So there I was; blacked out of existence. Dreaming dreams of a relentless life of cooking and serving others in a high stress, medium paying enviroment. Comas like this kind of suck. Luckily, I was able to wake from this when the doctors forced a clone jump on me. It was either that, or remain a vegetable I was told. Sure, it could have killed me, but I was dead anyways as veggie. Im back in Heild, in my favorite hull, the Vengeance. This baby, I named after Krole. Old Blondie bit the dust awhile back, as you may have heard. I also have a nice supply of the lower version of this hull, just in case someone might be interested in t1 combat. And by happenchance, there was someone interested.
Within 10 minutes of me logging in, someone in local was asking for a 1v1 t1 frigate fight. Well, ok, I say to myself. Must be fate. I shout out in Local to give me a minute to re-adjust to this clone and re-ship. He obliges kindly and in a few seconds Im out in space again. The chill of space. Ive missed it, although its only been a week of me being in a coma, it seems much, much longer. Im already in a fleet with my friend, Rasto, and hes a few jumps over in Hrober. Being the lazy fuck I am, I just invited my opponent to fleet. I guess he is an old person but new to the killing games. I explain the rules of a 1v1, basically no one joins in or they all die. If either catches the pod, ransmom allowed or just killed or let go, captors choice. Kill each other is the goal. Simple and easy.
And so I warp to my enemy. Pre-heat guns and repper. No drugs, not needed for such a weak hull. D-scan shows an incursus ahead. Being that ship, I was kind of scared of the drone that would pop out. I decided immediately to ignore the drone and kill the ship first. Blasters hurt when I fly my Vengeance, I know they will inflict lots of pain on a Punisher. Scorch is loaded, when I land at 20km. I can reach out to an 11km optimal with scorch. Plenty of time to pew pew until I gewt to 4km range, switching to MF crystals quickly. Web and scram are applied, nos as well. His shields are gone. Mine are almost gone, as I apply the repper, hoping for a rep to land after he breaks into armor, avoiding wasting cap. The drone pops out, Im at 1600m. No prop mod, and webbed, I have no chance of escaping his blaster range, so I begin to manually fly to increase transversal alot. With a tracking rig and DPL's, my lasers can track almost as well as autocannons. I dont know about blasters tracking, so its possible this had no effect on him. I can barely keep up with the incoming damage. I am losing armor quickly, but so is he. Thats a false hope though, I know that Gallente hulls are strong. Both enter structure, me repping back into armor and having it almost instantly burnt back off.
But then, an explosion. I see a pod pop on the Overview and quickly target it, scramming immediately upon lock. Shooting the Warrior II drone while approaching the pod to ensure it doesnt escape, I ask if he wants a quick trip to the clone vat or if he'd like to be released for a price. He chooses clone vat and I send him on his way.
A small chat later, I find out his med bay was in Jita. Long flight back to Heild, my friend. I also find out he was excited to fight a R1fta pilot as a killmail of one of us looks very good when you apply to join. Too bad for him I couldnt oblige.
Later on, Im running the plex in Hrober, then I get a dram bp drop. Nifty, I say to myself, then offer it for sell in corp chat. Offer is taken, so I fly back to Heild to setup the contract. Once done, I head to the plex in Heild. After killing a couple of enemy ships, I see a Vengeance on scan. Possible friend, so I mention in corp in case anyone wants in on the kill if I engage. Haerod accepts and I invite to the Fleet. Rasto is over in Hrober, but it doesnt matter, he's just a PI guy. Soon enough, the Vengeance lands inside the plex with me. I oh'd the MWD as I flew towards him, very quickly covering the 50km distance.
Targeted, webbed and scrammed, this ship is going no where. Launchers were pre-heated, as well as the repper, just in case. I blast through his shields much faster than he did mine. His armor was 75% before Haerod even got in the system from Hrober. Keeping a 6500 orbit to stay in range of my nos, but not his, I ripped apart my opponents armor and structure, exposing his pod just as Haerod landed in the Plex. I was surprised by the speed in which I killed this ship, one that I knew had a great tank normally. Well, not this time. Apparently, he doesnt read my blog or anyone elses for a good fitting on the Vengeance. I warped out without looting to repair my ship, and while doing so, was informed that a nice repper dropped. Checking the km, I saw indeed, a nice one did drop for me and I went back to get it, hoping it was still there. Not as good as what I usually use on my vengeances, so I may use it on my punisher if it hasnt sold on the market by the time I log in again.
And so that was my fun fun times after waking from a coma. On a side note, is Eve-kill going slow for anyone else lately? Not just this weekend, but last several weeks, it has been taking 10+ seconds to load. I may have to look into another killboard if it keeps up; I really hate dial up speed loading times. And its only that one killboard site that does it for me too, R1fta corp kb loads quickly, so I dunno.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
EvE: The Neuting Maller
Late last night, there were some people roaming about, looking for a fight. I was a couple jumps over in Hrober, and with a fleet of mine already up, I got the others to join in. GO me! Anyhow...
The call goes out that a Hawk, Wolf, Manticore, and I think there was a Vengeance also for a short moment; were all at the plex in Heild. Well, me being the dick that I am, I had to reship from a Bestower. When I docked, I didnt feel like bringing out my Vengeance; was in the mood for something else. Ah, a Maller, but I dont have any t2 lasers; yet I have plenty of medium neuts for some reason. And so is created the Neuting and ECM Maller. Plenty of tank, for frigates anyways. No point, so Id rely on the others for holding stuff down. Three medium neuts and three small versions, with three ecm modules, one for each of the three or four enemy ships we were about to face.
As I undock, the enemies warp to the sun. I align and warp to the sun at zero. Luckily for me, I landed right on top of the Hawk, the most dangerous of the enemies on grid. The Wolf was in range also, so I tossed a neut on him too. For some reason, the Manticore was within scram range to Aliak, and he killed it promptly with two or three vollies. The Hawk was the proud receiver of my two medium and one small neuts, while the Wolf got my third medium neut, due to being out of range of the smalls. With no capacitor to keep his shield tank going, the Hawk very quickly exploded. With his friends out of the equation, the Wolf pilot also had his ship turned to scrap. Not only did the Wolf pilot like his ship being exploded he wanted a quick trip to his clone vat, so we obliged without him even asking for the assistance. I think the Vengeance warped out early in the fight, as I saw him, but he was out 30km from me, so I didnt bother trying for him.
A short bit later, they were back, this time with the old Vengeance and Myrmidon. Looks like they were pissed at the neuting power of my Maller. I was docked, so I refitted a couple long points this time, I kept the neuts and I should have switched out a plate for a repper, but I didnt. There were probes out and I wasnt watching the alt sitting in a sun safe, so I didnt know until the target lock sound came from the background. My bestower exploded, along with the alts empty clone, neither of which I have mails for atm. I called out on the alt in fleet to warp to him before becoming pod goo, and soon the rest of the fleet landed. The Vengeance's beasty tank stood no chance against the neuts of a Curse and he exploded so fast, I wasnt even on grid for it. When I landed, I was near the Myrm, so he got the full power of all six of my neuts with two long points on him for good measure. My Maller lasted quite awhile under fire, but with no local or remote reps coming in, I exploded soon. The pod on there is the previously mentioned Manticore pilot. I guess he never docked, and I know I did, so that answers the question of when the killmail whoring ends: when the attacker, not victim, docks, but I digress... With my Maller out of action, the Myrm was free to attack my fleet. However, he was neuted to hell and back with very little cap now, so his tank wasnt able to catch up and my revenge was oh so sweet.
Overall, these were all goodfights, nice fleet experiences for both sides I think. For r1fta, I think we only lost a wolf or jag and my alts bestower/pod and my Maller. I think we won the isk war on this one, but we also fielded alot more isk with the curse out there, which I didnt even notice we had until I looked at the killmails. And this was all done via fleet/corp chat without voice comms. Who needs all that organization crap!
We Rebels are pirates!
The call goes out that a Hawk, Wolf, Manticore, and I think there was a Vengeance also for a short moment; were all at the plex in Heild. Well, me being the dick that I am, I had to reship from a Bestower. When I docked, I didnt feel like bringing out my Vengeance; was in the mood for something else. Ah, a Maller, but I dont have any t2 lasers; yet I have plenty of medium neuts for some reason. And so is created the Neuting and ECM Maller. Plenty of tank, for frigates anyways. No point, so Id rely on the others for holding stuff down. Three medium neuts and three small versions, with three ecm modules, one for each of the three or four enemy ships we were about to face.
As I undock, the enemies warp to the sun. I align and warp to the sun at zero. Luckily for me, I landed right on top of the Hawk, the most dangerous of the enemies on grid. The Wolf was in range also, so I tossed a neut on him too. For some reason, the Manticore was within scram range to Aliak, and he killed it promptly with two or three vollies. The Hawk was the proud receiver of my two medium and one small neuts, while the Wolf got my third medium neut, due to being out of range of the smalls. With no capacitor to keep his shield tank going, the Hawk very quickly exploded. With his friends out of the equation, the Wolf pilot also had his ship turned to scrap. Not only did the Wolf pilot like his ship being exploded he wanted a quick trip to his clone vat, so we obliged without him even asking for the assistance. I think the Vengeance warped out early in the fight, as I saw him, but he was out 30km from me, so I didnt bother trying for him.
