The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Welcome to another addition of the frustration, glory and charm that is constant player-vs-player content in Eve Online. Oh yes, one minute I can completely pwn someone and then turn around and lose to a newbie.

That is Eve my friends. And she giveth and she taketh away. So let's take a look at some of the good, the bad and the simply butt ugly recent fights.


THE GOOD - Sac Vs Gnosis/Arbi/Rifter/Thorax

This one has to be first as it is one of the best fights I've been in lately. The call went out that we had a neutral Thorax on the gate, so I switched out to my Sac (generously donated I might add, thank you!!) and headed straight to the gate, pointed and started shooting the Rax. He jumped. So I was stuck waiting for gate aggro to drop. Lo and behold a Gnosis lands about 23k from the gate. This is technically called "Holy Shit!" And people wonder why my HAM Sac has a long point fitted instead of a scram, for moments like this!!

Now, the Gnosis is also neutral, so I'm taking gate fire the entire fight. A Rifter lands to help his buddy and I put my drones on him. The Rax comes back, but takes one look and warps off. And then an Arbitrator lands and starts shooting me. Which I do not appreciate. As the Gnosis finally explodes, more Stay Frostians' arrive and the Arbi also explodes. Awesome fight.


THE BAD - Heretic Vs Cormorant

One of the reasons I write this series of posts is to show you that no matter how good you are at Eve, you also suck. It's ok if you want to pretend it's just me, I'm a big boy and can take it. But you suck too, sometimes. I've seen your killboard.

This one is totally on me, no excuses. Totally wrong ammo, I never even looked, totally wrong approach, totally wrong everything. Total Derphead.


THE UGLY - Astero Vs Venture

Yep that there is a Battle Venture with a cloak. While I admire the attempt to create a battle worthy Venture, I have a few fitted myself, this one goes in the ugly because he was caught and killed ugly. When the Astero that wasn't on scan a few seconds ago suddenly disappears you really shouldn't decide to de-cloak.


THE GOOD - Astero Vs Venture

I'm putting two of these up to illustrate why sometimes, killing a helpless Venture can be a good fight. It isn't the actual combat part, which is horrible one-sided and generates some tears in local. It is getting the kill that is the good part.

This Venture was on scan in system but I couldn't find him anywhere on d-scan. So I popped over to System Scan and sure enough, an Ice Belt! Well then, we'll just warp in there and see what we find. Sure enough, the Venture is there and about 64k from my warp in point. So now I need to slow boat over there and try to stay away from the Ice so I do not de-cloak and give the game away. This is hard to do.

Just as I start to get close, two things happen at the same exact moment. He warps away and I de-cloak. Ooops. But I don't think he saw me and from a quick d-scan I see he has docked in station. He may just be dropping off his Ice thingies. So I cloak back up and keep boating over to where he was. Sure enough, he warps back. A lot of work for an easy kill.


THE BAD - Tormentor Vs OMG!

From now on, whenever you start to think that the life of a Solo PvPer in low sec is easy, or glamorous, or amazing (which it can be!) I want you to think of this. I fitted up a Tormentor, because I hadn't flown on in a long time, and set out to find some fights. I went 37 jumps in loops and curls and nothing, nothing nothing. And then GATE CAMP. When I saw the T3s sitting there long with this group, I admit I never even bothered to try. All you can do is align out and hope to get your pod away safely. Which I did.


THE GOOD - Dramiel/Catalyst Vs Astero

It might seem odd of me to put a loss in the good column, but it isn't the first time I've done it. You don't win all the good fights and due credit to Malfy on this one. I had engaged the Catalyst in a plex and didn't even notice the Dram until he was on top of me. So my bad and his good for this one. Normally I wouldn't engage a Dram solo with my Anti-Plexer fit Astero, but once you are pointed and whatnot, you have to fight. This fight did cause me to change my fit slightly, so thanks for that. Good fight.


That'll do it for this episode. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures of death and glory. And join Stay Frosty for goodness sake!

10 Things New Pirates Need to Know About Eve

So you've finally noticed that Eve is supposed to be fun and deliver actual enjoyment from all the hours you've been pouring into it, and you've made your way into Low Sec.

Good for you. If you are really smart you'll join a group like Stay Frosty, that is especially made for maximum fun, adventure and daring do. But it is important for you to know something up front - joining a Pirate Corporation doesn't automagically make you a Pirate.

I wish it did, but Eve isn't built like that. What you have is called an opportunity, and it is up to you how you deal with that opportunity. Your corp mates will help, the forums will help, and blog posts like this will help.

Here are the TEN things you need to know about being a successful pirate in New Eden.

1. You are not going to conquer the Universe at first, so chill out

Your enthusiasm is awesome and thank you for bringing it with you. But take a deep breath and swallow that chill pill. You have much to learn and school starts on day one, no matter how old your character, what you did before, or where you come from. Just relax and don't feel like you have to prove yourself right away. Always remember the maxim - you get out what you put in. And in low sec the best investment is time.


2. Start Small

T1 Frigates are amazing little ships, they are cheap, effective and they (by their very nature) teach you all you need to know about 1v1 combat and survival. Fly them. Park the shiny stuff and resist the urge to fly big ships for now. It will be less stress on your pocket book and give you the time you need for some of these other numbers. If you've joined Stay Frosty, we even give you FREE Frigates to fly! Everyone loves free.


