Its been a few days since a relevant post, and to be honest, I haven't gotten much action PVP wise over those days.
A couple days ago we killed an NC gang roaming in Delve. I got eyes on them and tailed their gang, while a roaming gang came to help. It was pretty sloppy but we killed 2x Sleipnir, 1x Curse, and 1x Basilisk. We took some losses that didn't quite offset the kills, but were pretty dumb. I then took off solo for the next couple hours, but found no kills in Catch.
Yesterday I went on an early roam (EUTZ) and lost a Pilgrim. The reasons were multiple failures to communicate and not following basic orders. It kind of goes like this...
We were playing tag with a group that has been haning around Fountain and retreating back to low sec when confronted with an opposing force that can take them. Many faction frigates, including 4x Machariels.
The FC for the gang jumped into their camp and died... not sure how but his ceptor got killed. So I was asked to take over the gang. Not too happy (I was still half asleep) I assumed command and started what was to be a disaster. It would have been better to turn around and march home, but with our superior numbers and many friendlies in the area I assumed we would be able to take the gang (whatever didn't run).
We had them in a pipe system with one outlet, and were sitting on the outlet gate, while they were camping the pipe gate. As we landed and I jumped through, we were scouted by their neutral interceptor alt. As I was warping to where they had been, they landed on our in gate. I immediately had our gang jump through and bubble them in, instructions to reapproach.
None of them aggressed, and they all cross jumped us into the outlet system.
Damn.
So everyone jumped on through, holding cloak. Then the first bit of fail intel came in "they are aggressed".
Ok, in my head this means that I can send in forces and hit their fleet, as they are committed. They are unable to jump due to aggression and they will be unable to warp due to bubbles/points.
Unfortunately whoever yelled this over comms (lack of fleet discipline) had their head up their ass, and as I landed 15km off gate (due to the previous bubble being up), their fleet started jumping back in. Their Malediction was first in, and before I was able to warp off I was tackled. I tried to neut, but he kited me at range as their fleet came in and POP. I went.
Best part was my fleet, sitting on the other side with aggression. So I died, then my fleet came in and with no tertiary FC (I was supposed to backseat this one but the primary FC died in his Taranis before we even engaged) our fleet tried to fight Machariels burning off the gate... bad idea. We took even more losses and didn't kill a single one of them.
Looking back, you wouldn't even know that we had numbers on their gang. Nor would you know their was a blue fleet in the area as well (they didn't convo me, even though I asked in intel). Congratulations to the wretched for playing it smart.
So. Some simple things to pull from this:
1. Shut the fuck up on comms, and if you aren't sure on intel, keep shutting the fuck up. Aggression means a red box aka they are shooting you aka jamming aka anything that is aggression related. Yellow boxing means fuck all.
2. Use your head. If enemy fleet is not shooting you, they are not shooting for a reason. Think before deciding to shoot them first.
3. If you are leading a gang and there is another friendly gang in area, be in communication with that FC. If he isn't making first contact, do it yourself. To not coordinate is retarded. Really really retarded.
4. Don't FC in a Recon. You will die and Recons are expensive to replace.
5. I've said it time and time again, and am guilty of it this time. Don't assume your fleetmembers know the correct actions to take in many situations. In retrospect I should have assumed The Wretched gang would reapproach; it was the natural and intelligent thing to do, as aggressing would lead to expensive losses. Knowing this, I should have specified one individual to point/aggress and have the rest reapproach and jump with them. But I didn't, and I died (and they lost nothing) as a result.
So, being a little emo I didn't play much more yesterday. With luck, maybe some kills tonight.
June 29, 2010
June 24, 2010
Nothing to write about...
So, since CCP blueballed us for the past 24hrs, and I have no stories, I figured I would answer a question I got from an EVEplayer.
The questions was along the lines of "How did you survive the first couple months of EVE, and what are some lessons to learn?"
I look back to just over a year ago and EVE seems like a different game. I understood things in a very different way than I do now.
I guess the first thing to do when you start playing the game is to choose a path. What I mean by that is, choose what you want to focus on. PVP, Manufacturing, transportation, etc. This is hugely important, because it allows you to set a training path. One of the reasons I got off to a rocket start is that I knew I was going to play this game to shoot people or not play it at all. Coming from RTS games the action was important. I never used EVEMON until recently (and still barely at all), but I analytically planned out my training in my head. My focus was firstly on specific shiptypes that I wanted to fly and the associated skills required to fly said ships. The second was looking at said skills and saying "which ones will benefit me if trained first?"
