Sunday, April 11, 2010

EVE and Taxes do not mix

Expensive night, and learned another EVE lesson...Do not try to finish your taxes while your system contains hostiles.

I was getting a bit of traffic through my HighSec static and after chasing off a prober, decided to start closing it. NOTE: I use my Rokh and Domi to close WH's. They are the two largest mass ships I have.

Well, I got the WH to critical, but just as my Rokh comes back into WSpace, a HAC and Raven lock and bubble me. OK, I think I can maybe work this - I get my Alt Domi to warp in and take a shot at this now 2-on-2.

But...First problem - my Rokh is still fitted for Mining. Yes, mining. Before I was skilled up for Covetor, I mined in WSpace with my Rokh. As anyone can read in Halada's Mining Guides, Rokh is a good option if you cannot fly a mining barge. So, once my Domi warps in, I deploy ECM drones.

Second problem - another Raven and HAC uncloak. OK, now I am in trouble. I am bubbled, webbed, and cannot seem to lock the HAC. In short, Main and Alt podded back to Kspace.

So, I lost my Domi and my Rokh. That Rokh I have had for nearly 2 years and I only keep around for WH closing, since I am flying a Covetor now for Mining. So although costly, it was cost incurred ages ago and do not really count it. The Domi is just a pain to refit. Well under 100M to replace, including fittings.

I expect the losses from time to time, but when you get caught with proverbial pants down, you just want to kick yourself.

Regardless, this system has made me a cool billion ISK, so no real loss, but I get miffed when I have to spend an hour refitting.

Worst thing I did? I told the intruder earlier that he better exit the system because I was closing the hole. Just enough info for him to exit, go get a small fleet together and return for an easy catch coming into/out of the hole.

Thus, I am done being the Wspace nice guy - no more quaint warnings or free passes. Instant aggression from now on.

Luckily I always maintain current exit/entrance bookmarks and even if that fails, I always have a scanning alt in-system.

Flying now to get my main back in while I replace the Domi.

(edit - was actually a HIC and two Ravens - chalk it up to fog of battle. Also, back in system with Main and Alt - in-system scan alts are a good thing...)

Fly Safe (and smart)

14 comments:

  1. Ouch. Well we all expect to incur losses like this at times. It happens. Not a good feeling though. You're gonna have to keep us updated on what exactly you plan to change about your visitor policy. I haven't quite decided yet on mine...

    www.eve-whadventures.blogspot.com

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  2. "Thus, I am done being the Wspace nice guy - no more quaint warnings or free passes. Instant aggression from now on."

    you surely took your time :-p

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  3. Seems we are both down on our luck, I lost my Helios yesterday, complete with Sisters Launcher.

    The isk isn't the big thing, it's just the annoyance of having to re-clone, re-ship etc.

    http://cataclysmicvariable.blogspot.com/

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  4. Sounds like my first "introduction" to w-space. Was waiting to run some stuff to high sec sitting 100km off a hole watching it, waiting for it to time out.

    On other toons was mining of course. Covert Ops ship appears and I tell him the hole is about to close. He "thanks" me and heads off into system. I tell him I am serious the hole is in final moments. "Ok" he replies and finally leaves.

    Well not paying enough attention to hole, but just checking it every few minutes, when suddenly appears two SB's in my mining op. Bye Bye hulk and rigged mammoth.

    Rough lesson that some people are willing to sit in a hole to get a kill.

    Mick

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  5. STAR...man that is rough. And to think you were be a nice guy. Glad to see you are back in WH space again though. Maybe we will meet in WH at one point. I just got back into one last night. Class 1 and 33 sites right off the back that i dont need to scan. Later!

    http://myeveventures.blogspot.com

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  6. Know how it is.
    Have been popped by someone I helped, which wasn't surprising, I was being nice, and got ^&*$ on for it. That is how EVE is, it's like pulling over to help some one change a tire, and getting mugged by them after. Welcome to EVE, where nice ppl are dicks in disguise, and the ones left who are nice become angry after being screwed. A pod pilot I know way back used to vehemently deny it was ethical. A year later, he was flying around 0.0 with a 2 mil isk bounty. Shows how EVE changes you, in RL sometimes. Ah well, I have been the pirate, now I am the carebear. We all change :) Oh and I love the blog.

