My Epic arc Fail

So I have spent the last week or so ratting so I can get back into highsec. Also spent it training "Fast Talk" so I could get there faster. In any case I am now -1.9+ so I ran back to highsec for some mission running to see if I could get a fleet issue stabber. ANYWAYS, Verreuckter has been flying around in a Shaguar, and here is his ever so sexy video, well other than he needs to load different ammo, keep range and stop burning out his guns...

Du Bist Verruekt

Anyways, he engages a Claw and then after killing that he goes after two Rifters and kills one of them as well. I have heard he is adding more footage so I will update this as he does. Why yes, he is using windows movie maker and this is one of his first video's.

Back to what I was doing. Feeling particularly bored after doing a few level 4 missions in my Domi of doom, I saw the new dev blog, Epic is as Epic does, about nothing other than Epic Arc missions. Having done the Sisters epic arc already, I thought it would be fun to try the new "harder" level four equivalent missions in the epic arcs! I know, I'm smart.

So my Domi was fit like this,
3 x 720mm t2 arty
2 x tractor beams

5 x cap recharger t2's

2 LAR t2
2 EANM t2
3 x rat specific hardeners

2 x lccc
1 x lauxnano

Drones


This has been handling level 4 missions for me for about as long as I care to remember and doing it with ease. Nothing has ever been able to break the tank, but supposedly these epic arc missions were a whole new breed, I felt up to the challenge. I headed to Frarn, a whole 2 jumps from my missioning spot, and flailed in system trying to find the epic arc agent (turns out he is at a becon there, but at least I didn't have to ask in local!

So the first mission required an analyzer, and knowing me, I don't have the skills for that! Stupid non-combat devices, anyways I checked local and was able to find the item for around as much as I would make from the mission so I nabbed that and brought it back to the agent, finishing up the first mission. The lore revealed in these missions is pretty cool for those semi interested so I suggest a look at it! Anyways, the second mission comes rolling out and it seems some scum, in this case Gallente scum was holding onto a precious artifact and not giving it up to the proper people, aka the minmatar researchers, so I get to go in and sort this guy out. I load up on kin/therm armor hardeners and warp over to this guys hideout, upon arriving, I see a lone cruiser, it's got the look of an elite cruiser so I launch my Ogre II's and head towards the can in space labelled "Archives." He prattles on about how he knows what I am there for and that I should leave... Like I haven't heard that before, so I keep plowing on at my speedy 112 m/s domi. In warps an ASSLOAD of mercinary ships. I didn't stop to count, but seriously like 10 BS, and 30 assorted cruisers. I stuck my drones on them, looked at my armor layout, decided "the domi could take it" and kept on moving. Let it be noted at this time that I had both LAR going, and was sure the domi could handle it, up until the 5 webbing ships caught up to my ass, only one scrambler and I could not get it off of me. Anyways I watch as my armor starts evaporating as the BS pull into close range on me, my drones aren't killing the webbing/scrambling ships fast enough and I am not aligned out like I should have been. I hit structure HARD, dropping to about 1/2 structure before my LARs cycle again and boost me back up to 1/3 armor or so, I am trying to get out, but no damn luck, the domi went >POP< With a full load of drones in the cargo bay and drones in the drone bay and a bunch of hardeners. I was in travel mode for these arcs, what can I say!

One of my good buddies headed my way in a Golem to pickup my bookmarked wreck, he was hardened invul t2 x2 and EM t2 for all those cruisers, anyways he lands at my wreck and scoops all my crap while telling me he will be able to tank these guys no problem. The hell he will! His shields fall quickly as well, even with a CN X-L booster on full blast! He made it out though so no harm done! And he got my crap and a archive key from the wreck of the gallente dude!

I dicided to beg that he goes back with me into the pocket of doom and I will be his hospital domi and we could tank them combined! RIGHT! Umm how about no, did I mention how many of them there were in there? we killed a few and both made it out, including killing the last of the scram/web friglets but even with two large s95a remote shield reps, a full rack of shield repair bots and his XL booster going he was still losing shields! We warped out to a belt, on top of a very surprised orca and hulk, recapped, repaired and warped back in, this time we are able to kill enough that the cross-repping keeps him alive past the peak DPS and we are slowly able to whittle down the ships facing us. Only one thing I HAVE to mention, the M******F****** NPCS are Repping each other. Okay, no SHIT, I saw it happen to cruisers to frigs, etc. I couldn't pin down who was doing the repping but I think it was the "merc corporals" since i had never seen those assholes before in any other mission. No wonder I was having such a damn hard time with those web/scramble frigs!

