Tuesday 25 August 2009

Your Bark Was Loud, But Your Bite Wasn't Vicious

Yesterday I came across a couple of Brutix class battlecruisers whose pilots had gone offline with aggression timers on. Sure enough, I destroyed both.
The first one was TwiceDAsiZe of the Python Cartel and Spectre asked me in local chat to pop his pod for letting that happen.
The second was DonHel from House of Houses. I couldn't find their killboard so I don't know what his mates' reaction to that was.
But DonHel himself was apparently furious when I met him in Olfeim today:

EVE System > Channel changed to Olfeim Local Channel
DonHel > you lil fucker
DonHel > how the duck did u do it?
DonHel > i must know
DonHel > killing an offline brutix
Nursultan > no need to be rude
Vladimir Nabokov > sup
DonHel > \o
Vladimir Nabokov > so what are you guys up to in this dead end system
Cirridan > where up to no good
DonHel > wondering how nurultan killed an offline ship
Cirridan > i think he used guns :) but that is just a theory
DonHel > want to 1 vs 1 nurs now that i'm online?
Vladimir Nabokov > oh you can probe out an offline player if you get him within 1 minute i think
DonHel > only if they have agression flags
...
DonHel > good question
Nursultan > DonHel, free tip: it's 1 minute WITHOUT aggression flags and 15 MINUTES WITH THEM
DonHel > so 1 vs 1 now?
DonHel > or do i need to log?
Nursultan > what ship class?
DonHel > BC, BS, HAC i dont care
Nursultan > i have none of that here
DonHel > AF?
Nursultan > t1 frig?
...
DonHel > k, i got a rifter nurs
DonHel > where u want to meet?
Nursultan > undocking in a sec
Nursultan > accept fleet and warp to me
Cirridan > may i watch?
Cirridan > or do you feal to threatned
Nursultan > why not
Cirridan > by my awesomeness :P
Nursultan > btw drop the scpa charge
DonHel > who?
Nursultan > cirr
Nursultan > don, you coming?
DonHel > i dont realy have a rifter
Nursultan > drop your current fleet
DonHel > havnt seen your ship on scan yet either
Cirridan > i can lend u 1 donhel
Cirridan > if you lose my baby i will me mad :P
Cirridan > my ships are my children
Nursultan > ugh, why did yoou have to lie to get me undock?
Nursultan > and then come out in a jag?
DonHel > i dont fly crap
Nursultan > and i don't have an af here
Nursultan > so sorry dude
Sen Palpatine > someone loan him a rifter :)
Sen Palpatine > nigh olf
Cirridan > i can sell u nurs an AF
Nursultan > i dont need it here and now, thanks. it's don who wanted a fight

I don't think this needs any comments.

Thursday 20 August 2009

Heart Beating Fast, Time To Die

OK, let's point that Ishkur, done, open up with Barrage rounds, ugh what? He's too close, I'm scrammed! Not to worry, my ECM drones should jam him in no time. Damn, his drones are killing them! Arrgh, a Vengeance has arrived to help him! They've killed my mate's Rifter! My drones are now gone! BEEEEYAAAAAATCH!!!
This is how I lost my first shiny Vagabond, a Tech 2 cruiser that has become my favourite toy lately. I made so many mistakes it makes me cringe: going after an Ishkur with a nos fitted instead of a neut, losing control of range, failing to check intel... I really deserved to be punished for that.
Fortunately, that Vagabond (rigged for speed before the nano nerf) had had a good run before dying, killing a couple of expensive battleships and lots of smaller stuff. And a replacement will probably be cheaper thanks to the introduction of smaller rigs.
I really need to learn a lot of things about flying it properly though: what distances to orbit at, how to manage my cap, how to engage some tougher targets.
Now, please, CCP, let it be a quick server update!!!

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Trigger Hippie

I've podded people too much lately. It has become an instinct to lock a pod after a ship goes boom. But I really should think more about what I do after that.
The first case was a young Drake pilot running a mission in Siseide. Oblivious to scan probes, he let my mate pinpoint is location to which I then jumped in my Hurricane. I landed a bit too far away so the Drake warped out but soon he returned to the mission site and I got him. We were the only pilots in the system at the moment. I destroyed the Drake, managed to catch the pilot's pod and started negotiating a ransom. My victim was a bit slow with his replies, probably contemplating my offer, and finally said something like "bleh k". At that point I noticed local spike and, being a paranoid that I am, decided a rescue mission may be on its way. I one-volleyed the pod just as its pilot was typing, "wait a sec, I'll transfer the money". Argh!
I felt really bad about the whole thing and sent some money to the guy along with apologies.
The second case took place in Olfeim, a lowsec dead-end frequented by carebears. I spotted a Thrasher in a deadspace complex and went after it in my Wolf. As I engaged the destroyer, a Hawk assault frigate jumped in and started locking me. I quickly finished off the Thrasher, podded its pilot and overloaded my midslots to catch the Hawk. It was a long fight as he kept moving away and I was using short-range ammo, but in the end he died too. With adrenaline rush preventing my brains from working properly I quickly podded the Hawk pilot as well. WHY?!!! I should at least have tried to ransom!!!
Finally, I had a fight with Venom Orchid of the notorious Hellcats. I spotted her Rifter in Amamake's III-1 and started approaching in a Rifter of my own. She accepted the implicit duel offer and we were soon circling each other, shooting and repping. I won the fight (Venom said she was a bit slow with overloading her guns and actovating the repper) and again instinctively locked the pod. I didn't really want to pod Venom and started looting her wreck while thinking about my options. I mean, it's not every day that you get to have a sexy pirate chick next to you, scrambled and defenceless... Oooh the perverted fantasies!
"GET OUT!" a warning from my fleetmate, Leeloo Malaquin of Genos Occidere, brought me back to reality as a Pilgrim recon ship showed up next to us, probably after warping to Venom's wreck. I warped to a safespot as he was locking me, saved by the fact that he went after Venom first. Again, I felt like a dumbass for letting some random guy pod Venom, although she didn't seem to be upset with that.
WTB podding management courses.