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EVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga

Brendan Drain — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, Hands-on, EVE Evolved, Guides, Sandbox

While EVE Online's recent Crucible expansion brought us over a hundred small features, balance tweaks, and graphical updates, its headline feature was undoubtedly the four new tier 3 battlecruisers. It's been several years since a new combat ship was added to EVE, and combat had begun to get a little stale. Most of EVE's ships follow a logical design progression, with larger ships having more tank and higher damage output. CCP turned that concept on its head with the new tier 3 battlecruisers, which deal battleship-class damage but have both the agility and paper-thin tank of a tech 1 cruiser.

The Caldari Naga is the very definition of a glass cannon, able to output more damage than a Megathron or Rokh but at the cost of having practically no tank. It can be sniper-fit to deal around 650 DPS at ranges of 100-130km, blaster-fit to output a raw 1,500 DPS at ranges below 10km, or even set up to fight effectively with blasters outside web range. Its high top speed and cruiser-like agility add new gameplay options to existing sniper and heavy damage-dealer fleet roles, providing battleship-class damage for roaming cruiser gangs. It's a potential game-changer for nullsec alliances engaging in hit-and-run style warfare, but as with all new ships it can be difficult to figure out an effective ship fitting.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I explore three solid fittings for the Naga designed to fill common PvP roles.

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EVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Upgrading to a PvP cruiser: Gallente and Amarr

Brendan Drain — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, PvP, Endgame, Hands-on, EVE Evolved, Guides

People come to EVE Online from many different gaming backgrounds, and for one reason or another, the game doesn't click with most people the first time they try it. Two weeks ago, I encouraged people who have tried EVE but never got it to click with them to approach the game from a new angle -- to grab a few friends and charge head-first into PvP with guns blazing from day one. In last week's EVE Evolved, I advised new players on getting into their first PvP frigate, preparing for PvP, and staying financially ahead of the inevitable ship losses. I also put together two frigate setups for each race that will fit and function well with only a few days worth of skills trained.

While frigates are fantastically cheap ships in which to learn the basics of PvP, their effectiveness on the battlefield is limited. Most tech 1 frigates struggle to deal anywhere near 100 damage per second, and if caught by enemy tacklers they die quickly. While the next step up is the destroyer class, I strongly advise PvP-oriented players to skip it and move straight on to cruisers. Although cruisers have less mobility than frigates and are easier for large ships to hit, they pack a big punch for a relatively low cost and can take a bit of a beating.

In this week's extra large EVE Evolved, I share effective and battle-tested setups for the Thorax, Vexor, Arbitrator, and Omen that new players can use with less than two weeks of skills trained. I also suggest skills to train and give a few tips for keeping costs down. If you're a fan of Minmatar or Caldari ships, tune in to next week's EVE Evolved for the continuation of this article.

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EVE Evolved: Upgrading to a PvP cruiser: Gallente and Amarr originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing

Brendan Drain — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, Grouping, PvE, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

In the first of this two-part guide, I looked at some of the more affordable entry level ships and modules available to dedicated healers in EVE Online. I went on to examine an effective strategy for using medic ships as part of a PvE gang, whether you need some help on a particularly hard mission or you're trying to crack one of EVE's hardest exploration complexes. This week, I look at high-end healing as I explore capital ships and the role of medic ships in both PvP and wormhole operations.

Healing in missions and exploration sites is a largely passive affair, with the healer permanently locked to the main tank. NPCs in these sites never switch targets but the same can't be said for players or the advanced Sleeper AI that roam wormhole systems. Repairing your gang-mates in PvP or a wormhole operation is a completely different affair, made all the more complicated by the fact that the dedicated medic ship is sure to come under fire.

In this article, I look at capital ships and the remote assistance strategies players use in PvP or wormhole operations.

