Hello.
So, yeah. I was out in the Todifraun/Arnstur area all weekend, and had a lot of fun. This morning, I got a Slicer, a pair of Enyos, and a Corax in rapid succession, and then found a Catalyst / Coercer pair in a plex. I warped in, ready to engage (I had Plasma loaded) and they warp off as I land. Cool, no worries, I start counting down the plex, as we're faring somewhat poorly in the faction war just now.
I see a few more Amarr enter system. There is me and 7 of them in local. A peek at my dscan reveals Incursus, Retribution, Coercer, Catalyst, Merlin (Who is a stabbed, useless farmer) and an Executioner. The 7th never came on scan, or was cloaked somewhere.
Hmm. If they all warp in, Im gonna need to do some fancy flying.
I load Barrage.
In come the Incursus and the Retribution. I am expecting the 2 destroyers to return, so I immediately start burning around, and am shooting the Incursus at 20k or so. Both incursus and retri have MWDs, and NEITHER IS POINTING ME. Mistake no 1. I dont look to see which one, if anyone, is pointing me. I am watching their ranges and speeds. Had I done so, I would have realized one, or likely both, would have scrams. I figured the Incursus would. I figured the Retri to be long point fit. Sigh.
Hey, the heavy slicer Retri is common enough, I figure its flimsy and long point fit (dumb, see above) so i just keep firing at the incursus, who never did fire (blaster fit) and who warps out when I lose point due to me manually flying; remember when I said I am bad at kiting? Yeah, I am working on that, flying a 2 TE/MWD/long point wolf.
Then, somehow, I get scrammed by the retribution. How? By being bad at kiting. Mistake no. 2
Well, that was dumb. I am in low shields, and my cap is dry from all my MWDing around and pointing. I quickly offline the MWD and swap ammo types, as a Retri will die, if shot with barrage, sometime tomorrow. Of course, I Think my wolf is gonna be ok... em and thermal resists, right? It would have been... had I not screwed up yet again.
In my haste to swap ammo types, i select fusion. Sigh. Mistake no 3.
10 seconds tick by. The retri is pecking away at me, and i am losing armor.
I decide to load EMP... remember, I had plasma loaded way back at the beginning?
10 more seconds. I am in low armor when I start firing, only occasionally getting off a rep cycle.
My wolf dies with the Retri in low armor, and I go sit in station in my Reaper, playing with my unit of Tritanium, thinking about how incredibly stupid I am. I probably should have just stuck with barrage, and not lost 20 seconds farting with ammo types. I DEFINATELY should have just loaded Plasma, and burned the pair down.
I lost a Wolf, to a Retribution.
Kudos to the Retri pilot.
Im off to get an asschewing from my CEO for a deeply stupid loss.
Fly it like you stole it. And maybe, steal me one, please? Sigh.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Play the hand you have, not the one you want
Hello all! Sorry about the lack of activity lately, there has been quite a number of complications for me; stationside demands, technical difficulties, and illness have all kept me from updating this for some time.
(( As of today, January 12, 2013, I have been having problems with my ISP for 6 MONTHS. I am on service call no. 12, there is some issue with the node where I disconnect from the internet several dozen times a day for a few seconds. EVE has basically become unplayable, but they think they have finally tracked the issue down, so i am crossing my fingers that I will be pewing again soon. I would simply switch providers, if the only other option were not infinitely worse, a DSL provider using phone cables installed in the 1930s. I have also finally finished my bachelor's, so it has been a busy - and tiring - few months. On to the blog! ))
Today, I am going to talk a bit about the most common question I am asked; "How do you find a solo fight?" In another post, I talked a little about using the map, and provided a link to an excellent video tutorial made by Kil2, but this post deals specifically with how you find a fight you can take, and expect to win, in a frigate or AF. Solo flight does not mean an endless string of 1v1s; it would be very dull if it was. While I will never turn down a fun 1v1, I no longer undock with the intent of finding them. I undock and look for a group of targets that I can possibly do something with; these fall into 2 types, which are groups I want to destroy every ship in - or as many as i can, anyway - and groups I want to kill a specific member or members of.
In the first case, I am dealing with a group of ships I want to engage, because I think I can, if I do my job right, kill most or all of them. This will, when I am in an AF, usually be a group of frigates, other AFs, or possibly destroyers. Groups I have engaged in this manner in the past, off the top of my head, have included Firetail/Dramiel/ Succubus, Wolf/Jaguar/Jaguar, Coercer/Coercer/Omen/Dramiel, Ishkur/Stiletto/Jaguar, and so on. You can see a pattern in these sorts of groups; they do not have tanks with varied resistances I have to deal with, they do not have ECM or excessive amounts of drones, and they do tend to have ships that do lowish DPS or DPS i am very heavily tanked against. Now, I wont (normally) charge in, guns blazing, and just try to grind my way through all of them at once. Splitting them at a gate, for instance, or warping around, getting them to chase me, warping at random distances to celestials until one lands on top of me, will be my usual tactics. A lot of times, this blows up in my face, but sometimes, everything goes my way.
