New Love Affair: The Succubus Part 2

Yesterday I said I wanted to talk about 2 things and then only talked about 1...  Oops, guess I should proof read a tiny bit more before hitting that publish button :P.

The second thing I wanted to talk about was what I've been able to accomplish with that little beast.  You can see my track record with the ship over here.

In chronologically descending order, let me touch on the fights that were most memorable to me.

Hull Tanked Enyo vs Succubus:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/42200202/

This Enyo almost fell victim to my Large Tachyons much like this crow.  They landed at the belt at 0 that I was ratting at and were nearly instantly greeted by me stripping them of their shields and half of their armor.  The second volley missed and they warped off shortly after.  They never left dscan though so I decided to down ship and go on the hunt.

The fight was a good one and I learned that I need to manage my heat on my web better as I slipped outside web range quite a few times with her QUICKLY closing range and beginning to blaster me.  Void wasn't a good choice though so the incoming DPS was never enough to really do a whole lot and I'd then notice and re apply webs to get out of that predicament.  Good fight all around though and unfortunately that succubus would meet its doom 4 days later as we saw yesterday.  While I learned the lesson... it wouldn't sink in... we'll see if I do any better in the future ;).

Coercer vs ABA Gang:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/42154014/

I honestly don't remember shooting this guy...  I was drinking that night though... so... yeah...

Atron vs Succubus:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/41992054/

OMGWTFBBQ?  This was quite painful as this pilot skillfully kept his range coming within OH'ed web range a couple times but quickly noticing and getting away before I could start to apply my damage.  Had he made that mistake any bigger he would have quickly felt a scram on him and the coldness of space in his pod.  Well played sir!

Vengeance vs Succubus:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/41990372/

This pilot didn't want to fight me at first as our first encounter had someone completely unaffiliated to either of us come on short scan before we engaged.  He accused me of coming in 2v1 but I assured him that I was alone that night.  He took the fight later though as we can see.  Not much to talk about besides the fact that my speed was FAR more than he could handle and mitigated about 90% of his potential damage it seems.  If I recall, I went into armor just barely and didn't spend a single MASB charge on the fight.

Suddenly AFK vs ABA:

https://zkillboard.com/related/30005262/201408280300/

These two engagements were quite fun and helped me understand the capabilities of this awesome little frigate.

It started with the Maller and the Algos coming in on us while we were belt ratting.  Draiv in his Oracle and me in the Succubus with Nix on comms derping around elsewhere.  I knew that the Algos could be very dangerous for me as tackle so approached with caution.  Upon getting close however, I noticed only T1 drones so dove in head first and put tackle on the Algo's and damage on the Maller while Draiv landed for the blap on the Algos.  Upon landing and blapping however a Proteus came on scan and Draiv buggered off.  I stayed engaged on the Maller and slowly whittled through his tank while Nix came along to steel the kill and Draiv came back to apply blaps.

The next part of this two part engagement was a tad trickier.  We still had not evaluated the skill of the pilots from the previous engagement and were not keen on going head to head with a thrasher that COULD be skilled well.  So this one took some positioning and some risk taking to setup properly until Draiv finally landed within an appropriate distance where the fight started and fairly quickly ended with Draiv pretty beat up if I do recall correctly.

Good fight guys, would do again :D.

New Love Affair - The Succubus Part 1

Today I want to talk about 2 things really.  Both of these revolve around the Succubus however as I've grown to love this ship a great deal.  Not necessarily how it looks, although it does have its own character, but rather in how it flies and what I've been able to accomplish with it.

The first point I want to talk about is my recent loss.  This fight was well played by my opponent, I have to say.  I don't know if he grew bored camping the gate in Gonditsa or if he just came on line and part of his opening routine is to scan the nearby systems for potential fights before lighting his camp fire.  I think I'll have to talk with him and ask him how him coming to Galnafsad came about as I'm quite curious.

The Story:

I'm out belt ratting in what I'm temporarily calling my home and using a blap fit oracle.  I see a new comer to local and almost immediately spot some combat probes which soon get closer.  Once I feel like they're too close I align out and leave when I feel the time is right.  What happens between me leaving and him landing is anyones guess but I come back in a cloaky just to see what I'm working against and spot the lone Incursus with _potential_ links.  I want the fight, so I decide to undock the Succubus and dive right in.

I land at the belt, fire up the AB and start to approach my target.  Very quickly, however, I noticed I'm not moving very fast... this isn't good as I'm on grid with a 0.2 Clone rat AND a blaster fit Incursus... I'm sure to melt at these kinds of speeds.  I zoom in and notice that I'm stuck on a damn asteroid and my shields are dropping.  Hit the MASB, GTFO out of my current predicament and stop the MASB when I've mitigated some incoming damage.

Damn, 2 charges left on the MASB and I still have to deal with this blastering Incursus and this clone rat.  Shields at around 3/4ths at this point and I survey the area as best I can and find a good approach vector.  Things aren't looking good for me though as I begin to pick up too much speed and let my webs drop on a couple of occasions and burn my last 2 remaining charges.  I also didn't pay enough attention to my transversal against the clone rat and probably ended up moving straight away from it.  Terrible range management and terrible transversal management lead to this succubus meeting its doom.

