The Basics of Pirating

Pirating (and PvP in general) is an art in my opinion. It's a carefully crafted skill that requires elaborate and constantly changing plans, whether you want them to or not. It's not something you can just get into blindly and expect to go well. Hell, even if you do know what you're getting into, you're still probably gonna pop on your first 20 roams... well, maybe not that many, but you get the idea.

Making splosions and making carebears lives so much more exciting requires a specific set of qualities- an essential list for any pirate so they don't go slowly crazy. Well, a list that I agree with and think is valid. Meaning, its probably not totally accurate, but hey, this is MY blog :P I got some help with this one too though just to get a more general PvP'er opinionnessness :P Thanks to the inhabitants of various different pirate-y hangout channels.

Qualities Essential to being a Space Pirate

A Sense of Humour- you WILL be trolled. People don't really see you as the warm fuzzy type, so you're bound to be teased, made fun of or just downright insulted- with a big grin to accompany it. Mostly from your fellow pirates. Take my corp for example. They're constantly making fun of each other... okay, mostly making fun of Ren, but that's irrelevant :P If you don't laugh and see the funny side of it, it's gonna rub you the wrong way. It happened often in R1FTA- The Black Rebel Rifter Club (my previous corp), and I'm sure it happens in many other pirate corps too. What's great is it's (MOSTLY) always in good fun. I'm privileged to have been in a couple of corps with really great people, who know how to have fun. Bearing in mind, you really need to be able to laugh at yourself too. It makes the inevitable mistakes seem so much more bearable. I can say that, because I have made many, and have to laugh at myself... otherwise I might cry :P

Patience- Things aren't always going to end your way, and let's face it, the whole presumption of PvP in itself is that the other person shoots back at you. Sometimes when you're starting out it takes  a while to get the hang of things and get the ball rolling, and this could drive you crazy unless you're patient. Again, you WILL be blown up and it helps if you don't freak out and have a hissy fit every time. Honestly, it's gonna get old and you're just gonna annoy people. The other aspect of patience is the task of the solo roam. Admittedly, I did this more in R1FTA than I do now, but it's still the same. A solo roam is hit or miss. Most often, unless you are incredibly lucky, or incredibly gutsy, you won't find much of anything to shoot at. This can get frustrating, even for the best PvP'ers. Patience is key my friend.

Stay Focused- Being patient goes along with staying focused and calm. If you get yourself really wound up because you can't find a fight or because you're really outnumbered, you're gonna make big mistakes and you're gonna get killed. And in my case, probs make a REALLY stupid mistake! In a big fight, keeping a level head helps wonders. If you're in a fleet and you're freaking out, you're not gonna be able to listen to orders from the FC, and you're gonna piss people off. This is where I'm adding a little personal touch, as this particular aspect is and was very relevant to me. I am a stress-head. I'd let myself get overwhelmed by this complex game, and freaking out just made me look silly, making really bad mistakes left, right and centre- some costing more ISK than others. There was one particular time I was in a fleet and we landed on the biggest gate battle I had and still to this date have ever seen. I freaked out and lets be totally honest here, slipped off quietly, when in fact my little thrasher could have been a good asset to this particular fight. Another time, I let the stress/panic get to me, and all the basics flew out the window. Hells, I think I've lost more pods in my time playing than the whole of ThC put together, JUST from freaking out and doing really, really silly things. Honestly, keeping your head in the game is the difference between winning and losing a fight.

Being Open to Help/Advice from Others- Alright, I need to make one thing clear. Anyone who can shoot you out of the sky with two shots does tend to know what they are doing. This one is one of the most vital qualities I think. I would not have made it anywhere without the help of the supportive people that I shared a corp with. Even the people who cared to put my suffering ship out of misery. I used to always ask questions of the people who won a 1v1 against me, asking what I could do better. This game is complicated. For those who haven't seen it, welcome to EVE's learning curve:

Unless you're some sort of super genius, you are so not going to get this stuff straight off. Actually bother to ask questions, and you'll find that most people are more than happy to help. Pirates like having fresh mea... ahh I mean... new protegees. >.>  <.< hehe ^.^ But seriously, ask and ye will probably recieve. And it's how you're gonna survive you're first few weeks- trust me. I still ask for help, and I know people years into this game who continue to ask questions and help each other out. I'm still getting people to have an input on my skill queue... there's just so much to remember. And again, if you don't actually listen to input and advice and then go and complain about how 'this game sucks' and 'everyone is out to get you' and 'that person was mean', you're just gonna piss more people off. Seriously. Just piss them off. And these pirates have guns people!

The Ability to Find Good Gifs- It may sound silly, but its true. No pirate is really whole without a good disposal of gifs for those never-gonna-happen-again moments... or just if you feel like trolling occasionally, mostly to those who are tearing in the nearby vicinity. :P It's like a new sport, seeing who can come up with the most funny gif for the situation. I think it's not a coincidence that sillier the pirate, the more gifs he has. Or maybe the more evil the pirate the more gifs he has... Hmm. Maybe I'll have to do a survey...

Wanting to Take Risks and ACTUALLY Shoot Stuff- This sounds really simple and obvious, but honestly, sometimes its not. Its surprising how many people get into PvP and then just sit in station holding ship spinning competitions. Yeah this game is unpredictable, and yeah you might get shot at, but THAT'S THE POINT PEOPLE!! I mean, even I'm guilty of sitting in station a lot, but mostly its because I'm chattering away in whatever comms or in whatever forum (apparently word is going around that I'm a little cute troll :P So go figure). I was shocked to discover that I was in the top ten points scorers on our corps killboards this month (it's probably changed by now :P), and hellz people, I don't do that by not going out and trying to shoot at stuff!! My loss mails prove I give it a go more often than not! Hehe. I have been told before that I'm a good young brave pirate, and while I think anyone who says this is slightly delusional, I like to believe them none-the-less. ^.^ In the somewhat-eternal words of Captain John Crichton, 'Anywhore I would say that Naoru is correct, you need to being willing to say "Fuck it" and go kill some shit lol'. Yep. Sounds right enough to me. (And John, I get uber awesome points for mentioning you rememeber :P)

Booze & Women- I left this for last because it is quite possibly the most important aspect.... LOL! Just kidding, its really not :P (I'm probably gonna get shot at just for saying that! hehe) But there is an amusement factor in someone blowing you up and discovering there was an exotic dancer in your cargo hold, along with some nice booze and maybe some cigarettes just to round it off. Hells, pirates stand for something. The least we can do is live up to SOME of the attached stereotypes... sorta :P

------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if you noticed, but I am really enjoying this blogging stuff. Two posts in two (technically one) day. To be perfectly honest, once I start having to work on assignments I'm gonna have so much less time to write this sorta stuff. So what the hell! Why not get as much in as possible. If it comes to me and I bother writing it, you're gonna see it ^.^ Just so ya know. o/ Oh, and the more followers and comments I get, the more special I feel, so you know.... *looks all cute* pwease?? ^.^

NEXT POST PROBABLY SOMETHING ABOUT MY OWN STARTING EXPERIENCES OF PVP. POSSIBLY... MAYBE. DEPENDS. :P WE'LL SEE!!