Bit by bit, piece by piece, I'm coming back. I successfully negotiated 1 hour per week of "downtime" from my wife which means I get one hour of guaranteed Eve time which will allow me to actually get playing. Its not much, but coupled with my stolen moments in the evenings and mornings and lunch breaks to setup orders and manufacturing/lab jobs, it should be enough to get things going.
So last night I got my first free hour of Eve.
I've been trying to do defensive factional warfare in deep Minmatar warzone space by seeking out complexes captured by Amarr militia and retaking them for Minmatar. The problem I'm having is that in the time I have to play I have not had huge success (or any for that matter) in finding Amarr controlled complexes. Systems are contested, but the 30 second scan from every planet is coming up empty.
A little forum investigation shows that complexes move around the constellations but with so many planets in these systems I fear that my entire playtime can be sucked up in warping and scanning and no actual activity. And since the situation changes so frequently, the efforts of one session are wasted by the time the next comes around. I need a faster way to fond complexes.
A trip to my base to retrieve the Buzzard covert ops frig with Scan Probe launcher. I have two of these specialized ships; one geared up for probing out enemy ships in safe spots with a Recon Probe Launcher and one for exploration type activities with a Scan Probe Launcher. (Recon launcher is faster but can't hold the larger exploration probes.)
Back in the warzone I throw out a Multifrequency probe which will tell me if there are any complexes to find at all. I figure it will run for 2-3 minutes and in a system with 10 or more planets save me some time compared to warping everywhere and scanning for 30 seconds with the on-board scanner. Of course I would still need to find it if there is one is there but I can use regular Quest class probes to nail it down.
I figured all of this savings based on the scan probe launcher running for about 180 seconds or less per attempt. I kicked it off and saw 288 seconds instead. DOH! Now I remember why I abandoned exploration, the almost 5 minutes per scan try put me off.
This morning I did some configuring and with a short 5 days or so of training and a couple of cheap rigs I can get that time down to about 175 seconds, more like what I was expecting. So I will do that once Advanced Space Command V is done in a week.
Frustrated last night, I jumped back into the Vexor and tried to find some action. I spent some time at a friendly gate camp, but time was running out and I decided to work on some industrial activities instead.
* * * * *
I logged in Derranna and completed the last of the manufacturing jobs for the 70 Invulnerability Fields, 10 Improved Cloaks, and 10 Covert Ops Cloaks. I also made a list of required materials to build a Widow Black Ops battleship and then was off to Rens where the new items went on market and the shopping was completed.
A complete Widow costs about 428 million ISK in current Rens prices to build. I calculate the invention effort from last year to cost an additional 32 million so that a Widow for me to build costs 460 million ISK. I saw one for sale at 600 million in Rens but I really need to check Jita's prices to be sure of the retail pricetag. Regardless, there appears to be some profit to be made.
In other news, I plopped down the 20 million ISK for Derranna to finally train up some levels of Advanced Manufactiring as I finally got tired of only being able to operate 6 factories. For ship tech II manufacture where I build my own components from advanced moon materials, 6 is never enough. I took a short break from Minmatar Frigate V to get three levels to get up to 9 factories.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
It Burns, it Burns!
As I have said before, writing for the Eve Tribune has been very lucrative for me, earning about 60-80 million ISK per week. For a guy who can't log in longer than 20 minutes, that a nice ISK Faucet. So the wallet has been growing nicely since I'm not out losing ships and with production of Tech II stuff heating up I expect I'll be hitting a billion ISK in a month.
As in real life, money burns a hole in my pocket. So I feel the need to splurge but the question is on what?
At first I thought about some more Tech II ships like the Eagle and Rook. And I might still do that, but its not very exciting for a splurge. A splurge has to be a luxury item!
So I considered a good faction cruiser like a Navy Caracal, Navy Vexor, or a pirate ship like the Vigilant or Gila. The problem is that if you have access to Tech II cruisers, the faction variants tend to lose their lustre in comparison and don't seem to live up to the faction hype.
Then I thought about the responsible thing and buying modules and drones for my carrier. It will be expensive to outfit the thing that's for sure. But I have a long time until I need to fly it since I have no need for it until I can play regularly again and get back into group operations, so I will have lots of time to buy the things I need later on.
What about some fancy implants? Perhaps a very costly low grade Snake set to improve the speed of my ships and become a real nano pilot? Tempting, but very expensive to fly around in for a hack pilot like me and I have a certain degree of fear of spending so much money on something that CCP might nerf on me. Then I considered some +5 implants to increase my training time but really the benefit is minimal compared to the cost. The +4 implant set I have is sufficient.
Perhaps some elite faction modules? Nah, I want something bigger I can sink my teeth into.
A faction battleshipm perhaps? The Tech II battleships are very specialized and skill intensive so the faction battleships have some attraction. I had a Vindicator at one point that I was going to train for (Gallente/Minmatar battleship skills) but sold it when I decided it weas either the battleship or the Chimera carrier. But there are other faction battleships requiring less training: Navy Megathron, Navy Raven, Rattlesnake (Caldari/Gallente hybrid) for example can all be flown with less than a week's worth of training. Of course, the sexier ones like the Navy Mega have huge price tags.
So you can see, lots of options and no rush to decide. This Friday afternoon rambling post was brought to you by long-time-consuming-executions-of-code-at-work.
As in real life, money burns a hole in my pocket. So I feel the need to splurge but the question is on what?
At first I thought about some more Tech II ships like the Eagle and Rook. And I might still do that, but its not very exciting for a splurge. A splurge has to be a luxury item!
So I considered a good faction cruiser like a Navy Caracal, Navy Vexor, or a pirate ship like the Vigilant or Gila. The problem is that if you have access to Tech II cruisers, the faction variants tend to lose their lustre in comparison and don't seem to live up to the faction hype.
Then I thought about the responsible thing and buying modules and drones for my carrier. It will be expensive to outfit the thing that's for sure. But I have a long time until I need to fly it since I have no need for it until I can play regularly again and get back into group operations, so I will have lots of time to buy the things I need later on.
What about some fancy implants? Perhaps a very costly low grade Snake set to improve the speed of my ships and become a real nano pilot? Tempting, but very expensive to fly around in for a hack pilot like me and I have a certain degree of fear of spending so much money on something that CCP might nerf on me. Then I considered some +5 implants to increase my training time but really the benefit is minimal compared to the cost. The +4 implant set I have is sufficient.
Perhaps some elite faction modules? Nah, I want something bigger I can sink my teeth into.
A faction battleshipm perhaps? The Tech II battleships are very specialized and skill intensive so the faction battleships have some attraction. I had a Vindicator at one point that I was going to train for (Gallente/Minmatar battleship skills) but sold it when I decided it weas either the battleship or the Chimera carrier. But there are other faction battleships requiring less training: Navy Megathron, Navy Raven, Rattlesnake (Caldari/Gallente hybrid) for example can all be flown with less than a week's worth of training. Of course, the sexier ones like the Navy Mega have huge price tags.
So you can see, lots of options and no rush to decide. This Friday afternoon rambling post was brought to you by long-time-consuming-executions-of-code-at-work.
Nano-Ships: Thoughts and Solutions
Nano-ships are ships setup to achieve crazy-ass speed (that's a real technical term, half between "damn fast" and "ludicrous speed" on the Eve ship designer's scale) using Overdrive Injectors, Nanofibers, Inertial Stabilizers, Polycarbon Engine Housing rigs, Snake implants, and sometimes even gang mates with leadership bonuses. And of course, the Microwarp Drive.
The nano setup works better on some ships than others but its a common setup and the source of extreme frustration for a lot of players. Due to game mechanics a nano ship is often nearly invulnerable to capture and most damage is negated by the extreme speed, and while their DPS is gimped in order to go so fast a gang of nano-ships can be quite deadly and nearly invincible.
I used to be in the "nerf nanoships" camp but nowadays I'm on the fence on the issue since I'm more experienced and can see several strategies to deal with them at least some of the time but still feel they are very powerful even without some of the more expensive options.
So I think CCP will probably do something to nerf nanoships. In my opinion, they need only to address one module to fix this problem: the Micro warp drive.
The Microwarp drive gives at least a 500% boost to max velocity (550% for tech II, more for faction and deadspace versions) with a penalty to total capacitor and ship's signature when active. But despite these severe penalities, the benefit is such that many combat pilots insist that the MWD is a mandatory module on any PvP setup and not just for nanoships.
The MWD essentially takes all the velocity improvements of other modules, rigs, implant, and gang bonuses and enhances them such that a ship with a base speed of 242 m/s (the Vagabond) can reach speeds of almost 6000 m/s with just Tech II modules and Tech I rigs. Even ships not built for speed like the Ishtar can get up to almost 4000 m/s without trying. Smaller ships like Interceptors easily get faster than that.
The problem is not the speed though, its that all the weapon systems in the game seemed to have been designed with speeds less than a few km/sec in mind. And the only way to slow someone down, Statis Webifiers, have very short range and many ships simply can coast out of range of them due to the extreme speed they start at. (Minmatar Recons and Electronic Attack Ship having longer range webbers so are a rare exception.)
So in order to address this game mechanic that is quickly becoming too prevalent and unbalancing, I have a list of proposals listed from most drastic to least.
1) Remove MWDs alltogether and replace them with afterburners which give a more modest 100-150% increase in max velocity with no penalities and less cap usage. That way even the fastest ships possible will be only around 3-4 km/sec (and most less than that) and speed tanking will give some defense but not the invulnerability it gives now.
2) Reduce MWDs effectiveness by half or so. The end result is that some ships will still be fast but not as fast as they are now.
