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Fighting in a fleet is a lot of fun, and it is, in many ways, the classic EVE experience. However fighting solo, or in a small group of 2 or 3 people can be just as fun, much easier to get set up, and importantly, is one of the best ways to develop your all-round PvP skills. Skills such as scouting, target calling and overall FC’ing are all very transferable from solo or small groups, right up to huge fleets. In EVE, many of the best FCs started out in solo or small gang situations, and many of them still roam solo when not leading fleets.

In Low and High Security space, taking hostile action against a pilot not flagged as a criminal, a war target or a suspect will result in a loss of your own security status. Therefore, engaging in regular PvP as described in this guide will inevitably reduce your security status. This is why Low Sec is often described as pirate space. Low security status can cause you to be attacked by faction police when entering High Security space.

If you continue to live in lowsec or nullsec, having a low security status is unlikely to affect you as you can simply use a hauler alt, or a hauling corporation to get ships and other supplies from Highsec to where you live.

Should you wish to retain the ability to travel back into High Security space at any time without restriction, you can always take actions to recover your security status, either by killing NPC rats, or by redeeming Clone Soldier Tags.

While fighting in Null-Sec, Wormhole, or even High Sec space is perfectly possible, the majority of small scale PvP is done in Low Security space. Specifically, those areas of Low Sec designated as “Faction Warfare Space”

Faction Warfare mechanics includes many features which are specific to corporations and individuals who elect to align themselves to one faction, as described in more detail in the Faction Warfare Wiki page. For the purposes of this guide however, we will only be considering those aspects which relate to all players, regardless of affiliation.

Faction Warfare space contains Factional Warfare Complexes (commonly known as Plexes which are effectively PvP arenas.

• T1 Frigates
  • Probably the majority of Low-Sec PvP is done in T1 frigates, making this an excellent entry point for new players, as well as for more experienced ones. These are less common in Null-Sec PvP, however their low cost, high effectiveness, and ability to enter any plex in the game mean they are the most common sight in Low Sec plexes
• Faction / Pirate Frigates
  • These are also very common sights in Low Sec due to their power advantage versus T1 frigates while still being able to enter Novice plexes.
  • Faction frigates are a slightly more expensive, but still affordable step up from T1 frigates. While powerful, they can still be killed by a skilled T1 pilot, and should be seen as an extension of the frigate meta game when devising tactics
  • Pirate frigates are substantially more expensive, but also have subtantial advantages versus almost all other frigate variants, and are some of the toughest opponents in PvP. In skilled hands they are able to take on ships substantially larger than themselves, or multiple other frigates simultaneously. These are quite advanced ships, and new pilots should probably not be flying nor fighting them without backup.
• T1 Destroyers
  • These can be thought of as larger frigates with very poor range control due to their speed, but great DPS/EHP ratio to make up for it. They can be kited by a skilled T1 frigate pilot very effectively but they are also able to tear their way through much more expensive Faction or Pirate frigates if both ships have similar optimal ranges.
• T1 Cruisers
  • Relatively rare sights in Low Sec plexes, and a magnet for other cruisers, or advanced ships such as pirate frigates and T3 destroyers looking for an expensive killmail. The few cruisers you do see flying solo are often fitted specifically to kill adventurous or foolish frigate pilots, and new pilots should avoid engaging them. In particular anti-frigate cruisers such as the Vexor and Stabber should be avoided.
• T2 Assault Frigates
  • Despite their frigate hulls, in performance Assault Frigates are more similar to T1 destroyers. Like the T1 destroyers, they trade manouverability for higher DPS and EHP, however the Assault Frigates do so at a considerably higher cost. They are not very popular in the current game as they are generally outperformed by T3 destroyers, and even some Pirate frigates, while not being that much cheaper.
• T3 Destroyers
  • These are have effectively replaced Assault Frigates as the best small ship option in PvP. They are only marginally slower than standard frigates (and often faster when in propulsion mode), while also retaining the excellent damage and a strong tank of the destroyer hull. They make for great Brawlers and Kiters alike and are virtually impossible to counter in a T1 frig except in a few select scenarios. Pirate and Assault frigates may stand a chance, however only in skilled hands and with good tactics. Less experienced pilots should simply avoid these ships without substantial support.

Ships for PvP in general are grouped primarily by their optimal range. All other things being equal, winning a PvP fight, whether solo, or when leading a huge fleet, usually means ensuring that you are in your optimal range, and your opponent is not.

• 0-5 km Optimal Range - Brawlers
• 5-10 km Optimal Range - Scram Kiters
• 10-20km Optimal Range - Kiters
• 20km+ Optimal Range – Snipers

In Low Sec PvP, as most fighting is in plexes where much of the engagement takes place around the fixed point of the beacon, it’s important to note that Micro-Warp Drives (MWDs) are generally not preferred, as they can be immediately de-activated by a warp scrambler, rendering you at an immediate speed disadvantage. While MWDs can be useful for Kiters, and some more unusual fits, the predominant propulsion module used is the afterburner. It should be noted though that in Null Sec PvP, without Plex mechanics, MWD fitted ships are the dominant force.

Brawlers use high damage, close range weapons, such as blasters or pulse lasers. Because of this, they rely on quickly getting into close range, and preventing opponents from pulling away.

• When defending a plex, they will orbit the beacon very closely, and immediately try to scram and web any incoming ship to hold them at close range and prevent them pulling away.
• When attacking a plex, they will need to try and swiftly close the range between them and the defending ship to get into their optimal range.

Due to range being key, fast brawlers like the Atron or Federation Navy Comet are very useful here due to their raw speed, as well as the damage boosts to brawling weapons. An alternative is a ship which carries dual stasis webs, such as the dual-web armor Kestrel or the Caldari Navy Hookbill. These are relatively slow ships in general terms, however the double web effect applied to your opponent will remove the speed advantage of almost any other ship, and allow you to dictate range despite being the slower ship on paper.

An effective defence against a brawler is to fight from outside their optimal range, but still within warp scrambler and web range, normally between 7–9km. This is called “Scram Kiting”. At this point, brawling damage will be minimal, however mid-range weapons such as beam lasers, railguns or rockets can still hit an opponent for substantial damage.Once again, this tactic relies on relative speed to maintain range.

• When defending a plex you will likely orbit the beacon at your optimal range, however a brawler could quickly close range if they have a notable speed advantage.
• When attacking a plex, if a brawler is waiting at the beacon you will need to pull range before you take too much damage, which requires your ship to be faster overall than the brawler, as well as being tanky enough to survive the initial damage long enough to pull out of range.

For this reason, scram-kite ships often still fit speed modules and rigs to try and maintain speed advantage. Common scram-kiters include Breacher, Tormentor and Incursus. The Dual-Web Kestrel and Caldari Navy Hookbill noted earlier can also be equally effective as a scram-kiter as rockets can deal effective damage up to 9km, while the dual webs maintain your speed advantage.