Finding a group that has resistances that dont require me to swap ammo is a plus, as is finding groups I can probably pick apart, or that I can fight at range. I would not WANT to fight, say, a Vengeance and a Wolf at the same time, as the damage I will wish to deal to one is virtually useless against the other, though if i could split them, and get the wolf first, by itself, I may try it. These tend to be extended running fights, and reloading or swapping ammo in warp, and getting in a few rep cycles and some precious cap regen, is very important. These tend to be my most memorable fights, and as I said, I will often lose; I will still take the fight if I believe I can destroy a couple of them before I go down. Groups of faction frigates or destroyers i can isolate are my favorite, as they have very weak tanks, and tend to just crumple. I WILL avoid anything I know is likely to have heavy TDs or ECM; I wouldnt want to fight against a Sentinel, Dramiel, and Hookbill, for instance, as the combination of TDs and fast targets would simply be way too much to overcome.
The second case is when I find a group I wish to kill one member of; this is usually a heavier or larger gang of ships, such as cruisers or battlecruisers, who have tacklers I want to kill. This is usually easier than the first case; warp to a gate or whatever at range, and tacklers will, almost always, burn out to try to get you. Why? Because that is their job! They are in a gang, they want to land tackles, and many do not understand that the Wolf theyre burning over there to point or scram is simply going to shred them long before their friends get anywhere near enough to open fire. Of course, this must be done carefully if the gang you are pulling a tackler from has snipers or recons, but it is still doable; ensure you are out of their gun range, but close enough that they cannot warp to save their friend(s). If they have ECM on field, it is best to warp to a celestial a ways away, and see if the tacklers will chase you. You want the tackler to be of a sort that you can just nuke; dont try this, in general, if they have Vengeances or Hawks as tackle. Stilettos, Dramiels, and the like are what you want to find. They are flimsy, they do not generally orbit beyond the range of a 2 TE wolf, or even a 1 TE wolf with barrage, and they tend to burn at you in a lovely straight line. Spam your dscanner if you fight at a celestial, and be ready to bounce the instant the tackle dies if you must; dont die because youre trying to loot a wreck. I score pretty often in null with this method, as tacklers are much more likely there to attempt to scram you on gates, because, of course, there are no gate guns.
Solo flight is not "PvP". As someone once told me, it is "PvP+P+P+P...+P". You have to find ways to take fights which, at first, may not seem to be in your favor, or otherwise, you will simply not find many fights. Also, as 1v1s seem to become less and less common, you want people to think they have (or actually have) some advantage, so they will attempt the fight. Nothing screams "Advantage" like 10 of your friends sitting on the gate with you.
Sadly for them, and lucky for us, those friends are meaningless if they cannot save that tackler from the wolf he burned 60k to tackle.
Hope to be posting kills (and maybe... some video?!?!) soon. However, for now, feel free to drop me a line in game if you need or wish to, and until next time... fly it like you stole it!
Ava
(( As of today, January 12, 2013, I have been having problems with my ISP for 6 MONTHS. I am on service call no. 12, there is some issue with the node where I disconnect from the internet several dozen times a day for a few seconds. EVE has basically become unplayable, but they think they have finally tracked the issue down, so i am crossing my fingers that I will be pewing again soon. I would simply switch providers, if the only other option were not infinitely worse, a DSL provider using phone cables installed in the 1930s. I have also finally finished my bachelor's, so it has been a busy - and tiring - few months. On to the blog! ))
Today, I am going to talk a bit about the most common question I am asked; "How do you find a solo fight?" In another post, I talked a little about using the map, and provided a link to an excellent video tutorial made by Kil2, but this post deals specifically with how you find a fight you can take, and expect to win, in a frigate or AF. Solo flight does not mean an endless string of 1v1s; it would be very dull if it was. While I will never turn down a fun 1v1, I no longer undock with the intent of finding them. I undock and look for a group of targets that I can possibly do something with; these fall into 2 types, which are groups I want to destroy every ship in - or as many as i can, anyway - and groups I want to kill a specific member or members of.
In the first case, I am dealing with a group of ships I want to engage, because I think I can, if I do my job right, kill most or all of them. This will, when I am in an AF, usually be a group of frigates, other AFs, or possibly destroyers. Groups I have engaged in this manner in the past, off the top of my head, have included Firetail/Dramiel/ Succubus, Wolf/Jaguar/Jaguar, Coercer/Coercer/Omen/Dramiel, Ishkur/Stiletto/Jaguar, and so on. You can see a pattern in these sorts of groups; they do not have tanks with varied resistances I have to deal with, they do not have ECM or excessive amounts of drones, and they do tend to have ships that do lowish DPS or DPS i am very heavily tanked against. Now, I wont (normally) charge in, guns blazing, and just try to grind my way through all of them at once. Splitting them at a gate, for instance, or warping around, getting them to chase me, warping at random distances to celestials until one lands on top of me, will be my usual tactics. A lot of times, this blows up in my face, but sometimes, everything goes my way.