3) Keep MWDs as they are now but do not allow ships to turn when active. This forces ships to slow down to maneuvure making them vulnerable to enemy fire in order to engage. This is pretty drasitic however and makes the module have limited uses.
4) Increase the penalities (either fitting or operational) and give bonuses to ships that are supposed to be speed tankers in order to overcome them. Cuts down on the number of nanoships but not their effectiveness. And you know the powergamer players will go for those bonused ships anyways.
5) Reduce the ability of the MWD to enhance the speed modules, rigs, implants, and gang effects. It might drop a few km/sec off the top speeds and bring them into the realm of tough but beatable in a normal fight.
6) Reduce the effect of or remove Snake Implants from the game. These implants are often cited as the ones that allow speed tanking to go from difficult to deal with to nearly impossible. A few pilots are going to be outraged but the overall effect will be minimal.
7) Do nothing to MWDs, but introduce more offensive weapons to attack fast ships like area of effect webbers, longer ranged webbers, or more area effect weapons that can be used in high/low sec. Improving Tech II percision missiles would help for example, or making light drones faster. Stuff like that.
8) Do nothing at all.
There you have it. My partially informed opinion. Carry on.
The nano setup works better on some ships than others but its a common setup and the source of extreme frustration for a lot of players. Due to game mechanics a nano ship is often nearly invulnerable to capture and most damage is negated by the extreme speed, and while their DPS is gimped in order to go so fast a gang of nano-ships can be quite deadly and nearly invincible.
I used to be in the "nerf nanoships" camp but nowadays I'm on the fence on the issue since I'm more experienced and can see several strategies to deal with them at least some of the time but still feel they are very powerful even without some of the more expensive options.
So I think CCP will probably do something to nerf nanoships. In my opinion, they need only to address one module to fix this problem: the Micro warp drive.
The Microwarp drive gives at least a 500% boost to max velocity (550% for tech II, more for faction and deadspace versions) with a penalty to total capacitor and ship's signature when active. But despite these severe penalities, the benefit is such that many combat pilots insist that the MWD is a mandatory module on any PvP setup and not just for nanoships.
The MWD essentially takes all the velocity improvements of other modules, rigs, implant, and gang bonuses and enhances them such that a ship with a base speed of 242 m/s (the Vagabond) can reach speeds of almost 6000 m/s with just Tech II modules and Tech I rigs. Even ships not built for speed like the Ishtar can get up to almost 4000 m/s without trying. Smaller ships like Interceptors easily get faster than that.
The problem is not the speed though, its that all the weapon systems in the game seemed to have been designed with speeds less than a few km/sec in mind. And the only way to slow someone down, Statis Webifiers, have very short range and many ships simply can coast out of range of them due to the extreme speed they start at. (Minmatar Recons and Electronic Attack Ship having longer range webbers so are a rare exception.)
So in order to address this game mechanic that is quickly becoming too prevalent and unbalancing, I have a list of proposals listed from most drastic to least.
1) Remove MWDs alltogether and replace them with afterburners which give a more modest 100-150% increase in max velocity with no penalities and less cap usage. That way even the fastest ships possible will be only around 3-4 km/sec (and most less than that) and speed tanking will give some defense but not the invulnerability it gives now.
2) Reduce MWDs effectiveness by half or so. The end result is that some ships will still be fast but not as fast as they are now.
3) Keep MWDs as they are now but do not allow ships to turn when active. This forces ships to slow down to maneuvure making them vulnerable to enemy fire in order to engage. This is pretty drasitic however and makes the module have limited uses.
4) Increase the penalities (either fitting or operational) and give bonuses to ships that are supposed to be speed tankers in order to overcome them. Cuts down on the number of nanoships but not their effectiveness. And you know the powergamer players will go for those bonused ships anyways.
5) Reduce the ability of the MWD to enhance the speed modules, rigs, implants, and gang effects. It might drop a few km/sec off the top speeds and bring them into the realm of tough but beatable in a normal fight.
6) Reduce the effect of or remove Snake Implants from the game. These implants are often cited as the ones that allow speed tanking to go from difficult to deal with to nearly impossible. A few pilots are going to be outraged but the overall effect will be minimal.
7) Do nothing to MWDs, but introduce more offensive weapons to attack fast ships like area of effect webbers, longer ranged webbers, or more area effect weapons that can be used in high/low sec. Improving Tech II percision missiles would help for example, or making light drones faster. Stuff like that.
8) Do nothing at all.
There you have it. My partially informed opinion. Carry on.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Shameless Plug For a Friend
A friend from my Warhammer 40K club has come back to Eve after an absence of a year or more and started a blog this time around to enjoy the experience. So without further ado, a shameless plug:
Bunny... IN SPACE!
Read about his newb pirating experience as an experienced high sec suicide ganker recruits him to be a loot scooper.
Bunny... IN SPACE!
Read about his newb pirating experience as an experienced high sec suicide ganker recruits him to be a loot scooper.
Template Update (FInally)
The blog got a facelift with a new template using Blogger's fancy layouts software. It should look mostly the same except the labels I put on every post now show up in the sidebar and the archives are easier to browse in the new sidebar expandable tree.
Burning the Midnight Oil
Well, I'm not. I'm actually sleeping quite good most nights as the Boys sleep longer. Over two months old now! Wow.
Anyways, its Derranna who is working late nights in the factories of Heimatar.
I decided I needed to turn my Tech II BPCs and 500 million ISK into 1 billion. So I turned the money over to Korannon to use to buy stuff and act as an accountant. He bought 96 million worth of parts for building 70 Invulnerability Field IIs, 10 Covert Ops Cloaks, and 10 Improved Cloaks. Rough estimate all those will retail for around 200-250 million. Good start.
After that I plan to build some Tech II Caldari ships, passing the odd one back to Kirith for his disposal, i.e. fly it like a mad man until someone kills me.
Good times!
As a side note, Derranna only having 6 manufacturing slots is getting annoying. Time to plop down the 20 mil for Advanced Manufacturing and get a few more factories going.
Anyways, its Derranna who is working late nights in the factories of Heimatar.
I decided I needed to turn my Tech II BPCs and 500 million ISK into 1 billion. So I turned the money over to Korannon to use to buy stuff and act as an accountant. He bought 96 million worth of parts for building 70 Invulnerability Field IIs, 10 Covert Ops Cloaks, and 10 Improved Cloaks. Rough estimate all those will retail for around 200-250 million. Good start.
After that I plan to build some Tech II Caldari ships, passing the odd one back to Kirith for his disposal, i.e. fly it like a mad man until someone kills me.
Good times!
As a side note, Derranna only having 6 manufacturing slots is getting annoying. Time to plop down the 20 mil for Advanced Manufacturing and get a few more factories going.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Eve Tribune Loves ME!
Here is the fourth and last article on HACs, this week covering the Amarr Zealot and Sacrilege. Let me tell you, after reading that article I'm half tempted to train up Amarr Cruiser V and get into that sweet Sacrilege ship. If only it didn't look so dopey :P
As well here is a counter-point article talking about the Vagabond and Muninn which one commenter felt my version of last week was sub-par.
As well here is a counter-point article talking about the Vagabond and Muninn which one commenter felt my version of last week was sub-par.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
New Plan!
A couple weeks ago I talked about what Kirith is going to train once Phase 1 of the carrier training is complete (i.e. I can sit in it).
The sumer break plan had to accomplish two things:
1) I have to get into a new ship for some variety.
2) It can't take longer than two months max.
With that in mind, I decided to get into Gallente Battleships (specifically the versatile and cheap Dominx), finish the large Tech II blaster training, and get Tech II heavy drones (Ogre IIs to be precise). The only skill I need to buy is the Gallente Battleships.
1. Motion Prediction V
2. Large Blaster Specialization I
3. Large Blaster Specialization II
4. Large Blaster Specialization III
5. Large Blaster Specialization IV
6. Gallente Cruiser IV
7. Gallente Battleship I
8. Gallente Battleship II
9. Gallente Battleship III
10. Gallente Battleship IV
11. Heavy Drone Operation IV
12. Heavy Drone Operation V
13. Gallente Drone Specialization II
14. Gallente Drone Specialization III
15. Gallente Drone Specialization IV
This plan will take me into the first week of September and then I can start on the carrier plan once again.
The reason for this plan is I want a good PvP battleship that is not as costly as the Blaster-Rokh and has more utility and solo-ability than the Scorpion or Raven. The Dominix is recoginized as one of the best battleships for that kind of work and is the cheapest of the Gallente line. Here is a setup I'm thinking of using.
[Dominix, PvP]
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Power Diagnostic System II
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Omnidirectional Tracking Link I
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Disruptor II
100MN MicroWarpdrive II
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Trimark Armor Pump I
Anti-Thermic Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Ogre II x5
Huge buffer tank with high resists, very nice DPS, and able to self-tackle.
Maybe get Gallente Cruiser V, I think, and get into the awesome Ishtar; but its 27 days for the cruiser skill and then another 27 days for the Tech II heavy drones I would need to make the best use of the ship.Well, with Derranna's plan settled for the next month and a bit, I decided I should come up with Kirith's plan for the summer break before continuing on with carrier skills.
The sumer break plan had to accomplish two things:
1) I have to get into a new ship for some variety.
2) It can't take longer than two months max.
With that in mind, I decided to get into Gallente Battleships (specifically the versatile and cheap Dominx), finish the large Tech II blaster training, and get Tech II heavy drones (Ogre IIs to be precise). The only skill I need to buy is the Gallente Battleships.
