One year!

Five Hundred and Sixty Nine Kills
Three Hundred and Sixty Four Solo Kills
Two Hundred and Forty One Losses
Twenty Four Billion ISK Destroyed
Four Billion Nine Hundred Million ISK Lost
Seventeen Million Four Hundred Thousand Skillpoints
Negative Nine point Zero Four Security Status

Fin

EVE Lore Fetish!

With all the interaction with the EVE universe based around its players, I tend to forget that there is quite a rich back story to things in EVE. With the last few updates building on the Jovian/Sleeper storyline, I have been hooked reading anything that Rhavas writes on Twitter or over at his Blog Interstellar Privateer. That's a link to the first of three posts talking about what might be the meaning behind Caroline's Star. Reading all this stuff got me really interested and led me to purchase Templar One, the third Eve book by Tony Gonzales, which tells the story of how sleeper technology was used to make DUST:514 mercenaries possible. It also bring a lot of the story around which the recent events in Eve are tied to.

I have been been making my way through all the EVE Chronicles and came across this Chronicle Collection by Tomiko Kawase. Every official chronicle in one place. It could be a little easier to navigate, indexing would awesome, but it has been nice to be able to read through when I get the chance and not have to rely on an Internet connection.

The Heimatar Triangle

The search was long and arduous : well about five minutes. The hangars are fully stocked with ships prepared for all eventualities : I have five ships mostly fit. All fittings have been scrutinised all ammo has been checked and accounted : I forgot to bring extra scorch and one of my Atrons fits doesn't work in this clone as I didn't fit a PG implant. I say own personal move Op success \o/

If you are looking for somewhere to get some Lowsec Frigate PVP this has to be the place.

The Tuskers have recently moved into Bosboger and are always up for good fights. Some do use links but that's to come with fighting in home systems I guess. There is sometimes and camp set up on the gate to high sec Dammalin but this is a much quieter route into the region than the perma camped Osoggur gate in Amamake.

Brink Albosa and myself have moved into Lulm. The bar is open and fully stocked. I have to tell them to keep the noise down now and then, while partaking in SKRMR perscribed meditation. This is actually a home coming for me as this used to be my haunt in the days of the Angel 2/10 static complex. Man I miss them, so many good fights and of course the campers in the final room to really annoy.

Gulmorogod has Mav'Lite and his plethora of link alts. If you are coming with a gang always a very good fight, and fun for me to watch on D-Scan as one by one your ships explode and capsules pop up :) SKRMR pilots Lhorenzho and Nuke Cave also live here. So keep your cynos safe from Lho and anything that you hold dear from Nuke, the guy is a relentless killing machine.

The Black Rebel Rifter Club are also moving into the area, I think to Bosboger. That is on top of all the usual fights and targets flying around as it is Faction Warfare space. With Amarr taking almost all systems and getting T5 there are plenty of farmers to cull and with the minmatar like a wounded animal they will be fighting back.

Took a ride down to my new system in an Executioner. Managed to get 12 fights in a couple of hours came out 10:1:1 so I'm happy. I am going to like living here again. I hope.

Helping Newbros... Not in my day!

There is not a chance in hell that 6 years ago when I started playing this game, that there would be all of these people helping out in Help channels or starting their own Noob and PVP channels. Giving up their free playing time to help newbros. The only time they would do that was to get some cheap kills by awoxxing them in fleets.

I think its great. Hopefully it means that more people stay and play this great game that we love.

Will I be offering a helping hand? Hell no! Not unless they want to know how to fit a solo PVP Atron or Executioner. I was thinking last night. I haven't ran a mission, of any flavour, for five years. Never ran an epic arc. Never done Faction Warfare. I spent a long time in wormholes, but I would always scout, while everyone one else was shooting red crosses, trying to find fights. Never done Incursions. Never manufactured outside of anything that was in the starter tutorials. Hmm there really isn't that much of this game that I have played. So I probably wouldn't be the best person to offer much help.

To everyone that is out there helping our Newbros I salute you!

The end of RvB......

You have got to love those tabloid style titles.

So I have decided to cut short my stay with RvB. In short I loved it. Instant on tap PVP, throwing cheap ships into the line of fire. Chatting s*** on comms with some pretty chill dudes. Whats not to love about that? Well for me after a while it does feel a little stale, not sure if its the solo pilot in me rebelling against the semi-arranged nature of the beast.

After looking at a few options like joining Eric Shang and moving to Sov Null or going to NPC Null again. Really there was only one option for me and that had to be joining back up with my boys Screaming Hayabusa. I have been with these guys in one guise or another for the best part of 4 years. We are a very strange bunch. We are all solo pilots to the point where if we see each other in local we will move straight on so as not to affect any hunting going on, we are that scary that if people see two of us in local all fights will be off! Thats not to say that we won't help out if someone is being #blebbed. Now that I said that I think Miura Bull and Nogusha actually fleeted up last night. In frigates of course.

