"You are the wolf
And I am the moon
And in the endless sky we are but one.
We are alive
Wolf & I."
-- (Wolf & I, Oh Land)
So as my previous post stated the 2nd Quarterly Report dropped a week or so ago to a positive response so thanks for all who've read and taken part in the discussion of the blog. In lieu of my efforts other pirates have taken it upon themselves to view piracy in a similar fashion to how I do; fellow Tusker and rather e-famous blogger Taurean being the most notable.
What I did throw up on the Q2 Report however was a poll to ask you all what you'd like to see be made into a special 'investigation' report that can span any aspect of PvP (that is available to me to do, of course). Whilst it's still early days I'm noticing a strong trend that people want to see some kiting v close range analysis; we are currently in a proto-nano age right now so it's understandable that people want to take a look at profitability of such fitting styles.
My problem lies in how to approach this - very few ships can fit both a kiting role and close combat role to a similar degree. I may have to look at taking extreme approaches with the way this goes whilst making sure that the isk investment into each hull is on par. Right now the first two ships that explode into my mind are the Wolf and the Slicer. I seemingly do very well with both ships (the last Wolf I had was alive for quite some time before valiantly dying to the faceless blob), so it would make sense that pitting these hulls against each other might prove an interesting experiment. It just so happens that the majority of their targets even align fairly well and as such it should help to validate what data I might find.
It could be a smarter idea to look at the same vessel and just alter fittings (ships like the railranis, railcomet and raildevil against the blasterranis, blastercomet and blasterdevil come to mind for polarized fits). This could be beneficial as the 'core' of the ship remains - it's just the bells and whistles that change. This could also highlight (providing there is significant correlating data to suggest such things) the importance of fitting your ships - how drastically a hull can be changed through the way you fit it up. Interesting notions indeed.
I'm not committing to a finalized idea yet as anything couuld happen with the time left on the poll; if you have an opinion then go ahead and vote up on there or comment on the report should there be an option not already available. Any ideas behind how I can make this a 'fair' and worthwhile experiment would also be very much appreciated!
In other news; things have been carrying along smoothly in my world of piracy. I'm still yet to really find fights that get my blood boiling, probably down to a desensitisation of the game itself, so I have began to stray from direct combat reports in these posts. I've broken the top 500 on Battleclinic which is rather cool, despite being a completely asinine statistic (I just love stats). I have a new blog header as you can see thanks to Bonni3 which I hope reflects the multi-faceted nature of this blog through my musical connections.
Keep flying guys - someone's got to make the miners lives meaningful right?
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Who You Gonna Run To?
"Baby, i've been wrong
And maybe i've been livin a little headstrong
But i know it isn't right
Startin' a war by avoiding a fight
It hurts, don't lie..."
(Who You Gonna Run To?; Solid Gold)
After a fair amount of time the Second Quarterly Report over at Journals of a Baroque Pilot is complete! Please take the time to go have a look and also drop a comment if you enjoyed this instalment.
For those who follow this blog but are not aware about my secondary blog Journals, it is a blog dedicated specifically challenging the concept of piracy not being a viable profession within the game; I track my profits (and losses) as I go about my piracy career with the Tuskers. The ultimate goal is to show potential pirates and pvpers that you can make a living purely off piracy alone. Also keep in mind that I do all this on a single character - no alt prober or booster for me.
Hope you guys enjoy this report and look forward to the next report that will land in October after data from Q3 is in.
And maybe i've been livin a little headstrong
But i know it isn't right
Startin' a war by avoiding a fight
It hurts, don't lie..."
(Who You Gonna Run To?; Solid Gold)
After a fair amount of time the Second Quarterly Report over at Journals of a Baroque Pilot is complete! Please take the time to go have a look and also drop a comment if you enjoyed this instalment.
For those who follow this blog but are not aware about my secondary blog Journals, it is a blog dedicated specifically challenging the concept of piracy not being a viable profession within the game; I track my profits (and losses) as I go about my piracy career with the Tuskers. The ultimate goal is to show potential pirates and pvpers that you can make a living purely off piracy alone. Also keep in mind that I do all this on a single character - no alt prober or booster for me.
Hope you guys enjoy this report and look forward to the next report that will land in October after data from Q3 is in.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Oh That I Had
"This is not new to me
As I sit in this boat
But I'm so cold my bones will freeze
And there's nought through the haze
I've been waiting so long
But my hour has gone away"
As I sit in this boat
But I'm so cold my bones will freeze
And there's nought through the haze
I've been waiting so long
But my hour has gone away"
-- (Oh That I Had; Mt. Eden & Ruby Frost)
It's Sunday July 10th today. The time could be anywhere between 9pm Saturday or 9pm Sunday evening. For me it's currently 3am. Eve tells me it's 7am and back home in the UK it's 8am. Time is something I've become estranged with and with the Tuskers operating in such a static manner (not implied in a negative sense) sometimes it can feel like New Eden passes us by.
In an effort to innovate myself I've looked at sizing up a little, my favorite ship potentially being the Vagabond now. Whilst I've had a good chance to test this ship out, along with some more traditional Vagabondry (and even more hilarious antics involved; he was logged off without his DCU active... Poor fellow) I haven't done anything that I felt was outside of my grasps in, say, a Hurricane or some other nano-cruiser/battlecruiser. I love the added falloff that the Vagabond has, in my opinion it's true redeeming feature even over it's innate speed. It has just about everything I need in a sleek little package, very cool.
It wasn't until myself and Ronan lazily took a Vaga tag team out (lazily = without scouts) and perused the local area. We came into a Hurricane in Lisbaetanne and engaged. Quickly, however, we realized that this cane was both artillery fit and with backup - another 2 Hurricanes to be exact. We bugged out and regrouped to assess the situation. I threw out the rather crazy plan to drop in the center of them and burn through them whilst their tracking couldn't hit us up close, yet we both looked at the reality of the situation and decided it might be best not to. Leaving Lisbaetanne we found the gate to be camped and whilst they unfortunately caught Ronan, their guns couldn't track and he safely made it back to the gate.
Now, having seen the true effect of their artillery up close, we got a little more confident and set ourselves up 200km from the gate. By now, one of their pilots had re-fit to a Rapier and we thought... Why not, we're in Vagabonds! We let the Rapier probe us down and he landed right on top of us. We quite literally went in guns blazing with Rep Fleet Plasma and overheated at close to point blank range. The Hurricanes warped in at... 0km? Yup, they decided that the webs would hold us down and neuts would keep us from running... A miscalculation on their behalf. We managed to duck out from under the guns, only realizing they had T3 links active when 40km was reached and they still held onto us. Ronan escaped, just barely, and we went back to Hevrice where we called it a night.
Strangely, the Vagabond didn't feel new to me (see lyrics?). I keep killing and killing, my online soul must be nothing more than a dead weight. Is there something new through the haze of time? I suppose we'll have to see.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Hey CCP
"Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand?
Alright. I'm goin down to shoot my old lady,
you know I caught her messin' 'round with another man.
And that ain't cool."
-- (Jimi Hendrix; Hey Joe)
As my time in the USA has been phenomenal things have definitely been quiet around here (incase nobody noticed) and whilst that will be rectified I don't have the time to truly keep things pushing. That being said, it's also pretty hard to motivate myself right now due to Zulu's and elephants in rooms.
Now let's look at the lyrics which I'd like to use to explain the situation from my eyes. We establish that a relationship has ran sour through an unfaithful partner and as such she is to be executed. May I also bring in both the Dev blog Zulu posted up not long ago that (in many's opinion) was a great big 'we're not listening' to the community out here. Thirdly and finally, take into account the email that was sent by Hilmar that I'm sure most will have read (I would provide a link but they continually get deleted off forums too quickly; you'll find it if you go take a look).
