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Crime & Punishment

 
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Zappity's Adventures

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Xavi Bastanold
Sveipar Trade and Transport
#381 - 2015-09-16 18:33:32 UTC
Ah, so that's the details of what happened in your first null sojourn. True that was a pretty bad situation to be in. Nice move on use of the griffins to ruin the entosis cycles.

Good hunting,

Xavi
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#382 - 2015-09-25 23:09:34 UTC
All hail Thera the Beneficent, Enabler of Logistics for Poor Null Pilots. (CCP, please don’t nerf. I feel that is a necessary addendum these days.) As you have no doubt gathered we found a Thera entry just a couple of jumps away from our home system. This was tremendously helpful in our efforts to evacuate. However, before long a neutral appeared in our system! Again! This time it was a Brave pilot who I soon saw was the proud owner of a Dramiel.

“A neutral! KIIIIIIIL HIIIIM!”, I cried in local. I do local etiquette. He was toying with an Ishtar and Caracal near the station when I undocked my Svipul, from which he fled in terror.

I warped to the gate he had been aligned to but no Dramiel had landed. Hmm. He was still on d-scan but not at a celestial. A safe spot! Innocent Scout hopped into her Buzzard and probed the scoundrel down. Unfortunately, he was burning straight up (not toward a celestial) at 4.5km/s and was already 50km away when Innocent landed. I could have pulled a fast Interceptor out but he was still rabbiting away in local and I figured he was unlikely to hang around when he saw a faster ship coming his way.

So one of the guys had a good idea. He refitted his Ishtar with omnidirectionals for drone tracking and range and made ready with his sentries. He then warped to Innocent before aligning upwards in the direction of the confident Dramiel. Innocent then probed and immediately punted the Ishtar towards the Dramiel. He dropped his sentries and popped him in one shot. Hehe, that’ll learn him.

Dramiel: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?eid=48840347

As it transpired, our valiant Brave pilot had visited us out of the goodness of his heart to tutor us in the finer points of EVE. FIrst, he told us that we had 'completed Level One', although this was tempered by the statement that we were ‘plebs’ and that it ‘took us long enough’. I like lessons like that. It was very good of him. He then left the system and abused some of our corpies next door for not being able to AFK in J2 any more.

And so ended our adventure in Scalding Pass. I have to admit that it was a sad moment when I departed for the Thera entry for the last time. I finally understand the allure of sov null. Fighting for a system and staking out a claim made me feel very invested in the process. I'm hooked. But I will never rent.

Since I promised that this thread would be an honest account of my activities I must confess that I gave serious consideration to hiring mercs to torment that nasty corp who persecuted us with such a cowardly home ground advantage. I also contemplated leaving Innocent Scout in their system to entose their stuff when they were offline. But given the blue complication I decided it would just become too much hassle.

What really tilted the balance was the pilot who was so recently bereaved of his Dominix coming into our system and crying about his ship. Apparently he had brought it into null specifically to deal with us. He was extremely upset that it had died. I told him to cry me a river and that his Dominix was weak and deserved to die. It was glorious. And yes, I am that petty :)

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#383 - 2015-10-07 06:39:02 UTC
I decided to leave ABA after it became clear that the leadership had decided to do the responsible thing rather than jumping straight back into another sov attempt. This involved NPC nullsec, recruitment, and a very long timetable.

Despite (or is it because of?) being very responsible in real life, the idea of a similarly grown-up attitude in EVE is anathema to me. Activity, fun and fights are the primary goal! In addition, I think NPC null is a terrible place to live.

Nevertheless, it was a sad moment because I quite like a lot of the people there. One of the Stay Frosty directors, Joffy Aulx-Gao, is running for the next CSM. I hope he gets in because he is a very good advocate for the small gang and solo play style.

So I began looking for a new corp. My requirements were:

Sov null.
A hefty AU timezone presence (and not just be a very big corp with a small percentage in AU).
A strong (but not exclusive) PvP focus.
Mustn't be too l33t about killboards. Obviously!
Not CFC because I don't want to join the dominant side and I think they are going to increasingly be bored.

I did my research and Black Aces was ranked at the top of the list. These primarily AU and US guys had recently formed a new alliance within their coalition of Stain Wagon. I joined and was immediately busy entosing a bunch of nodes left by a roaming gang. It was very boring because nobody came to fight us. And yes, I am sticking with that verb.

The next day I tried to bring an Occator in through Curse but found a gate camp a few jumps out from the home system. Unfortunately, I was still thinking in solo mode and didn't take the logical course of action by simply asking for someone to come and shoo them all away. I tried to crash the gate in my scouting Svipul but was quickly webbed down by a Daredevil. Ugh.

