Surviving 0.0

Surviving 0.0


The most important part of any battle is surviving it. Everything after that is a plus, so lets teach you the basics.




Local Chat


Above all else in any sort of combat, local chat is the one thing that can save your life. It shows you how many people are in your system, who they are, how long they have been playing, and basically everything short of what ship they are flying. Always watch local. Always have it open, and be aware of when it changes. If you are flying alone and several people warp into the system, be on your toes. They might be coming for you. After all, local works both ways. If you can see them, they can see you. Don't forget to set the standing of enemies as well. War targets will have the red star next to their names.You should set people who have given you trouble before with a low standing. This will give them a red minus next to their name and you will know if they are trouble immediately. That can be a dead giveaway for when you need to run or hide. The only time local chat can NOT be used is in wormhole space.



Safe Spots


Okay. You see a target in the system that you know will take you out. It is time to hide. Where do you go? The safest place to go is to a friendly station or POS. Generally as long as you are docked or behind a force field your enemies wont be able to get to you. What if that is out of the question? Use a safe spot. Safe spots are random spots in space made by adding a bookmark that you can warp to later. Why is this good? If you are hiding at a belt or planet they can use their on ship scanners to find you, and ultimately warp to you. Thats no good, and essentially ruins the purpose of your hiding place. A player can NOT warp to a random spot in space unless they have a probe launcher equipped. Sometimes their not having a probe launcher can mean the difference between life and death, and keep you safe and sound. How do I make a bookmark for a safespot? First off go to your people and places tab, then places, and add bookmark. How you find the location for your bookmark is up to you. The methods are as limitless as your imagination. Mission locations are generally good for bookmarks. You can place a bookmark mid warp between two locations. You could even put a fast ship on autopilot and let that be your safespot. Bottom line is get to a safe spot in the middle of space, and place your bookmark. Logging out is also a good idea if you think they might have a probe launcher.




Cloaking Devices


Personally I am not a fan of cloaks. They take up a very important high slot, but they can save your life. If someone does manage to find your location they wont be able to see you, or lock you. As long as you are invisible you are safe...as long as they don't get too close to you. This can be invaluable in wormhole space where they can't even see you on local. You will be like a ghost.




Surviving a Warp Jam


There are many ways to warp jam your target. Warp bubbles, warp jammers, drones, ect. The most simple method of survival is to put a warp stabilizer on your ship that is stronger than their warp jammers. If you are more stable than their jams, they will have no effect. If you forgot or didn't want to put one on, and you can't go toe to toe with your target, then knowing how to deal with these jams is key. There are only two ways to get out of a warp jam. Keep from getting locked/break their lock on you, or get out of range. Getting out of range is simple. just go faster than the guy jamming you until you can warp out safely, then warp away. Jamming their sensors, on the other hand is more complex. You need to use an Electronic Counter Measure. ECM for short. Some are generic, and others work against specific targeting systems. The type you chose is up to you. Refer to races to see the type of targetting system each race uses. Once they lose their lock and are no longer jamming you, run for your life. The last kind of warp jam is a Warp Bubble. Sneaky buggers. They are basically just a big bubble of death. As long as you are inside the bubble escape will be very difficult. The concept of survival is simple. Get out of the bubble and you can warp for your life. Unfortunately when people use Warp Bubbles they generally have the gate locked down pretty well. Normally the only way to get out (especially one on a gate) is to turn on your cloaking device and try to sneak out of the bubble unseen. If you cant escape the jam, your only chance is to fight and hope for the best.




Scouts

The best way to survive 0.0 is to have someone go before you. It kind of reminds me of penguins. You send a small fast ship that can escape a bad fight through gates first, and he tells the rest of the fleet whats up. Generally this ship is a recon ship, or some other sort of small fast frigate. For more on that the best way to learn is just to join a fleet (preferably with the millitia or your corp) and learn from experience.



Your Ship and Tanking


When all else fails you will get shot. You need to tank the damage they throw at you. Knowing how your race and ship is supposed to tank is key. I already covered what your method of tanking should be, but if you missed it refer back to races. The smaller your ship the faster you need to move and orbit. Frigates need to orbit their targets as fast as they can, and not worry so much about armor plates and resistances. The golden speed to break in a frigate class is 4,000 m/s. Thats the speed of a Cruise Missile, which is the fastest missile in game. Once you can orbit at that speed nothing will hit you. A frigate going straight towards a target, or standing still may as well just self destruct. Remember to orbit nice and close, and nice and fast. Bigger ships such as Battleships need to be fit to take a lot of damage, and not worry about moving much. The bigger the ship the more damage they take from all guns, and the slower you move. To sum it all up, the bigger you are, the more you have to take. Smaller you are, the more you need to dodge.