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Warfare & Tactics

 
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I don't understand this (OK, what's new?)
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TackyTachy1
Doomheim
#1 - 2016-02-10 03:14:48 UTC
Null-sec right next door to hi-sec, somebody anchors a small warp bubble 120 km off the gate. Traffic was light but I sat cloaked for a half hour or so, ships came and went, nobody got trapped, some guy in a frigate sporting a red outlaw ribbon jumped in and out a few times like he was checking the bubble. I can understand anchoring a bubble aligned with traffic lanes, but 120 km out? I'm thinking be kind of cool use it like a spider web, come by every once in a while and feed. But can you do that?

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ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#2 - 2016-02-10 05:48:57 UTC  |  Edited by: ShahFluffers
What you were looking at was probably a Warp Disruption Bubble positioned in such a way that it acts as a "drag bubble."

What is a "drag bubble?"

A "drag bubble" is a Warp Disruption Bubble that is positioned in such a way that it will literally "drag" a person that coming out of warp into the bubble itself.
Now... there are conditions to make this work.
- The bubble must be within the visible grid.
- The bubble must be anchored and "active."
- The bubble must be "in-line" with the warp trajectory of the inbound ship. What this means is that a bubble must be placed before or after the destination that people are trying to warp to. Like this...
(Ship)----------->(Bubble)------>(Gate)---------->(Bubble)

If the bubble is not "in-line" with the warp trajectory of the inbound ship... nothing will happen.
(Ship)------------------------------>(Gate)
........................(Bubble).....................................(Bubble)


This is why it is important to not warp directly to a gate in hostile null-sec without scouts (who can go ahead of everyone else and see if there are bubbles) or to warp to a planet or asteroid belt that is perpendicular with the most popular (see: most direct) warp path.

And if a bubble is just sitting out in the middle of nowhere, seemingly doing nothing... well... it is either a leftover bubble from some other operation.... or it is a crafty trap (see: someone is waiting in the bubble, cloaked, waiting for some idiot to come take a closer look).


NOTE: Warp Disruption Bubbles do not prevent anyone from moving. All they do is prevent people from warping within their area of effect... regardless of the amount of warp core stabilizers they may have (see: they have "infinite" warp strength).
The exception to this are ships with the "Interdiction Nullified" bonus (see: Interceptors, some Tech 3 Cruiser configurations).

How did you Veterans start?
RavenPaine
RaVeN Alliance
#3 - 2016-02-10 12:36:27 UTC
Guys who travel that particular route are probably used to seeing bubbles there. It would be common for frequent users to get bookmarks or tactical warp ins, so they never have to warp directly to that gate.

As for the "spider web"
People abandon bubbles all the time, and other people take them over.

TackyTachy1
Doomheim
#4 - 2016-02-11 01:35:12 UTC
Thanks for the replies, and yeah, I learned the hard way about scouts. I lost a brawler fitted Stratios that way; wasn't long after I had a stable of Interceptors fitted for jumping into strange systems with a high "Ships Destroyed Last Hour" number. No weapons, lotsa tank, MWD and stabs. Immune to bubbles, and the stabs come in handy if just a gate camp. It's worked once, so far, so good.

Forum Rep for a bunch of characters, couple corps and one seriously Lost In Space multiboxer.