Svipul: https://zkillboard.com/character/92922536/

Oh well. A roam into Provi space cheered me up, especially after a scout found a Paladin on a station piloted by someone called 'Suitonia'. He aggressed and we jumped on him, only to see him MJD away. Our light tackle was burning towards him when he warped, very obviously to a specific planet.

Being a good player, I expected him to warp at range and thus chose 70 km as my own destination. But he landed at zero, of course, and by the time I had burned in his reps were already struggling to keep up. And so it was that his ship died in glorious combat and his modules surrendered to the whim of the Loot Fairy, that most fickle of mistresses:

Paladin: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469361/

I'm a big fan of Suitonia's videos and felt quite honoured to kill him, even though his reps sustained surprisingly little damage. I would personally have had dual reps.

We continued into Provi space and were over the other side of Catch when a small G-Club battleship and cruiser gang jumped into HED-GP, apparently intent on a little Provi bloodletting of their own. Now, Gentlemen's Club are apparently our mortal enemies although I am somewhat hazy about the precise reason for this. It is probably something sov related. But to be honest they could have all been in an NPC corp and the verdict would have been exactly the same: we burned back to them.

This was quite an interesting fight for me. All these targets being called out is very confusing when you are meant to be shooting one ship while simultaneously bumping another away from the gate and keeping a third tackled. It was tremendously good fun!

Typhoon: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469583/

Cerberus: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469830/

Raven: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469844/

Typhoon: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469850/

The most satisfying part was that we noticed a cowardly, but very wise, Vexor Navy Issue who managed to jump through the gate to freedom. As soon as our weapons timers were clear we gave chase, tackling him just a couple of jumps out on a gate. Hehe, that'll learn him!

VNI: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49469900/

Of course, such fights are not particularly relevant in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, the sov angle has been a little quiet. The two large CTA fleets I have managed to fly on have been disappointingly uneventful with our enemy not making an appearance. Perhaps they were frightened of my magnificent Proteus.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#384 - 2015-10-16 22:00:06 UTC
I have been very busy for the last couple of weeks. This nullsec business is very different to the lowsec life to which I had become accustomed. First up was a small gang roam to Provi in destroyers and frigates. I must admit a certain partiality to small ships since they allow you to cover a large amount of territory, not to mention the fact that they are generally maneuverable enough to evade defence fleets.

Provi, however, has become disappointingly quiet during the Australian time zone. Defensive response fleets are practically a Provi institution but I am sad to report that the last three times I have visited we have had to make do with mining barges and industrials.

Procurer: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49373628/
Skiff: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49373717/
Procurer: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49373724/
Epithal: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49373772/
Miasmos: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49373816/

Having said that, we were shamed by a local who bravely brought his Astarte out to play. We had just finished killing a Rupture (https://zkillboard.com/kill/49467162/) who adroitly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by aggressing our gang whilst sitting upon his own jump bridge. The Astarte was just a couple of jumps further on and we leaped upon him, betting on the stupid that is so often seen. Unfortunately we backed the wrong horse and the very competent Astarte pilot killed several of us before we ran away, humbled.

It is not all one sided, mind you. Provi gangs have been visiting OUR space, especially in the US time zone. I think this is very rude and therefore happily join fleets to hunt them down whenever the opportunity arises. These invaders particularly enjoy persecuting the inhabitants of a pocket adjacent our home system. Unfortunately for them, however, the pocket is adjacent our home system with the consequence that placing bubbles to trap their fleet is very easy.

Their last visit came in the form of a couple of dozen destroyers which we were happy to whittle down for them:

Thrasher: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49588369/
Dramiel: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49588372/
Dragoon: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49588385/
Hecate: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49588387/

Lots of solo ships visit our space, too. The last one I can remember happened to come to our attention just as a fleet was returning home. We cornered him in a constellation. He did not like it and complained bitterly about being blobbed. It was a justified refrain and yet I find a certain adrenaline inducing rush associated with hunting down a cornered opponent. It reminds me of fox hunting!

Scythe Fleet Issue: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49590530/

Of course, solo roaming is entirely possible but I haven't really had much time or desire to do it recently. The closest I have come would probably be a Stealth Bomber who foolishly decloaked next to me and was casually popped:

Nemesis: https://zkillboard.com/kill/49588036/

The larger fleets are very interesting to me. We are at war or something (I'm still a bit vague to be honest) with GClub and have been doing our best to make their lives miserable in retaliation for their malicious entosis activities. I am utterly convinced that it is totally one sided. No doubt at all. So I felt fully justified in joining a fleet designed to go and harass one of their key stations. They did not like it. We killed a few ships before local spiked and they undocked a flipping great wodge of T3s, Macharials and carriers. We were chased away and, humiliatingly, had to log off a couple of systems out because we were trapped by their gate camps who were clearly sitting ready with cynos.