With all this in mind when regarding the lyrics we could perceive that CCP has been unfaithful to us, the playerbase, and as such we are taking power and acting in a manner deemed appropriate. They lied to us, did they not, with the state of micro-transactions? Yet, on the other hand, what of CCP's side of the story? They seem to be incredibly steadfast in regards to these issues so far. Could it be that we have been unfaithful? Unable to 'HTFU' and run with whatever they are attempting to create (or sell) and for that we are being hurt?
Frankly I couldn't give a damn about micro-transactions in EvE as they are; some dude wants a monocle? More power to him. I actually like the potential held within Incarna and hope that CCP survive this ordeal long enough to actually give us something with utility and flare.
But honestly, the part of all this that sunk home to me has been two-fold. Firstly in the sadness I hear from some of my fellow corp-mates voices as they discuss the issues surrounding this event; hearing the lack of faith they now have in CCP. Secondly in the forums of my corp; here I can be sure that there's no trolling etc. Obviously no names are given for respect of my friends. Take a look at these...
"Yeah, no way I'm giving CCP another bloody penny with their responses to the ongoing ragenaught about microtransactions. My main account lapses in September; I'll aim to get as much use out of the time I've paid for as I can, then I'm out.
It's been a blast, guys."
"As I'd imagine others are feeling, I feel very strongly about the issues of MT in EVE. I've been reading through the threadnaughts and I'm really angry at CCP for their responses. So, unless anything changes, I'm voting with my wallet and leaving EVE.
Its been great guys, I've loved flying with you. I really hope they pull this around."
On top of this, I've seen 2 other Tuskers cancel their sub and another saying that he's gone the second MT becomes game-changing (which I think goes for a lot of us right now). All of this in the space of 12 hours from Zulu's blogpost... This isn't right.
Maybe I'm being overly sentimental and soppy about this but to me the main draw of Eve is my friends and the community that I'm a part of. This blog is a means to interact on a wider scale beyond my shooting people in spaceships and Incarna could be another avenue to experience the community that Eve holds. I choke up whenever a Tusker decides to part ways because they're all great people - when 4 go in 12 hours, well as Hendrix told us, that ain't cool.
Sort this out CCP, please.
Alright. I'm goin down to shoot my old lady,
you know I caught her messin' 'round with another man.
And that ain't cool."
-- (Jimi Hendrix; Hey Joe)
As my time in the USA has been phenomenal things have definitely been quiet around here (incase nobody noticed) and whilst that will be rectified I don't have the time to truly keep things pushing. That being said, it's also pretty hard to motivate myself right now due to Zulu's and elephants in rooms.
Now let's look at the lyrics which I'd like to use to explain the situation from my eyes. We establish that a relationship has ran sour through an unfaithful partner and as such she is to be executed. May I also bring in both the Dev blog Zulu posted up not long ago that (in many's opinion) was a great big 'we're not listening' to the community out here. Thirdly and finally, take into account the email that was sent by Hilmar that I'm sure most will have read (I would provide a link but they continually get deleted off forums too quickly; you'll find it if you go take a look).
With all this in mind when regarding the lyrics we could perceive that CCP has been unfaithful to us, the playerbase, and as such we are taking power and acting in a manner deemed appropriate. They lied to us, did they not, with the state of micro-transactions? Yet, on the other hand, what of CCP's side of the story? They seem to be incredibly steadfast in regards to these issues so far. Could it be that we have been unfaithful? Unable to 'HTFU' and run with whatever they are attempting to create (or sell) and for that we are being hurt?
Frankly I couldn't give a damn about micro-transactions in EvE as they are; some dude wants a monocle? More power to him. I actually like the potential held within Incarna and hope that CCP survive this ordeal long enough to actually give us something with utility and flare.
But honestly, the part of all this that sunk home to me has been two-fold. Firstly in the sadness I hear from some of my fellow corp-mates voices as they discuss the issues surrounding this event; hearing the lack of faith they now have in CCP. Secondly in the forums of my corp; here I can be sure that there's no trolling etc. Obviously no names are given for respect of my friends. Take a look at these...
"Yeah, no way I'm giving CCP another bloody penny with their responses to the ongoing ragenaught about microtransactions. My main account lapses in September; I'll aim to get as much use out of the time I've paid for as I can, then I'm out.
It's been a blast, guys."
"As I'd imagine others are feeling, I feel very strongly about the issues of MT in EVE. I've been reading through the threadnaughts and I'm really angry at CCP for their responses. So, unless anything changes, I'm voting with my wallet and leaving EVE.
Its been great guys, I've loved flying with you. I really hope they pull this around."
On top of this, I've seen 2 other Tuskers cancel their sub and another saying that he's gone the second MT becomes game-changing (which I think goes for a lot of us right now). All of this in the space of 12 hours from Zulu's blogpost... This isn't right.
Maybe I'm being overly sentimental and soppy about this but to me the main draw of Eve is my friends and the community that I'm a part of. This blog is a means to interact on a wider scale beyond my shooting people in spaceships and Incarna could be another avenue to experience the community that Eve holds. I choke up whenever a Tusker decides to part ways because they're all great people - when 4 go in 12 hours, well as Hendrix told us, that ain't cool.
Sort this out CCP, please.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Help I'm Alive
Help I'm Alive by JadePuget
It's been one hell of a crazy month over in my world (which is the same as yours but filled with rainbows... Or so I'm told). I'm about to be jetting off to the USA for 3 months to spend some much needed R&R with my favourite person in the world Bonni3 (who's art is phenomenal by the way, check out her galleries) and the English Literature degree I've pursued for the past few years is finally coming to a close. As such I've lost my head a little with Eve and the times I do log on I'm usually itching to shoot stuff; ultimately I have been dying in a lot of fires lately.
Journals is still on the go and although I'm quite terrified of the results of April and May (due to my recurring derp) I will do so in the name of science and take the flak from it as it comes. I'm ashamed to be building a blog based around survival through piracy only to show a seriously isk sink (I evaluate somewhere around 1 billion overall... I'm so serious), though it will hopefully get me to put my piracy head back on straight for when I come back to playing properly again.
With the Tuskers recruitment closed again some aspects of the corporation are beginning to smooth out, though the Molden Heath campaign has admittedly gotten to us in my opinion; too few people based in each system has led to a lack of allies and in this day of Eve generally only the most diligent of pilots can sniff out the horrific blobs (something I especially have trouble with due to my lack of alt-ness). I'll be looking forward to having all of us back in Hevrice together so things can truly get back to normal in the Tusker camp.
Beyond that, there's been little to report. Hopefully I'll find the inspiration to get some more lengthy and in-depth blog posts. Until then o7
It's been one hell of a crazy month over in my world (which is the same as yours but filled with rainbows... Or so I'm told). I'm about to be jetting off to the USA for 3 months to spend some much needed R&R with my favourite person in the world Bonni3 (who's art is phenomenal by the way, check out her galleries) and the English Literature degree I've pursued for the past few years is finally coming to a close. As such I've lost my head a little with Eve and the times I do log on I'm usually itching to shoot stuff; ultimately I have been dying in a lot of fires lately.
Journals is still on the go and although I'm quite terrified of the results of April and May (due to my recurring derp) I will do so in the name of science and take the flak from it as it comes. I'm ashamed to be building a blog based around survival through piracy only to show a seriously isk sink (I evaluate somewhere around 1 billion overall... I'm so serious), though it will hopefully get me to put my piracy head back on straight for when I come back to playing properly again.
With the Tuskers recruitment closed again some aspects of the corporation are beginning to smooth out, though the Molden Heath campaign has admittedly gotten to us in my opinion; too few people based in each system has led to a lack of allies and in this day of Eve generally only the most diligent of pilots can sniff out the horrific blobs (something I especially have trouble with due to my lack of alt-ness). I'll be looking forward to having all of us back in Hevrice together so things can truly get back to normal in the Tusker camp.
