A corpmate commented in passing how he missed the Tech 1 cruisers and frigate fights he used to see. He's right: tech 1 cruisers and frigates rarely see much time in the space we inhabit and for good reason.
Their more advanced counterparts are superior in every way. They tank better, do more damage, have better range and abilities, and are even usually faster. One can argue that the higher cost is the balancing point except... well... it isn't. Tech II ships are not that expensive for the increase in performance they give and every pilot worth his salt knows it.
And since such a large percentage of the experienced pilots have good solid sources of income and the skills to handle the tech II ships, it is a no-brainer to fly them. Take for example, me. More specifically, let's compare what I can do in a Blackbird to one of its Tech II variations, the Falcon.
No modules, my skills:
Blackbird
Speed: 238 m/s
Shields: 1687
Resists: 0/20/40/60
Layout: 4 highs, 6 mids, 2 lows, 3 rigs
Falcon
Speed: 213 m/s
Shields: 1924
Resists: 0/60/55/60
Layout: 4 highs, 7 mids, 3 lows, 2 rigs
Right out of the factory the tech II version has better shields by a significant degree, and more slots in the mids and lows to improve its performance.
Outfitting the Blackbird like my Falcon, it gets slightly more DPS (168 to 163) but with only 4 ECM modules for jamming (at a lower strength too!) and a capacitor that lasts for 2.5 minutes instead of 16.75 minutes. And the Falcon can fit the Covert Ops Cloak for warping unseen. Yes, the Blackbird has an extra high slot where the cloak fits on the Falcon and a third rig slot, but it lacks the powergrid for another serious module and the rig calibration points for another useful rig.
And the base ship costs? About 3-4 million for the Blackbird, about 80 million for the Falcon. At first that seems like a lot but consider: the cost of the Falcon is roughly equivalent to about 6 level four missions, or 6-8 hours of playing, which translates to one or two sessions for some players, at most a week for others. The cost of the Blackbird is essentially throwaway to experienced pilots, so the benefits of the increased performance of the Falcon vastly outweigh the minimal cost to the majority of pilots that can fly Tech II ships.
And you know what? If a pilot cannot fly the Falcon due to cost or lack of skills, they fly a battlecruiser which is at most a base cost of 32 million and has tremendous advantages in power and durability over cruisers. And those two factors means that only the poorest and most unskilled pilots fly cruisers and they mostly have enough sense to stay out of low sec and 0.0.
NOTE: There are exceptions to the rule. Ruptures and Thoraxes have good reputations for decent combat ships despite being Tech 1 cruisers. This disclaimer is to head a certain commenter off. ;)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Skills, Skills, Skills
I haven't pontificated on skill training lately, so let's do that, shall we?
Kirith is deep in the Tech II missile training plan (after that detour for the Onyx Heavy Interdictor) and the support skills are slowing getting upgraded to IV. Right now I'm training Target Navigation Prediction to IV (another 22 hours) and then Warhead Upgrades to IV (another four days) and that will be it for the support skills. Once complete, I can concentrate on Heavy Assault Missions V (13.5 days, ugh) and then into my first Tech II missile skills, Heavy Assault Missile Specialization for four levels (5 days).
I'm still vacillating on whether or not to do more Tech II missile types since they all require a huge investment for that level V of the basic skill: 4.5 days for Rockets V, 9 days for Standard V, 8 days for Heavy V (I trained it 39% already), 22.5 days for Cruise V, and 18 days for Torpedo V. I guess the question is do I think I'll be using the other missile types on any ships? Cruise missiles on the Stealth bomber for sure, but that is the biggest training hurdle. For now I think I'll stick with HAMs.
So once I'm done with the Tech II missiles, I'm torn between Command Ship, Black Ops battleship, and Tech II large rails. Its a rotation between the three every day. Today I'm leaning towards getting the Tech II large rails done with for more damage in missions. Yesterday was the Vulture of Doom command ship, and tomorrow will be the Black Ops super ECM ship. Sigh.
As for Derranna, she's two and a half days from Cruiser Construction V completed and then... well, I don't know. She's been working on ship construction skills for so long I don't know what to do. Let's see.... *checks EVEMon* Ah, here we go. A plan called "Mods" I created last summer. Its got 13 skills taking only 6 and a half days! A lot of basic operational skills that she should have trained up for the hauling ships like Shield Upgrades, Warp Drive Operation, Evasive Maneuvering, and Navigation.
So I'll spend a week hot swapping skills like mad but that won't take long at all. What's really next?
Option 1: Well, I already have the skills for a Minmatar Freighter so let's get crazy and train up for a Minmatar Jump Freighter! Its a 61 day training plan... of course I'll never be able to afford one, can't even afford a regular one!
Option 2: More Construction! There is the Capital Ship Construction skill and Industrial Contruction skills. The latter is a good possibility (2 million isk and a few days) but the former is very expensive (75 mil!)and I'm not into producing capital ships yet.
Option 3: Industrial Skills: More factory control, better reprocessing skills. About two weeks and moderate costs.
Option 4: Science Skills: Get the ability to use archeological scanners, more ability to build other ship components and tech II items, switch R&D agents, etc. It would only take a couple weeks but the cost is considerable for all the skills, around 80 million.
Right now, all things considered, I'm leaning towards Option 3 to get more manufacturing slots in my control.
Kirith is deep in the Tech II missile training plan (after that detour for the Onyx Heavy Interdictor) and the support skills are slowing getting upgraded to IV. Right now I'm training Target Navigation Prediction to IV (another 22 hours) and then Warhead Upgrades to IV (another four days) and that will be it for the support skills. Once complete, I can concentrate on Heavy Assault Missions V (13.5 days, ugh) and then into my first Tech II missile skills, Heavy Assault Missile Specialization for four levels (5 days).
I'm still vacillating on whether or not to do more Tech II missile types since they all require a huge investment for that level V of the basic skill: 4.5 days for Rockets V, 9 days for Standard V, 8 days for Heavy V (I trained it 39% already), 22.5 days for Cruise V, and 18 days for Torpedo V. I guess the question is do I think I'll be using the other missile types on any ships? Cruise missiles on the Stealth bomber for sure, but that is the biggest training hurdle. For now I think I'll stick with HAMs.
So once I'm done with the Tech II missiles, I'm torn between Command Ship, Black Ops battleship, and Tech II large rails. Its a rotation between the three every day. Today I'm leaning towards getting the Tech II large rails done with for more damage in missions. Yesterday was the Vulture of Doom command ship, and tomorrow will be the Black Ops super ECM ship. Sigh.
As for Derranna, she's two and a half days from Cruiser Construction V completed and then... well, I don't know. She's been working on ship construction skills for so long I don't know what to do. Let's see.... *checks EVEMon* Ah, here we go. A plan called "Mods" I created last summer. Its got 13 skills taking only 6 and a half days! A lot of basic operational skills that she should have trained up for the hauling ships like Shield Upgrades, Warp Drive Operation, Evasive Maneuvering, and Navigation.
So I'll spend a week hot swapping skills like mad but that won't take long at all. What's really next?
Option 1: Well, I already have the skills for a Minmatar Freighter so let's get crazy and train up for a Minmatar Jump Freighter! Its a 61 day training plan... of course I'll never be able to afford one, can't even afford a regular one!
Option 2: More Construction! There is the Capital Ship Construction skill and Industrial Contruction skills. The latter is a good possibility (2 million isk and a few days) but the former is very expensive (75 mil!)and I'm not into producing capital ships yet.
Option 3: Industrial Skills: More factory control, better reprocessing skills. About two weeks and moderate costs.
Option 4: Science Skills: Get the ability to use archeological scanners, more ability to build other ship components and tech II items, switch R&D agents, etc. It would only take a couple weeks but the cost is considerable for all the skills, around 80 million.
Right now, all things considered, I'm leaning towards Option 3 to get more manufacturing slots in my control.
Empty Handed
Last night I continued my hunting in the Falcon but couldn't find any targets to attack. Either the belts were empty, the ratters were battleships (twice), or they moved on before I could scan them down (three times). So after an hour of that a corpmate was on that was going to do a mission so I figured I would join in.
The first mission we did together in my Rokh and his Raven battleship and we made short work of the Serpentis rats. The next mission was the infamous Damsel in Distress mission and we tried it with me as the Damage Dealer in the Rokh and him in a Osprey cruiser with two shield transporters and shield repair drones so I could take a world of abuse and not break a sweat. It was easy, so much so that I'm now thinking of seeing how much training Optivus or Korannon would require to do the same thing.
Industry-wise, I've built 60 Invulnerability Field IIs and 20 Covert Op Cloaks that are going on the market today, and Derranna is only a handful of days from Cruiser Construction V.
The first mission we did together in my Rokh and his Raven battleship and we made short work of the Serpentis rats. The next mission was the infamous Damsel in Distress mission and we tried it with me as the Damage Dealer in the Rokh and him in a Osprey cruiser with two shield transporters and shield repair drones so I could take a world of abuse and not break a sweat. It was easy, so much so that I'm now thinking of seeing how much training Optivus or Korannon would require to do the same thing.
Industry-wise, I've built 60 Invulnerability Field IIs and 20 Covert Op Cloaks that are going on the market today, and Derranna is only a handful of days from Cruiser Construction V.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Blood In Bosena
Ever since my close call with the Arazu Force Recon last week, I've been intrigued by the thought of solo hunting in my Force Recon, the Caldari Falcon. With the ability to warp while cloaked, one would be able to do what the Arazu did to me: hunt down an unsuspecting target that can't see you on scan until you are ready to engage.
There are hurdles to this idea however. Unlike the Arazu, the damage output of the Falcon is limited to only three weapons and they can't even all be bonused missiles either. The Arazu can have three blasters and has a 40m3 drone bay giving it an impressive DPS potential. In addition, the mid slots of the Arazu can be the Remote Sensor Dampeners (its specialty) along with the warp scrambler and webber while having a good armour tank in the lows; the falcon doesn't armour tank well and really needs weapon boosting mods and a ECM booster in the lows.
In summary: Arazu tanks better and does more damage. The only upside to the Falcon is that its electronic warfare completely breaks the lock of the target and I don't have to worry about getting too close like the Arazu does where a dampened target might still lock and start shooting.
Regardless of the downsides, I was determined to try it. Molden Heath was full of crafty pilots that would safe spot at the first sign of trouble on the scanner so I was hopeful that I could find some unsuspecting targets with my cloaked hunter.
And in the first low sec system I arrived in, I did.
I was surprised to find a pilot ratting in a Arbitrator (Amarr Tech 1 cruiser, drones main weapon) in Bosena. That system tends to be hot with gate campers and pirates and busy with lots of different corporations, and there is only 5 asteroid belts. But sure enough, there he was in a belt, killing rats. I was too far away to engage but followed him to the next belt which was empty. Figuring he would warp to the third belt, I warped to it as well only this time at 0 km to the centre instead of 70 so I would land right on top of him. And so I did.
