(I've decided to consolidate accounts, as I don't have enough time to pursue everything I want to do in EVE, and it seems a bit pointless to spend 15$ a month on an account I barely play).
Sunday, November 27, 2011
RIP - Toritetsu Morimoto
Saturday, November 26, 2011
AAR - 11.11.26 - 13:45: Nate Scores his first Final Blows
Another busy week in RL, but the weekend's pretty clear, so I decided to go for a little flight. I hooked up with a Blue fleet flying around in Hagaken. The fleet was holding about 180 km away from a station, staring down several reds, when I got there. Not sure what they were doing, but less than 30 seconds after I got there, we started warping into the reds. The FC started calling primaries. I guess they didn't think I was a threat (and I probably wasn't), because they left me alone. Which is ok, because it allowed me to fire unmolested for the duration of the fight. I bagged my two first kill mails in EVE, ever:
I was on four other kills in that fight:
I'm not sure why that last one is considered a kill at all. I took shots at that Harby from 12 km away with 150mm Autocannon IIs, which have an optimal range of 565m. There was no chance of hitting it, it was kill board whoring at its worse.
Looking at those kills, I see I'm not doing much damage. Everyone talks about how much teeth the Rifter has, but I'm not sure I'm getting it. Granted, I haven't flown many other ships, so I can't really judge anything. I should probably look at the kill boards, see what others are able to do with it.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Clarification
I just realized that I never posted that I swapped Tori out of RvB, and signed Nate up.
After being Aurora Reloaded for about a week, I decided to leave. While everyone was quite friendly, there wasn't a lot of activity in the corporation. The pilots were a little less aggressive than I would have like as well. I'm ok with losing ships, as long as I get into fights and learn something about PVP. Gate camping for enemy militia dozens of jumps away from the front does not exactly allow me to learn much (I'm already pretty good at gate camping, after spend many hours doing so defending Aldrat during times of war in E-Uni).
While I do enjoy flying with Tori, I figured he would be put to better use in Fugawa Heavy Industries, my alt corporation. He's got very good missioning skills to generate ISK, while Meili Jiang, CEO of FHI, is steadily increasing her industrial skills. Soon, between the two of them, I should have the ability to both generate passive ISK( through production, PI and datacores) and quickly generate ISK through level 4 missioning/salvaging to keep Nate's docking bay stocked with ships, weapons and ammo.
One more note: I've decided to use "AAR" (After Action Report) in post titles were I see PVP action, and limit the "Flight Log" post title to PVE roams, or PVP roams that lead to no action, just to keep them separate. I'll also add Lessons Learned and Required Actions sections to AARs, just so that I don't have to rely on my not-so-good memory to learn how to fight.
AAR - 11.11.19: Nate's First PVP Engagement
With our guests gone, and my better half visiting her family, I had a bit of time to go find trouble. And trouble wasn't difficult to find this morning.
I fitted a Rifter, and left our HQ. My plan was to go up and down to Red HQ via the Akonoinen-Hagaken-Uosusuokko pipe, and see what I could find. As soon as I jumped through to Akonoinen, I briefly saw a red flash on my overview. I assumed someone had just jumped into Autaris, the Blue HQ. It's not very good form to let the enemy roam in your backyard, so I burned back to the gate, and jumped through.
The bogey wasn't on the gate, so I decided to head back to the HQ. It was the likeliest place to find a war target. Sure enough, there was a Rupture about 200 km from the station. I figured it wasn't a good idea for me to jump a cruiser in my little frigate, so I held back at 200km from the station. The Rupture warped closer to the station, and at about the same time, two Blues undocked and engaged. I warped to the station, and burned like hell to get into range. At 9km, I engaged my scrambler and web, and opened fire. The Rupture was going down pretty quick, thanks to our Hurricane and our own friendly Rupture.
Just a few seconds later, a Red Rifter also joined the fight. The two enemy ships both opened up on me, either because the Rupture pilot didn't like being webbed, or more likely they figured I'd be an easy kill (which is probably true). I decided to get out of dodge and save my Rifter. I stopped orbiting, and tried to warp out, but I was scrambled myself. Just as I turned back to keep pressure on the Rupture, it died:
I immediately locked the enemy Rifter, engaged my scrambler so it would get away, and almost as quickly, it died too:
I guess the teammates of the two we had just dispatched wanted some payback. It wasn't too long before a Dramiel showed up on my overview. I calmly evaluated the situation:
- My Rifter vs a Dramiel
- I'm an inexperienced PVP pilot
- I lack skills to fully fit a Rifter correctly
- I have 0% remaining shields, 60% remaining armor and my capacitor is low
- Two additional Reds just showed up grid
This is where I made a noob mistake. As soon as I dropped out of warp, I just held there for a few seconds so I could figure out what to do next. That was more than enough time for the Dramiel to land on grid, right on top of me, scramble me, and start firing. Another Dramiel showed up, as well as a Federation Navy Slicer. I lasted a few more seconds, then my Rifter blew up:
Lessons Learned
- Don't mess around with Dramiels. Their reputation is deserved
- A skilled pilot can lock and scram you almost instantly
- When being chased, don't stop bouncing
- Have secure safe spots in a system, away from celestials. Warping to a Planet or Asteroid belt may be convenient, but you can easily be followed.