Finding a group that has resistances that dont require me to swap ammo is a plus, as is finding groups I can probably pick apart, or that I can fight at range. I would not WANT to fight, say, a Vengeance and a Wolf at the same time, as the damage I will wish to deal to one is virtually useless against the other, though if i could split them, and get the wolf first, by itself, I may try it. These tend to be extended running fights, and reloading or swapping ammo in warp, and getting in a few rep cycles and some precious cap regen, is very important. These tend to be my most memorable fights, and as I said, I will often lose; I will still take the fight if I believe I can destroy a couple of them before I go down. Groups of faction frigates or destroyers i can isolate are my favorite, as they have very weak tanks, and tend to just crumple. I WILL avoid anything I know is likely to have heavy TDs or ECM; I wouldnt want to fight against a Sentinel, Dramiel, and Hookbill, for instance, as the combination of TDs and fast targets would simply be way too much to overcome.
The second case is when I find a group I wish to kill one member of; this is usually a heavier or larger gang of ships, such as cruisers or battlecruisers, who have tacklers I want to kill. This is usually easier than the first case; warp to a gate or whatever at range, and tacklers will, almost always, burn out to try to get you. Why? Because that is their job! They are in a gang, they want to land tackles, and many do not understand that the Wolf theyre burning over there to point or scram is simply going to shred them long before their friends get anywhere near enough to open fire. Of course, this must be done carefully if the gang you are pulling a tackler from has snipers or recons, but it is still doable; ensure you are out of their gun range, but close enough that they cannot warp to save their friend(s). If they have ECM on field, it is best to warp to a celestial a ways away, and see if the tacklers will chase you. You want the tackler to be of a sort that you can just nuke; dont try this, in general, if they have Vengeances or Hawks as tackle. Stilettos, Dramiels, and the like are what you want to find. They are flimsy, they do not generally orbit beyond the range of a 2 TE wolf, or even a 1 TE wolf with barrage, and they tend to burn at you in a lovely straight line. Spam your dscanner if you fight at a celestial, and be ready to bounce the instant the tackle dies if you must; dont die because youre trying to loot a wreck. I score pretty often in null with this method, as tacklers are much more likely there to attempt to scram you on gates, because, of course, there are no gate guns.
Solo flight is not "PvP". As someone once told me, it is "PvP+P+P+P...+P". You have to find ways to take fights which, at first, may not seem to be in your favor, or otherwise, you will simply not find many fights. Also, as 1v1s seem to become less and less common, you want people to think they have (or actually have) some advantage, so they will attempt the fight. Nothing screams "Advantage" like 10 of your friends sitting on the gate with you.
Sadly for them, and lucky for us, those friends are meaningless if they cannot save that tackler from the wolf he burned 60k to tackle.
Hope to be posting kills (and maybe... some video?!?!) soon. However, for now, feel free to drop me a line in game if you need or wish to, and until next time... fly it like you stole it!
Ava
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Well, the new update went ahead and pulled our beloved 2/10 complexes from losec. I have no idea why CCP did that, but meh, we'll survive, I guess. 1 more thing to make it difficult to find a fight.
Back in the Militia, and as I am about to be on winter break from school (Permanently, I graduate, woo!) I will be able to tend to both the blog and all those people who have been patiently waiting on me for art that I promised them months ago. I am sorry about the wait!
Expect good things. Ive been busy.
Ava
Back in the Militia, and as I am about to be on winter break from school (Permanently, I graduate, woo!) I will be able to tend to both the blog and all those people who have been patiently waiting on me for art that I promised them months ago. I am sorry about the wait!
Expect good things. Ive been busy.
Ava
Saturday, November 3, 2012
The Rifter, revisited
Hello hello!
September and October were both very, very quiet for me; September i got a couple kills, and October I only went out once, and that was to test my Wolf against the Rail Ishkur of Sard Caid a couple times. Good fights, close, but, the Wolf was outdone. Bah!
However, a pilot from one of my favorite organizations, Black Rebel Rifter Club, asked me for a 1v1 in local. Evidently, he had hoped to fight me for some time. I said ok, and that I would go get a T1 frigate, as he was in a Rifter, and Wolf vs a Rifter, frankly, isnt much of a fight. He was generous enough to give me a Rifter to fight him in, which I took, fitted to my liking, and had a fun, old fasioned Rifter brawl! Good fights were shared, I scooped the loot, docked, repaired, and left pod... and kept thinking back to the Rifter.
Everyone had been saying the Rifter was past its prime. I believed them... but kept thinking on it. So, today I decided to go out for a little roam in that same Rifter. I flew to Bosena, picked it up, and had a fight against a Slasher within just a few minutes. Now, the Slasher has come a long way, with 4 mids, as much turret damage as the Rifter, and much higher speed. I expected a TD, and for him to kite me at the edge of scram range. What i found, however, was an ASB fitted Slasher that died after cycling his ASB only twice, driving the point home that I do not believe ASBs are viable at the frigate level. They just do not rep enough per cycle, at least not with T1 resists. Good fights were shared, I docked, hopped back in my Wolf, and poked around Heild for a while.
Sard Caid was in local, fighting with Black Rebel Rifter Club, and I took the opportunity to just watch him fight; my 2-mid wolf left me feeling less than optomistic about fighting the 4 or 5 r1fta in local at once, and they were careful to not seperate. After a bit, I decided to go get my Rifter, figuring maybe the lesser T1 frigate would encourage them to take a few more risks.
I never made it back to Heild.
In Oddelulf, I found an Atron, Slasher, and Incursus poking about. The Incursus pilot, a member of another of my favorite groups, the Tuskers, fought the Atron and Slasher, then agreed to fight my Rifter. I had heard about how nasty the Incursus was, and have even flown it myself a couple times, but I formulated a plan...
