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| FX Announces new Eve Online show as part of their Fall lineup! |
I've done it. You've probably done it. After all, the skill train in Eve is so long, the temptation to do it is very strong. At some point in their Eve career every player has thought the same thing, "I bet I'd be much better at this if I could only fly a better ship." I mean really, do Drake's really need T2 missile launchers? Does the Ishtar really need T2 Sentries? So what if I have to put two Micro Aux Power Cores in my Dramiel's low slots? It is such a badass ship, I'll be a badass flying it.
And while I am a huge supporter of players flying whatever they want to fly (barring fitting WCS and using ECM of course!), you really shouldn't fly that next tier ship until you are ready.
The pressure to 'move on' in Eve can be tremendously powerful. Everyone has sold everyone else on the idea that the skill train is hard, the learning curve is steep, and that faction-fitted, linked, drugged-up ships are the only way to 'win' in Eve. There are entire sub-cultures within our game dedicated to these core beliefs. It can be a rather intimidating and formidable horizon when you are first starting out.
Let me offer a much better alternative, that also happens to be true. Eve is much easier that anyone wants you to think. In fact, Eve is tremendously simple. Have you ever taken a moment to think about your future out here in the real world? I mean really stop and ponder it? The long road of life that lies ahead of you can seem daunting, scary and unpredictable. Where am I going to go to College? What do I want to do with my life? When will I meet the love of my life? If you start thinking about it long enough it seems impossibly hard. And here is the secret - Eve is just like that.
But when you take life one day at a time, in smaller chunks, it is so much easier. Of course you need always keep an eye towards the horizon, but you live in today - not tomorrow. There is a good reason why we don't let eleven year olds drive cars on the highway. And why six month old Eve characters shouldn't be flying Dramiels.
Focus on the ships you can fly now and train for the ships you'll fly tomorrow.
Believe it or not, I don't want to fight Rokhs with T1 guns. Or Dramiels with Co-Processors. Or badly fitted ships of any nature. And faction mods are not band-aids that will hide your lack of skills. They will only become a valuable part of your loot drop and end up on my ships.
You will do much better in a well-fitted T1 Frigate that you know how to fly, than you will in a poorly fitted Faction Frigate you just barely squeeze into. Even with links.
The old adage is only fly what you can afford to lose. It should be, only fly what you can fly well.
Keep the courage.