With the growing presence of the pirate corp INFOD in Molden Heath and the losses I've suffered to them through KODA, I've decided to pack up the POS this week and shut down research.
Instead I'm going to concentrate on getting my invention supply sources up and running and try to improve my standing with Ishkone Corp to get better R&D agents. The problem is that no one in KODA has the abilities to fly missions. I tried again with Derranna this weekend and was forced to warp out without damaging one rat. Pathetic. So instead I'm going to bring my jump clone in and run the missions for her once a week or so. Hopefully she can get more courier missions which she should have no trouble with.
On the main front, I've got my Raven, cruise missile launchers, cruise missiles, and Cruise Missile skill is training as I type. I hope to start running Level four missions solo again this week when time permits after moving Derranna's stuff. And dismantling the POS. Sigh.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Canathian Eldar Versus Space Marines
Challenge games are always interesting because it allows people to cut loose and try to do whatever it takes to win. No hard feelings, no calls of cheese, and cut throat tactics. When you know its coming, it can make for a fun game.
Which is why last night I was ready to quit halfway through turn 2. I expected a down and out drag em to the ground kicking and biting match and instead I was getting removed from the table like I was not even there.
Scene: large 6x5 foot Cityfight table, big buildings, some streets for shooting. Armies are 2000 pts aside. Lawrence with his troop heavy rhino mounted army versus my troop heavy Eldar army centered around an advance of two wraithlords. Nightfight on first turn.
On turn one Lawrence gamely advances three rhinos and pops smoke leaving dudes inside, a brave gamble. A whirlwind shot lands killing 6 Dire Avengers but I accept it as normal casualties. On my turn one I advance en masse in two prongs into the two centre buildings; on my right a six man squad of scorpions with Autarch backed up by the 6 guardian jetbikes, 5 warp spiders, and guardians jumping out of the wave serpent. ON the left, two wraithlords, 10 man scorp squad, 6 man Seer Council, all supported by two vypers and 5 pathfinders.
I shot everything at those three rhinos. Two starcannons, two brightlances, EML, 6 Death Spinners, twin linked shuricannon, regular shuricannon, pathfinders. I got decent number of hits, decent number of glances... but on four or five glance damage rolls I rolled 3 every time except once when I got a 5. One immobilzed rhino.
Disheartening, but sometimes that happens. Downside was that all those marines inside were unaffected. On turn two Lawrence advances into position and makes me pay. Shooting kills the rest of the Dire Avengers, half the large Scorpion squad, one vyper, over half the guardian squad who promptly flee, and the weapon off the other vyper. That's 450 pts dead.
Then he assaults with his Chaplin and assault squad on one Wraithlord, tactical squad on other, and another tactical squad taking on both the jetbikes and small scorpion squad on the right. Wraithlords are in cover so I get to strike first and decide to go for the death blow on the Chappie, sending both (not three!!! *cries*) attacks on him, getting two wounds.... but Lawrence makes both 4+ inv saves. The powerfist from the sergeant and chaplin combine to easily pull the wraithlord down. The other wraithlord popped a marine but also got pulled down by a sarge with power fist. Another 300 pts gone.
At this point I was more than a little frustrated and actually wanted to concede. Let's review shall we? I had killed one marine and immobilized a rhino. In return I had lost 750 pts of 2000. I was effectively now in a 1250 pt versus ~2000 pt game. I was so despondent that I was certain his last assault on the jetbikes and scorpions was going to cripple my other flank even more and it would be a game of clean up the Eldar bodies for another hour.
Fortunately I decided to show how pointless it would be to carry on by fighting the last assault. And that is when the turnaround began. His assault bombed. Two scorpions died to the charge, but the marines lost some too and the combat was joined by the Autarch who helped to turn the tide.
On the other flank the assault marines and Chaplin consolidated into the Seer Council who proceeded to hold them in place while the remnants of the Scorpion squad assaulted and killed the Tactical squad in the building before coming over to help put the hurt on the assault marines. The warp spiders avenged the Guardians by taking on the tactical squad that flamed them and the power blades of the exarch made a good accounting, while the wave serpent removed the threat of the Land Speeder.
The Pathfinders were assaulted by the fourth tact squad and were no match in close combat for them, but provided enough of a road bump to keep them from getting the Shadow Weavers hiding in the building deep in my deployment zone.
At the end of the game, Lawrence has the Whirlwind, Predator, and Terminators all unharmed holding three buildings in his zone while one tactical squad is deep in my zone claiming a small building. My Shadow Weavers pass a leadership test from tank shock to hold one building, damaged jetbikes and small scorpion squad hold two in the middle, while the badly damaged but still above 25% Seer Council held the fourth building against the last assault marine.
A tie. Not a deserved tie and the VPs if they counted would show how the marines were in much better shape, but after being so far behind the ball early on I would take what I could get.
A great game once I got past the frustration of turn 2. A big thanks to Lawrence for being a good sport about it all.
Which is why last night I was ready to quit halfway through turn 2. I expected a down and out drag em to the ground kicking and biting match and instead I was getting removed from the table like I was not even there.
Scene: large 6x5 foot Cityfight table, big buildings, some streets for shooting. Armies are 2000 pts aside. Lawrence with his troop heavy rhino mounted army versus my troop heavy Eldar army centered around an advance of two wraithlords. Nightfight on first turn.
On turn one Lawrence gamely advances three rhinos and pops smoke leaving dudes inside, a brave gamble. A whirlwind shot lands killing 6 Dire Avengers but I accept it as normal casualties. On my turn one I advance en masse in two prongs into the two centre buildings; on my right a six man squad of scorpions with Autarch backed up by the 6 guardian jetbikes, 5 warp spiders, and guardians jumping out of the wave serpent. ON the left, two wraithlords, 10 man scorp squad, 6 man Seer Council, all supported by two vypers and 5 pathfinders.
I shot everything at those three rhinos. Two starcannons, two brightlances, EML, 6 Death Spinners, twin linked shuricannon, regular shuricannon, pathfinders. I got decent number of hits, decent number of glances... but on four or five glance damage rolls I rolled 3 every time except once when I got a 5. One immobilzed rhino.