I load barrage and keep at range, shooting from about 7k. I had heated my web at the start of the fight, to slow him down on the way in... I guess... no idea why i did it. Anyway, I did. Slowly, so slowly, the Incursus begins to enter armor, and slowly, so slowly, I am chewing it down... when suddenly, I am taking heavy damage. In my stupidity,I had burned the web out! As I enter low armor, the Incursus enters structure... bang, bang, into structure I go... he is low structure... rep cycle... low structure... and boom! Good fights are shared, I scoop my loot, and dock to repair my burned up mods, my hull damage, and my crispy guns. One of the best frigate fights I have had in a long, long time!
I fight him again, a bit later, in a shield fitted rifter, which also goes down, but who does quite well; he forced me to stay at range to evade his neut, and he did quite solid damage, me being in low armor when he went down. Not bad for a 125mm fit Rifter vs mine, with 200s!
Long story short, the Rifter is still here. Rifter vs Incursus is a good, close fight, as it should be, and a variety of fits still seem quite viable for it. T1 frigates have been boosted and are now very varied, and a lot of fun. I will be rolling around in this Rifter for the forseeable future; its cheap, its fun, and it still seems to be working just fine to me. Destroyers will be far more difficult, but meh, its a Rifter. It has SOME limits, right?
Hope to find a rail fit Merlin, maybe a Tormentor, and a proper kiting Slasher to give this a proper go. Until then;
Fly it like you stole it!
Ava
September and October were both very, very quiet for me; September i got a couple kills, and October I only went out once, and that was to test my Wolf against the Rail Ishkur of Sard Caid a couple times. Good fights, close, but, the Wolf was outdone. Bah!
However, a pilot from one of my favorite organizations, Black Rebel Rifter Club, asked me for a 1v1 in local. Evidently, he had hoped to fight me for some time. I said ok, and that I would go get a T1 frigate, as he was in a Rifter, and Wolf vs a Rifter, frankly, isnt much of a fight. He was generous enough to give me a Rifter to fight him in, which I took, fitted to my liking, and had a fun, old fasioned Rifter brawl! Good fights were shared, I scooped the loot, docked, repaired, and left pod... and kept thinking back to the Rifter.
Everyone had been saying the Rifter was past its prime. I believed them... but kept thinking on it. So, today I decided to go out for a little roam in that same Rifter. I flew to Bosena, picked it up, and had a fight against a Slasher within just a few minutes. Now, the Slasher has come a long way, with 4 mids, as much turret damage as the Rifter, and much higher speed. I expected a TD, and for him to kite me at the edge of scram range. What i found, however, was an ASB fitted Slasher that died after cycling his ASB only twice, driving the point home that I do not believe ASBs are viable at the frigate level. They just do not rep enough per cycle, at least not with T1 resists. Good fights were shared, I docked, hopped back in my Wolf, and poked around Heild for a while.
Sard Caid was in local, fighting with Black Rebel Rifter Club, and I took the opportunity to just watch him fight; my 2-mid wolf left me feeling less than optomistic about fighting the 4 or 5 r1fta in local at once, and they were careful to not seperate. After a bit, I decided to go get my Rifter, figuring maybe the lesser T1 frigate would encourage them to take a few more risks.
I never made it back to Heild.
In Oddelulf, I found an Atron, Slasher, and Incursus poking about. The Incursus pilot, a member of another of my favorite groups, the Tuskers, fought the Atron and Slasher, then agreed to fight my Rifter. I had heard about how nasty the Incursus was, and have even flown it myself a couple times, but I formulated a plan...
I load barrage and keep at range, shooting from about 7k. I had heated my web at the start of the fight, to slow him down on the way in... I guess... no idea why i did it. Anyway, I did. Slowly, so slowly, the Incursus begins to enter armor, and slowly, so slowly, I am chewing it down... when suddenly, I am taking heavy damage. In my stupidity,I had burned the web out! As I enter low armor, the Incursus enters structure... bang, bang, into structure I go... he is low structure... rep cycle... low structure... and boom! Good fights are shared, I scoop my loot, and dock to repair my burned up mods, my hull damage, and my crispy guns. One of the best frigate fights I have had in a long, long time!
I fight him again, a bit later, in a shield fitted rifter, which also goes down, but who does quite well; he forced me to stay at range to evade his neut, and he did quite solid damage, me being in low armor when he went down. Not bad for a 125mm fit Rifter vs mine, with 200s!
Long story short, the Rifter is still here. Rifter vs Incursus is a good, close fight, as it should be, and a variety of fits still seem quite viable for it. T1 frigates have been boosted and are now very varied, and a lot of fun. I will be rolling around in this Rifter for the forseeable future; its cheap, its fun, and it still seems to be working just fine to me. Destroyers will be far more difficult, but meh, its a Rifter. It has SOME limits, right?
Hope to find a rail fit Merlin, maybe a Tormentor, and a proper kiting Slasher to give this a proper go. Until then;
Fly it like you stole it!
Ava
Monday, October 8, 2012
My recent inactivity
Hello all. Gonna be a strictly OOC post here, to explain why the blog (And me) have been so quiet lately.