I deactivated the cloak and activated the ECM, scram, and web. Damn, can't target him yet, forgot the cloaking recalibration timer of 6 seconds. Come on, come on.... YES! Locked, jammed, scrammed. I activated weapons and let loose some Caldari Navy missiles and hybrid charges (Faction ammo can be used like Tech 1 ammo but has superior damage, and costs more, but is so worth it in PvP). My opponent unleashes his drones but since I engaged him before they were out he has to direct them to attack me, and since he cannot lock me, they will do nothing but orbit him. That's when my evil laughter starts: he's going down.
The rats are helping me too so his shields and armour melt away very quickly. Just as he's getting into structure a new signal pops up on the overview: a Wolf assault frigate. I hit the warp button as I assume its help my target called upon. Just as the wolf starts targeting me the warp bubble coalesces around me and I escape. Seconds later, I receive notification that my security status takes a hit for the death of the Arbitrator ship.
I didn't get the killmail so I figure the Wolf wasn't friendly to either of us. I compose a pilot evemail to the Wolf pilot asking for a copy of it for my corp's kill board. Meanwhile in local the Wolf pilots starting talking, asking incredulously who would gank in a falcon and using multispec ECMs?! I say simply "Yeah. Something different." to which he responds along the lines of "dude, find a pilot that knows what the fuck he is doing and get him to help you." Pleasant.
I didn't respond. He was right about the multispec ECM, but I was comfortable enough in my setup to not respond to some stranger. A reply to my evemail appears in my mailbox. "I'll give you a copy if you can tell me why multispecs are bad." Sigh, fine. "Racials use less cap, have more range, and achieve the same or better effectiveness" I reply. His next response is the kill mail.
So why was I using 5 multispec ECMs instead of a mix of racial ones? Well, they are cheaper for one thing, and when using racials I like to double up on Gallente and Caldari and have one of each for Amarr and Minmatar but with only 5 slots available, it meant either going with one less of my doubles or taking a chance and dropping the Amarr ECM leaving me vulnerable to those ships. By going with 5 multispecs I got decent coverage of all races while still being capacitor stable and the optimal range was still well within my targeting range.
So I got a kill (mostly) and while it was not impressive (his settings were mostly Tech 1) it still counts. Later on I continued hunting and almost pinned down a Vagabond heavy assault cruiser that was looking for elite rats but he escaped before my cloaking recalibration timer elapsed.
Tomorrow night, more hunting!
There are hurdles to this idea however. Unlike the Arazu, the damage output of the Falcon is limited to only three weapons and they can't even all be bonused missiles either. The Arazu can have three blasters and has a 40m3 drone bay giving it an impressive DPS potential. In addition, the mid slots of the Arazu can be the Remote Sensor Dampeners (its specialty) along with the warp scrambler and webber while having a good armour tank in the lows; the falcon doesn't armour tank well and really needs weapon boosting mods and a ECM booster in the lows.
In summary: Arazu tanks better and does more damage. The only upside to the Falcon is that its electronic warfare completely breaks the lock of the target and I don't have to worry about getting too close like the Arazu does where a dampened target might still lock and start shooting.
Regardless of the downsides, I was determined to try it. Molden Heath was full of crafty pilots that would safe spot at the first sign of trouble on the scanner so I was hopeful that I could find some unsuspecting targets with my cloaked hunter.
And in the first low sec system I arrived in, I did.
I was surprised to find a pilot ratting in a Arbitrator (Amarr Tech 1 cruiser, drones main weapon) in Bosena. That system tends to be hot with gate campers and pirates and busy with lots of different corporations, and there is only 5 asteroid belts. But sure enough, there he was in a belt, killing rats. I was too far away to engage but followed him to the next belt which was empty. Figuring he would warp to the third belt, I warped to it as well only this time at 0 km to the centre instead of 70 so I would land right on top of him. And so I did.
I deactivated the cloak and activated the ECM, scram, and web. Damn, can't target him yet, forgot the cloaking recalibration timer of 6 seconds. Come on, come on.... YES! Locked, jammed, scrammed. I activated weapons and let loose some Caldari Navy missiles and hybrid charges (Faction ammo can be used like Tech 1 ammo but has superior damage, and costs more, but is so worth it in PvP). My opponent unleashes his drones but since I engaged him before they were out he has to direct them to attack me, and since he cannot lock me, they will do nothing but orbit him. That's when my evil laughter starts: he's going down.
The rats are helping me too so his shields and armour melt away very quickly. Just as he's getting into structure a new signal pops up on the overview: a Wolf assault frigate. I hit the warp button as I assume its help my target called upon. Just as the wolf starts targeting me the warp bubble coalesces around me and I escape. Seconds later, I receive notification that my security status takes a hit for the death of the Arbitrator ship.
I didn't get the killmail so I figure the Wolf wasn't friendly to either of us. I compose a pilot evemail to the Wolf pilot asking for a copy of it for my corp's kill board. Meanwhile in local the Wolf pilots starting talking, asking incredulously who would gank in a falcon and using multispec ECMs?! I say simply "Yeah. Something different." to which he responds along the lines of "dude, find a pilot that knows what the fuck he is doing and get him to help you." Pleasant.
I didn't respond. He was right about the multispec ECM, but I was comfortable enough in my setup to not respond to some stranger. A reply to my evemail appears in my mailbox. "I'll give you a copy if you can tell me why multispecs are bad." Sigh, fine. "Racials use less cap, have more range, and achieve the same or better effectiveness" I reply. His next response is the kill mail.
So why was I using 5 multispec ECMs instead of a mix of racial ones? Well, they are cheaper for one thing, and when using racials I like to double up on Gallente and Caldari and have one of each for Amarr and Minmatar but with only 5 slots available, it meant either going with one less of my doubles or taking a chance and dropping the Amarr ECM leaving me vulnerable to those ships. By going with 5 multispecs I got decent coverage of all races while still being capacitor stable and the optimal range was still well within my targeting range.
So I got a kill (mostly) and while it was not impressive (his settings were mostly Tech 1) it still counts. Later on I continued hunting and almost pinned down a Vagabond heavy assault cruiser that was looking for elite rats but he escaped before my cloaking recalibration timer elapsed.
Tomorrow night, more hunting!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Two Minutes
Last night I didn't get on to Eve until near bedtime. I logged in to check some sales and saw 48 messages about low POS fuel. OH CRAP! I rushed into my hauler and ran out to the tower with another week of fuel. I got there with two minutes to spare until it ran out. Whew!
Real life is crazy this week as we are painting a nursery at home so Eve time has been limited. Friday should be free so I hope to get some good PvP then.
Real life is crazy this week as we are painting a nursery at home so Eve time has been limited. Friday should be free so I hope to get some good PvP then.
Monday, January 28, 2008
"Reinforce the Shields!"
I didn't have a lot of game time this weekend, so what time I had I used to run some small missions to build up the wallet. I'm not sure what my next big purchase will be but I'm sure it will require a ton of ISK.
I switched my passive shield tank on the Rokh for an active one for the three missions I ran. Only one of the missions taxed it a bit, the other two were very easy. Still, so far I'm happy with it even if it does require more attention when things get hairy, balancing shields, capacitor, and cap booster charges at the same time along with the drones and guns.
The training for tech II missiles continues this week, with a number of support skills getting raised to IV before starting the two week effort for Heavy Assault Missiles V. Still on the fence about whether I'll finish Heavy Missiles V too or not.
I switched my passive shield tank on the Rokh for an active one for the three missions I ran. Only one of the missions taxed it a bit, the other two were very easy. Still, so far I'm happy with it even if it does require more attention when things get hairy, balancing shields, capacitor, and cap booster charges at the same time along with the drones and guns.
The training for tech II missiles continues this week, with a number of support skills getting raised to IV before starting the two week effort for Heavy Assault Missiles V. Still on the fence about whether I'll finish Heavy Missiles V too or not.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Boy Scout
Flying solo through 0.0 space is a lot like driving at night in a thick fog with no seatbelt. You might make it safely to your destination, or you might hit a tree head on and go flying through the windshield face first.
The problem is visibility: you can't see beyond the next gate, hell your half blind coming out of any warp. There could be a hauler trying to run away from you or a 20 man gate camp ready to send you back to the cloning vats. Its worse than low sec because not even sentries are there to annoy the enemy and they can field nasty surprises like warp disrupt bubbles.
All that being said, the greatest feeling is zipping around 0.0 space in a Covert Ops frigate with a nice Covert Ops cloaking device install. The ability to warp while cloaked is reserved for two ships in each race and the small signature, fast warp speed, and quick agility of the frigate version makes it the perfect scout ship. Catch me if you can indeed.
I've been scouting space for the corp, trying to assess the viability of a certain area for us to move in and make a low sec base of operations for ISK generating purposes. Its not terribly exciting, but it sure is nice to feel safe in 0.0 space for a chance.
The problem is visibility: you can't see beyond the next gate, hell your half blind coming out of any warp. There could be a hauler trying to run away from you or a 20 man gate camp ready to send you back to the cloning vats. Its worse than low sec because not even sentries are there to annoy the enemy and they can field nasty surprises like warp disrupt bubbles.
All that being said, the greatest feeling is zipping around 0.0 space in a Covert Ops frigate with a nice Covert Ops cloaking device install. The ability to warp while cloaked is reserved for two ships in each race and the small signature, fast warp speed, and quick agility of the frigate version makes it the perfect scout ship. Catch me if you can indeed.
I've been scouting space for the corp, trying to assess the viability of a certain area for us to move in and make a low sec base of operations for ISK generating purposes. Its not terribly exciting, but it sure is nice to feel safe in 0.0 space for a chance.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Eve Break
Last night real life intervened and I didn't get a decent block of time to play Eve without pissing off the wife. But I did get to play Panzer Tactics on the DS while sort of watching some TV with her so it wasn't a complete write off.
Training-wise, Derranna is over half done Cruiser Construction V so I'm getting closer to being able to build those Onyx BPCs I invented, while Kirith is working on Heavy Assault Missiles IV this week. My goal is to get Tech II HAMs and the support skills to at least IV, and then wade in on Caldari Battleship V for Black Ops, Carriers, and Marauders.
Plans may change. ;)
Training-wise, Derranna is over half done Cruiser Construction V so I'm getting closer to being able to build those Onyx BPCs I invented, while Kirith is working on Heavy Assault Missiles IV this week. My goal is to get Tech II HAMs and the support skills to at least IV, and then wade in on Caldari Battleship V for Black Ops, Carriers, and Marauders.
