ESC

Empire Service Courier (ESC)
Final Rendition - The Promised Land

The ESC program has a rich history going all the way back to last fall when we first arrived in Domain, with our griefer WTs nipping at our heels the whole way, having already planned this exodus before they even declared war on us, we found ourselves out in low security space a majority of the time, nervous, apprehensive, and unsure of how to get materials from Empire to low security safely. This was when I began training towards Transport ships on Mendolus. Shortly after Christmas last year, I dinged Transports I. The rest is history.

Seven months later after working myself to near exhaustion doing well over half a billion cubic meters of hauling every month in the recent past with a ship that can only carry 12,000 m3 per trip, I am looking towards the future, where goods are jumped back and forth with relative ease, and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Okay, so in less than twenty days, our corporation is going to be capable of jumping goods from Mista to Misaba and back at a cost of around 8,000,000.00 ISK round trip via the Ark, a Jump Freighter.

What does this mean for all the massive amounts of painstaking, debilitating, infuriating hauling that we have all had to do time and again? A majority of it will go up in smoke! Yes, you may rejoice. We will soon reach the Promised Land of hauling.

But, what does this change, per say? Everything.

From the moment the corporation acquires an Ark the following guidelines will replace all previous ones for how the corporation handles hauling jobs:

All goods for PERSONAL COURIER you need jumped from Mista to Misaba or vice versa, originate in these two systems ONLY. That means if you want goods delivered from Empire to Misaba, go out and purchase them, haul them to Mista, then set a courier contract from Mista to Misaba at the corporate level. 50,000,000.00 ISK collateral is still the rule. If ten people set couriers at max collateral, it will cost me 500,000,000.00 ISK to jump them all at once, I think you see where I am going with this. I may be relatively loaded, but go easy on my wallet okay? Thanks! If you want goods delivered from Misaba to Mista, those goods need to be contracted at Misaba. Yes that means you now have to haul your stuff from H9-J8N all the way to Misaba. Do not worry, there is a silver lining listed below.

All goods for CORPORATE COURIER will be handled at the corporate level and you will probably only know about how the process works if you are somehow involved in either the acquisition of those goods or facilitating the hauling of those goods.

Here comes the best part:

Cost: FREE!
Schedule: Weekly
Volume: Up to 50,000 m3 per courier
Collaterial: Up to 50,000,000.00 ISK per courier

If you notice, the volume limit will allow you to have packaged cruisers and battlecruisers delivered straight to Misaba. In addition to that, please also notice the schedule, it is going to start out as a weekly thing, one jump per week. If demand increases for this service, there will be two jumps a week, or three. If it really gets to that point, a small service fee will be taken out of corporate taxes to pay for my fuel, so you will NOT have to pay directly yourself for a courier.

*PLEASE NOTE: This service does not go into effect until the day the Ark hits my ship hangar and Maduin is able to pilot it.

AU-F Bazaar

AU-F Bazaar
Solar Ships

The ship replacement program is taking on a more streamlined form and function. Details below.

Okay so you want a ship built by the corporation? I thought about making a detailed, formatted, and professional list of all the options available to you, but I think I will just word it out. Here goes.



You want a frigate, guess what those are FREE! So you fly to MISABA, you post a contract at the corporate level at the only station in the system, and you make that contract for an Item Exchange, add the frigate you desire, and set no prices.

You want a cruiser for personal use, guess what those are AVAILABLE AT COST! So you fly to MISABA, you post a contract at the corporate level at the only station in the system, and you make that contract for an Item Exchange, add the cruiser you desire, and set that you will pay the same cost as the ship is in Empire.

You want a cruiser for corporate use, guess what those are AVAILABLE AT COST OF INSURANCE! So you fly to MISABA, you post a contract at the corporate level at the only station in the system, and you make that contract for an Item Exchange, add the cruiser you desire, and set that you will pay the cost of platinum insurance on that ship.

You want a battlecruiser for personal use, guess what those are AVAILABLE AT COST! So you fly to MISABA, you post a contract at the corporate level at the only station in the system, and you make that contract for an Item Exchange, add the battlecruiser you desire, and set that you will pay the same cost as the ship is in Empire.

You want a battlecruiser for corporate use, guess what those are AVAILABLE AT COST OF INSURANCE! So you fly to MISABA, you post a contract at the corporate level at the only station in the system, and you make that contract for an Item Exchange, add the battlecruiser you desire, and set that you will pay the cost of platinum insurance on that ship.



Rules And Guidelines
Oh hey look, there is fine print!

Personal Use - Fly it, ride it, smash it, sell it, lend it to your buddy, do whatever you want with it, it belongs to you, you paid for it after all.

Corporate Use - Do not take it out of low or null security, do not package it, do not insure it yourself, do not let anyone borrow it. This ship is corporate property and you have received it for cost of insurance. This is a company car dude, take it out and get it demolished, but only if you are the one driving!

Contract Duration - You need to set that contract to last for two weeks, I ain't a friggin magician, I need time to work this kind of magic, it is definitely not easy like Sunday morning.

Role - We are going to have T1 fittings out the turd launcher any day now, if you want to have your ride pimped be sure to list a role in the Description field of the contract you issue, such as PvP, PvE, Ratting, Salvaging, Womanizing. I will try to throw on a good fit for any role you list.

Cost Of Insurance, WTFBBQ? - It's easy, pop open EVEMon, open a plan, go to the ship browser, look at the first line on the ship description, oh base price! Platinum insurance is 30% of base cost. I am gonna leave the ball in your court on this one. Have fun!

Eligibility, I can haz? - Well, I hate to be a curmudgeon, but some of these ships eat up a lot of minerals to manufacture even with perfect manufacturing, so only certain people will be eligible for them. Who? Anyone can have frigates from day one, even that bug-eyed stranger lurking in the shadows who somehow slipped by Varian's screen of impenetrable interviewing! Cruisers, only those with the Member role. Battlecruisers, only those with the Soldier role. Do not fret, roles will be updated soon, as at the time this blog was written few people had the Soldier role.

The Culling

The Culling
A Time For Blood


I have given some serious thought in the past week to Providence space. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot fathom living in any other space. Why? I mean, these boundaries were founded on unsavory roleplaying terms of a storyline involving religious zealots who plied in human trade. How could I want so badly to live here? Let's be honest, EVE is a rich storyline, full of vast ever farther reaching and encompassing plots that are meant to entertain not preach morality. Much like any good novel, there is always a mixture of grays, and few true black and whites. By making our own way through this region, we are simply playing and entertaining ourselves, in a way we sit fit as well. Let Ushra'Khan and CVA roleplay as they desire, if they even still do so by majority (more by proxy now I am assuming from the evidence I have seen), we are here for our own reasons, and none of them involve roleplaying or storyline tales.

So, that being said, what does keep drawing me to Providence space? It is the NRDS, or at least, the semblance of it, given recent events that have given most of our veterans a rather sour taste in their mouths.

Nowhere in EVE can you exist in null security with relative freedom to grow and develop as you please, within a few mostly benign parameters, that the NRDS dictates, or as CVA doctrine says, concerning POS in 0.0 space and such.