For instance, in training Amarr recently, I trained all the skills for medium pulse and beam laser specializations and energy emission systems prior to training Amarr Cruiser V. Whats the point in a 20 day training when I can't properly fit the hull?
Look beyond the core and tertiary skills needed for ships. There are other skills that are crucial to success even though you can get into a hull without them. Flying a Drake with poor shield skills is dumb. Flying a Geddon with poor armor skills is dumb. Don't overextend the shiptypes you can fly without working on capacitor skills, navigation skills, mechanic skills, etc. Those skills are the best, because they apply to EVERY ship you fly. Don't jump the gun; often it will lead to an ugly lossmail.
Remember that just because you have chose a specific path in EVE, you are free to change at any time. Sure, its a pain in the ass, but its an option you always have. If you are a pirate and want to go carebear you can (I will make fun of you). If you are a carebear and want to go pirate, you can (I will give you props). If you are in high sec and want to move to null-sec, you can (although you may have to go through less skilled pet corps to do so).
Be patient. Patient with yourself, patient with your progress. You aren't going to jump into a major 0.0 alliance right away. You have to start low and work your way up (unless you know someone with an in). Don't get down on yourself. You are going to die. You will lose ships. The important thing is, did you learn anything when you died? If so, great, progression. If not.... think harder.
Don't mind old vets, many of whom are bitter. I've said it a million times and will repeat myself: Just because you are a new player doesn't make you bad/terribad. This may be accurate in many cases, but there are plenty of new players that are sharp and intelligent. There are also plenty of really old players who suck. The advantage tenured players have is skillpoints, which open up different hulls/weapons and allow those ships to operate more efficiently. But I have seen some crazy lossmails, with various noob ships on them killing much larger/more expensive ships.
Lastly, don't trust anyone you don't know in EVE. In most cases, don't trust anyone in EVE at all. Never give anyone money in "loans" or "returns for investment" or anything along those lines, and study every contract very carefully before accepting. EVE is allowed to run with very few rules, which makes it fun. But don't be the one getting the short stick, get the long stick. Those that have the long stick can beat other people over the head with it.
That is all.
The questions was along the lines of "How did you survive the first couple months of EVE, and what are some lessons to learn?"
I look back to just over a year ago and EVE seems like a different game. I understood things in a very different way than I do now.
I guess the first thing to do when you start playing the game is to choose a path. What I mean by that is, choose what you want to focus on. PVP, Manufacturing, transportation, etc. This is hugely important, because it allows you to set a training path. One of the reasons I got off to a rocket start is that I knew I was going to play this game to shoot people or not play it at all. Coming from RTS games the action was important. I never used EVEMON until recently (and still barely at all), but I analytically planned out my training in my head. My focus was firstly on specific shiptypes that I wanted to fly and the associated skills required to fly said ships. The second was looking at said skills and saying "which ones will benefit me if trained first?"
For instance, in training Amarr recently, I trained all the skills for medium pulse and beam laser specializations and energy emission systems prior to training Amarr Cruiser V. Whats the point in a 20 day training when I can't properly fit the hull?
Look beyond the core and tertiary skills needed for ships. There are other skills that are crucial to success even though you can get into a hull without them. Flying a Drake with poor shield skills is dumb. Flying a Geddon with poor armor skills is dumb. Don't overextend the shiptypes you can fly without working on capacitor skills, navigation skills, mechanic skills, etc. Those skills are the best, because they apply to EVERY ship you fly. Don't jump the gun; often it will lead to an ugly lossmail.
Remember that just because you have chose a specific path in EVE, you are free to change at any time. Sure, its a pain in the ass, but its an option you always have. If you are a pirate and want to go carebear you can (I will make fun of you). If you are a carebear and want to go pirate, you can (I will give you props). If you are in high sec and want to move to null-sec, you can (although you may have to go through less skilled pet corps to do so).
Be patient. Patient with yourself, patient with your progress. You aren't going to jump into a major 0.0 alliance right away. You have to start low and work your way up (unless you know someone with an in). Don't get down on yourself. You are going to die. You will lose ships. The important thing is, did you learn anything when you died? If so, great, progression. If not.... think harder.
