A lot has happened since my last post about the war in Tenerifis to purge White Noise and being awarded the Tenerifis G3IP-E constellation for CTA participation and additional warfare.
As it turned out, the campaign pushed into Detorid, primarily with us, IO, SOB and EON waging battles deep into Detorid and maintaining a strong line at the border area between Tenerifis and Detorid. To be transparent, it was not like we had a ton of resistance, but we continued to put up good numbers and soon cleared sov on nearly all of the key systems and stations.
-A- placed SOB in charge of newly-captured Detorid, who then quickly awarded our alliance 5 constellations. As it stands currently, our alliance holds sov in PR-ACX, T875-C, MZ-PA2, 1RG-GU, and HOV-VI. We immediately shared with EON, giving them HOV and renting T875 to a very capable Alliance - TFA.
Just about the time where we began to grow weary of constant sov-bashing (akin to watching paint dry - Cyno to target system, shoot structure, lather-rinse-repeat), we finally started seeing signs of what we suspected would occur - challenges to certain systems and an increase in fun hostile encounters. There is some classic ping-pong sov action in the SOB-held south-eastern portions of Detorid, with plenty of CTAs to go kill SBUs, etc.
As we work together more, the Detorid coalition is beginning to function properly and it looks now that, short of DRF deciding to do something more than burn a few cornfields, the Detorid coalition + -A- will hold the region.
I hope things get back to "good fights" - everyone grows weary of structure bashing after a while. Looking forward to flying more with TFA and EON as the saga in Detorid continues to unfold.
Best laughs of the month: Taking Sov on the 3-LJW3 station system, getting hot-dropped and losing some internet spaceships, then naming the station "Hot-Drop O'Clock", after the timely line from the EVE Video series "Clear Skies".
Friday, June 24, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Elbow room
Thought I would post an update on our NullSec efforts.
I would continue to consider our deployment to Tenerifis a great success, both monetarily and from an experience perspective. Also, we have grown tremendously. As of this post, we stand at an astounding 459 members, most of it coming from Rule of Five (plank-holder corporation in the alliance) and the welcome addition of BSC Legion.
Obviously, with this kind of alliance growth, comes the need for expansion into additional systems. As such, an opportunity arose in Tenerifis when -A- decided to push White Noise completely out of the region. Previously, WN owned mostly ratter and botting systems on the "Eastern" (Dotlan View) half of the region, basically everything from DZ6, east. This was also some our primary hunting grounds, with many juicy kills in DZ6 and up the pipe towards (and into) Detorid.
We knew from prior experience that to expand your sovereignty-holding space, you need to prove yourself by assisting in the CTA's (Call-to-Action operations) and even taking The Initiative (pun intended, see history of Tenerifis) to attack in advance of the main CTAs. So, we set out as an alliance to participate in as many Tenerifis/Detorid/Catch operations as possible. We had some good times and good kills in the process, and were very pleased with the alliance participation level. Nice to have large contingents of Capital and Supercapital pilots on-board the alliance now.
I think one of the best ops we took on was the cleansing of BW-WJ2, including their extremely well defended Jump Bridge POS and then their iHub and remaining system installations, all of which was completed solely by the alliance.
As a result of participating in the Tenerifis campaign, the alliance was awarded the G3IP-E constellation. With the recent anomaly nerf, these systems are not exactly the most prized systems in Tenerifis, but they will provide (with the direction of our experienced Moon-Goo techs) a considerable level of passive monthly alliance income. You can see our Tenerifis systems in this view of Dotlan (S1. Alliance).
No hard decisions yet on what (if any) iHub upgrades will go there, but certainly more room to scan for Wormholes and Signatures. Also, we will now have 3 rich ice mining systems to tap in addition to our premium mining systems. I am guessing we will upgrade one or more of those systems and rent out to one or more Industry corps looking to join the NullSec party! If interested, send Star Defender an Eve-Mail - guaranteed all the best ABC mining you will ever need...