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  7. One of the reasons when we lived in WH we were ruthless to any visitors unless they striked a deal with us.

    A pvp domi should have managed to kill the raven at least, I'm guessing it perhaps was pve fit?

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  8. Hmmm darn http doesn't seem to wanna work.

    Oh well, at least Eve online does work for the IRS. can you see the Goons auditing people.


    Did your PoS survive? After the Pkant Risk seige - I was worried about that possibilty.

    So what is good way to greet the WH natives? Every time I pop in and say hi. All I get is silence, even after mentioning the ships I see on directional?

    I made a comment (ie ramble) about you mishap. Tried to link it. But computer is mad at me.

    So.

    Jason-acinom@blogspot.com under Sorry Star


    -Jason

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  9. Quiv - Hah! True.

    Jason - No POS issues - I have a hardened setup with defenses, so nothing short of a large fleet op is going to challenge my POS. I might still reach out to locals in neighboring systems, but my approach for handling visitors in my own system is changing.

    Anon - even worse than PVE - Mining setup was loaded on both ships when I was closing the WH, then in my rush to get the Domi out there to support the Rokh, I forgot that had not switched fittings - by the time I exited warp, I was already in the HIC bubble... Goes in line with other stories and personal experience - greatest contribution to failure is typically panic, unpreparedness, or both.

    Glen - Thanks!

    Enyo - great to hear you found a packed Wspace!

    Mick - nice to hear from you.

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  10. Sorry to hear that Star. I find myself a little complacent and "nice" on occasion. Then I read some blogs and see why w-space inhabitants have to be a little on the ruthless side.. my corp keeps close range pvp fit apocs and harbingers floating in the POS ready for duty, and we close wormholes with pvp fittings - even the Orca is pvp fit.. haha. You never can be too careful!

    Live and learn I guess... Cheers.

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  11. We've also modified our responses. Coming from a carebear background we were loathe to do anything that might provoke a larger response or retribution. After multiple trips to clone-land for doing nothing more than flying through space, we've begun to be more aggressive. We're the people we didn't want to meet in our wormhole journeys. We bomb mining ops, put HICs on bubbles and send people back to their clones where we know it will take at least 20 minutes to get back to us.

    We've started being especially sensitive to covops pilots entering our system or neighbouring systems. They aren't much of a threat in and of themselves, but they often represent a much larger force that we can't afford to wait to come to us. The only way to truly be safe in a wormhole is to leave it. We offer safety to all concerned.

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  12. We have been wh residents for 6 months. Our approach to visitors has changed as our experience has dictated. Much better to be the dick than to be dicked!

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  13. I'm sad to hear you have changed your attitude so much. I don't recall you having many bad experiences with visitors and many good ones. I encourage you to not 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' and keep some avenue open for meeting further good people.

    Ouch, leaving your big ships fit for mining was a terrible blunder. Thankfully you won't make that mistake again.

    To the rest of you, you need to be careful and listen to yourselves. You guys really sound like you are convincing yourselves that you have to be a 'dickhead'. That BEING the problem is the only way to play. You don't, its a decision. And it is not a direct parallel with system security, you can do good system security without resorting to being a 'dickhead'.

    Personally I might suggest naming your POS or a GSC something along the lines of 'If you don't get my permission to be here, I will destroy you.' or 'Trespassers WILL be terminated.' Hense you have warned intruders, can blow them to bits and not have to resort to being a 'dickhead'.

    Something else cute I saw was placing a bubble at a wormhole and leaving it there. Nice warning and roadblock I thought, without just up and blowing people up.

    Good luck in there.

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  14. An island of compassion and understanding in an ocean of EVE!

    Thanks Seafog.

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