Required Actions
- Research how to correctly bookmark a system
- Research the "safe" way to engage an enemy alone, while you're waiting for reinforcements
- Prepare a plan to improve Rifter skills
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Slow Week
I haven't posting much this week, primarily because I haven't been playing much this week. I have family in town, and entertaining them is wreaking havoc on my EVE time. About all I've had time to do is run a lvl 1 mission or two to increase my standings with the Caldari corporation on my industrial alt. I'll get back to a regular posting schedule soon.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Flight Log - 11.11.04
There was almost no one from the corp online when I logged in, so I decided to switch back to Tori see if I couldn't pick and RvB fight. I went to my favorite gate, setup a camp and waited.
It didn't take long for someone to show up. A Kestrel popped through. I'm sitting in my Merlin, feeling pretty confident, so I lock the missile frigate up, turn on the distruptors and web, and open fire. Things start off well. I take a bit of fire, but nothing I can't handle, especially since I'm doing more DPS than he is. But then one of his buddies shows up on grid. And another. And another. The next thing you know, it's me vs 11 other ships. As you can imagine, my puny Merlin didn't stand a chance.
Lessons learned:
It didn't take long for someone to show up. A Kestrel popped through. I'm sitting in my Merlin, feeling pretty confident, so I lock the missile frigate up, turn on the distruptors and web, and open fire. Things start off well. I take a bit of fire, but nothing I can't handle, especially since I'm doing more DPS than he is. But then one of his buddies shows up on grid. And another. And another. The next thing you know, it's me vs 11 other ships. As you can imagine, my puny Merlin didn't stand a chance.
Lessons learned:
- Keep an eye on the overview and bug out if things start going down hill. I wanted the kill pretty bad, and I thought I could get it and still bug out after the second Red Fed ship came on grid. But if I had broke contact and warped out, I might have made it out.
- Keep fit up to date. My fit was crap. This Merlin was an older version I used when my skills weren't so good and I needed the power grid. It wouldn't be needed anymore. I also have the skills for T2 modules and rigs
- Keep a few ships on hand. I flew out to RvB with nothing but my Merlin. Now I have an Ibis and I'm in hostile territory. I'll have to get an alt to fly out and supply me.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Flight Log - 11.11.03
Always wanting to try out new things in EVE, I decided to give Red vs Blue a shot. But instead of signing up with Nate, who just joined a corp, I signed up with my most skilled alt, Tori. I chose Blue, for no other reason that Tori is Caldari and blue is the Caldari background color.
For this flight, I flew out to Blue HQ in my Merlin. Red HQ is only two jumps away, making it pretty easy to find a fight.
Being the coward that I am though, I chose not to head into Red HQ directly. Instead, I camped the gate coming into the buffer system. Like every other gate, this one was pretty boring. One WT did show up in a Vigil, a Minmatar T1 EWAR frigate. Me being me, I figured it would be an easy target for my Merlin. But as usual, I underestimated my target. I burned towards the vigil, but then he decided to run, and he outran me. I couldn't catch up. At one point though, the pilot turned, and I got within the 20km mark. I hit the warp scrambler so that I could hold him down to give my corp mates a chance to arrive. But that failed, because a scram has a range of only 7,500m. Crap.
Eventually, an interceptor arrived, pinned the Vigil down, and the other corp pilots took him down. I was 113km away at that point, so no kill board action for me.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. WTs showed up at the gate, I tried to get 'em, but no joy.
Not a total loss though. I did learn that an afterburner and a scram will not cut it if I want to tackle. I need a microwarp drive and a disruptor. I also need to train my targeting skills, because it's taking too much time to lock targets up. I need to be quicker if I'm going to camp.
For this flight, I flew out to Blue HQ in my Merlin. Red HQ is only two jumps away, making it pretty easy to find a fight.