Beyond that, there's been little to report. Hopefully I'll find the inspiration to get some more lengthy and in-depth blog posts. Until then o7
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Siren Song
"Are you my family?
Can I stay with you a while?"
Can I stay with you a while?"
-- (Siren Song, Bat For Lashes)
It appears that the Tusker name and image is ensnaring more and more to wish to fly under our banner. Through our exploits as a corporation, the proto-celebrity status I am in the belief we contain within New Eden, we've become a siren's song to many existing pirates, pilots looking to delve into piracy and all manner of other characters.
More members is generally a great thing in my eyes; more pilots means a stronger core which gives us more active players and spreads the Tusker influence further out across New Eden. It's obvious that something is special within the corporation as we have so many member that all have stayed well over a year, some two. Our public channel (usually) is quite a good place to meet new potential applicants and get to know them better, sometimes even setting up some ad-hoc roams with them providing they are in the area. I like to engage with a lot of the new applicants personally as I know that they'll likely become a co-pilot and friend down the line; it's always good to cultivate that early on as to create a comfortable atmosphere for new members.
I was just reading up on Taurean Eltanin's latest blog post as I enjoy his journalistic method to his piracy career and decided to explore a little further back, only to find that he has his mind set on joining the Tuskers. In full, I'm here to plug this great blog and wish Taurean the best in getting those 5 solo kills. If you are reading this Tau (as that'll totally be your vent nickname) drop by Hevrice sometime if you feel like heading out on a roam soon.
P.S. In other news, the second instalment of the Journals should hit in the first week of May. This will be the first monthly report and should be an interesting one! You only have to look at my killboard stats to figure that out.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Don't Change
So today marks a new era in the world of the Baroque Pilot; I'm out of style, my music taste is stuck back in the 60's and I live the way most abhor; I swear to God I'm never going to change. Piracy is so much fun and despite my occasional sulk I generally have an absolute blast living in New Eden as I do. Due to this I've decided to put together something to back up the statements made.
The Journals of a Baroque Pilot sister-blog to Journeys is now officially open for business... Or reading pleasure, whichever takes your fancy. This is going to be the place where I document everything that happens to me during my piracy lifestyle as it is seen in financial terms. You get a completely honest and un-edited representation of how much isk I make from actions of piracy; loot splits and ransoms. This will currently stand as a monthly installment (as to not bog myself or my partner Bonni3 down too much, she does the awesome graphs and banners!) in which each installment will address my performance for the month. I would run through it all but there is a handy little page on Journals itself to give the inaugural speech to you. Technology right? It's like a mixtape or something.
I hope you all really enjoy the new blog and keep in mind that journeys is still running strong! You will still be bombarded with music you probably don't like, whilst being told adventures of random piracy; Journals compliments Journeys with the hard data. I'm aware there are some statistical limitations (such as lack of salvage involved in the isk amount) and I'm open to criticism/suggestion on how you feel Journals would be improved; what data would you be most interested in? Any aesthetically alterations? Keep me posted with comments over there and I'll see what I can do.
Also in commemoration of the new age of the Baroque Pilot, Bonni3 made me a new SUPER AWESOME banner for my blogs. I like to think it gets across the notion of ransoms personally, I am a pirate after all!
Here's to Eve and to being true to yourself. Don't change.
The Journals of a Baroque Pilot sister-blog to Journeys is now officially open for business... Or reading pleasure, whichever takes your fancy. This is going to be the place where I document everything that happens to me during my piracy lifestyle as it is seen in financial terms. You get a completely honest and un-edited representation of how much isk I make from actions of piracy; loot splits and ransoms. This will currently stand as a monthly installment (as to not bog myself or my partner Bonni3 down too much, she does the awesome graphs and banners!) in which each installment will address my performance for the month. I would run through it all but there is a handy little page on Journals itself to give the inaugural speech to you. Technology right? It's like a mixtape or something.
I hope you all really enjoy the new blog and keep in mind that journeys is still running strong! You will still be bombarded with music you probably don't like, whilst being told adventures of random piracy; Journals compliments Journeys with the hard data. I'm aware there are some statistical limitations (such as lack of salvage involved in the isk amount) and I'm open to criticism/suggestion on how you feel Journals would be improved; what data would you be most interested in? Any aesthetically alterations? Keep me posted with comments over there and I'll see what I can do.
Also in commemoration of the new age of the Baroque Pilot, Bonni3 made me a new SUPER AWESOME banner for my blogs. I like to think it gets across the notion of ransoms personally, I am a pirate after all!
Here's to Eve and to being true to yourself. Don't change.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Our work is never over"
-- (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger; Daft Punk)
Okay, so it was admittedly pretty difficult to find a particularly meaningful quote from this rather (lyrically at least) repetitive song. I think I managed just fine though; our work is never over.
I bought a second Hurricane, specifically fit for artillery purposes, to take part in Suleiman's ever more famous artillery fleets and it didn't die unfortunately. I now had two insured and fully fitted battlecruisers sat in Hevrice V that needed to be used and once more Suleiman came through for me as he announced an impromptu roam down to some pvp hubs nearby. Excellent. After the fleet was ready we headed on out and I begged that today was going to be a better day for me. I used my autocannon cane for this roam as it was more in keeping with the gang's composition.
At first things went slowly, managing only to best a cyno Kestrel in combat. We all have to get our kicks somehow right? The fleet consisted of a Drake, two Harbingers and two Hurricanes all shield and nano fitted. Unfortunately we lost a Harbinger on the way due to significant other aggro and we were down to four pilots; myself, Suleiman, Robert Mason and Sa'haira. As we cruised further away from home we came across a Tengu acting rather suspiciously in a Faction Warfare hub system. We set ourselves up 200km off the station and he thought himself smart to come directly to us... This obviously was a foolish move on his behalf. We kicked everything into high gear and leapt right on top of him, though he was incredibly fast and even a web couldn't keep him properly contained. He was also tanking us like a champion, with both myself and Suleiman throwing a duo of medium neuts on him each the entire time. As his tank began to fail the response fleet landed not 40km away, of which I saw a Curse and Hurricane before I decided to not even bother looking and just focus on this blasted Tengu that was only 25km off the station by now. Fortunately he could not hold on and he exploded in a wonderful isk bomb. We scooped and bugged out.
After some attempting to get a second engagement proving futile, we moved on and ganked a Vagabond that was safed in Tama. Always a pleasure. We continued on our merry way and found a gang consisting of a Dominix, two Drakes and Myrmidon camping the high-sec gate in Akidagi. We sent our new friend, who boosted the fleet by another Drake, Rajere (who is not flashy) to the gate and he was aggressed by the Myrm. We engaged and took him down along with a nosey Helios, though we couldn't get either of the Drakes down before they jumped into high-sec. Still with no losses we soldiered back to Tama to head on our way home.
By this time Sulei was fed up with my constant talking about pointless things and felt it only right to send me in as bait (fun stuff!) and I was warped to 0km on a Moa, instantly getting webbed and scrammed for good measure. The rest of the gang warped in as an enemy Drake, Hookbill and Tengu joined the fray. My shields were buckling as I tried to neut the Moa off me, burning away and hoping to get an microwarpdrive cycle off to give me some range. The guy sniped the Moa off me and I proceeded to burn for range with around 10% shields left. The Tengu bugged out and the Hookbill escaped in structure, though the Drake was not so fortunate. Feeling pretty good with our pristine efficiency we decided to head on home.