My personal Eve Time has suffered from RL complications lately, so I am not online for extended durations lately, but I am still soaking up NullSec. Cannot imaging living in HighSec again...
I would continue to consider our deployment to Tenerifis a great success, both monetarily and from an experience perspective. Also, we have grown tremendously. As of this post, we stand at an astounding 459 members, most of it coming from Rule of Five (plank-holder corporation in the alliance) and the welcome addition of BSC Legion.
Obviously, with this kind of alliance growth, comes the need for expansion into additional systems. As such, an opportunity arose in Tenerifis when -A- decided to push White Noise completely out of the region. Previously, WN owned mostly ratter and botting systems on the "Eastern" (Dotlan View) half of the region, basically everything from DZ6, east. This was also some our primary hunting grounds, with many juicy kills in DZ6 and up the pipe towards (and into) Detorid.
We knew from prior experience that to expand your sovereignty-holding space, you need to prove yourself by assisting in the CTA's (Call-to-Action operations) and even taking The Initiative (pun intended, see history of Tenerifis) to attack in advance of the main CTAs. So, we set out as an alliance to participate in as many Tenerifis/Detorid/Catch operations as possible. We had some good times and good kills in the process, and were very pleased with the alliance participation level. Nice to have large contingents of Capital and Supercapital pilots on-board the alliance now.
I think one of the best ops we took on was the cleansing of BW-WJ2, including their extremely well defended Jump Bridge POS and then their iHub and remaining system installations, all of which was completed solely by the alliance.
As a result of participating in the Tenerifis campaign, the alliance was awarded the G3IP-E constellation. With the recent anomaly nerf, these systems are not exactly the most prized systems in Tenerifis, but they will provide (with the direction of our experienced Moon-Goo techs) a considerable level of passive monthly alliance income. You can see our Tenerifis systems in this view of Dotlan (S1. Alliance).
No hard decisions yet on what (if any) iHub upgrades will go there, but certainly more room to scan for Wormholes and Signatures. Also, we will now have 3 rich ice mining systems to tap in addition to our premium mining systems. I am guessing we will upgrade one or more of those systems and rent out to one or more Industry corps looking to join the NullSec party! If interested, send Star Defender an Eve-Mail - guaranteed all the best ABC mining you will ever need...
My personal Eve Time has suffered from RL complications lately, so I am not online for extended durations lately, but I am still soaking up NullSec. Cannot imaging living in HighSec again...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Looong Blog Hiatus
Wow, has it really been 6 months since my last post?
With the move to NullSec and thus the end of my wormhole days came the end of my frequent postings and musings about WSpace, but I continue to learn something new every day in NullSec.
The obvious question is obvious: Do I continue to post about what I am learning in NullSec in a blog created specifically to capture WSpace experiences?
After some thought, the answer is no. I would rather keep this blog for capturing future Wormhole-Fu as a part of my corporation's practices on accessing and draining high-end C5/C6 WSpace from our NullSec base of operations. However, with our recent relocation to Tenerifis, our WSpace Ops are on pause until we get fully settled. The WSpace fleet is ready to go, awaiting the dust to proverbially settle.
If I had not said this before, here it is: I love NullSec. The resources are rich (depending of course WHERE you are in NullSec), there is always PvP available, and you have no limitations on trying new things.
List of new things I have been doing in NullSec:
I will continue posting here about direct Wspace experiences (and indirect regarding small fleet best practices) once we resume our WSpace "Incursions"...
Until then...Fly Safe!
With the move to NullSec and thus the end of my wormhole days came the end of my frequent postings and musings about WSpace, but I continue to learn something new every day in NullSec.
The obvious question is obvious: Do I continue to post about what I am learning in NullSec in a blog created specifically to capture WSpace experiences?
After some thought, the answer is no. I would rather keep this blog for capturing future Wormhole-Fu as a part of my corporation's practices on accessing and draining high-end C5/C6 WSpace from our NullSec base of operations. However, with our recent relocation to Tenerifis, our WSpace Ops are on pause until we get fully settled. The WSpace fleet is ready to go, awaiting the dust to proverbially settle.