They returned the favour a few days later, appearing in our home system with an awful lot of Hurricane Fleet Issues and logi (CCP please nerf because they make it too boring). It was all fun and games, as they say, until someone went a bit too far by entosing our station services. That really wasn't on. We hastily formed a fleet of armour T3 cruisers and undocked into their midst. It was tremendously exciting. They very effectively bubbled their own fleet with the result that we killed every single one of them. Admittedly, a few of them did manage to warp away but I am convinced that they later died of their wounds.

Battle report
https://zkillboard.com/related/30001171/201510140400/o/%7B%22A%22%3A%5B%2299000285%22%5D%2C%22B%22%3A%5B%2299003995%22%2C%2299003216%22%5D%7D/

I have even done a little bit of entosing myself. It is very boring. I look forward to the patch that introduces the roll back (or, as I think of it, the 'troll back'). But I really wish that successful entosing was traceable by API since this would enable the placement of bounties or rewards for both offensive and defensive cycling. This would mean that people who wanted to earn ISK could do it and leave me in peace.

On the whole, I would have to say that this Aegis sov business is pretty good. I am enjoying sov null an awful lot. I have no idea what it is like elsewhere but the south east is very enjoyable at the moment.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Saskia Laru
Saskia Laru Trading Corporation
#385 - 2015-10-17 01:18:08 UTC  |  Edited by: Saskia Laru
Zappity wrote:
The larger fleets are very interesting to me. We are at war or something (I'm still a bit vague to be honest) with GClub and have been doing our best to make their lives miserable in retaliation for their malicious entosis activities. I am utterly convinced that it is totally one sided. No doubt at all. So I felt fully justified in joining a fleet designed to go and harass one of their key stations. They did not like it. We killed a few ships before local spiked and they undocked a flipping great wodge of T3s, Macharials and carriers. We were chased away and, humiliatingly, had to log off a couple of systems out because we were trapped by their gate camps who were clearly sitting ready with cynos.


I was there for that one Zappity! Great fun!

We miss you in the 57th!Blink
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#386 - 2015-10-19 05:46:34 UTC
Someone called "Stickelback" in intel the other day. I wondered what he was doing so far from Syndicate. I'm very glad you guys have moved out - pity that it's not with ABA though.

I look forward to shooting you in the near future!

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#387 - 2015-11-14 23:39:03 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
“What have I been up to lately that will interest my dear readers?”, I asked myself, confidently upgrading to plural in a mad fit of optimism.

I have been market trading, an activity which coincides nicely with dodgy hotel internet connections. Sigh. I'm fed up with travelling, especially when such travelling involves an “Experienced Leader” course consisting almost entirely of being told by a gaggle of organisational psychologists exactly why you are so rubbish at, well, leadership.

Anyway, I decided to stock a few (hundred) of the more obviously missing items from the local market in my new alliance headquarters. I have station traded before, mostly in Jita and lowsec. An active nullsec alliance is pretty good in comparison to lowsec, roughly equivalent to Jita trading in terms of total profit on my relatively meagre total investment. Well, at least for someone who is fundamentally opposed to 0.01 ISK games - I tend to update about once a fortnight.

I set up a bunch of reasonable buy orders in Jita for a bunch of T2 mods and ammo. It was awfully expensive, even with Margin Trading V, because I really dislike changing orders and therefore prefer to set them up for at least 100m each. I then let them fill in their own time before carting the whole lot to their destination via a jump freighter straight out of Jita. Those are some expensive jump freighter loads!

At the other end, of course, I take the equally lazy step of ensuring that I always have a minimum number of each item sitting in the station. This means I can restock without having to visit Jita. It also means that I have a lot of ISK, about 60b, tied up in assets: a few dozen for sale, a few dozen in the nullsec station inventory, a few dozen in Jita. However, since these are all commonly used items which are easily turned over I am not overly concerned.

What I WAS concerned about, though, was running out of ISK. I may have gone a bit mad with the buy orders. They seem to be filling faster than I am used to, even at my relatively low bid price. So I decided it was time to give the hangars their annual scrape. I fired up jeve assets and had a poke about:

107,821,123 items (yes, there is a lot of ammo there)
1,266 average ISK value
54,708,484,070 reprocess value
136,525,483,768 total market value

I was surprised by a few things including a Nestor (I have no idea where it came from), a few Thanatos carriers (I traded them for a while), a couple of fit Protei in Amarr (that I had forgotten about), and an Obelisk that I never use any more. I put this lot up for sale and liquidated a bunch of now profitable speculation items.