The crux is simply that I am in my last semester of college, with quite a heavy workload and all of the strains (such as getting ready for graduation and trying to find a job) That come with it. In addition, I do work full time at the moment, and this, coupled with a RL relationship, family, and other commitments, just have left me no time for the blog or for EVE. Hopefully after the midterm hump (this week and next) things will begin to quiet enough to permit me to violence some people's pixels.
Fly it like you stole it,
Ava
The crux is simply that I am in my last semester of college, with quite a heavy workload and all of the strains (such as getting ready for graduation and trying to find a job) That come with it. In addition, I do work full time at the moment, and this, coupled with a RL relationship, family, and other commitments, just have left me no time for the blog or for EVE. Hopefully after the midterm hump (this week and next) things will begin to quiet enough to permit me to violence some people's pixels.
Fly it like you stole it,
Ava
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
How to find a fight in EVE.
In my own experiences, as well as from talking to a few other people, one of the questions I am asked most often is "How do I find people to fight?"
Well... the answer to this depends on what sort of fight you want. If you're in a fleet, well, follow your FC. He or she will know where to take you to find action. However, as this whole thing is directed at solo roamers, whether FW combatants, nullsec roamers, lowsec pirates, or people who may be a little bit of all of the above, lets examine a few tricks. ((Note: Due to the content, ie, finding pvp in a video game, from here on, I am just writing from an OOC perspective, to make things easier)) This focuses on the perspective of a roamer, so I dont cover camping a gate, which is a dangerous PITA for a solo frig or AF anyways (But, at times, I have done it, and with success).
Step 1. The MAP. Yes, the map you can access by pressing F10? You can find people with that. In fact, I started using it more than I have before, thanks to an outstanding tutorial video made by solo pvper Kil2. The tutorial video can be found here and it is a straightforward, easy to understand introduction to the use of the map for this purpose. One caveat I would like to mention; just because the map shows 4 people active in system over the last 30 minutes does not mean 4 will be there when you jump in. It means, over the past 30 minutes, there have been an average of 4 people there. They may all be gone, or you might find a roaming gang of 30. But it is a definate point in the right direction, and using it as Kil2 describes to find pockets of activity is an outstanding way to get some shooting done. Also, if you havent, he has a series of fun pvp videos and even runs a live stream several times a week. Check it out.
Step 2. Know the area. I know from a long period of living in Minmatar losec that if I want fights, the places to go are the region from Amamake down to Hadozeko in Metropolis/Heimatar, the Creo-Corp plexes in Heimatar and Molden Heath, and Molden Heath in the Bosena/Heild area. Knowing your territory is exceedingly important. You can learn who to expect to bring good fights, who to bring blobs and falcons, and who simply not to waste time with. Finding a fight is not the whole story; being able to find a winnable fight is. Border systems (( Such as Amamake )) are often good places, though they can be extremely risky due to the large number of people in them. This, plus the map as outlined in 1, is often as far as you need to go, but here are a few more tricks...
Step 3. Make yourself easy to find. Sit in a belt (not at 0, of course). Sit at a DED plex. If you jump through a gate, or undock from station, and you see someone you wish to fight, warp to an obvious celestial. In null, you may attack them immediately, of course... if you know what lies in the station or on the other side of the gate. If they seem reluctant to engage, they will either 1) jump/dock as soon as you engage them, or 2) will not follow you when you warp to said obvious celestial. If they do things like point you immediately, but DONT follow you off gate or station, you can bet your last dollar they have help coming. Make them come to you, so you have a bit of time with them alone, or dont take the fight.
Step 4. Nullsec entry systems. Often, the entry systems into nullsec will be camped. Sometimes by a few people, sometimes by a huge gang, ocassionally by soloers. I will sometimes roam around and peek into every nullsec entry, and even go 1 system in (Null entries are always huge regional gates; campers much prefer the smaller, standard stargates that are generally 1 system in from the low/null boundary gate) to find some pew. This can be risky, as gangs of recons and/or sniper Tier 3 BCs are common, but you can almost always burn back to the gate or warp off if it is something you dont want to try.
And Step 5. When all else fails, just ask! I will often yell in local if i see another AF or 2 if they want a fight. Sometimes they say yes. If they dont respond, but keep looking for you, it can mean 1) They have no idea what language you're speaking or 2) Theyre tackling/baiting for a gang. Proceed with caution, though this will often save the day, and get a fight when nothing else will.
Learn to use that D-scanner, which will be something I will go over in my next post. Until then, fly it like you stole it! Good luck, and if anyone else has any tips that I havent covered... let me know, I'll add them.
Well... the answer to this depends on what sort of fight you want. If you're in a fleet, well, follow your FC. He or she will know where to take you to find action. However, as this whole thing is directed at solo roamers, whether FW combatants, nullsec roamers, lowsec pirates, or people who may be a little bit of all of the above, lets examine a few tricks. ((Note: Due to the content, ie, finding pvp in a video game, from here on, I am just writing from an OOC perspective, to make things easier)) This focuses on the perspective of a roamer, so I dont cover camping a gate, which is a dangerous PITA for a solo frig or AF anyways (But, at times, I have done it, and with success).