If I had not said this before, here it is: I love NullSec. The resources are rich (depending of course WHERE you are in NullSec), there is always PvP available, and you have no limitations on trying new things.
List of new things I have been doing in NullSec:
- Moon Goo Harvesting
- Extensive PI (most of nullsec PI resources are on par with WSpace)
- Heavy Interdictor (Onyx) Piloting
- ECM (Blackbird) Piloting
- Bomber Piloting
- All-things Sovereignty - e.g Defensive systems (like cyno jamming), iHub Upgrades, Station Upgrades
- Diplomacy - e.g. establishing Blue/NAP/NSP/Supplier relationships with local and regional corps/alliances
- Logistics (the Carrier/Jump Freighter kind, not the PvP kind)
- Fattening my Wallet again
- Growing Star Defender's toon to be an effective PvP pilot
I will continue posting here about direct Wspace experiences (and indirect regarding small fleet best practices) once we resume our WSpace "Incursions"...
Until then...Fly Safe!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Roam Scouting - Part 1 (Initial Assessments)
I am still a n00b PvP'er. Let's get that straight up front. But, in the interest of sharing learnings to date, here are some observations about being an effective scout when you are a part of small (or large) roaming gang out looking for a fight in NullSec.
If you are a lead scout, your FC (Fleet Commander) is going to have a plan to move you along an ever-advancing tide that is your gang. Your role can mostly be summarized by the following responsibilities:
This basically consists of a combination of evaluating local and using DScan to identify probable ship types.
The Local part is easy. If you are NBSI (Not blue shoot it) then you take a quick count of all pilots that are neutral or worse and quickly report the count to your FC.
In parallel, you are performing a Dscan at 360 degrees with max range to get a first look at ship types in-system and reporting them to the FC. In larger systems (e.g. systems where distance between your location and the farthest celestials is greater than 14AU), this may mean flying to other parts of the system to effectively canvas the system with DScan.
In systems where there are no Player-owned-stations (POS), this is much easier, as the only ships flying about are occupied and active. In cases with one or more POS's, you can run into a situation where more ships appear in Dscan than there are in Local, as there are ships left unpiloted within the warm confines of the POS bubble that still appear in DScan. Obviously, cloaked hostiles are not shown in DScan either, so the quick, initial assessment is either a confident: "4 Hostiles: 2 Vaga, a Muni and Caracal" or soft: "4 Hostiles: shiptypes unknown, possible targets on dscan include..."
If you have more time (edging upon target acquisition here), you can quickly identify POS locations, warp to 100km and identify unoccupied ships and mentally remove them from the DScan tally.
Typically, immediately upon entering a new system and while getting to a safe location (or cloaking), I will do a max DScan and give an initial report on total (Local) hostiles count and probable shiptypes, then quickly perform a directed DScan (30 degree or less) at the gates within the system to quickly see if there are any ships at the gates, which typically sounds something like: "4 Hostiles, probable 2x Vaga, Muni, Caracal" then about 10-15 seconds later: "2 Vaga on xxx gate, 1 on yyy gate".
The initial assessment needs to be fast and as accurate as possible - remember the FC is going to make fast decisions on fleet movement based on your reports - it could be the difference between a good kill or a substantial fleet loss if you get it wrong...
I will post about risk assessment in the next post.
Fly Safe (or not...)
If you are a lead scout, your FC (Fleet Commander) is going to have a plan to move you along an ever-advancing tide that is your gang. Your role can mostly be summarized by the following responsibilities:
- Initial Assessment: Report hostile counts and ship types as soon as possible upon entering into the "next" system.
- Risk Assessment: Evaluate pilot traffic in a system containing hostiles to ascertain whether there is a hostile fleet enroute to intercept or otherwise compromise your own fleet
- Target Acquisition: Locate possible targets of opportunity and create a warp-in point for fleet action, when applicable
This basically consists of a combination of evaluating local and using DScan to identify probable ship types.