The ISK crisis passed after a few days of increased sales and I settled down to watch the progress. My low effort methods result in turnover averaging about 1.5b/day. A minimum profit margin of 25% (hey, it’s risky!) equals a few billion each week. Good enough.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Leto Thule
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#388 - 2015-11-15 03:35:24 UTC
Thanks for the flashback of "airman leadership school" followed immediately by airbase defense level 2.

Sigh.

Thunderdome ringmaster, Community Leader and Lord Inquisitor to the Court of Crime and Punishment
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#389 - 2015-11-27 08:10:44 UTC
We were deployed. It was something to do with C-J6MT which has been in the news so much lately. To be honest, I only had a vague understanding of the situation. I managed to move a couple of ships and was then busy for the rest of the week and unable to log in for the big fights. That was disappointing because there were evidently lots of good times to be had. Nullsec is pretty active at the moment, at least on this side of the map.

Regardless, I was finally logged in and looking for something to shoot. We headed out in T1 cruisers, absolutely assured of a fight because we had entosis modules to wave threateningly at their bits and pieces. Whoever ‘they’ were. Needless to say, they ignored us completely and we were forced to resort to killing a poor, lone Algos who we stumbled across at a gate.

Algos: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50216284/

Another familiar face! Prda Prda held his cloak after jumping through and had time to respond with a wry smile when I said hello to him in local. I concede that this was not exactly a fair fight but by this stage an Algos was completely irresistible for our bored mob.

And that was the extent of my deployment action. A couple of weeks later we were all back in Catch and hunting down a small Provi gang who had been reported in intel. Those dastardly Provi people! We hunted them down in a cruiser gang plus, for some reason, a Drake. I was really disappointed because he didn’t ask the FC if he could bring it.

The Intel situation was becoming increasingly complex, with the small cruiser gang a couple of systems out (refusing to fight us, undoubtedly because they were in terror of my magnificent Vexor), a separate fleet of 30 cruisers near HED-GP, and a worryingly strong Shadow Cartel gang heading up through Catch in our general direction.

Suddenly, one of our scouts frantically called for us to jump in and warp to him. He had tackled one of the Provi Caracals. Our hero was in the final stage of dieing to the Caracal’s light missiles when we landed on top of their newly arrived gang. It was a messy little fight. Our fleet was not particularly well coordinated in terms of speed or range and we ended up splitting DPS between stuff in the bubble and stuff at range. But we killed them all, including a Caracal and Maller that I collected the kill mails for:

Caracal: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50373189/
Maller: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50373195/

It was time for me to log off so I split with the fleet and started heading towards a nearby station system. I was thinking glorious thoughts about how many kill marks my Vexor would soon have as I jumped into the next system. Right into that Shadow Cartel gang. Oh bother, I'd forgotten about them.

Vexor: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50373461/
Pod: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50373475/

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
ISD Dorrim Barstorlode
ISD Community Communications Liaisons
ISD Alliance
#390 - 2015-12-02 01:43:13 UTC
Removed an accidental lock. Nothing happened.

*whistles innocently*

ISD Dorrim Barstorlode

Senior Lead

Community Communication Liaisons (CCLs)

Interstellar Services Department
Noragen Neirfallas
Emotional Net Loss
#391 - 2015-12-02 02:04:32 UTC
ISD Dorrim Barstorlode wrote:
Removed an accidental lock. Nothing happened.

*whistles innocently*

Once again earning your spot in my bio and all our hearts Big smile

CoolCool

Member and Judge of the Court of Crime and Punishment

Noragens basically the Chribba of C&P - Zimmy Zeta

Confirming that we all play in Noragen's eve. - BeBopAReBop

ISD Buldath favorite ISD

'"****station games" - Sun Tzu' - Ralph King Griffin
Rhiannon Marius
Marius Family Enterprises Unlimited
#392 - 2015-12-02 02:11:51 UTC
ISD Dorrim Barstorlode wrote:
Removed an accidental lock. Nothing happened.

*whistles innocently*


Good. Best thread in C&P.
Sere O'Asis
Desert Oasis Investigations
#393 - 2015-12-02 02:12:38 UTC
Thank you.
Valkin Mordirc
#394 - 2015-12-02 03:14:01 UTC
ISD Dorrim Barstorlode wrote:
Removed an accidental lock. Nothing happened.