Step 1. The MAP. Yes, the map you can access by pressing F10? You can find people with that. In fact, I started using it more than I have before, thanks to an outstanding tutorial video made by solo pvper Kil2. The tutorial video can be found here and it is a straightforward, easy to understand introduction to the use of the map for this purpose. One caveat I would like to mention; just because the map shows 4 people active in system over the last 30 minutes does not mean 4 will be there when you jump in. It means, over the past 30 minutes, there have been an average of 4 people there. They may all be gone, or you might find a roaming gang of 30. But it is a definate point in the right direction, and using it as Kil2 describes to find pockets of activity is an outstanding way to get some shooting done. Also, if you havent, he has a series of fun pvp videos and even runs a live stream several times a week. Check it out.
Step 2. Know the area. I know from a long period of living in Minmatar losec that if I want fights, the places to go are the region from Amamake down to Hadozeko in Metropolis/Heimatar, the Creo-Corp plexes in Heimatar and Molden Heath, and Molden Heath in the Bosena/Heild area. Knowing your territory is exceedingly important. You can learn who to expect to bring good fights, who to bring blobs and falcons, and who simply not to waste time with. Finding a fight is not the whole story; being able to find a winnable fight is. Border systems (( Such as Amamake )) are often good places, though they can be extremely risky due to the large number of people in them. This, plus the map as outlined in 1, is often as far as you need to go, but here are a few more tricks...
Step 3. Make yourself easy to find. Sit in a belt (not at 0, of course). Sit at a DED plex. If you jump through a gate, or undock from station, and you see someone you wish to fight, warp to an obvious celestial. In null, you may attack them immediately, of course... if you know what lies in the station or on the other side of the gate. If they seem reluctant to engage, they will either 1) jump/dock as soon as you engage them, or 2) will not follow you when you warp to said obvious celestial. If they do things like point you immediately, but DONT follow you off gate or station, you can bet your last dollar they have help coming. Make them come to you, so you have a bit of time with them alone, or dont take the fight.
Step 4. Nullsec entry systems. Often, the entry systems into nullsec will be camped. Sometimes by a few people, sometimes by a huge gang, ocassionally by soloers. I will sometimes roam around and peek into every nullsec entry, and even go 1 system in (Null entries are always huge regional gates; campers much prefer the smaller, standard stargates that are generally 1 system in from the low/null boundary gate) to find some pew. This can be risky, as gangs of recons and/or sniper Tier 3 BCs are common, but you can almost always burn back to the gate or warp off if it is something you dont want to try.
And Step 5. When all else fails, just ask! I will often yell in local if i see another AF or 2 if they want a fight. Sometimes they say yes. If they dont respond, but keep looking for you, it can mean 1) They have no idea what language you're speaking or 2) Theyre tackling/baiting for a gang. Proceed with caution, though this will often save the day, and get a fight when nothing else will.
Learn to use that D-scanner, which will be something I will go over in my next post. Until then, fly it like you stole it! Good luck, and if anyone else has any tips that I havent covered... let me know, I'll add them.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Jaguar
Greetings all! I hope that the Fates have been kind to you, as they have been to me. Before I start on my new examinations of the Jaguar, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who follow the blog, comment, help me out with advice and gifts, and who in general enable me to do this stuff. I mean it, thanks. Every piece of advice on a fit, every isk, every ship, is something I use, something which hopefully will help me improve. I really appreciate it.
And without further delay, lets take a look at the ship which will always hold a special attachment for me, the Jaguar. Back when I was a new pilot, I yearned for the day that I could fly it, and I spent much of my first year in this ship, running agent missions and making timid forays into lowsec for a bit of exploration. When I decided to take up frigate combat versus other capsuleers, it was the Jaguar, not the Wolf, which I first moved on to after the Rifter, and I had some very encouraging early successes with it.
And, even then, before the current incarnation of AFs, a few pretty discouraging failures, due to limitations of the ship itself.
The plus side of the Jaguar is its speed and slot layout; it is the fastest AF in the skies, and it has a rather delightful 4/4/4 slot layout, with plenty of CPU to make use of it, unlike the Wolf, who's CPU makes me scream. Seriously, does Boundless Creation put a pocket calculator processor in those things? The Jaguar has a nice tracking speed bonus and like its sister ship, the Wolf, two damage bonuses. Its Optimal Range bonus, however, is fairly useless with standard autocannon fits, as their optimals are so short to begin with, adding 10% per level to nothing, is still nothing.
So... why fit them with autocannons?
Lets first look at what the Jaguar does WELL. It is, bar none, an outstanding heavy tackler for a gang. Working in tandem with an Interceptor, you can take over holding something down (and often with a scram, where an inty may have only a point) and be very difficult to scrape off. The problem arises in the current environment of Tier 3 Battlecruisers, who may kill our Jaguar in a single volley, so it, much like Interceptors, must be watchful for this. I enjoy dual prop fits with an MSE and scram when I am in a gang, scouting and tackling, as it gives me the best balance of survivability and speed. I wont share a fit here, theyre pretty easy to work up, you guys can figure it out!
However, if we want to go out solo roaming in our Jaguar... things are not as clear-cut. The old standard for many years was 150s, a neut, MSE/AB/scram/web, and DCU/gyro/TE, with rigs to personal taste. It had a hard time vs. Hawks, but theyve always been nasty, other than that, was on par with, or better than, most other AFs and frigates out there. Now, however, this fit dies, often, to just about every other AF? What has changed?
