64,000 credits to restock. More incentive to hit the target! Thus take out an Anaconda for a 200k bounty.

None of this suggests success going against live players. A great Viper/Vulture PvP pilot could buzz around me picking away at my ship while I never get them in my sights. PAs and rails probably isn't the answer in this scenario. A great Fer de Lance pilot would probably beat me as well having so much more live experience. But at least that pilot will know that he is not going to get the kill for free. I suspect many PvPers would appreciate an actual challenge. I'll be happy to accommodate them.

Getting killed doesn't bother me. Understand how is worth a few kills.

Regards

Glad to see that somebody agrees that we all can play the same game without trying to force our way on everybody else or screeching about it on the forums

 

[Lucian667]

Are we even playing the same game? I play in open all the time in the bubble, right near Sol and consider myself lucky if I ever see even one live commander (who completely ignores me) PER WEEK of play. I'm not sure where you've found this heavily populated, dangerous universe where you have to constantly watch your back against GANGS of Cmdrs, but for me ED is a lifeless, barren desert of emptiness where even seeing a single Cmdr is an extremely rare event, let alone being attacked.

I have never been attacked by another Cmdr, let alone ganked and I have only ever been spoken to by one Cmdr in my entire 500hrs or so of play, sooooo which game are you playing again?

 

[AP Birdman]

Lol, another one of these threads? I'm taking bets on how long this one lasts before it gets locked.

 

[Slange Lands]

I have a muscular issue I play this game with one hand on a Xbox Controller for the most part (tho i am trying to use both). I was in all of the PvP discords at one point but the drama was not worth it and people where just hateful at times (sadly only a select few people and it was prob my fault not sure) so I dropped discord entirely. But thank you for your words of encouragement!

How are your feet? Maybe you could also use pedals for yaw, for example. I used to have debilitating tendinitis so I used to play Nintendo games with my feet. The Nintendo Advantage Joystick had really big buttons and a protuberant joystick so I could manipulate the buttons using my toes. Special Effects(sp?) is a UK based company that makes specialized gaming devices for those with disabilities. Maybe they can design a controller for you.?

I have been studying LookInverted's videos on how to fly FA off. He is/was an outstanding combat pilot and he is paraplegic. I believe he also uses an Xbox controller for thrust/throttle.

o7