Don't mind old vets, many of whom are bitter. I've said it a million times and will repeat myself: Just because you are a new player doesn't make you bad/terribad. This may be accurate in many cases, but there are plenty of new players that are sharp and intelligent. There are also plenty of really old players who suck. The advantage tenured players have is skillpoints, which open up different hulls/weapons and allow those ships to operate more efficiently. But I have seen some crazy lossmails, with various noob ships on them killing much larger/more expensive ships.
Lastly, don't trust anyone you don't know in EVE. In most cases, don't trust anyone in EVE at all. Never give anyone money in "loans" or "returns for investment" or anything along those lines, and study every contract very carefully before accepting. EVE is allowed to run with very few rules, which makes it fun. But don't be the one getting the short stick, get the long stick. Those that have the long stick can beat other people over the head with it.
That is all.
June 23, 2010
Downtime
Waiting for CCP to stop failing.
Two deadlines come and gone, and no update after 40 minutes of lateness on ETA for server being up.
Being late once... annoying.
Being late twice, aggravating.
Keeping your customers in the dark, infuriating.
Its days like this I wish we were back at Apocrypha. Stable and smooth. Screw PI and screw fleet finder.
Two deadlines come and gone, and no update after 40 minutes of lateness on ETA for server being up.
Being late once... annoying.
Being late twice, aggravating.
Keeping your customers in the dark, infuriating.
Its days like this I wish we were back at Apocrypha. Stable and smooth. Screw PI and screw fleet finder.
June 22, 2010
Revisiting UK
Last night I arrived home and had a brief period of time in which to play some EVE.
Lucky for me, Xoo & Co happened to be on at that time.
We staged in a system that allowed us access to the Ushra'Khan system of A-V. Lots of NPC kills had been reported, so we sent a scout to find targets.
Our scout first reported an Apoc, but couldn't get a tackle fast enough. Local was calm... suspecting the ratters were alert we layed low and scout just stayed cloaked with probes out.
Then "check check" on comms. "I have an Abaddon, Harbinger and Apoc on scan with directional in space. Checking for anomalies now"
A few minutes later "I have them I think, hold on".
We all approached our Black Ops ship, dropped cloaks and made ourselves ready.
"I found them. Holy shit, I'm in the middle of the asteroid but not de cloaked". For those that are aware, Havens and Sanctums often have a hollow asteroid at their center. Our scout landed inside, and didn't de cloak. It was a freakin miracle.
"Ok... I have Abaddon tanking, Harbinger is just flying around and Apoc is at range... kk he just warped off. Two BS left in this spawn."
"Everyone get ready, next spawn we jump in"
"OK, ok. Apoc is back. One BS left. When you jump we should primary Apoc."
"no no" I said "The Harbinger will tear up our small stuff. Primary is Harb, get points on Apoc if you can, and you point the Abaddon as we jump in."
We waited for the new spawn... and in a couple minutes it arrived.
"Bridge up jump jump jump"
In we went. Apoc warped off immediately, but Abaddon was stuck and Harbinger was stuck. Harbinger melted fairly quickly, and only got off two volleys before all our bombers got their transversals up and my tracking disruptors killed his tracking. Our Sin was already neuting the Abaddon, as the Harbinger died we switched DPS to him. His tank held for about 15 seconds before he capped out, at which point his ship also bloomed outwards in a white flash, debris spinning across space.
We scooped loot and safed. Our scout died in his Manticore... but well worth the tradeoff. The Harbinger was shit fit, but the Abaddon was nicely set up.
I smiled as I looked at the Killmails. The Harbinger pilot had been on my Pilgrim loss the day before, and the Abaddon pilot has been in Mostly Harmless up until recently. Interesting switch, I thought.
We bridged back out, and called it a night. I went out soloing, almost got a AAA-C Raven. Warped to his belt, started locking, at .34 seconds left he warped. WTB more scan res :(
Played around with a VLAST gang in Y-2ANO today before work. Set a trap with my Drake, they took the bait. Problem was the 50+ AU warp from ZXB to LBGI gates in Y-2ANO. Enemy gang bailed out when local spiked. We tried to camp them in... but they all logged off. Smart move. I went to work, and I'm pretty sure Titus brought the fleet home. Log off was the only logical choice in that scenario (we had 2 probers out), and all those E-Honor high sec folks that would have not logged off... please come visit our home constellation soon :)
That is all.