On the way, however, we spotted a Scorpion wanting to fight us. Sulei informed me that this particular fellow had produced a pvp video in regards to this specific Scorpion (though googling did not reveal such a thing for me) and we pulled him into a belt. He wasn't, however, alone. An Abaddon landed and Sulei called primary on it as the Scorpion was tanking our fleet. The Abaddon was gank fit and died in a fire when we put our battlecruiser might upon him! The Scorpion was ours for the taking now and succumbed to our fleet. High-fives went around and we zoomed on home, ganking an ex-corpie on a gate and finally finishing in Hevrice with another glorious cyno kill.
All in all it was a really fun roam and I got to grips with the Hurricane a lot more. I also burned through about 2000 rounds of Barrage M in total, to my dismay. I'm enjoying battlecruisers a lot and hopefully I have more lucrative endeavours to embark on in the near future in them.
Until next time, fly safe. Oh and if you've never seen Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5secret 5star 5ystem and you like Daft Punk, then totally go find it and have a watch. Fun stuff. o7
-- (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger; Daft Punk)
Okay, so it was admittedly pretty difficult to find a particularly meaningful quote from this rather (lyrically at least) repetitive song. I think I managed just fine though; our work is never over.
I bought a second Hurricane, specifically fit for artillery purposes, to take part in Suleiman's ever more famous artillery fleets and it didn't die unfortunately. I now had two insured and fully fitted battlecruisers sat in Hevrice V that needed to be used and once more Suleiman came through for me as he announced an impromptu roam down to some pvp hubs nearby. Excellent. After the fleet was ready we headed on out and I begged that today was going to be a better day for me. I used my autocannon cane for this roam as it was more in keeping with the gang's composition.
At first things went slowly, managing only to best a cyno Kestrel in combat. We all have to get our kicks somehow right? The fleet consisted of a Drake, two Harbingers and two Hurricanes all shield and nano fitted. Unfortunately we lost a Harbinger on the way due to significant other aggro and we were down to four pilots; myself, Suleiman, Robert Mason and Sa'haira. As we cruised further away from home we came across a Tengu acting rather suspiciously in a Faction Warfare hub system. We set ourselves up 200km off the station and he thought himself smart to come directly to us... This obviously was a foolish move on his behalf. We kicked everything into high gear and leapt right on top of him, though he was incredibly fast and even a web couldn't keep him properly contained. He was also tanking us like a champion, with both myself and Suleiman throwing a duo of medium neuts on him each the entire time. As his tank began to fail the response fleet landed not 40km away, of which I saw a Curse and Hurricane before I decided to not even bother looking and just focus on this blasted Tengu that was only 25km off the station by now. Fortunately he could not hold on and he exploded in a wonderful isk bomb. We scooped and bugged out.
After some attempting to get a second engagement proving futile, we moved on and ganked a Vagabond that was safed in Tama. Always a pleasure. We continued on our merry way and found a gang consisting of a Dominix, two Drakes and Myrmidon camping the high-sec gate in Akidagi. We sent our new friend, who boosted the fleet by another Drake, Rajere (who is not flashy) to the gate and he was aggressed by the Myrm. We engaged and took him down along with a nosey Helios, though we couldn't get either of the Drakes down before they jumped into high-sec. Still with no losses we soldiered back to Tama to head on our way home.
By this time Sulei was fed up with my constant talking about pointless things and felt it only right to send me in as bait (fun stuff!) and I was warped to 0km on a Moa, instantly getting webbed and scrammed for good measure. The rest of the gang warped in as an enemy Drake, Hookbill and Tengu joined the fray. My shields were buckling as I tried to neut the Moa off me, burning away and hoping to get an microwarpdrive cycle off to give me some range. The guy sniped the Moa off me and I proceeded to burn for range with around 10% shields left. The Tengu bugged out and the Hookbill escaped in structure, though the Drake was not so fortunate. Feeling pretty good with our pristine efficiency we decided to head on home.
On the way, however, we spotted a Scorpion wanting to fight us. Sulei informed me that this particular fellow had produced a pvp video in regards to this specific Scorpion (though googling did not reveal such a thing for me) and we pulled him into a belt. He wasn't, however, alone. An Abaddon landed and Sulei called primary on it as the Scorpion was tanking our fleet. The Abaddon was gank fit and died in a fire when we put our battlecruiser might upon him! The Scorpion was ours for the taking now and succumbed to our fleet. High-fives went around and we zoomed on home, ganking an ex-corpie on a gate and finally finishing in Hevrice with another glorious cyno kill.
All in all it was a really fun roam and I got to grips with the Hurricane a lot more. I also burned through about 2000 rounds of Barrage M in total, to my dismay. I'm enjoying battlecruisers a lot and hopefully I have more lucrative endeavours to embark on in the near future in them.
Until next time, fly safe. Oh and if you've never seen Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5secret 5star 5ystem and you like Daft Punk, then totally go find it and have a watch. Fun stuff. o7
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Karma Police
Before I even start this blog post, I ask you all listen to this.
"Karma police
I've given all I can
It's not enough
I've given all I can
But we're still on the payroll
This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself"
Warning; the following post is a self-loathing rant built of spur of the moment emotions that may or may not last the hour. The fail-cascade of losses I'm currently putting myself through is infuriating. The continual loss of ships due to either ridiculous sized blobs or my own huge vat of stupidity is beginning to wear me down. I feel like what luck I've had in the past is wearing thin and the lessons I should be learning still won't stick!
I should be happy considering I've managed to simultaneously break the top 1000 on BattleClinic and hitting over 1 billion isk in ransoms, making me the highest grossing ransomer in the Tuskers. These are great achievements and I am truly happy, I just wish I actually had the current performance record to back up such statements. So many dumb losses and few quality kills to my name leave me really wanting to straighten up.
This is made only more stressful under the growing concept that I am a 'true pirate', which is detailed in the blog post prior to this. Wanting to buy a Dramiel or Vagabond is a serious decision and when it comes up short on me, I'm left slapping myself on the wrist for being so careless (though I've never actually flown a Vagabond, too shiny). I want to sustain myself from piracy but I'm falling behind in the game, not having adequate means to track and kill my prey (through such things as probing alts to catch mission runners, a quick injection of ransom goodness). Here's to hoping that I can get my head put back on straight, I need to find myself again.
"Karma police
I've given all I can
It's not enough
I've given all I can
But we're still on the payroll
This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us
And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself"
Warning; the following post is a self-loathing rant built of spur of the moment emotions that may or may not last the hour. The fail-cascade of losses I'm currently putting myself through is infuriating. The continual loss of ships due to either ridiculous sized blobs or my own huge vat of stupidity is beginning to wear me down. I feel like what luck I've had in the past is wearing thin and the lessons I should be learning still won't stick!
I should be happy considering I've managed to simultaneously break the top 1000 on BattleClinic and hitting over 1 billion isk in ransoms, making me the highest grossing ransomer in the Tuskers. These are great achievements and I am truly happy, I just wish I actually had the current performance record to back up such statements. So many dumb losses and few quality kills to my name leave me really wanting to straighten up.
This is made only more stressful under the growing concept that I am a 'true pirate', which is detailed in the blog post prior to this. Wanting to buy a Dramiel or Vagabond is a serious decision and when it comes up short on me, I'm left slapping myself on the wrist for being so careless (though I've never actually flown a Vagabond, too shiny). I want to sustain myself from piracy but I'm falling behind in the game, not having adequate means to track and kill my prey (through such things as probing alts to catch mission runners, a quick injection of ransom goodness). Here's to hoping that I can get my head put back on straight, I need to find myself again.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
House Of Wolves
"Tell me I'm an angel,
Take this to my grave.
Tell me I'm a bad man,
Kick me like a stray."
-- (House Of Wolves, My chemical Romance)
I'm fast approaching a few milestones in my life in New Eden. Firstly, I'm about to enter the top 1000 pilots in New Eden according to popular killboard Battleclinic. In a year with the Tuskers I've grown into a competent pilot, whether I'll ever come to the point of being one of the best will be a matter of time and dedication.