Disheartening, but sometimes that happens. Downside was that all those marines inside were unaffected. On turn two Lawrence advances into position and makes me pay. Shooting kills the rest of the Dire Avengers, half the large Scorpion squad, one vyper, over half the guardian squad who promptly flee, and the weapon off the other vyper. That's 450 pts dead.
Then he assaults with his Chaplin and assault squad on one Wraithlord, tactical squad on other, and another tactical squad taking on both the jetbikes and small scorpion squad on the right. Wraithlords are in cover so I get to strike first and decide to go for the death blow on the Chappie, sending both (not three!!! *cries*) attacks on him, getting two wounds.... but Lawrence makes both 4+ inv saves. The powerfist from the sergeant and chaplin combine to easily pull the wraithlord down. The other wraithlord popped a marine but also got pulled down by a sarge with power fist. Another 300 pts gone.
At this point I was more than a little frustrated and actually wanted to concede. Let's review shall we? I had killed one marine and immobilized a rhino. In return I had lost 750 pts of 2000. I was effectively now in a 1250 pt versus ~2000 pt game. I was so despondent that I was certain his last assault on the jetbikes and scorpions was going to cripple my other flank even more and it would be a game of clean up the Eldar bodies for another hour.
Fortunately I decided to show how pointless it would be to carry on by fighting the last assault. And that is when the turnaround began. His assault bombed. Two scorpions died to the charge, but the marines lost some too and the combat was joined by the Autarch who helped to turn the tide.
On the other flank the assault marines and Chaplin consolidated into the Seer Council who proceeded to hold them in place while the remnants of the Scorpion squad assaulted and killed the Tactical squad in the building before coming over to help put the hurt on the assault marines. The warp spiders avenged the Guardians by taking on the tactical squad that flamed them and the power blades of the exarch made a good accounting, while the wave serpent removed the threat of the Land Speeder.
The Pathfinders were assaulted by the fourth tact squad and were no match in close combat for them, but provided enough of a road bump to keep them from getting the Shadow Weavers hiding in the building deep in my deployment zone.
At the end of the game, Lawrence has the Whirlwind, Predator, and Terminators all unharmed holding three buildings in his zone while one tactical squad is deep in my zone claiming a small building. My Shadow Weavers pass a leadership test from tank shock to hold one building, damaged jetbikes and small scorpion squad hold two in the middle, while the badly damaged but still above 25% Seer Council held the fourth building against the last assault marine.
A tie. Not a deserved tie and the VPs if they counted would show how the marines were in much better shape, but after being so far behind the ball early on I would take what I could get.
A great game once I got past the frustration of turn 2. A big thanks to Lawrence for being a good sport about it all.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Delay On Covert Ops
I put Electronic Upgrades V on hold earlier this week and put Missile Launcher Operation IV and then V on the front burner. It looks like I should have enough money for the Raven soon (sold a researched Caracal BPO) so I need those Cruise Missile skills sooner rather than later. I should be firing Cruise Missiles next week and then I can get back on the Covert Ops bandwagon.
* * *
Tonight I have a 2000 point challenge game versus Lawrence at Fandom II. I fully expect to get walloped but I get to try some different stuff out so it should be good. Full report tomorrow.
* * *
Tonight I have a 2000 point challenge game versus Lawrence at Fandom II. I fully expect to get walloped but I get to try some different stuff out so it should be good. Full report tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
SALE SALE SALE
Dennis helped me finish a level four mission I've been struggling with last night, Angel Extravaganza 4. Even with my Drake and his Domi it took 2 full hours and that was without salvaging. It actually hurt to log off without salvaging the wrecks but my life was in danger from wife aggro.
For a long time I've been stockpiling mods I can use as well other miscellaneous junk and the hanger is getting a little crowded again. I think I'm going to run up to Rens and put a lot of it up for sale and try to add to the wallet. After that I'm going to take the hit on training times and jump clone out to 0.0 to rat and get more money while training finishes for Electronic Upgrades V and then Missile Launcher Operation IV and V. Then I can come back in a few days, get Covert Ops and Cruise Missiles and buy my Raven.
Its a plan.
For a long time I've been stockpiling mods I can use as well other miscellaneous junk and the hanger is getting a little crowded again. I think I'm going to run up to Rens and put a lot of it up for sale and try to add to the wallet. After that I'm going to take the hit on training times and jump clone out to 0.0 to rat and get more money while training finishes for Electronic Upgrades V and then Missile Launcher Operation IV and V. Then I can come back in a few days, get Covert Ops and Cruise Missiles and buy my Raven.
Its a plan.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Drake is good...
... but man I miss my battleship.
I decided to try a level four mission in my passively tanked Drake since I've heard from sources that some level fours can be done by the Caldari tier 2 battlecruiser. Of course, I draw an Angel Extravaganza mission. Sigh.
The good news is I can do the first two rooms. The bads news is I don't know about rooms 3 and beyond because it takes so long I run out of playing time. I'm making some money and salvage but at some point it is taking too long. I need a battleship.
I've got four options when it comes to battleships, each with their advantages and disadvantages.
Scorpion: Cheapest option, no training required, but low damage output and not designed for mission running.
Raven: Popular mission boat, cheaper than a Rokh, missiles don't worry about range, but would require training to get Cruise missile skills.
Rokh: I've got the skills and experience with the beast, but by far the most expensive to purchase and not best at close range mission fighting which killed me last time.
Gallente BS: A Dominix with drones is a popular missioning boat and not too expensive, but would require lots of training for both the ship and the skills.
After a lot of thought, I've decided the fastest and cheapest way to make good ISK is with the mission running Raven, certified by the Eve crowd as the best mission boat out there. Cruise missiles will require some training but by the time I have the money to buy a Raven and outfit it, I should be ready or close to it.
I decided to try a level four mission in my passively tanked Drake since I've heard from sources that some level fours can be done by the Caldari tier 2 battlecruiser. Of course, I draw an Angel Extravaganza mission. Sigh.