Giving much credit to the irony of it all, CVA has provided a wonderful means by which alliances, corporations, and players such as ourselves can have the freedom to experience 0.0 space ourselves and make what we will of it. They want Providence to act as an extension of Empire space, only we the players, we are the CONCORD of Providence. We have a freedom here that is unique in a sense that we are not beholden to any particular power bloc. While UK may do their damnedest to convince Providence residents that they are merely pets to CVA, the reality of the situation is that so long as we do not have any sovereignty in this region, we are a free agent, answering to no one, except the NRDS itself. Isn't it grand? I think so. Ajax gets to do his research, HuffDaddy gets to do L4s in Mamet, Sarah Tuttle gets to mine sweet ice in 0.0, Rayth gets to utilize our PvP trained members to pursue a Wormhole project, Cmdr GAT gets to dabble in reactions, members get access to ME/PE research at no cost, members like William Amato get access to manufacture their own goods, we get to explore ratting, 0.0 combat, PLEXs, the wide expanse of player policed space, the deep roams into hostile regions where we are constantly on the verge of annihilation and pitched battle against overwhelming odds, where our members can both do missions in low security, bring out their new ships and test their mettle in PvP combat, and in general get to live as they please, experiencing every aspect of the game that they choose (besides piracy obviously). Isn't that great?

But what if anything is required of us in return for this grand scheme? That we protect it. And we shall.

So what is the point? Well the point is Providence is going to the dogs, the dogs of war, in particular guerilla warfare. There are reds, everywhere. Every night. And it does not seem to be getting any better. What are the reasons for this? I cannot say here, too many intelligence and security issues that I keep to myself to protect Providence. What can we do about it? A lot. And when I say a lot, I really mean it. What would we have to sacrifice in order to do this? We would have to begin relying more on each member's individual will to expand their gaming experience on their own two feet than what we have now which is a system based almost solely on collective efforts towards multiple goals. We would have to have one goal, that goal would be to clean up Providence. Will it come to this? Only time will tell. I can tell you that if Providence remains as blast oven hot as it has been for the past week or two, by the time I get my Ark, that we will likely have to make some tough decisions about what we want to do. I can guarantee you that the newly reawakened Gremlin squadron will get kills though, and frequently, but it will require some sacrifices. How will it get these kills, and how can I guarantee something when I so infrequently lead PvP gangs of my own? Trust me. I'm an old salt when it comes to leading operations. Been doing this since '97. I just do not make a big deal out of it because I like to see others excel and make their own way to the top without me hovering over them wagging my finger like a doting father.

There will be a culling, and it will either be us or them (the reds), and I am certain you can guess which one I am going to choose.

Is it not strange how for the first half of the year our PvP operations suffered greatly because we so rarely were able to find hostiles to engage on a nightly basis and now we cannot go two or three systems in any direction without finding hostiles bearing down upon us? My how times change. In a morbid sort of way, I hope this trend continues, Providence is much more entertaining when there is adversity and challenge than when we roam in fleets of half a dozen or more for hours only to find ice crystals of condensation and fading ion trails from hostiles who have long since moved onto other regions.

The first half of this year was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in most systems between 8-12 EST every night of the week. Things are so vastly different now. While the notion of driving these hostiles back to the rock they crawled out from amuses me, it will require a lot of focus and attention from alliances just like ours to do it.

Synthesis

Synthesis
Mind & Body

So, I took a miniature vacation from all things MMO this weekend and dabbled in a bunch of console games I have not yet beaten or just wanted to experience again. I was probably encouraged to do this since I got podded for the first time on any character in the game since I started playing last April. Pretty good record there I think, especially since I have spent the past nine months floating around in PvP gangs out in low and null security. But it was a good experience, now I am not so soft on the idea as I was previously, thinking podding was some horrific experience, when in reality it was just a huge nuisance; lost 120,000,000.00 ISK in implants, but I had them for nearly a year and I had a spare body with a full array of +4s anyways prepared for just this eventually, so money well spent. Providence has been a death trap for a week, our Empire war was a joke yet I did not have the energy to expend doing L4 missions while anxiously watching local for any bruhaha coming my way, and corporate administrative duties were weighing heavily on my mind as I realized, we're not making money.

Staigor (Jay) has generously donated 500,000,000.00 ISK towards our Ark project and I found myself dipping into those funds last night to purchase Hydrogen Isotopes for the Minmatar POS. This means we are scraping the barrel, literally.

This summer has been vastly different than last summer was, and we had less members then. I guess that is the way it goes though, I should probably be spending a bit more time outdoors myself as I think it scares the cats when I turn on the light at night and all of a sudden there is this huge pale monster looming above them. Hehe. I think people are having fun though, both in real life and ingame, and that to me is a story of success. At the same time, it leaves me feeling like we are on a rollercoaster with no arm guard and we are holding on for dear life hoping it does not toss us off at any moment.

I had a bunch of bullet points of how we can address this issue but I think what is likely to happen is that when we acquire the Ark in twenty days, I may have to turn around and use it to ferry out a few hundred million ISK worth of minerals, and we may have to take down one of the POS until we can afford to fuel it again. I do not like this idea, but I think at this point we may have to do this in order to keep two of them operational. The people who have stepped up to the plate to assist us in acquiring minerals we need for production, isotopes we need for fuel, hauling fuel and goods for me so I do not go insane, and etc. have been thus far invaluable in keeping this train moving forward, but I am afraid given the level of activity right now, we cannot keep up with our expenses unless more people step forward.

I may be jumping to conclusions just from the nervous apprehension that rolls over me when I see we have hit empty on the fuel gauge, but I think given the circumstances it may be our only choice for now to scale back our operations for a bit. Logic and the alliance as a whole keep gearing up for more and more wars constantly without cessation and I keep looking at our fuel tanks and tapping on the gauge hoping there is a fume or two left. Not a good outlook in my opinion. Hard to fight a perpetual war when our war machine is rubbing the E on our fuel gauge like it's a hot prom date at the after party in a secluded hotel away from the chaperons.

So what do our POS do for us at present, and why are they so important?

The first one is our Research POS, undoubtedly the most valuable project we have at the moment, it is able to generate consistent income with little overhead.

The second one is our Manufacturing POS, able to produce any goods and materials we would ever need up to battlecruisers. This POS may not seem as valuable to you at present, but when you imagine a war to end all wars where there is a No-Fly issued for all of Empire and you are stuck out in Providence with little access to the Empire market, you will be grateful for a POS that can spit out not only a battlecruiser for you, but a complete T1 fitting for it, so you can utilize it from the moment it pops out of the oven.

The third is our Reactions POS, able to take simple and complex materials and mix them up, and cook up some amazing materials. Now, these materials may not really mean much to our corporation at the moment although they do generate consistent income, but in the longterm, when we want to produce complicated ships, especially T2 or Capital ships, these resources will be invaluable beyond belief. Take Capital Armor Plates for instance. On the open market, you can only find them for 3-4mil a piece, yet they take only regular minerals to produce, and they actually cost more like 500k-1mil to produce a piece. That is a staggering price difference. The only way we can get a hold of some of these T2 components required for T2 ship construction is to make them ourselves. Reactions have an invaluable long term yield once a majority of our members are using T2 ships regularly. Just ask Logic how he supplies his members with cheaper T2 ships by reacting some of the build components on his own, and having an engineer build the ships for him.