I want to tank you Uef RUS for the engagement and the lessons learned.  Well played sir using the clone rat to take down my succubus.  Apparently this ship was destined to be a wreck on that day but served me well.

The Ship:

As I said, I've really grown to love this ship.  I'm not entirely sure what it is at this point but how it flies and what its capable of has me very excited.  At first I saw this thing as an up close brawler due to its tracking speed bonus and its speed.  I'm changing my perspective though and seeing/using it as a mid range kiter.  Although if things get down to it, swap out the crystals and brawl away.

My current fit is what was lost except I've decided to faction the web.  Part of this is because I'm either being too lazy to manage the heat, still too tunnel visiony during a fight or because I want the buffer of 14km cold and 18km hot that the Fed Navy web affords me.  My ideal engagement range is right outside 10km to avoid THEIR webs but still apply my own.  This is a problem if they're overheating and I'm not because I'm expecting more of a long fight due to how I'm flying.

Dramiel Comparison:

I look at the Succubus much like I look at the Dram.  These ships are both VERY similar in a few ways.  Lets do a side by side comparison.

Slot layout - Exactly the same

Weapons:

     Succubus: Lazors only

     Dram: Drones, Projectiles and Missiles/Rockets

Speed:

     Succubus:

          Base:  425

          All V/Coreli A-Type 1mn AB: 2322 (cold with nano), 3250 (hot with nano)

     Dram:

          Base: 575

          All V/Coreli A-Type 1mn AB: 1,898 (cold with nano), 2,532 (hot with nano)

Hit Points:

     Succubus:

          Shield: 813

          Armor: 688

          Structure: 675

     Dram:

          Shield: 738

          Armor: 738

          Structure: 650

Sig Radius:

     Succubus: 33, 37.2 (my fit)

     Dram: 30, 39.4 (speed tank fit)

I think that covers most of the relevant stats and as you can see, they're VERY VERY similar ships.  Obviously some bonus' you can get from the Dram would be that you can change your damage types through multiple different drone choices and ammo choices and the Succubus does EM/Thermal... period...

I however am liking the ship and encourage you to pick one up, try the fit or scour zkill for another fit that might suit your flying style.  I've seen some tracking disrupting/armor tanking variants, shield buffer variants, slightly differently rigged versions of my fit, etc.  I'll have to give the td'ing/armor tanking variant a try but I'm concerned about removing one of the key features of this ship through rigs that slow me down.

What are your thoughts on this little monster?

Fly dangerous o7

EDIT: I had meant to talk about 2 points but skipped the second.  Check out what I've done with this little beauty in the follow up post

Forging the hammer

Coming at you from another character today.  I, like many, have many personalities in this crazy chaotic universe.  I'll skip the introductions as my Who is Marq Aideron post explains mostly who Narook is and the other characters which were given away upon my quitting back then.

Today I would like to talk about industry and our progress in rebooting Lucifer's Hammer.

In all of my previous markets I've always targeted single modules and ammunition which were individually profitable until I felt like what I wanted to do was accomplished in that particular market.  I had never really listed anything in low sec however because, back in the day, it just wasn't worth my time and effort.  Now, we have an army to 'feed' and apparently now some friends who want to join the party.  So, off to low sec to join Sugar Kyle in her cult of fair prices effort.  This time though, I'm going to try the tactic of the complimentary good.  Still not there but working on it and the market in Ishomilken is growing slowly but surely.

In EVE I see the complimentary good as something that isn't necessarily very profitable but will help the sales of the goods that are.  So, you're selling 150mm Railgun II's then list some Navy Antimatter, Spike, Javelin and Magnetic Field Stabilizers.  Selling hulls, then sell fits you find in losses on zkillboard regardless if you lose a bit of isk on a few of the modules, making SOME money is better than making NONE!

Obviously this all requires a slightly different way of looking at your market.  Instead of looking at each and every individual item and whether or not you're making a profit on it, instead focus on the market as a whole.  What goods are you purchasing to build the output for listing on the market and at your given prices are you making enough money to move forward.  This is where apps like LMeve really start to shine as they give you this big picture looking glass into how you are doing.

Lucifer's Hammer is on its way up and I'm loving how things are looking so far.  We have a more vibrant corp chat and more and more people are showing up on TS to chit chat and do things in space.  With the corps adoption of LMeve we also have some eager industrialists ready to chip in and help fuel the markets for our pirate brethren to shoot people in the face.  Are you an industrialist and want something more to do than just make money?  Want to build something other than just modules to list to some nameless face in Jita?  Come and stop by 'The Frosty Hammer' chat channel in game and talk us up.

Null Sec stagnation and eve is dying?

The blogosphere was alive for awhile with 'eve is dying' or 'null is stagnant' and some are actually talking some positives or trying to find a positive direction.  Lets take a peak real quick at what the writers are saying:

This is by no means a comprehensive list but are the articles that I have enjoyed reading so far.

