Skip Neocom bar
Progress:

Marked as read

Faction Warfare Essentials

Faction Warfare Essentials

Onboarding · Week One

Faction warfare is what we do. It is not all we are, but it is home, and it is where your ISK comes from.

This guide is for everyone, including veterans. Most pilots who join us have never played faction warfare, and null-sec experience does not transfer as cleanly as you would think. It covers just enough to read the map and pick a plex. The full guides are linked at the bottom.

Systems: frontlines pay

Every system in the warzone belongs to one side and has one of three types:

Type What it means
Frontline Borders enemy territory. Most fights, most sites, best pay.
Command Operations One step behind the frontline. Lower rewards, supports system capture.
Rearguard Deep and quiet. Pays almost nothing.

Frontline plexes pay 1.5× base LP. Rearguard plexes pay close to zero. If you are plexing for ISK, plex frontlines.

Reading a plex name

Plexes (complexes) show in your probe scanner with names like Minmatar Small NVY-1. Read them left to right.

Part Example Meaning
Size Small Biggest ship allowed. Scout is frigates, Small is destroyers, Medium is cruisers, Large is battleships.
Class NVY Which hulls are allowed. BSC is Tech I only. NVY is Tech I and Navy. ADV adds Tech II and pirate hulls.
Payout -1 How many pilots get a full payout before rewards split.

So a Small NVY-1 takes a Tech I or Navy destroyer or smaller, and pays one pilot in full.

Start in BSC and NVY plexes with Tech I and Navy hulls. Bringing an expensive Tech II ship into a Navy plex is how new players lose a lot of ISK for nothing.

Contested and advantage

Two numbers on the Factional Warfare system panel tell you whether a system is worth pushing:

  • Contested % is how close the system is to capture. At 100%, it can flip.
  • Advantage is which side gets more out of each capture. Higher advantage means each plex you run moves contested further.

You do not need to master advantage in week one. Know that when a fleet talks about "running advantage," it means boosting those numbers before a push.

Standing fleet

Standing fleet is the always-on militia fleet in the militia Discord. It is not a classroom.

  • Listen first. The pilots in it are busy fighting.
  • Help. Scout, tackle, bring a ship that fits the plex.
  • Do not treat it as free tutoring. "Just ask in standing" is not a good way to learn. Ask your corp, the Academy, or read these guides.
  • If standing is empty, form one. See You're Allowed to Make Content.

Battlefields

Battlefields are large site fleets that pay very well, around 150,000 LP each for pilots in the payout.

  • Navy-only. Only Tech I and Navy hulls can take the gate.
  • Do not warp to the gate at 0. Gate camps are common. Warp to a celestial, then to the gate at 70–100 km.
  • Ask whether the gate is clear before you take it.
  • Join the fleet running it and listen to the FC, even if they are not in the alliance.
  • Bring something useful. Sitting in an empty hull to collect the payout is seagulling. Members caught seagulling are removed from the alliance after one warning.

Tools

Tool What it does
dscan.info Paste directional scan results to see what is around you.
Janice Appraise cargo, loot, and killmails.
Pyfa Theory-craft and check fits offline.
The Agency (in game) Faction warfare overview, sites, and your militia status.

Go deeper

Next, in your first month: Your First Billion ISK.

Back to Learning