These forums have been archived and are now read-only.

The new forums are live and can be found at https://forums.eveonline.com/

Crime & Punishment

 
  • Topic is locked indefinitely.
 

Zappity's Adventures

First post
Author
Previous Topic Next Topic
Llawa
Perkone
Caldari State
#181 - 2014-06-18 12:33:15 UTC
I enjoy this thread. Keep doing what you do.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#182 - 2014-06-20 07:45:10 UTC
I logged in and spent a few minutes lazily wandering from system to system in my Comet until someone posted in fleet chat that there was a Worm in Uuna, one system over. I was naturally interested given the recent buff, thinking that a lot of incompetent pilots would be trying them out. Unfortunately, when I jumped into Uuna I was dismayed to see that the Worm was sneakily hidden at a safe spot. I decided to bring a probing alt in.

Now, I used to play around in wormholes so I understand (more or less) how these things work. But I am terribly rusty. I’ll include the times to give you a chuckle.

[22:47:24] Cervantes Marovinjun d-scanned him to somewhere near Station V. I brought my alt in, added him to fleet, warped to a safe after dropping my probes, clustered them on Planet V and hit scan. Damn! 97%! I quickly reduced range and scanned again.

[22:51:31] I warped to the hit and saw the Worm 100km away, burning at 3km/s. Bugger. But hang on, he’s aligned to the sun!

This is where is gets embarrassing. It took me FIVE MINUTES to land a decent short bookmark. I am really out of practice. For those of you who don’t know what I mean this is the practice of warping back to a bookmark from the aligned celestial. You can either land at 100km range (of limited value when the target is moving quickly) or drop a bookmark while you are slowing from warp.

[22:56:35] The Worm is burning straight for my cloaked Cheetah, 100km away. I started the warp to the Cheetah, only to see him 34km away. In the wrong direction. I had miscalculated how long it would take me to drop out of warp and he just burned past my warp in.

There may have been a mild obscenity uttered at this point. I warped Zappity away and started again. The good news was that the guy was clearly AFK and oblivious to my bumbling attempt to snare him.

[23:01:22] Deleted the wrong bloody bookmark, didn’t I! Let’s try again.

[23:02:16] Yeah, that’s how it’s done. Less than a minute this time. I’m on grid and back in the groove! Get ready for the www guys!

[23:02:25] 150km off and burning in fast. Zappity enters warp. Cheetah leaves grid. Zappity lands with the Worm 45km off but heading straight in at 3km/s. “www”, I type.

I barely have time to overheat everything when he hits 10km. Scram! Web! Guns! Drones! By the time the first corpie lands on grid he is already in hull so I stop my damage, figuring that they had been very patient and deserved something for their trouble:

Worm: https://zkillboard.com/kill/39375882/
Pod: https://zkillboard.com/kill/39375891/

The pod wasn’t too expensive. But it wasn’t too cheap, either. Whew, what a rush! VERY satisfying to finally get it right! I don’t think that he will be very happy when he gets back to his keyboard, do you? But a 2011 character should know better than to be a) AFK, and b) aligned for a celestial. So there. Actually, I’m going to add that to the lecture!

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#183 - 2014-06-26 10:14:28 UTC
If I ever decide to have a nemesis, it will be Patrick Kasper, my first ever killer:

Incursus: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=18739317
Pod: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=18739318

In my earliest of RvB days I spotted a suspect frigate on the gate in Nomaa. "I'll have him!", I thought. It didn't end well. I was such a noob that I hadn’t even read the “You should never get your pod killed” lecture. Anyway, things have changed somewhat and I thought it was about time to get into cruisers. As beginner’s luck would have it I found a Vexor ratting in a belt as soon as I undocked:

Vexor: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23065307

Sure, an interesting kill with those faction smartbombs but not exactly the next peak of PvP experience that I was hoping for. I didn't even have to turn my repper on.

Anyway, the next time I set out I was determined to find a worthy adversary for my Thorax:

[Thorax, Zappity’s brawly Thorax]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Damage Control II
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Medium Armor Repairer II

Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800
10MN Afterburner II

Heavy Electron Blaster II
Heavy Electron Blaster II
Heavy Electron Blaster II
Heavy Electron Blaster II
Heavy Electron Blaster II

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I

Is that a good fit? Eh, I dunno. Whatever. The idea was to get under the guns of the opposition and stay there until he wilted pathetically under my deadly fire. Or something like that.

