Combat rating is a crude measure of your fighting skills in EV: Nova. It is based the sum of the strengths of the ships you destroy (multiplied by an internal multiplier for adjustment), with larger ships worth more points. Some mission strings require a certain minimum combat rating. The "Kills" value for any pilot can be found in the pilotlog. Once a combat rating of Deadly is reached, a player's demands for tribute from planets, if made, will be taken seriously, and the planet's defense fleet will be launched. The combat ratings are as follows:
| Kills | Corresponding Rating |
|---|---|
| 0 | No Ability |
| 1 | Little Ability |
| 100 | Fair Ability |
| 200 | Average Ability |
| 400 | Good Ability |
| 800 | Competent |
| 1600 | Very Competent |
| 3200 | Worthy of Note |
| 6400 | Dangerous |
| 12800 | Deadly |
| 25600 | Frightening |