The Local part is easy. If you are NBSI (Not blue shoot it) then you take a quick count of all pilots that are neutral or worse and quickly report the count to your FC.
In parallel, you are performing a Dscan at 360 degrees with max range to get a first look at ship types in-system and reporting them to the FC. In larger systems (e.g. systems where distance between your location and the farthest celestials is greater than 14AU), this may mean flying to other parts of the system to effectively canvas the system with DScan.
In systems where there are no Player-owned-stations (POS), this is much easier, as the only ships flying about are occupied and active. In cases with one or more POS's, you can run into a situation where more ships appear in Dscan than there are in Local, as there are ships left unpiloted within the warm confines of the POS bubble that still appear in DScan. Obviously, cloaked hostiles are not shown in DScan either, so the quick, initial assessment is either a confident: "4 Hostiles: 2 Vaga, a Muni and Caracal" or soft: "4 Hostiles: shiptypes unknown, possible targets on dscan include..."
If you have more time (edging upon target acquisition here), you can quickly identify POS locations, warp to 100km and identify unoccupied ships and mentally remove them from the DScan tally.
Typically, immediately upon entering a new system and while getting to a safe location (or cloaking), I will do a max DScan and give an initial report on total (Local) hostiles count and probable shiptypes, then quickly perform a directed DScan (30 degree or less) at the gates within the system to quickly see if there are any ships at the gates, which typically sounds something like: "4 Hostiles, probable 2x Vaga, Muni, Caracal" then about 10-15 seconds later: "2 Vaga on xxx gate, 1 on yyy gate".
The initial assessment needs to be fast and as accurate as possible - remember the FC is going to make fast decisions on fleet movement based on your reports - it could be the difference between a good kill or a substantial fleet loss if you get it wrong...
I will post about risk assessment in the next post.
Fly Safe (or not...)
SIR Recruiting opens in September
Whether you have spent months or years in NullSec or are thinking about trying out Null for the first time, there is a good opportunity to join a fun crew in the heart of Providence when our recruitment re-opens in September.
An early Corp post is here, but I wanted to mention a few personal observations about life in H-K. First off, I will refer back to my post on one of my toons finally getting started in PvP - I have the taste for it now, and let me tell you, it sticks. All I ever seem to want to do now is set up a camp or participate in a roam or protect the H-K pocket against hostiles.
Now that I have been to NullSec, it is actually hard to see myself ever returning to Concord space. I really enjoyed past years in LowSec and profited greatly from WSpace, but getting involved in NullSec was one of the best moves I have made.
I have a vested interest in growing our US Timezone membership (I am west coast/Seattle), so if you have any questions or have an interest, feel free to EveMail or convo LightTraveler or Star Defender.
T3 and Logistics-capable pilots are likely going to get a preferred look, based on the fact that the bulk of the corp ISK will be made in Class 4+ Wormhole daytrips, so if you are growing weary of WSpace colonization but enjoy the rewards of WSpace, you will enjoy taking down REAL sleepers in these higher-class sleeper territories...
However, that may not be a critical requirement - final details on recruitment and minimum skills will unfold when we officially open recruitment.
My favorite new ship - Blackbird. Scripted to permajam from 120km, I am loving this ship. It is arguably the ugliest damn ship in Eve, but it continues to be effective in camps and saving my bacon.
Fly Safe (or not...)
An early Corp post is here, but I wanted to mention a few personal observations about life in H-K. First off, I will refer back to my post on one of my toons finally getting started in PvP - I have the taste for it now, and let me tell you, it sticks. All I ever seem to want to do now is set up a camp or participate in a roam or protect the H-K pocket against hostiles.
Now that I have been to NullSec, it is actually hard to see myself ever returning to Concord space. I really enjoyed past years in LowSec and profited greatly from WSpace, but getting involved in NullSec was one of the best moves I have made.