1. Motion Prediction V
2. Large Blaster Specialization I
3. Large Blaster Specialization II
4. Large Blaster Specialization III
5. Large Blaster Specialization IV
6. Gallente Cruiser IV
7. Gallente Battleship I
8. Gallente Battleship II
9. Gallente Battleship III
10. Gallente Battleship IV
11. Heavy Drone Operation IV
12. Heavy Drone Operation V
13. Gallente Drone Specialization II
14. Gallente Drone Specialization III
15. Gallente Drone Specialization IV
This plan will take me into the first week of September and then I can start on the carrier plan once again.
The reason for this plan is I want a good PvP battleship that is not as costly as the Blaster-Rokh and has more utility and solo-ability than the Scorpion or Raven. The Dominix is recoginized as one of the best battleships for that kind of work and is the cheapest of the Gallente line. Here is a setup I'm thinking of using.
[Dominix, PvP]
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Power Diagnostic System II
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Omnidirectional Tracking Link I
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Disruptor II
100MN MicroWarpdrive II
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Electron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Trimark Armor Pump I
Anti-Thermic Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Ogre II x5
Huge buffer tank with high resists, very nice DPS, and able to self-tackle.
Poor Amarr Militia
Before the expansion was released, a lot of doom-sayers were predicting that Caldari with their superior number of players would dominate and Factional Warfare would fail epically.
But an interesting balance has arisen instead. While Caldari do have the greater numbers (7060 pilots to Gallente's 4663) it seems that the quality of pilots in the Gallente side is better. Better enough to offset the disadvantage of numbers somewhat and keep the fighting relatively equal.
Things are not so hot for the Amarr in their conflict against the Minmatar. The 4484 Minmatar pilots have the numbers advantage over Amarr's 2779 pilots and the quality is at least equal on both sides. In addition, current reports indicate that the Minmatar are more organized and eager to engage, thus are winning the war which is being mostly fought in the Amarr low sec regions now.
There is the possibility of a deathspiral for the Amarr militia here. If they continue to suffer defeats, they will bleed members making it harder for them to resist the incursions of the Minmatar. Eventually the Amarr militia might be nothing but a rump.
Of course if that happens the Minmatar militia will suffer or go to join the Gallente fighters in which the pressure on the Amarr might lessen to the point of rebuilding. Of course, a charismatic and talented leader for the Amarr might turn things around in short order, but it remains to be seen if one can be found.
All in all, very interesting.
But an interesting balance has arisen instead. While Caldari do have the greater numbers (7060 pilots to Gallente's 4663) it seems that the quality of pilots in the Gallente side is better. Better enough to offset the disadvantage of numbers somewhat and keep the fighting relatively equal.
Things are not so hot for the Amarr in their conflict against the Minmatar. The 4484 Minmatar pilots have the numbers advantage over Amarr's 2779 pilots and the quality is at least equal on both sides. In addition, current reports indicate that the Minmatar are more organized and eager to engage, thus are winning the war which is being mostly fought in the Amarr low sec regions now.
There is the possibility of a deathspiral for the Amarr militia here. If they continue to suffer defeats, they will bleed members making it harder for them to resist the incursions of the Minmatar. Eventually the Amarr militia might be nothing but a rump.
Of course if that happens the Minmatar militia will suffer or go to join the Gallente fighters in which the pressure on the Amarr might lessen to the point of rebuilding. Of course, a charismatic and talented leader for the Amarr might turn things around in short order, but it remains to be seen if one can be found.
All in all, very interesting.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Chasing Rifters
Saturday evening I got a rare break due to family visiting and I snuck up to the computer room and played Eve for an hour.
Last time I played I discovered that capturing (aka capping) a Minmatar complex in a Minmatar system meant no rewards, so this time I decided to continue playing defence and attempted to investigate a contested Minmatar system. Contested means that Amarr players have been in the system and capped (or started to cap) at least one complex.
I flew to Helgatlid as it was contested but still off the beaten path. There was no war targets or beacons in system so I started flying to every planet and scanning for complexes but after 12 planets, no so much as a peep. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?
A little confused, I resolved to fly towards the front lines and check things out as I go along. I've been deep in the Minmatar zone so far to avoid too much action when I don't have enough time to play, but perhaps it is what I must do, head into Amarr territory for the rewards I am looking for.
Along the way in Orfrold I see two beacons in the overview; one for a Minmatar Outpost which my trusty Vexor El Cheapo can't get into and the other for a Minmatar Major Stronghold which anyone can enter. I warped to the larger class complex as I'm very curious to what I will find.
There's no acceleration gate, but a lot of NPCs of the Minmatar persuasion and they leave me, a member of their loyal militia, alone. I see the bunker has an Amarr symbol next to it and a couple minutes on its timer. Apparently some Amarr players tried to take this complex for a minute or two but decided to leave; either something better came up, the NPCs scared them off, or militia members spooked them. Whatever, I decided to see what would happen if I reversed the Amarr control and capped the complex for Minmatar.
It would take over 20 minutes of staying within 20 km of the bunker, so I had some time to chat up the militia channel and ask some questions about defending contested systems. Apparently what you need to do is scan for complexes captured by the Amarr and recapture them before the system becomes vulnerable from all the Amarr captures. So I was doing it right in Helgatlid, I was just unlucky that no complexes where in that system yet.
I finished capturing the Minmatar Major Stronghold and I received the message that no reward was forthcoming for capturing something still controlled by them already. Oh well, live and learn. With the new knowledge about defending contested systems under my belt, I decided to head back to Evati to dock and try again some other night.
But in Egmar, there is a beacon on the overview and a wartarget in local. The complex was a level 2, large enough for my Tech I cruiser to get in and I was confident I could handle anything else except the Tech II frigates known as Interceptors. I arrive at the complex and see a wartarget in a Rifter buzzing the NPCs so I kick in the MWD and start to lock. He is not ready to fight me so he warped off before I got him scrambled. An allied Destroyer warped in behind me, so I left him to cap the complex while I docked and logged off.
No tangible progress this night, but lots of knowledge gained and a better idea of what I'm doing. That counts for something.
Last time I played I discovered that capturing (aka capping) a Minmatar complex in a Minmatar system meant no rewards, so this time I decided to continue playing defence and attempted to investigate a contested Minmatar system. Contested means that Amarr players have been in the system and capped (or started to cap) at least one complex.
I flew to Helgatlid as it was contested but still off the beaten path. There was no war targets or beacons in system so I started flying to every planet and scanning for complexes but after 12 planets, no so much as a peep. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?
A little confused, I resolved to fly towards the front lines and check things out as I go along. I've been deep in the Minmatar zone so far to avoid too much action when I don't have enough time to play, but perhaps it is what I must do, head into Amarr territory for the rewards I am looking for.
Along the way in Orfrold I see two beacons in the overview; one for a Minmatar Outpost which my trusty Vexor El Cheapo can't get into and the other for a Minmatar Major Stronghold which anyone can enter. I warped to the larger class complex as I'm very curious to what I will find.
There's no acceleration gate, but a lot of NPCs of the Minmatar persuasion and they leave me, a member of their loyal militia, alone. I see the bunker has an Amarr symbol next to it and a couple minutes on its timer. Apparently some Amarr players tried to take this complex for a minute or two but decided to leave; either something better came up, the NPCs scared them off, or militia members spooked them. Whatever, I decided to see what would happen if I reversed the Amarr control and capped the complex for Minmatar.
It would take over 20 minutes of staying within 20 km of the bunker, so I had some time to chat up the militia channel and ask some questions about defending contested systems. Apparently what you need to do is scan for complexes captured by the Amarr and recapture them before the system becomes vulnerable from all the Amarr captures. So I was doing it right in Helgatlid, I was just unlucky that no complexes where in that system yet.
I finished capturing the Minmatar Major Stronghold and I received the message that no reward was forthcoming for capturing something still controlled by them already. Oh well, live and learn. With the new knowledge about defending contested systems under my belt, I decided to head back to Evati to dock and try again some other night.
But in Egmar, there is a beacon on the overview and a wartarget in local. The complex was a level 2, large enough for my Tech I cruiser to get in and I was confident I could handle anything else except the Tech II frigates known as Interceptors. I arrive at the complex and see a wartarget in a Rifter buzzing the NPCs so I kick in the MWD and start to lock. He is not ready to fight me so he warped off before I got him scrambled. An allied Destroyer warped in behind me, so I left him to cap the complex while I docked and logged off.
No tangible progress this night, but lots of knowledge gained and a better idea of what I'm doing. That counts for something.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Ok Then, Its Decided
While looking through Eve MON last night for a skill that would be about three hours long and prevent my Drones V skill from ending early this morning, I saw Cloaking II was a perfect fit. This proceeded to lead into a brain wave.
Cloaking II leads to Covert Ops Cloak at Cloaking IV.
Covert Ops Cloak is used on Covert Ops Frigate.
Covert Ops Frigate can use Covert Cynosaural Field Generator.
Covert Cyno Gen is what makes Black Ops Battleships really cool.
Kirith will someday be able to fly the Widow Black Ops Battleship.
So I made a plan to get Derranna trained up to use a Covert Cyno Gen on a Covert Ops Frigate with a Covert Ops Cloak.
Skill plan for Derranna Elkadar
1. Minmatar Frigate IV
2. Minmatar Frigate V
3. Covert Ops I
4. Cloaking III
5. Cloaking IV
6. Cynosural Field Theory V
Total plan length is only 36+ days which when compared the Carrier training Kirith has been doing is almost nothing.
Of course, now that Derranna is going for a Tech II frigate, that will open the door to all the other Tech II Minmatar frigates like the Wolf and Jaguar, Hyena, Hound, Claw and Stilleto... More reasons to consider training Derranna up to a little combat.
Cloaking II leads to Covert Ops Cloak at Cloaking IV.
Covert Ops Cloak is used on Covert Ops Frigate.