Lucky for me, Xoo & Co happened to be on at that time.
We staged in a system that allowed us access to the Ushra'Khan system of A-V. Lots of NPC kills had been reported, so we sent a scout to find targets.
Our scout first reported an Apoc, but couldn't get a tackle fast enough. Local was calm... suspecting the ratters were alert we layed low and scout just stayed cloaked with probes out.
Then "check check" on comms. "I have an Abaddon, Harbinger and Apoc on scan with directional in space. Checking for anomalies now"
A few minutes later "I have them I think, hold on".
We all approached our Black Ops ship, dropped cloaks and made ourselves ready.
"I found them. Holy shit, I'm in the middle of the asteroid but not de cloaked". For those that are aware, Havens and Sanctums often have a hollow asteroid at their center. Our scout landed inside, and didn't de cloak. It was a freakin miracle.
"Ok... I have Abaddon tanking, Harbinger is just flying around and Apoc is at range... kk he just warped off. Two BS left in this spawn."
"Everyone get ready, next spawn we jump in"
"OK, ok. Apoc is back. One BS left. When you jump we should primary Apoc."
"no no" I said "The Harbinger will tear up our small stuff. Primary is Harb, get points on Apoc if you can, and you point the Abaddon as we jump in."
We waited for the new spawn... and in a couple minutes it arrived.
"Bridge up jump jump jump"
In we went. Apoc warped off immediately, but Abaddon was stuck and Harbinger was stuck. Harbinger melted fairly quickly, and only got off two volleys before all our bombers got their transversals up and my tracking disruptors killed his tracking. Our Sin was already neuting the Abaddon, as the Harbinger died we switched DPS to him. His tank held for about 15 seconds before he capped out, at which point his ship also bloomed outwards in a white flash, debris spinning across space.
We scooped loot and safed. Our scout died in his Manticore... but well worth the tradeoff. The Harbinger was shit fit, but the Abaddon was nicely set up.
I smiled as I looked at the Killmails. The Harbinger pilot had been on my Pilgrim loss the day before, and the Abaddon pilot has been in Mostly Harmless up until recently. Interesting switch, I thought.
We bridged back out, and called it a night. I went out soloing, almost got a AAA-C Raven. Warped to his belt, started locking, at .34 seconds left he warped. WTB more scan res :(
Played around with a VLAST gang in Y-2ANO today before work. Set a trap with my Drake, they took the bait. Problem was the 50+ AU warp from ZXB to LBGI gates in Y-2ANO. Enemy gang bailed out when local spiked. We tried to camp them in... but they all logged off. Smart move. I went to work, and I'm pretty sure Titus brought the fleet home. Log off was the only logical choice in that scenario (we had 2 probers out), and all those E-Honor high sec folks that would have not logged off... please come visit our home constellation soon :)
That is all.
June 21, 2010
Drops and Deaths
Yesterday was a rollercoaster.
Started off with a bridge into an Ushra'Khan system of A-V. Our scout pointed a Raven and in we bridged. Second point was called from our Tengu... I started my neuts and burned towards him for the short point.
He warped.
Now, I am not the best carebear type out there... but I do realize that a Raven's lows usually have Ballistic Controls, Cap Recharge rigs and maybe a DC2 for that edge on resists.
But not stabs.
This guy had at least two, and I am genuinely curious if that was all or if he had more. So while he fails hard at ratting, it saved his ass this one instance.
The Dominix that was still running a Sansha Sanctum after 5 hostiles jumped into system wasn't as lucky. We warped in, pointed him and started pounding. He kept his reps up... until my neuts capped him out. Then his Dominix no longer had the green glow of armor repping... and blossomed into a fireball.
Local started slowly emptying... due to our presence. We were in a dead end constellation with one exit, and I assumed we were camped in.
So we Cov Ops bridged out.
About 4 jumps away we holed up, no one in local. Our scout at the end of the dead end constellation reported a lone Sabre in local. He started locking our Cov Ops scout, who bailed. I assumed he had backup, but that my Pilgrim and the Tengu that was with me would be able to drop him quick enough.
I was wrong.
I jumped in, and was immediately bubbled. He didn't even know what I was in, but bubbled. Second chance for me to be smart, and reapproach gate. But instead I decloaked, scrammed him and started neuts and put Hammerheads on him. Tengu jumped through and started hitting him as well. I started getting nervous when his tank didn't break immediately. I aligned out and kept neuting him, Tengu did the same.