A short bit later, they were back, this time with the old Vengeance and Myrmidon. Looks like they were pissed at the neuting power of my Maller. I was docked, so I refitted a couple long points this time, I kept the neuts and I should have switched out a plate for a repper, but I didnt. There were probes out and I wasnt watching the alt sitting in a sun safe, so I didnt know until the target lock sound came from the background. My bestower exploded, along with the alts empty clone, neither of which I have mails for atm. I called out on the alt in fleet to warp to him before becoming pod goo, and soon the rest of the fleet landed. The Vengeance's beasty tank stood no chance against the neuts of a Curse and he exploded so fast, I wasnt even on grid for it. When I landed, I was near the Myrm, so he got the full power of all six of my neuts with two long points on him for good measure. My Maller lasted quite awhile under fire, but with no local or remote reps coming in, I exploded soon. The pod on there is the previously mentioned Manticore pilot. I guess he never docked, and I know I did, so that answers the question of when the killmail whoring ends: when the attacker, not victim, docks, but I digress... With my Maller out of action, the Myrm was free to attack my fleet. However, he was neuted to hell and back with very little cap now, so his tank wasnt able to catch up and my revenge was oh so sweet.
Overall, these were all goodfights, nice fleet experiences for both sides I think. For r1fta, I think we only lost a wolf or jag and my alts bestower/pod and my Maller. I think we won the isk war on this one, but we also fielded alot more isk with the curse out there, which I didnt even notice we had until I looked at the killmails. And this was all done via fleet/corp chat without voice comms. Who needs all that organization crap!
We Rebels are pirates!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
EVE: Black Rebel Rifter Club is Awesome!
Just sayin. I felt like letting everyone know that.
Recruitment status: CLOSED
Public channel >> The Autocannon
Description:
Rifter hull enthusiasts. (Except me, I fly the Punisher!)
Unwashed beards, grease, silver sunglasses, long beaded hair or shaved heads, tribal faces, armpits, earrings, chain whips, pistols and stripped-down Rifter hulls passing in formation like a burst of dirty thunder. It's Black Rebel time, baby!
Low-sec/null-sec pvp, bar fights and ganks.
Spare drive chain parts from the Rifter's deadly autocannons have been known to be stripped down and used as 'belts' on the Rebels' clothing . . . Always at hand when a bar fight turns ugly.
-- Gallente Police Training Manual.
How they manage to do it? Last I heard they are drinking their beer from unrinsed mindflood flasks. Interesting idea come to think of it. You selling some? - Unknown Roden Shipyards welder, Egghelende.
How did the Rebels grow to be such disliked hell-raisers? Easy, they worked overtime at being crafty, cruel and cowardly.
-- Serpentis chemical plant worker.
Weird Haul Found at Gang's Hideout.
Four coffins, two electronic grave markers and Thukker tribe emblems were found Saturday in the headquarters of a notorious frigate flying gang where three members were arrested on narcotics charges. The residence also contained a throne chair five feet tall, a stuffed owl, an Amarrian beheading sword and assorted frigate trophies and memorabilia.
-- Excerpt from a weekly news report on New Eden's known criminal gangs.
--
Touch Eyeballs To Screen For Cheap Laser Surgery
Recruitment status: CLOSED
Public channel >> The Autocannon
Description:
Rifter hull enthusiasts. (Except me, I fly the Punisher!)
Unwashed beards, grease, silver sunglasses, long beaded hair or shaved heads, tribal faces, armpits, earrings, chain whips, pistols and stripped-down Rifter hulls passing in formation like a burst of dirty thunder. It's Black Rebel time, baby!
Low-sec/null-sec pvp, bar fights and ganks.
Spare drive chain parts from the Rifter's deadly autocannons have been known to be stripped down and used as 'belts' on the Rebels' clothing . . . Always at hand when a bar fight turns ugly.
-- Gallente Police Training Manual.
How they manage to do it? Last I heard they are drinking their beer from unrinsed mindflood flasks. Interesting idea come to think of it. You selling some? - Unknown Roden Shipyards welder, Egghelende.
How did the Rebels grow to be such disliked hell-raisers? Easy, they worked overtime at being crafty, cruel and cowardly.
-- Serpentis chemical plant worker.
Weird Haul Found at Gang's Hideout.
Four coffins, two electronic grave markers and Thukker tribe emblems were found Saturday in the headquarters of a notorious frigate flying gang where three members were arrested on narcotics charges. The residence also contained a throne chair five feet tall, a stuffed owl, an Amarrian beheading sword and assorted frigate trophies and memorabilia.
-- Excerpt from a weekly news report on New Eden's known criminal gangs.
--
Touch Eyeballs To Screen For Cheap Laser Surgery
Saturday, April 14, 2012
DarkFall: Training
I had an issue with my connection, client shut down, mumble exploded and I restarted the computer. Before logging back in, I felt like doing a quick DF post. So this is it.
Training. More and more training. Greatswords, knives, swimming, diving, running the right way, using leather armor correctly. It seems to never end. I was killing goblin shaman and fighters for awhile more, easily by the way now. I moved on to goblin marauders and warlords, which are presenting a good challenge for me. I even have to run away sometimes if more than one or two join the fight. Ive switched to killing some zombies and even tried to take down a giant skeleton, to no avail.
I built a nice supply of coin that I had planned to spend on some materials to work on some tradeskills, but the oppurtunity presented itself to grab some "Ready Bags" from the clan bank. That, with the added weapons, was a cool 1500 gold. Not a bad deal, but I havent learned all the prices of items yet. These upgrades will come in handy when I head out to the dead areas for some pve. I may even try to take on some troll lords again.
Oh right, that didnt turn out well the first time. I killed it, but apparently he poisoned me with 5 or 6 dots, that I thought would have dropped when he died. No, dots dont drop when the mob dies. So I died also a moment after my opponent fell to my sword. Sadly, I was bound all the way up in Copperdale. It was a long enough run back to the Hammerdale area, that someone was able to completely loot my corpse. Well, that didnt go as planned.
Aslo, as promised, more of the Mages Hand-guide. Two entries this time, as I really want to get this story out again.
Entry Two: Didn't get much done today. I walked a good twenty miles before nightfall, but I haven't come across anybody yet. Nobody that can help me, leastways. All I have is my walking stick, my bag, my journal and some biscuits and jelly.
The moon is setting and already I can hear the howl of the wolves and coyotes. I used to be afraid, but after I almost stumbled on a coyote and it didn't even attack me, I don't worry anymore. The wolves keep their distance from me, though. They don't like my smell. In all honesty, I haven't showered in clean water for weeks; I wouldn't want to eat me either.
Entry Three: I ran into a stray mutt today. Big brute, he was, nearly up to my hip. He had black fur and brown eyes. He ran like nothing I've ever seen, and when he came up to me it was the first time since I left home that I feared for my life. I didn't hit him with my walking stick, but I gave him a biscuit and bade him a good day. He wasn't phased by me for a moment, but after he taste the jelly on that biscuit he was angry no more.
I also came across a woman too. She didn't dress as if she was a woman. She carried a bow and held two long knives. Her ears were peculiar, though. It was as if somebody had stretched them long and flattened them. She had a certain air about her that told me that she was more than enough for me to handle in combat, and that any chance of being friendly with her was nonexistent. She only looked at me with these strange gold eyes and nodded off towards the forest towards her right. "Go." she seemed to say, but her lips did not move. She turned around, then, and stood with her bow at the ready with an arrow already knocked. I wish I would have said something because she was a beauty. Still, Lersh and Undin wouldn't believe me if I could tell them. They'd say I was dreaming, drunk or "otherwise incapacitated".
Training. More and more training. Greatswords, knives, swimming, diving, running the right way, using leather armor correctly. It seems to never end. I was killing goblin shaman and fighters for awhile more, easily by the way now. I moved on to goblin marauders and warlords, which are presenting a good challenge for me. I even have to run away sometimes if more than one or two join the fight. Ive switched to killing some zombies and even tried to take down a giant skeleton, to no avail.
I built a nice supply of coin that I had planned to spend on some materials to work on some tradeskills, but the oppurtunity presented itself to grab some "Ready Bags" from the clan bank. That, with the added weapons, was a cool 1500 gold. Not a bad deal, but I havent learned all the prices of items yet. These upgrades will come in handy when I head out to the dead areas for some pve. I may even try to take on some troll lords again.
Oh right, that didnt turn out well the first time. I killed it, but apparently he poisoned me with 5 or 6 dots, that I thought would have dropped when he died. No, dots dont drop when the mob dies. So I died also a moment after my opponent fell to my sword. Sadly, I was bound all the way up in Copperdale. It was a long enough run back to the Hammerdale area, that someone was able to completely loot my corpse. Well, that didnt go as planned.
Aslo, as promised, more of the Mages Hand-guide. Two entries this time, as I really want to get this story out again.