Plans may change. ;)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Quiet Night
Last night I got online and no one in the corp was responding. So since I had a level four mission in the queue (I've gotten into the habit of asking the agent for a mission to see what it is and not accepting or declining; you get a week to accept it and knowing what the mission is allows me to slot enough time or recruit help for it) so I accepted it and ran it down pretty easily.
I've been considering my current mission Rokh build lately and figuring out ways to reconfigure it. While in 90% of the level four missions it does great, the other 10% give me heartburn with the sheer damage it throws out.
My current setup:
[Rokh, Mission Runner]
Lows:
3 x Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
Mids:
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range
Invulnerability Field II
Heat Dissipation Amplifier II
3 x Large Shield Extender II
Highs:
8 x 350mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge L
Rigs:
Capacitor Control Circuit I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Drones:
Vespa II x5
DPS is 512, defence rating 111, shields have 21664 points with 58.6/73.1/66.4/77.6 resists. A good solid build for many missions but insufficient when the incoming DPS is a lot more than usual.
Here is an active tanking build I'm considering:
[Rokh, Mission Runner New]
Lows:
3 x Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
Mids:
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range
2 x Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Booster II
'Copasetic' I Particle Field Acceleration (aka Shield Boost Amp)
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Highs:
8 x 350mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge L
Rigs:
Capacitor Control Circuit I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Drones:
Vespa II x5
This build gives a sustained defence rating of 353, 11246 shield points with 65.7/66.9/75.2/83.4 resists. Basically trading the shield extenders for shield booster and amplifier and cap booster to run it, and lowering my heat resistance for increased resistance in the other three areas (although I am considering using rat specific hardeners instead of the two invul fields).
Time for live fire trials.
I've been considering my current mission Rokh build lately and figuring out ways to reconfigure it. While in 90% of the level four missions it does great, the other 10% give me heartburn with the sheer damage it throws out.
My current setup:
[Rokh, Mission Runner]
Lows:
3 x Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
Mids:
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range
Invulnerability Field II
Heat Dissipation Amplifier II
3 x Large Shield Extender II
Highs:
8 x 350mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge L
Rigs:
Capacitor Control Circuit I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Drones:
Vespa II x5
DPS is 512, defence rating 111, shields have 21664 points with 58.6/73.1/66.4/77.6 resists. A good solid build for many missions but insufficient when the incoming DPS is a lot more than usual.
Here is an active tanking build I'm considering:
[Rokh, Mission Runner New]
Lows:
3 x Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
Mids:
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range
2 x Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Booster II
'Copasetic' I Particle Field Acceleration (aka Shield Boost Amp)
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Highs:
8 x 350mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge L
Rigs:
Capacitor Control Circuit I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Drones:
Vespa II x5
This build gives a sustained defence rating of 353, 11246 shield points with 65.7/66.9/75.2/83.4 resists. Basically trading the shield extenders for shield booster and amplifier and cap booster to run it, and lowering my heat resistance for increased resistance in the other three areas (although I am considering using rat specific hardeners instead of the two invul fields).
Time for live fire trials.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Mea Culpa... a bit
In my last post commenter Alasseo is taking me to task on my Scorpion setup. Specifically the Tech II steel plate armour mods, and the four Limos missile launchers.
Being relatively new to armour tanking, I never checked in detail to see the differences between the best named armour plates and the tech II versions. Turns out they both give 4200 hit points but the Tech II steel plates adds 1 million more to my mass, making the ship less agile for turning and slower for acceleration.
The Limos cruise missile launchers he found even more shocking: "[A]nd sure the real power is the ecm, I know people who only have one missile on the scorp, but limos? really?"
Out of the 5 tech I cruise missile launchers, Limos is middle of the pack. The difference is primarily in rate of fire and volume capacity of the launchers, being low in the basic model and getting higher to the best named version. For example, the Limos cruise missile launcher has a capacity of 1.1 m3 and a rate of fire of 19.8 seconds (before skills) while the best named Arbalest launcher has 1.2 m3 and 17.6 seconds, a two second saving. And the larger capacity means that there are fewer reloads so more DPS. The end result with my skills is 95 DPS with four Limos launchers and 107 DPS with four Arbalest launchers, a significant increase.
But the reality of the matter is I didn't care about DPS on the Scorpion. It was built as a support ship, to use its ECM to incapacitate enemy ships from a distance, the missiles were extraneous. I had the Limos launchers in my hanger from missions so used them opposed to buying new ones.
So I'll step up and admit that the tech II plates were not the optimal choice even if I think the damage to my mobility was minimal, but I will not back down on the missiles. Yes, more DPS can be gotten with better launchers but I wasn't going out of my way for them.
Being relatively new to armour tanking, I never checked in detail to see the differences between the best named armour plates and the tech II versions. Turns out they both give 4200 hit points but the Tech II steel plates adds 1 million more to my mass, making the ship less agile for turning and slower for acceleration.
The Limos cruise missile launchers he found even more shocking: "[A]nd sure the real power is the ecm, I know people who only have one missile on the scorp, but limos? really?"
Out of the 5 tech I cruise missile launchers, Limos is middle of the pack. The difference is primarily in rate of fire and volume capacity of the launchers, being low in the basic model and getting higher to the best named version. For example, the Limos cruise missile launcher has a capacity of 1.1 m3 and a rate of fire of 19.8 seconds (before skills) while the best named Arbalest launcher has 1.2 m3 and 17.6 seconds, a two second saving. And the larger capacity means that there are fewer reloads so more DPS. The end result with my skills is 95 DPS with four Limos launchers and 107 DPS with four Arbalest launchers, a significant increase.
But the reality of the matter is I didn't care about DPS on the Scorpion. It was built as a support ship, to use its ECM to incapacitate enemy ships from a distance, the missiles were extraneous. I had the Limos launchers in my hanger from missions so used them opposed to buying new ones.
So I'll step up and admit that the tech II plates were not the optimal choice even if I think the damage to my mobility was minimal, but I will not back down on the missiles. Yes, more DPS can be gotten with better launchers but I wasn't going out of my way for them.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Close Calls and Not So Close Calls
Tale # 1
I was out in my trusty Thorax Saturday morning hunting for belt ratters or miners foolish enough to not watch the scanner. Molden Heath is not great for this activity, I find the pilots here tend to be on the ball.
In Atlar I run into a Rifter on scan. Hmmm, a challenge but definitely doable. I spend about ten minutes trying to track him down but he's moving a lot. I warp into a belt and he's not there again... but someone warps in behind me. OH CRAP! An Arazu, the Gallente Force Recon cruiser, more than a match for my Thorax.
Before I know it I'm locked and webbed and scrammed. I get my 5 ECM drones out and get them on him before sensor dampeners kick in. I'm going down and I've barely scratched his shields. My only hope is the drones so I spam the Warp button. Just as my armour is gone and my structure starts to get hit I hear that wonderful voice say "Warp Drive Active".
I quickly escaped back to high sec with only my drones lost.
Tale # 2
Sunday morning I decide to hook up with a corp mate and hit Great Wildlands. I decided to break out the Scorpion because, hell, its not going to see much action otherwise and I wanted to try it out. And I didn't have any good battlecruisers on hand.
I get to Egbinger fine and dock to take a minute break. As I undock there is a Thanatos sitting there. Thanatos. As in big assed Gallente carrier. Locking me. Scramming me. Bastard! I quickly lock him back and show him what 7 ECM modules can do. Bah, broke it already. I warp to the gate where my buddy said there was no gate camp on the 0.0 side.
Unfortunately, he didn't check the low sec side and I warp into a gate camp of three ships. An Apocalyse Amarr battleship and two more (!) Thanatos carriers. No worry I think, I'll land on the gate and jump and the carriers can't follow me. And that voice that was so sweet Saturday morning seems so cruel and vindictive this morning:
"You may not jump due to acts of aggression."
Oh shit. The two minute aggression timer. You see, CCP created a two minute cool down before you can dock or jump to prevent people from doing something nasty and then avoiding NPC Police or sentry retribution. By jamming the carrier at the station I undocked from, I started the timer and 30 seconds later I'm 90 seconds to wait before jumping. And in 20 seconds I'll be dead from the battleship's lasers and the carrier fighters. I run.
Of course, being warp scrambled is not a surprise so I get to try my ECM trick again. I locked the three targets and activated the ECM modules and even sent my flight of ECM drones on the battleship, and then started spamming the warp button. Half into structure, "Warp Drive Active"!
"Woo hoo!" I think, "I got away again!" I come out of warp at a station and still can't dock but I'm safe. Or am I? My structure starts going down but there is no one on the overview. What? Drones? From who? I can't dock, I try to warp, but too late. I explode.
What happened?
Fighters. Damn awesome fighters. For the uninitiated, drones are small robotic ships that you carry with you and can tell to attack enemies. Fighters are like uber-powered drones that also have the ability to warp through space to follow a target. And that is exactly what happened, the Fighters from the carriers at the gate followed me through warp and continued to attack until I was dead. Nice.
The good news is that the ship was insured and I was able to quickly dock and undock in a rookie ship to loot my own wreck for some very valuable modules that survived.
Tale #3
After the loss of the Scorpion, I went back to base and bought a Brutix battlecruiser and joined up with my corp mate, determined to get out and actually hunt. We went to 0.0 a different route. Along the way we ran into a beligerent Claymore Minmatar command ship, the T2 variant of Battlecruisers. I was in my Brutix and my wingman in a Rapier, the Minmatar Force Recon. He was beating the shit out of me but my ECM drones and corp mate made him nervous and we were able to disengage in good order.
We carried on into 0.0 and eventually found a Drake battlecruiser ratting in the belt. We tackled it but it had a good active shield tank going that I could barely tickle, and the high sensor strength of Caldari ships meant my 5 ECM-600 drones had a poor chance of jamming him. As the Drakes missiles tore up the Rapier we decided to disengage this experienced pilot.
My time for the morning was up, and I was forced to safe spot and log.
Tale # 4
Sunday evening I log in to my Brutix all alone in 0.0 space. Not exactly a good situation. I'm two jumped from the relative safety of low sec so I head that way.
WHOOPS! Local filled with reds, not a good idea. I run back. Well, what about this direction? Another jump and another local filled with reds. Run back.
Ok, any decent alliance will have intel channels and will probably be aware of my position and the possibility of a hunting party forming to get me is very strong.
One more direction, no reds, one neutral. Ok this way I figure, flying deeper into 0.0 space. I think I will dock at one of the NPC stations in the middle of the region I say to myself, and wait out the weekend. I get to the system and its filled with reds as far as the eye can see, but none on the gate. I warp to station hoping I don't run into a warp bubble and I make it there safely, docking.
