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POE #4: Things all players should know

Published on 07. Jan, 2010 ... written by Ecaf Ersa.

Stacking

Stacking refers to the use of multiple modules or ship modifications (rigs) that affect the same attribute, eg. optimal range, kinetic shield resistance, tracking speed, etc.

The modules involved do not have to be the same or even of the same type. For example, the benefit to kinetic armour resistance granted by an Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane module stacks onto the benefit from a Armor Kinetic Hardener module.

Whilst stacking modules is often necessary and desirable there are in most cases drawbacks to it.

• Diminishing Returns

  This only applies when the module affects an attribute with a definite limit. The most common example of this is shield and armour resistance modifiers – there is an absolute ceiling of 100% resistance that the module moves you towards. In cases like this the gain that the module grants is the stated percentage of the difference between your current value and the logical maximum.

  For example, if your armour has a base 40% resistance to EM damage and you fit a module that grants 50% to EM resistance, your actual gain is 50% of 60% = 30% (60% being the difference between your starting 40% and the maximum of 100%) giving you a new value of 70%.

  If your armour has a base 60% resistance to EM damage and you fit a module that grants 50% to EM resistance, your actual gain is 50% of 40% = 20% giving you a new value of 80%.

  So we can see clearly that the closer your starting value is to the maximum, the lower the actual benefit you receive.

• The Stacking Penalty

  You may have seen the wording “Penalty: Using more than one type of this module or similar modules that affect the same attribute on the ship will be penalized.” in the description of various modules.

  This functions in addition to the diminishing returns we see above and also applies to modules that affect attributes that do not have an absolute limit, for example the hybrid weapon damage module Magnetic Field Stabilizer.

  The stacking penalty reduces the base effect of the module by a fixed percentage depending on how many modules affecting the same attribute have been fitted.

  First module: 100% of stated value
  Second module: 86.9% of stated value
  Third module: 58.9% of stated value
  Fourth module: 32.4% of stated value
  Fifth module: 14.3% of stated value
  Sixth module: 5.0% of stated value
  Seventh module: 1.3% of stated value
  Eighth module: 0.3% of stated value

  So the highly detrimental effect of using multiple modules with a stacking penalty affecting the same attribute is clear. This is even more considerably pronounced when combined with diminishing returns. Using our EM resist example again with a base value of 40%, a fourth 50% EM resistance hardener would only actually add 1.7% resistance giving a total of 89.6%. An eighth would add 0.005% making a total of 90.3%.

But there are examples of modules that do not suffer either of these drawbacks. Any module that does not have a stacking penalty and the affected attribute does not have a logical maximum will stack normally.

The classic example of this is cargo expanders. A ship with a base 100m3 cargo bay and one Beta Hull Mod Expanded Cargo module, which grants a 25% bonus, would have 125m3. If a second module were added it would grant an additional 125 x 25% = 31.25 making a total of 156.25m3.

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POE #3: Things all players should know

Published on 28. Aug, 2009 ... written by Ecaf Ersa.

System Security Ratings and Security Status

All systems in EVE have a security rating which dictates the level of law enforcement that CONCORD, the npc police force, provides. This rating can be between 0.0 and 1.0 with higher numbers indicating a stronger CONCORD influence.

Systems with a security rating between 0.5 and 1.0, called high sec, have a permanent CONCORD presence.

Systems with a security rating between 0.1 and 0.4, called low sec, have no CONCORD presence other than static sentry guns, but penalties for breaking the law still apply.

Systems with a security rating of 0.0, called 0.0 or null sec, are lawless and CONCORD pays no attention to what goes on in them.

Note that system security actually ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 however anything below 0.0 is considered, and displayed as, 0.0. This “true security” rating is used to calculate npc pirate spawns and ore types present in the system. Additionally the number held by EVE has many decimal points but is displayed by the client as rounded to one decimal place. This can result in some systems with a reported security rating of 0.0 which are not. An example of this is Karan, which has a true security of 0.0447 but is displayed as 0.0. You will receive a security status penalty if you break the law in a system like this.

All characters have a security status between -10 and +5. A minus number gives an indication of a criminal record with CONCORD and a positive number indicates that the character is well liked by CONCORD, usually due to the destruction of large numbers of npc pirates.

Committing aggressive acts in low or high sec systems (also called Empire) without the appropriate right will result in a drop in your security status. The amount lost depends on the act committed, the security status of the system in which the event occurs and the security statuses of the characters involved. Ways in which rights to attack can be given include, war, factional warfare and criminal flagging.

Aggression includes acts on property, for example a station or wreck, as well as characters. It is also not restricted to weapon fire and includes stasis webifying, warp scrambling, target painting, etc. Locking is not considered an aggressive act, nor is using a ship or cargo scanner.

Theft does not result in a security status penalty but does criminally flag the thief to the character stolen from and members of their corporation if they are in a player corporation. This grants the victim attack rights against the thief for a 15 minute period.

A security status below -2 restricts access to systems with higher security ratings as shown in the table below. Entering a system with a too high security rating in anything other than your pod will result in CONCORD’s arrival and the destruction of your ship.