For starters, the AF updates have REALLY turned the table upside down. Most AF's tanks improved markedly, where the Jaguar's did not, and most also now have expanded fitting and/or slots to control range better, tank better, and apply their DPS better. The jaguar got a tracking bonus (Tracking speed was never an issue for it in the first place) and one sort of "meh" lowslot; this dosent offset the ships who recieved extra mids, tank bonuses, or range/damage bonuses.
Basically, all the other AFs, excepting maybe the Wolf and Ishkur, got markedly better. The Jaguar stayed right where it was, with one extra low slot. It has very, very poor gun range with ACs (in general) and spends much of the fight in this configuration trying to burn into gun range (or away, if fighting an enyo, for example) and not doing anything but taking damage. Every other AF, excepting possibly the Enyo, can apply DPS adequately from the instant it enters scram range, and the Enyo has roughly twice the Jaguar's damage output, offsetting the lack of time it does damage by sheer volume of damage it applies once in range. So, what can we do? We try to find a way to apply meaninful DPS from the instant we enter scram range ourselves, and play to that speed advantage, right? Let's see:
[Jaguar, Shaguar]
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Damage Control II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner
Medium Shield Extender II
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
5W Infectious Power System Malfunction
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I
Numbers? Well... discouraging. 154 dps at 1.3 + 9k is nothing to write home about, and we had to use two TEs both because we lack the CPU for 2 gyros, and because we need that gun range to begin applying said DPS. It is somewhat vulnerable to kiters (yay) and almost all AFs, especially since the introduction of ASB modules, can easily tank its mediocre damage. You can also get a 200 fit with 2 gyros and a nano, which will get us into range faster and does much better damage, but that time we're creeping into gun range, which can take 20-30 seconds against anything which can web us back, is time we're taking damage and they simply arent. I love Autocannons, I truly do... but I think theyre a poor choice on a solo Jaguar in the current environment.
So, lets see what we can do with Artillery guns! Since i lost one today, and people can look it up, no harm in sharing it now:
[Jaguar, Arty]
Internal Force Field Array I
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
Gyrostabilizer II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner
Medium Ancillary Shield Booster, Cap Booster 50
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Faint Warp Disruptor I
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Salvager I
Small Processor Overclocking Unit I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
Numbers... well, 1119 base speed, same as above, but we have 136 DPS (( Volley damage is what matters for arty fits, in this case, 940 )) applied at a 13+14 range with standard high-damage ammo; basically, if we can point it, we can shoot it. Our tank is meh, as the ASB has only 10 cycles available before its 60 second load, but reps us a huge chunk per cycle. This fit will work with a T2 AB and a Pseudo Damage control if you're budget minded (My loss was, still getting used to it) but a C type will work, and gets 70 more msec; probably not worth the 20m cost for the AB + DCU. Fitting a Gistii B requires a meta MAPC.
How do we fly it? Well... carefully. I managed to derp up and lose mine to a dual ASB hawk by getting too close, and then was unable to burn back out of his range before I went down. I was, however, punching right through his shield into armor on most shots, and he had emptied both ASBs when the fight ended. One more volley (ie, not derping as SOON as I did) would have won the fight. To be fair, it may have been a bit easier in my Wolf, but I have a feeling the Wolf wouldnt be able to break it in time. The idea is to stay at 15-16k range, and heat your web to "keepaway" if they get too close. You have 10 cycles of that booster, and that is IT. If it runs out and youre still taking heavy damage, well... get ready to warp that pod out. Even inside this range, had it been anything other than a dual asb hawk, it would have died, as it simply couldnt have repped the volleys fast enough. A Vengeance perhaps... but we'd have had a much easier time burning back away from it. It has a Succubus that was also dual ASB fit (( CCP, mental note... when EVERYONE is fitting 2 of these, might be a sign to re-examine them )) a Dramiel (Which was pretty horribly fit) and an Ishkur to its credit so far, and the loss was my fault entirely for being, as I have said before, rather bad at kiting. I cannot get a T2 point on this thing; wish I could, that 4k range makes a HUGE difference.
Hopefully, I get better at it sooner rather than later.
Ava
And without further delay, lets take a look at the ship which will always hold a special attachment for me, the Jaguar. Back when I was a new pilot, I yearned for the day that I could fly it, and I spent much of my first year in this ship, running agent missions and making timid forays into lowsec for a bit of exploration. When I decided to take up frigate combat versus other capsuleers, it was the Jaguar, not the Wolf, which I first moved on to after the Rifter, and I had some very encouraging early successes with it.
And, even then, before the current incarnation of AFs, a few pretty discouraging failures, due to limitations of the ship itself.
The plus side of the Jaguar is its speed and slot layout; it is the fastest AF in the skies, and it has a rather delightful 4/4/4 slot layout, with plenty of CPU to make use of it, unlike the Wolf, who's CPU makes me scream. Seriously, does Boundless Creation put a pocket calculator processor in those things? The Jaguar has a nice tracking speed bonus and like its sister ship, the Wolf, two damage bonuses. Its Optimal Range bonus, however, is fairly useless with standard autocannon fits, as their optimals are so short to begin with, adding 10% per level to nothing, is still nothing.