Entry Two: Didn't get much done today. I walked a good twenty miles before nightfall, but I haven't come across anybody yet. Nobody that can help me, leastways. All I have is my walking stick, my bag, my journal and some biscuits and jelly.
The moon is setting and already I can hear the howl of the wolves and coyotes. I used to be afraid, but after I almost stumbled on a coyote and it didn't even attack me, I don't worry anymore. The wolves keep their distance from me, though. They don't like my smell. In all honesty, I haven't showered in clean water for weeks; I wouldn't want to eat me either.
Entry Three: I ran into a stray mutt today. Big brute, he was, nearly up to my hip. He had black fur and brown eyes. He ran like nothing I've ever seen, and when he came up to me it was the first time since I left home that I feared for my life. I didn't hit him with my walking stick, but I gave him a biscuit and bade him a good day. He wasn't phased by me for a moment, but after he taste the jelly on that biscuit he was angry no more.
I also came across a woman too. She didn't dress as if she was a woman. She carried a bow and held two long knives. Her ears were peculiar, though. It was as if somebody had stretched them long and flattened them. She had a certain air about her that told me that she was more than enough for me to handle in combat, and that any chance of being friendly with her was nonexistent. She only looked at me with these strange gold eyes and nodded off towards the forest towards her right. "Go." she seemed to say, but her lips did not move. She turned around, then, and stood with her bow at the ready with an arrow already knocked. I wish I would have said something because she was a beauty. Still, Lersh and Undin wouldn't believe me if I could tell them. They'd say I was dreaming, drunk or "otherwise incapacitated".
EVE: Getting My Groove Back!!
I logged in tonight with not much in mind of what to do. I decided to fit up a Punisher. I will write more bout this ship later, but for now, more fun. While lollygagging around in corp chat, I noticed a call for more hands on deck, a Nyx was tackled! I assumed a troll and other such bs from the Ransm boys, but they came through and actually had a supercarrier locked down! I promptly then joined fleet and comms and headed their direction, only 5 jumps over. On my way, I heard them call a hold fire, spamming fleet chat for those who were not on voice. Lucky for me, tbh, I was still 1 jump over.
The hold fire was given so the NC. could come whore on the km also. Well, ok, I guess....I saw no reason the pirate rabble who had assembled to take down the super carrier should share the km with big bad nullsec alliance guys. But w/e, thats why Im not in politics! I landed on grid, blasting the Nyx with my NOS and one or two pot shots with my lasers to make sure I was on the killmail. Yeah, I wanted to killmail whore too. Yes, it was in bad form, but have you seen my losses this month? I needed to boost the efficiency, you see!
Soon, the SC pilot grows bored of us holding him, trying to extract a ransom from him, so he starts self destruct and almost instantly, shouts for a cyno to go up, which it does, and then alot of big ships land on grid. Not fleeted big ships. I align to gtfo, but the call is for the sun. I was aligned to a planet, so I readjusted, taking some shield damage before making it out, with a 16 billion isk killmail in my pocket!
That'll help the killboard efficiency a bit!
Then I went back and got a couple corpmate to assist in the logistics of getting my PoS setup. Four or 5 trips, with two characters going the route. Then when I actually get it all there, another hour or two of actually setting it up and onlining it. Not to mention, while setting it up, the UI is horrendusly not user friendly when setting up a pos. I was not a happy camper doing this, but the final result was pretty good.
I got back to Heild afterwards, and just in time for a request to come to test test a fit. And so I did. Several fights later (all wins on my part btw, even though only to hull), we switched it up to t1 stuff. Fitting my punisher, I won 2 of the 3 fights. The 3rd one got me due to not being able to keep up with the tracking so close (less than 1500m) as well as capacitor. Even while super micro managing my modules, I couldnt get through that last bit of armor while he chewed through mine once the capacitor gave out. He had just fought me a few times while figuring out what he did wrong, while I was winning, trying to keep doing what I was doing to win. Only difference was the closer orbit range. Damn that laser tracking!
The hold fire was given so the NC. could come whore on the km also. Well, ok, I guess....I saw no reason the pirate rabble who had assembled to take down the super carrier should share the km with big bad nullsec alliance guys. But w/e, thats why Im not in politics! I landed on grid, blasting the Nyx with my NOS and one or two pot shots with my lasers to make sure I was on the killmail. Yeah, I wanted to killmail whore too. Yes, it was in bad form, but have you seen my losses this month? I needed to boost the efficiency, you see!
Soon, the SC pilot grows bored of us holding him, trying to extract a ransom from him, so he starts self destruct and almost instantly, shouts for a cyno to go up, which it does, and then alot of big ships land on grid. Not fleeted big ships. I align to gtfo, but the call is for the sun. I was aligned to a planet, so I readjusted, taking some shield damage before making it out, with a 16 billion isk killmail in my pocket!
That'll help the killboard efficiency a bit!
Then I went back and got a couple corpmate to assist in the logistics of getting my PoS setup. Four or 5 trips, with two characters going the route. Then when I actually get it all there, another hour or two of actually setting it up and onlining it. Not to mention, while setting it up, the UI is horrendusly not user friendly when setting up a pos. I was not a happy camper doing this, but the final result was pretty good.
I got back to Heild afterwards, and just in time for a request to come to test test a fit. And so I did. Several fights later (all wins on my part btw, even though only to hull), we switched it up to t1 stuff. Fitting my punisher, I won 2 of the 3 fights. The 3rd one got me due to not being able to keep up with the tracking so close (less than 1500m) as well as capacitor. Even while super micro managing my modules, I couldnt get through that last bit of armor while he chewed through mine once the capacitor gave out. He had just fought me a few times while figuring out what he did wrong, while I was winning, trying to keep doing what I was doing to win. Only difference was the closer orbit range. Damn that laser tracking!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
EvE: Paranoia
So my Black Frog shipment arrived. I fit up my Retribution and got Aliak to allow me to test out the fit. Yeah, that didnt happen. Upon undocking, I saw a Vengeance on scan. "AWESOME!" I say to myself. I know his tank will be tanky and my dps will be good enough to either break it or not. I also know thermal and em are the weak resists to the Veng, cuz Im smart like that!
I warp to my sun safe, hoping he will follow me to the sun. A few moments pass and he does arrive at the sun. I notice his speed and distance decreasing. He's coming for me! Well, knowing I need to be about 20km away on landing to set keep at range to allow transversal to be minimized, I warp to 20km from the sun. I think this will put me directly behind him, due to him flying towards me. Yeah that didnt happen either.
I landed 8-9km from my target, unable to turn and run away before he locked and scrammed me. Closing range as I knew he would, I was stuck at 3km or so the entire fight. My tank held out pretty good but it wasnt until I was at 50% armor that I remembered I should switch to Multi Freq. crystals instead of scorch. By this time, he was at 50% also. Switching, I got him down to about 10% armor. He was repping though, slowly, but enough to cancel out my buffer. My ship soon exploded. As this was not technically a 1v1, I was already fleeted with Aliak when I undocked prior to this fight. Aliak was special in the head or something with his dscan as well as chat channels, so when I called point in corp chat, he didnt see it, warping around trying to get the enemy on dscan. I guess he didnt see the vengeance, so assumed it warped away, while waiting for me to call point in fleet. My mistake on the miscommunications. Eventually, (right as my ship exploded actually), Aliak landed on grid and finished off the enemy
A little while later, I was goaded into a fight with a hawk. Knowing my ship, I will most likely lose this fight. A few more taunts later by this person and I said fuck it and went for it, dropping fleet that had my alt PI char and Aliak in it. After some complications, I eventually joined fleet with my opponent for a 1v1. Heading to a safe, I let him know he can warp to me. Having my mwd going so I can get a long range to start the fight. I want to be able to zoom into scram range to cancel out his mwd if he has one, to prevent the possible 15km rocket range. He landed at 70km. Yay, so far, so good!
I zoom into range and all is going well. He had me targeted (auto-retarget perhaps?) but he dropped fleet. This to me was breaking the 1v1, and I called in Aliak, trying desperately to inv to fleet. Apparently he hadnt left the other fleet with my alt yet. Found this out after the fight. Well shyt. In this whole calling for help thing, I had my repper and launchers OHd. I noticed at nearly the last second that my launchers were almost deaded. I clicked those off then moved to click off the repper. At that exact moment, the module greyed out. OH SHYT! I JUST BURNT OUT MY REPPER! I then say to myself, "Self, you are a retard. That is all." Slowly, my armor is diminished and my ship explodes, with Aliak landing 400km away at the belt where my combat safe is at.
Analysis
Many, many things went wrong tonight that normally should not have. Switching crystals from long range to close range would have won me that Vengeance fight solo. Paying more attention to my modules instead of the enemy leaving fleet (due to not seeing me on his overview I guess...fail overview settings!!!), because I thought he refleeted and was bring in friends to whore on my shiny lossmail. That didnt happen, so obviously he refleeted with an alt booster. Nope, that didnt happen either. Just entirely due to fail overview settings of not having fleet members on it.