Secondly (and more importantly) I am on the verge of breaking 1 billion isk ransomed since my time with the Tuskers. Whilst most can churn 1 billion out from other methods in no time flat, I'm rather proud to have a testament to my time as a pirate and the way in which I've come to product myself throughout daily life in New Eden.
As some of you may be aware, I've supplemented my piracy with my profession; piracy. I'd like to elaborate on what I do to make isk on a regular basis...
Take this to my grave.
Tell me I'm a bad man,
Kick me like a stray."
-- (House Of Wolves, My chemical Romance)
I'm fast approaching a few milestones in my life in New Eden. Firstly, I'm about to enter the top 1000 pilots in New Eden according to popular killboard Battleclinic. In a year with the Tuskers I've grown into a competent pilot, whether I'll ever come to the point of being one of the best will be a matter of time and dedication.
Secondly (and more importantly) I am on the verge of breaking 1 billion isk ransomed since my time with the Tuskers. Whilst most can churn 1 billion out from other methods in no time flat, I'm rather proud to have a testament to my time as a pirate and the way in which I've come to product myself throughout daily life in New Eden.
As some of you may be aware, I've supplemented my piracy with my profession; piracy. I'd like to elaborate on what I do to make isk on a regular basis...
- Taking the loot from the wrecks of my victims, selling on useless/unnecessary loot and retaining anything that could be useful in the future. I'm a hoarder.
- Salvaging any Tech 2 wreck I may come across, should I happen to have a salvager nearby. The possibility of a quick and easy isk injection from an intact armour plate is just too good to miss.
- Seeking to always arrange a ransom with my target should it provide a profitable endeavour, whether through the ransom of a ship, pod or other means.
The important one here to look at, the aspect which makes me a pirate and not a pvper; ransoming. It boggles my mind why people generally act so negatively to the prospect of being ransomed. I personally conduct myself in such a manner as to let everybody win; the ransom will likely give me more isk than any potential loot drop (along with being readily available in liquid form removing need for logistical support), whilst being less than the cost of actually losing their ship and thus saving them time having to re-fit or travel home and by also saving them a modest sum of isk. I win, they win. Unfortunately though, they always want both parties to lose. Understandably many can be wary of being ransomed due to horror stories of being podded after parting with hard-earned isk.
Many believe it's impossible to live through such means, though after a year I find myself still swinging. I lack the luxuries that others may of a prober, hauler (at least a competent one) and, as is the latest craze, boosting T3. Whilst I've contemplated going in and dedicating the time to set it all up and thus probably make myself a good bit of isk, after some conversations with other pilots about such manners I am often told that I'm a 'true' pirate and that such a thing is quite rare. I feel quite proud that some might think such things of me and I do wonder whether my way of life qualifies as true piracy and if so are there others out there that live the same life?
I'm seeking to add a second parallel to the current blog, one solely built around documenting the facts on how I live; the expenses of each day, the profits. There'll be a good bit of room to cross between the two and I'm quite excited of showing that (hopefully) it's not so tough after all.
Thoughts? Comments? I'd appreciate some initial criticism on the concept.
P.S. We were all young once, I still get moving to this song.
I'm seeking to add a second parallel to the current blog, one solely built around documenting the facts on how I live; the expenses of each day, the profits. There'll be a good bit of room to cross between the two and I'm quite excited of showing that (hopefully) it's not so tough after all.
Thoughts? Comments? I'd appreciate some initial criticism on the concept.
P.S. We were all young once, I still get moving to this song.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Key to The Highway
"I got the key to the highway,
Billed out and bound to go.
I'm gonna leave here running;
Walking is most too slow."
-- (Key To The Highway, Derek & The Dominos aka. Eric Clapton)
For the first time today, I flew a Hurricane. Nano-fit with all that kiting goodness penned in, I loaded up the barrage and hastily attached what rigs I recalled to have put on the fit I'd made in EFT a day or two ago. We had a gang in Jovainnon and time was of the essence.
If I recall correctly they consisted of 2 Drakes, Myrmidon, Hurricane, Curse and Blackbird. We hadn't truly got a clue of what we had in fleet due to such a quick rallying of the troops but we undocked and Sa'haira proceeded to keep the fleet cohesive and smart with some quality FCing. Unfortunately they didn't feel so confident with the final composition of our gang and all we got was a lonely Drake for our troubles.
Oh well, I hate Drakes anyway. Here's to other engagements in the Cane!
Complimentary injection of music go!
Oh and this happened right after... I killed an Exequror:
'You have been added as contact
From: olegonn
Sent: 2011.03.30 18:39
olegonn has added you as contact with Good Standing
bitch girl'
If anyone can help me understand this a little better well... I'd appreciate that!
Billed out and bound to go.
I'm gonna leave here running;
Walking is most too slow."
-- (Key To The Highway, Derek & The Dominos aka. Eric Clapton)
For the first time today, I flew a Hurricane. Nano-fit with all that kiting goodness penned in, I loaded up the barrage and hastily attached what rigs I recalled to have put on the fit I'd made in EFT a day or two ago. We had a gang in Jovainnon and time was of the essence.
If I recall correctly they consisted of 2 Drakes, Myrmidon, Hurricane, Curse and Blackbird. We hadn't truly got a clue of what we had in fleet due to such a quick rallying of the troops but we undocked and Sa'haira proceeded to keep the fleet cohesive and smart with some quality FCing. Unfortunately they didn't feel so confident with the final composition of our gang and all we got was a lonely Drake for our troubles.
Oh well, I hate Drakes anyway. Here's to other engagements in the Cane!
Complimentary injection of music go!
Oh and this happened right after... I killed an Exequror:
'You have been added as contact
From: olegonn
Sent: 2011.03.30 18:39
olegonn has added you as contact with Good Standing
bitch girl'
If anyone can help me understand this a little better well... I'd appreciate that!
Monday, 28 March 2011
Hounds Of Love
"Among your hounds of love,
And feel your arms surrounding me.
I've always been a coward,
I never know what's good for me."
-- (Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush)
The whole ordeal began with the loss of another Dramiel, bringing me to 3 or 4 totalled lifetime if I'm not mistaken. It's still one of my favourite ships to fly and whilst people cry out it's overpowered and all that, I can't help but let it fall on deaf ears in light of the other forms of power within Eve. I fly frigates and I'll be damned if I'm going to be berated for using the best available to me. (I honestly think the Slicer is better anyway so...)
Anyway, after the loss myself and corpmate Etuura Zellis decided to head out in more modest ships to try and dust off the tears we both held back (check battle reports for full details). Comms, to my recollection, went something akin to...
Etuura - 'I'm thinking Rifters?'
Kishin - 'Good. I'm already in one.'
As I do with all my fleets, though unbeknownst to my wingmen, I dubbed us the Hounds Of Love for this roam. Partially due to the fact that I was listening to Kate Bush at the time and secondly because this was an old school wolf pack. We were on the same page and we were going to do our best to wreak some havoc in our little wolf pack, that much was certain. Amamake was set as our destination and off we went. All was initially quiet, we spotted the people who had killed us earlier still set with the same trap in Vitrauze and this time we were smart enough to leave them be. It wasn't until we hit Mannar that things got fun.
I've always been a little bit of a Fleet Commander at heart, even if I opt for some unorthodox and (to be kind to myself) 'optimistic' plans and this whole roam was no different. As we jumped into Mannar a Slicer spotted us and proceeded to circle us. I gave the call to hold at the gate, wait for him to agress and work together to catch his orbit with the second Rifter. Etuura was deemed primary and I worked to out-manoeuvre the opponent. I latched a scram for a moment, overheating my web to try and keep him down. He pulled from under the scram's grasp with a last ditch attempt and broke free, though my web held firm. One pulse of an overheated afterburner cycle later and he was snagged just in time as Etuura's armour was buckling. 1-0 to the Hounds Of Love.