The good news is I can do the first two rooms. The bads news is I don't know about rooms 3 and beyond because it takes so long I run out of playing time. I'm making some money and salvage but at some point it is taking too long. I need a battleship.
I've got four options when it comes to battleships, each with their advantages and disadvantages.
Scorpion: Cheapest option, no training required, but low damage output and not designed for mission running.
Raven: Popular mission boat, cheaper than a Rokh, missiles don't worry about range, but would require training to get Cruise missile skills.
Rokh: I've got the skills and experience with the beast, but by far the most expensive to purchase and not best at close range mission fighting which killed me last time.
Gallente BS: A Dominix with drones is a popular missioning boat and not too expensive, but would require lots of training for both the ship and the skills.
After a lot of thought, I've decided the fastest and cheapest way to make good ISK is with the mission running Raven, certified by the Eve crowd as the best mission boat out there. Cruise missiles will require some training but by the time I have the money to buy a Raven and outfit it, I should be ready or close to it.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Man, Level III Sucks!
I ran a level three mission in the Drake last night and it was an all-round disappointment. Crap loot, crap salvage, crap bounties. The only good thing was the reward and bonus adding up to about one million isk, better than everything else. I have got to run level fours, I just doubt the Drake can do it efficiently. The other option is to go out the Syndicate and risk life and limb ratting. At this point, tempting.
After the mission I took out the Recon Probe Launcher armed Ferox and slipped into low sec. At one point I was tracking a ship called an Impairor. I didn't recognize the name and couldn't find it on the market. I was afraid it was some super faction ship or something but damned the torpedoes and warped in. There it was, empty. Frigate sized. Locked, fire, boom! Nice! Looked at the kill mail. Civilian Gating gun, Civilian Mining Laser... wtf? Ah crap, the Impairor is the Amarr rookie ship. I blew up an empty rookie ship. Elite pirate I am not. I lost 2.5% sec status for an empty rookie ship? NOOB!
Still, despite the debacle I lost nothing but two charges of ammo and some security status and had fun looking around with scan probes for something juicy to warp in on. Almost warped on a Myrmidon but slapped myself and stopped the warp. A Ferox couldn't beat a well piloted Myrmidon on a good day and my setup was gimped for scan probing miners, haulers, and smaller ships. Getting restless.
Time to get some money.
After the mission I took out the Recon Probe Launcher armed Ferox and slipped into low sec. At one point I was tracking a ship called an Impairor. I didn't recognize the name and couldn't find it on the market. I was afraid it was some super faction ship or something but damned the torpedoes and warped in. There it was, empty. Frigate sized. Locked, fire, boom! Nice! Looked at the kill mail. Civilian Gating gun, Civilian Mining Laser... wtf? Ah crap, the Impairor is the Amarr rookie ship. I blew up an empty rookie ship. Elite pirate I am not. I lost 2.5% sec status for an empty rookie ship? NOOB!
Still, despite the debacle I lost nothing but two charges of ammo and some security status and had fun looking around with scan probes for something juicy to warp in on. Almost warped on a Myrmidon but slapped myself and stopped the warp. A Ferox couldn't beat a well piloted Myrmidon on a good day and my setup was gimped for scan probing miners, haulers, and smaller ships. Getting restless.
Time to get some money.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
In A Funk
Last night in Eve I was in a funk. I tried to finish the Attack of the Drones mission in a Drake which was more successful, but still lacked the tank to take on the 12 drone battle ships and the range to fight them from a distance. At that moment, I really really missed my Rokh. They are like two sides of the same coin: Rokh can own large ships from a distance but gets pwned by frigs in close, and Drake murders frigs and cruisers in close but can't deal with battleships fast enough.
Sigh.
I spent the rest of the playtime in a funk, not sure what to do. I jumped in my salvager and salvaged some wrecks in belts but that was unsatisfying. I did some scan probing to get the hang of finding things and using the map to figure out where they are, but didn't find anything interesting.
But it gave me an idea. I went up to Bei and got my Ferox to bring home and refitted with a recon probe launcher in it. I then put some mods on it for solo-pvp hunting of haulers/miners in safe spots. The idea is I warp in, shoot out a scan probe or two, and see if any ships are hiding in a safe spot worthy of me warping in and taking out. Might try it tonight if time permits.
Either that or a level three mission to get some easy kills and some salvage. I desperately need to rebuild the bank account.
Sigh.
I spent the rest of the playtime in a funk, not sure what to do. I jumped in my salvager and salvaged some wrecks in belts but that was unsatisfying. I did some scan probing to get the hang of finding things and using the map to figure out where they are, but didn't find anything interesting.
But it gave me an idea. I went up to Bei and got my Ferox to bring home and refitted with a recon probe launcher in it. I then put some mods on it for solo-pvp hunting of haulers/miners in safe spots. The idea is I warp in, shoot out a scan probe or two, and see if any ships are hiding in a safe spot worthy of me warping in and taking out. Might try it tonight if time permits.
Either that or a level three mission to get some easy kills and some salvage. I desperately need to rebuild the bank account.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
RIP Insisto Oblivium
Last night it was quiet so I decided to start a mission and get some isk and salvage. Hmmm, mission name "Attack of the Drones". I should have turned it down, I hate drone missions because they tend to come in small and fast on the Rokh and force me to warp out and refit to deal with them, but I figure I can handle it.
Warp to the mission, four small drones pop up. I sent out my T1 drones and align with a station. Ok, nothing serious.
Uh oh, reinforcements. Hmm, I can take them, they are far out enough for my rails to start chewing them and the drones are working on the close ones. I can warp out and come back at range if need be, its not deadspace.
Damn, more reinforcements including some BS class drones. Time to get some range. Call in the drones, click warp button.
Um... why does my speed not say warping?
Click warp button. Being damage messages I see the dreaded "you may not warp as you are being scrambled..."
OH F*CK!
The next ten minutes are filled with cap boosting my shields and desperately attempting to nuke the drones nearest but I don't have the drone skills to do it and my long range rails are completely useless. With twenty drones drilling me and no escape, I could only watch in despair as my pride and joy was chewed up and spit out like yesterday's trash.