Being the coward that I am though, I chose not to head into Red HQ directly. Instead, I camped the gate coming into the buffer system. Like every other gate, this one was pretty boring. One WT did show up in a Vigil, a Minmatar T1 EWAR frigate. Me being me, I figured it would be an easy target for my Merlin. But as usual, I underestimated my target. I burned towards the vigil, but then he decided to run, and he outran me. I couldn't catch up. At one point though, the pilot turned, and I got within the 20km mark. I hit the warp scrambler so that I could hold him down to give my corp mates a chance to arrive. But that failed, because a scram has a range of only 7,500m. Crap.
Eventually, an interceptor arrived, pinned the Vigil down, and the other corp pilots took him down. I was 113km away at that point, so no kill board action for me.
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. WTs showed up at the gate, I tried to get 'em, but no joy.
Not a total loss though. I did learn that an afterburner and a scram will not cut it if I want to tackle. I need a microwarp drive and a disruptor. I also need to train my targeting skills, because it's taking too much time to lock targets up. I need to be quicker if I'm going to camp.
Flight Log - 11.11.01
My new corp, Aurora Reloaded is a Minmatar Militia corporation, so we do have quite a few war targets. Last night, I decided to go out with a few corpmates and do some hunting. A known WT was reported in his favorite hunting ground, so we flew out, setup a gate camp, and waited.
Because it was an area he was familiar with, it was a difficult hunt. He had bookmarks all over the place, and we had no interceptors, making it very difficult to catch him. We were also a relatively small group, and the FC didn't want to split us up too much. After an or so of waiting, with him only showing up as blips on the overview a few times, we called it a night.
But while we wouldn't be adding to our killboard, it was my first time flying with my new corp, so I did get to know people a bit better. I'd say it was a successful flight.
Because it was an area he was familiar with, it was a difficult hunt. He had bookmarks all over the place, and we had no interceptors, making it very difficult to catch him. We were also a relatively small group, and the FC didn't want to split us up too much. After an or so of waiting, with him only showing up as blips on the overview a few times, we called it a night.
But while we wouldn't be adding to our killboard, it was my first time flying with my new corp, so I did get to know people a bit better. I'd say it was a successful flight.
New Corp: Aurora Reloaded
Following the advice of many veteran pilots, I've sought out a corporation to join. After doing a bit of research, I settled on Aurora Reloaded. It fit many of my criteria for a corp:
- Small corporation (<50)
- Open to new players, willing to train them
- PVP-focused
- Friendly & mature
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Flight Log - 2011.10.31
After suffering the loss of my Rifter the previous day, I decided to do some missioning to raise a bit of ISK and work out a new Thrasher fit. Things were going well until I caught the NPC pirate-hunting mission from hell. By the time I got in range of the NPC ships, my shields were gone and I was half-way through my armor. I tried warping out, but it was too late, I was in my pod:
2011.10.31 23:23:00
Involved parties:
Destroyed items:
Dropped items:
For some reason, I thought I'd have better luck with my Rupture. Turns out I was wrong again:
2011.10.31 23:34:00
Involved parties:
Destroyed items:
Dropped items:
The plan for this blog was to chronicle my journey from total noob to semi-competent PVPer. I think I've got the noob part down pat. I think the semi-competent part is going to take time.
2011.10.31 23:23:00
Victim: Nate Guralman
Corp: Aurora Reloaded.
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Minmatar Republic
Destroyed: Thrasher
System: Uttindar
Security: 0.5
Damage Taken: 2347
Involved parties:
Name: Flameburst Light Missile / Unknown (laid the final blow)
Damage Done: 2347
Destroyed items:
Small Nosferatu I
EMP S, Qty: 226
1MN Afterburner I
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon I, Qty: 6
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Dropped items:
Damage Control I
EMP S, Qty: 1159 (Cargo)
Gyrostabilizer I
Invulnerability Field I
EMP S, Qty: 565
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon I
For some reason, I thought I'd have better luck with my Rupture. Turns out I was wrong again:
2011.10.31 23:34:00
Victim: Nate Guralman
Corp: Aurora Reloaded.
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Minmatar Republic
Destroyed: Rupture
System: Uttindar
Security: 0.5
Damage Taken: 6321
Involved parties:
Name: Mercenary Commander / Unknown (laid the final blow)
Damage Done: 6321
Destroyed items:
425mm Medium Carbine Repeating Cannon I, Qty: 4
Gyrostabilizer I
Small Hull Repairer I (Cargo)
EMP M, Qty: 114
Passive Targeter I (Cargo)
Portable Power Generator (Cargo)
EMP M, Qty: 1996 (Cargo)
Compact 'Limos' Assault Missile Bay I
Dropped items:
Armor Explosive Hardener IDoes enthusiasm make up for being without any combat skill whatsoever? No? Damn.