I have a vested interest in growing our US Timezone membership (I am west coast/Seattle), so if you have any questions or have an interest, feel free to EveMail or convo LightTraveler or Star Defender.
T3 and Logistics-capable pilots are likely going to get a preferred look, based on the fact that the bulk of the corp ISK will be made in Class 4+ Wormhole daytrips, so if you are growing weary of WSpace colonization but enjoy the rewards of WSpace, you will enjoy taking down REAL sleepers in these higher-class sleeper territories...
However, that may not be a critical requirement - final details on recruitment and minimum skills will unfold when we officially open recruitment.
My favorite new ship - Blackbird. Scripted to permajam from 120km, I am loving this ship. It is arguably the ugliest damn ship in Eve, but it continues to be effective in camps and saving my bacon.
Fly Safe (or not...)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Summer in EVE
This time last year I was just renewing my excitement and activity level in EVE and was just a couple of months into WSpace. I had just found out that the Apocrypha release was everything I had hoped for, and more. I was posting to the blog almost daily, and was raking in the ISK and enjoying T3 production along with building up from a small POS to a Large, well-defended POS.
What a difference a year makes!
Like may, the time in Wspace, specifically the daily need to check on everything, led to a need to take a break from WSpace, which also allowed me to reflect on why I grew tired of the demands of WSpace, which soon became a trend and ultimately planted the seed for my move to Provi.
This summer, although I have been pretty happy in Provi and with my new corpmates, I have found that my EVE time has dropped precipitously. Based on what I can see from fellow corpies and other corps, this is fairly common in the summer.
The problem is that it is a sort of compounding function. For those times where I am amped up about getting online, I login only to find that there is nothing happening - no roams/camps/fleets of any kind, at least in my (US) timezone. Same goes for a lot of other pilots in other corps, at least generally speaking. I am guessing the larger corps and alliances maintain momentum all through the summer.
However, skill training continues and I am quickly draining my skill queue lists for various efforts, from PvP to Cap-ship training. Both my main and alt toons are nearing the 35M SP level, and the compliment of ships I can now fly is growing exponentially.
There was a good post by my fellow corp member Agatir on Provi, so no need to replicate.
My favorite activity of late is to use my near-perfect skilled EWAR jamming setup in small fleets - I really enjoy these outings and enjoy massive range, especially with range scripts. That, and continuing to act as forward or rear scout on roams. In between these (for now, rare) corp ops, I am running Sansha anoms, typically Havens and Sanctums.
Fly Safe! (or not...)
What a difference a year makes!
Like may, the time in Wspace, specifically the daily need to check on everything, led to a need to take a break from WSpace, which also allowed me to reflect on why I grew tired of the demands of WSpace, which soon became a trend and ultimately planted the seed for my move to Provi.
This summer, although I have been pretty happy in Provi and with my new corpmates, I have found that my EVE time has dropped precipitously. Based on what I can see from fellow corpies and other corps, this is fairly common in the summer.
The problem is that it is a sort of compounding function. For those times where I am amped up about getting online, I login only to find that there is nothing happening - no roams/camps/fleets of any kind, at least in my (US) timezone. Same goes for a lot of other pilots in other corps, at least generally speaking. I am guessing the larger corps and alliances maintain momentum all through the summer.
However, skill training continues and I am quickly draining my skill queue lists for various efforts, from PvP to Cap-ship training. Both my main and alt toons are nearing the 35M SP level, and the compliment of ships I can now fly is growing exponentially.
There was a good post by my fellow corp member Agatir on Provi, so no need to replicate.
My favorite activity of late is to use my near-perfect skilled EWAR jamming setup in small fleets - I really enjoy these outings and enjoy massive range, especially with range scripts. That, and continuing to act as forward or rear scout on roams. In between these (for now, rare) corp ops, I am running Sansha anoms, typically Havens and Sanctums.
Fly Safe! (or not...)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
LightTraveler grows fangs
Been a while since I have posted, particularly because I felt like I did not have anything new or informative to share.
