E-UNI Class Notes

I gave a lecture to EVE University this week.
I promised I would post my notes on this lecture. They are found below.
Points that I marked with "..." were points that I planned to elaborate on. These notes don't give near the experience of the full class, and these are my personal notes, so weren't changed much for readability (as I didn't desire to transcribe 3 hours of talking) but as I said I would post them, here they are.
This class should show up in the E-UNI class library at some point.

As a blog-note, I have about 4 posts that I've been working through in parallel, so some of these might show up in rapid succession.

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Let's talk about why you are here...

When in doubt, quote people smarter than you.
Sun Tzu is a pretty smart fellow:
"The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations."

Let's talk about me, ingame...
Let's talk about me, IRL...
Let's talk about you, and the assumptions that I have to make about you...

Let's talk about how you should take this class:
4 windows:
Lecture
KQ
Market
Mail
Paper & Pencil, if you like.

If I stop talking, if I completely DC...

Disclaimers...

Starting Question: call the primary:
Hookbill, Drake x 3, Curse, Huginn x 2, Manticore x 3

Trick question: If you don't know what your fleet has, then you can't call a primary.

Sun Tzu:
"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

Useful Trick:
Step 1: Run
Step 2: Know what the enemy is all about

Now, you have:
Vindicator, Proteus x 3, Onieros, Ishkur, Taranis, Daredevil x 3

Expectations about the enemy fleet...
The best way to use the fleet you have...
What you might optimally bring to take care of this setup...

AT IX Battle

Sadly, I can't talk about "general" small PvP, because the lay of the land makes a huge difference.
Sun Tzu:
For this reason one who does not know the plans of feudal lords cannot forge preparatory alliances. One who does not know the topography of mountains and forests ... cannot maneuver the army. One who does not employ local guides will not secure advantages of terrain. 

PvP in EVE almost always happens at focal points: gates, sites.

So, I'm going to talk about wormhole PvP specifically. Here is the quick lay of the land:

Major players know their way around, interlopers do not.
No Local.

Bombs OK.
Bubbles OK.

The fight is joined within the first 5 minutes of battle.

Polarities...

No Timers.
No gate guns.

Wormhole Effects.
Omni-tanked, omni-DPS rats.


Now that we have laid the ground, let us begin properly.

PvP is fairly scalable, but there are certain "resonance points" that make a big difference. One to two pilots makes a very big difference. Two to three, not so much. You are now in small gang territory. This holds out until you start to reach the point where alpha-ing ships off the field is possible. Then you have reached large-scale warfare.

Small gang rocks. What is our goal in small gang?
Answer: Win.

Great, how do we do this?

Winning:
The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

So how do we do this preparation?

Create a balanced fleet. You'll learn what this means.

Scout, Scout, Scout.

- Composition

- View->Fittings

- How fast are they moving?

- Ship Synergy

Countering:
Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.


Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

EVE:

Doing damage:

You need damage dealers. You need damage dealers that can do damage to all size of targets...

Avoiding damage: 

EWAR. Very important, in all forms...

Logistics

The capacitor war: win the capacitor war, win the battle.

Strategy: The more you know, the better off you are. Build your strategy to attack the enemy's strategy. Hide your strategy.

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Jumping into the fight process itself,


--Pre-fight--
The importance of intel...
Ship selection...
Module selection...
The mixing of roles...
Fleet structure...

--Mid-Fight--
Voice comms bandwidth...
Chat vs. voicecomms...
Primaries...
The importance of EWAR...
The importance of cap warfare...
Positioning...
Meta-roles... The Dscanner, The Mapper, The Scout, The Killboarder, The Corp Researcher, The EFT Warrior
Escape techniques...
Splitting the FC Task...

--Post-Fight--
The killmails...
The AAR...


--Out-of-Fight--
How to improve these skills without directly practicing them...

Escalating:

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.

Capitalizing:
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.


The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

Fleet Comms:
If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame.

Leading:

Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.