Covert Ops Frigate can use Covert Cynosaural Field Generator.
Covert Cyno Gen is what makes Black Ops Battleships really cool.
Kirith will someday be able to fly the Widow Black Ops Battleship.
So I made a plan to get Derranna trained up to use a Covert Cyno Gen on a Covert Ops Frigate with a Covert Ops Cloak.
Skill plan for Derranna Elkadar
1. Minmatar Frigate IV
2. Minmatar Frigate V
3. Covert Ops I
4. Cloaking III
5. Cloaking IV
6. Cynosural Field Theory V
Total plan length is only 36+ days which when compared the Carrier training Kirith has been doing is almost nothing.
Of course, now that Derranna is going for a Tech II frigate, that will open the door to all the other Tech II Minmatar frigates like the Wolf and Jaguar, Hyena, Hound, Claw and Stilleto... More reasons to consider training Derranna up to a little combat.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
I Logged In!
I got a rare chance to log in and play for a bit, so I immeidately took my ultra cheap Tech 1 fitted Vexor into the warzone (after a short stop in Anher only to discover its not part of the warzone at all) and warped to a planet in Evati and did a scan. Four hits! I warped to one and was able to enter a factional warfare complex guarded by Republic Fleet NPC ships. Exciting!
I proceeded to go within 20km of the bunker and started the timer to caputre the complex, 15 minutes in this case. I carefully watched the overview, local, and chat channel for signs of incoming trouble but saw no one in my little effort. After 15 minutes I had captured the bunker and was told that "the Republic government will not reward you for taking a complex in an uncontested system."
What?!
I laughed to myself as it makes sense, defending a system not in need of defense. Still it was good experience to see the mechanics in play and I feel ready to tackle a system actually in need of defending next time.
EDIT: I wrote this post last week but forgot to publish it. Assume you read it Thursday or Friday. Thanks!
I proceeded to go within 20km of the bunker and started the timer to caputre the complex, 15 minutes in this case. I carefully watched the overview, local, and chat channel for signs of incoming trouble but saw no one in my little effort. After 15 minutes I had captured the bunker and was told that "the Republic government will not reward you for taking a complex in an uncontested system."
What?!
I laughed to myself as it makes sense, defending a system not in need of defense. Still it was good experience to see the mechanics in play and I feel ready to tackle a system actually in need of defending next time.
EDIT: I wrote this post last week but forgot to publish it. Assume you read it Thursday or Friday. Thanks!
Mapping
One huge deficiency in Eve is the lack of an adequate in-game map. I find the in-game map nearly useless to use most of the time because it presents too much information.
Sure, its nice to see at a glance where the killings are occurring or where there are pilots in space in the last hour, but to actually see a region and the links between systems? Virtually impossible. At best you can see the neighbours of your current system and sort of see the systems on your current route to your destination, but to try and see alternate routes requires out of game maps like Ombey's 2d maps or Eve Strategic Maps.
So when I sit at my desk at work and dream of how I'm going to participate in Faction Warfare, I want to see what the warzone looks like and where I can start exploring and hunting. But there is no current out of game map that I'm aware of that shows the systems in the warzone, and in game I can just see a collection of coloured dots representing the systems and I have to hover over every one to see the name and its impossible to see the warp routes to each one.
So I made a map using cut and paste of Ombey's 2d maps and here is what I created: the Minmatar Amarr Warzone. Note that all the high sec systems are not warzones but are for reference only (expect Anher in Metropolis, its a warzone).
If I ever get the gumption, I might make a condensed version myself to represent the map for easier printing and following, but for now it suits my purposes. So when people on the milita channel are calling out system names for locations of enemies, I can quickly see what they are tlaking about and how it will relate to my position.
If I ever get to play again that is.
UPDATE: I'm wrong, high sec Anher and low sec Hagilur behind it are not warzone systems.
Sure, its nice to see at a glance where the killings are occurring or where there are pilots in space in the last hour, but to actually see a region and the links between systems? Virtually impossible. At best you can see the neighbours of your current system and sort of see the systems on your current route to your destination, but to try and see alternate routes requires out of game maps like Ombey's 2d maps or Eve Strategic Maps.
So when I sit at my desk at work and dream of how I'm going to participate in Faction Warfare, I want to see what the warzone looks like and where I can start exploring and hunting. But there is no current out of game map that I'm aware of that shows the systems in the warzone, and in game I can just see a collection of coloured dots representing the systems and I have to hover over every one to see the name and its impossible to see the warp routes to each one.
So I made a map using cut and paste of Ombey's 2d maps and here is what I created: the Minmatar Amarr Warzone. Note that all the high sec systems are not warzones but are for reference only (expect Anher in Metropolis, its a warzone).
If I ever get the gumption, I might make a condensed version myself to represent the map for easier printing and following, but for now it suits my purposes. So when people on the milita channel are calling out system names for locations of enemies, I can quickly see what they are tlaking about and how it will relate to my position.
If I ever get to play again that is.
UPDATE: I'm wrong, high sec Anher and low sec Hagilur behind it are not warzone systems.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
High Sec POS?
Despite having no time to log in, I'm still planning and scheming. The latest scheme is whether or not to install a new High security space control tower for invention purposes.
It would only cost 120 million to have a service create a new corporation with standings to Minmatar of 7.0 which is pretty darn impressive if you ask me. Or for a measly 80 million I could just have Razor Technologies' standings improved enough to re-anchor in Gulfonodi.
Or I could just wait until I start playing again, work Kirith's Minmatar standings up and have him do it for free. Decisions, decisions.
It would only cost 120 million to have a service create a new corporation with standings to Minmatar of 7.0 which is pretty darn impressive if you ask me. Or for a measly 80 million I could just have Razor Technologies' standings improved enough to re-anchor in Gulfonodi.
Or I could just wait until I start playing again, work Kirith's Minmatar standings up and have him do it for free. Decisions, decisions.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
"Skill Training Completed"
NOTE: This post was written yesterday but since I was off in the afternoon I didn't get a chance to post it. Enjoy.
* * * *
The second of the "big three" skills blocking my way to the Chimera Carrier completed on the weekend. With Drone Interfacing V finished all that stands in my way is Advanced Spaceship Command V, a 22 day ordeal that when completed will be the cause of much celebration.
Meanwhile Derranna completed Anchoring V on the weekend too and she's at a bit of a crossroads again. It seems everytime I finish a new skill I have doubts about what to train next. Without any hard and fast long term goals she's an elusive girl to pick what to train next. I settled on some drone skills this weekend because they are useful in almost all race's ships and in combat, support, and mining roles. But before she got into the drones, I trained her up enough to use Salvagers.
Speaking of support, I'm considering having her train up to a Logisitics ship, the Minmatar Scimitar for shield transporting fun. With her new ability to Salvage, having her fly around after Kirith in a Scimitar could be very useful in ratting or missions where she could shield boost and clean up wrecks behind his combat vessel. Plus if she trains up for a Scimitar, the awesome Minmatar Recons are not far behind giving me deadly webber range.
Hmmm, could Derranna become a second combat pilot?
* * * *
The second of the "big three" skills blocking my way to the Chimera Carrier completed on the weekend. With Drone Interfacing V finished all that stands in my way is Advanced Spaceship Command V, a 22 day ordeal that when completed will be the cause of much celebration.
Meanwhile Derranna completed Anchoring V on the weekend too and she's at a bit of a crossroads again. It seems everytime I finish a new skill I have doubts about what to train next. Without any hard and fast long term goals she's an elusive girl to pick what to train next. I settled on some drone skills this weekend because they are useful in almost all race's ships and in combat, support, and mining roles. But before she got into the drones, I trained her up enough to use Salvagers.
Speaking of support, I'm considering having her train up to a Logisitics ship, the Minmatar Scimitar for shield transporting fun. With her new ability to Salvage, having her fly around after Kirith in a Scimitar could be very useful in ratting or missions where she could shield boost and clean up wrecks behind his combat vessel. Plus if she trains up for a Scimitar, the awesome Minmatar Recons are not far behind giving me deadly webber range.
Hmmm, could Derranna become a second combat pilot?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Review: Eve Commander
Eve Commander is a third party website for Eve pilots which takes the API keys for your characters and displays a lot of relevant data on an out of game website. UPDATE: For full disclosure I am using the partner program URL for the link above so I get some ISK for each full registration that uses de503954 as the personal partner key on the registration form.
What's really neat about this tool is that it allows you to see what ships are equipped with and in what station, something you can't do in game even!
You can also browse your wallet journal, transactions, market orders, and your complete list of assets including what is in containers in far off stations (again, something you cannot do in game).
You can't change anything in game from here, but seeing all your assets, ships, market orders, and skills in one place is truly impressive.
Its not free. Depending on how rich you are determines how much you pay per month to use this amazing tool. I find that kind of regressive and a cagey player might simply store his ISK in a corporate wallet or an alt's account, but the monthly cost is not overwhelming even at the maximum fee of 8 million ISK.
UPDATE: It was pointed out to me that the cost is per 90 days, not 30. This is a marvellous deal in that case as I was willing to pay 3 times as much for the service.
Also, the line "I find that kind of regressive" is confusing: I merely meant that the insanely rich (i.e. billions in wallet) benefit greater than the sort of rich (~500 million ISK). Its not a slam so much as an observation.
As the screenshot shows, there is no automatic subscription so your money is safe.
I'm currently running the trial account for my two mains but will definitely upgrade to full edition for one character at least, maybe both. The effort put into this tool (which looks to be continuing with more features on the way) is impressive and I look forward to the usefulness it will provide me, especially when looking for that rare module I thought I still had.