In the dev blog it says something about this "this will not just be wave after wave of battleships and elite cruisers waiting for you after each gate. Some missions will be more difficult than others." They are not just talking shit on this! I highly suggest you find a friend, or an alt, and be CAREFUL. when you aren't and you get overconfident and die, your ship can hang out with my Domi. Creepy shit man, remote repping NPC's, already hate that! Was hoping they could keep that to the Sleepers!

Logan

Shaguar

I ducked outside the station in my trusty Ishtar, with only one neutral in local and staying a bit to long. A little intel worked confirmed he was a criminal, and ripe for the taking, but in a Jag. I knew he would never stop or stay still long enough for the ishtar to be useful so I decided to trade out into a Jaguar of my own. I made sure the 3 x 150mm ac t2's were loaded, and undocked quickly, laying in a pursuit course to Klingt. I hopped through the gate just a few seconds after he left Local in Weld. I was surprised, and happy to find the Jaguar on the other side, red as I had anticipated, with another red Cyclone. I paused in cloak for a brief second to make sure they were not on the same side and the streaming drones and gunfire from the Cyclone made me sure. I figured I could help the Jaguar out in his quest to kill the cyclone and failing that still get a good fight with another Jag.

My uncloaking must have rattled the Cyclone pilot as he took off leaving his drones behind. The other Jag pilot must have had the same idea as me because as soon as the Cyclone was in warp he turned and locked me, and me him. I engaged at about 10km, throwing on my AB, web, Scram and guns, hoping my barrage would prove effective against his shields since I had left my Titanium Sabot S behind in my hangar. Circling he was scoring much better hits against my shield than I was on his, I was about at half and could see about 1/4-1/3 damage on his shield. Overheating my guns, I tucked in a closer orbit hoping to get in a bit under his tracking, but to no luck, my shields broke with a almost audible snap and dumped me straight into half armor, I began to click warp out to try to save my pod as I knew I would be seeing it soon. My trick of warping out not-responding I found myself quickly in Weld again, without a ship. To hell with that I though and hopped immediately into my Ishtar and undocked, heading for Klingt again!

I jumped into Klingt and found not only the Cyclone back on the gate but another non-affiliated Arazu! I immediately dropped drones and engaged the Cyclone guessing he would be the more likely of the two to engage me and not just jump out. Well that much may have been true in my head, the Cyclone pilot upon taking a few volleys from my Garde II's jumped out and the arazu followed shortly there after. I made chase as best I could calling for some help in Alliance. A vaga responded from deeper down the pipe in Skarkon, but bottom line we could not make it to a gate to catch the Cyclone before he ran and docked up in a station where we left him.

So once again, I lost yet another ship, but at least this time it was a better fight. Maybe I'll have better luck next time!

Until then....
-Logan.

Vaga's never last

As long as I have been able to fly Vagabond's they never seem to last very long in my hands. The following are the vaga losses I remember

Vaga number 1. This was quite some time ago, where WCS x 2 was a pretty standard fit, and would have saved me, had I fit them. or even the Dual LSE might have saved me, but nooooo.

Scene: random lowsec in Caldari space. I engaged a rupture and Caracal around a planet with a ranis running as my backup, I was barreling towards the Caracal with my faction AB at full blast. The rupture was coming alongside me at about 20km, and just as I got inside 25km from the Caracal my ranis friend was jammed... by the Caracal. Damn overpowered multispecs I thought, and closed the distance hoping to kill the caracal and exact some revenge (multispec chance of a jam on pretty much any ship was around 35%). However it was not to be, right as I closed in on engagement range I was jammed too, then webbed, and then systimatically beaten to death... I swore off vagas for a while realizing if i had just fit the WCS I would have warped off, but it seemed so lame to fit like that.

Vaga 2!

Scene: deep in 0.0 ->Much later on in the midst of the Nano stage of eve, I picked up another vaga and pimped it out with a domi mwd, and DB point, anyways after a really nice run with it, meaning I got into combat more than twice and escaped alive, I ran into an old friend from a former corp in 0.0, I jumped out and then jumped back into the system to keep talking to him, however I was instead engaged by a nanophoon of doom and summarily killed, both the Domi MWD and point dropped :(

Vaga 3!

Lost it on a lowsec gate to a big CoW gang that tackled me and then had inties catch up to me before I could warp out, was definately my mistake to jump through into that!