He was sitting at about 10% shield when local spiked. Lots. Tengu warped out, and I kept burning out of the bubble. I kept my drones on the bastard, and he followed me out of the bubble. Neuts started dropping all around me, all in fast tackle. It was the gang that had been camping us in the dead end constellation.
As the Sabre exploded I pulled my drones in, and started aligning out. I misjudged the align time with a 1600mm plate and trimarks and cut it to close. Pointed by a Jag... and seconds later by the entire gang my Pilgrim exploded. I vainly attempted to point and neut a Crow so my Warrior IIs could get him before I died, but a ?rail fit? Demos and Cynabal took me down very quickly.
Looking back, I should have ignored the Sabre or brought more of the gang in. The fit wasn't unorthodox, but I didn't expect a DC2 in the lows. That and our Tengu was probe fit and cov ops fit. Which means 3 launchers. Shit DPS.
I re shipped and headed back to the gang, a bit angry.
Next target was a ratting Raven we found in a dead end constellation. Same story, scout drops cloak, points pops cyno and in we come. Raven died insanely fast.
We bridged out of system and the scout started moving towards our next constellation of targets. On the way there, however, he yelled on comms "I've got a Navy Vexor on the in gate!"
Quiet.
"See if he will agress. If he does pop cyno and point and we will come." I said.
"He warped to the outgate"
"Follow him! Same plan"
So in my scout went, after the Vexor. This time scout decloaked and pointed him. Vexor immediately aggressed and in we went. Scrams were on, neuts were on and he started dying. We shot him over and over, but bombers with torps are not pro against cruiser hulls, and without webs (we really needed a Rapier) he made it back to the gate in structure. Funny enough, this guys buddy in a Vagabond jumped into us right before his buddy jumped out. I was 2km from getting a scram on him, but with no scram, no Rapier and no neut range bonus (I love my Curse) he burned off the gate.
Damn.
But good old Xoo.... yeah his scout had jumped through to keep from dying. So it was waiting on the other side of gate... and pointed the Vexor as he jumped through. Vexor put drones out and aggressed, obviously thinking an easy kill. Xoo's scout was doomed. Right?
Wrong. Xoo popped another covert cyno and in came the Redeemer. Immediately Vexor de aggressed and reapproached the gate, but I was already in system along with the Redeemer (I had started de aggressing before the others in case he actually made it to the gate, which he did). With neuts preventing reppage, armor damage from the gang and Xoo's Redeemer pummeling him, the Navy Issue Vexor exploded. I was working my way back from that damn Pilgrim loss.
Gang disbanded at that point. I played with the Vagabond a bit more, but without long range webs and with my tracking disruptors it was a stalemate. He may have won in the long run, but after a couple minutes of playing around, him at 10% shield and me at 50% armor I took a momentary lapse of his point and warped off.
Static and myself, not ready to call it a night, hunted for another hour or so. We only got one kill... but it was worth it. We were searching a dead end constellation in Tenerifis when I entered a system with one neut in local. NPC kills in system were moderate over the past hour, and only 7 belts. Gate was 60AU from center of system.
I mentally gave up at that point but picked the middle belt and warped to it. As I neared the solar cluster I picked up a Raven on scan....
Eyebrows up.
I narrowed directional and picked out the planetary cluster in front of me... Still on scan.
As I flew past the planet and the lone belt loomed in front of me... he was still on scan with drones out.
Jackpot.
I landed in belt 13km off a Raven with rats in belt. I immediately de cloaked and overheated scram.
"Static get in here, warp to me!" In Static came.... "damn what a long warp" he commented.
Tank on Raven wasn't too bad... his reps were quite strong. Static landed and started dropping torps. My neuts finally did their job, and the shield repping stopped. His shields literally collapsed, armor and structure melted. As he entered armor he logged off.... but that didn't matter. The Raven exploded, and his killmail revealed an X-Large Shield Booster, two Ionic Field Accelerators and... a warp core stabilizer. Thanks heavens for a short point!