With not enough money to get a new Rokh and no cruise missile skills to fly a Raven (plus money would be very tight there as well) I am forced to look at new options. I think I might give a passively tanked Drake a try, I've heard good things about it.
Sigh. This has not been a good week for me.
Warp to the mission, four small drones pop up. I sent out my T1 drones and align with a station. Ok, nothing serious.
Uh oh, reinforcements. Hmm, I can take them, they are far out enough for my rails to start chewing them and the drones are working on the close ones. I can warp out and come back at range if need be, its not deadspace.
Damn, more reinforcements including some BS class drones. Time to get some range. Call in the drones, click warp button.
Um... why does my speed not say warping?
Click warp button. Being damage messages I see the dreaded "you may not warp as you are being scrambled..."
OH F*CK!
The next ten minutes are filled with cap boosting my shields and desperately attempting to nuke the drones nearest but I don't have the drone skills to do it and my long range rails are completely useless. With twenty drones drilling me and no escape, I could only watch in despair as my pride and joy was chewed up and spit out like yesterday's trash.
With not enough money to get a new Rokh and no cruise missile skills to fly a Raven (plus money would be very tight there as well) I am forced to look at new options. I think I might give a passively tanked Drake a try, I've heard good things about it.
Sigh. This has not been a good week for me.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Mission Running the Hard Way
Last night I logged in a Derranna and there was a storyline mission. I guess providing tons of trit to my research agent was sufficient to tell Eve that I was running missions, although buying 50K of trit and shaving 300 of it off every couple days hardly counts but whatever.
The scary thing is the mission is a combat mission. Ah shit. The only weapon she's ever fired has been a mining laser at a 'roid. But I figured level one, how hard can it be? So I equip up a Rifter, few autocannons, couple armour repairs, and head out to space.
First off, the rifter was fun and I have to get Kirith into one more often. Second off, when you have very little combat skills on your character to speak of, even the smallest, weakest, group of three NPC rats is DAMN hard! I got through the first room and second room (with frequent trips to the station to quickly recharge my shields), but when the Mercenary Fighters showed up in the third room with their high speed and missiles I was in trouble. But I could handle them and blew one up... but they called for reinforcements and one Elite Merc Fighter showed up and I had had enough. I maybe could have done it but it would have taken a lot of tries and I just didn't feel like it.
So I failed the mission, got shitty standings to Caldari Provisions, and went back to base to give some more trit to my research pet.
In other news, I began training of Caldari Encryption Methods last night. Invention begins in less than a week.
The scary thing is the mission is a combat mission. Ah shit. The only weapon she's ever fired has been a mining laser at a 'roid. But I figured level one, how hard can it be? So I equip up a Rifter, few autocannons, couple armour repairs, and head out to space.
First off, the rifter was fun and I have to get Kirith into one more often. Second off, when you have very little combat skills on your character to speak of, even the smallest, weakest, group of three NPC rats is DAMN hard! I got through the first room and second room (with frequent trips to the station to quickly recharge my shields), but when the Mercenary Fighters showed up in the third room with their high speed and missiles I was in trouble. But I could handle them and blew one up... but they called for reinforcements and one Elite Merc Fighter showed up and I had had enough. I maybe could have done it but it would have taken a lot of tries and I just didn't feel like it.
So I failed the mission, got shitty standings to Caldari Provisions, and went back to base to give some more trit to my research pet.
In other news, I began training of Caldari Encryption Methods last night. Invention begins in less than a week.
Monday, April 16, 2007
I'm Stealthy
On the weekend as planned I achieved Electronics V and then three levels of Cloaking. I proceeded to throw on a cloaking device and speed around outside the station all invisible-like great fun. This week I'll try to do some low sec exploring and see if anything pops up.
I had planned to only do Cloaking to level III but decided to add level IV in there so I can get the Covert Ops cloak and use it on the Buzzard I have in the hanger. No point in flying a Covert Ops ship without being able to warp while cloaked, right? Small detour and will be done in four days.
I was running missions on the weekend and made some really stupid mistakes. First off I had a mission that warped me into a swarm of drones that all aggressed along with a battleship drone and sentry drone and ACK! I wasn't facing a celestial object for warp and I waited too long and was into structure before getting out. But that wasn't my mistake. I got my ship repaired at a station for 8 million isk. Then I refitted with frigate killing smartbombs and a massive shield tank and went back and taught those drones some serious lessons.
Then in the last room of the mission I was facing like 8 nasty sentry drone towers and again got put into deep armour and again went to a station and got repaired, this time for 7 million isk and change. Later while I was complaining about how this mission cost me a corpmate speaks up and says why didn't I just armour rep it?
Well, it never occurred to me. I guess my brain was stuck in the "can't fit it with current skills and ship so no use to me". But a five second reconsideration showed that the skill required was 30K isk and 6 minutes to train and the mod could be put on the ship, I could undock, fix the damage, and redock and save myself, I dunno, 15 million isk! DOH! So seven minutes later I was ready to do that the next time. Sigh. Newb.
My second costly mistake was rooted more in greed than anything else. I was doing the Mordus Headhunter mission which was easy but long with the massive number of ships in each stage. Fortunately they came in waves that didn't automatically aggress at the same time. So I was able to knock out one wave before taking on the next.
Well, I was halfway through the room and the first wave was gone and the second wave was just sitting there ignoring me. I was running low on time so thought I would be clever and go get the salvager and clean up and do the rest of the rats later in the evening. So there I was picking clean the bones of the first wave and getting lots of loot and salvage parts when I guess I turned on a tractor beam just a little to close for comfort for the second wave.
"What was that?" I asked as a boom rolled out. "Hey my shields! Oh CRAP! Warp, warp!" Two cruise missiles later, I was a pod and my salvager with its very expensive cargo expanders was a wreck. I was not happy.
Side Note: As I built the Medusa II salvage destroyer, I was struck by how expensive tractor beams were.