1.0: -2.0 and lower.
0.9: -2.5 and lower.
0.8: -3.0 and lower.
0.7: -3.5 and lower.
0.6: -4.0 and lower.
0.5: -4.5 and lower.
0.0-0.4: No restrictions.

A security status of -5 or lower flags the character as a global criminal and Kill on Sight (KoS). This allows any player to attack without CONCORD response or security status penalties.

You can increase your standing, even recovering lost standing, by killing npc pirates in asteroid belts or missions.

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POE #2: Things all players should know

Published on 11. Aug, 2009 ... written by Ecaf Ersa.

Always be extremely careful if you choose to take something from another player’s container if they are not a part of your corporation or fleet. CONCORD, the NPC police force, considers this a criminal action although they will not act directly. Instead they will allow the owner of the container, or anybody in their corporation, fifteen minutes in which they may take retribution on you by attacking and destroying your ship.

To clarify, by container we mean a can or wreck in space, and by corporation we mean player corporation, ie. one with player leadership that you apply to join.

You can tell if you are legally within your right to take from a container by it’s colour. If it is yellow then you are stealing, if it is white then you are not, assuming of course that it doesn’t belong to a corp mate or fleet member who may also not be too happy at you taking their loot. Some cans will appear white to everybody but these are always password protected so if you do not know the password then you cannot take from it.

If a player leaves the fleet then any cans dropped by that player or wrecks of ships where that player fired the killing blow are no longer free for you to take from.

Note that whilst the contents of a wreck are the property of the player that fired the killing blow, the wreck itself is not. You may salvage the wreck without fear of any CONCORD sanctioned retaliation.

There are many players in EVE who will deliberately lay traps with cans and wrecks that are seemingly unattended, or even labelled “Free Stuff”, and their methods can be sophisticated. They may be sitting just 5kms from you in a cloaked ship and will be able to catch you if you are not quick enough. This could even extend to positioning themself between the container and the station, in which case their ship may block your attempt to warp to safety. They could also be waiting on the other side of a stargate so will not appear on your overview or local chat until it is too late.

If you are still determined to take from somebody else’s container there are a few tactics you can utilise to improve your chances. Check first that there is nobody from the owning corp in the area. You can add a column to your overview which will show the corp of any ship or container within the range of the overview. This of course does not mean that the owner cannot warp in from outside the range of your overview or isn’t watching you while cloaked. You could also be being observed by a seemingly neutral player. You can also check the corps of the players in local chat although this can be time consuming if there are many players in the system. Align yourself to a station and activate warp, then take the contents a second or two before your speed reaches 75% and you go to warp. Then wait in the station for the fifteen minute timer at the top left corner of your screen to run out. Please also bear in mind that annoying a player or corporation enough in this way could bring a declaration of war upon your corp.

There is no foolproof way of guaranteeing your safety so attempt this at your peril!

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POE #1: Things all players should know

Published on 15. May, 2009 ... written by Jacob Mei.

Picture credit: Davik Rendar

Race, bloodline and sex are purely aesthetic in nature as players are not bound to their races ship types and there is no lock in to any profession. You may start as a miner and turn out to be a professional hit man.

While EVE forces you to select a gender , unlike other MMOs, it means nothing in game. Male or Female means nothing beyond the look of your avatar within the game and until CCP finishes its “walkable” stations your avatar is a mere mugshot. Players do not get a bonus or penalty to their skills or attributes based upon the gender of their avatar. Also, one should not expect to receive isk for ./dancing around public areas such as Jita 4-4. If you make such an attempt, it is my sincere hopes that you get suicide ganked.

EVE also lets you select an Empire from which your avatar is from and gives you their frigate skill at level 2-3 on average. Beyond this initial ship skill you are not bound by any rules or regulations as to which ships you can train and eventually fly. A player may start as an Amarrian with “Amarr Frigate” at level 3 but with a little isk to buy a skill book that character can be cruising around New Eden in a Rifter, all within a day. The same is true with weapons, as long as you have the isk for the skill books and are willing to dedicate the time to train , you can make use of any weapon system you desire.

Within each Empire there are several “bloodlines” and “careers” one can select from which seems interesting. It can be interesting and useful when it comes to creating a character that fills the role you wish them to fill seemlessly. Unfortunately most players have no clue as to what they want to do within EVE by merely looking at the log in screen as well as character generation screens. To be honest you can easily find EVE junkies of 2 or more years that have no clue as to what they want to become within EVE. It is a curse as well as a great game feature. Just like in Real Life you can decide what you want to do but if you cannot figure that out chances are you will be set adrift. Eventually everyone finds their way in RL as well as in EVE. No one should ever feel as though they must stick to their starter “package”. EVE is about exploring, blowing stuff up and building your own “Empire”.

Go out there and find new and interesting things to try and train for. But most of all, find what makes EVE fun for you and push it to the limit leaving your starting skill set behind you if you must. EVE was designed to be about “choice”, not choices you made at the character generation screen! In EVE, the only boundaries,limitations and handicaps are the ones you create in your mind.

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