*whistles innocently*




EIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII =D
#DeleteTheWeak
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#395 - 2015-12-02 03:14:21 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
Thank you, ISDs! Also, special thanks to ISD Max Trix who was patient enough to explain exactly how I was supposed to submit a ticket in the other thread.

I did it wrong, obviously :)

And without further ado...

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#396 - 2015-12-02 03:15:06 UTC
It never rains but it pours. It had been a sad roam of many jumps but no kills. We had finally turned for home when we were intrigued to see mention of two Dominixes only two jumps out from F4R2. Now, two neutral Dominixes simply have no business being just two jumps out from F4R2. Especially when they are from Provi! And ratting! So we decided to remove them from the vicinity.

(I really like Provi. I would almost certainly have ended up there if it hadn’t been for that whole “don’t shoot people” nonsense. They love a fight and have become disturbingly adept at predicting my increasingly inept incursion attempts. But I didn’t really want that Stratios anyway. Or that pod.)

We surrounded the system in our little ships (it connected three ways) and sent a prober in. He localised them to a site which they quickly vacated upon seeing the probes. But it was really just a matter of time before we landed on them and killed them dead:

Domi 1: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50378859/
Domi 2: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50378848/

Shiny pod: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50378863/
Not a bad pod: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50378851/

This was a highly satisfactory end to the roam. Except it wasn't quite the end. After we had docked up in F4R2 someone piped up on comms and asked if we could help him break through a small gate camp in Curse, not too far away. As it transpired, this was the same gate campers who had ruthlessly assassinated poor Zappity in her Svipul just a few posts ago.

Time for revenge! We undocked and it wasn't long before I was sitting on a gate, circling a Stabber Fleet Issue in my Svipul amidst a swamp of bubbles. He had me yellow boxed. This made me quite uncomfortable. I had accidentally picked up my PvE Svipul which was built specifically to run the Blood Raider sites a few weeks ago:

[Svipul, PvE]
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II

5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Warp Scrambler II

Small 'Knave' Energy Drain
150mm Light AutoCannon II,Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II,Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II,Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II,Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Expanded Probe Launcher I,Sisters Combat Scanner Probe

Small Core Defense Field Purger II
Small Core Defense Field Purger II
Small Core Defense Field Purger II

As you can see, it has a bit of a buffer and enormous (323) passive shield regeneration. I hadn't planned this as a PvP fit but, after all, why not? So I aggressed. He started killing me but only made it halfway through my shield before he ran into the passive regen barrier and stalled. He soon switched to a corpie who had arrived but exploding soon after despite strong local reps. I'm pretty sure he had some links to help him out.

SFI: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50379029/

Just as we were finishing him off, a Maelstrom landed in the bubble! Good times! We tackled him and started chipping away. The Maelstrom started shooting me but also ran into the passive regen barrier. I was quite enjoying this test.

Maelstrom: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50379047/

I was well satisfied with the afternoon's haul. And yet, when a Hyperion landed in the bubble just after the Maelstrom entered structure, I somehow found it hard to say no. One more wafer thin ship? Yes! Especially since it was piloted by the SFI pilot:

Hyperion: https://zkillboard.com/kill/50379060/

We loitered for a couple of minutes like stray dogs, hoping for him to keep feeding us. Alas, it was to no avail. He decided, quite correctly, that discretion was the better part of valour. No doubt he will kill me many more times in the coming months.

So next time you are in Curse, break a gate camp - you never know what will happen!

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Leto Thule
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#397 - 2015-12-02 03:33:39 UTC
<3 Zappity. Best content here by far.

Thunderdome ringmaster, Community Leader and Lord Inquisitor to the Court of Crime and Punishment
Moon Moon Burdy
New Eden Tech Support
#398 - 2015-12-02 03:45:17 UTC
Yay! More Zappity Tales!!

Things that went boom

Storytime with Moon Moon New stories semi frequently-ish!

Promising Young Murderer, Education Appreciated.
Morgan Agrivar
Doomheim
#399 - 2015-12-02 07:04:24 UTC
ISD Dorrim Barstorlode wrote:
Removed an accidental lock. Nothing happened.

*whistles innocently*

You are awesome. Love Zappity tales to get me in the mood to PvP myself. Still looking for a corp to wardec to teach my damn newbro how to fight. *\o/*

Keep them coming, Zap!
Wanda Fayne
#400 - 2015-12-02 08:46:04 UTC
Big smile
Thanks Guyz!!!

And thank-you for the great tales Zappity.

"your comments just confirms this whole idea is totally pathetic" -Lan Wang-

  • - "hub humping station gamey neutral logi warspam wankery" -Ralph King-Griffin-