Now, which one is likely to be taken down in a few weeks? I do not know... all I know is that I would prefer not to take any of them at all down.

How could we make it so none of the POS must be offlined?

1) Rat more.
2) Mission more.
3) Use corporate ships more.
4) Ice mine more.
5) Recruit!
6) Market PvP!
7) Switch Minmatar tower to Amarr tower (connects to point 4 above)
8) ...and last but not least, participate more in general.

HuffDaddy, is a Mission monster, he listed the bulk of salvaged materials he has accumulated in the past few weeks or more and it was a staggering amount. Staggering. If you see him online, go help him out! It cannot be that fun to do L4s on your lonesome absolutely all the time, give the man some company, the L4s will go faster, the corporation will get more tax revenue, and those scrap modules he refines may even end up at our manufacturing POS, fueling the war machine.

Night Theifs, is a PvP monster, the Night Theifs corporation could never satiate their lust for blood even if they wiped all of Catch clean with a vengeful hand. They do roams nearly every night, so grab one of those cruisers contracted (soon to come fully T1 fitted) at the corporate level and go out and blow shizzle up with them or be blown up trying! Seriously, if we throw hundreds of million into insurance on these T1 cruisers and battlecruisers only to have the insurance run out on them cuz no one uses them, we have lost that money when those ships are blown up. Your tax money, up into thin air, with no more money to replace the ship you just lost. A horrible fate.

Mendolus, (Hey that's me!), is an Administrative monster, but is still struggling to keep up the pace with all the corporate duties he has taken on, so please do not take offense if I seem to forget a conversation we had an hour before, or log on the next day and you see virtual ?s floating above my head as you inquire whether I took care of what you had asked me to do. So please EVEMail me! Spammy spam spam that inbox of mine to remind me that you need something done. I think half the reason I feel stressed out every other day ingame is that I cannot remember all this stuff off the top of my head, and I have partial photographic memory, so you know it has got to be bad. Not only EVEMail me, but READ THE MAILERS, BLOG, FORUMS, ANYTHING! O-M-G, I feel better now. Hehe. But yes, I spend hours writing these blogs, and editing them, and worrying over little tiny phrases to make sure they make sense, so that you can find the answers at will, and I do not have to repeat myself 75 times, because I have dozens of other things I need to do as well. I know it sounds stupid, and a few people may question whether or not it is elitism (though I highly doubt it) for me to request you read here first before just talking to me directly, but I mean, sometimes I am hauling on two characters at the same time through low or null security space, and then someone in chat is like "We haz war?" and I'm mumbling to myself incoherently, "Please don't hurt him please don't hurt him please don't hurt him!" I know it is not really that bad overall, but sometimes it can be, so please, if it is something basic like, what did we do last night or what is new with the corporation, check here first, because I may be neck deep in doodoo hauling priceless baubles or administrative stuff and if I stop to type out a paragraph I die. Now, this is not to say in the least that I do not like being privated and asked a quick pertinent question, but try to check the information available to you first.


So, I guess that is it for now, and I know I am probably overreacting as I see our funds hover around the bottom of the tank, as thanks to the invaluable and endless efforts of some of our members, we have made a blazing comeback on our mineral reserves, and our logistics hauling is nearly perfect save the remaining contracts that I have marked as Priority that are not quite done yet. Hey, it was a nice weekend, I am glad people went out and did stuff in real life, but last night I looked at the fuel levels on our POSs and a brick dropped in my pants. Hehe.

You guys never let me down though and when things get rough I just remind you guys we are struggling a bit and it seems like people start coming out of the woodwork with good deeds and assistance of all kinds. I cannot thank you enough for that, it is such a vastly different experience than I have had as a leader in any other MMO. When things get really bad, everyone in this corporation seems to take a step up to the plate and come to bat for what we have going here. That's priceless in my opinion.

I think the most crucial point is that the Ark project is completed (twenty days until I can fly it). This will add an entirely new dimension to our corporate operations and capabilities, and I think that it will be best for me to wait to form a general synopsis of our projected future goals once I know more of what it is going to be like for us in the fall with the ability to jump goods in and out with relative ease. Should the Ark provide me with the leverage and freedom I so desire to devote more energy into other projects, I may very well do a 180 on my opinions thus far on how much our present member base can support in terms of projects, goals, and investment. So for now, I wait, and watch.

Ratting - The Good Life

So I spent a few hours ratting tonight, and to be honest, it was the best. I have been so overwhelmed with administrative stuff lately even after the Logistics wing took a ton of the pressure off, that it has been nearly four or five weeks since I did some serious ratting. It could not have come any sooner.

There is nothing like hopping in a battleship, undocking, zipping from belt to belt, and melting rats for juicy bounties. What did I make, probably twenty million almost in an hour or two just from bounties? Another can or two filled with loot and salvage, a True Sansha Battleship rat that had a whopping bounty but lousy loot, and a few laughs and good times with my ratting buddies, and I feel like I am on top of the world!

This is the life man, we have a whole region of 0.0 space as our personal playground, and no one is out there telling us when to jump and how high, unless we break the few rules there are, namely the NRDS. Who could ask for more? We get to play as we see fit, set our own goals, and leisurely rat in the deep recesses of null security where there are no can flippers, ninja salvagers, empire griefers, scammers, and other various forms of vermin to pester us incessantly. Just a few stray reds now and then and nothing but adventure and the vastness of space between one belt and the next. This is the life.

Warfare - Gremlin Squadron

Warfare - Gremlin Squadron
Skirmish Versus Conventional

Well, after the ten months I have spent in the Domain and Providence regions I can say without a doubt that most of the wars I have seen or witnessed have been fairly mediocre, uneventful, and somewhat disillusioning.

This is not to say that we cannot find wars that will keep us entertained twenty four hours a day seven days a week, but to say that given the variable factors, size of our own alliance, experience level of our pilots in PvP, and etc. we are kind of in PvP purgatory. We cannot yet field blobs on the fly yet we can field enough pilots to make the encounter of crucial importance. So declaring war against other major alliances will usually put us on the defensive beyond the borders of Providence at least.

Now before I go into any more tactical details which I have purposefully tried to avoid in this open blog medium, I want to go over what war seems to have shown me in EVE thus far. It shows me the same old story I learned in Warcraft, people are afraid to put their hard earned work on the line for the exact reason they worked so hard. Meaning, most people are all talk, and when they are actually faced with the dangerous scenario they so claimed to be prepared or even eager for, they tend to shut down and begin making excuses why they need a little more time to prepare, or some other rather frivolous reason. In one war we had, showing up with maybe half a dozen pilots with one or two battleships, and a smattering of T2 cruiser hulls, our war targets with a fleet of nearly a dozen battleships all docked up and refused to fight. How is this possible?

