Bot Bot, Do the Robot

The other day I learned about the report bot feature which was recently added to EVE.  Let's just say I hope CCP doesn't ban me from the button =D.  This feature is so useful, be it for lulz or for actually reporting a bot (there are so many these days...), there will hopefully be a downturn in the number of them.

That aside, I've been ninjaing but haven't been shot by anyone since my last happy ninja post.    I'm currently trying to decide what to train up for after I can T2 fit a Hawk class Assault Frigate.  They are so fun to fly and are pretty badass for salvaging missions.  I may also replace my Dramiel with a Worm, since my Dramiel only sees action during active war time patrols and is therefore useless all the rest of my playing time. 

Will hopefully have another blogpost ready after I actually get on later tonight, but right now I got to run (literally =D).

Fly Dangerously, Die Epically,

Hianmar, a.k.a. TheEVEGamer

Why I Hate Drakes

This evening -whoops- morning, I engaged my first ever attempt at a solo mission runner ganking with my PvP Drake. 

As it was my first time using the Orca-Hotswap technique, I decided to just go for it and see what happens.  It looked like just a solo noob mission runner running a mission alone, with a noctis alt cleaning up after him.

The only problem was that my opponent was in a drake.  Three drakes in fact, as he warped all three of his characters (I'm 99% sure they were his alts) in to aid him.  Despite the fact that all the characters were about five months old or younger, they still could tank at their best 550 DPS, which is what my drake does.  Then they popped my drones with their drones (which is weird because I thought I'd popped them all with my hawk) before starting to slowly eat through my 60k EHP buffer.  At about 50% shields I knew that if I didn't get help, my drake would die.  I didn't want to just stow my ship because I knew that if I did, I might have the problem of the ship popping due to damage mechanics.  So I shouted in a ninja public channel for RR and I was promptly assisted. 

However, by the time he actually warped in, I was in armor with my drake.  Sadface!  While I was busy getting RR, I had to reload, which meant I stopped firing.  The three drakes took this to mean I was going to let them go (they had no points, I had one of them pointed).  There was a little delay with the RR which thankfully was not a problem due to my previous statement. 

When I finally got my RR on me, I re-engaged the newest character only to find that he had an equal tanking ability to all his fellows.  This sucked.

Then they shot my RR friend in his osprey, so he warped out.  Then their damage came back on me and I went into hull!  I warped away -no points, remember?- and promptly bounced to my safe. 

All of this was an hour full of standoffs, coordinated dual boxing warp-in's while shooting the drones of three drakes.  The worst bit was I tanked all three of them better in my Hawk.

So if you ever wonder why I hate drakes from now on, that's why.

Night/Morning,

Hianmar, a.k.a. TheEVEGamer

Hianmar

Blog Banter 21- The Middle Child

Welcome to the twenty-first installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month topic comes to us from @ZoneGhost who a few month ago asked "Is Low Sec the forgotten part of EVE Online?" Is it? I'd like us to explore this even further. Is Low Sec being treated differently by CCP Games than Null Sec (Zero-Zero) or Empire space is? Can one successfully make a living in these unsecured systems where neither Alliance nor Concord roam to enforce their laws? What's needed? Or is everything fine as it is?

First of all, I'm not in the blog pack.  But I'd thought I'd respond to it anyway, as its food for thought.  Now I don't live in low sec, but I have ventured there.  In my early days of the "pew pew" (bout 6 or so months back), I'd occasionally take a few of my corpies and we'd go and romp around low, trying to find a frigate or a cruiser soloing things while trying not to get pushed around by the real pirates.  We'd go for an hour or two, and either get podded to hell or come back empty handed but proud that we didn't epic fail.  So that's mainly my experience.

As for low security being the forgotten place of EVE, I'd have to disagree.  I think its that deep dark place that most of us would like to avoid, like that bad neighborhood or back alley.  Its a foreboding place, and quite daunting to the "pew pew" noobs that we were back in the day.  Not to say I'm not still a noob, I just know my way around a little better now.  

As for how CCP is treating it, I feel that it is like the middle child.  Null is the oldest, and CCP's proudest achievement while Empire is the baby, getting all the extra love.  Where the middle child is forced to get by in the shadow of the oldest and competing with the youngest for extra attention.  So yes, I think CCP is treating it differently.  First of all, Faction Warfare, according to most other bloggers (I have never participated in it) is quite broken, glitched, bugged, whatever.  Also, tactics need some lovin'.  While I think its great that they made it only possible to use bubbles in null, gate guns are still a pain in the butt for any frigate trying to hit up targets on the gate.  

Which brings us to the fourth part of this banter.  I think that gate guns should be removed.  Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but it would definitely encourage people to use smaller ships that don't have to have enough tank to withstand the gate guns.  Hell, I'd "pew pew" in low sec more often if I could take out a thrasher fully fitted for gank and just run around there looking for targets.  That'd be fun!!

