We are play game, not played by game.

[mtfatboy3006]

I've got a very fast fibre connection and quite a powerful machine, I'm always instanced with other players, perhaps your experience is very different from mine?

I'm looking to understand what happens and learn to negate it as much as possible, and to partake in PvP when I do have reasonable odds and the opponent seems like they would be fun to spar with.

Addendum: Well that would mean that they are not ganking I suppose, by the definition of the term

I see other players occasionally, but they don't fight me; I don't fight them. There are a handful of regularly trafficked systems; you must have found some. I did neglect mentioning several areas of greater concentration just because seeing players there doesn't equal getting ganked. Shinrarta Dezhra, of course. Robigo, Ceos and Sothis. The Colonia region was a little more densely populated by players last I was there (that's the one place I was ganked while trading in open). All engineer systems (Deciat is the only one I have been ganked in, although one guy did ping the shields of one of my Anacondas with a pair of small rails while I was pulling out of Black Hide once. I don't count that as an attempted gank because he had no chance of taking me down with his attack and I just ignored him and went on my way). Now, power stronghold systems and some of the systems that sell rares. The various systems for grinding mats. I see players in these frequently, but I've never been attacked outside the circumstances I mentioned before. Things like Robigo runs and mat grinding need to be done solo anyway just for the availability of docking and the materials being ground.

In ordinary trade in the open bubble, I see players at a rate I would estimate at once every twelve hours or so, but they aren't gankers. But for trade I don't frequent the high traffic areas because they suck for trade--lower supplies, lower demands, worse corresponding prices. There's no point mining those systems. There's no point exploring them. The only reason to be in them in open is to find other players to fight, really, so unless one is looking for a fight or doesn't know that Deciat is gank alley, one very rarely finds combat. If you're getting ganked every time you try to play casually, I would suggest finding different systems to play casually in.

 

[Montague]

Not everyone has that much time to play games.

Elite's a great game for retirees like me, though!

 

[Wily Rites]

I see other players occasionally, but they don't fight me; I don't fight them. There are a handful of regularly trafficked systems; you must have found some. I did neglect mentioning several areas of greater concentration just because seeing players there doesn't equal getting ganked. Shinrarta Dezhra, of course. Robigo, Ceos and Sothis. The Colonia region was a little more densely populated by players last I was there (that's the one place I was ganked while trading in open). All engineer systems (Deciat is the only one I have been ganked in, although one guy did ping the shields of one of my Anacondas with a pair of small rails while I was pulling out of Black Hide once. I don't count that as an attempted gank because he had no chance of taking me down with his attack and I just ignored him and went on my way). Now, power stronghold systems and some of the systems that sell rares. The various systems for grinding mats. I see players in these frequently, but I've never been attacked outside the circumstances I mentioned before. Things like Robigo runs and mat grinding need to be done solo anyway just for the availability of docking and the materials being ground.

In ordinary trade in the open bubble, I see players at a rate I would estimate at once every twelve hours or so, but they aren't gankers. But for trade I don't frequent the high traffic areas because they suck for trade--lower supplies, lower demands, worse corresponding prices. There's no point mining those systems. There's no point exploring them. The only reason to be in them in open is to find other players to fight, really, so unless one is looking for a fight or doesn't know that Deciat is gank alley, one very rarely finds combat. If you're getting ganked every time you try to play casually, I would suggest finding different systems to play casually in.

Oh, my home system is right next to Shinrata and there is a lot of traffic here as it is also a material serving station. I'm not griping about ganking, I used to until I learned a little more about it, I'd like for it to not be a thing, but human nature.

Monkeys will be monkeys...

So I figured it might be fun to try to learn to swat gankers, whilst enjoying some fun combat with those who partake in PvP and have a notion of fair play, decent behaviour. I'm a relatively new pilot though, and it's a very steep learning curve, and I'm really barely getting started.

 

[Klearoflauge]

I feel the same was as the OP about some aspects of this game but mainly FC upkeep. I may have an hour or two a week and it's like a 2nd job to come home and grind for the upkeep for a few weeks so I can play a couple days without worrying. I understand the ideology and even having some sort of upkeep, but I have been playing since the beginning of Horizons and am nowhere near a rich player due to the time I can afford to put into this game.

I only play 2 games and have pretty much since the Horizons era launched. Splitting up 4 hours of gametime on the weekends is tough. I know the game is not just "for me" so I take that into consideration, but sometimes it's stressful and games shouldn't be that way. I try to take time away or decide to quit and that makes it even harder to come back to the game. I have shut down my FC willingly a few times now and bought it back. Any type of relief from the upkeep would help even if it was a PP perk. Week free or something. Anyway, done whining. Carry on commanders. o7

 

[mtfatboy3006]

Oh, my home system is right next to Shinrata and there is a lot of traffic here as it is also a material serving station. I'm not griping about ganking, I used to until I learned a little more about it, I'd like for it to not be a thing, but human nature.