Along the way I noticed Alesseo's character in local. Shout out to regular reader! Word. ;)
I jump clone back to empire and gather myself. Lots of close calls, one ship loss, and no ship kills. Another typical weekend for Kirith Kodachi.
Sigh.
I was out in my trusty Thorax Saturday morning hunting for belt ratters or miners foolish enough to not watch the scanner. Molden Heath is not great for this activity, I find the pilots here tend to be on the ball.
In Atlar I run into a Rifter on scan. Hmmm, a challenge but definitely doable. I spend about ten minutes trying to track him down but he's moving a lot. I warp into a belt and he's not there again... but someone warps in behind me. OH CRAP! An Arazu, the Gallente Force Recon cruiser, more than a match for my Thorax.
Before I know it I'm locked and webbed and scrammed. I get my 5 ECM drones out and get them on him before sensor dampeners kick in. I'm going down and I've barely scratched his shields. My only hope is the drones so I spam the Warp button. Just as my armour is gone and my structure starts to get hit I hear that wonderful voice say "Warp Drive Active".
I quickly escaped back to high sec with only my drones lost.
Tale # 2
Sunday morning I decide to hook up with a corp mate and hit Great Wildlands. I decided to break out the Scorpion because, hell, its not going to see much action otherwise and I wanted to try it out. And I didn't have any good battlecruisers on hand.
I get to Egbinger fine and dock to take a minute break. As I undock there is a Thanatos sitting there. Thanatos. As in big assed Gallente carrier. Locking me. Scramming me. Bastard! I quickly lock him back and show him what 7 ECM modules can do. Bah, broke it already. I warp to the gate where my buddy said there was no gate camp on the 0.0 side.
Unfortunately, he didn't check the low sec side and I warp into a gate camp of three ships. An Apocalyse Amarr battleship and two more (!) Thanatos carriers. No worry I think, I'll land on the gate and jump and the carriers can't follow me. And that voice that was so sweet Saturday morning seems so cruel and vindictive this morning:
"You may not jump due to acts of aggression."
Oh shit. The two minute aggression timer. You see, CCP created a two minute cool down before you can dock or jump to prevent people from doing something nasty and then avoiding NPC Police or sentry retribution. By jamming the carrier at the station I undocked from, I started the timer and 30 seconds later I'm 90 seconds to wait before jumping. And in 20 seconds I'll be dead from the battleship's lasers and the carrier fighters. I run.
Of course, being warp scrambled is not a surprise so I get to try my ECM trick again. I locked the three targets and activated the ECM modules and even sent my flight of ECM drones on the battleship, and then started spamming the warp button. Half into structure, "Warp Drive Active"!
"Woo hoo!" I think, "I got away again!" I come out of warp at a station and still can't dock but I'm safe. Or am I? My structure starts going down but there is no one on the overview. What? Drones? From who? I can't dock, I try to warp, but too late. I explode.
What happened?
Fighters. Damn awesome fighters. For the uninitiated, drones are small robotic ships that you carry with you and can tell to attack enemies. Fighters are like uber-powered drones that also have the ability to warp through space to follow a target. And that is exactly what happened, the Fighters from the carriers at the gate followed me through warp and continued to attack until I was dead. Nice.
The good news is that the ship was insured and I was able to quickly dock and undock in a rookie ship to loot my own wreck for some very valuable modules that survived.
Tale #3
After the loss of the Scorpion, I went back to base and bought a Brutix battlecruiser and joined up with my corp mate, determined to get out and actually hunt. We went to 0.0 a different route. Along the way we ran into a beligerent Claymore Minmatar command ship, the T2 variant of Battlecruisers. I was in my Brutix and my wingman in a Rapier, the Minmatar Force Recon. He was beating the shit out of me but my ECM drones and corp mate made him nervous and we were able to disengage in good order.
We carried on into 0.0 and eventually found a Drake battlecruiser ratting in the belt. We tackled it but it had a good active shield tank going that I could barely tickle, and the high sensor strength of Caldari ships meant my 5 ECM-600 drones had a poor chance of jamming him. As the Drakes missiles tore up the Rapier we decided to disengage this experienced pilot.
My time for the morning was up, and I was forced to safe spot and log.
Tale # 4
Sunday evening I log in to my Brutix all alone in 0.0 space. Not exactly a good situation. I'm two jumped from the relative safety of low sec so I head that way.
WHOOPS! Local filled with reds, not a good idea. I run back. Well, what about this direction? Another jump and another local filled with reds. Run back.
Ok, any decent alliance will have intel channels and will probably be aware of my position and the possibility of a hunting party forming to get me is very strong.
One more direction, no reds, one neutral. Ok this way I figure, flying deeper into 0.0 space. I think I will dock at one of the NPC stations in the middle of the region I say to myself, and wait out the weekend. I get to the system and its filled with reds as far as the eye can see, but none on the gate. I warp to station hoping I don't run into a warp bubble and I make it there safely, docking.
Along the way I noticed Alesseo's character in local. Shout out to regular reader! Word. ;)
I jump clone back to empire and gather myself. Lots of close calls, one ship loss, and no ship kills. Another typical weekend for Kirith Kodachi.
Sigh.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Skill Ponderings Again
Everytime I complete a short term skill plan I'm back to trying to decide what to train next. Its a curse I tell you, a curse!
Anyways, today at 2:43 pm Heavy Interdictors IV finishes and that plan is complete, the Onyx up and running. I'm supposed to go back to Heavy Missiles V and continue on with the missile program, but temptations abound.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) I'm getting to the point where too many setups require good missiles skills: Onyx, Cerberus, Falcon, Rook, Scorpion, Widow, etc. The longer I put it off, the more it will suck later on.
As an aside, I plan to train Caldari battleship V starting in April. This is the gating skill to Carriers, Dreadnoughts, Black Ops, and Maurauders as well as improved performance for the Rokh and Scoripion.
Anyways, today at 2:43 pm Heavy Interdictors IV finishes and that plan is complete, the Onyx up and running. I'm supposed to go back to Heavy Missiles V and continue on with the missile program, but temptations abound.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) I'm getting to the point where too many setups require good missiles skills: Onyx, Cerberus, Falcon, Rook, Scorpion, Widow, etc. The longer I put it off, the more it will suck later on.
As an aside, I plan to train Caldari battleship V starting in April. This is the gating skill to Carriers, Dreadnoughts, Black Ops, and Maurauders as well as improved performance for the Rokh and Scoripion.
Stomped
Last night I had a warhammer game with Max (aka Lostknight). It was a 1000 point challenge game and we rolled up Recon mission.
My army:
Chaos Terminator Lord with twin lightning claws
5 Terminators
2 x 10 marines with lascannon, plasma gun, champ with power weapon in Rhino
Defiler
Max's Green Phoenix Space Marines:
Chaplin on Bike
Venerable Dreadnought
10 Scouts
2 x 10 Marines with las/plas and sgt with Power fist
Predator
Vindicator
The game started well for me, some decent shooting destroying the twin lascannon on the predator and chewing up the scouts. The Chaos lord charged into the chaplin and killed him in a couple rounds before the dreadnought finished him off.
And then the wheels fell off the bus. Turn 2 the terminators teleported in behind his lines and could only stun the dreadnought's rear armour despite getting a pen. Then they lost two models to shooting and the remaining three broke! The defiler's shooting with the battlecannon was lacklustre and then it got immobilized by the vindicator.
The dreadnought charged into one of my tactical squads and despite krak grenades he easily defeated it and chased it down. My other tactical squad was mostly out of the fighting and suffered its only casualty when the plasma gunner overheated himself. Sigh.
After six turns all I had left was one tactical squad facing off against a damaged predator, dreadnought, vindicator and a tactical squad. Victory to the Imperium... this time.
Analysis:
I felt I made perhaps one or two small errors, and then compounded those errors with a spot of bad luck and throw in a dash of ruthless efficiency in execution of his battleplan for Max, and you get a stomping. My errors were placing one tactical squad to the far left while the rest of my and Max's armies were on the right, and then advancing the defiler to the same side of the forest as the vindicator. The bad luck was having the terminators roll eleven when I needed ten or less on 2D6. Damn, that killed me.
Max on the other hand, has vastly improved since we first played in Feb 2005 and now has two wins in a row against me! *cracks knuckles* I'll get you next time!
My army:
Chaos Terminator Lord with twin lightning claws
5 Terminators
2 x 10 marines with lascannon, plasma gun, champ with power weapon in Rhino
Defiler
Max's Green Phoenix Space Marines:
Chaplin on Bike
Venerable Dreadnought
10 Scouts
2 x 10 Marines with las/plas and sgt with Power fist
Predator
Vindicator
The game started well for me, some decent shooting destroying the twin lascannon on the predator and chewing up the scouts. The Chaos lord charged into the chaplin and killed him in a couple rounds before the dreadnought finished him off.
And then the wheels fell off the bus. Turn 2 the terminators teleported in behind his lines and could only stun the dreadnought's rear armour despite getting a pen. Then they lost two models to shooting and the remaining three broke! The defiler's shooting with the battlecannon was lacklustre and then it got immobilized by the vindicator.
The dreadnought charged into one of my tactical squads and despite krak grenades he easily defeated it and chased it down. My other tactical squad was mostly out of the fighting and suffered its only casualty when the plasma gunner overheated himself. Sigh.
After six turns all I had left was one tactical squad facing off against a damaged predator, dreadnought, vindicator and a tactical squad. Victory to the Imperium... this time.
Analysis:
I felt I made perhaps one or two small errors, and then compounded those errors with a spot of bad luck and throw in a dash of ruthless efficiency in execution of his battleplan for Max, and you get a stomping. My errors were placing one tactical squad to the far left while the rest of my and Max's armies were on the right, and then advancing the defiler to the same side of the forest as the vindicator. The bad luck was having the terminators roll eleven when I needed ten or less on 2D6. Damn, that killed me.
Max on the other hand, has vastly improved since we first played in Feb 2005 and now has two wins in a row against me! *cracks knuckles* I'll get you next time!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Eve Excitement! Or Not
Last while online there was a corp meeting to discuss several topics so I didn't do anything exciting except try out the tank on the Onyx a bit. Active tanking can sure take the abuse, but it makes me nervous.
As Alasseo pointed out in a comment in last post, we've given up on negotiations with Foundation alliance. A mishap in space earlier in the week made us look bad and figure it was a lost cause. Oh well, fewer blues, more targets.
As Alasseo pointed out in a comment in last post, we've given up on negotiations with Foundation alliance. A mishap in space earlier in the week made us look bad and figure it was a lost cause. Oh well, fewer blues, more targets.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
YAAARRRRRR- oops!
