Attempted Kidknapping

In Sunday's fleet I was once again in my Magus Command Destroyer and we were getting ready to engage an enemy fleet in our home system of Fliet. The enemy was in system and we were about to undock when one of our scouts reported "I've found the hostile link character, a Claymore [Tech II Minmatar Command Ship] on the Actee gate." The Fleet Commander asked for someone to try and use the Jump Field Generator to try and steal it off gate and kill it.

I volunteered.

I hopped into my Magus named "The Transporter" and as our fleets engaged I moved in on that Claymore and actived my jump drive.

WHOOSH! Success! My target and I were 100 km off gate! I locked him and activated my scram but either I spazzed out of range (sentry gun fire had me rattled) or he was stabbed, as he warped off. Nevertheless, the move was successful in disrupting their links at least for a few seconds and giving our side a minor advantage.

As that engagement ran down a Shadow Cartel fleet showed up with Guardian logi support. As we engaged I worked on getting a warp in on their logi, and ended up only 15 kilometers off. I moved in and again activated the jumper but this time while I appeared 100 km off, the guardians stayed put, an example of self-scramming defense.

Oh well, two attempts at kidknapping and one actually almost worked.

Adventures in Attempted Kidnapping

Last couple weeks the weekly Aideron Fleet I've been FCing has made use of a couple of Magus Command Destroyers for both warfare linking and the Micro Field Jump Generator (aka "cancer" to some bitter vets who lose their Alliance Tournament cruisers on stations because they are bads).

I've been flying one in our destroyer fleets with Ashterothi of Hydrostatic and High Drag podcasts flying the other. We've not had a successful kidnapping in one of my fleets but the tactical flexibility and options presented by the jumpers certainly expands the roams in a way that is both terrifying and exciting.

One example is where we tried to land our fleet on a few cruisers floating on the undock in Heydieles and spirit them away from the docking range, but we were off on our warp in and they quickly docked.

Another example is where a Tornado landed at a perch 200km away from us on a gate and we tried the double jump but I was the second jump and was off the mark and landed up 50km off the battlecruiser instead of closer. Oh well. Practice practice practice.

A third example is where we warped the fleet to a Large complex where a hostile fleet was near and I was going to attempt to pull them apart but they warped off as we were landing. Another time we were hunkering down in a plex with a larger Shadow Cartel T3Dessie fleet hunting us and I moved us off with the idea that if they chased us we could use the jumper to try and pull them farther out for a gank, but they never came in.

So close, yet so far. Someday we'll pull off a successful kidnapping, but I'm afraid there won't be a ransom... only a corpse.

Magus Test Drive

I took the Magus out for a test drive this morning to get a feel for the micro jump field generator (aka Jumper) and how it works exactly.

For the record, I have Command Destroyers III at the time of the test drive, and Micro Jump Operation V.

Here are the ships special bonuses:

I totally didn't realize that the ship got the 50% reduction in MWD bloom. Handy.

And the fitted Jumper stats:

Couple more levels of Command Destroyers should bring that 5.74 seconds down to close to 5.

Here is the fitted attributes of a warfare link module with my awesome leadership skills (and they said it was a waste of time!):

And my speed with mid grade snakes:

First thing I did was try the Jumper from inside a POS. The module activated, the effect swooshed... but I didn't go anywhere. Tried it twice. Looks pretty though:

SWHOOSH! Click to embiggen

I went to a safe spot and tried a few jumps. Once the Jumper is activated I could not change direction, got a popup message saying I could not do that. Made a triangle to confirm my directions before and after jumping:

Next step is to test some scenarios with other ships.

The Magic of the Magus

I really really want to fly a Magus.

I could tell you its because of the tactical possibilities of changing the battlefield in an instant, or the excitement of surprise jumping away from a hostile force along with a couple of their ships, or the MUHHAHAHHA laugh of catching a kiter with a couple fast tacklers I give a 100 km boost to.

But really, I just want the joy of hitting the jump and going WEEEEEE as I teleport 100km ahead. I like using battlecruisers' micro jump drive but they are so slow and lanky compared to my favourite frigates and destroyers so getting to do it in a destroyer hull is very exciting.

Since I'm space rich I've bought a few I plan to try out this month. One fit I'm thinking of trying out, and man are my ship fitting skills rusty because I've gotten so used to relying on the experts in Aideron Robotics (recruiting all skill levels!), is for gangs with armour logi:

[Magus, Command Magus]
Adaptive Nano Plating II
400mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Damage Control II

Micro Jump Field Generator
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Warp Scrambler II
Warp Scrambler II

Skirmish Warfare Link - Interdiction Maneuvers II
75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S
Small Energy Nosferatu II

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I

Warrior II x5
Hammerhead II x2
Hobgoblin II x3

It obviously does not do a lot of damage (only about 224 DPS) but has a very decent EHP of 16.5K, has over 2K per second speed, and provides a link and of course the Micro Jump Field Generator (WEEEEEE!!). The warfare link I'll select is based on the ship size of the fleet: skirmish links for frigate and destroyer gangs, armour link for cruiser and bigger. The duo warp scrams is optional, I could switch one out for a web.

A second option for small gangs where I have no logi-bros backing me up is a similar fit with an active tank:

[Magus, Kitchen Sink Magus]

Adaptive Nano Plating II

Damage Control II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Small Armor Repairer II

Micro Jump Field Generator

5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive

Warp Scrambler II

Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400

Skirmish Warfare Link - Interdiction Maneuvers II

75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S

75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S

75mm Gatling Rail II, Spike S

Small Energy Nosferatu II

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Small Nanobot Accelerator I

Warrior II x5

Hammerhead II x2

Hobgoblin II x3

Will be able to absorb the heat from one or two enemies while my fleet does the work on killing them. I admit this use case seems risky for an expensive tech 2 destroyer but I'm willing to give it a try at least once.

See you in space!