It took me nearly an hour to find a suitable fight. I almost snared a Vexor in Asakai but he ran away. And when I followed him to the sun he ran away again. I took the hint, if only because I wasn't agile enough tto catch him. Then I found a Stabber Fleet Issue who also snubbed me. So I continued south, heading toward the Min/Amarr zone. Actually, I was hopeful that the intervening non-FW space would be more fruitful for solo cruisers.

I successfully avoided a gate camp at Nisuwa by waiting a moment for the inty and Curse to jump ahead of me. The Rupture and Stabber who stayed behind foolishly neglected to lock me until they saw me aligning out. Ha! Suckers! But it did force me to detour, so I headed back on a circuit through Stay Frosty's old stomping ground of Hevrice.

And then i found a lone Moa piloted by a Tusker. Now, I know that Moa's have a reputation for a fearsome tank. I also know that Tuskers are typically pretty damn good. But I was desperate after nearly an hour of roaming and would happily have taken on a gang of the things. So I scanned him down to a belt whilst in warp to a Medium plex that I opened just to give him the idea. I then warped to his belt and landed just as he entered warp. He was heading for the plex. Fight!

Scram, web, orbit at 500, overheat guns, start killing. It all went (surprisingly) according to plan. For a while. What an astonishing tank he had! My cap boosters were going strong and my reppers were keeping up with the damage until they started getting too hot. After I switched the heat off I was no longer able to handle it and was slowly broken down.

I had him down to about 2/3 shields when I died. Sigh. Very disappointing. But very fun!

Loss: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23108370

I'll play around with some more fits. I want more gank. And tank. How hard can it be? Below is probably the Moa fit. We chatted for a while after the fight and he mentioned three extender rigs and an invul:

Moa (probably): http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=22221287

While we were chatting I realised that his name was familiar. And then I remembered! Patrick Kasper! My first loss! I linked the lossmail and we had a chuckle about my first ever loss. I'm glad the fit wasn't too atrocious, even though I never fly dual rep Incursus now. Props - it was a good fight.

I want more. Cruisers, here I come.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Catalytic morphisis
Royal Amarr Institute
Amarr Empire
#184 - 2014-06-27 02:10:47 UTC
keep it up matey, Maybe get some video's on the go?

Actual Link free and scout free solo PvP'er
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#185 - 2014-06-29 03:13:38 UTC
Well, I changed my fit and got more DPS and tank. Told you it wasn't going to be hard. Mostly because the last fit was rubbish but never mind that. Here is the new fit:

[Thorax, dual rep electrons v2]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Armor Repairer II

Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
10MN Afterburner II
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800

Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Nanobot Accelerator I

Valkyrie II x5

It will tank 420 dps sustained and has stable cap as long as the charges last. 300dps with electrons and 420 with drones, Now I just have to find myself another Moa to fight. So I set off west into the heart of the Cal/Gal zone with a route up north planned out. I spot a Scythe Fleet Issue on scan a few jumps out and excitedly warp off to a safe to scan him down. Unfortunately the ship was skulking at a POS with a pilot.

Two jumps later, I see a Moa on scan. And there are only two pilots in system, reducing the chance of getting horribly blobbed. He isn't at a plex so I wander off to a Medium and barely have time to get settled in when I spot him on short scan.

I am nervous and completely stuff things up when he warps in. First, I target the plex beacon and get a pop-up asking me if I really want to attack the thing. No, of course I don't. Then I try to target the Small plex next door (slightly out of targeting range at 3 AU). I finally get it right and target him, set an orbit and set my drones on him.

I don't start by overheating my guns, wanting to reserve the extra damage to break through his peak shield recharge more quickly. Overheating my normal repper handled most of the damage and I only had to use the ancillary for a few cycles.

His shield broke pretty quickly when I started overheating and he died, just like that. I snaffled his loot and made my escape. Ha! My first kill in a cruiser!

http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23103998

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#186 - 2014-06-29 04:36:06 UTC
I have decided to start a competition! Every once in a while I will post a puzzle or simple question in this thread. Some will be EVE-related, others not. The answer will open a secure container left somewhere in either Ishomilken or near one of the hubs. The Ishomilken prizes will be more valuable. There is no ulterior motive behind this. I just want the occasional opportunity to shoot you.