Last night I was out in my trusty solo-Thorax looking for targets to melt. Soon thereafter Seven Six, a corpmate, joined me in his trusty Iskur Assault Frigate. We hit the space lanes and found a whole lot of nothing.
Nobody ratting, no one mining, the belts were empty.
Finally just as I was getting ready to log off we enter a system with one other in local. A Drake is on scan.
"Don't know if we can take a Drake," pondered Seven. I check the profile.
"Hell, he's a 2008 char, he shouldn't be in a battlecruiser and sure as hell shouldn't be out here," I reply.
We warp in, get the points on him, and start chewing him a new one. But wait, what if he is part of that alliance we are trying to get blue to? Sure enough, Seven checks the profile and finds Foundation alliance. CRAP! We call in the drones, disengage the weapons, and kill the rat pounding on him along with us. We send our apologies and some isk for the damage (we had him down to less than 25% armour), curse our bad luck, and head on.
Almost a kill. Sigh.
* * * * *
This morning I was online for about 45 minutes and figured I'd complete this storyline mission assigned to me where I had to move 40 units of sealed cargo cans from Gulfonodi to Hrokkur in low sec space, four jumps away. The catch? Each unit is 1000 m3.
In my trusty Badger MKII I would need about 4 trips and that was without warp core stabilizers, a death sentence should I run into any pirates. I decided to recruit Barak and his Occator Deep Space Transport vessel which could carry 10,000 m3 and have 4 warp stabs to boot.
I figured it would take thirty minutes for the four round trips. I was wrong. The Occator is slow slow slow! After making one trip I realized it would going to take too long to get the juicy 5 million isk bonus, so I opened a second client and got Derranna and her Mastadon Deep Space Transport on the go. She went without any warp core stabs in the lows, instead all cargo expander IIs so she could carry 20 of the cans and the last 10 by Barak. With Barak effectively scouting, I slogged the slow ships to Hrokkur, contracted the cans back to Kirith, and logged in as him.
"All done!" I told the agent with only minutes to space in my playing time.
"Nope," he replied, "you need to hand over the items in person."
FRACK!
So I will complete the mission tonight, no bonus isk included. Sigh. On the upside, another boost to my Minmatar faction standings is always welcome.
Nobody ratting, no one mining, the belts were empty.
Finally just as I was getting ready to log off we enter a system with one other in local. A Drake is on scan.
"Don't know if we can take a Drake," pondered Seven. I check the profile.
"Hell, he's a 2008 char, he shouldn't be in a battlecruiser and sure as hell shouldn't be out here," I reply.
We warp in, get the points on him, and start chewing him a new one. But wait, what if he is part of that alliance we are trying to get blue to? Sure enough, Seven checks the profile and finds Foundation alliance. CRAP! We call in the drones, disengage the weapons, and kill the rat pounding on him along with us. We send our apologies and some isk for the damage (we had him down to less than 25% armour), curse our bad luck, and head on.
Almost a kill. Sigh.
* * * * *
This morning I was online for about 45 minutes and figured I'd complete this storyline mission assigned to me where I had to move 40 units of sealed cargo cans from Gulfonodi to Hrokkur in low sec space, four jumps away. The catch? Each unit is 1000 m3.
In my trusty Badger MKII I would need about 4 trips and that was without warp core stabilizers, a death sentence should I run into any pirates. I decided to recruit Barak and his Occator Deep Space Transport vessel which could carry 10,000 m3 and have 4 warp stabs to boot.
I figured it would take thirty minutes for the four round trips. I was wrong. The Occator is slow slow slow! After making one trip I realized it would going to take too long to get the juicy 5 million isk bonus, so I opened a second client and got Derranna and her Mastadon Deep Space Transport on the go. She went without any warp core stabs in the lows, instead all cargo expander IIs so she could carry 20 of the cans and the last 10 by Barak. With Barak effectively scouting, I slogged the slow ships to Hrokkur, contracted the cans back to Kirith, and logged in as him.
"All done!" I told the agent with only minutes to space in my playing time.
"Nope," he replied, "you need to hand over the items in person."
FRACK!
So I will complete the mission tonight, no bonus isk included. Sigh. On the upside, another boost to my Minmatar faction standings is always welcome.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Shooting the Moon(s)
I knew my weekend schedule would see me up and about in Eve when the rest of the corp was sleeping or whatnot. Thus is my lot in life. So I decided to help out the industrial ambitions of Strife by scanning some moons.
I had never scanned moons before but the process seemed pretty easy. I decked out a badger with a scan probe launcher, filled up the hold with Discovery Probes, and hit the space lanes. It wasn't too hard and I had a moderate amount of fun helping out that way. By the end of Sunday morning I had scanned all 40 moons in the target system and generated a decent report. Not the most exciting Eve adventure, but it helps move us closer to actual moon mining.
As a side note, this morning Graviton Physics IV finishes for Kirith so the Onyx will be ready for low sec scrambling. And yesterday Derranna completed Caldari Encryption Methods V and started to work on Cruiser Construction V. Long skills but hopefully worth it.
I had never scanned moons before but the process seemed pretty easy. I decked out a badger with a scan probe launcher, filled up the hold with Discovery Probes, and hit the space lanes. It wasn't too hard and I had a moderate amount of fun helping out that way. By the end of Sunday morning I had scanned all 40 moons in the target system and generated a decent report. Not the most exciting Eve adventure, but it helps move us closer to actual moon mining.
As a side note, this morning Graviton Physics IV finishes for Kirith so the Onyx will be ready for low sec scrambling. And yesterday Derranna completed Caldari Encryption Methods V and started to work on Cruiser Construction V. Long skills but hopefully worth it.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Screenshot
I have a bunch of screenshots at home that I keep forgetting to put online, but here is a shot from a friend of the gang we had going the other night: Out of the Sun.
From left to right, Typhoon battleship, Armageddon Battleship, Brutix battlecruiser (ME!), and Megathron battleship.
From left to right, Typhoon battleship, Armageddon Battleship, Brutix battlecruiser (ME!), and Megathron battleship.
Take That Caldari State!
Last weekend I got assigned a 5 part mission set and completed the first four parts in short order. Last night the expiry date on accepting the last part of the mission was getting close so I decided to do it and get it over with before it was too late.
In the Midst of Deadspace 5/5 was annoying more than challenging. I hate flying against Caldari State NPCs because they like to stay at range and spam missiles. The range I can deal with, the missiles are tough; I like rats that need to get close to be effective. To make the situation more frustrating they had some blackbird jammers that were breaking my lock a lot.
Still, I was able to lock enough to kill one and the frigs, warp out for shield repair, and warp back and kill the other and the battleships of the first pocket. There were three pockets in all and each one could be pulled separately and dealt with easily once the jammers were disposed of. Then I had to blow up a Caldari Factory which took a few minutes and ton of ammo.
Still, after rewards and loot I made about 20 million isk and salvage which is pretty good for an hour and a half effort. Now I can outfit my new Scorpion in style and roll with my homies.
In the Midst of Deadspace 5/5 was annoying more than challenging. I hate flying against Caldari State NPCs because they like to stay at range and spam missiles. The range I can deal with, the missiles are tough; I like rats that need to get close to be effective. To make the situation more frustrating they had some blackbird jammers that were breaking my lock a lot.
Still, I was able to lock enough to kill one and the frigs, warp out for shield repair, and warp back and kill the other and the battleships of the first pocket. There were three pockets in all and each one could be pulled separately and dealt with easily once the jammers were disposed of. Then I had to blow up a Caldari Factory which took a few minutes and ton of ammo.
Still, after rewards and loot I made about 20 million isk and salvage which is pretty good for an hour and a half effort. Now I can outfit my new Scorpion in style and roll with my homies.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
To Alt or Not To Alt, That is the Question
A recent thread started on Eve's forums demanding that all alts be destroyed in six months and each account had one character.
My initial reaction was "FRACK YOU" because that would really kick me in the groin. I have six characters on two accounts, and 4 of them with considerable skill point investment. If CCP decided to delete 4 of those characters, my losses would be huge. Of course, I have no doubt CCP will ignore this crank poster and carry on because they do not want to piss off the player base and most players have alts.
But is it a good thing?
I'm guessing, but most players with alts fall into the simple combat pilot / supporting alt category, where the "main" does all the training and gets all the combat skills while the alt receives little training and is used for hauling, scouting, and sometimes manufacturing. Other players like me get two accounts so the industrial alt can train as well and really open up the other game play that 99% of the combat pilot characters cannot access: research, invention, and advanced production.
Of course, there are the CEO alts, characters that out of the box have sufficient skills to properly form and lead a corporation and typically receive little to no training. Then there are research assistant alts that get some training to be good at copying and research of Tech 1 blueprints. There are cyno alts who are trained just to the point where they can throw up a cyno field for carrier pilots. There are freighter alts who get a lot of training to fly a freighter and then stop. Miner alts are popular too but last on my list because I don't mine.
My point is that for one player to properly experience all the career choices that Eve has to off that player has to have alts or make hard choices about what he is and is not going to do in the game. If alts were disallowed, I would not be able to run Razor effectively without recruiting other players that raises risk and effort; it would be easier for me to fold. That would severely piss me off because I like running Razor, its like a side hobby within the game.
I say leave alts alone. It keeps the game fresh and exciting for players who like to experience all Eve has to offer.
My initial reaction was "FRACK YOU" because that would really kick me in the groin. I have six characters on two accounts, and 4 of them with considerable skill point investment. If CCP decided to delete 4 of those characters, my losses would be huge. Of course, I have no doubt CCP will ignore this crank poster and carry on because they do not want to piss off the player base and most players have alts.
But is it a good thing?
I'm guessing, but most players with alts fall into the simple combat pilot / supporting alt category, where the "main" does all the training and gets all the combat skills while the alt receives little training and is used for hauling, scouting, and sometimes manufacturing. Other players like me get two accounts so the industrial alt can train as well and really open up the other game play that 99% of the combat pilot characters cannot access: research, invention, and advanced production.
Of course, there are the CEO alts, characters that out of the box have sufficient skills to properly form and lead a corporation and typically receive little to no training. Then there are research assistant alts that get some training to be good at copying and research of Tech 1 blueprints. There are cyno alts who are trained just to the point where they can throw up a cyno field for carrier pilots. There are freighter alts who get a lot of training to fly a freighter and then stop. Miner alts are popular too but last on my list because I don't mine.
My point is that for one player to properly experience all the career choices that Eve has to off that player has to have alts or make hard choices about what he is and is not going to do in the game. If alts were disallowed, I would not be able to run Razor effectively without recruiting other players that raises risk and effort; it would be easier for me to fold. That would severely piss me off because I like running Razor, its like a side hobby within the game.