All in all a costly weekend. I did recoup some of my losses from the very profitable Mordus Headhunters mission, and I learned some very valuable lessons. All of Eve is a learning curve.
I had planned to only do Cloaking to level III but decided to add level IV in there so I can get the Covert Ops cloak and use it on the Buzzard I have in the hanger. No point in flying a Covert Ops ship without being able to warp while cloaked, right? Small detour and will be done in four days.
I was running missions on the weekend and made some really stupid mistakes. First off I had a mission that warped me into a swarm of drones that all aggressed along with a battleship drone and sentry drone and ACK! I wasn't facing a celestial object for warp and I waited too long and was into structure before getting out. But that wasn't my mistake. I got my ship repaired at a station for 8 million isk. Then I refitted with frigate killing smartbombs and a massive shield tank and went back and taught those drones some serious lessons.
Then in the last room of the mission I was facing like 8 nasty sentry drone towers and again got put into deep armour and again went to a station and got repaired, this time for 7 million isk and change. Later while I was complaining about how this mission cost me a corpmate speaks up and says why didn't I just armour rep it?
Well, it never occurred to me. I guess my brain was stuck in the "can't fit it with current skills and ship so no use to me". But a five second reconsideration showed that the skill required was 30K isk and 6 minutes to train and the mod could be put on the ship, I could undock, fix the damage, and redock and save myself, I dunno, 15 million isk! DOH! So seven minutes later I was ready to do that the next time. Sigh. Newb.
My second costly mistake was rooted more in greed than anything else. I was doing the Mordus Headhunter mission which was easy but long with the massive number of ships in each stage. Fortunately they came in waves that didn't automatically aggress at the same time. So I was able to knock out one wave before taking on the next.
Well, I was halfway through the room and the first wave was gone and the second wave was just sitting there ignoring me. I was running low on time so thought I would be clever and go get the salvager and clean up and do the rest of the rats later in the evening. So there I was picking clean the bones of the first wave and getting lots of loot and salvage parts when I guess I turned on a tractor beam just a little to close for comfort for the second wave.
"What was that?" I asked as a boom rolled out. "Hey my shields! Oh CRAP! Warp, warp!" Two cruise missiles later, I was a pod and my salvager with its very expensive cargo expanders was a wreck. I was not happy.
Side Note: As I built the Medusa II salvage destroyer, I was struck by how expensive tractor beams were.
All in all a costly weekend. I did recoup some of my losses from the very profitable Mordus Headhunters mission, and I learned some very valuable lessons. All of Eve is a learning curve.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Somehow I Keep Winning
I played Jason today in a 1700 Take and hold battle. After he took 3rd overall from the staff tournament I fully expected him to break my four game winning streak and teach me a lesson.
I used the same army as last time versus Marc's Necrons with the Warp Spiders added in with Runes of Warding given to the Farseer. His army was based on Alpha Legion with a Chaos Lieutenant leading three squads of 10 marines, tank hunting Havoc marines with four autocannons, large squad of cultists, terminator chosen squad, Defiler, and Dreadnought.
We played Omega level so with the escalation I only started the Dark Reapers, Pathfinders, and small Scorpion squad on the table who were vastly outnumbered by almost all the marines starting. He tried an enveloping tactic advancing on both flanks while the tacticals and Havocs owned the centre, but I countered with a refused flank and brought all my firepower on the east side.
It was slow at first but eventually the flank crumbled for chaos and my forces began to roll up the envelopment and chew through the squads. The hard as nails Eldar tanks proved too much for the enemy and the Alpha Legion was forced to pull back in haste leaving the board to control of the Eldar.
Highlights:
- In two turns the five Dark Reapers four marines of one tactical squad each turn and the remaining two guys broke and ran under the onslaught.
- The assault marines attacked the 6 model Scorpion squad in turn one killing them outright, took the brunt of firepower from the guardians, warlock, wave serpent, jetbikes, and fire prism in turn two and lost only 4 men out of ten, and then on their turn killed four guardians and broke the rest. Unfortunately, on turn three the same firepower proved just as effective and the squad was eliminated by a charge of the jetbikes and Farseer.
- Chaos Lt accompanying the cultists advanced through firepower but failed to do much beyond killing one vyper.
- Defiler lands shot right on guardians and large scorpion squad killing five Scorpions and two guardians, pinning the latter.
- Warp Spiders spend most of the game in the warp finally showing up to Deep Strike behind the advancing Dreadnought and kill him. In turn the Defiler turns and heavy flamers / autocannons them and finishes them off with a charge that breaks them.
- Terminators warp in deep in Eldar deployment zone and proceed to heavy flamer the three remaining pathfinders in cover. Unfortunately they also hit two cultists in the process. Subsequently the tightly packed Terminator squad was the target for the Fire Prism which hit and took out three of the chosen. The other two were gunned down by the Shuricannon wave serpent.
The Streak lives at five games! Who shall be the next victim!
I used the same army as last time versus Marc's Necrons with the Warp Spiders added in with Runes of Warding given to the Farseer. His army was based on Alpha Legion with a Chaos Lieutenant leading three squads of 10 marines, tank hunting Havoc marines with four autocannons, large squad of cultists, terminator chosen squad, Defiler, and Dreadnought.
We played Omega level so with the escalation I only started the Dark Reapers, Pathfinders, and small Scorpion squad on the table who were vastly outnumbered by almost all the marines starting. He tried an enveloping tactic advancing on both flanks while the tacticals and Havocs owned the centre, but I countered with a refused flank and brought all my firepower on the east side.
It was slow at first but eventually the flank crumbled for chaos and my forces began to roll up the envelopment and chew through the squads. The hard as nails Eldar tanks proved too much for the enemy and the Alpha Legion was forced to pull back in haste leaving the board to control of the Eldar.
Highlights:
- In two turns the five Dark Reapers four marines of one tactical squad each turn and the remaining two guys broke and ran under the onslaught.