Damage Control I
Bloodclaw Light Missile, Qty: 122
Small Hull Repairer I (Cargo)
Stasis Webifier I
EMP M, Qty: 342
10MN Afterburner I
Finger Bone, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Small Energy Neutralizer I (Cargo)
Small Energy Transfer Array I (Cargo)
1MN MicroWarpdrive I (Cargo)
Medium Armor Repairer I
Tracking Enhancer I
Small 'Gremlin' Power Core Disruptor I (Cargo)
Power Diagnostic System I (Cargo)
100mm Reinforced Titanium Plates I (Cargo)
Bloodclaw Light Missile, Qty: 362 (Cargo)
Cap Recharger I
Compact 'Limos' Assault Missile Bay I
The plan for this blog was to chronicle my journey from total noob to semi-competent PVPer. I think I've got the noob part down pat. I think the semi-competent part is going to take time.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Nate Guralman, Minmatar Militia Recruit
I've read a few times that a good way to start learning PVP is through Faction Warfare, so I signed up. I'm now a member of the Tribal Liberation Force, the NPC Minmatar FW corporation. No clue how this works, I'll learn as I go along (although I suspect this will be expensive, and that the correct way to do this is to join a player FW corp).
Since my Rifter got blown up earlier today, I decided to switch ships. I'm now flying my Thrasher. Still mostly T1 fitted, so I'll be fairly weak.
Flight Log - 2011.10.30
After I'd finished moving everything to Nakugard, I decided to take a quick flight into Otou. It's a low sec system with a bit of activity, only two jumps away. It was pretty empty when I got there, but I figured I'd see if I could take on any of the locals. I flew from asteroid belt to belt, taking out NPCs and scanning as I'm flying. A Bestower eventually shows up on scan. My scanning skills are getting pretty better, so I managed to get him on grid in 90 seconds or so. Of course, he was behind a POS shield. I decided to move closer.
Experienced pilots can start shaking their head now.
The POS defense systems opened up on me. I tried to warp away, but I lost my Rifter before I'd even completed my turn. Fortunately, I wasn't podded, and I was close to home, so that's where I went. I'm not registered with a killboard yet, so here it is for posterity.
2011.10.30 14:50:00
Involved parties:
Destroyed items:
Dropped items:
Experienced pilots can start shaking their head now.
The POS defense systems opened up on me. I tried to warp away, but I lost my Rifter before I'd even completed my turn. Fortunately, I wasn't podded, and I was close to home, so that's where I went. I'm not registered with a killboard yet, so here it is for posterity.
2011.10.30 14:50:00
Victim: Nate Guralman
Corp: Sebiestor Tribe
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Unknown
Destroyed: Rifter
System: Otou
Security: 0.3
Damage Taken: 2021
Involved parties:
Name: Caldari Control Tower / Knights of the Minmatar Republic (laid the final blow)
Damage Done: 1598
Name: Serpentis Trooper / Serpentis Corporation
Damage Done: 423
Destroyed items:
Small Nosferatu I
EMP S, Qty: 120
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
50mm Reinforced Steel Plates I (Cargo)
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon I
Small Shield Booster I, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Warp Scrambler I
ECM - Multispectral Jammer I (Cargo)
Dropped items:
Damage Control INot much in terms of loss, but given the rookie mistake, it's still relatively expensive.
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Small Proton Smartbomb I (Cargo)
EMP S, Qty: 504 (Cargo)
Rudimentary Ship Scanner I (Cargo)
EMP S, Qty: 240
Reactive Plating I
1MN Afterburner I
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon I, Qty: 2
Location, solo flying, hauling with an Orca
I spend part of the evening moving one of my alts, Toritetsu "Tori" Morimoto from Aldrat to Nakugard, where Fugawa Heavy Industries is located. Since Tori is no longer part of E-Uni, I though it would be best if he were located in the same station as the rest of my alts. He has quite a few ships, so I used the company's Orca to haul stuff around.
But that got me to thinking if Nakugard was the correct location for FHI. It does have a few advantages:
Another thing I was thinking about is flying solo. One of the most common bits of advice for EVE players is to join a corp. Solo flying is difficult, especially in 0.0 and low sec. Since that's where I want to be, this solo idea may not fly (no pun intended). That means if I do join a corp, there's no point in me scouting out a new location for FHI.