As we scooped the loot and were warping to the out gate, our friend logs back in. This is the transcript from the conversation:
[06:13:54] cabdog > :(
[06:14:04] Perseus Kallistratos > when u log bro
[06:14:07] Perseus Kallistratos > 15 min agro timer
[06:14:16] cabdog > my kid was ratting
[06:14:24] cabdog > he freaked out
[06:14:25] cabdog > lol
[06:14:32] cabdog > then came to get me
[06:14:38] StaticViolence > =(
[06:15:09] cabdog > i doubt he would have shot at u so no agro timer
[06:15:22] Perseus Kallistratos > when you get shot at it starts
[06:15:46] Perseus Kallistratos > unless he ctrl Qs before
[06:16:18] cabdog > he is 10
[06:16:26] Perseus Kallistratos > man
[06:16:33] cabdog > so brain doesnt work that fast
[06:16:36] Perseus Kallistratos > lol
[06:16:53] StaticViolence > its too bad his daddy uses him as child labor
At that point he left local, and we headed home. Good times.
That is all.
Started off with a bridge into an Ushra'Khan system of A-V. Our scout pointed a Raven and in we bridged. Second point was called from our Tengu... I started my neuts and burned towards him for the short point.
He warped.
Now, I am not the best carebear type out there... but I do realize that a Raven's lows usually have Ballistic Controls, Cap Recharge rigs and maybe a DC2 for that edge on resists.
But not stabs.
This guy had at least two, and I am genuinely curious if that was all or if he had more. So while he fails hard at ratting, it saved his ass this one instance.
The Dominix that was still running a Sansha Sanctum after 5 hostiles jumped into system wasn't as lucky. We warped in, pointed him and started pounding. He kept his reps up... until my neuts capped him out. Then his Dominix no longer had the green glow of armor repping... and blossomed into a fireball.
Local started slowly emptying... due to our presence. We were in a dead end constellation with one exit, and I assumed we were camped in.
So we Cov Ops bridged out.
About 4 jumps away we holed up, no one in local. Our scout at the end of the dead end constellation reported a lone Sabre in local. He started locking our Cov Ops scout, who bailed. I assumed he had backup, but that my Pilgrim and the Tengu that was with me would be able to drop him quick enough.
I was wrong.
I jumped in, and was immediately bubbled. He didn't even know what I was in, but bubbled. Second chance for me to be smart, and reapproach gate. But instead I decloaked, scrammed him and started neuts and put Hammerheads on him. Tengu jumped through and started hitting him as well. I started getting nervous when his tank didn't break immediately. I aligned out and kept neuting him, Tengu did the same.
He was sitting at about 10% shield when local spiked. Lots. Tengu warped out, and I kept burning out of the bubble. I kept my drones on the bastard, and he followed me out of the bubble. Neuts started dropping all around me, all in fast tackle. It was the gang that had been camping us in the dead end constellation.
As the Sabre exploded I pulled my drones in, and started aligning out. I misjudged the align time with a 1600mm plate and trimarks and cut it to close. Pointed by a Jag... and seconds later by the entire gang my Pilgrim exploded. I vainly attempted to point and neut a Crow so my Warrior IIs could get him before I died, but a ?rail fit? Demos and Cynabal took me down very quickly.
Looking back, I should have ignored the Sabre or brought more of the gang in. The fit wasn't unorthodox, but I didn't expect a DC2 in the lows. That and our Tengu was probe fit and cov ops fit. Which means 3 launchers. Shit DPS.
I re shipped and headed back to the gang, a bit angry.
Next target was a ratting Raven we found in a dead end constellation. Same story, scout drops cloak, points pops cyno and in we come. Raven died insanely fast.
We bridged out of system and the scout started moving towards our next constellation of targets. On the way there, however, he yelled on comms "I've got a Navy Vexor on the in gate!"
Quiet.
"See if he will agress. If he does pop cyno and point and we will come." I said.
"He warped to the outgate"
"Follow him! Same plan"
So in my scout went, after the Vexor. This time scout decloaked and pointed him. Vexor immediately aggressed and in we went. Scrams were on, neuts were on and he started dying. We shot him over and over, but bombers with torps are not pro against cruiser hulls, and without webs (we really needed a Rapier) he made it back to the gate in structure. Funny enough, this guys buddy in a Vagabond jumped into us right before his buddy jumped out. I was 2km from getting a scram on him, but with no scram, no Rapier and no neut range bonus (I love my Curse) he burned off the gate.
Damn.
But good old Xoo.... yeah his scout had jumped through to keep from dying. So it was waiting on the other side of gate... and pointed the Vexor as he jumped through. Vexor put drones out and aggressed, obviously thinking an easy kill. Xoo's scout was doomed. Right?