So, lessons learned tonight: Relearned instant reload with crystals. Make use of it! Dont commit to single ammo like preloading the best likely ammo with the Vengeance. Dont assume 1v1 dishonor just because of fleet droppage. Had I paid more attention, I would not have burnt out my repper. At one or two points, I was able to warp out as well, I noticed this each time it happened. But I did not take the advantage of it like I should have done due to typing in corp channel. I should have remained focused. The stupid combat rush took over due to the adrenaline again. Fuck that feeling is good, but it makes me die. I dont like dieing. I dont like losing. So fuck this feeling and having it often.
I have a supply of punishers that I need to buy fittings for still, but Im done flying bling ships for awhile until the rust comes off. Darkfall is an awesome game, but I prefer EvE. Darkfall has caused my spaceship skills to fail me, and I refuse to let this evening ruin my good god damned time in space!
EvE makes you paranoid of everything.
I warp to my sun safe, hoping he will follow me to the sun. A few moments pass and he does arrive at the sun. I notice his speed and distance decreasing. He's coming for me! Well, knowing I need to be about 20km away on landing to set keep at range to allow transversal to be minimized, I warp to 20km from the sun. I think this will put me directly behind him, due to him flying towards me. Yeah that didnt happen either.
I landed 8-9km from my target, unable to turn and run away before he locked and scrammed me. Closing range as I knew he would, I was stuck at 3km or so the entire fight. My tank held out pretty good but it wasnt until I was at 50% armor that I remembered I should switch to Multi Freq. crystals instead of scorch. By this time, he was at 50% also. Switching, I got him down to about 10% armor. He was repping though, slowly, but enough to cancel out my buffer. My ship soon exploded. As this was not technically a 1v1, I was already fleeted with Aliak when I undocked prior to this fight. Aliak was special in the head or something with his dscan as well as chat channels, so when I called point in corp chat, he didnt see it, warping around trying to get the enemy on dscan. I guess he didnt see the vengeance, so assumed it warped away, while waiting for me to call point in fleet. My mistake on the miscommunications. Eventually, (right as my ship exploded actually), Aliak landed on grid and finished off the enemy
A little while later, I was goaded into a fight with a hawk. Knowing my ship, I will most likely lose this fight. A few more taunts later by this person and I said fuck it and went for it, dropping fleet that had my alt PI char and Aliak in it. After some complications, I eventually joined fleet with my opponent for a 1v1. Heading to a safe, I let him know he can warp to me. Having my mwd going so I can get a long range to start the fight. I want to be able to zoom into scram range to cancel out his mwd if he has one, to prevent the possible 15km rocket range. He landed at 70km. Yay, so far, so good!
I zoom into range and all is going well. He had me targeted (auto-retarget perhaps?) but he dropped fleet. This to me was breaking the 1v1, and I called in Aliak, trying desperately to inv to fleet. Apparently he hadnt left the other fleet with my alt yet. Found this out after the fight. Well shyt. In this whole calling for help thing, I had my repper and launchers OHd. I noticed at nearly the last second that my launchers were almost deaded. I clicked those off then moved to click off the repper. At that exact moment, the module greyed out. OH SHYT! I JUST BURNT OUT MY REPPER! I then say to myself, "Self, you are a retard. That is all." Slowly, my armor is diminished and my ship explodes, with Aliak landing 400km away at the belt where my combat safe is at.
Analysis
Many, many things went wrong tonight that normally should not have. Switching crystals from long range to close range would have won me that Vengeance fight solo. Paying more attention to my modules instead of the enemy leaving fleet (due to not seeing me on his overview I guess...fail overview settings!!!), because I thought he refleeted and was bring in friends to whore on my shiny lossmail. That didnt happen, so obviously he refleeted with an alt booster. Nope, that didnt happen either. Just entirely due to fail overview settings of not having fleet members on it.
So, lessons learned tonight: Relearned instant reload with crystals. Make use of it! Dont commit to single ammo like preloading the best likely ammo with the Vengeance. Dont assume 1v1 dishonor just because of fleet droppage. Had I paid more attention, I would not have burnt out my repper. At one or two points, I was able to warp out as well, I noticed this each time it happened. But I did not take the advantage of it like I should have done due to typing in corp channel. I should have remained focused. The stupid combat rush took over due to the adrenaline again. Fuck that feeling is good, but it makes me die. I dont like dieing. I dont like losing. So fuck this feeling and having it often.
I have a supply of punishers that I need to buy fittings for still, but Im done flying bling ships for awhile until the rust comes off. Darkfall is an awesome game, but I prefer EvE. Darkfall has caused my spaceship skills to fail me, and I refuse to let this evening ruin my good god damned time in space!
EvE makes you paranoid of everything.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Goblins and the Brawny
Goblins. Lots and lots of Goblins have been killed by my daggers. Ive kill at a minimum 200 goblin scouts, 100 goblin fighters, and 20 goblin shamen. This grants a title called "the Brawny", apparently magical words that bestow + strength! Awesome! I want more strength, so I search for the next step. Now, a total of 500 trolls must die. Well, this will be interesting, I have never fought a troll before.
Some players have died also, but there was this one in the newbie area who refused to die. He attacked me and I was too slow in landing a retalitory hit while he was "Rogue" that I went rogue instead; resulting in my death to his greatsword. Regearing, I returned and tried to sneak up on him this time. I watched for a few minutes, and learned he heavily relied on magic, but was also an adept melee user.
Fortuneately, I had learnt some of Darkfalls flagging mechanics. As long as he was rogue, the guard towers would help me. So I taunted him into a fight again. He kept hitting me as I swung my sword in his general direction, keeping in mind to walk backwards towards town. Unfortuneately, my skill at guaging distance to the towers is off some, so I died just outside the range of help.
So two full sets of armor gone as well as a pretty nifty little bow and a badass greatsword that was transmuted for fire. It was almost broken, so no biggie, really, but still. The armor wasnt much of a loss either, as I can create my own leather armor (72 skill, almost to studded armor at 75). Im also working on weaponsmithing in small quantities to have my own little supply, but I hate harvesting, so thats slow going.
Things come smoother now though. I can easily combat most goblins, but I did need to seek assistance from my brother for killing a goblin warlord. One of his guarding marauders dropped a "Selentine key" that I used to open a nearby chest. It popped out a nie amount of gold, a great axe and a banded chestpeice that was imbued with a health bonus. There was also a cold resistance boosting shield in there that I am saving for a cold day.
The inventory issue of becoming a clusterfuck has happened a couple times, but Ive made myself several sacks to put within bags as well as figuring out how to label the bags has made sorting things much easier. In the main bank, a combat bag that holds two bags, armor and weapons, and contained within each are bags for different armor and weapon types. In the combat bag, Im working on keeping a "quick load" sack that has a full set of armor and weapons with regeants as needed for a quick resupply upon death. Same as having backup ships fit in my hangar in EvE. Lots of crossover between these two games as far as lessons learned.
After registering on the forums and teamspeak, I was promoted beyond recruit to Sgt in Mutiny. Nifty, but it didnt really bestow anything useful, like clan bank access where the bags full of weapons I want to use reside (more fire swords!! MOAR!) I also tried to get access to use the supply of iron ingots and leather to work on weaponsmithing, but that also didnt go well. Apparently trust in Darkfall is the same as trust in EvE: non-existant. Annoying, but not a problem. Just inconveniant.
We have two holds, Hammerdale and Lost Untilkin, or something similar. The first is a short five to ten minute run by foot from Monkfield (my starting area). The second is a cold, deserted place. So far north, not even normal players traverse this place often. Pretty good place for working on tradeskills I heard. Hammerdale is a human built city that is near an ocean, the name of which I havent learned yet. There are a few more little villages around, also player built I think. The control points provide a gold income for the clan, but Im not sure how that is applied for usage yet.
So far, I havent grouped much at all with clanmates, but when called many were willing to come. Although the target was gone soon, several sent msgs to say again if he showed up. Yeah, I have the ability to call for backup to kill that guy who killed me. Twice. Anyhow, Agon is quickly becoming a new home away from home and I am pretty sure I will be upgrading from a trial soon. Im about 80% sure my brother will be doing the same, although he play still prefers EQ2. For now.
Also, Im going to be posting an amazing story that I read before I started playing Darkfall. Even though player written lore, this story is exactly what drew me into Darkfall in the first place, moreso than anything else Ive encountered about this game. I copied it in its entirety for player made books in EQ2, but since I dont play that anymore, its a shame for this story to fade into obscurity like many things Darkfall related have done. I hope for you all to read it and enjoy as much as I did when Fawkes originally wrote it. So without further ado, the first entry of "The Mages Hand-Guide to Agon", written by Fawkes.
Here is the link giving me permission to copy the story to EQ2. I assume being such an old story, I can post it to my blog also for easier access. Yes, I am Zianlo K'Synth. Whole different story for another day perhaps. Also, no poking fun if you look through my old posts on there bout posting on myspace, those are totally old and noobish posts of mine that I wish I could strike from existence.
THE MAGE'S HANDGUIDE TO AGON
This is in the perspective of Les, a village-dwelling boy who can't seem to find his spot in the whole mess of life. He's seventeen, and by then he still is restless in the village he calls home.