Monkeys will be monkeys...

So I figured it might be fun to try to learn to swat gankers, whilst enjoying some fun combat with those who partake in PvP and have a notion of fair play, decent behaviour. I'm a relatively new pilot though, and it's a very steep learning curve, and I'm really barely getting started.

Elite combat might be more pay-to-win than any other game I've played, not overtly within-game, but because fighting without flight assist is quite difficult without analog control. I'm not sure if a casual KBM player can ever hope to do much good against a practiced HOTAS or HOSAS player. (Granted, I say this having never tried sticks, based solely on how difficult I personally find 6DOF flight to be with KBM). The learning curve is definitely steep, and if I really wanted to compete in PVP, the first thing I would do is find myself a planetary ring and start circling and shooting asteroids with flight assist off until I got good at controlling the ship without flight assist. I think that's probably more important than prismatics, but my opinion is inexpert, because that has never been how I have wanted to spend my time (and/or money).

 

[mtfatboy3006]

I feel the same was as the OP about some aspects of this game but mainly FC upkeep. I may have an hour or two a week and it's like a 2nd job to come home and grind for the upkeep for a few weeks so I can play a couple days without worrying. I understand the ideology and even having some sort of upkeep, but I have been playing since the beginning of Horizons and am nowhere near a rich player due to the time I can afford to put into this game.

I only play 2 games and have pretty much since the Horizons era launched. Splitting up 4 hours of gametime on the weekends is tough. I know the game is not just "for me" so I take that into consideration, but sometimes it's stressful and games shouldn't be that way. I try to take time away or decide to quit and that makes it even harder to come back to the game. I have shut down my FC willingly a few times now and bought it back. Any type of relief from the upkeep would help even if it was a PP perk. Week free or something. Anyway, done whining. Carry on commanders. o7

I keep thinking about letting my carrier go. If I'm playing Elite regularly, I can handle the upkeep, but when I had to wait through most of the Thargoid war for FDEV to get around to fixing Engineering and was unwilling to grind anymore until they did, It drained all my savings and required me to come back and trade enough to save my carrier once in a while when I wasn't enjoying playing. The small conveniences it offers are balanced against a massive expense. I'm holding on to it until I see what the base building/colonizing mechanics will be, and then I'll decide if it's worth hanging on to anymore. It may well not be.

 

[Commander Biscuit]

At least make it easier for players to be able to get the modules that Powerplay gives

You've already described them as meager rewards, and I can't disagree. If they were easier to get, there is even less reason to do PP than there is currently. What PP needs is additional rewards for the time and effort spent in PP. Perhaps access to previous CG rewards that people missed out on.

 

[Wily Rites]

Elite combat might be more pay-to-win than any other game I've played, not overtly within-game, but because fighting without flight assist is quite difficult without analog control. I'm not sure if a casual KBM player can ever hope to do much good against a practiced HOTAS or HOSAS player. (Granted, I say this having never tried sticks, based solely on how difficult I personally find 6DOF flight to be with KBM). The learning curve is definitely steep, and if I really wanted to compete in PVP, the first thing I would do is find myself a planetary ring and start circling and shooting asteroids with flight assist off until I got good at controlling the ship without flight assist. I think that's probably more important than prismatics, but my opinion is inexpert, because that has never been how I have wanted to spend my time (and/or money).

Ah yes I see what you mean, and the thought has occurred to me too that not having good sticks is a massive handicap. But that said one of my trainers, who is exceptionally good, uses mouse and keyboard. I'm battling away with a PS5 controller, which is far from perfect, but I'm sure that it is possible to hold my own with, or it will be eventually.

Oh yes, for competitive play, and against ganker spaceport guardian trolls, you really do need to have prismatics and rather a silly amount of shield banks.

But I really am getting the feeling that PowerPlay might fix all that somewhat, as you can certainly engage in PvP more easily now and with folk in all sorts of states of different repair after they've been fighting it out for their PowerPlay affairs, and when you are collecting black boxes, which also bring in a decent amount of credits, you have to have a cargo hold and ideally a collector limpet too. All of which makes you easier to fight, I'm really hoping that folk will engage with that, and that PvP becomes a little less 'orchestrated' due to it.

Also some of the power play NPC's are a lot of fun to fight now too, and for decent merits as well, I'm certainly glad of the little training that I've had in PvP now fighting some of those for 129 merits a pop, and some times you get 2 or 3 even 4 in one battle, but I would not say that they are 'easy' to kill. It does quickly rack up the merits and it is fun to do.

 

[mtfatboy3006]

I'm battling away with a PS5 controller, which is far from perfect, but I'm sure that it is possible to hold my own with, or it will be eventually.

I thought about the X Box Elite controller, but it's as expensive as a decent entry HOTAS setup. Then again, it might not raise flags with the wife. Hmmm...