I say leave alts alone. It keeps the game fresh and exciting for players who like to experience all Eve has to offer.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Finally A Kill
Last night the PvP drought I had going from m3 over to Strife finally ended.
It wasn't pretty: three battleships and my Brutix battlecruiser against a Hurricane battlecruiser that jumped through a gate to find us. As you can see, I did the least amount of damage but I did have to hightail it from 30km away and I was using ECM drones to cause havoc instead of damage and my weapons are all short ranged, so to cause 2500 points of damage despite all that is still nice. Not to mention I put a scram and webber on him too.
Last night we were rolling with a majority of battleships, a considerable upgrade in tonnage from the night before. I'm going to have to break out a Scorpion out of mothballs and get the ECM monster going again. Also, I bought a new Falcon to replace the one I accidentally got destroyed by CONCORD when I was testing it out in high sec against Derranna. I forgot the new rule that you have to be in the same corp as well as gang to avoid punishment, and Derranna is in Razor Tech. That sucked.
It wasn't pretty: three battleships and my Brutix battlecruiser against a Hurricane battlecruiser that jumped through a gate to find us. As you can see, I did the least amount of damage but I did have to hightail it from 30km away and I was using ECM drones to cause havoc instead of damage and my weapons are all short ranged, so to cause 2500 points of damage despite all that is still nice. Not to mention I put a scram and webber on him too.
Last night we were rolling with a majority of battleships, a considerable upgrade in tonnage from the night before. I'm going to have to break out a Scorpion out of mothballs and get the ECM monster going again. Also, I bought a new Falcon to replace the one I accidentally got destroyed by CONCORD when I was testing it out in high sec against Derranna. I forgot the new rule that you have to be in the same corp as well as gang to avoid punishment, and Derranna is in Razor Tech. That sucked.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
In Eve .Net
There is a website where you can upload your character's information and let everyone in the world see. I resisted at first but eventually the temptation was too great.
Presenting Kirith Kodachi!
Presenting Kirith Kodachi!
Bill's New Player Guide To Eve
When I started Eve, I already had a group of friends playing and experienced and they took me under their wing right from the get go. My Merlin and I were out fighting along side them and learning the ropes. It was good times.
But what if I had been alone? Just me and no one else to guide me? I think I would have floundered and suffered and struggled for a long time. Remember people, when I started new players got 5000 skill points, not 800K. It was a long haul to the Merlin with rails and missiles much less a cruiser.
So here is a new player guide for those starting in Eve without the benefit of mentors.
Phase One:
On your first day your goal is to create a character and play the tutorial. Seriously, do the tutorial. As for what race and bloodline to pick, the best answer I can give is that it does not matter. Anything and any ship you want to fly is available to you with training so don't get bogged down in questions like "who's the best for PvP?" and "I want to make things, what race should I be?"
The profession you pick when creating a character only determines your starting skill set. You are not bound to continue that profession when you start and you can switch professions (by changing what skill you train next) at any time. The best bet is to pick a profession in the military streams for combat skills so you can start killing rats.
When assigning attributes, there are two prevailing methods. The first is to balance your stats (with the exception of Charisma which many pilots simply ignore) so that your character can train any skill with the same ease. The second is to assign your attribute points such that you have two skills maxed out that you intend to train a lot of skills that benefit from them. (You see, the amount of time a skill takes to train is dependent on the ranking of the skill and two attribute values of the player, the higher the appropriate attributes, the faster the skill trains). Players intending to be simply combat pilots would stack points in perception and willpower while the industrial players would go more for intelligence and memory.
I prefer the former method (and I think ignoring charisma too much is not wise either) so that your pilot is never hampered should he decide to diversify into other professions. Allows players to keep the game fresh.
Additional "phase one" activities is to visit the eve-online forums and read the stickied posts in the New Citizens forum. In fact, for the first two months of playing Eve I visited that forum almost daily. Its almost like a second tutorial.
Phase Two:
OK, by now you should have a ship, know how to get around, target the NPCs (aka rats), and kill them for money (aka ISK), and check the wreck for modules and ammo to take (aka loot). Also, your tutorial agent should have given you directions to another agent to start your career. Go there, run missions.
Missions have three good things about them: they are challenging without being impossible, they give you ISK from the rat bounties, loot, and mission rewards, and they give Loyalty Points and standings with the NPC Corporation the agent belongs to. While running missions, you can train up some skills to get into a cruiser which will become your ship of the line for the foreseeable future.
Also during this time you should be getting a feel for the Eve lingo and ideas from the forums and forming ideas of what you want to do with your career in the game. Mission runner? Pirate? Corporate bodyguard? Miner? Near the end of Phase Two you should be comfortable enough with the game and the mechanics to be able to browse ship setups on the forums and have an idea of how that ship works in space and how you compare.
Phase Three
Eve is a multiplayer game. You will not last long by yourself in almost any endeavour. Even high sec mission running is dangerous simply from boredom. No, Eve is best experienced in the company of friends.
You should have been looking at player corporations and alliances by now and know the big names: Burn Eden, Band of Brothers, Goonswarm, Red Alliance, Triumvirate, and so forth. Some players make the big jump and try to get into the biggest alliances right off the bat. Personally I think that is crazy but it has been done and nothing in the game mechanics prevents you from doing so.
But realistically you are too green to be out in the Great New Eden War. Instead consider Empire based corporations willing to help new players get on their feet. There are some philanthropic corporations like Eve University and Agony Unleashed which exist solely to instruct new players in the finer art of piloting ships. And there are hundreds of other player corps accepting applications of new players, just view the Alliance and Corporation Recruitment forums and you'll see what I mean. And remember, just because you join a corp doesn't mean you can't keep looking for the right fit.
When in a corp, be friendly, chat up the other pilots, and make friends. Flying with other people is so much more enjoyable than flying alone and the most boring tasks are fun with good company.
* * * * *
And that is it. Once in a player corp you are no longer alone in the vast universe and you can ask corp mates for help and advice.
How long do the phases take? It depends on the player and his time playing the game but I would say within a couple weeks to a month you should be done all three phases and well into the game.
But what if I had been alone? Just me and no one else to guide me? I think I would have floundered and suffered and struggled for a long time. Remember people, when I started new players got 5000 skill points, not 800K. It was a long haul to the Merlin with rails and missiles much less a cruiser.
So here is a new player guide for those starting in Eve without the benefit of mentors.
Phase One:
On your first day your goal is to create a character and play the tutorial. Seriously, do the tutorial. As for what race and bloodline to pick, the best answer I can give is that it does not matter. Anything and any ship you want to fly is available to you with training so don't get bogged down in questions like "who's the best for PvP?" and "I want to make things, what race should I be?"
The profession you pick when creating a character only determines your starting skill set. You are not bound to continue that profession when you start and you can switch professions (by changing what skill you train next) at any time. The best bet is to pick a profession in the military streams for combat skills so you can start killing rats.
When assigning attributes, there are two prevailing methods. The first is to balance your stats (with the exception of Charisma which many pilots simply ignore) so that your character can train any skill with the same ease. The second is to assign your attribute points such that you have two skills maxed out that you intend to train a lot of skills that benefit from them. (You see, the amount of time a skill takes to train is dependent on the ranking of the skill and two attribute values of the player, the higher the appropriate attributes, the faster the skill trains). Players intending to be simply combat pilots would stack points in perception and willpower while the industrial players would go more for intelligence and memory.
I prefer the former method (and I think ignoring charisma too much is not wise either) so that your pilot is never hampered should he decide to diversify into other professions. Allows players to keep the game fresh.
Additional "phase one" activities is to visit the eve-online forums and read the stickied posts in the New Citizens forum. In fact, for the first two months of playing Eve I visited that forum almost daily. Its almost like a second tutorial.
Phase Two:
OK, by now you should have a ship, know how to get around, target the NPCs (aka rats), and kill them for money (aka ISK), and check the wreck for modules and ammo to take (aka loot). Also, your tutorial agent should have given you directions to another agent to start your career. Go there, run missions.
Missions have three good things about them: they are challenging without being impossible, they give you ISK from the rat bounties, loot, and mission rewards, and they give Loyalty Points and standings with the NPC Corporation the agent belongs to. While running missions, you can train up some skills to get into a cruiser which will become your ship of the line for the foreseeable future.
Also during this time you should be getting a feel for the Eve lingo and ideas from the forums and forming ideas of what you want to do with your career in the game. Mission runner? Pirate? Corporate bodyguard? Miner? Near the end of Phase Two you should be comfortable enough with the game and the mechanics to be able to browse ship setups on the forums and have an idea of how that ship works in space and how you compare.
Phase Three
Eve is a multiplayer game. You will not last long by yourself in almost any endeavour. Even high sec mission running is dangerous simply from boredom. No, Eve is best experienced in the company of friends.
You should have been looking at player corporations and alliances by now and know the big names: Burn Eden, Band of Brothers, Goonswarm, Red Alliance, Triumvirate, and so forth. Some players make the big jump and try to get into the biggest alliances right off the bat. Personally I think that is crazy but it has been done and nothing in the game mechanics prevents you from doing so.
But realistically you are too green to be out in the Great New Eden War. Instead consider Empire based corporations willing to help new players get on their feet. There are some philanthropic corporations like Eve University and Agony Unleashed which exist solely to instruct new players in the finer art of piloting ships. And there are hundreds of other player corps accepting applications of new players, just view the Alliance and Corporation Recruitment forums and you'll see what I mean. And remember, just because you join a corp doesn't mean you can't keep looking for the right fit.
When in a corp, be friendly, chat up the other pilots, and make friends. Flying with other people is so much more enjoyable than flying alone and the most boring tasks are fun with good company.
* * * * *
And that is it. Once in a player corp you are no longer alone in the vast universe and you can ask corp mates for help and advice.
How long do the phases take? It depends on the player and his time playing the game but I would say within a couple weeks to a month you should be done all three phases and well into the game.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Heavy Interdictor - Onyx
Previously I talked about the Eagle and Cerberus, the Caldari Heavy Assault Ships, and how they pale in comparison to cheaper Battlecruisers. Well recently I looked at the stats for the new Caldari Heavy Interdictor, the Onyx, and was quite impressed.
Regular Interdictors are tech 2 Destroyers that deploy Warp Interdiction Spheres (aka Bubbles) that prevent ships from warping while within them. Interdictors are fast moving but lightly armoured, and the bubbles that they fire can only be used in 0.0 (aka no security space). Heavy Interdictors are based on cruiser hulls (in the Caldari case, the venerable Moa) and use a new module called a Warp Disruption Field Generator.
There are a few interesting notes to make here. The Heavy Interdictors are slow but have amazing tanks for cruiser based ships, superior to Heavy Assault Ships which are known for being tough. In addition, unlike the Interdictor's bubbles the Warp Disruption Field Generator does not "fire" ammo but instead generates a bubble centred on the ship (hence the need for the vicious tank).