I think I'll finish hauling everything to Nakugard (it's not much work), then decide if I'll join a corp before I move again.
But that got me to thinking if Nakugard was the correct location for FHI. It does have a few advantages:
- It's in high sec
- It has lots of asteroid fields and an ice field
- It's 1 jump from Hek
- It's a few jumps from low-sec
Another thing I was thinking about is flying solo. One of the most common bits of advice for EVE players is to join a corp. Solo flying is difficult, especially in 0.0 and low sec. Since that's where I want to be, this solo idea may not fly (no pun intended). That means if I do join a corp, there's no point in me scouting out a new location for FHI.
I think I'll finish hauling everything to Nakugard (it's not much work), then decide if I'll join a corp before I move again.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Reorganization Continues
I reactivated my alt accounts this morning. These accounts had quite a few valuable assets that I figure I can sell, then transfer the proceeds to Nate. Among some of the items in inventory are:
That said though, now that I have these accounts running for a few months, is there anyway I could leverage them? I don't want to be spending too much time on these accounts, so things like missioning and mining are out of the question. But what could I do with them? Train one for salvaging? Hauling? Park one in Jita for trading?
I'll have to research this further. For now, I'll be spending a bit of time hauling gear around, selling useless stuff and funneling that ISK to Nate.
- Hulk
- Orca
- T2 fitted Drake
- A few T2 frigates (Hawk, Buzzard, Crow)
- A handful of T1 frigates and cruisers
- Tons and tons and tons of gear
That said though, now that I have these accounts running for a few months, is there anyway I could leverage them? I don't want to be spending too much time on these accounts, so things like missioning and mining are out of the question. But what could I do with them? Train one for salvaging? Hauling? Park one in Jita for trading?
I'll have to research this further. For now, I'll be spending a bit of time hauling gear around, selling useless stuff and funneling that ISK to Nate.
Flight Log - 2011.10.29
After reading First Time Ganker on EVEOGANDA's excellent blog, I was inspired to do the same. I knew my odds of taking anything out would be next to nothing, and I would lose my ship in the process. But I wasn't looking for a kill, I was looking for experience. At the very least, I'd be able to see how fast Concord showed up, what my UI looked like in GCC, etc.
I started out my flight by bouncing around asteroid belts, to see if there were any smallish mining ops going on. Barges would be out of the question, but though I might get lucky and snag a Bantam or something. No dice. After a while, it dawned on my that it wasn't too efficient, so I decided to switch to my scanners to find me a target. At the very least, I could practice directional scanning.
That was a good move, for the experience of scanning alone. While scanning, I found an Amarr Shuttle on D-Scan. A shuttle! Surely, I'd be able to pop that if I could get close. I bounced around a few systems for a while, not being able to pin-point it exactly, but I knew I was getting closer. But I'd been at it for 5 mins or, so and I started thinking why would a shuttle be stationary for so long? I was hoping it was just someone chit-chatting while in transit, not paying attention to someone stalking them.
I eventually tracked them to a moon, nowhere near anything else. That's when I figured out what was the deal with the shuttle: it was parked at a POS, inside the shields. No shuttle kill for me.
I continued scanning and I found an Ibis. This one was just sitting, alone in space, besides a container. Nobody was inside. I locked it up, and destroyed it. Not very satisfying kill, but at least I got lots of practice with the D-Scan. I've learned how to quickly narrow down the location of a ship, but pin-pointing the exact spot to get them on grid still eludes me. I'll definitely need more practice. One more thing I learned, I do NOT have the firepower to suicide gank. I took me two rounds to drop the Ibis. That's pretty sad.
I scanned the system for another little while, and I found a few more POSes with empty ships around them, but no targets that I'd ever have a chance of ganking. At this point, I figure losing my ship for the sake of losing my ship would be a bad idea, since I was still in my alt corp, so I packed it in.
No kills, but lots of D-Scanning experience. Not exciting, but still a pretty successful outing.
I started out my flight by bouncing around asteroid belts, to see if there were any smallish mining ops going on. Barges would be out of the question, but though I might get lucky and snag a Bantam or something. No dice. After a while, it dawned on my that it wasn't too efficient, so I decided to switch to my scanners to find me a target. At the very least, I could practice directional scanning.
That was a good move, for the experience of scanning alone. While scanning, I found an Amarr Shuttle on D-Scan. A shuttle! Surely, I'd be able to pop that if I could get close. I bounced around a few systems for a while, not being able to pin-point it exactly, but I knew I was getting closer. But I'd been at it for 5 mins or, so and I started thinking why would a shuttle be stationary for so long? I was hoping it was just someone chit-chatting while in transit, not paying attention to someone stalking them.