- The assault marines attacked the 6 model Scorpion squad in turn one killing them outright, took the brunt of firepower from the guardians, warlock, wave serpent, jetbikes, and fire prism in turn two and lost only 4 men out of ten, and then on their turn killed four guardians and broke the rest. Unfortunately, on turn three the same firepower proved just as effective and the squad was eliminated by a charge of the jetbikes and Farseer.
- Chaos Lt accompanying the cultists advanced through firepower but failed to do much beyond killing one vyper.
- Defiler lands shot right on guardians and large scorpion squad killing five Scorpions and two guardians, pinning the latter.
- Warp Spiders spend most of the game in the warp finally showing up to Deep Strike behind the advancing Dreadnought and kill him. In turn the Defiler turns and heavy flamers / autocannons them and finishes them off with a charge that breaks them.
- Terminators warp in deep in Eldar deployment zone and proceed to heavy flamer the three remaining pathfinders in cover. Unfortunately they also hit two cultists in the process. Subsequently the tightly packed Terminator squad was the target for the Fire Prism which hit and took out three of the chosen. The other two were gunned down by the Shuricannon wave serpent.
The Streak lives at five games! Who shall be the next victim!
Fear the Ferox!
Last night I got on for an hour and at the start I was sitting in my 0.0 hanger wondering if I should jump clone back to empire or stay there and do some more ratting. Then my CEO's voice rings out on vent, "Anyone for some PVP?"
Perfect timing. Of course I have to waste 6 minutes waiting for the jump clone to be ready, then I have to bus up from my secret base to the muster point, but the op is already underway when I get there and we begin the hunt.
We didn't have a lot of luck finding targets. They either were running missions or running scared and we didn't have a single scan probe between the four of us. We kept looking and just as it was getting time for me to log off I got lucky.
We were doing the scatter-search thing where we all warp into a system and spread out to different parts to do directional scans. I was alphabetically highest so I went to the inner planet and scanned outwards. I picked up a Dominix and Catalyst and proceeded to nail down their location.
It became obvious the Dominix was off in safespot or mission, but the Catalyst showed up in the area of a single asteroid belt and a planet. I figured I'd warp to the belt for a quick look and if nothing was there I was log off and call it a night.
The warp proceeded and I kept hitting "Scan" to see if the destroyer would drop off. The planet passed by and the Catty was still there. The warp bubble started to collapse and the Catty was still there. The asteroid belt loomed onto screen and the Catty was still there.
An experienced player who is ratting in low or no sec follows three rules:
1) Keep an eye on Local chat so when it jumps you can be ready to warp.
2) Stay aligned to a warping target so you can warp almost immediately.
3) Move away from the warp in point of the belt so if someone warps to it they are not right on top of you.
The Catalyst pilot was obviously not experienced. I came out of warp 14 km away and began locking and approaching within seconds. I had him scrammed and was telling the gangmates to warp to me as I pressed F1, F2, F3, F... what the hell?! He exploded!
I noticed as I locked him his shields were gone and armour damaged so my initial shots blew him up something fierce. The rats he was hunting were apparently giving him a run for his money and left him weak enough for an insta-pop by my rails. The gang arrived but with nothing to engage except the frigate rats. I collected my meager loot and logged.
It was a bittersweet victory. On one hand I had gotten my first solo kill and indeed my first kill in a few weeks. On the other hand it was against a fairly new pilot in a damaged ship that was already two classes smaller than mine. I almost feel bad for the guy but if I hadn't killed him it is a sure bet someone else would have.
Regardless, its done. Time to figure out a ship build with a recon probe launcher on it.
Perfect timing. Of course I have to waste 6 minutes waiting for the jump clone to be ready, then I have to bus up from my secret base to the muster point, but the op is already underway when I get there and we begin the hunt.
We didn't have a lot of luck finding targets. They either were running missions or running scared and we didn't have a single scan probe between the four of us. We kept looking and just as it was getting time for me to log off I got lucky.
We were doing the scatter-search thing where we all warp into a system and spread out to different parts to do directional scans. I was alphabetically highest so I went to the inner planet and scanned outwards. I picked up a Dominix and Catalyst and proceeded to nail down their location.
It became obvious the Dominix was off in safespot or mission, but the Catalyst showed up in the area of a single asteroid belt and a planet. I figured I'd warp to the belt for a quick look and if nothing was there I was log off and call it a night.
The warp proceeded and I kept hitting "Scan" to see if the destroyer would drop off. The planet passed by and the Catty was still there. The warp bubble started to collapse and the Catty was still there. The asteroid belt loomed onto screen and the Catty was still there.
An experienced player who is ratting in low or no sec follows three rules:
1) Keep an eye on Local chat so when it jumps you can be ready to warp.
2) Stay aligned to a warping target so you can warp almost immediately.
3) Move away from the warp in point of the belt so if someone warps to it they are not right on top of you.
The Catalyst pilot was obviously not experienced. I came out of warp 14 km away and began locking and approaching within seconds. I had him scrammed and was telling the gangmates to warp to me as I pressed F1, F2, F3, F... what the hell?! He exploded!
I noticed as I locked him his shields were gone and armour damaged so my initial shots blew him up something fierce. The rats he was hunting were apparently giving him a run for his money and left him weak enough for an insta-pop by my rails. The gang arrived but with nothing to engage except the frigate rats. I collected my meager loot and logged.
It was a bittersweet victory. On one hand I had gotten my first solo kill and indeed my first kill in a few weeks. On the other hand it was against a fairly new pilot in a damaged ship that was already two classes smaller than mine. I almost feel bad for the guy but if I hadn't killed him it is a sure bet someone else would have.
Regardless, its done. Time to figure out a ship build with a recon probe launcher on it.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Level V again and again
With Caldari Frigate V done I decide late last week to work towards the cloaking device since I wanted to do more exploration in low sec. So I put on Electronics V and its chugging away with 2 and a half days left. Unfortunately it seems it wants to finish the middle of Friday night so I'll let it go for now and switch it Friday during the day for something else that will finish Saturday. Then I can peel off the rest of Electronics V and Cloaking I, II, and III so I have access to the Improved Cloaking Device in my hanger.