However, as several blog followers and also corp-mates have mentioned recently: "What do you mean you have nothing to share? What about your new NullSec and PvP experiences?".
Well, although it may certainly not be informative, it would nonetheless be a chronicle of my experience in nullsec/Providence. So, here is a quick update on all-things Provi (while trying hard not to give up any sensitive info).
As most know by now, I have joined up with my long-time WSpace friends and allies over at SI Radio Corp/Planet Risk. We are located in Providence, specifically in the H-K4WA constellation. We have a unique relationship there with NOIR., and reside in the pocket with the LSS Alliance.
We are a large enough corp to essentially field a squad 24/7, which allows us to defend the pocket and make regional roams around Provi. For a NullSec n00b like me, that has meant diving head-first into PvP, an area where I am untested.
My first experience in Provi was simply to get settled in and get everything I felt I needed/wanted down in Provi relocated from HighSec. The first lesson learned, as in real life, don't overpack. If you are going to join a Nullsec corp that provides ships and fittings for Ops, then you probably do NOT need to bring every ship in your personal arsenal. I simply brought down a CovOps, a Drake, and Domi, and a Viator. I also constructed one of my Tengu kits once I got down there. My biggest mistake was bringing a good portion of my invention and production goods - we already have ample industrialists in the corp, and essentially anything you need, you corp mail the request to have it baked.
Once I got settled, the first thing I did was make 3 safespots in every system in the HK pocket, the "pipeline" to Mista, and the surrounding Provi systems.
Next, I simply began running local anom's in the pocket, as we were trying to max out our military index. Plenty of ISK in NullSec to be made on running NPC sites, especially when you get your system index up to max and you can run top-end, respawning sites over...and over...and over, etc. We also get wormhole spawns, which are quickly capitalized upon and squeezed for max possible ISK extraction ;-P
I was in the pocket maybe for a week when I felt the pull of PvP. Every time a neutral enter the pocket, the local Intel channels lit up and small squads were formed to nail the intruder(s). It was obvious that most of the regional veterans had a well-practiced protocol, with pre-assigned roles, ships, etc.
I really wanted to participate, but thought I could add little value. That is until I realized I could immediately join as a scout. With all of my covert ops skills and practiced hand at dodging gatecamps and cloak-warp trickery, I began asking to join SI Radio and NOIR. roams as a scout. I quickly began learning the vernacular and protocol of joining fleets and stepping into a role. I participated more and more as the pilot that gets sent several systems ahead of the roam to report back intel to the fleet. It was an easy fit to be the slippery pilot that can avoid getting killed while scanning down potential targets and reporting back to the fleet.
However, reporting intel successfully also means that you are also not getting in on the battles (and of course killmails). I would occasionally be in a position to watch the battles unfold, but with no offensive or defensive capabilities, I could not get in directly on the action. Thus began my PvP skill training crash course. My main and Alt began a new skill training regiment. One for tackling skills, the other as an EWAR master.
Roll forward 2 months and I have now participated in more than 2 dozen roams and ops, and have been able to continue to add value as a scout, but I have begun introducing my favorite ship of the moment - the trusty Rifter, in some of the more recent ops. I have even managed to collect a perfect record of 7 Kills, 0 Losses! I attribute the perfect score to PURE LUCK as and/or simply not being important or expensive enough to bother targeting. Lolz.
But LightTraveler has been officially blooded, and he likes it...immensely. I get it now. I can now at least understand all of those pilots that flame the industrialists for not embracing Eve for what they see as the only thing to do in Eve: Kill, attack, pillage. It is certainly a rush, getting that lock, webbing and warp scrambling the target, even catching the pod and sending the pilot to his next clone. I still think that Eve is more than just PvP, but now that I have (finally) tasted that aspect of Eve, I can certainly say I have been missing out on a lot of fun. Until now...
Shout out to my corp-mates for helping LT grow fangs and taste the blood of the enemy...