I eventually tracked them to a moon, nowhere near anything else. That's when I figured out what was the deal with the shuttle: it was parked at a POS, inside the shields. No shuttle kill for me.
I continued scanning and I found an Ibis. This one was just sitting, alone in space, besides a container. Nobody was inside. I locked it up, and destroyed it. Not very satisfying kill, but at least I got lots of practice with the D-Scan. I've learned how to quickly narrow down the location of a ship, but pin-pointing the exact spot to get them on grid still eludes me. I'll definitely need more practice. One more thing I learned, I do NOT have the firepower to suicide gank. I took me two rounds to drop the Ibis. That's pretty sad.
I scanned the system for another little while, and I found a few more POSes with empty ships around them, but no targets that I'd ever have a chance of ganking. At this point, I figure losing my ship for the sake of losing my ship would be a bad idea, since I was still in my alt corp, so I packed it in.
No kills, but lots of D-Scanning experience. Not exciting, but still a pretty successful outing.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Corp Theft!
Nate will be eligible to quit corp in 23 hours. He'll be waking up in the clone vats in 23 hours, 10 minutes.
BTW, here's a screenshot of my Rifter. I know they're a dime a dozen, but they're still cool.
Plan Your Work
Like I mentioned in my first post, I want to focus on PVP this time around in EVE. I'm not exactly sure where to start, so I'm going to start by choosing my ship and fitting it.
Fortunately for me, ship selection is easy. I'll fly the Rifter. This ship is probably one of the best known ships in the game, and for good reason. It's cheap, agile, flexible and works in many roles. And properly fitted, it can take a beating while administering devastating damage. It's no wonder that many in the EVE community recommend it for pirate training.
Fitting the Rifter is a bit more complicated. Even though it's a good ship, it's not dominating. To fly is successfully, you still need the SPs and the experience. I have neither, so even the best fit isn't going to save me from myself. But, a good fit will improve my chances of success, even if only slightly.
I figure there are a few ways to fit the ship. I could go for a heavy tank: damage control, armor plating, armor repairer. It won't prevent an alpha strike, and I won't even be able to take damage for long periods of time, but the extra armor could keep me alive long enough to warp out if I get in over my head (which I'm sure will happen soon). Another option would be to go for agility; microwarp drive, nanofiber, warp stabilizer. This would help me get out of dodge quickly. Sure, it looks like the coward's way out, but the way I figure it, it will help me keep my costs down at first. Given that I probably won't be bringing in the big ISK right off the bat, this may not be a bad strategy (assuming it works). A third alternative would be to go for big damage. I'll pour all my money into weapons, gyros, a missile launcher in the fourth high slot, etc. The goal here is to pick targets that I think I can destroy before they can destroy me.
So, which do I choose? I think that depends on what I want to do. And that's blow stuff up. So that means I should go with DPS, right?
Unfortunately, like everything else in EVE, it's not that easy. I fired up EFT, and after adding autocannons, a gyro and a standard missile launcher, I had 67 dps, 192 alpha, and very little CPU left. After adding a scram and a web, I had almost nothing left. I think survivability is a bit more important that DPS in my early career, so let's try an armor fit.
I dropped the missile launcher and the gyro. I replaced them with armor plating, damage control unit and an armor repairer, and a small nos in the last high slot. My damage has dropped to 52 DPS and 179 alpha, but my HP has jumped from 1500 EHP to 2500 EHP. Not bad. The problem with this setup though, is that armor repairer will suck my cap pretty quickly, even with the nos running. So let's try replacing that with passive hardener. I drop the small armor repairer and replaced it with reactive plating. Lo and behold, my EHP goes up by 100 points to 2600, and I'm now cap stable at 97%. Can I do better?
Yes. I replaced the 100mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates with the 200mm version. My EHP goes up 500 points, to 3133, and I've sacrificed only a bit of speed. I think I've found my fit:
I realize I've got noob-level components, but given my skills, that's about all I can fit (and afford to lose). So while I train up for T2 components and gain experience, this will have to do.
I'm off to Hek for a bit of shopping.
Fortunately for me, ship selection is easy. I'll fly the Rifter. This ship is probably one of the best known ships in the game, and for good reason. It's cheap, agile, flexible and works in many roles. And properly fitted, it can take a beating while administering devastating damage. It's no wonder that many in the EVE community recommend it for pirate training.