So... why fit them with autocannons?
Lets first look at what the Jaguar does WELL. It is, bar none, an outstanding heavy tackler for a gang. Working in tandem with an Interceptor, you can take over holding something down (and often with a scram, where an inty may have only a point) and be very difficult to scrape off. The problem arises in the current environment of Tier 3 Battlecruisers, who may kill our Jaguar in a single volley, so it, much like Interceptors, must be watchful for this. I enjoy dual prop fits with an MSE and scram when I am in a gang, scouting and tackling, as it gives me the best balance of survivability and speed. I wont share a fit here, theyre pretty easy to work up, you guys can figure it out!
However, if we want to go out solo roaming in our Jaguar... things are not as clear-cut. The old standard for many years was 150s, a neut, MSE/AB/scram/web, and DCU/gyro/TE, with rigs to personal taste. It had a hard time vs. Hawks, but theyve always been nasty, other than that, was on par with, or better than, most other AFs and frigates out there. Now, however, this fit dies, often, to just about every other AF? What has changed?
For starters, the AF updates have REALLY turned the table upside down. Most AF's tanks improved markedly, where the Jaguar's did not, and most also now have expanded fitting and/or slots to control range better, tank better, and apply their DPS better. The jaguar got a tracking bonus (Tracking speed was never an issue for it in the first place) and one sort of "meh" lowslot; this dosent offset the ships who recieved extra mids, tank bonuses, or range/damage bonuses.
Basically, all the other AFs, excepting maybe the Wolf and Ishkur, got markedly better. The Jaguar stayed right where it was, with one extra low slot. It has very, very poor gun range with ACs (in general) and spends much of the fight in this configuration trying to burn into gun range (or away, if fighting an enyo, for example) and not doing anything but taking damage. Every other AF, excepting possibly the Enyo, can apply DPS adequately from the instant it enters scram range, and the Enyo has roughly twice the Jaguar's damage output, offsetting the lack of time it does damage by sheer volume of damage it applies once in range. So, what can we do? We try to find a way to apply meaninful DPS from the instant we enter scram range ourselves, and play to that speed advantage, right? Let's see:
[Jaguar, Shaguar]
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Damage Control II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner
Medium Shield Extender II
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
5W Infectious Power System Malfunction
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I
Numbers? Well... discouraging. 154 dps at 1.3 + 9k is nothing to write home about, and we had to use two TEs both because we lack the CPU for 2 gyros, and because we need that gun range to begin applying said DPS. It is somewhat vulnerable to kiters (yay) and almost all AFs, especially since the introduction of ASB modules, can easily tank its mediocre damage. You can also get a 200 fit with 2 gyros and a nano, which will get us into range faster and does much better damage, but that time we're creeping into gun range, which can take 20-30 seconds against anything which can web us back, is time we're taking damage and they simply arent. I love Autocannons, I truly do... but I think theyre a poor choice on a solo Jaguar in the current environment.
So, lets see what we can do with Artillery guns! Since i lost one today, and people can look it up, no harm in sharing it now:
[Jaguar, Arty]
Internal Force Field Array I
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
Gyrostabilizer II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner
Medium Ancillary Shield Booster, Cap Booster 50
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Faint Warp Disruptor I
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
280mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Salvager I
Small Processor Overclocking Unit I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
Numbers... well, 1119 base speed, same as above, but we have 136 DPS (( Volley damage is what matters for arty fits, in this case, 940 )) applied at a 13+14 range with standard high-damage ammo; basically, if we can point it, we can shoot it. Our tank is meh, as the ASB has only 10 cycles available before its 60 second load, but reps us a huge chunk per cycle. This fit will work with a T2 AB and a Pseudo Damage control if you're budget minded (My loss was, still getting used to it) but a C type will work, and gets 70 more msec; probably not worth the 20m cost for the AB + DCU. Fitting a Gistii B requires a meta MAPC.
How do we fly it? Well... carefully. I managed to derp up and lose mine to a dual ASB hawk by getting too close, and then was unable to burn back out of his range before I went down. I was, however, punching right through his shield into armor on most shots, and he had emptied both ASBs when the fight ended. One more volley (ie, not derping as SOON as I did) would have won the fight. To be fair, it may have been a bit easier in my Wolf, but I have a feeling the Wolf wouldnt be able to break it in time. The idea is to stay at 15-16k range, and heat your web to "keepaway" if they get too close. You have 10 cycles of that booster, and that is IT. If it runs out and youre still taking heavy damage, well... get ready to warp that pod out. Even inside this range, had it been anything other than a dual asb hawk, it would have died, as it simply couldnt have repped the volleys fast enough. A Vengeance perhaps... but we'd have had a much easier time burning back away from it. It has a Succubus that was also dual ASB fit (( CCP, mental note... when EVERYONE is fitting 2 of these, might be a sign to re-examine them )) a Dramiel (Which was pretty horribly fit) and an Ishkur to its credit so far, and the loss was my fault entirely for being, as I have said before, rather bad at kiting. I cannot get a T2 point on this thing; wish I could, that 4k range makes a HUGE difference.
Hopefully, I get better at it sooner rather than later.
Ava
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