I will grant a bonus prize if the winner posts back in this thread describing the contents of the container just so I know the prize has been claimed. If the container is destroyed by someone embittered by their ignorance of the password, so be it.

So, the inaugural round!

Location: Muvolailen, one jump from Jita. And no, I’m not going to tell you which celestial. Don’t be so lazy - use dscan.

Question: What was the name of the drug referred to in the lore segment of that latest Hydrostatic Podcast?

The answer is a single word, all lowercase.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#187 - 2014-07-01 07:14:48 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
Frigates! Breacher, Merlin, Rifter. How hard can it be for the magnificent rail Comet? Well, not hard at all when they don't land at the same time. The Breacher went down first with the Merlin landing just as his hull was almost finished. I switched the scram to him and repeated the process, only to see the Rifter land just as the Merlin died.

Breacher: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23193835
Merlin: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23193836

I had a little more trouble with the Rifter. My stupid repper wouldn't activate even though it was only 92% damaged. It took me a moment to realise that my guns were also not working. Capped out! Well, there was a lot going on. That's my excuse anyway.

I set my drones on the Rifter and manually activated the guns when possible. If he hadn't been a new player I would certainly have died.

But I didn't.

Rifter: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23193837
Pod: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23193838

The Rifter pilot convoed me after the fight. Naturally I sent him the lecture link - but he had already read it! What's more, being an avid reader of the thread he KNEW I would be the Comet pilot and was actually warping in to help me!

I felt bad then. Under the circumstances I reckon it would have been much better if he'd managed to kill me. Anyway, it was a great little skirmish regardless.

Next time out I was watching (isn't it funny how informative dscan is when you get used to it?) an Ishkur hunting through the same systems that I was prowling through. I spotted him on short scan and had loitered long enough to ID the pilot. Hmm, the name looks familiar... Aha! He's the pilot of Atron and pod fame from post #176 (https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=4708882#post4708882)! Definitely gotta get him now.

He was clearly heading back down the pipe toward Ish so I hopped ahead and quickly switched to an Enyo in my home station. By the time I undocked, my intended victim had already entered the system. Even though there was nothing yet on scan I initiated warp to the Small plex, thinking it the most likely target for an Ishkur to start with.

I landed just after him. He did not have enough time to get clear and I snared him good. However, shortly after I started on him a neutral Hookbill landed on top of us. I think he was expecting us to be inside the plex and no doubt got a shock when he was scrammed and webbed by the Ishkur! I think the Ishkur knew that his own ship was lost and figured that he might as well take someone with him.

I quickly switched my single faithful Accy (yes, Hobbie has been ditched for a different damage type now that drones have been rebalanced) just to get on the Hookbill mail and watched both ships drop fast.

And then I hatched a cunning plan! I watched the Hookbill carefully and, when his hull was low, quickly switched my guns over. He popped in a single volley - a total of 239 damage received - and I stole his mail! Then I switched straight back to the Ishkur and, adding insult to injury, killed him too.

Hookbill: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23195957
Ishkur: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23195962

Haha! I linked the Ishkur pilot the Hookbill mail out of courtesy but for some reason he didn't respond. Unfortunately, I didn't get either pod but I did get a video of it for your enjoyment.

Video: http://youtu.be/aoO9hYI3UzQ

P.S. I have decided to add annotations to some of the new videos to describe what I am trying to do during the fight for noobs. I don’t think they appear on mobile so if they annoy you watch them there.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Catalytic morphisis
Royal Amarr Institute
Amarr Empire
#188 - 2014-07-01 10:39:37 UTC
nice, glad to see you started putting video's up :)

Actual Link free and scout free solo PvP'er
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#189 - 2014-07-10 01:52:09 UTC
Not convinced that the last victory was not a fluke, I decide to venture forth in the Giant Incursus (I mean Thorax) again. I really want to find another Moa, or Giant Merlin as I have started to think of them, just to be sure. But what are the chances of that?