CZ - Eve is Dying

EVE is Alive

In Response to EVE is Alive

CZ Huola Bloodbath

Funky Bacon's (Phasers to fun)

TMC Rethinking Nullsec

Endie's recent posts:
The Most Unpopular statement in today's EVE
Let a thousand jagged flowers bloom
The patchword EVE
A game of fights: Returning PVP to EVE Sovereignty
Will nobody think of the newbies?
The Evil behind the thousand Megathrons

I've remained quite a bit quiet on this topic because all of my nullsec experience is 10 years old and well before ANY kind of official sovereignty was brought into the game.  Back then we had sovereignty because we were THERE, period.  You want us out... come make us leave.  This is why I'm really liking endie's posts a lot and the more recent TMC article.

So, as is being discussed, I don't think that a tug of war sovereignty system is the ONLY solution at this point.  As INNOMINATE states in that TMC article, there is a serious problem with remote reps.  I don't agree that stopping remote reps when a counter is present is a good idea however.  This is very much like a combat medic not able to help his troops while they're suppressed under heavy fire and wounded.  But lets think on that a bit more shall we?

Firstly, before I dive into that problem let me ask you, the reader, a question.  Why do you play EVE besides the fact that its internet spacesubmarinces?  Some of my own answers:

* Complexity
* Loss is real
* Vastness of space and things you can do
* Don't have to grind for xp but rather just wait (I'm quite patient in this regard)

The list goes on actually but I'm going to stop there for now.  The main thing I want to talk to you about today is the fact that Loss is real.  When my blingy Daredevil does explode, its gone... space dust... only what wasn't destroyed in the violent destruction of that  massive vessel remains for my foe to loot and take to market.  Yes, that is of course a frigate but its still a very massive vessel when you think about it.  Lets take a small break and watch a couple videos, ok?

This one is nice in that it shows various ships over a virtual scale city and also compares them to us wee humans.

This one I like because it starts off with a human being then steps into the ships.

So, what we're dealing with here are MASSIVE structures with many breaking points.  Yet these structures can live infinitely long as long as the reps keep up... really?  Wouldn't the structure underneath those massive armor plates start to succumb to the pressure of the explosions, melting plasma, concussions and the melting lasers?  I mean, seriously, come on now.  No subsystems start to shut down or internal fires break out when armor plates are gone and hull starting to breach.  Lets also consider the fact that these ships are exposed to the violent stars in the system they are in... do you understand the power of a star... the radiation it kicks out... the heat it produces...  Go outside and just feel the sun hit your skin...  That ball of fire is 1 AU (149,597,871 km or 92,955,807.3 miles) away from us and yet it can still burn your fragile skin...

I'd like to see some form of damage propagate either into the hull of the ship or into its modules as heat damage so that sustaining under fire is no longer possible into infinity as long as your logi are alive and kicking.  Logi would also be subject to this problem where their remote reps start to take damage if they are in fact shot at or primaried and therefore indirectly nerf them without really nerfing them.  I personally would like to see this done as heat damage (don't specifically call it heat damage) so that it can be undone, but at a cost.  That cost obviously being nanite paste while in space or isk when you dock up for repairs.  If you so choose to use nanite paste, you are effectively gimping yourself while the repairs are taking place.  Therefore, nothing becomes infinitely possible while in the heat of combat.

I feel that Endie's post about stacking penalties for remote reps has a lot of merit and I believe it would solve the wrecking ball problem quite nicely (and quickly as this change should be easier to implement and balance).  Feels almost a little bit too heavy handed of a nerf however but that could just be me striving to be revenant in the blogosphere.

I'm realizing however that my option has issue's and those are around PVE content.  Mission grinders will take a pretty serious beating unless this implementation is done just right.  This could however then call for a grand rebuilding of the missions content.  Fewer but harder rats, it seems we're already going in this direction possibly with the burner missions.

I'm just going to publish this because I've been sitting on it for quite awhile now and I wonder what you all out have to say about this type of change?

Fly dangerous o7

Easy Playback

As I live and learn I start to pilot more and more expensive ships.  I don't fly them just because they're blingy but rather because of what they do and how they do it.  This little baby was a blast to pilot while it lasted and its roam was dedicated to my currently lost little buddy.  While I don't have a whole lot to show for it (I'm quite upside down on its roam efficiency wise) there were a few things that happened to it that there is no 'public record' to show.

Let me just share its roam with you, if you'd so indulge me.

--BEGIN ROAM STORY--
My mission was to roam until I was evicted from it and I wouldn't pilot another ship until this one blew up.  I was hoping for a longer roam but am quite pleased at what I and it accomplished.

So, I had been hearing about this Huola campaign for a short while (at least I think it was Huola).  So, I decided I'd set my destination there starting from Ish and shoot at whatever was in space on my journey.  Don't quote me on my destination as it might have just been to Hevrice or some random spots but I could have sworn it was Huola.

So I set my destination and start jumping gates.  As I get out of the area I jump into a rather large gate camp and think that my roam is surely over at this point...  I'm not entirely sure how I managed to evade them as there were about 40 of them or so but maybe they weren't paying attention or were told to not fire due to aggression timers...  I don't know but I was thankful that I was able to move along in relative peace ;).