So lowsec it is, but where will I go? There have been murmurs, mere whispers in back channels of a new forming thunderdome. A Bermuda Triangle of lowsec systems nice and close to a well stocked trade hub!

Where is this mystical place you ask.. 

Slice and Dice

So I have had a little break from EVE, only 2-3 weeks but it was needed. Before I left I had trained up to fly the Imperial Navy Slicer. I had flown this ship no more than a handful of times prior to my reset, and I am looking forward to getting some fights in it.

[Imperial Navy Slicer, Standard Kite Slicer]

Internal Force Field Array I

Heat Sink II

Heat Sink II

Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Faint Warp Disruptor I

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

[Empty High slot]

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

* I always use Genolution CA-1+2 for noob fitting purposes

So this is the fit that I have gone for, nothing out of the ordinary for a Slicer really. I originally got the urge to fly this ship from watching one of Suitonia’s videos. He made a few fitting and how-to videos and has taken over the Eve-Is-Easy youtube channel from some of the Hydra Reloaded guys.

Short post but I will write up some fights soon hopefully. Definitely go watch some of Suitonia’s they are great, lots of good tips and fitting advice for specific ships in each video.

Quafe Sub-Zero

As a birthday gift in 2011 CCP gave all active capsuleers a six pack of Quafe Zero. A legal booster which like the synth variations of normal boosters is free to be transported in highsec. This booster gave a +5% increase to ship velocity and +5% ship sensor strength.

I am not a habitual user of boosters but I do have some stashed away. Even just a +3% synth exile, which boosts armour repair amount, can mean winning or losing a fight. LockeFox has a great infographic you should go have a read.

So my idea for a christmas gift this year is Quafe Sub-Zero.

All fitted modules have a structure HP of 40 HP. Well, some Titan-only modules like Clone Vat Bays and Jump Portal Generators have 99,999HP (just to ensure you can't burn them out), but apart from that, it's all 40HP. Its this value which is reduced as you overheat the module or modules in the same rack. UniWiki has a good overheating guide here.

Quafe Sub-Zero increases the capsuleers control of ships cooling systems reducing the amount of damage taken, to fitted modules by 20%.

Every knows to overheat all the things in EVE Online, now imagine the advantage you will have overheating your repper for that few extra cycles, or getting that last few rounds off against your target before your guns are on fire.

Boring skillpoint post..

I always thought these sort of blog posts were a bit of a cop out, so I wont keep you long.

Alek Azam - Skillz that pay the billz..

A chap called Kirith Darkblade used do a nice little run down of the skills he had learned over time to add to his Rifter Plan. But its probably easier if you just go have a look at the link above. Guys who are just starting out I think the skills I have trained upto this point are a very good base for a starter PVP character. I know the draw to fly different ships is strong but concentrating on at least one race of ships to begin is a great help. You will concentrate on skills and not be a jack of all trades, but also you can spend more time learning certain flying styles before you move on to other ships.

Three months and 5 million SP into the reset and i’m still having lots of fun. I am getting to the point now, with a few more skillpoints, where i'm confident in engaging two or three guys at once in the Atron.

Remember when I said to concentrate on one race of ships.. Well I have decided to train for a slicer. The train isn't too far from the Atron as it uses the same tank and gunnery support skills. I fancy a little change and the Slicer is well sexy.

FALCOWN Punch!

I will start by saying I didn't die. I have never really been affected by ECM, and if I have it obviously hasn't left a lasting mark as I can't remember.

I logged in the other day to set a new skill in the queue. I always quickly undock hit D-scan just to see if there is something to have a quick fight. Spotted a condor at a novice site. Redocked jumped in a Dual Prop Atron and went to say hello. He was 20km off the acceleration gate, I burnt for him and managed to land a scram “interesting” I was expected a kitey LML condor, but the rockets he had fitted were hitting me hard..

Suddenly.

Two. Yes TWO Falcons decloak and a Retribution tags along a few seconds later.

Although he was brawler fit he did still have a MWD, so I managed to pull range and warp. But that didn't stop me from throwing my toys out the pram, declaring:

Alek Azam: This game is retarded.. RAGELOG

Miura Bull: #lel

Wolf in wolves clothing

Assault Frigates are quite a rare breed in Metropolis, in and around Evati. So to get two fights both against Wolves is new for me. I'm often very reluctant to fight a Wolf, as the Arty Wolf fit made famous by Prometheus Exenthal is a T1 frigates nightmare.

http://skrmr.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=22817485

This kill was brought to you by Faction Thorium S, very kindly provided by Nuke Cave. Thorium gave my Rails a 15km optimal range. This allowed me to kite out at 18km and reduce the incoming damage from his Autocannons. The Wolf has a falloff bonus similar to that just given to the Rifter. So has a very wide operating window with Autocannons and Barrage.

The second fight was against a pilot called Julian Bren. Unlike the last fight, from looking at some of his past losses, he had 200mm ACs fitted. This meant his range was just that little bit longer, and even in deep falloff my non tanked Atron was hurting. I took the opportunity to leave just in time.