But wait! There's more!
The Warp Disruption Field Generator (no, I haven't come up with a short form yet although I'm leaning towards "warp disrupt gen" or "super scrambler") can by modified by a new feature called a script which is loaded like ammo (but not consumed like ammo in guns, more like Laser crystals) and changes its effect from a bubble to a direct beam against a target ship. The upshot is this: while the bubble effect can scram many ships within its 20 km range it can only be used in null sec space like regular warp bubbles from the light Interdictor, but the focused beam (28.8 km range at Heavy Interdictor Level IV) can be used in low sec. For all intents an purposes a long range warp scrambler of infinite strength.
The fact that this new module is a high slot item leaving a low slot for other purposes (like shield tanking, a plus for Caldari) means that the Onyx is a very attractive ship for me. Of course, there is a downside to all of this: its damage output is missiles (damn you CCP!) and its DPS is less than a Cerberus. But really, this ship is still pretty deadly and the tank and scrambling abilities are the real attractors.
So I put on the skills and last night bought and flew my first Onyx home and set it up. Expensive, but so deadly. I don't have the skills for the Warp Disrupt Field Generator yet, another few days is all.
I played with two different setups, one passive tanking and the other active tanking (nods to IPORC pilots for helping me out).
Passive Tank
[Lows]
3 x Shield Power Relay II
Ballistic Control System II
[Mediums]
3 x Large Shield Extender II
Photon Scattering Field II
Invulnerability Field II
Shield Recharger II
[High]
5 x 'Arbalest' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile
Warp Disruption Field Generator I
[Rigs]
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Core Defence Field Extender I
Active Tank
[Lows]
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
2 x Ballistic Control System II
[Meds]
Invulnerability Field II
Photon Scattering Field II
5a Prototype Shield Support I (Boost Amp)
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800
Large Shield Booster II
10MN Afterburner II
[Highs]
Warp Disruption Field Generator I
5 x 'Arbalest' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile
[Rigs]
Core Defence Capacitor Safeguard I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
The active tank gives better resiliency at 509 defense rating but sucks capacitor energy at an alarming rate. I'll need to run the cap booster non-stop in any situation I need the shield booster. The passive tank has a better defense rating of 574 and but is only cap sustainable for three minutes and has a much larger signature (meaning I'm easier to target and hit) and no afterburner. And less DPS due to one few Ballistic Control, 194 to 232.
So I went with the active tank for a change, try and be smaller and more agile instead of my usual attempt to bulk up and weather the storm. I hope to get some live fire tests this week and if I do, I'll report back here.
Regular Interdictors are tech 2 Destroyers that deploy Warp Interdiction Spheres (aka Bubbles) that prevent ships from warping while within them. Interdictors are fast moving but lightly armoured, and the bubbles that they fire can only be used in 0.0 (aka no security space). Heavy Interdictors are based on cruiser hulls (in the Caldari case, the venerable Moa) and use a new module called a Warp Disruption Field Generator.
There are a few interesting notes to make here. The Heavy Interdictors are slow but have amazing tanks for cruiser based ships, superior to Heavy Assault Ships which are known for being tough. In addition, unlike the Interdictor's bubbles the Warp Disruption Field Generator does not "fire" ammo but instead generates a bubble centred on the ship (hence the need for the vicious tank).
But wait! There's more!
The Warp Disruption Field Generator (no, I haven't come up with a short form yet although I'm leaning towards "warp disrupt gen" or "super scrambler") can by modified by a new feature called a script which is loaded like ammo (but not consumed like ammo in guns, more like Laser crystals) and changes its effect from a bubble to a direct beam against a target ship. The upshot is this: while the bubble effect can scram many ships within its 20 km range it can only be used in null sec space like regular warp bubbles from the light Interdictor, but the focused beam (28.8 km range at Heavy Interdictor Level IV) can be used in low sec. For all intents an purposes a long range warp scrambler of infinite strength.
The fact that this new module is a high slot item leaving a low slot for other purposes (like shield tanking, a plus for Caldari) means that the Onyx is a very attractive ship for me. Of course, there is a downside to all of this: its damage output is missiles (damn you CCP!) and its DPS is less than a Cerberus. But really, this ship is still pretty deadly and the tank and scrambling abilities are the real attractors.
So I put on the skills and last night bought and flew my first Onyx home and set it up. Expensive, but so deadly. I don't have the skills for the Warp Disrupt Field Generator yet, another few days is all.
I played with two different setups, one passive tanking and the other active tanking (nods to IPORC pilots for helping me out).
Passive Tank
[Lows]
3 x Shield Power Relay II
Ballistic Control System II
[Mediums]
3 x Large Shield Extender II
Photon Scattering Field II
Invulnerability Field II
Shield Recharger II
[High]
5 x 'Arbalest' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile
Warp Disruption Field Generator I
[Rigs]
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Core Defence Field Extender I
Active Tank
[Lows]
2 x Power Diagnostic System II
2 x Ballistic Control System II
[Meds]
Invulnerability Field II
Photon Scattering Field II
5a Prototype Shield Support I (Boost Amp)
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800
Large Shield Booster II
10MN Afterburner II
[Highs]
Warp Disruption Field Generator I
5 x 'Arbalest' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile
[Rigs]
Core Defence Capacitor Safeguard I
Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
The active tank gives better resiliency at 509 defense rating but sucks capacitor energy at an alarming rate. I'll need to run the cap booster non-stop in any situation I need the shield booster. The passive tank has a better defense rating of 574 and but is only cap sustainable for three minutes and has a much larger signature (meaning I'm easier to target and hit) and no afterburner. And less DPS due to one few Ballistic Control, 194 to 232.
So I went with the active tank for a change, try and be smaller and more agile instead of my usual attempt to bulk up and weather the storm. I hope to get some live fire tests this week and if I do, I'll report back here.
Meta-Blogging
While reviewing my site stats, something I do once or twice a year to see if I'm talking to myself or not (always a concern), I noticed a spike in Unique Visitors including 43(!) last Saturday. Digging deeper I see that over the last 20 weeks my visits have increased a lot from averaging around 20 last summer and fall to over 50 during December with a high of 113 in the first week of December. Wow.
In the last 20 months you can see the average around 40-50 visits per month and then growing steadily over the last four months to 315 in December. Of course I had to find out what was driving this traffic.
Looking at the referrers saw a significant number of visits from the Conquer Club forums. Someone linked my short review of the website on Jan 4th and that explains the 43 visits last Saturday. There was a few links from Deep Space forums as to be expected, and one link from http://alasseo.blogspot.com/. Well I recognize that name, that is one of the commenters I have! I run over there and I see a little blog he runs but sadly it appears to have no recent updates, sounds like life it interfering with Eve.
Furthermore, it appears he is part of the Foundation alliance which happens to be fighting Veritalis Immortalis (sp?) which is an alliance Strife is friendly too, so I might run into Alasseo in combat sometime. Small universe, eh? Anyways, I subscribed to your blog Alasseo, so if you start updating I'll know ;).
Back on topic. Looking at the Search Engine Referrers I see some hits from various Warhammer and Eve terms, a significant number on the Caldari Rokh Battleship. Hey searchers, you want to hear me pontificate more on the Rokh, you let me know. I LOVE that ship.
Well that's all for now.
In the last 20 months you can see the average around 40-50 visits per month and then growing steadily over the last four months to 315 in December. Of course I had to find out what was driving this traffic.
Looking at the referrers saw a significant number of visits from the Conquer Club forums. Someone linked my short review of the website on Jan 4th and that explains the 43 visits last Saturday. There was a few links from Deep Space forums as to be expected, and one link from http://alasseo.blogspot.com/. Well I recognize that name, that is one of the commenters I have! I run over there and I see a little blog he runs but sadly it appears to have no recent updates, sounds like life it interfering with Eve.
Furthermore, it appears he is part of the Foundation alliance which happens to be fighting Veritalis Immortalis (sp?) which is an alliance Strife is friendly too, so I might run into Alasseo in combat sometime. Small universe, eh? Anyways, I subscribed to your blog Alasseo, so if you start updating I'll know ;).
Back on topic. Looking at the Search Engine Referrers I see some hits from various Warhammer and Eve terms, a significant number on the Caldari Rokh Battleship. Hey searchers, you want to hear me pontificate more on the Rokh, you let me know. I LOVE that ship.
Well that's all for now.
Back on the Hunt
I have a love/hate relationship with solo piracy. I love that I can do it myself and the thrill of the warp in on a possible target, followed by the sense of accomplishment that comes with a kill or an escape. I hate that it takes so much effort and time to find targets. Group piracy is much better because you have company while hunting, but my schedule makes it difficult to get in those roaming gangs.
Last night I was faced with an option. All my stuff was moved to Molden Heath, so I could either move some ships to a low sec base or go on the hunt. Thirsty for blood, I jumped in my trusty Thorax left over from previous pirating days and sped towards low sec space. The Thorax was equipped with all cheap T1 equipment except the guns and 5 EC-600 drones. I was hunting for kills and not fair fights so the drones would give me some cover should I need to escape or engage something nastier.
Molden Heath is a big circle of low sec systems with a couple spurs which makes it nice for prowling as you end up where you started eventually, unlike Placid which is more of a drawn out bunch of spurs. The first hour saw a whole lot of nothing until near the end. I saw lots of people in local, but no one in belts or at planets I could engage. Finally I jump into Hegfunden where after scouting a bit I detect a Mackinaw at the ice belt. As I'm about to warp in, I see him disappear from scan. Drat, he must have detected me on scan and fled. I set the scanner back to 360 and pick up a Hoarder. Probably at a POS I think dejectedly but maybe... I warp to the Ice belt and sure enough, there the Hoarder is at a bunch of cans picking up a load. I bookmark a can near him and warp back to planet but notice him warp off as well. Damn!
I wait. Sure enough, a Badger II appears on scan. I warp to the ice belt again, this time at the can bookmark. Right on! He's only 20 km away! I start to approach but forgot to hit the MWD before locking and trying to scram and by the time I get in range he has aligned and warped. Out of practice. Figuring they are definitely alerted to me now, I head out, dock, and log.
Later on I got another hour to play so I decided to continue around the loop. Next few systems are quiet although I did pass by a flashing red Ishkur at a gate but he was gone before I could react. Then in Hrokkur things got hot.
I went to the sixth planet where a lot of belts orbited. On scan was an Osprey. Mining I figured? I narrow him to the fifth belt in seconds and warp in. Nope, ratting! I approach, MWD, lock, and DAMN! He warped. My 2 point scram is not serving me well tonight, maybe time to go back to the one pointer. I bookmark his wrecks figuring he might come back and warp back to the planet.