My first fight was rather handily won and I'm not entirely sure why he stuck around if he saw me on d-scan.  This is where things start to get interesting though as I apparently caught the eye of some bling hunters (or sprung the trap) and in comes a merlin right as I'm finishing off the hookbill.  I wasn't going to be swayed away from this kill though so I finish off the HB and then move to start aligning out as there are more ships on scan besides just the merlin.  One of those ships being a bantam so I know what to expect at this point.

Lock up the merlin, check his speed... oh bugger, he's MWD fit so he really wants to get on top of me and let his blasters do the work.  I OH the navy web and slow him down to where he should be and lay down some fire.  His shields are tough and the bantam isn't on the field yet so I MIGHT just be able to pop him but alas, the bantam lands just as I'm getting into his armor and saves his measly little ship.  Time to move to the next fight... this one's done, so I warp out.

The next 'fight' is an atron and I... uh... think it was asleep because it just went pop and I don't think it moved...  Oh well, time to... wait... whats this on d-scan... a succubus...  Ooohhh, now this should be a juicy target.  The question though... is he stupid enough to engage alone?  Yep, but of course he's not alone...  As we begin our dance I find a decent celestial to align out to because of his worm buddy that wants to eat me for breakfast...  I manage to get this pilot down to 1/4 armor though before he either started ASB boosting or his shield reps landed on grid... he was melting nicely too.  Oh well, time to bugger out since I'm now no longer pointed... god I love 90% webs ;).

The roam continues from that point where I make it back home and whore on a kestrel and nab his pod.  So at this point I've linked back up with my corpies, grabbed quite a few beers and am still in this DD.  So, I do what any crazy bastard would do... engage everything...  You saw how that worked out for me and maybe I could have escaped its fate but alas, I lost another blingy DD.  May it RIPieces!
--END ROAM STORY--

So, why did I tell you this story?  Because honestly, in my mind it was a blast and I have some awesome imaginary but I didn't nor can I record it due to technical limitations and laziness.  What I would like to do however is be able to take some form of game logs and toss it through the EVE Rendering engine and make a movie.

Think about that, your status is constantly reported up to and from the central server.  This data then renders on your screen through the client and its knowledge of the universe and the state that the universe is in around you.  Now, if you're reading this blog, then I think its safe to assume that you've watched some of those talented people that record or stream their fights.  If you are like me then you get a little frustrated every now and then because its not always fun to watch from the pilots exact perspective at all times.  Sometimes you might want to look at the enemy and what they're doing in relation to the pilot or the 'star' of the movie.

Maybe you're a recorder and forgot to hit record just before the most epic fight of you life and now you have nothing to show besides your memories of it and a killmail that doesn't tell the whole story.  Granted this feature would add in some overhead and introduce some potentially serious issue's but I feel it would be worth the risk.  It would also not be a simple undertaking as there would have to be some other client that can parse these new logs, render the universe, let you change camera angles, etc and then render it to a movie.

This is some wishful thinking, but I feel it would make some seriously awesome and epic out of game content for the community to help sell the game!

Worst in the pack?

Ok, I lied, its time for me to start screaming that EVE is dying... wait a minute.  No its not, damnit!

So, just recently, a small conversation broke out on the EVEOGANDA where some guy called EVE the worst in the pack of Space MMO's.  I have to disagree and its not JUST because I love EVE but rather... how can you compare apples and oranges?  Let me explain...

EVE Online is exactly what it is.  Yes, it has its short comings but to claim that EVE Online is the worst in the pack of 3 where 1 is in a constant development hell and the other hasn't even taken off yet... Really?  Elite: Dangerous has a history and will more than likely cause the numbers of logged in users in EVE to dwindle while they begin their trek in a sequel to a game that probably drew them to EVE in the first place.  Will they leave EVE Online forever... that is yet to be seen.  There is history in EVE Online that they will NEVER be able to leave behind, no-one that has gotten very deep into EVE can deny this.

Elite: Dangerous has the potential to be JUST like what some people see EVE to be as far as Newbie hostile is concerned.  In the anonymous existence we all now live in how easy is it for us to hide behind these damn computer monitors and spew crap at each other?  Very easy, just look at facebook for more than 20 minutes and watch all the stupid drama take place right before your eyes.  Space... its a dangerous place and I don't care what game you jump into... if there is PVP enabled... greifers will be there... they will kill you... they will find you and they will wait for you.

EVE Online wasn't ALWAYS like it is now.  In the beginning there was plenty of chatter in local channels, complete strangers jetting ore into the same can while a third complete stranger came to pick it up.  Once that was done, we split the ore evenly and went our separate ways only to probably come back the next day and do the same thing.  After a few of these meet ups, we banded together and found a 'home' and built up some shared assets.  Hell, sometimes we'd split up and find new groups of friends only to merge larger groups of friends together under one umbrella and accomplish something awesome.

