by Brendan Drain 
Nov 2nd 2008 at 6:00PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Raiding, Tips and tricks, Grouping, Politics, EVE Evolved
Fleet warfare in
EVE Online is a big step up from the small, casual PvP gangs discussed in
last week's PvP Masterclass article. In this guide, I explore the day to day activities of
EVE's largest combat machinations, from
30-man faction warfare gangs to
300-man territorial fleets. In stark contrast to a small and highly mobile gang, a large fleet is a lumbering hulk that favours combined firepower and good co-ordination over all else. Massive fleets of hundreds of pilots
routinely clash in the outskirts of
EVE's lawless 0.0 space. But when they move at the speed of their slowest member and are really only as good as their fleet commander, what can you do to make sure your fleet is a success?
Fight-by-numbers:The essence of fleet warfare is that using more ships is usually better. By focusing all attacks on one enemy at a time, a larger fleet has a very high damage potential. It also allows a more diverse range of ship types to take part in the fight such as an
electronic warfare wing or sniper squadron. Forming a large fleet usually requires some planning and co-ordination, making them less suited to casual PvP and more suited to organised assaults on specific targets like POS.
Read on as I tackle the question of how to make a fleet effective from the perspective of both the fleet's individual members and the fleet commander.
Tags: align, blob, buffer tank, BufferTank, ccp, combat, commander, corp, corporation, empire, eve, eve-evolved, eve-online, faction, factional-warfare, fc, featured, fleet commander, FleetCommander, gank, grouping, guide, joystiqfeatures, professions, pvp, sci-fi, war, warfare
