RIP - Toritetsu Morimoto

Today, we mourn the loss of Toritetsu "Tori" Morimoto, Caldari capsuleer, who perished in a freak cloning accident. Tori became a capsuleer in order to better serve the Caldari. After being newly minted as a capsuleer, he joined EVE University and became heavily involved with E-Uni operations in addition to his course load, even becoming a Personnel Officer near the end of his time there. After leaving E-Uni, Tori joined a new start up called Fugawa Heavy Industries, where he flew missions for Lai Dai in order to build a solid relationship between FHI, Lai Dai and the Caldari empire. He will be missed.

(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).

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:

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700678

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700679

I was on four other kills in that fight:

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700621

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700701

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700743

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11700641

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.

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:

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11569230

I immediately locked the enemy Rifter, engaged my scrambler so it would get away, and almost as quickly, it died too:

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11569350

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

After thinking it over for about .1 second, I warped to a nearby planet.

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:

http://bluerep.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=11569192

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

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.

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:

• 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.

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.

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.

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

I've only been in the corp for 2 days now, so it's too early to grade AR, but so far, I'm liking it.

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

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 I
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

Does enthusiasm make up for being without any combat skill whatsoever? No? Damn.

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.