Note: There is a corporate subscription model but it was far to rich for my little indy's corp's blood.
What's really neat about this tool is that it allows you to see what ships are equipped with and in what station, something you can't do in game even!
You can also browse your wallet journal, transactions, market orders, and your complete list of assets including what is in containers in far off stations (again, something you cannot do in game).
You can't change anything in game from here, but seeing all your assets, ships, market orders, and skills in one place is truly impressive.
Its not free. Depending on how rich you are determines how much you pay per month to use this amazing tool. I find that kind of regressive and a cagey player might simply store his ISK in a corporate wallet or an alt's account, but the monthly cost is not overwhelming even at the maximum fee of 8 million ISK.
UPDATE: It was pointed out to me that the cost is per 90 days, not 30. This is a marvellous deal in that case as I was willing to pay 3 times as much for the service.
Also, the line "I find that kind of regressive" is confusing: I merely meant that the insanely rich (i.e. billions in wallet) benefit greater than the sort of rich (~500 million ISK). Its not a slam so much as an observation.
As the screenshot shows, there is no automatic subscription so your money is safe.I'm currently running the trial account for my two mains but will definitely upgrade to full edition for one character at least, maybe both. The effort put into this tool (which looks to be continuing with more features on the way) is impressive and I look forward to the usefulness it will provide me, especially when looking for that rare module I thought I still had.
Note: There is a corporate subscription model but it was far to rich for my little indy's corp's blood.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Welcome To The Minmatar Militia
The application went through this morning at downtime and Katana Securities Incorporated is officially at war with the Caldari and Amarr militias. Let the fun begin.
* * * * *
Last night I had some time to play but screwed myself over. Yesterday morning before work I thought I would jump clone to my body in Placid region where I had only my Cyno-Condor and then autopilot to the Forge region where the Chimera awaited. You know, consolidate, right? Well I realized last night I had myself in a region with no real ship to fly and the rest of my stuff half a galaxy away. I couldn't jump clone again for another 12 hours. Drat.
So I logged in Derranna and did some industrial stuff. I found a public lab station where the copying queues were only 10 days long and got my Prototype Cloaking Devices in for some invention copies. They won't be ready for about 30 days but what the hell. *shrugs*
* * * * *
I'm trying to decide if I should move my base from Gulfonodi to closer to the warzone. I like having all my assets in one place but its a few jumps from here to where the fighting is and the market is a bit less populated than say Rens or even Hek. On the other hand, its a lot less likely I'll run into some bad guys in this area. Decisions decisions.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
In contrast to the multiple missteps and backtracks of the previous evening, last night was much much better.
First off the 24 hour downtime for the new expansion was over 6 hours early meaning by the time I got home I could download the new patch, apply it, and was playing in no time.
By the way, the downtime news events posted here while the expansion was being installed on the server were brilliant. I loved checking the website during the day and seeing what major world changing events were taking place in the universe, just amazing.
Anywhoo, I logged in and immediately went looking for those Maru Hackers with the Hacker ID Slice I needed for that mission. I got to the Neferanter (spelling?) ruins and quickly dispatched the waves of rats and the three Maru Hacker ships. I checked the cargos and ... nothing of interest. Drat! Now I have to wait for the next spawn.
I spent about 30 minutes waiting, checking out other wrecks, killing other spawns, chatting with ex-Strife pilots, and finally the Maru Hackers respawned. I engaged and my Scourge Precision missiles from the launcers of the Cerberus quickly dealt with them. I checked the wreck of the first... a drone and ammo. Grrrr. The second blew up and the wreck was empty. The third I attacked with a sinking feeling. He blew up, I opened the wreck and... there it was! One Hacked ID Slice!
I warped off to the mission system, docked to throw on my Recon Probe Launcher, flew out to a planet, and laid down the probe to find the gate. A minute and a half later I had it bookmarked and I re-docked to put back on the heavy missile launchers I had to take off to fit the scan probe launcher. Hmmmm... we really need Tech II exploration vessels capable of tanking, damage, and fitting scan probes. Tech II Drakes anyone?
I entered the mission area and quickly went to work. These guys were tougher than the rats at the ruins and my shields were taxed to the max tanking them while my Tech II missiles flew out and destroyed them one at a time. There was 6 cruiser rats left and my shields were falling, 23%, 22%... all the way down to 17% by the time there was only three left. Was my max recharge higher than their damage output? Survey says... YES! It climb back to 18% and I had the time I needed to blow up the last three without warping out.
With that mission completed, I realized I needed to complete two more for this same agent in order to get my faction standing increase. Fortunately the next two missions were a lot easier and less convoluted.
The first had me retrieve 500 units of small arms from low sec. I couldn't contract them to Derranna to fetch in her Prowler blockade runner, but didn't want to use Kirith's crappy hauling skills either. So I had to both of them into low sec to get the stuff, Kirith to scout and Derranna to haul. There was no gate camps or pirates and the trip went off without a hitch.
The last mission was a simple kill mission: go to an ice field and kill a named rat in a Battleship. It was not hard; the Scorpion battleship was so toned down I could have killed it in a Caracal much less a Cerberus.
With that completed I received the desired faction increase and after downtime my corp Katana Securities Inc was able to apply with the requisite faction standings. After tomorrow mornings downtime I will officially be in the war. Boo ya.
Of course, my wife and kids will be back and I will be unable to play Eve anymore. Sigh.
First off the 24 hour downtime for the new expansion was over 6 hours early meaning by the time I got home I could download the new patch, apply it, and was playing in no time.
By the way, the downtime news events posted here while the expansion was being installed on the server were brilliant. I loved checking the website during the day and seeing what major world changing events were taking place in the universe, just amazing.
Anywhoo, I logged in and immediately went looking for those Maru Hackers with the Hacker ID Slice I needed for that mission. I got to the Neferanter (spelling?) ruins and quickly dispatched the waves of rats and the three Maru Hacker ships. I checked the cargos and ... nothing of interest. Drat! Now I have to wait for the next spawn.
I spent about 30 minutes waiting, checking out other wrecks, killing other spawns, chatting with ex-Strife pilots, and finally the Maru Hackers respawned. I engaged and my Scourge Precision missiles from the launcers of the Cerberus quickly dealt with them. I checked the wreck of the first... a drone and ammo. Grrrr. The second blew up and the wreck was empty. The third I attacked with a sinking feeling. He blew up, I opened the wreck and... there it was! One Hacked ID Slice!
I warped off to the mission system, docked to throw on my Recon Probe Launcher, flew out to a planet, and laid down the probe to find the gate. A minute and a half later I had it bookmarked and I re-docked to put back on the heavy missile launchers I had to take off to fit the scan probe launcher. Hmmmm... we really need Tech II exploration vessels capable of tanking, damage, and fitting scan probes. Tech II Drakes anyone?
I entered the mission area and quickly went to work. These guys were tougher than the rats at the ruins and my shields were taxed to the max tanking them while my Tech II missiles flew out and destroyed them one at a time. There was 6 cruiser rats left and my shields were falling, 23%, 22%... all the way down to 17% by the time there was only three left. Was my max recharge higher than their damage output? Survey says... YES! It climb back to 18% and I had the time I needed to blow up the last three without warping out.
With that mission completed, I realized I needed to complete two more for this same agent in order to get my faction standing increase. Fortunately the next two missions were a lot easier and less convoluted.
The first had me retrieve 500 units of small arms from low sec. I couldn't contract them to Derranna to fetch in her Prowler blockade runner, but didn't want to use Kirith's crappy hauling skills either. So I had to both of them into low sec to get the stuff, Kirith to scout and Derranna to haul. There was no gate camps or pirates and the trip went off without a hitch.
The last mission was a simple kill mission: go to an ice field and kill a named rat in a Battleship. It was not hard; the Scorpion battleship was so toned down I could have killed it in a Caracal much less a Cerberus.
With that completed I received the desired faction increase and after downtime my corp Katana Securities Inc was able to apply with the requisite faction standings. After tomorrow mornings downtime I will officially be in the war. Boo ya.
Of course, my wife and kids will be back and I will be unable to play Eve anymore. Sigh.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Comedy Of Errors
Last night after I got home from dropping the rest of the family off at the in-laws, it was about 8:30pm and still an hour and a half until the 24 hour downtime for the Empyrean Age expansion. So I figured I would try and get a faction standing increase so that my corp, Katana Securities Inc would start getting its standings raised.
I could either blow through 15-16 level one missions and get a storyline, or do a couple COSMOS missions up near Hek. Hell, I figured I might as well do the COSMOS mission and get it done real quick. Heh, boy am I foolish.
First off I needed a ship, something small and fast. The Raptor Interceptor was fast but not strong enough for a good slugfest. My Harpy assault ship was configured for long range sniping and not close in brawling. And my Rifter was too small and weak for a good time.
So I would buy a new ship, probably Assault class. I toyed with the idea of a Hawk but there was a cheap Harpy for sale in station so I went with what I know. I bought some 125mm II railguns, equipped up a PvE shield tank and flew up to the Ani constellation, warped to the first beacon I could see, and talked to the first agent I found.
He gave me a mission to get some artifacts. I then spent the next 15 minutes trying to find on the internet where I had to go to kill rats to find these things, but no luck. I finally realized that it was a trade mission and I could buy them off the market. Expensive but I was after the faction increase. Once the mission was completed I checked my standings but saw no changes. That is when I realized the agent was a Caldari pilot and not Minmatar. DOH!