Vaga 4!

Scene: Yet more lowsec! This just happened, I bought it literally 4 days before it's untimely death! I was boredom-ratting in lowsec out in Molden Heath, and saw a rax, Jaguar and Rifter in space buzzing around, all of them -5.0 types, so I thought I had a decent chance of taking them and baited them into a belt with me, The Jag burned after me and I lured it out hoping for a quick kill but my guns were just not hitting him, I never let him get under 10km for fear of his web and scram, then in warps the Rifter and Thorax. I am well away from them now and should have more than considered just leaving, but instead I decided to stay for a fight, I put my warrior II's on the Rax, and burned towards it slightly, hoping to cut back away from them in time to miss the Jag, but in time to kill the rifter. It worked out more like this, Drones on Rax, Jag and Rifter heading towards me, I notice the rifter but not the jag to well. I tell my drones to return and orbit. They head back to me without MWD (since when do they do that, I need to pay attention more). The jag ducks under 10km while I am still trying to kill the Rifter, Jag scrams and webs me. I lock it up and realize it is under my guns and tell my drones to start engaging, turn on my medium neut. His point drops momentarily, as the rifter dies, I align to warp out but fail on that as well because I think I can get another kill! I should have warped! Scram back active and now the rax is closing on me. At this point I realize I am pretty much dead, I put my guns on the Rax and drones on the Jag to see who dies first, one of them or me. It was me. I later realize I never traded to Barrage M from Fusion M, no wonder I was having a hard time hitting at 24 KM! I would blame that, but instead I will just compliment my killers on their moves, the Rax was also TDing me for those of you saying "why weren't you shooting at the Jag?"

On the upside I just bought two more Vagabonds! Will post here when they die too!

Eve at a glance

For a long time I have been reading articles that try to encapsulate the game I play oh too often, Eve Online, made by CCP.

I find that most of these articles fall a bit short and wanted to take some time, early in this blog to outline what I thought eve was all about and what made it so attractive to me.

First a little background on what other MMO's I had played before eve. I was deeply into Planetside first, directly after playing Call Of Duty. Spent way to much time on COD before planetside, but it was worth it. While I played planetside, I also got into City of Heroes, and then heard about Eve while I was on vent with some mates from Planetside. All I got was a very vauge description about spaceships and fighting, but it was enough to get me to download it. I left it alone for about 6 months before installing it and giving it a shot for no good reason while I finished up my Planetside and CoH addictions!

Now back to eve! I never even read the forums before I started playing, I just dove right in, as I do most times for most games. ANYWAYS, at a glance means I should come to a point soon!

Eve hooked me from the first second I made my avatar. All the options, being able to control where the person looked, I had no idea that would be the last time I would interact with my avatar in any meaningful way. Other than the old eve-version of hot or not where I am sure I had one of the lower "not" ratings. Why do I say this hooked me, because it was like creating a real person, not just some random costumed hero or troll or Nazi.

Then when I was dumped into space (pre-good tutorial) and left to figure most things out myself, it instantly made me work for everything I wanted, or thought I wanted, or had no clue I wanted. Not like work as in a job, but work as in engaged me on a level that most games never touch. Not everyone has this "level", hence why eve is still such a tough game to get into, but those that do, well then eve is their type of game. Even when I am not playing eve it trains my skills, so effectively I am still playing. I don't need to be level "80" to compete with people who have been playing the game since release, nor do I need epic items that take hours of farming. I just need a few friends, or rarely these days, solo to go out and cause some havoc. Eve just has so many facets to it. Just to mention a few that I have done in my now 3+ year eve career, 0.0 Combat including large fleet operations, Trading aka market pvp, Pirating, lowsec life, training of carebears into combat pilots, complexes, missions, and mining (briefly). And some that I have not yet ventured much into, Wormhole space, Sleepers, wormhole pvp, probing, scanning, 0.0 complexes, and POS management.

There are tons of other features in eve I have only glossed over a few times, but one of the biggest is the single shard universe. So you don't have to coordinate a server for you to make friends on and transfer if you have friends on another server, you can just head on over to the ONE server and find your friends (kill them a few times if you are smart).

If that can keep me interested for over three years, there has to be something to it. But don't just shake your head and move on, give it a try, the eve universe is always willing to claim another victim, Eve-online.com The worst thing about eve was the tutorial for me, and they even took the time to fix that, nice work CCP, if a little too late for me!