Entry One: I've left home. Ma and Da can't understand me anymore. I feel more powerful now, like I can take Da in a shouting match. Or that I can stand up to my mother when she scolds me for no reason. The only people who understand me are not in this house. Not in this village, perhaps not even in this country, and I know it. I've left home, and as I write this by the river, under this tree and surrounded by nature, I feel like this should have been my home all along.
Some players have died also, but there was this one in the newbie area who refused to die. He attacked me and I was too slow in landing a retalitory hit while he was "Rogue" that I went rogue instead; resulting in my death to his greatsword. Regearing, I returned and tried to sneak up on him this time. I watched for a few minutes, and learned he heavily relied on magic, but was also an adept melee user.
Fortuneately, I had learnt some of Darkfalls flagging mechanics. As long as he was rogue, the guard towers would help me. So I taunted him into a fight again. He kept hitting me as I swung my sword in his general direction, keeping in mind to walk backwards towards town. Unfortuneately, my skill at guaging distance to the towers is off some, so I died just outside the range of help.
So two full sets of armor gone as well as a pretty nifty little bow and a badass greatsword that was transmuted for fire. It was almost broken, so no biggie, really, but still. The armor wasnt much of a loss either, as I can create my own leather armor (72 skill, almost to studded armor at 75). Im also working on weaponsmithing in small quantities to have my own little supply, but I hate harvesting, so thats slow going.
Things come smoother now though. I can easily combat most goblins, but I did need to seek assistance from my brother for killing a goblin warlord. One of his guarding marauders dropped a "Selentine key" that I used to open a nearby chest. It popped out a nie amount of gold, a great axe and a banded chestpeice that was imbued with a health bonus. There was also a cold resistance boosting shield in there that I am saving for a cold day.
The inventory issue of becoming a clusterfuck has happened a couple times, but Ive made myself several sacks to put within bags as well as figuring out how to label the bags has made sorting things much easier. In the main bank, a combat bag that holds two bags, armor and weapons, and contained within each are bags for different armor and weapon types. In the combat bag, Im working on keeping a "quick load" sack that has a full set of armor and weapons with regeants as needed for a quick resupply upon death. Same as having backup ships fit in my hangar in EvE. Lots of crossover between these two games as far as lessons learned.
After registering on the forums and teamspeak, I was promoted beyond recruit to Sgt in Mutiny. Nifty, but it didnt really bestow anything useful, like clan bank access where the bags full of weapons I want to use reside (more fire swords!! MOAR!) I also tried to get access to use the supply of iron ingots and leather to work on weaponsmithing, but that also didnt go well. Apparently trust in Darkfall is the same as trust in EvE: non-existant. Annoying, but not a problem. Just inconveniant.
We have two holds, Hammerdale and Lost Untilkin, or something similar. The first is a short five to ten minute run by foot from Monkfield (my starting area). The second is a cold, deserted place. So far north, not even normal players traverse this place often. Pretty good place for working on tradeskills I heard. Hammerdale is a human built city that is near an ocean, the name of which I havent learned yet. There are a few more little villages around, also player built I think. The control points provide a gold income for the clan, but Im not sure how that is applied for usage yet.
So far, I havent grouped much at all with clanmates, but when called many were willing to come. Although the target was gone soon, several sent msgs to say again if he showed up. Yeah, I have the ability to call for backup to kill that guy who killed me. Twice. Anyhow, Agon is quickly becoming a new home away from home and I am pretty sure I will be upgrading from a trial soon. Im about 80% sure my brother will be doing the same, although he play still prefers EQ2. For now.
Also, Im going to be posting an amazing story that I read before I started playing Darkfall. Even though player written lore, this story is exactly what drew me into Darkfall in the first place, moreso than anything else Ive encountered about this game. I copied it in its entirety for player made books in EQ2, but since I dont play that anymore, its a shame for this story to fade into obscurity like many things Darkfall related have done. I hope for you all to read it and enjoy as much as I did when Fawkes originally wrote it. So without further ado, the first entry of "The Mages Hand-Guide to Agon", written by Fawkes.
Here is the link giving me permission to copy the story to EQ2. I assume being such an old story, I can post it to my blog also for easier access. Yes, I am Zianlo K'Synth. Whole different story for another day perhaps. Also, no poking fun if you look through my old posts on there bout posting on myspace, those are totally old and noobish posts of mine that I wish I could strike from existence.
THE MAGE'S HANDGUIDE TO AGON
This is in the perspective of Les, a village-dwelling boy who can't seem to find his spot in the whole mess of life. He's seventeen, and by then he still is restless in the village he calls home.
Entry One: I've left home. Ma and Da can't understand me anymore. I feel more powerful now, like I can take Da in a shouting match. Or that I can stand up to my mother when she scolds me for no reason. The only people who understand me are not in this house. Not in this village, perhaps not even in this country, and I know it. I've left home, and as I write this by the river, under this tree and surrounded by nature, I feel like this should have been my home all along.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Story So Far....
Bronan Darkfrost has been accomplishing small things lately. He's had a few setbacks, but also has had many successes.
First, Id like to mention things I dont like about Darkfall. The UI. I hate the dual UI types, right clicking to use "combat" mode and right clicking again for "active mouse" mode. I see the whys of doing so (more keybinds?) or maybe I dont. Thats not even really that bad, tbh. Its that the UI is not as responsive as I would like. Im used to EverQuest 2 UI where when I hit a key, it does it without delay (excluding the occasional spell lag) What I mean is that there is a delay when I hit spacebar to jump and my character jumping. Its a small, almost unnoticeable delay. Unless you played EQ2 for 8 years. Maybe I was just spoiled by a UI that did what I told it to do quicker. I dunno.
Outside of that, I dont have any complaints about this game. Its extremely PvP focused, allowing you to create just about every item in the game if you have the skills to do so. Speaking of Skills, its a grindfest. You thought EvE is grinding? No, no, youre confused. EvE skills grind by themselves, at no cost to you other than patience. Darkfall skills only grind when you use them. Or as I found out, you pay gold for "Meditation", which is similar in gaining skills like EvE when offline. So theres a work around for the grinding, as well as a bonus for actually using the skills. I havent invested in it yet, but Im sure I will eventually.
Now that the bad is out of the way, time for the good. PvP. Its awesome. Ive killed a couple players on the deleted characters, but on this one, I have made an attempt to be somewhat risk averse when other players are around. This isnt because Im scared to die, but because I have no supplies yet. I dont have that backup gear to replace the armor I currently wear. Well, unfortuneately, fate was not on my side. I lost not just one, but two full sets (not even full set really) of armor to two different people. Both times, they helped a goblin kill me. Gotta work on situation awareness here in Agon.
The next thing, the community. Its small, super small. The last 3 nights Ive logged in, I have seen the same 4 or 5 names in racial alliance chat. Maybe its the time of night I log in. So far, every time Ive asked a question, its been answered. Some responses take longer than others, often times, the question will lead into a debate (knives vs sword/board vs greatsword vs great club). Great community. Its also a community of HTFU, as I havent had a single person offer something for nothing. Except one...
Im out killing goblins for a quest (yes, lots of goblins) and I die. When you die, you are incapacitated while the mobs walk away and you have a chance to be either ganked (equal to being podded), revived by a player, or just wait your timer out to die. Well, while dieing, I was about half way through and Im spinning around waiting to expire when I see a player. A player with a RED name. RED is bad. Ive learned that a player with a RED name is usually there to kill me. So I moan to myself thinking a gank is incoming. And to my great surprise, this person revives me! Yes, he revives me. I get up, say my thanks as I run off, just in case he wants to kill me again himself instead of the goblin. Luckily, he was just passing through and willing to help a noob like me.
After resting up, I return to the goblin village and finish killing what needs killed and collected what needed to be. Upon returning to town, I turn in all the quests possible and almost empty out my journal in the process. I also aquire alot of decent items, items that I stash in the bank for later when needed. There is no mender to repair weapons or armor, so I will need to constantly have to replace my gear at some point, either from wear and tear or having it taken by another player. Enter Tradeskills.
I happen to be a crafter when the action benefits me. Well, crafting my own gear will be pretty damn helpful in the future I feel. I take up tailoring, as it is usually the easiest in most games. I figure out how to make the basic cloth and find out I need a skill of 50 to make leather. Well, this is a grind and a half, and I fell asleep doing it. Crafting in Darkfall is simple in that you get the materials you need, you stand at the station you need and put in how many of the items you want to make. Making 100 of any item is an arduous process and I would not reccomend doing mass orders like that unless you go to bed or afk; because it is definately boring waiting for that little yellow bar to fill up every 10 seconds per item.
So where do I stand right now? Well, Im looking for some steedgrass to make a mount. Im switching between using knives and a 2h greatsword for weapons; one has a longer reach, more damage, but slow while the other is shorter range, fast and lower damage. I am also practicing aiming better with Archery, since the arrows drop rapidly the further away the target is. Similar goes for magic, except I dont have a spell that drops like the arrows. Im working on the other starter city quests also, since the original for me is completed. I feel doing this will help both in getting more armor and weapons stockpiled, but also build some gold supplies as well as the combat increasing my used skills. So far, so good.