The unfortunate reality of EVE Online is that conventional warfare where the conflict is formalized through a declaration in order to hunt your targets in any and all space is rather one sided a majority of the time, at least when it comes to alliances of our size. We either vastly outnumber and experience our enemies, or are vastly outnumbered ourselves, though I have seen very few gangs that seemed as experienced as our flagship fleets are. When outnumbered, those same players who spent countless hours grinding ISK in some repetitive way will dock up at the drop of a hat and huddle like nameless masses seeking shelter in a storm. Thus, what do we find a majority of the time in Empire when trying to actually fight a conventional war? We find boredom. It is true that we could declare war on potentially bountiful targets such as Industry corporations or alliances, fledgling corporations, or just carebear entities in general. I just vastly despise the notion of hunting helpless prey, as I like my prey to have some fight in them; besides it being morally perfunctory to hunt prey solely based on the fact that they choose not to or do not for whatever reason fight back I find it a hollow pursuit that shows a lack of imagination and mental fortitude. This being within reasonable precluded parameters, however, as I would willfully and mercilessly hunt my assumed enemies to the ends of the game be they the ultimate carebear or not.

What then is the alternative if conventional warfare is a rare gem we are not likely to find in the game given the present size and scope of our alliance brethren? Well, skirmish warfare is the name of the game. However, this presents its own wide variety of pitfalls, shortcomings, and frustrations, just like conventional warfare. Whether it be darting into the sovereign territory of our enemies only to be chased back out minutes later, sitting around for hours hoping for enemies to show up, or chasing little groups of reds from one system to the next and playing the numbers game on whether or not we can snag even one of them, skirmish warfare presents its own unique set of challenges not all of which are like the glorious warfare we had imagined when subbing that first month on our accounts.

Now, don't get me wrong, defending or patrolling Providence to ensure it remains a relatively safe region for us to live and dwell in is of utmost importance, and we cannot patrol enough, in that respect. But I grow weary of chasing ghosts or being thwarted by blobs we cannot compete with, so I am going to reawaken my fleet, the Gremlin Squadron.

What are we going to be doing? What our enemies do. How are we going to do it? Like our enemies do.

How do most reds die in Providence? They either go down in flames in a fleet engagement, or they die after being snagged in asteroid belts or mission pockets they have engaged pilots at and gotten stuck in. Sure, sure some of them die at stargates after being trapped in bubbles, but unfortunately for us or any other defense force, when a red pops through a gate in an interceptor, stealth bomber, Vagabond, or any other myriad of cloaking or fast ships, the sole content in the game they are then focused on is survival. The propensity for error increases the more they split their focus on the purpose at hand, as opposed to survival as a whole, thus I see a majority of solo or small group reds dying as they engage targets and are then trapped in the process.

How do most reds kill in Providence? Fast and furious. They seize the opportunity to engage someone who they are likely to destroy within less than a minute, and they run for the hills when they see the cavalry closing in on them. Why are we not doing this? Well, we lack the potential targets to do so, but between Staigor and myself, we are going to change that. Staigor has a guerrilla gang planned for when he returns from vacation. My gang will be up and running within the week. We will operate in different areas and in different timezones (EST and PAC) but the theory and practice will be the same.

Now, granted, the Angel Squadron, led by Varian does more than a superb job at thwarting smaller gangs of red interlopers who come into the depths of Providence to cause us trouble as well as heading out to sovereign systems held by our enemies to spit in their eye even if we have to run for the hills on occasion immediately thereafter. All I am concerned with myself, is finding that font of warfare where we can get frequent action at a fairly disposable term of time and money. So while Varian keeps the home fires burning, so to speak, I am going to be planning how to on occasion turn our combat gangs into a pack of wolves. I encourage everyone who is interested in getting a head start on this kind of combat, to participate in Devin's Skunkworks gang to get a feel for guerrilla warfare ahead of time. Just please be advised only Stealth Bombers, and other covert ships need apply to fleet for Devin's gang.

These are the things I am able to focus on now that the Logistics division has split the work amongst themselves and saved me countless hours every month. These are going to be exciting times, I have a feeling, and my instincts are usually right when it matters.

Better tell the wife you are being deployed, give her a wild night, then hop in the cab, because this ship is about to sail.

Ship Grimoire - Battlecruisers

Ship Grimoire
Chapter 2 Battlecruisers

So, you have all no doubt hopped onto EFT at some point, and built a dream boat, wondering whether that 30,000,000.00 ISK for a Drake for instance, is worth the hassle. Should you rig it, will it perform in PvP, and will it make the neighbors dog choke on his bone in surprise as you fly by thus ridding you of one more nuisance? Well, this comprehensive list will give you the bottom line on all those ships you wish you had a good excuse to buy, undock, or rig.

*Note: If you do not see your favorite ship listed here, it is either A) Flying Scrap Metal, B) Just Not Listed Yet, or C) I honestly do not have enough experience with it to do more than repeat what I have seen or heard.

Ratings: Between 1 and 10, 1 being very poor performance, 10 being the best possible performance.
Gangs:
Small - Around a half dozen pilots
Medium - Around a dozen pilots depending on fleet composition
Large - A dozen or more pilots depending on fleet composition





BATTLECRUISERS

Prophecy
Preferred: Medium to Large Gang PvP - Low Security
PvP Rating: 4 PvE Rating: 6
Strength: Tank
Weakness: Damage

Other than being a sexy devil the Prophecy's main claim to fame is its unnatural ability to create units of EHP. Before even unwrapping this beast you will find it crooning about how tough it is to break in PvP combat. Easily sporting a tank of well over 150k EHP with trimark rigs, the Prophecy is the epitome of buffered combat. However, this leaves it with a rather lackluster damage output that puts it at a tactical disadvantage versus its sister ship the Harbinger. After all, killing your opponent before they kill you is more important than all the EHP in the game. This also makes it an ideal ship for completing most L3s as it has a broad range of tanking ability that can fulfill the requirements for any L3 in the game.


Harbinger
Preferred: Medium to Large Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 6 PvE Rating: 3
Strength: Damage
Weakness: Tracking

The Harbinger is a PvP celebrity and is often flown by multitudes of pilots in the Providence area. Sporting damage statistics that put the most hardened pilot to shame, the Harbinger is a gunboat to the extreme. However, given the nature of combat in Providence, frequently being pitted against small frigate or cruiser sized hulls esp. Recons and now Stealth Bombers, the Harbinger is at a significant disadvantage. You will likely find most professional Harbinger pilots fitted with multiple tracking and sensor boosters to offset this. Having relatively little tanking ability it is best left to null security space as opposed to low security where sentry fire comes into play. This is also why the Harbinger is slightly ill-suited for L3s in PvE much like the Brutix.


Brutix
Preferred: Large Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 2
Strength: Damage
Weakness: Tank

Someone screwed up when they made such a beautiful ship with so little survivability. The Brutix is the classic killmail whore. Stealing your juicy top damages, killing blows, podkills, and the like, the Brutix is a beast with a zest for blood. This is also what makes it deceptively futile in low security combat situations, and quickly primaried in large gang combat. Like a moth to the flame, Brutix pilots are forced to close in deep within an enemy's tactical position, not likely to return, but likely to take a few out with them on the way. The Brutix is a relatively lesser PvP companion now compared to the Harbinger due to relying on blasters as opposed to pulses. The Brutix's poor tank is also the reason why it is very badly matched for most L3s with any moderate amount of incoming damage.