I went looking for a good Minmatar agent and found four in another complex. Unfortunately, I had already run missions for the first three, and only the fourth would talk to me. She assigned me a mission alright, a mission in which I would have to:
1) Go get a bigger ship because I wasn't confident that the Harpy could handle a level 3 mission,
2) Go to one complex and kill rats hoping to get a Hacker ID Slice to get into the second complex,
3) Go to another system and use scan probes (!) to find the gate to use the Hacker ID Slice on,
4) Finally use the gate to get into a battle with rats hoping to find and kill one with the item I am supposed to retrieve.
Well by this time it was 9:30 and downtime was rushing at me, but I accepted and decided to see what I could get done. I left the Harpy in system in case I needed it again and flew down to get my Cerberus that I set up Friday evening. It can handle a heck of a lot and should be up for the job. I also picked up some scan probes and Recon Probe Launcher on the way back to Hek.
Then I went looking for that Hacker ID Slice. I found the necessary rats and killed them but had no luck getting a Hacker ID Slice this time. I didn't have any more time to wait for a respawn so I resignedly docked at 9:56pm and vowed to complete the mission after downtime tomorrow night. Assuming downtime doesn't go over if the expansion is harder to install than expected.
Sigh, I should have just bombed through the 16 level 1 missions. I have to give credit to CCP though; the COSMOS missions that you can only run once are far more varied and interesting than the usual standard missions. This pod pilot approves and asks for more.
I could either blow through 15-16 level one missions and get a storyline, or do a couple COSMOS missions up near Hek. Hell, I figured I might as well do the COSMOS mission and get it done real quick. Heh, boy am I foolish.
First off I needed a ship, something small and fast. The Raptor Interceptor was fast but not strong enough for a good slugfest. My Harpy assault ship was configured for long range sniping and not close in brawling. And my Rifter was too small and weak for a good time.
So I would buy a new ship, probably Assault class. I toyed with the idea of a Hawk but there was a cheap Harpy for sale in station so I went with what I know. I bought some 125mm II railguns, equipped up a PvE shield tank and flew up to the Ani constellation, warped to the first beacon I could see, and talked to the first agent I found.
He gave me a mission to get some artifacts. I then spent the next 15 minutes trying to find on the internet where I had to go to kill rats to find these things, but no luck. I finally realized that it was a trade mission and I could buy them off the market. Expensive but I was after the faction increase. Once the mission was completed I checked my standings but saw no changes. That is when I realized the agent was a Caldari pilot and not Minmatar. DOH!
I went looking for a good Minmatar agent and found four in another complex. Unfortunately, I had already run missions for the first three, and only the fourth would talk to me. She assigned me a mission alright, a mission in which I would have to:
1) Go get a bigger ship because I wasn't confident that the Harpy could handle a level 3 mission,
2) Go to one complex and kill rats hoping to get a Hacker ID Slice to get into the second complex,
3) Go to another system and use scan probes (!) to find the gate to use the Hacker ID Slice on,
4) Finally use the gate to get into a battle with rats hoping to find and kill one with the item I am supposed to retrieve.
Well by this time it was 9:30 and downtime was rushing at me, but I accepted and decided to see what I could get done. I left the Harpy in system in case I needed it again and flew down to get my Cerberus that I set up Friday evening. It can handle a heck of a lot and should be up for the job. I also picked up some scan probes and Recon Probe Launcher on the way back to Hek.
Then I went looking for that Hacker ID Slice. I found the necessary rats and killed them but had no luck getting a Hacker ID Slice this time. I didn't have any more time to wait for a respawn so I resignedly docked at 9:56pm and vowed to complete the mission after downtime tomorrow night. Assuming downtime doesn't go over if the expansion is harder to install than expected.
Sigh, I should have just bombed through the 16 level 1 missions. I have to give credit to CCP though; the COSMOS missions that you can only run once are far more varied and interesting than the usual standard missions. This pod pilot approves and asks for more.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Hey, Some Free Time!
Friday night my mother-in-law showed up at our place unexpectedly giving me some time to actually sit down and play. But the thing is I didn't know how long I would get and when I would be pulled off so I didn't do anything like a mission or PvP, I simply did some minor stuff.
First off, I contacted a friend online about building 5 capital mods for me. Derranna doesn't have Capital Construction skill yet and I knew this guys does (Capital Construction V, he could build a Titan!) so I paid him in salvage to throw the BPCs and minerals in the factory for me. I'll probably keep one or two I need for the Chimera carrier and sell the rest.
I went to Rens to give the stuff to him and picked up some more datacores and decryptors for some invention to clear out my ship BPCs. I successfully got some Kitsune and Manticore blueprints earlier and then started up some Crow and Cerberus jobs. The Crows resulted in one nice 3 run BPC, and the Cerb jobs are not done until late tonight.
Meanwhile, I had Kirith head to Rens to use his buying skills and ISK to get the minerals for Derranna, and then I wanted to buy a new ship. I was torn between a Myrmidon, Ferox, and Cerberus. Oh and I considered an Eagle too. In the end I went for a Cerberus and spent about an hour comparing our setups for that ship with my buddy, running numbers and trying different shield tank setups.
Both characters are still buggering away on their big skills: 4.5 days left on Drone Interfacing V for Kirith, and almost 5 days left on Anchoring V for Derranna. Its getting very tempting to take a break from the carrier training for Kirith and not start on the 22 day Advanced Spaceship Command V skill but do something else. After all, I've been skilling to this carrier for months now. Maybe get Gallente Cruiser V, I think, and get into the awesome Ishtar; but its 27 days for the cruiser skill and then another 27 days for the Tech II heavy drones I would need to make the best use of the ship. Sigh. Best to stay the course and get that carrier training done.
In other news, my wife is taking off to her mother's for a couple days which means Tuesday night is wife-and-kids free time for me! I thought, "Awesome, Eve Night!" and then realized that it is June 10... day of the 24 hour downtime for Eve as it releases its new expansion. F***!
So now I need to find some other way to occupy my time. My usual board game buddy is busy playing Ultimate, and my other friend is with wife and kids and probably can't get away at a moment's notice. I've been so out of warhammer I'm not even sure if the new edition is released yet and part of me is not interested in having to dig my stuff out for a trip to a store. So I'm left with the question of what to do with myself?
Decisions decisions.
First off, I contacted a friend online about building 5 capital mods for me. Derranna doesn't have Capital Construction skill yet and I knew this guys does (Capital Construction V, he could build a Titan!) so I paid him in salvage to throw the BPCs and minerals in the factory for me. I'll probably keep one or two I need for the Chimera carrier and sell the rest.
I went to Rens to give the stuff to him and picked up some more datacores and decryptors for some invention to clear out my ship BPCs. I successfully got some Kitsune and Manticore blueprints earlier and then started up some Crow and Cerberus jobs. The Crows resulted in one nice 3 run BPC, and the Cerb jobs are not done until late tonight.
Meanwhile, I had Kirith head to Rens to use his buying skills and ISK to get the minerals for Derranna, and then I wanted to buy a new ship. I was torn between a Myrmidon, Ferox, and Cerberus. Oh and I considered an Eagle too. In the end I went for a Cerberus and spent about an hour comparing our setups for that ship with my buddy, running numbers and trying different shield tank setups.
Both characters are still buggering away on their big skills: 4.5 days left on Drone Interfacing V for Kirith, and almost 5 days left on Anchoring V for Derranna. Its getting very tempting to take a break from the carrier training for Kirith and not start on the 22 day Advanced Spaceship Command V skill but do something else. After all, I've been skilling to this carrier for months now. Maybe get Gallente Cruiser V, I think, and get into the awesome Ishtar; but its 27 days for the cruiser skill and then another 27 days for the Tech II heavy drones I would need to make the best use of the ship. Sigh. Best to stay the course and get that carrier training done.
In other news, my wife is taking off to her mother's for a couple days which means Tuesday night is wife-and-kids free time for me! I thought, "Awesome, Eve Night!" and then realized that it is June 10... day of the 24 hour downtime for Eve as it releases its new expansion. F***!
So now I need to find some other way to occupy my time. My usual board game buddy is busy playing Ultimate, and my other friend is with wife and kids and probably can't get away at a moment's notice. I've been so out of warhammer I'm not even sure if the new edition is released yet and part of me is not interested in having to dig my stuff out for a trip to a store. So I'm left with the question of what to do with myself?
Decisions decisions.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Friday Afternoon Blogging Marathon!
Of more like my head is achy, my stomach too full, and work is boring as I make a bunch of backups for next weeks work.
Blogs away!
I got into a discussion with a guy from Deep Space about how well I could paint. I showed him my chaos lord from last September when I painted it up in a week for a contest.
Damn if it doesn't look good eh? And for a second, a short sweet second, I thought about the joys of Warhammer 40K, playing and painting and the good times I've had.
I still have no time for it. But the urge is out there and someday my free time will come back if even just a little. Heck, I read blogs about fathers with little kids all the time and they have time to game here and there so I know its possible.
Someday Craftworld Canathius and The Black Storm Renegade Legion will rise again.
Someday.
Blogs away!
I got into a discussion with a guy from Deep Space about how well I could paint. I showed him my chaos lord from last September when I painted it up in a week for a contest.
Damn if it doesn't look good eh? And for a second, a short sweet second, I thought about the joys of Warhammer 40K, playing and painting and the good times I've had.
I still have no time for it. But the urge is out there and someday my free time will come back if even just a little. Heck, I read blogs about fathers with little kids all the time and they have time to game here and there so I know its possible.
Someday Craftworld Canathius and The Black Storm Renegade Legion will rise again.
Someday.
Strife 2.0 Is Dead
For all intents and purposes, Strife 2.0 is dead. I know I left it a week or so ago but at that time there was still some desire by a few pilots to keep it going and resurrect it. But the initiative failed and most active pilots have taken off to greener pastures (typically joining with friends in a corp called Exile).