Wrong. Xoo popped another covert cyno and in came the Redeemer. Immediately Vexor de aggressed and reapproached the gate, but I was already in system along with the Redeemer (I had started de aggressing before the others in case he actually made it to the gate, which he did). With neuts preventing reppage, armor damage from the gang and Xoo's Redeemer pummeling him, the Navy Issue Vexor exploded. I was working my way back from that damn Pilgrim loss.
Gang disbanded at that point. I played with the Vagabond a bit more, but without long range webs and with my tracking disruptors it was a stalemate. He may have won in the long run, but after a couple minutes of playing around, him at 10% shield and me at 50% armor I took a momentary lapse of his point and warped off.
Static and myself, not ready to call it a night, hunted for another hour or so. We only got one kill... but it was worth it. We were searching a dead end constellation in Tenerifis when I entered a system with one neut in local. NPC kills in system were moderate over the past hour, and only 7 belts. Gate was 60AU from center of system.
I mentally gave up at that point but picked the middle belt and warped to it. As I neared the solar cluster I picked up a Raven on scan....
Eyebrows up.
I narrowed directional and picked out the planetary cluster in front of me... Still on scan.
As I flew past the planet and the lone belt loomed in front of me... he was still on scan with drones out.
Jackpot.
I landed in belt 13km off a Raven with rats in belt. I immediately de cloaked and overheated scram.
"Static get in here, warp to me!" In Static came.... "damn what a long warp" he commented.
Tank on Raven wasn't too bad... his reps were quite strong. Static landed and started dropping torps. My neuts finally did their job, and the shield repping stopped. His shields literally collapsed, armor and structure melted. As he entered armor he logged off.... but that didn't matter. The Raven exploded, and his killmail revealed an X-Large Shield Booster, two Ionic Field Accelerators and... a warp core stabilizer. Thanks heavens for a short point!
As we scooped the loot and were warping to the out gate, our friend logs back in. This is the transcript from the conversation:
[06:13:54] cabdog > :(
[06:14:04] Perseus Kallistratos > when u log bro
[06:14:07] Perseus Kallistratos > 15 min agro timer
[06:14:16] cabdog > my kid was ratting
[06:14:24] cabdog > he freaked out
[06:14:25] cabdog > lol
[06:14:32] cabdog > then came to get me
[06:14:38] StaticViolence > =(
[06:15:09] cabdog > i doubt he would have shot at u so no agro timer
[06:15:22] Perseus Kallistratos > when you get shot at it starts
[06:15:46] Perseus Kallistratos > unless he ctrl Qs before
[06:16:18] cabdog > he is 10
[06:16:26] Perseus Kallistratos > man
[06:16:33] cabdog > so brain doesnt work that fast
[06:16:36] Perseus Kallistratos > lol
[06:16:53] StaticViolence > its too bad his daddy uses him as child labor
At that point he left local, and we headed home. Good times.
That is all.
June 19, 2010
Black Ops
Many people in EVE have Black Ops. These are usually hangar queens that never get used. There are some that do get used, and they usually get used like battleships.
They aren't.
Thats like using a 1958 Bentley as your daily driver to work. You just don't do it (Unless you're Tony Montoya).
Unfotunately many do, and it results in comical loss mails like this Widow we killed in Yong awhile back. He jumped in low sec, our eyes saw it and he warped to the Biphi at 100km and cloaked. Not sure why, but thats what happened. So 10 ships start burning towards his cloaked Widow. Now remember, Black Ops cannot fit covert ops cloaking device. So they can't warp cloaked.
After a couple minutes we decloaked his Widow and he died. Quickly.
Pointless.
But he didn't lose a 100 million (tops) Scorpion. He lost a 1 bill (probably more with faction loot) battleship.
So last night we used Black Ops the right way.
We roamed into Catch, our Cov Ops scout looking for targets. We had a wonderful cov ops gang and a dictor for the normal system to system jumping. It was uneventful until Xoo reported two Paladins and deadspace wrecks on scan.
Hot damn.
He dropped probes and started getting hits. In 20/20 hindsight he should have just warped to anomalies but he scanned it to 100% and warped to it at range.
Paladin on grid and in range.