Now, don't get me wrong, there were scammers, pirates, scoundrels, 'hackers' or whatever you want to call those that game the system and other general 'low lives'.  These are the roles that we all pick to play in this GAME that so closely mirrors real life.  The scammers aren't as prevalent as some would like you to believe... or maybe they are...  take a chance and find out maybe instead of isolating yourself into a one man corporation thinking that you'll find what it is that makes EVE what it is.

Come join us in the EVEOGANDA or 'The Frosty Hammer' public chat channels in game.  Be sure to poke us as we might not be actively monitoring the channel for new arrivals or we might be busy shooting someone in the face and doing something else in space.

Project Appleseed

I had planned on putting together a piece about all the crap flying around that null is stagnant and broke and how eve is dying... but forget about that, eve is as alive as it has been since the beginning.  So the concurrent user count is down, I still see the lights on and I'm seeing things happen on the dev front that aren't TOO terribad so HTFU and play or leave... we'll replace you if you go :P.

Anyways, onto what I REALLY wanted to talk about today.  The space noob is back and he's brewed up a good project that I feel like doing myself now.  Go read and it start dumping cans.  Lets plant some damn seeds and see what grows!  Linky for your reading pleasure.

BB57: My EYES!!!!

So, here is my first stab at these monthly blog banters.

* * * * *

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein

Drackarn pointed this killmail to me recently and proposed the following for a blog banter:

Obviously that is a not just a bad fit, its horrific. But the guy might not know any better. We get these all the time circulating social media and corp/alliance chat. How do we educate players on fitting? This guy has been playing four months and can fly a BC, but has no idea how to fit one. What could be done to help bro's like this?

Furthermore, what (if any) responsibility do veterans players have in finding these players and instructing them on the finer arts of ship fitting? If it exists, does it extend beyond them into teaching PvP skills, ISK making skills, market skills, social skills, life skills...

And another question you can think about is this: do purposely wrong fits, aka comedy fits or experimental fits or off-meta fits, offend you or your corp? Would you, like Rixx Javix when he was in Tuskers, face expulsion for fitting your ships differently than the accepted standard?

"Its the difference between streaking and getting caught with your pants down." - Kirith Kodach

* * * * *

How can we educate our new bros coming to EVE...  When I look at this killmail it tells me quite a few things.  I'm trying to remember what it was like to be new but remember... its been a LONG time since I've been totally green behind the ears when it comes to EVE.  Lets run through my thoughts on this killmail, shall we?

* He's obviously not short on cash.
* He might not know WHAT he can put in the rig or low slots.
* He might not be in the know with HOW effective each of his modules are.
* He is blatantly ignoring the fact that even without skills, he could be putting WAY more on this ship (see EFT screenshot below).

So, back in the day of my newbness, I do remember very vividly spending A LOT of time on the market and on the forums familiarizing myself with what was available AND where I could put it.  We also didn't have a compare tool back then so understanding what was different from each of the various rat droppings versions  (meta levels) of the modules was difficult.  I spent HOURS upon HOURS fitting, buying, refitting, etc trying to build my first Thorax for combat until finally I built an awesome armor tanking cruiser to take down my local static anomaly in Udianoor.  This process also had a lot of fit, fight, refit, fight iterations so I'm starting to remember what it was like.  I'm also remembering the frustration I had with the lack of search functionality and fitting information.

Let me start to address each of my thoughts on this killmail specifically:

* He's obviously not short on cash or he valued his effectiveness in that hull to high.  He could have sold that hull, bought a regular drake and fitted it properly.

* He might not know WHAT to put in the rig or low slots.  As I said previously, I spent HOURS finding modules to put into slots back in the day and I don't recall any kind of search function on the market to 'show me low slot modules'.  I'm noticing that our younger generation is having some serious patience issue's where as us older folk take our time and learn.  I guess we just have to accept that and give them the tools they need to find what they need to find.

* Not knowing HOW effective each of the modules are could potentially be the issue with him fitting a 1mn vs a 10mn Afterburner.  Hell, maybe this is something like the low slots issue above where he didn't even know that there was a 10mn afterburner... I don't know.  This also applies to the other modules in his mids.

* Blatantly ignoring the fact that you haven't maxed your ship out really has no excuse.  There are clearly two meters in the fitting window that show you how full your CPU and powergrid are and if they aren't nearly maxed out and you're not out of slots then you are clearly doing something wrong.  I wouldn't think that this would be something that we HAVE to teach people.  Also, there is this thing called google...  I hear its nice this time of year...

Now, to answer the questions set forth, I have to say that yes, we more veteran players (I don't really consider myself a vet, but I'm not new) have a responsibility to our new bros.  I do what I can to offer up fits if I have some to anyone that asks and I also try to help give anyone the skills they need to dissect WHAT is good about a fit.  I don't necessarily think we should go out of our way to help, but when asked we should at least point our newbros in the right direction.

As far as WHAT could be done to help bros like this, I'm kind of at a loss.  I don't know why others play EVE, but I play EVE because there are other people and if I don't know something, I ask.  Maybe there is something wrong with some peoples communication skills.  Maybe they're just too shy to ask due to the fear of their question being scoffed at and them being ridiculed for even asking.  The list goes on as to WHAT the problem could be so I don't think there is a single answer to this question.