Myrmidon
Preferred: Medium Gang PvP - Low Or Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Drones
Weakness: Weak Variant

The Myrmidon has a little bit of everything, tank, damage, drones, versatility, and the power to put them all to use. The only thing it does not have is any real significant advantage over battlecruisers of any other shape or size, nor the staying power to back up the field. Though good at everything, the Myrmidon suffers from the classic middle child syndrome. Not nearly as agile as its smaller counterpart, the Vexor, and with the tracking issues that come with medium sized weaponry, as well as lacking the EHP or variable fittings of the Dominix, the Myrmidon typically falls short of being anything more than average. But there is something to be said about being good at everything and worst at nothing not to mention the fact that it makes the Myrmidon proficient at completing any and all L3s in the game.


Ferox
Preferred: Medium Gang PvP - Low Security
PvP Rating: 2 PvE Rating: 2
Strength: Range
Weakness: Everything else...

The Ferox is an oddity in the field of battle as it rarely fills any role besides sniper. Given that sniper gangs are highly specialized, this means that the Ferox is relegated to infrequent operations and the back burner. And due to its ship size, the damage yield on its weaponry is subpar at best, leaving it pale in comparison to ranged ships such as the Rokh or Cerberus. Due to this, the Ferox is a poor substitute for almost any other battlecruiser in the game for L3s with the exception of the Brutix.


Drake
Preferred: Any Size Gang PvP - Low or Null Sec
PvP Rating: 8 PvE Rating: 8
Strength(s): Numerous
Weakness: Alpha Damage

One of the most common ships in the game the Drake has just about everything going for it except damage output. Versatile, agile, tough, and dominating, the Drake is an asset in any gang, at any time. Sporting anything from a capless, hybrid, or even active tank with missile ranges that are unmatched for its class and weaponry system, the Drake out classes most other battlecruisers. However, the nature of shield mechanics means that the Drake is especially weak to alpha strike damage. Despite it's generally average damage output, the Drake is a mainstay of PvP combat; just do not expect it to dominate any killmails except in small to medium sized gangs. The Drake is considered the only battlecruiser in the game that can solo L4 missions, though the speed of completion leaves something to be desired.


Cyclone
Preferred: Medium Gang PvP - Low Security
PvP Rating: 2 PvE Rating: 2
Strength: Tank
Weakness: Everything else...

Much like the Ferox the Cyclone suffers from having only one thing going for it, its tank. The Cyclone generally performs well below average in every other way, thus leaving it more of a distraction in PvP combat rather than an asset. With a bonus to artillery damage, which merely brings them up to snuff with regular weaponry due to artillery's already low damage output, one should not expect much out of the Cyclone in combat. Though somewhat manageable for L3s, the Cyclone is a poor substitute for its bigger brother, the Hurricane.


Hurricane
Preferred: Medium to Large Gang PvP - Low or Null Security
PvP Rating: 4 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Speed
Weakness: Autocannons

The Hurricane, formerly one of the most well renowned battlecruisers in the game, has lost some of its flair since the nano nerf and other subsequent changes to the game mechanic. Being mostly reliant on a natural speed and better than average tank, the Hurricane performs a role comparable to the Harbinger but without quite the punch, placing it somewhere in between a Brutix and Harbinger in performance. In L3s the Hurricane easily out performs most other battlecruisers and holds its own.

Ship Grimoire - Cruisers

Ship Grimoire
Chapter 1 Cruisers

So, you have all no doubt hopped onto EFT at some point, and built a fantasy boat, wondering whether that 5,000,000.00 ISK for a Vexor for instance, is a total waste of ISK. Should you fly it at all, will it perform in PvP, and will it make the ladies throw their bras and panties at you as you fly by? Well, this comprehensive list will give you the bottom line on all those ships you wish you had a good excuse to buy, undock, or fly.

*Note: If you do not see your favorite ship listed here, it is either A) Flying Scrap Metal, B) Just Not Listed Yet, or C) I honestly do not have enough experience with it to do more than repeat what I have seen or heard.

Ratings: Between 1 and 10, 1 being very poor performance, 10 being the best possible performance.
Gangs:
Small - Around a half dozen pilots
Medium - Around a dozen pilots depending on fleet composition
Large - A dozen or more pilots depending on fleet composition





CRUISERS

Omen
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 3
Strength: Damage
Weakness: 15 Mbit/sec

Frequently overlooked and underrated the Omen is much like the Thorax; high damage output, paper thin tank. The downside is that the Omen cannot field five medium drones like a Thorax, which is likely why it is easily considered the underdog of the Amarr cruisers. However, being a T1 variant of the Zealot, its damage output scales greatly with skill points and weaponry. It performs noticeably well in L2 missions as it is able to quickly deal with incoming alpha before it is overwhelmed.


Maller
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 2 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Tank
Weakness: 0 Mbit/sec

The Maller, often lauded for having a serious tank for a cruiser, is nothing more than a floating asteroid in a small gang. Although good for adding weight to a smaller gang, the Maller merely delays the inevitable realization that without even moderate damage output or some secondary role to play, it is rare that you will see this ship in a PvP setting. Fielding no drones whatsoever, this cruiser is a flying coffin in any PvE mission above L1 difficulty.


Arbitrator
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 4
Strength: Drones
Weakness: Turrets

The Arbitrator, much like the Vexor, is a drone boat that can field up to five medium drones with a bonus to damage per skill level in racial cruiser. However, the Arbitrator plays more of a logistics role in that it receives a bonus to tracking disruptor effectiveness. This classes it in a role that is not filled by many other cruisers, both dealing significant drone damage and having a utility bonus. The Arbitrator is not seen in small pitched combat very often, but those who fly it will quickly find it adds a layer of protection to the entire gang. Having comparable capabilities compared to the Vexor, the Arbitrator comes in as a close second in dishing out the pain in L2s missions, and will still easily complete them.


Vexor
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 6 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Damage, Tank
Weakness: Utility

The Vexor is a staple in standard small gang combat and you will usually see at least one stray pilot floating around dealing death in a cruiser gang with this damage heavy cruiser. Being able to both field five medium drones and dish out blaster damage via a bonus to hybrid turrets, the Vexor is versatile in the way it can take out its foes. This ship is a miniature Dominix in every way and is very popular among newer pilots. It also doubles as an excellent mission runner and will effectively neutralize any L2 on the map.


Thorax
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 3
Strength: Damage
Weakness: Blasters

The Thorax, like the Omen, is a damage dealer. It has the added bonus of being able to field five medium drones however, which puts it a class above the Omen in versality. However, being a far cry from the range that a Vexor is capable of it is easily kited by hostile pilots and dispensed with from a distance. Thanks for nerfing blasters CCP, btw. Still a staple in almost all gang combat where sentry fire is not a factor, the Thorax is well loved and likely holds this spot more out of a sense of legacy than usefulness.