Fitting the Rifter is a bit more complicated. Even though it's a good ship, it's not dominating. To fly is successfully, you still need the SPs and the experience. I have neither, so even the best fit isn't going to save me from myself. But, a good fit will improve my chances of success, even if only slightly.
I figure there are a few ways to fit the ship. I could go for a heavy tank: damage control, armor plating, armor repairer. It won't prevent an alpha strike, and I won't even be able to take damage for long periods of time, but the extra armor could keep me alive long enough to warp out if I get in over my head (which I'm sure will happen soon). Another option would be to go for agility; microwarp drive, nanofiber, warp stabilizer. This would help me get out of dodge quickly. Sure, it looks like the coward's way out, but the way I figure it, it will help me keep my costs down at first. Given that I probably won't be bringing in the big ISK right off the bat, this may not be a bad strategy (assuming it works). A third alternative would be to go for big damage. I'll pour all my money into weapons, gyros, a missile launcher in the fourth high slot, etc. The goal here is to pick targets that I think I can destroy before they can destroy me.
So, which do I choose? I think that depends on what I want to do. And that's blow stuff up. So that means I should go with DPS, right?
Unfortunately, like everything else in EVE, it's not that easy. I fired up EFT, and after adding autocannons, a gyro and a standard missile launcher, I had 67 dps, 192 alpha, and very little CPU left. After adding a scram and a web, I had almost nothing left. I think survivability is a bit more important that DPS in my early career, so let's try an armor fit.
I dropped the missile launcher and the gyro. I replaced them with armor plating, damage control unit and an armor repairer, and a small nos in the last high slot. My damage has dropped to 52 DPS and 179 alpha, but my HP has jumped from 1500 EHP to 2500 EHP. Not bad. The problem with this setup though, is that armor repairer will suck my cap pretty quickly, even with the nos running. So let's try replacing that with passive hardener. I drop the small armor repairer and replaced it with reactive plating. Lo and behold, my EHP goes up by 100 points to 2600, and I'm now cap stable at 97%. Can I do better?
Yes. I replaced the 100mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates with the 200mm version. My EHP goes up 500 points, to 3133, and I've sacrificed only a bit of speed. I think I've found my fit:
[Rifter]
Reactive Plating I
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control I
Warp Scrambler I
Stasis Webifier I
1MN Analog Booster Rockets
Small Nosferatu I
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon 1, EMP S
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon 1, EMP S
200mm Light Carbine Repeating Cannon 1, EMP S
[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]
I realize I've got noob-level components, but given my skills, that's about all I can fit (and afford to lose). So while I train up for T2 components and gain experience, this will have to do.
I'm off to Hek for a bit of shopping.
Meet Nate Guralman
Nate Guralman is my alter-ego in New Eden. He's a Minmatar from the Sebeistor tribe. He's the last character I've created, and so he's got the least SPs. So why use him instead of one of my more skilled characters? Because he's got a pronounceable name. I'd given my other alts Japanese names (I was planning a trip to Japan at the time), and I quickly realized complicated names are a problem when flying with people you've just met. I suppose I could have petitioned for a name change, but this was easier. And it's not like my other characters had that much more SPs.
I'm not much of an RPer, so my character won't have much in terms of a background. I'm presenting him here just so I can set a baseline of where Nate was when he started his piloting career.
So where is he starting from exactly? Pretty close to the beginning. As I'm writing this, he's got 4,433,471 SPs, and about 18,000,000 ISK. The corporation he's in has a few dozen million ISK tied up in assets, but I'm not sure what to do there. I'm considering dropping Nate from the corporation, and keeping that corporation as a high-sec trading/hauling company, so that I can haul loot back and forth from low to high sec. But I'm likely to sell some of the mining assets. I just can't see myself doing a lot of mining anymore. The corp has a well fitted Retriever that I should get 8,000,000 ISK for, as well as hulk that would sell for much, much more. And I have an Orca as well. The Orca, I'll keep.
In terms of short term plans, Nate will be training the basics to level 5: engineering, electronics, spaceship command, gunnery, mechanic, etc. It's not the most exciting training you can do, but I'm a firm believer that if you have the fundamentals right, it's much easier to deal with the specializations. Once that's done, I'll start training the skills I need to fit a Rifter with T2 gear, and fly it properly. I'll post my fit and EVEMon plan here once it's put together. For now, I have to run.
Fly dangerously
In terms of short term plans, Nate will be training the basics to level 5: engineering, electronics, spaceship command, gunnery, mechanic, etc. It's not the most exciting training you can do, but I'm a firm believer that if you have the fundamentals right, it's much easier to deal with the specializations. Once that's done, I'll start training the skills I need to fit a Rifter with T2 gear, and fly it properly. I'll post my fit and EVEMon plan here once it's put together. For now, I have to run.
