Rifter vs Firetail

I know I said I wasnt going to do so, but I app'd to the Black Rebel Rifter Club. After fighting a group of them, I felt I knew them. That whole "you dont actually know someone until you fight them" thing. Or something like that. Either way, since I apped to R1fta, I figured tonight I would fit one out and fly it. As seems custom in this area, most people fly Minmatar ships. Being that I dont fly Rifters regularly just yet, I felt in the mood to piss people off. It sorta worked.

I saw a few people in Autocannon fighting and one was of The Hatchery. If you dig, you can see that I fought Aeth of The Hatchery awhile back also in a prior life. Good people, honorable pirates. Not the type that would enjoy fighting my Rifter tonight. Anyhow, he killed some cruiser in his Republic Fleet Firetail, so I offered up a 1v1. He was busy in one already, so I waited while warping around. Getting an invite to fleet and an offer to warp to his safe, I obliged. Warping in at 20km, we charged at each other.

With no AB, I was unable to control range during this fight due to his ability to weave in and out from 6km to 12-ish km. However, as he ate through my shields, I popped on my surprise: ECM. He did not like that at all. I let it cycle once, because being perma jammed sucks, and I wasnt doing anything with him out of my range. Had to lure him back in.

It worked, but not for long. My armor was gone soonish. Popped the ECM again, repped up to full armor, turned it off. And again, he brought my armor down, shedding sunlight on some of my structure as well. At this point, I said "fuck honor!" and turned on the ECM once again....And warped out. Sadly, I didnt get any mean comments attempting to hurt my feelings and honor.

Things I learned this fight is that a non-AB Rifter is slower than my Vengeance. Thats sorta bad since its tank is not even half of what Im used to. The only reason I escaped this fight is due to my ECM, whereas most people rely on their speed for gtfo-ability. I mean, I couldnt perma jam my opponent, the Rifter's cap and regen isnt nearly good enough to pulse a repper and keep the ecm on while I shoot it AND keep within distance to do acceptable damage. I learned I dislike the Rifter.

Meh, its one fight. Its a t1 ship with meta mods instead of a full t2 fitting. Ill give it more chances, adjusting my fit around for next time. Tbh, this fight wasnt long, but I did notice that manual flight is important while being kited. Im not experienced enough to pull off more advanced techiniques to get an experienced pilot like Michael Harari to get closer than he wants to; but eventually, I will be. Right now, not so much.

No killmail, yet no lossmail. It doesnt feel as good as it did before when it happened, so Im going to consider this fight a draw. I didnt lose much except for a little ego for running away, but I still have my Rifter to live and fight another day! Which is a true pirates attribute afterall.

Also, in case you missed it, I was accepted into R1fta. An updated photo with my new black jacket below.