Things weren't over for our merry crew, he came at us again in a rather suspect Vengeance; 2-0 to the HoL. He even tried to bait us in with a small gun Augoror Navy Issue, but with 5 corp mates waiting on the other side of out gate we thought better against and moved on.
Next we hit Oyonata where a Hookbill engaged us at a planet. Overheating everything at point blank range, I sought to extend the life of my tank as best as possible and we managed to claim the kill, though at the cost of my Rifter simultaneously. Etuura held the field and bugged out as a Vengeance charged in. 3-0 HoL. I flew right out into the heart of Molden Heath to fit up a new Rifter to keep this good thing going. The Hounds Of Love had more hearts to break! All fitted up we reconvened in Vard.
For some reason people seemed to have vendettas against our merry gang, with another fellow trying to take us on twice in a row, first dying horribly as a huge gang watched. The second time he clearly fitted null ammo and Etuura walked a dangerous line, unfortunately going down to a gutless move on one of the ships who had watched our previous fight. I refused to leave the field until the Enyo was dead, spewing venom in my bullets as we both cut deep in structure. 30% left and the red lights are flashing, the Harbinger is in scram range, firing it's full rack of lasers at me and the Enyo keeps repping slivers of armour... Finish! The Harbinger sicked his drones on the Enyo and snagged on the kill in another gutless move... I was happy to survive and keep the HoL on the winning side. I burned out from under the Harbi's grasp and warped out, once more losing out on the loot we could have had. 5-0 to the Hounds Of Love in those two engagements! Etuura refit (I love the Amamake market) and we moved on.
We got a little celebrity sunshine as number 1 PvPer lukka was in Amamake local talking to the other inhabitants, though after checking his Battleclinic record I can't say I felt all that honoured to be killing his corp mates. After some warping games we engaged a Hawk in top belt which didn't last all too long, though we didn't have time to rest as a Vagabond had been watching 400km away and decided to engage. He'd landed just off us and there was no way out, we either fought like wolves or died like dogs... And fought we did, managing to catch him with an overheated Scrambler.
I frantically blurted into comms 'Get under his guns! Overheat the afterburners and target the hornets!' We went to work, dispatching his attempt to break free from our combined assortment of tackle. Suddenly, as he hit structure, a Taranis and Enyo gang landed 30km away. 'Overheat the guns!' Vagabond down. We turned to face them, I primaried the Taranis and called to overheat and just burn right through him. Unfortunately after being primaried by every target in the fight my Rifter couldn't hold any longer and I went down, taking the Taranis down simultaneously once more. Etuura leapt upon the Enyo and got right under his Railguns which lead to another victory for the HoL. He had to bug out as overwhelming odds came into the belt. This brings us to 8-0 for the Hounds Of Love, winning each of those engagements ultimately.
CEO Ka Jolo hopped on comms and decided to try his hand in a Rifter, joining up and becoming a member of the HoL, where we proceeded to take down a rather surprising opponent. We roamed for a bit longer, though our luck didn't hold so strong after our 9-0 win streak. Some mis-calculations of opponent force numbers lead to a few losses and we headed home to Hevrice. A couple of hours later this little hilarity happened and I could log off with a smile on my face.
It was a great roam, one of the best I've had in a while. Not only the night before I'd had a great duo pilot roam with fellow corpie (and one of the coolest guys in New Eden) Man Barthelme, so it was awesome to have the events of the Hounds Of Love to follow. I miss my Dramiel even now and have contemplated whether to stretch my funds out to grab another hull, yet I continually hark back to my roots and undock in a Rifter and manage some pretty amazing things. Who knows what will happen, those luxuries get pretty addictive don't they?
All the best fellow capsuleers, keep on plugging.
And feel your arms surrounding me.
I've always been a coward,
I never know what's good for me."
-- (Hounds Of Love, Kate Bush)
The whole ordeal began with the loss of another Dramiel, bringing me to 3 or 4 totalled lifetime if I'm not mistaken. It's still one of my favourite ships to fly and whilst people cry out it's overpowered and all that, I can't help but let it fall on deaf ears in light of the other forms of power within Eve. I fly frigates and I'll be damned if I'm going to be berated for using the best available to me. (I honestly think the Slicer is better anyway so...)
Anyway, after the loss myself and corpmate Etuura Zellis decided to head out in more modest ships to try and dust off the tears we both held back (check battle reports for full details). Comms, to my recollection, went something akin to...
Etuura - 'I'm thinking Rifters?'
Kishin - 'Good. I'm already in one.'
As I do with all my fleets, though unbeknownst to my wingmen, I dubbed us the Hounds Of Love for this roam. Partially due to the fact that I was listening to Kate Bush at the time and secondly because this was an old school wolf pack. We were on the same page and we were going to do our best to wreak some havoc in our little wolf pack, that much was certain. Amamake was set as our destination and off we went. All was initially quiet, we spotted the people who had killed us earlier still set with the same trap in Vitrauze and this time we were smart enough to leave them be. It wasn't until we hit Mannar that things got fun.
I've always been a little bit of a Fleet Commander at heart, even if I opt for some unorthodox and (to be kind to myself) 'optimistic' plans and this whole roam was no different. As we jumped into Mannar a Slicer spotted us and proceeded to circle us. I gave the call to hold at the gate, wait for him to agress and work together to catch his orbit with the second Rifter. Etuura was deemed primary and I worked to out-manoeuvre the opponent. I latched a scram for a moment, overheating my web to try and keep him down. He pulled from under the scram's grasp with a last ditch attempt and broke free, though my web held firm. One pulse of an overheated afterburner cycle later and he was snagged just in time as Etuura's armour was buckling. 1-0 to the Hounds Of Love.
Things weren't over for our merry crew, he came at us again in a rather suspect Vengeance; 2-0 to the HoL. He even tried to bait us in with a small gun Augoror Navy Issue, but with 5 corp mates waiting on the other side of out gate we thought better against and moved on.
Next we hit Oyonata where a Hookbill engaged us at a planet. Overheating everything at point blank range, I sought to extend the life of my tank as best as possible and we managed to claim the kill, though at the cost of my Rifter simultaneously. Etuura held the field and bugged out as a Vengeance charged in. 3-0 HoL. I flew right out into the heart of Molden Heath to fit up a new Rifter to keep this good thing going. The Hounds Of Love had more hearts to break! All fitted up we reconvened in Vard.
For some reason people seemed to have vendettas against our merry gang, with another fellow trying to take us on twice in a row, first dying horribly as a huge gang watched. The second time he clearly fitted null ammo and Etuura walked a dangerous line, unfortunately going down to a gutless move on one of the ships who had watched our previous fight. I refused to leave the field until the Enyo was dead, spewing venom in my bullets as we both cut deep in structure. 30% left and the red lights are flashing, the Harbinger is in scram range, firing it's full rack of lasers at me and the Enyo keeps repping slivers of armour... Finish! The Harbinger sicked his drones on the Enyo and snagged on the kill in another gutless move... I was happy to survive and keep the HoL on the winning side. I burned out from under the Harbi's grasp and warped out, once more losing out on the loot we could have had. 5-0 to the Hounds Of Love in those two engagements! Etuura refit (I love the Amamake market) and we moved on.
We got a little celebrity sunshine as number 1 PvPer lukka was in Amamake local talking to the other inhabitants, though after checking his Battleclinic record I can't say I felt all that honoured to be killing his corp mates. After some warping games we engaged a Hawk in top belt which didn't last all too long, though we didn't have time to rest as a Vagabond had been watching 400km away and decided to engage. He'd landed just off us and there was no way out, we either fought like wolves or died like dogs... And fought we did, managing to catch him with an overheated Scrambler.