Everything is going well in Agon for Bronan. He's had a few harsh losses, but nothing that he hasnt been able to replace with some effort in doing so. Soon, those gankers will attack, and I will win one of these times!
First, Id like to mention things I dont like about Darkfall. The UI. I hate the dual UI types, right clicking to use "combat" mode and right clicking again for "active mouse" mode. I see the whys of doing so (more keybinds?) or maybe I dont. Thats not even really that bad, tbh. Its that the UI is not as responsive as I would like. Im used to EverQuest 2 UI where when I hit a key, it does it without delay (excluding the occasional spell lag) What I mean is that there is a delay when I hit spacebar to jump and my character jumping. Its a small, almost unnoticeable delay. Unless you played EQ2 for 8 years. Maybe I was just spoiled by a UI that did what I told it to do quicker. I dunno.
Outside of that, I dont have any complaints about this game. Its extremely PvP focused, allowing you to create just about every item in the game if you have the skills to do so. Speaking of Skills, its a grindfest. You thought EvE is grinding? No, no, youre confused. EvE skills grind by themselves, at no cost to you other than patience. Darkfall skills only grind when you use them. Or as I found out, you pay gold for "Meditation", which is similar in gaining skills like EvE when offline. So theres a work around for the grinding, as well as a bonus for actually using the skills. I havent invested in it yet, but Im sure I will eventually.
Now that the bad is out of the way, time for the good. PvP. Its awesome. Ive killed a couple players on the deleted characters, but on this one, I have made an attempt to be somewhat risk averse when other players are around. This isnt because Im scared to die, but because I have no supplies yet. I dont have that backup gear to replace the armor I currently wear. Well, unfortuneately, fate was not on my side. I lost not just one, but two full sets (not even full set really) of armor to two different people. Both times, they helped a goblin kill me. Gotta work on situation awareness here in Agon.
The next thing, the community. Its small, super small. The last 3 nights Ive logged in, I have seen the same 4 or 5 names in racial alliance chat. Maybe its the time of night I log in. So far, every time Ive asked a question, its been answered. Some responses take longer than others, often times, the question will lead into a debate (knives vs sword/board vs greatsword vs great club). Great community. Its also a community of HTFU, as I havent had a single person offer something for nothing. Except one...
Im out killing goblins for a quest (yes, lots of goblins) and I die. When you die, you are incapacitated while the mobs walk away and you have a chance to be either ganked (equal to being podded), revived by a player, or just wait your timer out to die. Well, while dieing, I was about half way through and Im spinning around waiting to expire when I see a player. A player with a RED name. RED is bad. Ive learned that a player with a RED name is usually there to kill me. So I moan to myself thinking a gank is incoming. And to my great surprise, this person revives me! Yes, he revives me. I get up, say my thanks as I run off, just in case he wants to kill me again himself instead of the goblin. Luckily, he was just passing through and willing to help a noob like me.
After resting up, I return to the goblin village and finish killing what needs killed and collected what needed to be. Upon returning to town, I turn in all the quests possible and almost empty out my journal in the process. I also aquire alot of decent items, items that I stash in the bank for later when needed. There is no mender to repair weapons or armor, so I will need to constantly have to replace my gear at some point, either from wear and tear or having it taken by another player. Enter Tradeskills.
I happen to be a crafter when the action benefits me. Well, crafting my own gear will be pretty damn helpful in the future I feel. I take up tailoring, as it is usually the easiest in most games. I figure out how to make the basic cloth and find out I need a skill of 50 to make leather. Well, this is a grind and a half, and I fell asleep doing it. Crafting in Darkfall is simple in that you get the materials you need, you stand at the station you need and put in how many of the items you want to make. Making 100 of any item is an arduous process and I would not reccomend doing mass orders like that unless you go to bed or afk; because it is definately boring waiting for that little yellow bar to fill up every 10 seconds per item.
So where do I stand right now? Well, Im looking for some steedgrass to make a mount. Im switching between using knives and a 2h greatsword for weapons; one has a longer reach, more damage, but slow while the other is shorter range, fast and lower damage. I am also practicing aiming better with Archery, since the arrows drop rapidly the further away the target is. Similar goes for magic, except I dont have a spell that drops like the arrows. Im working on the other starter city quests also, since the original for me is completed. I feel doing this will help both in getting more armor and weapons stockpiled, but also build some gold supplies as well as the combat increasing my used skills. So far, so good.
Everything is going well in Agon for Bronan. He's had a few harsh losses, but nothing that he hasnt been able to replace with some effort in doing so. Soon, those gankers will attack, and I will win one of these times!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Darkfall: The EVE of Fantasy MMOs
I forgot yesterday was Wednesday, so I didnt post this then. Ive recently been busy playing Darkfall, as the title suggests. They have a 14 day free trial and my brother convinced me to try it out with him. I tried the game a few years ago but I couldnt get into it due to the heavy PvP aspect of it. I couldnt get into it because it was too hard for me to accept the constant loss of equipment. This is at a time when I was heavily raided in EverQuest 2 and having high level gear was the epitome. I didnt like the full loot system and starting over every time I got killed and looted by another player. Two or three years later, none of that bothered me anymore.
Why is that, you ask? Well, Ive been playing EVE for about a year or two now. Ive lost that sense of connection to my equipment and ships. Sure, I have some ships that last awhile and I grow some attachment to them, but when that happens, I purposefully go out and explode that ship. R.I.P. Blondie. **tear**
Anyways, trying out Darkfall trial. Extremely similar to EVE in rules and learning. Mentioned later, but I incapacitated a person and remember X being the gank ability by default (From reading the controls and editing hotkeys) so I hit it and podded this guys body. Totally. Fucking. Awesome. Downside is that I went from full +10 to right in the damn middle, leaning on the evil side. I got rebound to some location so damn far away by default, that when I eventually died, I had no clue wtf I was doing. I dislike the auto-new-home-thing when you become Evil.
I deleted that character, with a name I wanted, thinking I could reuse it. Not possible. Lesson 1: Dont gank people until youre ready to be full time pvp. Lesson 2: Consequences for your actions, even deleting your character. Awesome.
So I re-rolled a dark elf. Didnt like the area. The place I started in was more confusing than Neriak in EverQuest 1 or maybe Kelethin in EQ2. Promptly deleted that character. I liked his surname though, so I kept that with the new character, that I stuck with this time. Enter Bronan Darkfrost.
Human of Mercia. Twin blade, side magic user, shitty archer (but getting better!). Tailor. More tradeskills to come. All prety intricately intertwined, or so it seems. Ive attacked a few people, been ganked once or twice myself, no kills yet on this character. Darkfall has a learning cliff exactly like EVE.
The first time my brother lost a fight and got ganked, he lost all his gear because he didnt listen to me about banking stuff and only carrying what he can afford to lose. Lesson 3, should be 1, 2, 3, 4, ect.... Sound familiar? He died a few more times to people we attacked, Old Sun Republic or some crap, I dunno. He is still stuck in the "must have better gear" mode instead of "have lots of spare gear" mode. Anyhow, the one guy kept running back to the guard towers, and it took me a minute to figure out wtf was happening. Guard Towers = Gate and Station guns when attacking players. Lesson 4: Dont attack players in lawful areas.
And this is over a period of about four to five hours. Skill grinding is definately part of the game, and I keep seeing people say dont craft until you have 40 wisdom, which is when you can aquire the trueforge skill. To that, I asked how to raise wisdom. With a reply of "Go fishing", I went fishing. Lesson 5: Attribute gains are slow. Ive been fishing for about 2 hours and only gotten half (0.5) points of Wisdom gain. Well, this is going to be awhile..
For new characters, its inconceiveable to put off crafting your own gear until wisdom 40 while only harvesting until then. Yeah, better durability is good, but fuck, youre going to lose the gear anyways most likely. Thank you, EVE, for departing on me this wisdom. As soon as I equip that gear from the bank, its already lost. Just like a ship Im sitting in; the moment it is undock, it is already exploded.
I love EvE. I love New Eden and its history and lore. I also love fantasy RPGs. Darkfall has an insane lore and history to it. I continously find myself looking back on Darkfall for the stories the devs and players came up with. Two years ago, I was not even looking at Darkfall in the same way as I am now.
Darkfall is harsh. Darkfall is a world full of consequences for your actions. It is more like EvE than not, when excluding the whole spaceship vs caveman thing. I love Darkfall.
Why is that, you ask? Well, Ive been playing EVE for about a year or two now. Ive lost that sense of connection to my equipment and ships. Sure, I have some ships that last awhile and I grow some attachment to them, but when that happens, I purposefully go out and explode that ship. R.I.P. Blondie. **tear**
Anyways, trying out Darkfall trial. Extremely similar to EVE in rules and learning. Mentioned later, but I incapacitated a person and remember X being the gank ability by default (From reading the controls and editing hotkeys) so I hit it and podded this guys body. Totally. Fucking. Awesome. Downside is that I went from full +10 to right in the damn middle, leaning on the evil side. I got rebound to some location so damn far away by default, that when I eventually died, I had no clue wtf I was doing. I dislike the auto-new-home-thing when you become Evil.
