[quote]For a game supposedly about "meaningful" PvP, its kind of sad the best solution is not to do it at all so many times.[/quote]

or you could make sure you have appropriate military backup when you're doing something that would be risky to do solo.

In most other MMO's you can tell how dangerous a player is by his level and gear so you know who to avoid. No such luxury in Eve. Same mechanic though.

The thing is this isn't the typical MMO where PvE players are segregated from PvP.

Choosing not to PvP and instead focusing on, mining for example is not the same as saying "I'm not into PvP so I just won't be doing it".

In Eve a mining op requires some PvP based players to help protect you, at least sometimes. The fact that your cargo is always prone to being stolen by enemy players means you are never totally free from the threat of PvP and that is how most Eve players like it.

If you could mine with no danger or transport goods with no chance of them being stolen, what would be the value of your goods? Anyone with an hour could get the same haul and you'd be playing another cookie-cutter MMO where the PvP gets you nothing but some points on a internet website or some gear which even people who constantly lose PvP also have available to them.

There are ways around all of this which would enable you to minimize your exposure. I know mining corps that rely more on intel than guns to protect their operations and they do pretty well. If you know where your enemies are you can often avoid them or get out of town before they arrive. Obviously this doesn't always work but that is what makes it fun for both parties.

I'd rather my PvP be less about bragging rights and dull gear progression. I prefer it to be about logistics, intel, cost effectiveness, and the ability to deal a decisive blow against an enemy that may very well cause them to close shop or seek a new home.

backup wont work against most of the things listed here, as they rely on alphaing a a target. In Hi-sec you can't even drive them off because you will be the one concorded.

As for backup, that isn't easy at all unless you have a large corp already. Right now my corp has 3 people online, with me as a miner and a newbie. Even in something like RvB sometimes they can only have 7 people on at a time in one corp, and its hard to mount concerted defenses all the time.

Notice James doesn't actually give any strategies on how to fight? The whole point of the article isn't how to repulse in hi-sec successfully, it's how to avoid.