I frantically blurted into comms 'Get under his guns! Overheat the afterburners and target the hornets!' We went to work, dispatching his attempt to break free from our combined assortment of tackle. Suddenly, as he hit structure, a Taranis and Enyo gang landed 30km away. 'Overheat the guns!' Vagabond down. We turned to face them, I primaried the Taranis and called to overheat and just burn right through him. Unfortunately after being primaried by every target in the fight my Rifter couldn't hold any longer and I went down, taking the Taranis down simultaneously once more. Etuura leapt upon the Enyo and got right under his Railguns which lead to another victory for the HoL. He had to bug out as overwhelming odds came into the belt. This brings us to 8-0 for the Hounds Of Love, winning each of those engagements ultimately.
CEO Ka Jolo hopped on comms and decided to try his hand in a Rifter, joining up and becoming a member of the HoL, where we proceeded to take down a rather surprising opponent. We roamed for a bit longer, though our luck didn't hold so strong after our 9-0 win streak. Some mis-calculations of opponent force numbers lead to a few losses and we headed home to Hevrice. A couple of hours later this little hilarity happened and I could log off with a smile on my face.
It was a great roam, one of the best I've had in a while. Not only the night before I'd had a great duo pilot roam with fellow corpie (and one of the coolest guys in New Eden) Man Barthelme, so it was awesome to have the events of the Hounds Of Love to follow. I miss my Dramiel even now and have contemplated whether to stretch my funds out to grab another hull, yet I continually hark back to my roots and undock in a Rifter and manage some pretty amazing things. Who knows what will happen, those luxuries get pretty addictive don't they?
All the best fellow capsuleers, keep on plugging.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Babushka Doll
"Little soldier, little insect
You know war, it has no heart
It will kill you in the sunshine
Or just as happily in the dark"
-- (Noone Would Riot For Less, Bright Eyes)
New Eden is a place for dreamers and achievers. Those who will it to come to pass can make it happen, whatever that may be. After seeing the outrage of all the big alliances over the announcements at Fanfest this year I got to thinking about the concept of wealth within New Eden along with the structure of hierarchy that many adhere to.
No matter how I chose to approach the subject, the true wealth always lies in the singular person in my eyes. Whoever is top dog, leader of the gang, will generally benefit above most and rightly so surely? They set the whole operation up, those below do his or her bidding and in one way or another everyone cuts a profit along the chain somewhere. Unfortunately, I don't actually believe this to be true in the case of large 0.0 alliances. The alliance holds the sovereignty and the corporations that exist under all fight together for the greater image. Whoever leads the alliance has gained great power and prestige through the process, yet what do the corporations actually get back here? It feels more like a stranglehold the more I think about it all, hearing about all these sights to be ran and the profits therein. the corporations and pilots are being given a 'safe place' to generate personal wealth in exchange for dying to make one person inevitably hundreds of times richer than that pilot could ever hope to be. I suppose it works to some level, though it feels like rather than being paid to work you get paid with more work and somewhere you'll finally get the $$$.
I might be totally off the marker having only been in a corporation attached to a greater alliance for a short time in my younger days and with my current situation largely being a 'do it for myself' affair (which is so wonderful; freedom and all that). If I am shooting off target, do throw it up at me, for I'd love clarification as much as the next guy and 0.0 life has always fascinated me for, likely, the wrong reasons.
My final other thought pertains to the alliance tournament. The Tuskers teamed up with The Bastards last year for it and admittedly we failed pretty hard, though I'm unsure whether it went down in the history books or not. Somebody asked me in local if we planned to enter this year and rather than saying 'no' I had to honestly say 'we can't, we don't want to be in an alliance again' because it just didn't work for us. I wonder why CCP haven't devised a corporation tournament in lieu of the awesomeness of the alliance tournament. I think on a smaller scale, it could be a really good way to see a much more concentrated and high octane level of PvP. You put me and 4 of my corp mates and you've got a cohesive team right there, it would be awesome to see such an event in my opinion.
The little guy loses at the end of the day, as is the way life goes. I'm not asking that to change, honestly I just want to see a corporation Tournament! I've been able to get some good time in New Eden as of late, which is great and I've missed it a lot. Perhaps some write ups of recent engagements may be in order, we'll see.
QQ: Can corps even take sovereignty?
You know war, it has no heart
It will kill you in the sunshine
Or just as happily in the dark"
-- (Noone Would Riot For Less, Bright Eyes)
New Eden is a place for dreamers and achievers. Those who will it to come to pass can make it happen, whatever that may be. After seeing the outrage of all the big alliances over the announcements at Fanfest this year I got to thinking about the concept of wealth within New Eden along with the structure of hierarchy that many adhere to.
No matter how I chose to approach the subject, the true wealth always lies in the singular person in my eyes. Whoever is top dog, leader of the gang, will generally benefit above most and rightly so surely? They set the whole operation up, those below do his or her bidding and in one way or another everyone cuts a profit along the chain somewhere. Unfortunately, I don't actually believe this to be true in the case of large 0.0 alliances. The alliance holds the sovereignty and the corporations that exist under all fight together for the greater image. Whoever leads the alliance has gained great power and prestige through the process, yet what do the corporations actually get back here? It feels more like a stranglehold the more I think about it all, hearing about all these sights to be ran and the profits therein. the corporations and pilots are being given a 'safe place' to generate personal wealth in exchange for dying to make one person inevitably hundreds of times richer than that pilot could ever hope to be. I suppose it works to some level, though it feels like rather than being paid to work you get paid with more work and somewhere you'll finally get the $$$.
I might be totally off the marker having only been in a corporation attached to a greater alliance for a short time in my younger days and with my current situation largely being a 'do it for myself' affair (which is so wonderful; freedom and all that). If I am shooting off target, do throw it up at me, for I'd love clarification as much as the next guy and 0.0 life has always fascinated me for, likely, the wrong reasons.
My final other thought pertains to the alliance tournament. The Tuskers teamed up with The Bastards last year for it and admittedly we failed pretty hard, though I'm unsure whether it went down in the history books or not. Somebody asked me in local if we planned to enter this year and rather than saying 'no' I had to honestly say 'we can't, we don't want to be in an alliance again' because it just didn't work for us. I wonder why CCP haven't devised a corporation tournament in lieu of the awesomeness of the alliance tournament. I think on a smaller scale, it could be a really good way to see a much more concentrated and high octane level of PvP. You put me and 4 of my corp mates and you've got a cohesive team right there, it would be awesome to see such an event in my opinion.
The little guy loses at the end of the day, as is the way life goes. I'm not asking that to change, honestly I just want to see a corporation Tournament! I've been able to get some good time in New Eden as of late, which is great and I've missed it a lot. Perhaps some write ups of recent engagements may be in order, we'll see.
QQ: Can corps even take sovereignty?
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Lost In The World
"What does Websters say about soul?
All I want is a good home and a wife
And a children, and some food to feed them every night.
After all is said and done build a new route to China if they'll have you."
All I want is a good home and a wife
And a children, and some food to feed them every night.
After all is said and done build a new route to China if they'll have you."
-- (Lost In The World, Kanye West)
We all seek to find a home in New Eden and for many it's a long and difficult process. Some run through many corporations that all 'fit' the style of play the pilot is seeking out, which can be an embittering experience to sift through unsuccessfully. Some don't fit this category, finding a corp and sitting tight for a good long time.
My story (which is chronicled in the dusty recesses of this blog, might I add) is one of content and happiness with the people I experienced New Eden with but a lack of enjoyment with the activities we pursued. I needed piracy and I had only one eye for that; The Tuskers.
One thing to understand about The Tuskers; we always have and will be a piracy corporation. We currently rank ninth on the corporation rankings of Battleclinic's killboard but we are not in any way elitist. We are currently recruiting and if you believe you are Tusker material, check out our recruitment thread here.