Caracal
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 3 PvE Rating: 2
Strength: Range
Weakness: 10 Mbit/sec

The Caracal, or "Crapacal", as some of us like to call it is the black horse of cruisers. Not really fitting in an ideal role in any way, it is more of a hanger-on in gang combat than a useful asset. Though it does have the added advantage of ranged damage like its T2 variant the Cerberus, it fields a poor tank and useless drone bandwidth. This ship though good for training purposes, should be left in the hangar once the pilot becomes accustomed to combat operations.


Blackbird
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 4 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Electronic Warfare
Weakness: Tank, 0 Mbit/sec

The Blackbird is a surprisingly good ship for PvP but is often overlooked or ignored by pilots seeking more pew pew than jam jam. Unable to do any significant damage on its own, the blackbird is a floating liability in space that performs a role that most gangs could greatly benefit from. Given the recent nerf to the jamming range of such ships as the Falcon, the Blackbird has become a perfectly viable alternative due to being cheap and disposable. Fit T2 jammers on this puppy, and you have a miniature Falcon for around 10,000,000.00 ISK. Unfortunately, due to having no drone bandwidth, damage, or tank role bonuses whatsoever, this ship should never see the inside of a mission pocket unless it is in a wormhole where Electronic Warfare is effective against Sleeper rats.


Stabber
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 3 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Speed
Weakness: Everything else...

The Stabber. To be honest, I only see pirates flying these, and these are cheap pirates who cannot afford a Vagabond. Why do they fly them? Because they are afraid to lose a ship, even a cheap one. These speedy devils have a few advantages as a relatively heavy tackle in null security, but other than that, I would not expect to perform much of any other kind of role in a ship of this low caliber. Even in PvE it will perform poorly due to low artillery damage and a laughable 5 Mbit/sec bandwidth.


Rupture
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 6 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Tank
Weakness: Artillery

The Rupture, suffers from the curse of relative anonymity among newer players still under the impression that all things Minmatar perform poorly with low skill points. The Rupture, lovingly nicknamed the "Ruppy" by veteran pilots, actually performs exceedingly well for a ship of its size. Having a naturally high tank and base speed, versatile damage range, and able to field five small drones, this cruiser has the best of both worlds. In small gang combat, a Rupture will be able to effectively engage and often speed tank any target larger than itself, and take quite a few hits to boot. In PvE it performs on par with a Vexor due to its versatile nature and speed.

Am I Evil?

Plotting the slow, subtle, and yet egregious demise of our new friend and former corpsmate I find myself wondering, have I developed a pathological lust for destruction, harm, and foul play in MMOs over the course of the past decade since I began playing them?

The short answer: Yes.
The long answer: Well, here goes.


So, what is it about the internet that makes it the great equalizer while at the same time creating a vacuous hole with which every vermin in society can roam almost entirely free with wild abandon, able to reap undue harm unto others in ways that would get them locked away in real life?

In most MMOs with intangible and permanent artifacts, one finds oneself immersed in a static and perpetually stale world where intransitive material goods are just waiting to be seized at some opportune time through social interaction, timing, chance, perseverance, and a little greed. This is true of most realms in the virtual world where there are no real consequences for lewd, outlandish, or otherwise civally disobedient behavior that would typically result in stiff citations or small claims in real life. The closest we come is for blatantly seditious or malevolent behavior that is universally criminal in nature and immediately acted upon by whatever authorities have jurisdiction at the time.

However, in an MMO like EVE or others which have transitive materials that can easily exchange hands or simply cease to exist through various actions taken upon or received from them, the rules change in a subtle but fundamentally extreme way.

Knowing this, where does this put a person like me, who has spent years as a social group leader off and on for a decade now, largely helpless to enact tangible reprimands or punishments for the kinds of rampant misbehavior, greed, and userism that so opaquely colors everything around us?

It puts me in the unique position of planning, manipulating, coaxing, and enacting every tiny little evil thing I have ever dreamed about doing to people for a decade, when I have thus far been mostly helpless to do so.

What does this all mean? Well besides alerting you that I may have a college degree in Philosophy, which I do, or that I am an avid philosopher period, which I am, it lets you know that there are no limits to the depths of subtle, manipulative, heinous, and maniacal things to which I will do to those who cross our social group and attempt to do harm, within the limits of the game mechanic and EULA of course.

So if you were wondering, do I have an evil side, the answer is, you do not want to know.

One Ship To Rule Them All

In a game defined largely by material assets such as ships, at least on the surface, there are often ships that stand out amongst others. For me, it was the Nighthawk. While on the one hand a lot of us are here in the AU-F because we enjoy meeting new and interesting people who we can enjoy the online entertainment industry with, we all maintain a secret guilty pleasure; our precioussssss ships. Everyone loves some good booty... er, I should say loot, and there are quite a few ways we all indulge ourselves whether it be Varian's drooling obsession with T3, Kuroda's abhorrent desire to fit everything with faction modules, or my own sick passion for collecting frozen corpses.


Summer of '08

Having never really experienced real PvP I found myself in an L4 last summer, with a few friends, scowling at a Heron that had warped into our mission, flipped our loot, and was blinking menacingly. Our friend Troy, who was hotheaded enough already, decided that he could not stand for this, and began firing on the frigate. Caught up in the heat of the moment I too assigned my drones to attack in attempt to eradicate this pest from the mission pocket.

Of course, the more experienced of you will realize, this was our first mistake. No sooner had we begun firing on the Heron, than it warped out, and a gang of T2 ships warped into the pocket on top of us, all blinking, locking us down with all the rage and fury of a Viking invasion. Here I was, fresh into a Hyperion that I had spent my last dime on a week earlier, being target locked by you guessed it, a Nighthawk. Oh the humanity! Missile after missile pounded my armor from what seemed like a million kilometers away, which was in reality maybe 50km. My armor, melting before my eyes, my ship worth more than the family jewels, pelted by death from afar, sent me trembling towards my warp button, as I headed for the nearest station. As I begin to align for warp I fired a few rounds off at him with my rail guns. The rounds hit, but there was not a scratch, he was totally unfazed. I was outclassed in every way. It was time to get out of Dodge. Much to my dismay, shortly after escaping certain doom, one of our pilots in a Harbinger was scrambled and made into little tiny pieces of space debris.

Even though everyone else managed to make it to safety somehow, the lesson had been taught. Nothing is ever as it seems in the dangerous world of EVE Online, and the dark seedy underbelly you find in most major cities in real life, is just a warp away in this MMO.

Having made a lasting impression on me, this Nighthawk pilot in fact did me a favor. Now I had witnessed just how devastating a substantial ship divide can be for a newer, inexperienced, or unprepared player. This Nighthawk, was the epitome of prowess and danger to me now, forming my outlook and sense of the game for months down the road.





Back to the present...

So ok, sure, everyone has had this kind of experience at one point in this game. It is the new player experience. It is no different than when we logged onto Warcraft for the first few weeks and see people in raiding purples, nor when undocking in a rookie ship after a few days of playing the game and suddenly find ourselves straddling a Freighter or Tier 3 battleship which seems to go on forever into space compared to our seemingly tiny gnat of a ship.