In addition, since I have no time to play Eve much less run a corp, my plans for a Factional Warfare corp for the Minmatar Republic are faltering. So in essence I'm sitting in a corp all by myself with no ability to join in on anything or recruit other pilots, pretty much exactly where I was a year ago yesterday.
Sigh indeed. Its a sad state of affairs, and Eve is not the game for single player very much.
On the upside, if I had time to play I know I would get into Exile and I'm confident I could make a go of it as CEO of a Factional Warfare corp. So there is hope for the future. In the meantime, train, build up assets, and wait.
In addition, since I have no time to play Eve much less run a corp, my plans for a Factional Warfare corp for the Minmatar Republic are faltering. So in essence I'm sitting in a corp all by myself with no ability to join in on anything or recruit other pilots, pretty much exactly where I was a year ago yesterday.
Sigh indeed. Its a sad state of affairs, and Eve is not the game for single player very much.
On the upside, if I had time to play I know I would get into Exile and I'm confident I could make a go of it as CEO of a Factional Warfare corp. So there is hope for the future. In the meantime, train, build up assets, and wait.
The Fleet Review
Or more accurately, My Current Hanger Full Of Ships.
While not filthy rich, I am well off compared to many pilots and my writing for the Eve Tribune brings in a steady paycheck that I can't spend due to having no time to play. Also, I haven't had any chances to lose my ships so no need to buy new ones and refit.
So here is a list of my current collection of ships and a short list of ones I would like to acquire.
Unnamed, Chimera Carrier - I'm working on the skills to fly it, currently estimating that to be Wednesday July 9th. It will be my flagship and my workhorse and will require many weeks of training to get to acceptable fitting and a lot of ISK to be battle ready.
Insisto Oblivium II, Rokh Battleship - My workhorse and backup plan should I go broke, its solely built for running level four missions. I've had this ship for over a year now, who knew you could get so attached to Internet Spaceships.
Elusive, Drake Battlecruiser - This is my utility knife: gang ship for PvP, wingman for missions. All tech II fitted, some rigs, is all about tank and gank.
Tarantula, Onyx Heavy Interdictor - One of my main PvP ships, this guy is great for tackling with its infini-point and has a really good active shield tank and decent damage.
Sentry, Kitsune Electronic Attack Ship - Built around ECM and speed tanking, its solely intended for frigate gangs as electronic warfare support.
Disrupto, Kitsune Electronic Attack Ship - Exact same fitting as its sister ship Sentry, but with two rigs in the lows for shield resistance boosting.
Deadshot, Harpy Assault Ship - Frigate class sniper with the ability to fire over 100 km with the right ammo and targeting script. Not much in the way of defense though.
Stalker, Buzzard Covert Ops Ship - This ship is built for scouting using its cloaking device, and probing out enemy ships using its Recon Probe Launcher and a couple rigs to speed up the process.
Seeker, Buzzard Covert Ops Ship - Conversely, this vessel is equipped with no rigs and a larger and slower Scan Probe Launcher for exploration duty.
Velociraptor, Raptor Interceptor - A speed tackling ship, not a lot of damage but 30km scrambling range and top speed over 5600 m/sec without rigs.
Ninja, Manticore Stealth Bomber - With a passive targeter and missile rigs to increase its alpha strike damage, its all about the surprise gank.
Startover, Badger MKII Industrial - Everyone needs to get stuff moved sooner or later.
Medusa, Thrasher Destroyer - My loot and salvage ship it goes hand in hand with the battleship.
Ships I have but are not assembled and outfitted (probably fit them when I get a chance):
Vexor Cruiser
2 x Falcon Force Recon Cruisers
Rifter Frigate
Badger MK II Industrial
Ships I want that I can fly:
Crow Interceptor - simply to try it out.
Second Harpy Assault Frigate - I want to make one that is more close-ranged and better tank.
Rook Combat Recon - like a Falcon but with no cloak and better weapons/defenses.
Ferox Battlecruiser - Just because it looks cool.
Cerberus Heavy Assault Ship - Missile fun.
Eagle Heavy Assault Ship - killing frigs at insane ranges coming to a system near you soon!
Myrmidon Battlecruiser - similar to the Drake except more tackling ability.
Ships I want that I can't fly yet:
Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser - just *DROOL*
Deimos Heavy Assault Cruiser - Blaster fun!
Dominx Battleship - A drone carrier without risking billions of ISK.
Widow Black Ops Battleship - The ultimate in jumping/ECM/Stealth battleships!
Golem Marauder - Big ass mission running ship.
Second Rokh Battleship - configured as a big blaster boat.
Vulture Fleet Command Ship - The ultimate in gang support.
While not filthy rich, I am well off compared to many pilots and my writing for the Eve Tribune brings in a steady paycheck that I can't spend due to having no time to play. Also, I haven't had any chances to lose my ships so no need to buy new ones and refit.
So here is a list of my current collection of ships and a short list of ones I would like to acquire.
Unnamed, Chimera Carrier - I'm working on the skills to fly it, currently estimating that to be Wednesday July 9th. It will be my flagship and my workhorse and will require many weeks of training to get to acceptable fitting and a lot of ISK to be battle ready.
Insisto Oblivium II, Rokh Battleship - My workhorse and backup plan should I go broke, its solely built for running level four missions. I've had this ship for over a year now, who knew you could get so attached to Internet Spaceships.
Elusive, Drake Battlecruiser - This is my utility knife: gang ship for PvP, wingman for missions. All tech II fitted, some rigs, is all about tank and gank.
Tarantula, Onyx Heavy Interdictor - One of my main PvP ships, this guy is great for tackling with its infini-point and has a really good active shield tank and decent damage.
Sentry, Kitsune Electronic Attack Ship - Built around ECM and speed tanking, its solely intended for frigate gangs as electronic warfare support.
Disrupto, Kitsune Electronic Attack Ship - Exact same fitting as its sister ship Sentry, but with two rigs in the lows for shield resistance boosting.
Deadshot, Harpy Assault Ship - Frigate class sniper with the ability to fire over 100 km with the right ammo and targeting script. Not much in the way of defense though.
Stalker, Buzzard Covert Ops Ship - This ship is built for scouting using its cloaking device, and probing out enemy ships using its Recon Probe Launcher and a couple rigs to speed up the process.
Seeker, Buzzard Covert Ops Ship - Conversely, this vessel is equipped with no rigs and a larger and slower Scan Probe Launcher for exploration duty.
Velociraptor, Raptor Interceptor - A speed tackling ship, not a lot of damage but 30km scrambling range and top speed over 5600 m/sec without rigs.
Ninja, Manticore Stealth Bomber - With a passive targeter and missile rigs to increase its alpha strike damage, its all about the surprise gank.
Startover, Badger MKII Industrial - Everyone needs to get stuff moved sooner or later.
Medusa, Thrasher Destroyer - My loot and salvage ship it goes hand in hand with the battleship.
Ships I have but are not assembled and outfitted (probably fit them when I get a chance):
Vexor Cruiser
2 x Falcon Force Recon Cruisers
Rifter Frigate
Badger MK II Industrial
Ships I want that I can fly:
Crow Interceptor - simply to try it out.
Second Harpy Assault Frigate - I want to make one that is more close-ranged and better tank.
Rook Combat Recon - like a Falcon but with no cloak and better weapons/defenses.
Ferox Battlecruiser - Just because it looks cool.
Cerberus Heavy Assault Ship - Missile fun.
Eagle Heavy Assault Ship - killing frigs at insane ranges coming to a system near you soon!
Myrmidon Battlecruiser - similar to the Drake except more tackling ability.
Ships I want that I can't fly yet:
Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser - just *DROOL*
Deimos Heavy Assault Cruiser - Blaster fun!
Dominx Battleship - A drone carrier without risking billions of ISK.
Widow Black Ops Battleship - The ultimate in jumping/ECM/Stealth battleships!
Golem Marauder - Big ass mission running ship.
Second Rokh Battleship - configured as a big blaster boat.
Vulture Fleet Command Ship - The ultimate in gang support.
Pictures!
Here are some pictures from the last few months. Note, when you get to the Flicker page of an image click the "All Sizes" button to get the screenshots in their max size and glorious detail.
Onyx when me and some other Strife pilots were on the prowl:
And Onyx providing the bubble in 0.0:
My Cerberus and Lucius in his Raven blowing up the battle station in the bonus room of a level three mission:
Here's a pic from the time I found a couple Chribba Love Can with Mining Drone II BPCs in them:
Derranna's Mastodon visiting the POS:
Derranna's Fenrir Freighter:
And Derranna's Nomad Jump Freighter:
Finally, a series of shots of the Nomad doing a jump from Stacmon to Pelille back when we had a POS:
Onyx when me and some other Strife pilots were on the prowl:
And Onyx providing the bubble in 0.0:
My Cerberus and Lucius in his Raven blowing up the battle station in the bonus room of a level three mission:
Here's a pic from the time I found a couple Chribba Love Can with Mining Drone II BPCs in them:
Derranna's Mastodon visiting the POS:
Derranna's Fenrir Freighter:
And Derranna's Nomad Jump Freighter:
Finally, a series of shots of the Nomad doing a jump from Stacmon to Pelille back when we had a POS:
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
If I Can't Destroy, I'll Build
Since I have no real time to get online and do missions, PvP, and the like with Kirith, I'll have to get my Eve fix by using Derranna and exploiting the industrial side of things.
I don't have time or resources to support a new POS for copying blueprints for invention, but I can get rid of my backlog of BPCs by working on them, and then building all of my Tech II BPC items and selling them. In essence, liquidating my assets and turning them into capital.