Well, just south of our little home I spotted another putative victim on scan. Hmm, not at a belt. Could he be ratting? Aha! Yes! But by the time I arrive all I see are wrecks and his dscan signature in another asteroid field. I sort my ‘belts’ overview by name and select the belt two below the current one, figuring that he would be on his way to it before long. Sure enough, we land at about the same time.

Well at least he isn’t PvE fit! I ignore his scram and web and move into a tight orbit, get all the things firing and droning and webbing and whatnot and watch as his shield starts to drop. And then go back up. And then drop again. And you get the picture. Active tank, probably XLASB, but are there one or two of them? Only one, it appears as he suddenly drops into armor and then hull. Another one bites the dust.

Moa: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23169244

Now I want to find a different type of cruiser to fight. I am guessing that an armour electron fit is not going to be quite versatile enough for proper solo work but let’s see.

And, there! Just before downtime I spot a cruiser gang in a plex: Thorax, Omen, Curse. I try and bait them into splitting up but they aren't having a bar of it. And so i jump in anyway, keen to have a crack. Surely my newly designed indestructible Thorax can beat a measly three cruisers!

The Curse rapidly neuts me out but I'm not too concerned about that since i have a cargo hold full of charges. I choose the Thorax, thinking that he is the most likely to want to brawl. I doubt I will be able to catch a ship that doesn't want to with two or three webs on me. Sure enough, he comes close and I immediately break his shield and start working through his armour.

Unfortunately, I forget that I have two reppers, and only fire up the ancillary when I am already in hull. Far too late!

Thorax: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23176671

I didn't want that Thorax anyway :)

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Cara Forelli
State War Academy
Caldari State
#190 - 2014-07-10 03:00:09 UTC
Enjoying the blog! Especially how you detail your thoughts during fights. And it was fun running into you the other day :p

Zappity wrote:
I am nervous and completely stuff things up when he warps in. First, I target the plex beacon and get a pop-up asking me if I really want to attack the thing. No, of course I don't. Then I try to target the Small plex next door (slightly out of targeting range at 3 AU). I finally get it right and target him, set an orbit and set my drones on him.

I've got in the habit of sorting my overview by name when I activate a plex so all the moving targets aren't flipping places when I try to target.

Want to talk? Join my channel in game: House Forelli

Titan's Lament
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#191 - 2014-07-10 12:01:31 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
Cara Forelli wrote:
Enjoying the blog! Especially how you detail your thoughts during fights. And it was fun running into you the other day :p

Zappity wrote:
I am nervous and completely stuff things up when he warps in. First, I target the plex beacon and get a pop-up asking me if I really want to attack the thing. No, of course I don't. Then I try to target the Small plex next door (slightly out of targeting range at 3 AU). I finally get it right and target him, set an orbit and set my drones on him.

I've got in the habit of sorting my overview by name when I activate a plex so all the moving targets aren't flipping places when I try to target.

Not a bad idea. I might give it a go - thanks. I think half the battle in a solo fight is being able to exclude the fluff and concentrate on what actually matters and this would certainly help.

And don't worry, you will make a guest appearance in a few posts :)

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#192 - 2014-07-18 10:04:18 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
I’m discouraged by my cruiser losses:

Thorax: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23187474

Vexor: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23195956

Vexor: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23227618

Thorax: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262710

It is much harder to get a solo cruiser fight. People tend to be more reluctant to risk a cruiser than a frigate (I suppose I can understand that) and usually have something up their sleeve. Links, alts and corp mates seem to be much more common. Oh well, all’s fair etcetera. The gank Thorax and Vexor fits will pretty much murder anything that chooses to fight it one on one, so I guess it is fair enough that people choose not to.