Now that I have the Nighthawk, have battle tested it in a real PvE scenario, and am preparing to usher it into PvP in the next few days, what are my impressions of how far I have come since last summer, and whether the long wait was worth it? After all, it took me nearly ten months of training to get to the point where I was ready to train to a ship that costs 250,000,000.00 ISK just to purchase let alone fit and rig.

Well, I am here to say, it was worth every second. Not only is this ship fun to pilot, but it gives you a sense that, well, your time in game has produced tangible results beyond the social aspect that keeps you coming back. Sure, I warn everyone to avoid acquiring more and more ships just for the sake of acquiring them, but given a positive outlook on the game that focuses on building relationships with other players online, I can indulge guilt free in such things as a shiny new 400,000,000.00 ISK Command Ship that I will gingerly take onto roaming gangs while I get a feel for its capabilities.

What does this say for the young character in the game, still focusing on leveling off those core skills, those battlecruisers, those first few T2 ships, and whatnot? Well, it says, hang in there! This game is about patience, not luck. When you set to train something, you wait, you do not hope. It will come! Those 45 day training regimens you ponder endlessly while staring at EVEMon and just wishing you could, "Fly that T2 ship already!", are worth every second. Because it happens, eventually, given time. No competing with people for drops, no worrying that everyone else will see your prized item drop whenever you are not present in the raid, no frustration when you accidentally spend too much DKP and you cannot even enter the running for it the one time it does drop, none of that.

We have quite a few former Warcraft raiders in this corporation, and I think they can all attest to the fact that in EVE everything comes with patience, which is such a wild change from relying so heavily on luck and perseverance.

In EVE, if you want it, you can have it. And I got it. My preciousssssss.







*Note: If you are interested in how I fit the Nighthawk for missions presently here is the build that I use. In the future, I am going to use a T2 Large Shield Transporter on Mithos which will allow me to boost the Nighthawk's DPS while maintaing a more than sufficient tank for any and all mission types.

Null - What You May Not Know

Here is an older post I found laying around that is good source material for newer pilots who still feel very uncomfortable in low or null security when the veterans leave them to their own devices, so to speak.



Heh. Before I go posting a huge How To Be Self-Sufficient In Low And Null in the next few days I thought I'd do a little... tooting of my horn, all in good fun though, with a real purpose in mind, as I do not really care about my records except for hauling. Take a look at this page and tell me if you notice something. Hell, tournament and PvE related losses aside, I have quite a nice record, no? What's that, 4.67:1 kill/loss ratio? So ok, how do I do it, huddle in stations half the time? Well, low and null are not as burninatingly dangerous as you might first believe, or have a mindset revolving around such a concept. You just have to feel the air so to speak, and know when your environment is giving you a green light for certain activities and when there is a sometimes obvious sometimes not so obvious red light going off.

Yes, I am a scout on Mendolus, and yes I spend a lot of my time in a covert hauler, but TBH I spend quite a bit of time in my blockade runner as well, or ratting in various BCs and BSs, or traveling up and down the pipe or area with Mithos in a Geddon, but I have few losses. And I have been out in the Domain/Providence area for eight months now. Careful planning, frequent experience with Citadel and the way it operates, astute use of the starmap statistics options, or a forward scout, or a covert ship, and a good understanding of low sec game mechanics, will pretty much guarantee that you squeeze through a low sec pipe. Only once in a blue moon will you be caught in a situation where you have even a greater than minimal chance of getting snagged not to mention where it concerns moving ships of cruiser or greater size. It all sounds easy on paper though, you're thinking right?

Ok, well look at how many times I have lost a ship coming through the Yong or Kheram pipes. Ah, zero. Interesting eh? Hell I used to take Maduin down the Yong pipe in a Bestower to supply the troops when we had a no-fly in Empire during the merc wars last December while he was not in the corporation, and still did not lose a haul. K, enough with the tootin', let's get down to the real math and aesthetics of it.

I know quite a few of you have lost ships heading down the pipes, while ratting, while doing just a normal routine in low and null security, nothing to do with PvP, so what's the trick? This is not gonna make sense at first, but after having spent eight months in Providence now, I can feel the temperature on any given night, and give you a good prediction of what's a good idea or not. For instance, let's say Lachrymal is floating in Providence, I can tell you that you are not going to want to rat while he's within twelve jumps of you, seriously, don't bother. Let's say, there's a bunch of neuts that I have never seen before coming in and out of the area in H9-->7Y and they show fine on the checker but they are flying ships that don't rat easy, again, might as well dock up and see what shakes loose while you wait.

Little things, too numerous to count, such as the examples I listed, let me live a relatively comfortable life in low and null. Hell some nights I float around in my Occator through systems that have either ongoing or impending engagements between reds and blues, because I know when my chances are better than my risks. I even got caught in my Occator heading down the pipe with the Misaba tower, and other misc. items totaling +400mil when three neuts tried to bump me off a gate so they could pop me, but I planned ahead, I had a gang of scouts in combat ships, and I took action based on their advice and my experience (sic), and was never safer, even when engaged by hostile neuts.

It is all about numbers and aesthetics in some sense, and having a good feel for what wager or bet you are making on one calculated risk or not, will mean that when you do get caught with your pants down it would have to be one hell of a random occurrence (such as three seemingly nonchalant neuts in cruisers passing up the Kheram pipe looking for haulers just within the two or three minutes I decided to go down the pipe myself). I planned for that possibility, and it actually occurred, and I made it out Scot free. As a starting pilot, an older pilot who is just now feeling the pull towards low and null living after having gone on a couple of gangs and struck it rich with the veteran ratters, or just anyone who has recently become interested in the real game of EVE where stuff actually happens, I implore you to take note of the subtle nuances out in space.

The only people who police low and null security are its residents, so learn to read their temperature, know when response times are good, know when systems that may even have reds are locked down and safe as if they were not even there, know when certain reds have been AFK for hours, know when certain neutrals are questionable, etc. I can tell you that the main reason I see for people losing ships has to do with locale and inexperience. And a lot of these people losing ships would survive better and get their bearings faster if they were in a different location. Lots of people feel more comfortable in low security space, as you think to yourselves, well there are sentry guns on stargates and towers, that will ward off the smaller ships, and as long as I am careful mining and ratting, I will be able to make it out.

The problem is frequency, misconception, and a reluctance towards the unknown. Low security is a comfort zone, only a few jumps from the safety of Empire, it does not feel quite like the cold depths of 0.0 space yet, where bubbles, capital ships, huge alliances, and engagements occur, and there are usually tons of people actually friendly to you floating around at all times within a handful of jumps. However, let's be honest, low security is the trash heap of the game where every cutthroat with a few ISK to spare hops in a ship and sees if he can snag some poor ratter or miner sitting at a belt fit with nothing but PvE gear and pretty much helpless to defend themselves.

For the same exact reason a lot of people seem to prefer low security space, those same reasons are why you find more pirates, more danger, and more frequent PvP encounters. Half the pirates that come into the low sec area bordering Providence will not jump past Misaba. That should tell you something right away.