But what after that?
Well, I've got three more level V skills gating me to three different goals: Drones V which I need for a fifth drone and Drone Interfacing for kick ass drones; Scout Drone Op V which I need for the T2 drone skills (along with Drones V); and Electronics Upgrades V which I need for Covert Ops frigates. So I figured I would just bang off those three big skills and that would leave me 16 skills that in total require a little over 16 days. I'll be swapping a lot of skills during that time!
But what after that?
Well, I've got three more level V skills gating me to three different goals: Drones V which I need for a fifth drone and Drone Interfacing for kick ass drones; Scout Drone Op V which I need for the T2 drone skills (along with Drones V); and Electronics Upgrades V which I need for Covert Ops frigates. So I figured I would just bang off those three big skills and that would leave me 16 skills that in total require a little over 16 days. I'll be swapping a lot of skills during that time!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Grrrr
I'm still reeling from yesterday's loss. Man it pisses me off but you got to roll with the punches.
Today was POS Fuel Stocking day, where I get more fuel for another 15 days of operation. So now I have 20 days stockpiled and I'm not sure if I will need more. You see, my main corp is deciding right now if it should move out to 0.0 space and if it does my main character will be going with it. I'm not sure I want to have my POS so far removed from everything else so I might close it down and use NPC labs for the invention process. Not sure though, we shall see.
Last night I had a nightmare that the massive gang that ganked me showed up at the POS and was attacking it. I was paranoid it was true until I was able to log in this morning. Yeesh.
Today was POS Fuel Stocking day, where I get more fuel for another 15 days of operation. So now I have 20 days stockpiled and I'm not sure if I will need more. You see, my main corp is deciding right now if it should move out to 0.0 space and if it does my main character will be going with it. I'm not sure I want to have my POS so far removed from everything else so I might close it down and use NPC labs for the invention process. Not sure though, we shall see.
Last night I had a nightmare that the massive gang that ganked me showed up at the POS and was attacking it. I was paranoid it was true until I was able to log in this morning. Yeesh.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Freaking PWNED!
I was in my CEO alt moving stuff around. I had all my salvage parts and researched rig BPOs in high sec. I was in low sec and ran up my Badger2 and saw nothing worrisome. After all, Monday is quiet right?
I pack up all my salvage parts, rig BPOs, minerals in my Badger and five minutes after I had passed through I jumped through the gate.
Oh shit. About 20-30 red flashy ships sitting on the gate. My mind froze and I never even considering Ctrl-Q to get out of there. Instead I hit warp to the next gate and even though I had three warp stabs I never stood a chance.
*BOOM*
Good thing was that everything was in secure cans so I think those bastards didn't get anything except a couple warp stabs. Also good that I wasn't carrying any client blueprints.
Bad thing was I probably lost about 30-50 million in stuff and set back my rig production by about a month. F*ck me.
My own fault really. I've been getting pretty comfortable in low sec and forgot my own rule about not transporting too much value at a time. Lesson learned the hard way.
I pack up all my salvage parts, rig BPOs, minerals in my Badger and five minutes after I had passed through I jumped through the gate.
Oh shit. About 20-30 red flashy ships sitting on the gate. My mind froze and I never even considering Ctrl-Q to get out of there. Instead I hit warp to the next gate and even though I had three warp stabs I never stood a chance.
*BOOM*
Good thing was that everything was in secure cans so I think those bastards didn't get anything except a couple warp stabs. Also good that I wasn't carrying any client blueprints.
Bad thing was I probably lost about 30-50 million in stuff and set back my rig production by about a month. F*ck me.
My own fault really. I've been getting pretty comfortable in low sec and forgot my own rule about not transporting too much value at a time. Lesson learned the hard way.
Dire Avengers - Highlighting Phase One Done
Still making progres on the Dire Avengers albeit slowly. Next up I'm going to start into the wraithbone.
Dance With the Devil
It was an exciting long weekend for Eve events. Let's get started!
Solo PvP always seemed out of reach for me. First off, Caldari cruisers are notoriously bad for solo ganking because their tank requires mid slots that are needed for scramblers and webbers. Secondly, I tend to suck at activities requiring a cool head, quick reaction time, and fast thinking. But I'm at a point where I can earn a lot of money from missions so losing a T1 fitted cruiser or three would not be the end of the world and with my combat skills recently buffed over the winter I decided it was time to give it a go.
I fitted up a Moa with blasters, NOS, scram, web, damage mods, the whole ganking effort. No tank. The idea was to kill my opponent before I needed to get out. I went hunting in low sec and ran into a Caracal willing to dance. Everything worked as it was supposed to except my opponent who decided to tank my damage while pummeling me. He wasn't going anywhere but he didn't need to; I was halfway through his shield while he was into my armour. Ouch. Fortunately, he had no scram so couldn't keep me from escaping to lick my wounds and think about what went wrong.
I took the Moa back to the shop and refitted by removing the webber and a tracking enhancer and adding a Large Shield Extender and Med Shield booster. This more than doubled my shields and gives me some tanking ability. I went out hunting again but failed to nail down a Caracal in a belt before it warped off and threatened in local to be right back with a drake. Um, no thanks.
In the meantime, a portion of my corp just up and left, lured by the promise of million isk rats and exciting fleet battles in 0.0. Most of the people who left I didn't know very well but a couple will be missed. I understand the need to do what you want though and a few others still in the corp are talking about how they need a 0.0 outpost for sec status and isk so I'm seeing what I can offer.
Finally, last night I had an hour to kill so decided to try exploring again even though I still need to get cloaking for low sec and more training into Signal Acquisition. I had a hit and proceeded to track it down, and I was so proud when I warped in on the gate to an Angel Lookout. Unfortunately, I saw someone else there at the same time so by the time I get around to exploring the site it may be gone, or empty. Oh well, I'm just pumped to know I can do it! Once I have my covert ops and cloaking device, low sec here I come!