I deleted that character, with a name I wanted, thinking I could reuse it. Not possible. Lesson 1: Dont gank people until youre ready to be full time pvp. Lesson 2: Consequences for your actions, even deleting your character. Awesome.
So I re-rolled a dark elf. Didnt like the area. The place I started in was more confusing than Neriak in EverQuest 1 or maybe Kelethin in EQ2. Promptly deleted that character. I liked his surname though, so I kept that with the new character, that I stuck with this time. Enter Bronan Darkfrost.
Human of Mercia. Twin blade, side magic user, shitty archer (but getting better!). Tailor. More tradeskills to come. All prety intricately intertwined, or so it seems. Ive attacked a few people, been ganked once or twice myself, no kills yet on this character. Darkfall has a learning cliff exactly like EVE.
The first time my brother lost a fight and got ganked, he lost all his gear because he didnt listen to me about banking stuff and only carrying what he can afford to lose. Lesson 3, should be 1, 2, 3, 4, ect.... Sound familiar? He died a few more times to people we attacked, Old Sun Republic or some crap, I dunno. He is still stuck in the "must have better gear" mode instead of "have lots of spare gear" mode. Anyhow, the one guy kept running back to the guard towers, and it took me a minute to figure out wtf was happening. Guard Towers = Gate and Station guns when attacking players. Lesson 4: Dont attack players in lawful areas.
And this is over a period of about four to five hours. Skill grinding is definately part of the game, and I keep seeing people say dont craft until you have 40 wisdom, which is when you can aquire the trueforge skill. To that, I asked how to raise wisdom. With a reply of "Go fishing", I went fishing. Lesson 5: Attribute gains are slow. Ive been fishing for about 2 hours and only gotten half (0.5) points of Wisdom gain. Well, this is going to be awhile..
For new characters, its inconceiveable to put off crafting your own gear until wisdom 40 while only harvesting until then. Yeah, better durability is good, but fuck, youre going to lose the gear anyways most likely. Thank you, EVE, for departing on me this wisdom. As soon as I equip that gear from the bank, its already lost. Just like a ship Im sitting in; the moment it is undock, it is already exploded.
I love EvE. I love New Eden and its history and lore. I also love fantasy RPGs. Darkfall has an insane lore and history to it. I continously find myself looking back on Darkfall for the stories the devs and players came up with. Two years ago, I was not even looking at Darkfall in the same way as I am now.
Darkfall is harsh. Darkfall is a world full of consequences for your actions. It is more like EvE than not, when excluding the whole spaceship vs caveman thing. I love Darkfall.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Stealing Ideas
Somehow, Friday came and went without a post from me. I dont really remember WTF I was doing outside of work the last four or five days to be honest. Its just a blur or sleeping, eating, working and shitting. So right now, Im stealing another bloggers idea for a post. Mostly because its one Ive wanted to do, but dont feel like copying anyone. So Im doing it first and he will copy me. Im even going to steal his formatting of his prior Punisher guide. WINNING!
The Vengeance: My Thoughts
This is an awesomely amazing ship. Thats the simple, one sentence description of this god-like Assault Frigate. Many people fly the Rifter hulls and its t2 counterparts, the Wolf and Jaguar; but the Vengeance is an entirely different beast. I feel being able to take damage while also dealing out the damage is the key to winning a battle. As a direct upgrade to the Punisher, it flies in similar ways, close range brawling.
Amarr ships, imo, are the most skill point intensive ships in EVE. You need good capacitor skills (anything that conserves, increases, or regenerates capacitor). Along with that, Lasers use alot of capacitor, so the ship specific skill assists by having a cap reduction bonus for lasers on nearly all Amarrian ships. The majority of Amarrian vessels are armor tanked, so you need acceptable levels of armor compensation skills as well as both Mechanic and Hull Upgrades 4 (preferablely 5 for rank 1 and 2 skills). NNavigation skills help, but really are only needed for the cap reduction skills, which in the process, allow you to use an MWD or AB. For the Vengeance, you need decent missile skills; you dont want your rockets running out of fuel at 5km, missing your target orbiting at 6km. Like all ships, rigging skills, thermodynamics and Tactical Shield Manipulation are all nice to have.
Pros:
Large base capacitor
Quickly regenerating capacitor
High base resists
Rockets
Cons:
Slow
Low damage output
Easily kited
Suspectible to Capacitor Warfare tactics
Vengeance Info
The Vengeance represents the latest in the Kingdom's ongoing mission to wed Amarr and Caldari tech, molding the two into new and exciting forms. Sporting a Caldari ship's launcher hardpoints as well as an Amarr ship's armor systems, this relentless slugger is perfect for when you need to get up close and personal.
Developer: Khanid Innovation
Constantly striving to combine the best of two worlds, Khanid Innovation have utilized their Caldari connections to such an extent that the Kingdom's ships now possess the most advanced missile systems outside Caldari space, as well as fairly robust electronics systems.
Amarr Frigate Skill Bonus:
5% bonus to Rocket Damage per level
-5% bonus to Missile Launcher Rate of Fire per level
Assault Ships Skill Bonus:
5% bonus to Armor Resistances per level
5% bonus to Capacitor Recharge Rate per level
Role bonus: 50% reduction in MicroWarpdrive signature radius penalty
My Current Fit
[Vengeance]
Implants
Zainou 'Gypsy' Electronics EE-603
Lows
Internal Force Field Array I
Centii A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Imperial Navy Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
True Sansha Energized Thermic Membrane
Mids
Gistii B-Type 1MN MicroWarpdrive
Dark Blood Warp Scrambler
Federation Navy Stasis Webifier
Highs
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Corpii C-Type Small Nosferatu
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Riggings
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Bay Loading Accelerator II
The Whys
OMG, look at all that shiny modules!! I can NEVER afford that!! Actually...You can! Well, maybe. Anyways, ISK doesnt matter to me. I aquired the modules I did to accomplish the fit I wanted. I personally hate using armor plates. My experience using them in a Punisher and early Vengeance fits wasnt where I expected them to perform. Maybe I just expected too much, I dunno.
Anyhow, I feel the more resists you got, the better. If you resist 80% of a 100 point shot, you only take 20 damage. Simple enough, right? That scaling applies all the way to titans, where even if you have 99% resists, a shot from them will one shot your Vengeance. Regardless, this is my thought process behind my fit. To fit multiple Energized plates, you need to go faction. High alpha'ing ships are not to be taken lightly.
I felt the t2 small reppers couldnt keep up with the damage output of a wolf or jag (an early lesson learned) so I first upgraded to a small imperial navy repper. It also had issues keeping up. So I went to c-type, with better results, but I wanted more. So I went to the a-type. This also was not enough for me, so I started using Exile boosters. I started with Standards, moving to Improved and recently I have aquired (but not used) Strong Exiles. In any case, Im always trying to increase the tank ability on my ship. Its what it excels at, so I refuse to let it take a back seat to dps even though I am trying out a dps oriented fit soon. With a skilled pilot inside, blaster boats still hurt and are capable of breaking my tank when in closer than 3km, so I avoid those fights if possible.
Early in my pvp career, the bane of my existence were the kiting ships. Always just outside of my range to scram or web, let alone hit, even with scorch. My solution to this after many, many battles was to go faction for the extended range. 14km range on web and 10.5 on scram is a nasty surprise for those who like to sit in the "sweet spot" zone of most modules of lesser quality.
Recent additions to the Assault Ship role was the MWD bonus, which I switched to using recently. With an MWD, I can zoom into my optimal range. Using the longer ranged scram and web, I am able to close range again quickly once they get outside their scram/web range, preventing their escape. I used to use an afterburner, however, I have discovered the advantages the MWD has over an AB. Having High Speed Manuevering 5 is definately on my skill plan to get asap.
As for the NOS, I just got tired of people neuting me from 7500m while my regular nos has only 6600m range. With no cap, I can not repair damage. If I cant repair damage, my ship explodes. With the cap rigging instead of an EM armor rigging, EM is the lowest resist at 77% with my current skills; however, my capactior regernation rate is much more capable of handling 2 small neuts as well as a single medium neutralizer with micro-managing of modules. Practicing with corp mates has provided extremely helpful experience in learning this ability.
Speaking of practicing, I highly reccomend doing so with your corpmates. Learning to ignore the adrenaline of combat will not be learned in this practice, but the abilities to manage modules, keep range in optimals, as well as chasing and getting away will all be turned from a difficult thing to do in middle of combat to something people call "muscle-memory". You laugh, but its true. In the heat of battle, being able to fall back on those practiced skills while trying to turn down the thumps of your heartbeating furiously pumping more and more adrenaline throughout your body....Its a rush you dont find in many places, in or out of New Eden.
Obviosuly, I use Rocket Launcher II's, but some people have used autocannons similar to the Punisher, prior to the AF buff. Another topic, but Ive always felt autocannons are overrated. Personally, I use t2 ammo. I have faction ammo, but I havent used it often. Usually, thermal is pre-loaded as the common low resist, but depending on local targets on dscan, will switch to any of the four types of resists available to me. I have no preference to one or the other, but t2 ammo does have more "dps" but less range than faction ammo. I would suggest using faction ammo against smaller, faster targets while using t2 for larger, slower moving opponents; but like I said, I dont use faction ammo, so my advice here can be taken lightly.