It is with a heavy heart, full of dark thoughts about the future of solo cruiser combat, that I decided to hop back into a Police Pursuit Comet for a spin. I jumped through the gate and was instantly popped by a gate camping Proteus (seriously, Madbuster73 of Daredevil plus bait farming Merlin fame is really trying to outdo Patrick Kasper for the title of Potential Nemesis):

Police Comet: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23227045

Sigh. It’s just one of those weeks. I’m sure that anyone who has done much solo knows exactly what I mean. I hopped into a new Comet and headed in the other direction. The first thing I came across was a stabbed farming Catalyst. So I docked, switched my web for a second scram, and killed him good:

Farming Catalyst: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262936
Pod: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262937

I would crow about the capsule but I think he probably wanted to take the pod express to refit. Next up was a Hawk. I expected him to be rocket fit and was ready to pull range and warp out if the damage was too heavy. But it wasn't, so I didn't, and he died:

Hawk: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262969

Then I found a Tristan waiting for me in a plex. He was sitting on the beacon with a cloud of drones buzzing about him. This was a very close fight. As soon as I spotted his neut I pulled range but accidentally overshot and lost point. He had a few seconds to warp away but bravely chose not to. Unfortunately, in my haste to reacquire point I again overshot (this time the other way) and a quickly-applied neut cycle capping me out! But I had already worn him down enough that my drones were able to finish him despite my hull smoking in a most alarming manner!

Tristan: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262971

He asked for my fit and I obliged. Another victim appeared shortly after, also waiting in a plex but this time 10km from the beacon. He tried to kite but I managed to haul him in. A nice fit, actually:

Atron: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23262976

More action awaited in Prism. A Comet kept running away from me (the cowardly cuss) into a plex containing an Algos. The pair tried to catch me a couple of times but were transparently obviously in their attempts. I wanted to kill that Algos! While I was fooling around with them I stumbled across a Firetail who promptly exploded in a most satisfactory manner:

Firetail: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23263046

And finally, I spotted the Algos alone in a Small plex. When I started FRAPS (http://youtu.be/b6oF7LWr29c) the Comet was in the Medium, and although I figured that it wouldn't be long before he decided to join us I still wanted to have a crack at the Algos. So I tackled him on the acceleration gate before he could enter the plex. Sure enough, the Comet soon appeared on scan but I chose to finish off the Algos instead of running:

Algos: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23263047

It was probably too much to expect that I could also kill the Comet with only a quarter of my hull left! And so I, in turn, exploded:

Comet loss: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23263048

By this time half of local was flashing blue and not particularly happy about my presence. So I bought a shuttle and went home, well satisfied with the wreckage strewn behind me.

Now if only I could figure out those cruisers. I am toying with the idea of making more use of my scout alt. I might start checking for wormholes to hop through to less ‘advanced’ space. Maybe it is arrogance but I tend to consider lowsec FW regions as being the toughest small gang and solo PvP you can find. Perhaps I should put that to the test.

I also want to get a good kiting fit. My initial tinkering with PYFA is suggesting that I should probably have trained up Minmatar Cruiser V instead of Gallente Cruiser V. That Stabber looks awfully enticing and might provide the sort of kiting fit I probably need for successful solo cruising in lowsec. We’ll see.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Dato Koppla
Balls Deep Inc.
Minmatar Fleet Alliance
#193 - 2014-07-19 19:14:42 UTC
Zappity wrote:

I also want to get a good kiting fit. My initial tinkering with PYFA is suggesting that I should probably have trained up Minmatar Cruiser V instead of Gallente Cruiser V. That Stabber looks awfully enticing and might provide the sort of kiting fit I probably need for successful solo cruising in lowsec. We’ll see.


Nice fights and I approve of more videos!

By the way, just wanted to mention in terms of kiting Cruisers, the Rail Thorax is one of the best out there, it has unmatched projection and can do a staggering 560dps to 24km with heat. It's also naturally one of the fastest Cruisers out there. The tank is very thin but you can usually kill other kiters before they kill you, except maybe a RLML Caracal. Here's the fit I'd use after trying a few out:

[Thorax, PvP Kite]

Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400

250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I


Warrior II x5

There's a debate if 200 rails + more tank is a better option, but personally I like the dps.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#194 - 2014-07-19 20:04:07 UTC
Thank you Dato! I conjured up one of the 200mm variants you mentioned a few days ago:

[Thorax, 200mm v2 (don't ask about the version 1 - it was just bad]

Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Warp Disruptor II

200mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Lead Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Lead Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Lead Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Lead Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Lead Charge M

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Acolyte TD-300 x5
Acolyte II x5

I took it out and stumbled across a bunch of T1 frigates in plexes. They were foolish enough to chase me in nice, straight lines and I had almost killed the Rifter when the nasty Crucifier activated his TDs. Well, that was that. I don't like Crucifiers any more. We danced to the same tune three times and the only time I came close to killing one of them was when I set my dishonour drones on the Crucifier. Alas, I didn’t have that Merlin pointed.