Solo PvP always seemed out of reach for me. First off, Caldari cruisers are notoriously bad for solo ganking because their tank requires mid slots that are needed for scramblers and webbers. Secondly, I tend to suck at activities requiring a cool head, quick reaction time, and fast thinking. But I'm at a point where I can earn a lot of money from missions so losing a T1 fitted cruiser or three would not be the end of the world and with my combat skills recently buffed over the winter I decided it was time to give it a go.
I fitted up a Moa with blasters, NOS, scram, web, damage mods, the whole ganking effort. No tank. The idea was to kill my opponent before I needed to get out. I went hunting in low sec and ran into a Caracal willing to dance. Everything worked as it was supposed to except my opponent who decided to tank my damage while pummeling me. He wasn't going anywhere but he didn't need to; I was halfway through his shield while he was into my armour. Ouch. Fortunately, he had no scram so couldn't keep me from escaping to lick my wounds and think about what went wrong.
I took the Moa back to the shop and refitted by removing the webber and a tracking enhancer and adding a Large Shield Extender and Med Shield booster. This more than doubled my shields and gives me some tanking ability. I went out hunting again but failed to nail down a Caracal in a belt before it warped off and threatened in local to be right back with a drake. Um, no thanks.
In the meantime, a portion of my corp just up and left, lured by the promise of million isk rats and exciting fleet battles in 0.0. Most of the people who left I didn't know very well but a couple will be missed. I understand the need to do what you want though and a few others still in the corp are talking about how they need a 0.0 outpost for sec status and isk so I'm seeing what I can offer.
Finally, last night I had an hour to kill so decided to try exploring again even though I still need to get cloaking for low sec and more training into Signal Acquisition. I had a hit and proceeded to track it down, and I was so proud when I warped in on the gate to an Angel Lookout. Unfortunately, I saw someone else there at the same time so by the time I get around to exploring the site it may be gone, or empty. Oh well, I'm just pumped to know I can do it! Once I have my covert ops and cloaking device, low sec here I come!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Wait So Long...
Caldari Frigate V. Four days, eleven hours, and 5 minutes left. Sigh.
Electronics Upgrades V. Nine data, seven hours, and twenty-four minutes remaining. Double-sigh.
The good news is that for my main there is only one other skill longer than 5 days left in the current plan (Electronics Upgrades V) and for Derranna she has two more 4+ days skills left (Research V and Caldari Encryption Methods IV) but that's it.
Oh well, this long weekend will chew through a lot of the wait and Monday evening will see the end of Caldari Frigate V! Woohoo!
Electronics Upgrades V. Nine data, seven hours, and twenty-four minutes remaining. Double-sigh.
The good news is that for my main there is only one other skill longer than 5 days left in the current plan (Electronics Upgrades V) and for Derranna she has two more 4+ days skills left (Research V and Caldari Encryption Methods IV) but that's it.
Oh well, this long weekend will chew through a lot of the wait and Monday evening will see the end of Caldari Frigate V! Woohoo!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Blockade!
Last night I stepped into Eve and finished my move to my new base in Molden Heath. Hmmmm, nice decor, needs a little paint and new light fixtures, but it will do. I thought about jumping into 0.0 but damn if the thought of giving up my +3 implants for +1 isn't a tough nut to swallow. So I figured I'd run a quick level 4 mission.
Doh. I got assigned Blockade. The complete opposite of a quick level 4 mission.
I get into the Rokh and fly to the mission and start it. First warp in is kind of tricky with fast Arch Angel frigates screaming at me at full speed and five battleships pummeling me with missiles (cruise I think?). But its not deadspace and I quickly warp out and back at a better range for my guns and take control. After the starting group the next wave arrives but in three different locations, fortunately all far away. Again I manipulate range and ammo and succeed in clearing them out after a run to the station for more cap booster charges. The third wave comes in and its small, only four frigs and 5 battleships. I take out all but the last battleship before I log for the night. I made a good 6-7 million isk on bounties, and today I get to start over again.
The skill I'm training right now is Caldari Frigate V, the centre piece skill of not only my current Covert Ops Buzzard (and Manticore if I decide to train up Cruise Missiles which I might) but also a gating skill to Interceptors and Assault Ships, and further down the line, Interdictors. Of course, I'm also working my T2 drone skills in there to improve my abilities in the big ships so I've got a few levels in Drone Navigation and Durability and Drones V is gating everything else so I expect I'll throw that on next week.
Doh. I got assigned Blockade. The complete opposite of a quick level 4 mission.
I get into the Rokh and fly to the mission and start it. First warp in is kind of tricky with fast Arch Angel frigates screaming at me at full speed and five battleships pummeling me with missiles (cruise I think?). But its not deadspace and I quickly warp out and back at a better range for my guns and take control. After the starting group the next wave arrives but in three different locations, fortunately all far away. Again I manipulate range and ammo and succeed in clearing them out after a run to the station for more cap booster charges. The third wave comes in and its small, only four frigs and 5 battleships. I take out all but the last battleship before I log for the night. I made a good 6-7 million isk on bounties, and today I get to start over again.
The skill I'm training right now is Caldari Frigate V, the centre piece skill of not only my current Covert Ops Buzzard (and Manticore if I decide to train up Cruise Missiles which I might) but also a gating skill to Interceptors and Assault Ships, and further down the line, Interdictors. Of course, I'm also working my T2 drone skills in there to improve my abilities in the big ships so I've got a few levels in Drone Navigation and Durability and Drones V is gating everything else so I expect I'll throw that on next week.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Weekend Update
I didn't get a lot of time to play Eve on the weekend, but I did manage to get my Drake out into 0.0 space Saturday morning as I have decided to have a cottage out there for a while and see how it goes. I also managed to snag a lot of small supporting skills for the Drones and Exploration getting them up a couple levels. I'm now at the capable stage of trying out Exploration so I plan to try it out a bit more heavily this week.
In Warhammer news, I worked on painting the Dire Avengers and got the orange highlighting complete on five more of them leaving only three left. Pictures once I'm done the next three.
In Warhammer news, I worked on painting the Dire Avengers and got the orange highlighting complete on five more of them leaving only three left. Pictures once I'm done the next three.
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