I could sell the Tech II BPCs directly but I think I can get more ISK by building. And Factory slots and Invention Lab slots are easy to come by unlike Copy Lab slots.
I started last night by inventing 4 new Invulnerability Field II BPCs (10 runs each) and adding them to my inventory of 3 I already had. Next step is to clear out my Ship BPCs starting with Manitcore and Kitsune inventions tonight.
I don't have time or resources to support a new POS for copying blueprints for invention, but I can get rid of my backlog of BPCs by working on them, and then building all of my Tech II BPC items and selling them. In essence, liquidating my assets and turning them into capital.
I could sell the Tech II BPCs directly but I think I can get more ISK by building. And Factory slots and Invention Lab slots are easy to come by unlike Copy Lab slots.
I started last night by inventing 4 new Invulnerability Field II BPCs (10 runs each) and adding them to my inventory of 3 I already had. Next step is to clear out my Ship BPCs starting with Manitcore and Kitsune inventions tonight.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Doom and Gloom
I've heard a lot of belly aching on the Eve Online forums about how epically Factional Warfare is going to suck. It bugs me that people take a cynical point of view on something when they have limited facts and depend solely on their "towering intellect" for their opinions. I'm going to address a few issues people throw out like religious parrots.
1) Caldari faction is going to dominate.
This opinion is based on the fact that a large portion of the Eve Online playerbase is Caldari, hence more pilots, more victories, and no point for other faction pilots.
Hogwash! First off all, this opinion hinges on the premise that players of each race will sign up in their respective militias in the same ratio, completely ignoring the vast number of macro-missioners and casual players who won't risk their hard earnings in something as PvP and loss-oriented as Factional Warfare. In addition many Caldari pilots are of the Archura bloodline and are used for Science and Industry alts.
Furthermore, it assumes that all races will see sign ups primarily from their own race's pool of pilots. Its possible that the distribution of pilots to each faction could be arbitrary based on what veteran pilots liked at some point. Take myself for example, with high standings to Gallente and Minmatar and yet a Caldari pilot at launch.
Lastly, even if Caldari gets many more pilots in the militia of comparable quality, it merely means that Gallente (and Minmatar) have Target Rich Enviroments and can run a guerrilla campaign to take down the Caldari fleets one at a time.
2) One side will get the upper hand and prevent the other side from ever rising against them.
This one often goes in hand with the "Caldari will dominate" issue. Basically it assumes that if say Caldari take control of all contestable systems then Gallente will never be able to strike back because the Caldari will smash any new resistance. No one will sign up to the Gallente Militia and the release will be unused.
My god, have you idiots learned nothing from the market? Its a basic supply and demand equation: if Caldari corner the "market" (aka Warzone), Gallente supply will dry up, Caldari profit will follow, Caldari pilots will leave factional warfare thus breaking its control of the "market" as its demand drops allowing Gallente to resurge with new pilots coming in and older pilots returning.
In other words, the more successful one faction is, the more likely it is to be a victim of its own success. And because the war is happening over several regions and with large disorganized militias, I sincerely doubt one faction will ever gain complete control to force the other out. Its not like 0.0 space with no NPC stations to hide in and fight around.
3) No Rewards Means No Pilots.
Because Factional Warfare doesn't heap gobs of ISK and faction ships/mods on its pilots, people won't bother. This of course ignores the vast number of pilots like myself who get their ISK from non-combat pilot alts and who fight for the fun of PvP. Rest assurred, there is many of us and we don't whine on the forums.
4) Pirates will kill all in Low Sec.
Well, how is that different from now? The warzones spread over three regions each and the number of choke points is no lower than it used to be. I doubt there will be many more pirates than before but even if there is, players will adapt. If all FW pilots give up, the pirates will have nothing to shoot at and leave. At which point the number of FW pilots will increase again. See? Its that market balance thing.
* * * * *
Ultimately, Factional Warfare is big enough and attractive to enough people to work somehow. And if it does turn out to be not as good as intended, the developers are prepared to modify the risk versus reward to make it worth it. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off even before its released is pointless and non-constructive. Don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a release by its press notes. Its a sandbox, let's see what the kids do with it first.
1) Caldari faction is going to dominate.
This opinion is based on the fact that a large portion of the Eve Online playerbase is Caldari, hence more pilots, more victories, and no point for other faction pilots.
Hogwash! First off all, this opinion hinges on the premise that players of each race will sign up in their respective militias in the same ratio, completely ignoring the vast number of macro-missioners and casual players who won't risk their hard earnings in something as PvP and loss-oriented as Factional Warfare. In addition many Caldari pilots are of the Archura bloodline and are used for Science and Industry alts.
Furthermore, it assumes that all races will see sign ups primarily from their own race's pool of pilots. Its possible that the distribution of pilots to each faction could be arbitrary based on what veteran pilots liked at some point. Take myself for example, with high standings to Gallente and Minmatar and yet a Caldari pilot at launch.
Lastly, even if Caldari gets many more pilots in the militia of comparable quality, it merely means that Gallente (and Minmatar) have Target Rich Enviroments and can run a guerrilla campaign to take down the Caldari fleets one at a time.
2) One side will get the upper hand and prevent the other side from ever rising against them.
This one often goes in hand with the "Caldari will dominate" issue. Basically it assumes that if say Caldari take control of all contestable systems then Gallente will never be able to strike back because the Caldari will smash any new resistance. No one will sign up to the Gallente Militia and the release will be unused.
My god, have you idiots learned nothing from the market? Its a basic supply and demand equation: if Caldari corner the "market" (aka Warzone), Gallente supply will dry up, Caldari profit will follow, Caldari pilots will leave factional warfare thus breaking its control of the "market" as its demand drops allowing Gallente to resurge with new pilots coming in and older pilots returning.
In other words, the more successful one faction is, the more likely it is to be a victim of its own success. And because the war is happening over several regions and with large disorganized militias, I sincerely doubt one faction will ever gain complete control to force the other out. Its not like 0.0 space with no NPC stations to hide in and fight around.
3) No Rewards Means No Pilots.
Because Factional Warfare doesn't heap gobs of ISK and faction ships/mods on its pilots, people won't bother. This of course ignores the vast number of pilots like myself who get their ISK from non-combat pilot alts and who fight for the fun of PvP. Rest assurred, there is many of us and we don't whine on the forums.
4) Pirates will kill all in Low Sec.
Well, how is that different from now? The warzones spread over three regions each and the number of choke points is no lower than it used to be. I doubt there will be many more pirates than before but even if there is, players will adapt. If all FW pilots give up, the pirates will have nothing to shoot at and leave. At which point the number of FW pilots will increase again. See? Its that market balance thing.
* * * * *
Ultimately, Factional Warfare is big enough and attractive to enough people to work somehow. And if it does turn out to be not as good as intended, the developers are prepared to modify the risk versus reward to make it worth it. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off even before its released is pointless and non-constructive. Don't judge a book by its cover and don't judge a release by its press notes. Its a sandbox, let's see what the kids do with it first.
WANT TO PLAY!
But alas, no freaking time!
I'm suffering from major Eve withdrawal. Getting on for five minutes to change a skill or setting up an autopilot hardly counts and I'm aching to even run a level 1 mission or two.
Sigh. I could be screwed for a few months yet, at least until the boys are not eating every two hours. It could be a long summer.
The good news is that Eve's unique skill training system ensures that I gain abilities and ships regardless of my time online. Kirith's work on Drone Interfacing V is now below 12 days, and Derranna's training of Anchor V is also just below 12 days. She took a break this weekend while my extra CEO Tatianna Dorcha trained up a level of Social and then a level of Ethnic Relations for a few hours so she could complete the corporate shuffle. The CEOs are now in place, and only Kirith is left to transfer to Katana tonight, become a director, and start working on level one missions when I can to get to the storyline I need for the corporate faction standings.
Assuming I can get any time. Sigh.
"Hey Bill, why are you training Anchoring V?"
Good question! I was ambivalent about going beyond level IV which unlocked the Mobile Large Warp Disruptor I and Mobile Medium Warp Disruptor II (deployable items that when anchored created interdiction bubbles for incoming vessels) but level V not only gives the Mobile Large Warp Disruptor II anchoring ability but it unlocks the Starbase Defense Management skill for controlling weapons at POSes and directing their fire. It also unlocks the Outpost Construction skill but that is secondary as I don't see myself constructing any Outposts any time soon.
I'm suffering from major Eve withdrawal. Getting on for five minutes to change a skill or setting up an autopilot hardly counts and I'm aching to even run a level 1 mission or two.
Sigh. I could be screwed for a few months yet, at least until the boys are not eating every two hours. It could be a long summer.
The good news is that Eve's unique skill training system ensures that I gain abilities and ships regardless of my time online. Kirith's work on Drone Interfacing V is now below 12 days, and Derranna's training of Anchor V is also just below 12 days. She took a break this weekend while my extra CEO Tatianna Dorcha trained up a level of Social and then a level of Ethnic Relations for a few hours so she could complete the corporate shuffle. The CEOs are now in place, and only Kirith is left to transfer to Katana tonight, become a director, and start working on level one missions when I can to get to the storyline I need for the corporate faction standings.
Assuming I can get any time. Sigh.
"Hey Bill, why are you training Anchoring V?"
Good question! I was ambivalent about going beyond level IV which unlocked the Mobile Large Warp Disruptor I and Mobile Medium Warp Disruptor II (deployable items that when anchored created interdiction bubbles for incoming vessels) but level V not only gives the Mobile Large Warp Disruptor II anchoring ability but it unlocks the Starbase Defense Management skill for controlling weapons at POSes and directing their fire. It also unlocks the Outpost Construction skill but that is secondary as I don't see myself constructing any Outposts any time soon.
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