Fly safe all.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
In The Dark Places
"So our young men hid
with guns, in the dirt
and in the dark places."
-- (In The Dark Places, PJ Harvey)
Well, I'm still alive. Barely.
My final few months at university along with my internet provider (Virgin Media) becoming total fools and destroying the service due to over-subscription in certain areas, which I unluckily reside in currently, has meant that getting back into New Eden has been nigh impossible. I'm fairly sure I've dropped days of skill training due to the difficulty... Blasphemous, I know.
I'm just trying to lend an olive branch to those who have enjoyed my blog in the past and (perhaps) like my existence in New Eden that I'm not dead and will be coming back.
I recently had my first anniversary as a Tusker... which I couldn't even log on for. Sad to not celebrate with a good roam with my corpmates but I'm happy to have been considered 'Tusker material' for a year long. Here's to another year hopefully!
Keep killing, keep kiting and wave if you see me in local.
with guns, in the dirt
and in the dark places."
-- (In The Dark Places, PJ Harvey)
Well, I'm still alive. Barely.
My final few months at university along with my internet provider (Virgin Media) becoming total fools and destroying the service due to over-subscription in certain areas, which I unluckily reside in currently, has meant that getting back into New Eden has been nigh impossible. I'm fairly sure I've dropped days of skill training due to the difficulty... Blasphemous, I know.
I'm just trying to lend an olive branch to those who have enjoyed my blog in the past and (perhaps) like my existence in New Eden that I'm not dead and will be coming back.
I recently had my first anniversary as a Tusker... which I couldn't even log on for. Sad to not celebrate with a good roam with my corpmates but I'm happy to have been considered 'Tusker material' for a year long. Here's to another year hopefully!
Keep killing, keep kiting and wave if you see me in local.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Paradice
"Call me crazy, I've been called worse.
It's like I have it all, but what's it all worth?
I'm probably better in my afterlife.
I should cherish life, but this ain't paradice."
It's like I have it all, but what's it all worth?
I'm probably better in my afterlife.
I should cherish life, but this ain't paradice."
-- (Paradice, Lil Wayne)
To say I've flown frigates for a long time is quite possibly an understatement. I'm sure there are those who have honed the art far further than myself or have dedicated to the path better than I have, though I think I do myself pretty well. Each death provides a new life and I get to have another go. Surely it is what we all want? Paradise...
Time is on everyone's side and I'm no exception. 20 million sp in frigate-based PvP, ranging across all four races, every small weapon system to tech 2 and max navigation skills. Nothing is (at least in theory) off-limits to a capsuleer in New Eden. I took a step back when a chunk of sp was handed to me in lieu of learning skills being abolished and had to decide what to do with it all. Assault Frigate V? A gunnery skill to V providing a poxy 2 dps? Not this time, Cruisers and Medium guns got the love. What a wonderful present indeed.
What caused me to finally bite the bullet? I've managed to hit the milestone of 1000 kills, all with frigates (and a few with Destroyers...) and honestly, I think that's plenty enough to allay any doubt of my passion. Even so, we all have to grow up sometime and last night, thanks to the hospitality of Man Barthelme, I undocked in a PvP fit Rupture...
My thoughts? It's pretty fun in truth. Definitely not as sluggish or as difficult to pilot as I initially anticipated it to be, that's for sure. I like the damage output, though I'm still shaky jumping through the gates. Time will teach me how to become effective with it.
I wish I had phenomenal tales of bravery to bequeath to you all, yet the only real fight I managed to pull in it was a note-worthy duel against this unfortunate Rupture. Other fights have been white washes generally, so I'm looking forward to some healthy competition in the future.
If New Eden was dictated by dice, I've rolled it hundreds of times and proved my worth. No doubt I'll roll the chances many times more... It just seems like the stakes got higher. No matter what happens though, keep in mind that you can always roll again, you are never over.
P.S. The quote? I know what you are thinking; shamelessly stolen concept from famed pirate Kane Rizzel. I figured he's got literature covered, I'd extent my musical theme too. Consider it flattery, I don't want a lawsuit!
To say I've flown frigates for a long time is quite possibly an understatement. I'm sure there are those who have honed the art far further than myself or have dedicated to the path better than I have, though I think I do myself pretty well. Each death provides a new life and I get to have another go. Surely it is what we all want? Paradise...
Time is on everyone's side and I'm no exception. 20 million sp in frigate-based PvP, ranging across all four races, every small weapon system to tech 2 and max navigation skills. Nothing is (at least in theory) off-limits to a capsuleer in New Eden. I took a step back when a chunk of sp was handed to me in lieu of learning skills being abolished and had to decide what to do with it all. Assault Frigate V? A gunnery skill to V providing a poxy 2 dps? Not this time, Cruisers and Medium guns got the love. What a wonderful present indeed.
What caused me to finally bite the bullet? I've managed to hit the milestone of 1000 kills, all with frigates (and a few with Destroyers...) and honestly, I think that's plenty enough to allay any doubt of my passion. Even so, we all have to grow up sometime and last night, thanks to the hospitality of Man Barthelme, I undocked in a PvP fit Rupture...
My thoughts? It's pretty fun in truth. Definitely not as sluggish or as difficult to pilot as I initially anticipated it to be, that's for sure. I like the damage output, though I'm still shaky jumping through the gates. Time will teach me how to become effective with it.
I wish I had phenomenal tales of bravery to bequeath to you all, yet the only real fight I managed to pull in it was a note-worthy duel against this unfortunate Rupture. Other fights have been white washes generally, so I'm looking forward to some healthy competition in the future.
If New Eden was dictated by dice, I've rolled it hundreds of times and proved my worth. No doubt I'll roll the chances many times more... It just seems like the stakes got higher. No matter what happens though, keep in mind that you can always roll again, you are never over.
P.S. The quote? I know what you are thinking; shamelessly stolen concept from famed pirate Kane Rizzel. I figured he's got literature covered, I'd extent my musical theme too. Consider it flattery, I don't want a lawsuit!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Paint The Sky With Stars
Just wanting to let people know, myself and (love of my life) Bonni3 have done a bunch of goofy doodles and are hosted over at her blog for all your viewing pleasure. There's a bit more info on the whole concept over there, so feel free to head over and take a look. It's all for fun but we'll take commissions if someone ever felt they wanted something done, if so just give me a shout on here or in-game!
All the best.
All the best.
Friday, 21 January 2011
Don't Give Up
So it's been a while since I've been flying to any level of consistency. Real life has taken larger president and I've been rather busy. All is well, far beyond well; all is fantastic! I'm finally finding some time to fit my pirate escapades back into my days, so expect the cobwebs to be dusted off the blog, sorry it's been so long!
Original Kishin
New 1.1.0 Incursion
Saving grace 1.1.1 Incursion Kishin
I think it's obvious that the middle Kishin is quite frankly hilarious and rather scary! I'm thanking my lucky stars that CCP gave everybody a free redesign again, although I couldn't find this fabled third name aspect...
The message is, Don't Give Up! It's a great tool, just remember that whilst it might look good in super high resolution zoomed in, it doesn't look quite so on a tiny portrait. Keep that in mind and you'll be golden.
It's good to be back, hey New Eden. Oh and I won my first Dramiel fight!
Original Kishin
New 1.1.0 Incursion
Saving grace 1.1.1 Incursion Kishin
I think it's obvious that the middle Kishin is quite frankly hilarious and rather scary! I'm thanking my lucky stars that CCP gave everybody a free redesign again, although I couldn't find this fabled third name aspect...
The message is, Don't Give Up! It's a great tool, just remember that whilst it might look good in super high resolution zoomed in, it doesn't look quite so on a tiny portrait. Keep that in mind and you'll be golden.
It's good to be back, hey New Eden. Oh and I won my first Dramiel fight!
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