Maybe we should all go grab a new bro out of the help channel or some rookie corp and talk to them, bring them on a mission run with us or go whelp with them in lowsec.

That's me and my thoughts, what are yours?

WTB MSE!!?? Not necessarily!!!

     Lets educate ourselves a little bit shall we?  The other day, I went and lost this to another pilot who was probably piloting a very similar fit.  I will mention the fact that the other pilot was more than likely linked and was probably using snakes as well.  Yes, I was out matched by who is probably a superior pilot but I wanted to fly the damn thing and see just how terribad I was.  I was also somewhat impressed with Rixx's fit of this ship.

     I am not one to mindlessly follow someone until after doing my homework.  I have loaded up Rixx's fit along with other fits and compared on many different metrics.  So, with that and the comment on my kill in mind, lets compare the MSE fit versus the SSE fit.

The MSE fit:

The SSE fit:

So, right now I have their incoming damage profiles set to 50/50 of Therm/Kinetic.  Notice the EHP of each ship...  If you are having troubles reading the images let me spell them out for you shall I?

MSE fit has 4.62k EHP.
SSE fit has 4.73k EHP.

Wait... is that even possible?  How could that be you say... the MSE has more shields and... and... derp derp derp.

Do you understand resistances?  Do you know that even that Garmur has some hull hit points?  I'm not lying to you here... it ACTUALLY HAS HULL HIT POINTS!!!  Shall we switch damage profiles?

EM and Thermal, 50/50
MSE fit:

SSE fit:

Can you see those numbers?  Want me to put them in actual text again?  Sure thing... just look down 2 lines...

MSE fit has 4.24k EHP
SSE fit has 4.61k EHP

Wait... WHAT??  How is that even possible?

So, before I continue, let me highlight MY OWN MISTAKES in that fit that I linked and lost at the beginning.  You hear people talk about fitting to the ships bonus' and this is very true.  But you don't fit EVERYTHING to its bonus'.  Capitalize on them, sure, over use them, no need.  Once you've sufficiently capitalized on the ships strengths, try and shore up some of its weaknesses.

The Garmur's main weaknesses is its locking range and, just like every ship, its resist holes.  My fit attempted to shore up only one of these weaknesses because of my lack of experience flying kitey fast ships.  The fit I should have been using should have been more like what I posted of my opponents probable fit or the SSE fit.  Oh, and don't let me forget about my choice of ammo...  that was incorrect too right?

As I was writing this I also started to think about yet another reason people STILL think that an MSE is the best solution - passive regen increase.  So I ran the numbers before posting something that was inaccurate.  I'd also like to level the playing field a little bit first.  Lets rewind a bit and just say that I used the 'CORRECT' ammo, shall we?

Two more screen shots, both fits, receiving JUST EM damage.

MSE fit:

SSE fit:

Again with the numbers being readable in text:

MSE fit has 4.08k EHP
SSE fit has 4.53k EHP

So, according to PYFA, that is a whopping difference of 3.44 EHP/s.  That'll save you I'm sure.  But, for complete accuracy lets take that number and increase it for the length of the fight.  According to my logs, that fight lasted ~61 seconds.  Therefore, that extra regen of the MSE would have afforded my opponent an extra 209.84 EHP.  So, if we were to add in hit points regenerated by our shields we would end up like:

MSE fit 4.74k EHP
SSE fit 5.05k EHP

Which fit wins?  You decide.

I need a purpose...

I started this blog as part of finding that purpose.  Currently, I just run around low security space trying to find some good 1v1's and occasionally run with the Frosty Blob and get on some kill mails or potentially die in a fire trying to.  While this is fun, I play EVE for the fact that it has MUCH more to offer.

I have an industry alt and a missioning/jack of all trades alt that... well.. yeah, I haven't found his exact purpose either besides 'doing it all' and doing it terribly :P.

So, why this post then?  Why do you who have visited give a damn that I need a purpose?  I don't know, because I found something I want to talk about and that's how I decided to name my post damnit, deal with it!

So here I go...

I've been reading more and more blogs (I'll update my reading list in case you care later).  One thing led to another and in this case it was Miner Bumping led to Ganker Bumping which led to Ganking is Bullying.  I read everything at that final stop and I'll talk a bit more about that but the piece I wanted to really touch on was point 34 (at the time of this writing which I'll paste below):

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34. All right, so ganking is bullying. What do you expect CCP to do about it?

Actually, I don't think CCP is necessarily responsible to do anything. They have provided a tool that has a great amount of flexibility and a wide variety of uses. Like almost any tool, it can be used for immoral purposes, but we should not require the supplier of that tool to act as the morality police. Barring cases of psychopathy, the ultimate responsibility to stop bullying lies with the bully, and with him alone.

That being said, there are some steps which CCP might take that would be considered praiseworthy. A few suggestions:

• Decrease the delay time before CONCORD responds to a ganking, all the way down to instant response in 1.0 systems.
• Place sentry guns in asteroid belts, at least in 0.7+ systems.
• Institute harsher security status penalties for gankers.
• Since a wardec basically amounts to CONCORD taking a bribe to look the other way, make it behave rationally by accepting bribes from both parties; allow wardecced corps to pay the same amount as the original fee in order to cancel the wardec and prevent a new one for two weeks.
• Support efforts to create an anti-bullying educational campaign among the Eve community.