Downsides
There are several downsides to my ship and fit. The main one is capacitor reliance. If its gone, Im dead. From the first moment I entered my first clone in EVE, hearing Aura warn me about not having enough capacitor or it being empty has been terrible. Its engrained into my skull and every single one of my clones that having no capacitor is death. Even with low or slowly regenerating capacitor is better than being capped out. The second downside to the Vengeance is that it is probally the slowest of all Assault Frigates at the baseline level. If a ship wants to gtfo, it usually has a high probability of doing so. Third issue is the low dps output. Make sure you carry plenty of ammo. The Vengeance will outlast the majority of ships in its class, so its a game of perseverance. Who can hold out the longest, or gtfo first.
Two of those problems are solved with my current fit shown above, higher capacitor and regen helps in negating Neuts and longer range scram and web assist in getting back into range with the MWD when able to activate it. The third problem of low dps is really not an issue as many ships Ive encountered cannot maintain a long term, cap stable tank. Only one other assault frigate have I fought against been able to both break my tank as well as hold its tank long enough to beat me was specifically fit to kill my fit. Keep that in mind, if the enemies know your fit, they can counter it easier. Less intel given is less advantage over you given.
And that is how I view the Vengeance. I guess its not much of a guide as much as a "my thoughts" on the ship, eh?
The Vengeance: My Thoughts
This is an awesomely amazing ship. Thats the simple, one sentence description of this god-like Assault Frigate. Many people fly the Rifter hulls and its t2 counterparts, the Wolf and Jaguar; but the Vengeance is an entirely different beast. I feel being able to take damage while also dealing out the damage is the key to winning a battle. As a direct upgrade to the Punisher, it flies in similar ways, close range brawling.
Amarr ships, imo, are the most skill point intensive ships in EVE. You need good capacitor skills (anything that conserves, increases, or regenerates capacitor). Along with that, Lasers use alot of capacitor, so the ship specific skill assists by having a cap reduction bonus for lasers on nearly all Amarrian ships. The majority of Amarrian vessels are armor tanked, so you need acceptable levels of armor compensation skills as well as both Mechanic and Hull Upgrades 4 (preferablely 5 for rank 1 and 2 skills). NNavigation skills help, but really are only needed for the cap reduction skills, which in the process, allow you to use an MWD or AB. For the Vengeance, you need decent missile skills; you dont want your rockets running out of fuel at 5km, missing your target orbiting at 6km. Like all ships, rigging skills, thermodynamics and Tactical Shield Manipulation are all nice to have.
Pros:
Large base capacitor
Quickly regenerating capacitor
High base resists
Rockets
Cons:
Slow
Low damage output
Easily kited
Suspectible to Capacitor Warfare tactics
Vengeance Info
The Vengeance represents the latest in the Kingdom's ongoing mission to wed Amarr and Caldari tech, molding the two into new and exciting forms. Sporting a Caldari ship's launcher hardpoints as well as an Amarr ship's armor systems, this relentless slugger is perfect for when you need to get up close and personal.
Developer: Khanid Innovation
Constantly striving to combine the best of two worlds, Khanid Innovation have utilized their Caldari connections to such an extent that the Kingdom's ships now possess the most advanced missile systems outside Caldari space, as well as fairly robust electronics systems.
Amarr Frigate Skill Bonus:
5% bonus to Rocket Damage per level
-5% bonus to Missile Launcher Rate of Fire per level
Assault Ships Skill Bonus:
5% bonus to Armor Resistances per level
5% bonus to Capacitor Recharge Rate per level
Role bonus: 50% reduction in MicroWarpdrive signature radius penalty
My Current Fit
[Vengeance]
Implants
Zainou 'Gypsy' Electronics EE-603
Lows
Internal Force Field Array I
Centii A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Imperial Navy Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
True Sansha Energized Thermic Membrane
Mids
Gistii B-Type 1MN MicroWarpdrive
Dark Blood Warp Scrambler
Federation Navy Stasis Webifier
Highs
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Corpii C-Type Small Nosferatu
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Riggings
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Bay Loading Accelerator II
The Whys
OMG, look at all that shiny modules!! I can NEVER afford that!! Actually...You can! Well, maybe. Anyways, ISK doesnt matter to me. I aquired the modules I did to accomplish the fit I wanted. I personally hate using armor plates. My experience using them in a Punisher and early Vengeance fits wasnt where I expected them to perform. Maybe I just expected too much, I dunno.
Anyhow, I feel the more resists you got, the better. If you resist 80% of a 100 point shot, you only take 20 damage. Simple enough, right? That scaling applies all the way to titans, where even if you have 99% resists, a shot from them will one shot your Vengeance. Regardless, this is my thought process behind my fit. To fit multiple Energized plates, you need to go faction. High alpha'ing ships are not to be taken lightly.
I felt the t2 small reppers couldnt keep up with the damage output of a wolf or jag (an early lesson learned) so I first upgraded to a small imperial navy repper. It also had issues keeping up. So I went to c-type, with better results, but I wanted more. So I went to the a-type. This also was not enough for me, so I started using Exile boosters. I started with Standards, moving to Improved and recently I have aquired (but not used) Strong Exiles. In any case, Im always trying to increase the tank ability on my ship. Its what it excels at, so I refuse to let it take a back seat to dps even though I am trying out a dps oriented fit soon. With a skilled pilot inside, blaster boats still hurt and are capable of breaking my tank when in closer than 3km, so I avoid those fights if possible.
Early in my pvp career, the bane of my existence were the kiting ships. Always just outside of my range to scram or web, let alone hit, even with scorch. My solution to this after many, many battles was to go faction for the extended range. 14km range on web and 10.5 on scram is a nasty surprise for those who like to sit in the "sweet spot" zone of most modules of lesser quality.
Recent additions to the Assault Ship role was the MWD bonus, which I switched to using recently. With an MWD, I can zoom into my optimal range. Using the longer ranged scram and web, I am able to close range again quickly once they get outside their scram/web range, preventing their escape. I used to use an afterburner, however, I have discovered the advantages the MWD has over an AB. Having High Speed Manuevering 5 is definately on my skill plan to get asap.
As for the NOS, I just got tired of people neuting me from 7500m while my regular nos has only 6600m range. With no cap, I can not repair damage. If I cant repair damage, my ship explodes. With the cap rigging instead of an EM armor rigging, EM is the lowest resist at 77% with my current skills; however, my capactior regernation rate is much more capable of handling 2 small neuts as well as a single medium neutralizer with micro-managing of modules. Practicing with corp mates has provided extremely helpful experience in learning this ability.
Speaking of practicing, I highly reccomend doing so with your corpmates. Learning to ignore the adrenaline of combat will not be learned in this practice, but the abilities to manage modules, keep range in optimals, as well as chasing and getting away will all be turned from a difficult thing to do in middle of combat to something people call "muscle-memory". You laugh, but its true. In the heat of battle, being able to fall back on those practiced skills while trying to turn down the thumps of your heartbeating furiously pumping more and more adrenaline throughout your body....Its a rush you dont find in many places, in or out of New Eden.
Obviosuly, I use Rocket Launcher II's, but some people have used autocannons similar to the Punisher, prior to the AF buff. Another topic, but Ive always felt autocannons are overrated. Personally, I use t2 ammo. I have faction ammo, but I havent used it often. Usually, thermal is pre-loaded as the common low resist, but depending on local targets on dscan, will switch to any of the four types of resists available to me. I have no preference to one or the other, but t2 ammo does have more "dps" but less range than faction ammo. I would suggest using faction ammo against smaller, faster targets while using t2 for larger, slower moving opponents; but like I said, I dont use faction ammo, so my advice here can be taken lightly.
Downsides
There are several downsides to my ship and fit. The main one is capacitor reliance. If its gone, Im dead. From the first moment I entered my first clone in EVE, hearing Aura warn me about not having enough capacitor or it being empty has been terrible. Its engrained into my skull and every single one of my clones that having no capacitor is death. Even with low or slowly regenerating capacitor is better than being capped out. The second downside to the Vengeance is that it is probally the slowest of all Assault Frigates at the baseline level. If a ship wants to gtfo, it usually has a high probability of doing so. Third issue is the low dps output. Make sure you carry plenty of ammo. The Vengeance will outlast the majority of ships in its class, so its a game of perseverance. Who can hold out the longest, or gtfo first.
Two of those problems are solved with my current fit shown above, higher capacitor and regen helps in negating Neuts and longer range scram and web assist in getting back into range with the MWD when able to activate it. The third problem of low dps is really not an issue as many ships Ive encountered cannot maintain a long term, cap stable tank. Only one other assault frigate have I fought against been able to both break my tank as well as hold its tank long enough to beat me was specifically fit to kill my fit. Keep that in mind, if the enemies know your fit, they can counter it easier. Less intel given is less advantage over you given.
And that is how I view the Vengeance. I guess its not much of a guide as much as a "my thoughts" on the ship, eh?
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