Some of the pilots that I first encountered as rookies are now daring and capable pilots flying ships that I'll probably never fly. They have outgrown the advice I initially gave them, becoming skilled hunters in their own right. Seeing that development has been amazing, and I'd like to be part of that again.
All of this has convinced me that, on an occasional and case by case basis, I'd like to offer one to one pvp lessons for new characters. I'm not going to charge for my time, but I'm not interested in time wasters either. If you are both a noob and serious about learning solo pvp, send me an EvEmail convincing me that you have the enthusiasm and commitment to make teaching you worthwhile. Your attitude will be the single most important factor in my decision, followed closely by the amount of play time I currently have available.
I'm not going to go too much into the course details (which will probably change in response to feedback in any event), but here are some up-front facts applicants will need to keep in mind:
1) Although I'm not charging, expect to spend some money. You will be required to obtain a number of T1 frigates (hull and fittings to be discussed prior to the course) and move them to Ranellies. You are almost certain to lose those frigates, although insurance should cover the cost of your T1 hull and fittings.
2) While most courses seem to focus on long roams with an instructor, this course actually pits you against me, although under a series of controlled exercises. The advantage of this is that I can actually control the kinds of engagements you "find", and the learning points we cover.
3) The engagements are going to be overwhelmingly in my favour, because this allows me to draw out the length of the engagements, which in turn allows me to cover multiple discussion points without needing to blow you up prematurely in self defence. So whereas some courses will leave you with some feel-good killmails at the end, this one is unlikely to ('grats to you if you manage it though!).
4) The course is aimed at players with no more than a few months of play time because that's when I started learning pvp, so I have a pretty good grasp of what needs to be covered; by extension the lessons may well prove too basic for older characters. The emphasis is on giving you practical experience with moving through and fighting in low sec, and familiarizing you with the different kinds of targets you will encounter. As an introductory course, we won't be running repeated drills, for example, but practicing a technique once or twice and then moving on.
5) Mumble is mandatory, as is a working microphone.
6) My intention is to FRAPS the lessons and make the videos available to you after the course.
7) For those with a bit of ISK, Azual offers outstanding training. He has a great deal of experience, having run the Agony PvP University, whereas I come from the School of Fracking Up So Badly You Learn Not to Do THAT Again.
If the above interests you, send me an EvEmail with the following information:
a) How long you have been playing EvE, and what you've been up to in that time.
b) Why you want to pvp, and why you think you need or want this course.
c) Give me an idea of the kind of frigates you see yourself flying in the future, and the frigates you can fly now. Include details of favoured weapon systems, as learning points for missiles, for example, will be different from turrets, and different again from drones. This information will help me to customise the lessons to you and your pvp goals. If you are unsure, that's fine too, but as someone with strong preferences about how I fly, I'm happy to try and accommodate others with similar feelings.
d) Anything else you think I should know that might convince me that you should be on this course.
And in the mean time, fly dangerous.
Edited for real numbers.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've read FoD from its inception. I'd suggest his thoughtful, detailed and no-BS style to any new PvPers wanting to learn the trade.
ReplyDeleteWhat's FoD?
ReplyDeleteSounds like it could be pretty interesting Taurean, and I'm interested to see how it works out for you and your prospective students.
I do have a question about the lessons though: Do you think some people will just plainly not be as good at frigates as opposed to something larger and more forgiving? I ask because I've come to conclusion myself. Some of the people I taught couldn't handle a frigate, but could handle a BC, and some vice versa. If this becomes the case, are you going to push through Frigate training, or try to work with them in an area more suited to them, or even just point them to someone more experienced in BC and up PvP?
Seems like a good thing to think about if you haven't yet.
I'm guessing that "FoD" is Flight of Dragons. And that's an interesting question about hull sizes.
ReplyDeleteI'd actually given it some thought, and if someone really, really wanted to do the course in cruiser or bc hulls, then I would probably accommodate them. However, I'd also point out that this would make the whole exercise more expensive for them; not just the course, but the subsequent pvp losses as well.
Yes. Yes yes yes. I strongly endorse this decision.
ReplyDelete