Again, I would consider these actions praiseworthy, but not obligatory.

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I've given some thought to this exact thing and I don't like the outcomes that have come to mind many times.  Its just like in real life, the police do what they can to catch the criminals.  So, let me walk through each of the proposed solutions and provide some feedback.
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34. All right, so ganking is bullying. What do you expect CCP to do about it?
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Ganking might be bullying but damnit, this is a game of internet spaceships and a place that we can all go to unwind and do something that we MIGHT not do in the real world.  Yes, its true... people do things in this game that they wouldn't do in real life... SHOCKER!!!

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• Decrease the delay time before CONCORD responds to a ganking, all the way down to instant response in 1.0 systems.

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I don't like this at all.  Would you get instant response from the police in your cozy suburban home?  Nope, didn't think so.  NOW, if you had a neighborhood watch program or something similar, then you might get more instantaneous results.  Obviously the 'crimes' of gankings happen so fast that we would have to have concord in the belt when the perp performed his actions so that he could be return ganked by the dokken without causing harm to the victim.  Why not make this happen?  Why not increase the threat level of a system based on how many non-war dec sanctioned kills happened there and increase the response of concord accordingly.  The less non-war dec sanctioned kills happen, the lower the threat level of the system and therefore the slower response times.  This idea would allow for gankers to gank but not constantly in the same system.  Make their lives harder as it seems awfully lame that they can gank, hide in a safe for a minute and then dock for the remainder of their criminal timer.

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• Place sentry guns in asteroid belts, at least in 0.7+ systems.

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WRONG, don't create more lame-o NPC structures that we can't interact with.  Why not instead a mobile defense unit that we can deploy that is fairly lame in HP and is just like the mobile depot, tractor unit and the other mobile structures we're getting.  That way, gankers can still gank but now their lives are again just a bit harder.

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• Institute harsher security status penalties for gankers.

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I think my idea for point one covers this...

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• Since a wardec basically amounts to CONCORD taking a bribe to look the other way, make it behave rationally by accepting bribes from both parties; allow wardecced corps to pay the same amount as the original fee in order to cancel the wardec and prevent a new one for two weeks.

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This one, I kind of like actually.  Why not give them a way to pay their way out of a war dec without potentially being scammed?  Not entirely sure I agree with 2 weeks though but the time frame can be negotiated.
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• Support efforts to create an anti-bullying educational campaign among the Eve community.

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I'm not entirely sure I understand what this one is talking about.  However, one thing I've always thought about while cruising through high sec would be to see more bill boards.  Like your driving down a high way in real life, all those bill boards of companies trying to sell you something or raise your awareness.  I definitely don't agree with a single purposed thing so something like more billboards that can be rented out by player entities would be a sweet addition to the high sec space ways.

I think thats me for now, fly dangerous o7

Who is Marq Aideron

     I'm an older EVE player who took a very... very... very... long break from the game.  Started playing in the later stages of the open beta (maybe the last month or so) and picked up the game around 2 or 3 weeks after release.  I would have been on release day but, if my memory serves correct, we couldn't just download the game... or I just wanted the actual cd... forgive me... its been a decade+ since this event :P.

     Anyways, I started life as a miner and hauler and then gradually worked into production.  From there I jumped into some null sec alliances and then out of null sec and then back into null sec.  I finally settled, with some friends, into our own corporation.  We called ourselves Tenax Incorporated and quickly hit the scene as hard as we could as merciless capitalists with guns basically.  Kind of a form of high sec piracy with a strong emphasis on industry and war.  Not only did we supply everything we could muster into the multiple smaller trade hubs up north but we also waged war ourselves.

     We inserted ourselves into the middle of the Amarr and Minmatar role players and backed up the Amarr.  The reason, because we wanted to and because we played it off like the minmatar taking out industrials was a direct attack towards us and our kind.

     We also attacked and blockaded any competition we could when moving into a market.  Our methods were crude and quite uncivilized and that's how we liked it.  If you had a market cornered and we wanted it... we moved in and beat out your buyer orders, 0.01 isked you on the sell orders and then declared war on you and camped you until we got bored.  Sometimes this resulted in some fights but generally it resulted in a lot of whining and other corporations war dec'cing us and dying pretty miserably themselves.  I obviously have no proof of this so believe what you will.  Go ahead and google Tenax Incorporated and see some of the tears on the old forums, they're quite nice indeed :D.

     So, that was my play times from around 2003 to about 2005 or so until I finally had enough of the virtual job I was playing and wanted to spend more time with the woman who is now my wife :D.

     Fast forward to 2013 though and my wife and I are quite settled down now, still no kids and we're looking for something to do so I suggest we jump back into New Eden and see what it has to offer.  So I reactivate the only character I kept around and jump back in and start planning the rest of my 'mains' as well.  This is when Marq was born and his path set forth.  Initially I knew he'd be a frigate pilot but what cause would he fight for?  Or would he not fight for a cause?  Could I take him down the darker path of surprise pvp... piracy if you will... or was that even in my blood to do so.