Then I found a Stabber and Vexor pair in a large plex. I managed to get the Stabber down to hull but he was sensible enough to set a course which the Vexor could intercept so I had to run away.

I need more dps to take advantage of the short windows of ‘mistake opportunity’ that small gangs present you with. I will try your fit - thanks a lot.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#195 - 2014-07-21 06:37:40 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
Time to take another look at dessies. I have never really felt comfortable in dessies. They usually seem to lack some fairly fundamental feature for solo work, like range control in a Catalyst or having to sacrifice unacceptable amounts of DPS for a tank in practically everything else. Some of the Thrashers are alright but I have always found them quite predictable which I don’t like.

I loaded up a kiting Cormorant:

[Cormorant, Boring kiting Cormorant]

Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Faint Warp Disruptor I

150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[Empty High slot]

Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

I figured that I also need to do some more kiting since I usually either brawl or scram kite. The Cormorant was supposed to be kept outside of scram range and mercilessly rain down charges on my hapless brawling prey.

Well, I got bored of that after looking around for fights for half an hour. Maybe it’s just me but I eventually figured that kiting tends to be a bit more difficult in FW regions because it is hard to warp in on targets at range when they are in plexes.

And I am impatient.

But anyway, as I was saying I got bored and decided to jump on a Corax in a Small plex. The plan was to hit the overheated MWD before he could scram me. It didn't work because he tackled me too quickly. Most unfair. So I found myself held at 8km from an angry Corax with a thick (400mm, no less) armour tank. So it wasn't really going according to plan. But since 8km is actually a great distance for 150mm railguns I still killed him, albeit with only 11% hull remaining.

Corax: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23417411

Good result, right? Well, not really. I could have done it much more comfortably in the Comet or even a different Cormy fit. And what sort of rubbish is that Corax? Getting killed by an untanked and not particularly ganky Cormorant! So I went off the Cormorant and decided to play in PYFA with the Algos again. Here is the fit I came up with:

[Algos, Zappity’s Honour]

Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

125mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Prototype Gauss Gun, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Small Transverse Bulkhead I
Small Transverse Bulkhead I
Small Transverse Bulkhead I

Acolyte II x5
Warrior II x5

This is a dessie fit that I (finally) like. 8k EHP, mostly in hull, and just over 300 DPS, mostly from the Algos’ velocity-bonused drones. I first killed another Algos, a feeble shield version:

Feeble shield Algos: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23417741
Pod: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23417742

It must have been a shock to the feeble shield Algos pilot - my shield disappeared fast, then my armour was gone, and then I was in hull. Which slowly dropped to about 2/3 before he died. Maybe that explained the pod loss. And then I drove off his Maulus and Merlin corpies who were bent on revenge after he popped. When we met up with them again I even fended off a Dragoon (who I was secretly terrified of because I usually fly cap-poor ships). Finally, a Claw caught me on a gate but had to warp off in deep structure due to my speedy Warriors.

Good fun. Decent tank, decent damage, decent defence against kite-scrubbery and not too slow. If you want an afterburner version you can upgrade the suitcase to a DC2 which gets you an extra few hundred EHP.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Mike Adoulin
Happys Happy Hamster Hunting Club
#196 - 2014-07-21 06:46:53 UTC
Zappity has discovered that true men hull tank.

Big smile

If you want a funny ship to fly, check out the combat haulers (Nereus, Badger, etc).

Win or lose you won't be bored..:)

Everything in EVE is a trap.

And if it isn't, it's your job to make it a trap...:)

You want to know what immorality in EVE Online looks like? Look no further than Ripard "Jester" Teg.

Chribba is the Chuck Norris of EVE.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#197 - 2014-07-24 08:33:04 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
I logged in for some solo Algos roaming when a noob in our corp asked if I was going out. He wanted to learn how to hunt. What else could I say? So one quickly-fitted Incursus later we set out together.

Two jumps later I spotted an Algos at a Small plex. I warped us to the gate and we hopped through. We made short work of him:

Algos: http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=24526856

And then my companion asked how I knew there was a ship behind the gate.