Oh wait, there's a third part?  Hm... to make a living.  Well, all the people out there seem to be the scum and vile villainy of the universe, so its probably not clean money they're earning.  It is possible, but not easily done, to make money out there.  You can PLEX, you can rat, but you run the risk of having a gang pop up on you.  But again, this is true for any low/null sec system.  Except in null you are probably in an alliance with friends to tell you if there is a camp on the gate or station.  But is the risk worth the reward?  I don't think so.  Ratting in low sec is not nearly as profitable as null, and not nearly as safe as empire.  Mining is risky, but doable, but again it can be more profitable elsewhere.  The only real profit is in selling ships/trading out of low sec hubs.  To make it more profitable in low security, they should probably make ratting a much more profitable experience.

So, there's my schpeil on low sec.  What do you think about the situation out there?

Oh yeah, don't forget to check out the other "real" blog banter entries:

Blog Banter 21 – Fish Heads and Baby Ruths
Low Sec = Wild West
Arr, Yer be talkin' bout me lowsec
Low Sec: I Wanna Talk to You
Making Low Sec Matter - Project kick-Off
In the Ghetto  
Blog Banter 21: Friggin' Low Sec

Stupidity is a Bubble

I think that all of the Capsuleers that go into null eventually do something stupid, usually in the first few weeks of their living there.  And as I joined my new corporation, I new undoubtedly that I would do something stupid that would get me killed.  So I did not buy any ships worth more than 60 mil, made sure my clone was up-to-date at ALL times and had the intel channel for my current region opened and viewable at any given time. 

I was prepared for the mistake that was to come, and I tried my hardest to avoid it, but I didn't count on bubbles.  Those things are awesome when they're on your side, and they are the bane of the 0.0 noob when they are not.  First, lets get some basic bubble principals down:
1) You cannot warp in a bubble, regardless of who put it up.
2) You cannot warp your pod in a bubble.  So if your ship goes pop, and your still in bubble, your pod will also go pop because its slow and cannot (probably) burn out of the bubbles range.
3) You can use MWD's and AB's in the bubble, but there are probably unfriendly ships there to ruin your day.

So so far 80% of my losses so far have been due to the evil bane of the bubble.  Oh, and all those were also because I forgot to check intel.  STUPID!  And that is counting pods.  Basically, if you jump into a bubbled gate, your best bet is to burn either out or to a gate.  Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don't.

So just check intel, and don't do anything too stupid and expect to get away with it.

Hoping your days are prosperous and a fight is never too far away,

Hianmar, a.k.a. The EVE Gamer

First Post!

Well, I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite a bit of time, ever since I started reading those of the wonderful members of the blog pack.  So here goes!

First about me!  I've been playing eve for about a year now, and have a great love of the game.  Its just one of those things that is so awesome it kicks ass.  I started out as most of us did, thinking the only way to have fun in the game was to make money, and so I mined like a silly noob for many of my early days, occasionally venturing into the deep and scary realms of low sec and null.  Quite soon after this time, I joined a PvE corporation who taught me the ways of earning the mega ISK.  This was fun, saving up for cool ships I'd fly once or twice but then just let sit in my hanger as I saved up for the next one.  It was only in the last month that I decided I'd had enough of the carebear life, and decided to go discover the realm of PvP.

I joined a corporation in the Wildly Inappropriate Alliance (WIdot), and have met a great crew of people.  Its a null (0.0) alliance, and so I've been gradually learning about all the different and confusing mechanics of null sec tactics.  Granted I'm not very good at the "pew pew" but the few fights I've been on have been entertaining and totally worth it, getting on some 15 kill mails in one night!  I have also made plenty of stupid mistakes, including jumping into a hostile gate camp with my alt (By by hauler and hello pod express!) and warping at 0 to a station when there were 10 reds in system and intel was screaming "BUBBLES ON STATION"!.  Needless to say i did make it to my destination that time, just minus my ship and a head full of implants.  Basically I've learned that not checking intel and/or local equals death and a free ride on the pod express.  But all in all, its been great fun.  I have several more ships waiting to get into fights and eventually go boom, including my a RR Dominix that I've always wanted to fly for reals in PvP, especially now with my T2 drones at 90% of max possible dps!

My goals for the future are to obtain a carrier and use that till it dies as well.  I also hope to be able to fly all T2 Gallente ships at that point with excellent skills, and possibly those of the Caldari.  This of course is months away, and this is just my general plan for my EVE skills. 

So I think that's enough now for my first post.  You get a generally a good idea of where I've come from and maybe a vague idea of where I'm going, which is better than what I have.

Anyway, hoping your days are prosperous and a fight is never far away,

Hianmar a.k.a. The EVE Gamer