Fly dangerously
Thursday, October 27, 2011
A New Beginning
I've decided to return to EVE, after a few months' hiatus. I quit sometime during the summer (I don't remember when, and it's not important) because I had overbooked myself with too many things, including work, social and leisure time. I was also a bit burned out on EVE. EVE has a ton to offer, and I was trying to accomplish them all. At the time, I was running four accounts, trying to split my time between industrial work (mining, manufacturing, PI, etc), missioning, and large fleet PVP. On top of that I was an EVE University personnel officer, and I was taking every PVP course I could to certify myself for any and every fleet role. It was just too much, so I stepped back from the game.
Just for the record, my departure and return have nothing do with the CCP PR mess and subsequent Mea Culpa from the company. The timing was pure coincidence. That said, I have read up on it, and I'm cautiously optimistic about how CCP are addressing the problems. I hate to see any company laying off people, but I'd rather see a company do that to thrive long-term, so they can hopefully re-hire some of those people.
Back to the topic at hand. I've decided to return to EVE for a few reasons. One, EVE really appeals to my personality. I'm an analytical numbers guy by trade and at heart, and EVE is really just one massive deep space simulator. I could spend hours building my own spreadsheets and financial models, as well as spending hours fitting ships and planning skills (and I have). Two, I'm in awe of the community. The level of organization I've seen in some of the corporations is absolutely astonishing. Some of these virtual gaming communities put "real-life" communities I've been part of to shame. And third, it's one of the few good Sci-Fi games out there (I'm a sci-fi geek too).
The reason I took a break from EVE is an unfortunately familiar refrain in my life. Whenever I find something interesting, I jump in with both feet, but without a plan. This leads me in many different paths at once, and I get simultaneously overwhelmed and discouraged by lack of deep progress, and eventually I quit. It's not something I want to repeat, and in fact, it's a habit I want to try and break once and for all.
So my plan this time around is to choose a few activities, set a few goals for myself, create a plan and work it. This blog will be my journal. I'm hoping that by writing my journey down, I'll be able to learn by tracking successes and failures, analyzing that information, and coming up with plans for improvement. But more importantly, I'm hoping this blog will help me engage the community, so that I can learn from other capsuleers.
I'm going to close off this post with my initial EVE objectives. I have three in mind:
Just for the record, my departure and return have nothing do with the CCP PR mess and subsequent Mea Culpa from the company. The timing was pure coincidence. That said, I have read up on it, and I'm cautiously optimistic about how CCP are addressing the problems. I hate to see any company laying off people, but I'd rather see a company do that to thrive long-term, so they can hopefully re-hire some of those people.
Back to the topic at hand. I've decided to return to EVE for a few reasons. One, EVE really appeals to my personality. I'm an analytical numbers guy by trade and at heart, and EVE is really just one massive deep space simulator. I could spend hours building my own spreadsheets and financial models, as well as spending hours fitting ships and planning skills (and I have). Two, I'm in awe of the community. The level of organization I've seen in some of the corporations is absolutely astonishing. Some of these virtual gaming communities put "real-life" communities I've been part of to shame. And third, it's one of the few good Sci-Fi games out there (I'm a sci-fi geek too).
The reason I took a break from EVE is an unfortunately familiar refrain in my life. Whenever I find something interesting, I jump in with both feet, but without a plan. This leads me in many different paths at once, and I get simultaneously overwhelmed and discouraged by lack of deep progress, and eventually I quit. It's not something I want to repeat, and in fact, it's a habit I want to try and break once and for all.
So my plan this time around is to choose a few activities, set a few goals for myself, create a plan and work it. This blog will be my journal. I'm hoping that by writing my journey down, I'll be able to learn by tracking successes and failures, analyzing that information, and coming up with plans for improvement. But more importantly, I'm hoping this blog will help me engage the community, so that I can learn from other capsuleers.
I'm going to close off this post with my initial EVE objectives. I have three in mind:
- I would like to significantly improve my PVP skills. PVP combat has always been what I've found most exciting about the game, and so it makes sense that I should focus on that
- I would like to join a low sec pirate corp. I've always played on the "good" side of any game I've tried, but I've always wondered what the dark side would be like. EVE seems like the perfect place to try that out.
- I would like to experience null sec warfare. I've tried a lot of things in EVE (albeit some too superficially to say I've really tried it), but I've never set foot in null sec. I'd like to eventually join a null sec corp to try that out.
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