Ah. A REAL noob! So I spent a few minutes explaining how to set up dscan and was rewarded when he correctly told me what ships were at the medium plex in the next system. I figured that a Caracal and Incursus were probably too much for us so we moved on until we found a Breacher and a Comet.

What the hell - I needed to log off in a couple of minutes anyway so I warped us in. The Breacher was heavily tanked but we waited for his MASBs to run out of charges while the Comet approached:

Breacher: https://zkillboard.com/kill/40257252/

I popped pretty much straight away afterwards to the Comet. But never mind. I was highly amused by the comment, "Damn, I can't kill his egg!" Next followed a brief introduction to the safety system and security status. How on earth he managed to escape the Comet I can't think!

So not bad for a first outing. Dscan, fleets, two killmails and no losses! I even gave him The Lecture.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#198 - 2014-07-26 22:11:46 UTC
I thought I might have more luck finding a solo cruiser outside FW regions so I jumped into a wormhole which took me to a lowsec region in the Forge. It was disappointingly empty.

I meandered my way along a lowsec chain and before long found myself at the top of the Amarr/Minmatar zone. I set a long route back to Ishomilken and started on my way, watching for potential victims in every system.

Before long I spotted a Merlin and Maller. They were clearly together but not one to be deterred by anything sensible I thought I'd have a go anyway. I was concerned about getting double webbed and not being able to reach either of them with my Electron blasters. But you can't worry about every little thing! Actually, my cunning plan was to web the Merlin back and hopefully have my Valkyries chew him down:

[Thorax, Dual rep brawler v2]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Armor Repairer II

Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
10MN Afterburner II
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800

Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Nanobot Accelerator I


Valkyrie II x5

As it happened, I was worrying needlessly. I followed the Maller from a gate to the Sun but actually landed on the Merlin! The Maller must have chosen a nearby celestial and I just happened to stumble onto the frigate. Maybe they were luring me to the sun and the Mallee mis-clicked. I slapped a web on the Merlin and before he knew what was going on he was toast:

Merlin: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23285928

I had just opened the wreck up when the Maller landed next to me. So I closed the wreck and went for him, keeping a close eye on local for any reinforcements.

I messed around a bit during this fight, interested to see how effective the close range orbit was against his guns - you can see it in the video. Sure enough, I hardly took any damage while in orbit but started getting hammered when I switched to Keep at Range, although it wasn't enough to break through my reps.

He made a mistake in not targeting my drones - a weakness of the Thorax is a small drone bay - but I didn't tell him that. I just waited patiently for his armour to drop.

Maller: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23285929

Ha! He commented afterwards that he had indeed landed too late, and that their plan WAS to control range with webs on both ships. Very sneaky, these lowsec types. But I foiled them!

Video: http://youtu.be/I1Zhs4xN7Yc

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#199 - 2014-07-30 10:52:44 UTC
“Pleeeaaase can I have some Daredevils?”, Zappity asked her cousin in marketing.
“No! You’ll just go and do something stupid with them - I know what you’re like!”, he responded.

But Zappity won out in the end. After all, what is all the ISK for if not to be exploded?

[Daredevil, Rails ab]

Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II

Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner
Federation Navy Stasis Webifier
Faint Warp Disruptor I

150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[Empty High slot]
150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Small Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I

I had every intention of being careful with this ship, and not jumping into obvious traps and the no-win situations that I thrive on. Ahem. Well, things started out alright when I finally caught a Slicer we had been chasing around the system. He had aggression, warped to a gate to escape and I think he panicked at not being able to jump. I caught his pod, too, although perhaps he just wanted a fast trip home:

Slicer: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23284798
Pod: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23285927

And then we saw a Tengu on scan, warping from plex to plex. Now this was OBVIOUS bait and we even commented as such. But Zappity has a short memory and had already forgotten the discussion with her cousin in marketing. Ten seconds later the Tengu was scrammed. Twenty seconds later Zappity was warping away in her pod with her tail between her legs. A few short cycles of the Tengu’s Neutron Blaster Cannon II had done the job on a Daredevil that foolishly didn’t get into a tight enough orbit.

