In my own experiences, as well as from talking to a few other people, one of the questions I am asked most often is "How do I find people to fight?"
Well... the answer to this depends on what sort of fight you want. If you're in a fleet, well, follow your FC. He or she will know where to take you to find action. However, as this whole thing is directed at solo roamers, whether FW combatants, nullsec roamers, lowsec pirates, or people who may be a little bit of all of the above, lets examine a few tricks. ((Note: Due to the content, ie, finding pvp in a video game, from here on, I am just writing from an OOC perspective, to make things easier)) This focuses on the perspective of a roamer, so I dont cover camping a gate, which is a dangerous PITA for a solo frig or AF anyways (But, at times, I have done it, and with success).
Step 1. The MAP. Yes, the map you can access by pressing F10? You can find people with that. In fact, I started using it more than I have before, thanks to an outstanding tutorial video made by solo pvper Kil2. The tutorial video can be found here and it is a straightforward, easy to understand introduction to the use of the map for this purpose. One caveat I would like to mention; just because the map shows 4 people active in system over the last 30 minutes does not mean 4 will be there when you jump in. It means, over the past 30 minutes, there have been an average of 4 people there. They may all be gone, or you might find a roaming gang of 30. But it is a definate point in the right direction, and using it as Kil2 describes to find pockets of activity is an outstanding way to get some shooting done. Also, if you havent, he has a series of fun pvp videos and even runs a live stream several times a week. Check it out.
Step 2. Know the area. I know from a long period of living in Minmatar losec that if I want fights, the places to go are the region from Amamake down to Hadozeko in Metropolis/Heimatar, the Creo-Corp plexes in Heimatar and Molden Heath, and Molden Heath in the Bosena/Heild area. Knowing your territory is exceedingly important. You can learn who to expect to bring good fights, who to bring blobs and falcons, and who simply not to waste time with. Finding a fight is not the whole story; being able to find a winnable fight is. Border systems (( Such as Amamake )) are often good places, though they can be extremely risky due to the large number of people in them. This, plus the map as outlined in 1, is often as far as you need to go, but here are a few more tricks...
Step 3. Make yourself easy to find. Sit in a belt (not at 0, of course). Sit at a DED plex. If you jump through a gate, or undock from station, and you see someone you wish to fight, warp to an obvious celestial. In null, you may attack them immediately, of course... if you know what lies in the station or on the other side of the gate. If they seem reluctant to engage, they will either 1) jump/dock as soon as you engage them, or 2) will not follow you when you warp to said obvious celestial. If they do things like point you immediately, but DONT follow you off gate or station, you can bet your last dollar they have help coming. Make them come to you, so you have a bit of time with them alone, or dont take the fight.
Step 4. Nullsec entry systems. Often, the entry systems into nullsec will be camped. Sometimes by a few people, sometimes by a huge gang, ocassionally by soloers. I will sometimes roam around and peek into every nullsec entry, and even go 1 system in (Null entries are always huge regional gates; campers much prefer the smaller, standard stargates that are generally 1 system in from the low/null boundary gate) to find some pew. This can be risky, as gangs of recons and/or sniper Tier 3 BCs are common, but you can almost always burn back to the gate or warp off if it is something you dont want to try.
And Step 5. When all else fails, just ask! I will often yell in local if i see another AF or 2 if they want a fight. Sometimes they say yes. If they dont respond, but keep looking for you, it can mean 1) They have no idea what language you're speaking or 2) Theyre tackling/baiting for a gang. Proceed with caution, though this will often save the day, and get a fight when nothing else will.
Learn to use that D-scanner, which will be something I will go over in my next post. Until then, fly it like you stole it! Good luck, and if anyone else has any tips that I havent covered... let me know, I'll add them.
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