Super Sekrit Hidden Fittings

I am not ashamed to admit that a lot of my Atron fits (slight changes due to skills) have come from Nogusha and Crake Gaterau. Their Atron Bushido mastery is of the very highest order. I often wondered how many stashes of ships Crake had laying around. He would be fighting incursus one minute scram kiting with an afterburner, then not 2mins later killing that most awful of lowsec creatures the Condor.

"did you slingshot him?"

"no, I chased him down"

"you had another ship close by?"

"nope"

"hmm....."

So he let me in on a little secret. Carry extra fittings with you that you can change to suit your pray. Now this is very much a lowsec thing where stations are plentiful and unless you are in FW you can dock in them all. Nullsec obviously has the issue of docking rights.

I have warped into a novice plex hoping to get a fight with a Breacher. But he is a LML/MWD variety. Now normally its a matter of trying to slingshot him into scram range, but my slingshot-fu has evaded me this day. I manage to get out of point range and warp straight to a station.

Dock.

WonderWoman twirl.

Undock.

..and chase the mother down!

http://skrmr.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=22442932

Nibiru!

[Atron, Nibiru!]

Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Damage Control II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

1MN Afterburner II

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

[Empty High slot]

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Small Ancillary Current Router I

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I

Super Nibiru!

[Atron, Super Nibiru!]

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

Damage Control II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

1MN Afterburner II

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S

[Empty High slot]

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Small Ancillary Current Router I

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I

I would normally roam in the Nibiru! with MAPC and MWD in my hold.

Warp in on everything..

I have a habit of warping into plex's unsighted. I will warp straight to FW plex gates without first scoping them out via a celestial. Sometimes this can end in a bad way, and sometimes you catch people very unaware, giving a slight advantage against a strong opponent. Now upon landing on this particular complex, I activated the acceleration straight away. The thought of getting a Dramiel kill in my mighty Atron with such little skillpoints got the better of me.

http://skrmr.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=22391984

It turned out to be a terrible fit, but its still a shiny.

Then this happened..

http://skrmr.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=22428971

Those damn Sisters are supposed to be friendly, not decloaking when I am killing a Rifter.

T2 Gunz Yo!

Earlier to today I finished training Small Blaster V and immediately plugged in Small Blaster Specialisation. This would allow me fit Tech Two(T2) Blasters and use T2 Ammunition.

http://skrmr.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=22299317

This was a very good fight against an experienced player. One that I probably would not have won without T2 Ammo in this case Null, the blaster long range ammo.

I often play Eve with my generic tablet (iPad) close by. On here I have evemaps and eve-kill open. Evemaps open to the region I am flying in, to make travelling easier. I use Eve-kill to gain Intel on those in local. The whole time I am in a system, I am trying to gather as much Intel on people I may be fighting. Trying to put characters in local to ships in space. I knew that it was this character flying the slasher, as he was talking to someone in local. So I looked him up on eve-kill and his last few losses were slashers. So I looked at the fit, pretty standard for Lowsec, and saw he was using a tracking speed script each of the last three times he had died. Now this could be complete coincidence, but I decided on my plan of action.

He warped into me in a novice FW site. With null loaded in my T2 Neutron Blasters I decided to keep at range 7500m, hopefully negating the tracking script. He landed some very good hits but as I pulled range his damage dropped and thankfully mine continued quite high. At this point his Tracking Disruptor stopped. The fight had not long started so couldn't be due to low capacitor. He was swapping scripts to an optimal range script, to cut down my long range damage. I immediately began to approach, without orbiting my long range Null even under Optimal Range TD was still getting very good hits and he exploded.

Could I have won that fight without Null? Possibly, but very unlikely. I could've used longer range faction ammo, but the DPS and range would not have been anywhere near as high as with Null.

All this and only 1.1 Million Skillpoints.

I've sold my main bro!

I've gone and done what everybody in Eve Online knows not to do..

I've sold my main bro!

My old main character used to have lots of lovely skill points. Some weird and wonderful skills that I can honestly say I never used. For the last 3 years I have been flying Tech One frigates in Lowsec solo, tru-solo, super bushido honour mode whatever you want to call it. I have become kinda good at it, not as good as some of the guys that I fly with but I can hold my own. If I'm honest it's gotten a little boring. Not because of what I fly! I love frigates. It's because I no longer feel challenged in Faction Warfare Lowsec.

There are some good fights, but they are often fighting outnumbered against multiple targets. But these tread a fine line between smiting your foes in a blaze of solo glory and getting ganked. Fighting players younger than me in Eve terms one vs one had become a little hollow. I have tried lots of things in Eve. Wormholes, Highsec wardecs, NPC Nullsec so I knew that it wasn't a change of scenery that was required. It was a change of me. I enjoy playing Eve online. A bit of escapism in my normal hectic family life. So I wasn't going to quit either.

So here we are, a fresh start.