Oooooo, a Blackbird! I quickly weigh the odds. Yeah, I could get really jammed but he probably doesn't have a scram on that thing and my ECM drones might even the odds if I can get them out and attacking before getting jammed. I warp to the belt right on top of him, and we engage each other. Orbit, MWD, drones out, lock, attack drones... I'm jammed! But the drones have the sweet sight of "Attacking" in red. I wait for the jam cycle to expire and start to lock again but he runs. Oddly enough, no shots were fired by either side. I collect my drones and warp out of the belt.
Traffic in system heats up as I wait down my aggression timer. A second Blackbird, a Mrymidon, a Cheetah, a Claw all on scan at various parts of the system, but some of them like the battlecruiser were there to begin with. The Cheetah makes me nervous so I keep warping. Eventually my timer runs down and I warp back to planet VI to see what's up. And a Blackbird warps in on top of me, and not the same one as before. SWEET!
Orbit, MWD, Lock, Drones.... jammed again! But once again my drones are faster and working their ECM magic. This must scare him a little because he breaks off and runs before I can lock again. As I'm calling in my drones, the original Osprey/Blackbird pilot warps in but this time with a friend in a Claw. Figuring the odds were getting nasty I spam the warp button to run to a gate (the second Blackbird pilot engaged me first). The Claw had me locked but never scrammed me and I escaped. Odd.
As I warp I salute my original target and friends. They did a good job staying alive and giving me a run for my money, I figured I'd give them the respect they had earned. Of course, he writes "I thought you were looking for a fight, why won't you stay in one place? :)". I didn't respond, we both knew that I was a dead man at 3:1 odds in a fair fight.
So despite some excitement no kills. No losses either so I'm not too upset. Perhaps during the week when people are less vigilant I might score a victim.
Last night I was faced with an option. All my stuff was moved to Molden Heath, so I could either move some ships to a low sec base or go on the hunt. Thirsty for blood, I jumped in my trusty Thorax left over from previous pirating days and sped towards low sec space. The Thorax was equipped with all cheap T1 equipment except the guns and 5 EC-600 drones. I was hunting for kills and not fair fights so the drones would give me some cover should I need to escape or engage something nastier.
Molden Heath is a big circle of low sec systems with a couple spurs which makes it nice for prowling as you end up where you started eventually, unlike Placid which is more of a drawn out bunch of spurs. The first hour saw a whole lot of nothing until near the end. I saw lots of people in local, but no one in belts or at planets I could engage. Finally I jump into Hegfunden where after scouting a bit I detect a Mackinaw at the ice belt. As I'm about to warp in, I see him disappear from scan. Drat, he must have detected me on scan and fled. I set the scanner back to 360 and pick up a Hoarder. Probably at a POS I think dejectedly but maybe... I warp to the Ice belt and sure enough, there the Hoarder is at a bunch of cans picking up a load. I bookmark a can near him and warp back to planet but notice him warp off as well. Damn!
I wait. Sure enough, a Badger II appears on scan. I warp to the ice belt again, this time at the can bookmark. Right on! He's only 20 km away! I start to approach but forgot to hit the MWD before locking and trying to scram and by the time I get in range he has aligned and warped. Out of practice. Figuring they are definitely alerted to me now, I head out, dock, and log.
Later on I got another hour to play so I decided to continue around the loop. Next few systems are quiet although I did pass by a flashing red Ishkur at a gate but he was gone before I could react. Then in Hrokkur things got hot.
I went to the sixth planet where a lot of belts orbited. On scan was an Osprey. Mining I figured? I narrow him to the fifth belt in seconds and warp in. Nope, ratting! I approach, MWD, lock, and DAMN! He warped. My 2 point scram is not serving me well tonight, maybe time to go back to the one pointer. I bookmark his wrecks figuring he might come back and warp back to the planet.
Oooooo, a Blackbird! I quickly weigh the odds. Yeah, I could get really jammed but he probably doesn't have a scram on that thing and my ECM drones might even the odds if I can get them out and attacking before getting jammed. I warp to the belt right on top of him, and we engage each other. Orbit, MWD, drones out, lock, attack drones... I'm jammed! But the drones have the sweet sight of "Attacking" in red. I wait for the jam cycle to expire and start to lock again but he runs. Oddly enough, no shots were fired by either side. I collect my drones and warp out of the belt.
Traffic in system heats up as I wait down my aggression timer. A second Blackbird, a Mrymidon, a Cheetah, a Claw all on scan at various parts of the system, but some of them like the battlecruiser were there to begin with. The Cheetah makes me nervous so I keep warping. Eventually my timer runs down and I warp back to planet VI to see what's up. And a Blackbird warps in on top of me, and not the same one as before. SWEET!
Orbit, MWD, Lock, Drones.... jammed again! But once again my drones are faster and working their ECM magic. This must scare him a little because he breaks off and runs before I can lock again. As I'm calling in my drones, the original Osprey/Blackbird pilot warps in but this time with a friend in a Claw. Figuring the odds were getting nasty I spam the warp button to run to a gate (the second Blackbird pilot engaged me first). The Claw had me locked but never scrammed me and I escaped. Odd.
As I warp I salute my original target and friends. They did a good job staying alive and giving me a run for my money, I figured I'd give them the respect they had earned. Of course, he writes "I thought you were looking for a fight, why won't you stay in one place? :)". I didn't respond, we both knew that I was a dead man at 3:1 odds in a fair fight.
So despite some excitement no kills. No losses either so I'm not too upset. Perhaps during the week when people are less vigilant I might score a victim.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Moving Day
Last night was not a lot of action, but a lot of moving. All of Kirith's stuff was moved manually and by freighter to Molden Heath except one rigged Buzzard and a jump clone which will scoot up tonight. Barak has his carrier to move of course, and Optivus has clones in kestrels all over the place.
With considerable sadness I tendered my resignation to m3 yesterday. I plan to apply to Strife today when the 24 hour role timer runs down and maybe tonight melt me some face. MUHAHAHAHA! I'M BACK BABY! Run and hide! The Thorax of DOOM is on the prowl once again!
With considerable sadness I tendered my resignation to m3 yesterday. I plan to apply to Strife today when the 24 hour role timer runs down and maybe tonight melt me some face. MUHAHAHAHA! I'M BACK BABY! Run and hide! The Thorax of DOOM is on the prowl once again!
Thursday, January 03, 2008
On the Hunt
Last night as I was moving ships out of low sec to be transported back to Molden Heath, some bad guys started bothering m3 corp mates. They needed someone to start a gang and the current players didn't have leadership skills to manage it. But I did. So I stepped up in my little manticore that I was flying at the moment and started the gang.
We didn't get the bad guys despite about 10 of us in gang, and my little stealth bomber was not very useful to the fleet commander, but it was nice to get in on an op before I resign my roles in a day or two. And it was fun to play with the fleet mechanics some.
Optivus is out of Wicked Creek, Barak and Kirith are out of low sec Essence, so all that is left is the ratting Rokh Kirith owns in Wicked Creek. I was very tempted to try and fly it out but the smart thing to do would be to sell it and scoot out in a fast frig. The money would go nicely towards that Onyx I want next week, and the HIC would be a better ship for roaming gangs than the Rokh would be.
Soon I will be pirating again. Hehehehe...
We didn't get the bad guys despite about 10 of us in gang, and my little stealth bomber was not very useful to the fleet commander, but it was nice to get in on an op before I resign my roles in a day or two. And it was fun to play with the fleet mechanics some.
Optivus is out of Wicked Creek, Barak and Kirith are out of low sec Essence, so all that is left is the ratting Rokh Kirith owns in Wicked Creek. I was very tempted to try and fly it out but the smart thing to do would be to sell it and scoot out in a fast frig. The money would go nicely towards that Onyx I want next week, and the HIC would be a better ship for roaming gangs than the Rokh would be.
Soon I will be pirating again. Hehehehe...
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Christmas Gifts!
One of the advantages of Warhammer over Eve is that I can get gifts for Warhammer from my friends and family.
This year I got some books of a series I wanted. I read the first book Horus Rising a while back and put the next three books on my list which Kim and her sister picked up for me. During vacation I read the first of the new books and I'm well into the second. The books follow the Horus Heresy which forms a huge backbone of the storyline in the 40K universe and they are excellently written. More on my thoughts as I finish these books and get ready for the next ones.
I also got the Forge World Avatar with spear I asked for from Kim. This is a beautiful model and shall be my next project once I finish those pesky Dire Avengers. As for the Avatar, I have no idea how to paint it yet. I'm going to have to browse the internet for inspiration.
I also got some paint brushes, always appreciated.
This year I got some books of a series I wanted. I read the first book Horus Rising a while back and put the next three books on my list which Kim and her sister picked up for me. During vacation I read the first of the new books and I'm well into the second. The books follow the Horus Heresy which forms a huge backbone of the storyline in the 40K universe and they are excellently written. More on my thoughts as I finish these books and get ready for the next ones.
I also got the Forge World Avatar with spear I asked for from Kim. This is a beautiful model and shall be my next project once I finish those pesky Dire Avengers. As for the Avatar, I have no idea how to paint it yet. I'm going to have to browse the internet for inspiration.
I also got some paint brushes, always appreciated.
Quiet Holidays
While I did get to play Eve during the holidays, it was irregular and disjointed most of the time and hence no huge events. Some missions, a carrier courier for a friend of my CEO, and quiet industrial activity.
I did sell the Widow finally. I had to transport the damn thing to Perimeter and sell it there for 525 milllion isk which covers the manufacturing cost but not the invention cost. I'm going to have to build and sell more in order to truly make a profit. Regardles I was able to use the funds to pay back the special ship invention investors with interest and the dividends for December. Right now Razor is sitting on a pile of isk and simply inventing and stockpiling BPCs while material and retail prices stabilize into something more predictable.
In other news, my old mentor is restarting Strife Mercenaries and the invitation has gone out. I was torn about what to do at first since I have a pretty good position in m3, but ultimately these are my friends in real life and I want to fly with them. The corp change should occur in the next week.
I did sell the Widow finally. I had to transport the damn thing to Perimeter and sell it there for 525 milllion isk which covers the manufacturing cost but not the invention cost. I'm going to have to build and sell more in order to truly make a profit. Regardles I was able to use the funds to pay back the special ship invention investors with interest and the dividends for December. Right now Razor is sitting on a pile of isk and simply inventing and stockpiling BPCs while material and retail prices stabilize into something more predictable.
In other news, my old mentor is restarting Strife Mercenaries and the invitation has gone out. I was torn about what to do at first since I have a pretty good position in m3, but ultimately these are my friends in real life and I want to fly with them. The corp change should occur in the next week.
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