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EVE Evolved: Medic ships, part 2: High-end healing originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: A guide to Lieutenant progression

Kyle Horner — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Guides, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log

Star Trek Online goes out of its way to make sure the player always has a bevy of mission choices at their fingertips. That makes a step-by-step guide on progressing through Lieutenant (i.e. the first ten "levels") somewhat worthless to write. So, I'm taking a different approach this week.

This guide is aimed at helping to quicken the pace of leveling towards your first new ship. The Miranda class ship is nice and all -- but everyone just really wants their first real ship. Plus, as an added bonus, you can use these tips throughout your entire Star Trek Online experience!

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Captain's Log: A guide to Lieutenant progression originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Winners announced in STO's ship naming contest

Kyle Horner — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Contests, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Cryptic's gone and announced the winnings names (and prizes!) for their ship naming contest. You can see all three Tier 5 ship name here, and of course there's friendly screenshots to go along with the name. If you're just looking to know the names for each of the three ship archetypes, we can help there. T5 Cruisers will be known as Emissary Class, Escorts have been named Dervish Class and Science vessels of the T5 variant are named Destiny Class.

Each winner of the contest is set to receive a Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Trek Online as well as a poster featuring the ship they've named. For everyone else who submitted a name, the special in-game title "Utopia Planetia Staff" will be given. Wearing it will tell everyone in the game you've participated in the contest, which we have to admit is a nice consolation prize. There's certain to be future naming contests as well and we're looking forward to that -- especially since it means new ships for the game!

Winners announced in STO's ship naming contest originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations

James Egan — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, PvP, PvE, Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online is a game that's being built upon one of the most popular sci-fi IPs of all time. As such, gamers have certain expectations of the title, particularly when it comes to the ships they'll be flying. As with the Star Trek films and shows, the game will stick to certain ship classes and configurations, but the developers at Cryptic Studios also need to allow for customization within that system -- everyone wants to fly something that's unique in some way. Something that's their own. This customization was the theme of a recent Star Trek Online dev chat with executive producer Craig Zinkievich.

Ships in Star Trek Online will have defined purposes, with Escort (cannons, heavy attack rating), Cruiser (general purpose, large crew), and Science vessels (emphasis on deflector dish 'powers') to be in the game at launch. Of course, you'll be able to modify them in various ways. The producer explains that the customization options won't allow players to drastically alter the look or silhouette of any of the ship classes from Star Trek canon, but you'll definitely have options within your chosen configuration.

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Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: The cost of failure, part 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

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EVE Evolved: The cost of failure, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: The cost of failure

Brendan Drain — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, EVE Evolved

The harsh death penalty in EVE Online is something that's talked about a lot. I even touched on the issue myself when I compared EVE Online's style of PvP to Age of Conan and when I investigated the phenomenon of suicide ganking. In EVE, your ship being destroyed means millions of your hard-earned isk is flushed down the drain. If you're unlucky enough not to get away in your escape pod, you'll be killed and recloned, costing yet more isk and destroying any expensive implants in your head. The brutal death penalty associated with PvP in EVE is responsible for putting a lot of players off playing the game but is the taste of death really as bitter as people make it out to be?

In this article, I examine the cost of defeat in PvP and how to minimise these costs without ruining your PvP performance.

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EVE Evolved: The cost of failure originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stargate Worlds video shows impressive sub-orbital explosion

Samuel Axon — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, Stargate Worlds

Twiddling your thumbs in anticipation of the beginning of Stargate Worlds' closed beta test? The folks over at Ten Ton Hammer have an NDA-exempt goodie for people who are waiting -- a video of a Ha'tak class Go'auld attack ship exploding in the stratosphere of a planet.

We were actually a little surprised at how spectacular the explosion looked. TTH alleges that it's part of some pre-planned event within the game, so it's a special case, but still -- it's pretty awesome, with some interesting shaders to simulate the shockwave, and attractive fire effects as the broken pieces of the ship plummet through the air. Hey, there's not all that much Stargate Worlds video out there, y'know? We'll take what we can get.

Stargate Worlds video shows impressive sub-orbital explosion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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