Daredevil: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23285919

And it was a good drop for him! Well, not one to take defeat lying down, Zappity was soon in a very hastily assembled Crucifier and winging her way back to the system to get point and apply tracking disruptors for the corpies. This loss wasn’t quite as humiliatingly rapid as the Daredevil loss due to the tracking disruptors. But it was still pretty bad! The Tengu had astonishing tracking. I am going to have to take a closer look at blaster Tengus.

Crucifier: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23285923

We gave up after that, not having enough people online to take him down. Oh well. This may have been the fit:

Tengu: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=16857223

Zappity still hasn’t told her cousin in marketing.

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.
Zappity
New Eden Tank Testing Services
#200 - 2014-08-03 07:32:26 UTC  |  Edited by: Zappity
A blaster-fit Comet had viciously killed a corpie's Vengeance earlier in the day. Thoroughly uncalled for. I hunted him for a while and he eventually gave a fight. It was very close! I warped into the plex and he was waiting, drones and all, for me on the beacon. I felt the full brunt of his DPS while I slowly pulled range out to 7.5 km. And then I killed him while watching dscan for a small incoming T1 frigate gang.

Comet: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23292551

These guys were clearly hunting from plex to plex: Condor, Incursus and Rifter. The Incursus appeared first and although I was in poor shape I waited for him to come in, confident that I could outrun him if necessary. I checked for a suitable celestial (away from the beacon), aligned and locked him up. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to kill him before the Condor landed so I pulled out of scram range and scarpered.

I docked, repped and refilled the AAR before heading back out to chase them. The gang had already moved on but it didn't take me long to find them. The Condor and Rifter were loitering on a gate, evidently waiting for the Incursus, who was in a plex, to call them in.

The Condor unwittingly wandered into my scram range while I was holding cloak and I only just remembered the gate guns in time before pressing the button! Instead of dying in such a foolish manner I warped to 20 to a plex next to the one which held the Incursus. I then aligned back to the gate, hoping that the Condor would warp in at range.

But they were either disciplined or had no initiative and they just waited on the gate until the Incursus warped over and tackled me. Or was tackled by me, if you prefer! The Condor and Rifter appeared on short scan when I was halfway through the Incursus' armour. Happily, the Condor landed on top of me (he DID warp at range, although 'at range' would have actually been the gate at this stage) so I scrammed him and switched all DPS. He died quickly:

Condor: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23292552

I then switched back to the Incursus while locking up the Rifter. I expected him to run but he clearly wanted blood after the destruction of his colleagues! He stayed, so I killed him too.

Incursus: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23292553
Rifter: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23292554

I was in pretty bad shape by now but was happy with the last five minutes, even though the last three were clearly noobs. My only disappointment was that I didn't catch a pod! I probably could have caught one during the fight but was concentrating on the ships.

Video: http://youtu.be/g84KlAgc_ME

A little while later I was innocently sightseeing in the local systems when I saw a suspiciously new character in a Rifter at a plex. The killboard informed me of a ship plus pod losses which only steeled my resolve to make an example of the farmer. I docked, swapped my web out for a second scram, and warped in. An Atron decided to interrupt the proceeding when I was halfway through the Rifter’s armour and tackled me. The Rifter died quickly (http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23297313) but the Atron’s arrival was a decidedly unhappy turn of events since I did not have a web. But I couldn’t do much about it and tried to keep him at range as best I could. Surprisingly, he died! He could have disengaged at will or orbited me very effectively with his neutrons:

Atron: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23297312

Anyway, the really interesting bit happened just as I finished killing the Atron. An Incursus, piloted by a familiar name, landed on grid. Discretion, I’m afraid, was the better part of valour in this instance so I warped to the sun like a cowardly cuss where I was delighted to see the Rifter pilot’s pod! As I started locking him up the Incursus pilot landed next to me. Uh oh.

Unfortunately, the Incursus was piloted by a competent Cara Forelli who had followed me to the sun. I really should have used the emergency warp tab to pick a more obscure celestial. Before I could warp away I was tackled and dead. And what’s more, it was my own Incursus fit! The cheek of it!

Comet: http://eve.battleclinic.com/killboard/killmail.php?id=23297051

Good fights all round :)

Zappity's Adventures for a taste of lowsec and nullsec.