Cooking with PvP

When I first started playing Eve I wanted the answers, how do you do this? How does that work? What is the best fit for this ship? How? Why? Where? When?!!! 


And while Eve is full of answers, there is no right answer. Only wrong ones.


Harrigan said it in his comment on the last post about the Nano Gang recipe, PvP in Eve is not baking... it is cooking.  If you've never had the opportunity to cook for yourself or for loved ones I highly recommend it. There are so many life lessons involved in cooking food for others, that it is an experience not to be missed. I can honestly say, I can't imagine living life without it.  I don't get to cook as much these days as I used to, but I still enjoy it when I can.


Sure there are recipes in cooking, guides, do's and don'ts. But the real joy of cooking comes from trial and error, guess-work, intuition, creativity and pure fun at your craft. ( Like life itself, creepy huh? )  Cooking, like PvP in Eve, is full of answers. But there are no right ones, only wrong ones.


I've been fiddling with my own recipe lately. I've spent some time going back thru my fits and twiddling, tweaking and making changes. This is something that I do all the time. The recipe changes, the flavor, the aroma, the desired mix of ingredients changes. And while the ingredients haven't changed in a long time, the mix, the level, the amount, the heat, the stove itself is constantly changing.  


For example. I've been tweaking my Rifter fit while avoiding flying the ship at all during the last few weeks. Mostly I just needed a break from it, to take some time to enjoy some other food. A constant diet of even the best steak can get old fast. And not that the Rifter is steak, it is more like a Hot Dog. I enjoy a good hot dog. But I also enjoy it many ways and with many toppings. The Rifter is like that. I took it out last night and eventually found a 1v1 with someone.  We sparred, but neither of us was able to deal the killing blow quickly enough. Sadly the other guy managed to get outside my scram range and he ran off.


So I warped back to my station and took the damn scram off in exchange for a long-point. Next time, someone like him won't be able to just warp off on me!  I'm sure I'll regret that decision, which is why I have multiple fits up and running. That's just one of many. Tweaking the recipe. Adapting.


There are no perfect fits in Eve, only wrong ones. And you'll only know you have the wrong one when you need it the most. There was nothing wrong with my Rifter fit, except that it failed me in that specific situation. They will all do that to you eventually.


But only if you cook. Listen to the Masters, learn your craft and then be brave enough to do it your way. You will find success. And the results will be yummy I bet.