Low security is great for a few things, it is great for its ready access to Empire space, it is great for its missions of which L4s have incredible payouts and quality, it is absolutely amazing for a starting corporation to place research, production, or starter POSs, and you can rent corporate offices there to facilitate operations. Plus it is a lot easier to get a rookie or carebear to come down to low security where they do not feel like they are miles away from safety and can run for the hills at a moment's notice if trouble arrives, so to speak.

What is the problem with this? The problem is that null security is actually a better training ground for newer pilots than low security. I implore anyone who presently thinks low security in Domain is safer than Providence to come out and live for a week or two even in a cruiser, in Providence. I guarantee you that as long as you remain on your toes, that you will have FAR less potential encounters with reds, depending on your location of course, but also depending on the comfort factor. How long do you think it takes a pirate gang of a handful of ships to zip down a low sec pipe, pick off a couple juicy ratters or miners, and safe up before anyone realizes what happened? Not very long. How much warning do you think you will have when this occurs on a slow night when there are few blues or neutrals to report this hostile gang coming down from Empire which is only two or three jumps from you? Very little. On the other hand how long do you think it would take a gang of a few reds to travel from Empire to H9-J8N which is a total of some 12 jumps? How long do you think your warning would be that they were coming in your direction as they move from one system to the next every minute or two and Citadel dings off updates on their locations as they proceed? It takes them a long while, and you almost always have more than plenty warning.

So I implore, anyone who feels like low security is the best place to get their feet wet to turn that sentiment on its head, and do what probably sounds like the most counter intuitive thing they could do, treat null security as if it were the safer place to get your feet wet, because it is. I skipped low security when I first dinged Cov Ops frigate, and went straight to Syndicate 0.0 to see what it was all about and learn how to survive in a harsh but relatively barren environment. This probably all sounds like cloak and daggers, smoke and mirrors, or a dog and pony show at the moment, but trust me, in time you too will know what it is like to zip through low and null and have a high comfort level, and also totally accept and acknowledge the risks and rewards you encounter on a daily basis. After all, that ship is only a pixel on the screen, and as long as you are having fun, and you can replace that ship if it is lost, do not be afraid to take calculated risks! You cannot take it with you when you log off the game, after all.


*Addendum: After further inspection, I have remembered that I in fact DID lose a ship traveling through the pipes, loooooong ago, on Mithos when I first started training him for battleships. I made a rookie mistake, by assuming that since Citadel seemed relatively quiet, that I could just shoot down the pipe without checking the starmap or scouting ahead and instead took a slow, cumbersome, hulking battleship with no warpstabs fit. I got poned. I will edit this post later with the link to the loss on the KBs as I do not think the KBs actually auto-loaded it because it so old. Citadel is a tool like any other, and it is not always right for every job, though you may be able to use it to knock some stuff loose, for some jobs you need that box wrench laying in the bottom of your toolbox as well, so to speak.

Cloaking - Art, Form, Function

If anyone has ever wondered about the basic requirements, art, and form of ships that use covert cloaks, I covered it with a friend recently, as noted below in the chat log:



Member: Thinking about working up to the really nice cloak
Mendolus: yea, it doesn't really take long in some ways, but the skills to fly the ships that use them do, you can use a [covert] cloak with just Cloaking IV, but to fly a Cov Ops you need Electronics Upgrades V (10-12 days) and Racial Frigate V (9-10 days)
Mendolus: but they're super sexy ships, I live by my cloaking ships 75% of the time
Mendolus: You'll also wanna train Warp Drive Operation IV, Evasive Maneuvering IV, Navigation IV, and if you are feeling really bold and you wanna make a scout ship that will really earn every ISK, you can train a few levels into Advanced Spaceship Command for the added agility (even I haven't done this yet and I'm a scout on Mendolus)
Mendolus: the reason I say Warp Drive Operation IV is because the Amarr Covert Ops ship is like the Caldari one, it has a stupid high capacitor requirement to initiate warps, and in large systems with a distance of 75 AU from gate to gate, or even just traveling as a scout for a fleet or if you are running from pursuers, the last thing you wanna have happen is you run out of cap charge, lol
Mendolus: if you train Warp Drive IV you should never have probs tho
Member: yeah, I can see that as being bad
Mendolus: er I meant up above you can use a Cov Ops cloak with just Cloaking IV :D
Mendolus: Proofread fail!
Mendolus: 8-}
Member: takes way to much CPU looks like
Member: wanted to fit that on my BC
Mendolus: Nah, that's the thing, the ships that can use the Cov Ops Cloaking device have a ship bonus to those devices
Mendolus: Covert Ops Skill Bonus: -98% to -100% reduction in Cloaking Device CPU use per level
Member: zomg
Mendolus: I thoroughly enjoy all things cloaky, but as a PvP cloaker, you're always literally on the verge of death at any moment, BUT the chances of that death are stupid slim compared to regular combat pilots, however regular combat pilots have a high survival chance overall in combat situations because they have defensive/offensive systems ya know?
Member: Yeah
Member: if a scout gets caught then that's it
Mendolus: Now, Force Recons like the Falcon who can warp cloaked have defensive systems as well, but if you get caught by more than 2-3 people, those systems won't matter.
Mendolus: yea, so like in a Cov Ops frigate you may only have a 1% chance of being caught a majority of the time you fly, but that 1% is death whereas a regular combat pilot may have a 50% chance of being locked as a primary target by a hostile fleet and then some variable chance of dying depending on the encounter, etc.
Mendolus: I really enjoy being a scout, it's an adrenaline rush, and you play a pivotal role in a fleet that others shirk off because they would rather be listed on killmails than play a role in the fleet that makes or breaks the fleet's survival, which is a lot of responsibility
Mendolus: Plus being a scout means you're on your own almost the entire time the fleet is active, and if you get caught, no one is going to come to your rescue.
Mendolus: Even if they tried, you'll be dead before they can even jump through to your side and begin firing on hostiles.
Mendolus: But that's what makes it exciting, gotta go all balls deep as a scout and if you are good at it, you are always relied on.
Mendolus: The alliance is always looking for new scouts, and it'd give you the opportunity to observe regular PvP while not risking ships all the time as well.
Mendolus: :)
Mendolus: Altho, a probing rigged Cov Ops is generally around 50,000,000.00 ISK with ship, riggings, and fittings.
Mendolus: I have had the same Helios since last August, however.
Mendolus: B-)

*Note: The downside to having low Warp Drive operation and running out of cap is not as obvious as it seems. The reason it is bad to run out of capacitor as a scout is that you get stuck in a system while your pursuers are able to setup shop so to speak and create a gauntlet at the next gate for you to try and bust through.

No matter if you have zero capacitor charge or not, your ship will initiate a warp, even if it only jumps a few hundred thousand kilometers towards the intended destination. So it is not like you are going to have no capacitor and be unable to escape the current grid that your ship is on. This is a very important bit of information that is not readily available nor obvious. Who would assume that a ship with no capacitor can still warp, or limp for that matter?

Other skills I forgot to mention that are sometimes necessary, or come highly recommended:

Electronics V
Covert Ops IV
Astrometrics IV
Astrometric Acquisition IV
Astrometric Pinpointing IV
Astrometric Triangulation IV
Cynosural Field Theory I