We decloaked in our system and got on Xoo's Redeemer. He decloaked his Cov Ops and pointed the Paladin. Bridge went up, in we went. Paladin didn't even have time to destroy our scout before my tracking disruptors were on him, making his turrets useless. The Redeemer was given the go ahead to jump through, but before he could lock the Paladin it popped. The rats were hitting him hard, and his reps just couldn't keep up. His loot drop was crap too.
I ended up having to leave at that time, and handed the reigns off while I went out for good times with chill brosefs on sport bikes :)
Its ok though, two Paladins in one week works for me.
Black Ops possess the special ability to generate a covert ops bridge. Similar to a titan bridge, but it can get into cyno jammed systems, the covert cyno does not show up on scans, it lasts 1 minute (30 seconds for covert recon) and uses much less fuel to light. They are basically a workship, and should only be jumped into combat when area is completely secure and their safety is guaranteed. Due to their inability to warp while cloaked they can be easily caught as compared to their smaller brethren in stealth bombers, recons and T3s. When used correctly, however, they provide the ability to hot drop unsuspecting targets with great success. Dirt Nap Squad and Elitist Ops are two notorious Black Ops runners, with experienced players and skilled toons to make things happen.
They aren't.
Thats like using a 1958 Bentley as your daily driver to work. You just don't do it (Unless you're Tony Montoya).
Unfotunately many do, and it results in comical loss mails like this Widow we killed in Yong awhile back. He jumped in low sec, our eyes saw it and he warped to the Biphi at 100km and cloaked. Not sure why, but thats what happened. So 10 ships start burning towards his cloaked Widow. Now remember, Black Ops cannot fit covert ops cloaking device. So they can't warp cloaked.
After a couple minutes we decloaked his Widow and he died. Quickly.
Pointless.
But he didn't lose a 100 million (tops) Scorpion. He lost a 1 bill (probably more with faction loot) battleship.
So last night we used Black Ops the right way.
We roamed into Catch, our Cov Ops scout looking for targets. We had a wonderful cov ops gang and a dictor for the normal system to system jumping. It was uneventful until Xoo reported two Paladins and deadspace wrecks on scan.
Hot damn.
He dropped probes and started getting hits. In 20/20 hindsight he should have just warped to anomalies but he scanned it to 100% and warped to it at range.
Paladin on grid and in range.
We decloaked in our system and got on Xoo's Redeemer. He decloaked his Cov Ops and pointed the Paladin. Bridge went up, in we went. Paladin didn't even have time to destroy our scout before my tracking disruptors were on him, making his turrets useless. The Redeemer was given the go ahead to jump through, but before he could lock the Paladin it popped. The rats were hitting him hard, and his reps just couldn't keep up. His loot drop was crap too.
I ended up having to leave at that time, and handed the reigns off while I went out for good times with chill brosefs on sport bikes :)
Black Ops possess the special ability to generate a covert ops bridge. Similar to a titan bridge, but it can get into cyno jammed systems, the covert cyno does not show up on scans, it lasts 1 minute (30 seconds for covert recon) and uses much less fuel to light. They are basically a workship, and should only be jumped into combat when area is completely secure and their safety is guaranteed. Due to their inability to warp while cloaked they can be easily caught as compared to their That is all.
June 18, 2010
In Game Hellos
Recently Eveoganda (http://eveoganda.blogspot.com/) wrote an article referencing all the hellos and messages in game he receives due to his "celebrity" status.
I too, am not always at my computer while logged in. While I don't autopilot (even in Empire IT is constantly war decced) ever, I do AFK cloak in hostile systems or afk while docked. Occasionally I don't respond to a hello, but I do see it when I get back to computer. Even the few guys who try and troll me in local... thanks for the attention :)
I have an approximation of hits to this blog using web browsers (100 and 150 hits a day as my tracker says), but have no idea when it comes to RSS feeds and Capsuleer. I can only assume many of the better written blogs on the blog pak see similar numbers.
That is all.
I too, am not always at my computer while logged in. While I don't autopilot (even in Empire IT is constantly war decced) ever, I do AFK cloak in hostile systems or afk while docked. Occasionally I don't respond to a hello, but I do see it when I get back to computer. Even the few guys who try and troll me in local... thanks for the attention :)
I have an approximation of hits to this blog using web browsers (100 and 150 hits a day as my tracker says), but have no idea when it comes to RSS feeds and Capsuleer. I can only assume many of the better written blogs on the blog pak see similar numbers.
That is all.
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