Fly Safe?!?!
However, as several blog followers and also corp-mates have mentioned recently: "What do you mean you have nothing to share? What about your new NullSec and PvP experiences?".
Well, although it may certainly not be informative, it would nonetheless be a chronicle of my experience in nullsec/Providence. So, here is a quick update on all-things Provi (while trying hard not to give up any sensitive info).
As most know by now, I have joined up with my long-time WSpace friends and allies over at SI Radio Corp/Planet Risk. We are located in Providence, specifically in the H-K4WA constellation. We have a unique relationship there with NOIR., and reside in the pocket with the LSS Alliance.
We are a large enough corp to essentially field a squad 24/7, which allows us to defend the pocket and make regional roams around Provi. For a NullSec n00b like me, that has meant diving head-first into PvP, an area where I am untested.
My first experience in Provi was simply to get settled in and get everything I felt I needed/wanted down in Provi relocated from HighSec. The first lesson learned, as in real life, don't overpack. If you are going to join a Nullsec corp that provides ships and fittings for Ops, then you probably do NOT need to bring every ship in your personal arsenal. I simply brought down a CovOps, a Drake, and Domi, and a Viator. I also constructed one of my Tengu kits once I got down there. My biggest mistake was bringing a good portion of my invention and production goods - we already have ample industrialists in the corp, and essentially anything you need, you corp mail the request to have it baked.
Once I got settled, the first thing I did was make 3 safespots in every system in the HK pocket, the "pipeline" to Mista, and the surrounding Provi systems.
Next, I simply began running local anom's in the pocket, as we were trying to max out our military index. Plenty of ISK in NullSec to be made on running NPC sites, especially when you get your system index up to max and you can run top-end, respawning sites over...and over...and over, etc. We also get wormhole spawns, which are quickly capitalized upon and squeezed for max possible ISK extraction ;-P
I was in the pocket maybe for a week when I felt the pull of PvP. Every time a neutral enter the pocket, the local Intel channels lit up and small squads were formed to nail the intruder(s). It was obvious that most of the regional veterans had a well-practiced protocol, with pre-assigned roles, ships, etc.
I really wanted to participate, but thought I could add little value. That is until I realized I could immediately join as a scout. With all of my covert ops skills and practiced hand at dodging gatecamps and cloak-warp trickery, I began asking to join SI Radio and NOIR. roams as a scout. I quickly began learning the vernacular and protocol of joining fleets and stepping into a role. I participated more and more as the pilot that gets sent several systems ahead of the roam to report back intel to the fleet. It was an easy fit to be the slippery pilot that can avoid getting killed while scanning down potential targets and reporting back to the fleet.
However, reporting intel successfully also means that you are also not getting in on the battles (and of course killmails). I would occasionally be in a position to watch the battles unfold, but with no offensive or defensive capabilities, I could not get in directly on the action. Thus began my PvP skill training crash course. My main and Alt began a new skill training regiment. One for tackling skills, the other as an EWAR master.
Roll forward 2 months and I have now participated in more than 2 dozen roams and ops, and have been able to continue to add value as a scout, but I have begun introducing my favorite ship of the moment - the trusty Rifter, in some of the more recent ops. I have even managed to collect a perfect record of 7 Kills, 0 Losses! I attribute the perfect score to PURE LUCK as and/or simply not being important or expensive enough to bother targeting. Lolz.
But LightTraveler has been officially blooded, and he likes it...immensely. I get it now. I can now at least understand all of those pilots that flame the industrialists for not embracing Eve for what they see as the only thing to do in Eve: Kill, attack, pillage. It is certainly a rush, getting that lock, webbing and warp scrambling the target, even catching the pod and sending the pilot to his next clone. I still think that Eve is more than just PvP, but now that I have (finally) tasted that aspect of Eve, I can certainly say I have been missing out on a lot of fun. Until now...
Shout out to my corp-mates for helping LT grow fangs and taste the blood of the enemy...
Fly Safe?!?!
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