     Anyways, that's me in a nutshell...

Those awesome solo fights!

     Welcome to the first edition of the Low Sec Wonderer, brought to you by Me... Marq Aideron.  I'll introduce myself a bit later but today I just wanted to talk about some good fights that were had a couple nights ago near our old system of Hevrice, Verge Vendor.

     I jumped in my first kestrel and proceeded through the pipe down to Hevrice and the neighboring systems.  On the way there I spot a fairly empty system with some faction warfare activity, scan out an atron in a novice, overheat all the things and enter the complex.  Upon landing on grid I see the atron, fully expecting him to cloak up or run, I locked him as fast as I could and went in for the points and kill.  I found him already partially beat up by the unfriendly NPC who's complex he wanted and the kill was quick and brutal.  Sent the good fight in local and proceeded on my way.

     I'm not one who likes the easy kills but they happen.  You never really know how your opponent will be fit or how confident he is in his ship and sometimes you land on the less confident or poorly fit and the kill is yours.  So, I decided to send this guy an evemail and ensure him that he did do some decent damage and offered up a fit from some corp members who love the atron and do rather well with them.  His confidence isn't quite there yet to spend more than a couple mil on a ship but thanked me for the fit non-the less.

     Onward toward Hevrice again and the remainder of the voyage is pretty boring until passing Hev and moving into Jov.  Here I see a Tristan and a Thorax.  Tristan is in the novice so no worries about being interrupted by the Thorax, overheat all the things into the novice complex with the Tristan.  Down I go pretty much as expected (hint, my missile skills are not super and my fit is probably suboptimal).  I feel like I fought that fight very well though as I noticed the reps on the Tristan were much more than I expected so tried to pull range and managed to pop almost all the drones.  The thing I didn't do though was overheat the AB and I put the webs on the drones (that's probably what killed me) instead of keeping it on the Tristan.  Give the gf in local and limp back to Hevrice to grab a another Tristan.  The 'good' guys won this one ;).

     I was going to go for ol' Trusty again but instead decided to go with something a bit different and step out of my comfort zone.  I wanted my first solo cruiser kill so stepped into something a bit more experimental (for me at least).  A variation of my own on the neuting Tristan and head back to Jov only to notice the Thorax is now in Hev with me.  The hunt begins and I quickly spot him in a medium complex.  This isn't the same thorax though and instead is a Tusker.  I put some range between us and wait to see if the other thorax comes in to play or if this one pops drones or calls for small support.

     Nothing happens for a minute and no other ship on short scan, so I turn around and head towards this guy with full intent to engage but he warps off and leaves system.  Disappointed I orbit the warp in and wait for an engagement.  In comes what is probably the other thorax and I lock and get into my prefered range.  I put my drones out, full speed ahead and wait for his drones to come and play.  He launches 2 hammers, 2 warriors and 1 hob.  Warriors are the primary source of trouble at this speed so they're quickly locked and fought off with my hobs, webbing them when they get within web range.  This continues for another few minutes until he is completely out of drones and I start to move in for the slow agonizing kill.  Just before I'm about to move in and put on the neut pressure he warps off... Confused, I ask in local whether he was stabbed or if I lost point.  He replies with 'lost point'... not entirely sure how that happened but I'm not too terribly disappointed as I did leave him droneless so part of the op was a success :P.

     Back to ol' Trusty I go to hunt out the Tristan that blew up my Kestrel earlier. I move into the novice and get into a nice comfortable orbit.  Unfortunately I'm writing this from memory and I can't remember if I spent time killing the drones or not or just burnt through the other tristans reps but either way, was a good fight.

     The fight must have impressed my opponent as she asked for my fit, which I gladly shared.  I was also very appreciative of the good fights and offered the loot from the tristan and a couple of my Trusty's in exchange :D.  She gladly accepted the offer and then offered for another fight... this time... my fit vs my fit.  Seemed intriguing so I gladly accepted.

     Off to a novice we went to see who the victor of this 'mirror' match would be.  I enter the plex first and get into position around the warp in.  I leave drones in as I don't want to have _too_ much of an advantage before she lands.  A few seconds later, she lands, we perform our prefight preps and begin the dance.  As I watch chunks of armor come and go from both of us I'm having a hard time understanding who's ahead.  I did notice, however, at the start that she managed to gain lock and fire first which put her at an advantage.  With this information and currently at half armor I decide to let the AB burn as there shouldn't be much time left.  Nanite pastes are down to about 3 charges remaining at this point and we're each starting to dip into structure with massive chunks of armor being repped back up and then tore back off again.  Finally after running through all the nanite and capacitor alarms starting to ring.  I still can't see who will be the victor as the final shreds of our hull are being torn off.  The the deciding moment, that moment where you know your ship has turned to dust and given you all she can give you, has come... but its not mine.  My Tristan sitting at a mere 4% structure has emerged victorious!

     Very good fight and I'm glad I accepted to challenge!