3. ASK

Despite what you might have heard, there are no better people than pirates. They are more than willing to help, offer advice and talk endlessly about that fight you just had. I've been in a lot of corps over the years and there is always someone willing to help you. But they can't help unless you ask. We are awesome, but we can't read minds. (Just like your girlfriend/boyfriend keeps telling you!)


4. Gates and Stations

Don't fight on them or near them! The mechanics of engaging and defending your ship on Stargates and Stations is complicated and confusing at first, so stay away from them. Land and jump, or land and dock. Leave it at that for now. I've seen way to many young players derping themselves because they don't understand the game mechanics. Focus on space for the first couple of weeks and months, there is enough to learn out there.


5. Overview

The second most important tool in your UI. (The most important one is #6) Take the time to get your overview set-up properly. Again, ask for help. There are good overview settings available to download, but I recommend taking some time to work thru it yourself. It teaches you valuable lessons about what is in there, how to use it, and what it all means. Remember, you can have multiple tabs and various overviews. Keep your primary overview clean and simple.


6. D-Scan

The single most important tool you need to learn. Even more important than fittings, manual piloting and all the other things in the entire freaking game! I kid you not. Use your d-scan, learn your d-scan, love your d-scan, marry your d-scan. Even a badly fitted ship can win a fight, but you can't find fights without your d-scan.


7. Target Acquisition

Once you find a target with your d-scan it is important to ask yourself - can I win? What are the odds? Do I even have a chance? For some of us older and more experienced players, these questions come naturally to us. But for the younger or first timers, it is worth a pause. What are the strengths of your ship? And what are the weaknesses of your enemy? Learning this equation and the odds involved takes time, so be wary at first. Ask in fleet chat, ask in corp chat, weigh your options. Ask for back-up, there is nothing wrong with asking. The idea is NOT to die. If you are unsure, then move on. There will be plenty of other chances and your ship is still alive.


8. Intel

Fly around the neighborhood, get to know the systems, the locals, the common movements of ships. If a system has 40 people in it, what are they doing? Are they all together? If so, you should probably move on to the next system. Take the time to canvas the neighborhood, this is where you live and play. Know your neighbors. Spy on them. Watch them. They have habits which you can learn to exploit.


9. Have a Buddy

Your buddy can change all the time, but flying with someone is a great way to learn. Pirates love enthusiasm and willingness to learn, the only thing we don't like is docked pilots. Get out there and get involved. Join gangs, get into trouble, scout systems, report intel. You find a Dominix ratting in a belt, you'll be a hero.


10. ISK

Nothing creates frustration like not having ISK. Be sure to have a plan, an alt or some other way to make ISK for yourself. In Stay Frosty we have many options for you, so just ask. I'm sure other corps also have options available. We all have the same problem and many solutions exist, so don't feel like you are alone. We all need to make ISK to pay for our stuffs. Loot helps, stealing ships helps, ransoms help, but sometimes they are not enough.


There is no greater feeling then the first time all of this comes together for you. That time when all the pieces fall into place and magic happens, you find a target, manage to get engaged and then watch as it explodes into a gazillion little pieces. It takes time, effort and learning to get to that moment. There are no shortcuts. But it is worth it.

There are more guides available here on Eveoganda, just use the search function or visit the GUIDES page, the link is in the blue bar above. Or read the archives. Or use Google.

Now get out there and have some fun for goodness sake.

Projection of Protection

One of the best things, of many things, about being the CEO of Stay Frosty is the opportunity to just sit back sometimes and watch things happen. It is possible to take a long-term strategic view and watch as your plans unfold around you, change, evolve and generally take shape. It is a journey that is very rewarding and exciting. Who knows what might happen next?

Along that journey there are moments that help to define who and what you are as a Corporation. All Corporations have them. Moments when one path taken leads to another path not taken, and each decision, reaction, plan and opportunity has consequences that often cannot be predicted.

This all being a rather high-brow and unnecessary way of saying someone started shooting our POCOs on Sunday. The whole "Stay Frosty has POCOs" thing is handled by a different department, overseen by me of course, but mostly I stay out of it because I suck at carebear things. I have enough trouble remembering to re-load my nanite paste, much less remember the ins and outs of reinforcement timers on isk-generators. (I exaggerate of course, but I do have an image to maintain!)

So my mail starts blinking on Sunday and I start looking into what is happening. I send out some intel feelers and organize an actual CTA for Monday. (CTA = Call To Action)  We don't call CTAs in Stay Frosty, so this was unusual to begin with. In fact, in some ways, this was our first actual organized response fleet planned ahead of time... thing. So what would happen?

Turns out we had a rather robust and enthusiastic response. Seeing as how most of us were 26 jumps away, this was rather encouraging. In fact, even after the main force started moving, we had even more people x up and join the effort. For our first attempt, this was rather remarkable.

Setting out we had no idea what we'd be faced with on the other end. Intel was sparse initially and only stared filling in as we moved. It is often amazing how quickly the puzzle starts being put together on these operations. I actually fitted up a Scythe and flew Logi for this operation!! I know, crazy huh? I named my ship "wtf am I doing?" and set off.

I want to say up front that I have nothing but admiration for anyone in a 30 ish man Alliance that shoots the POCO of a 160 ish pirate corporation. Kudos all around for having a pair. I'd also like to say congratulations for following through with that initial attempt and not running away and hiding. Well done.

We arrived in force and began repairing the shields on the POCO. For this part of the operation I was the only Logi on the field. We knew they had several T3s and a Falcon around, so we weren't sure exactly what they might bring if a fight started at all. And, of course, the ever present threat of being hot-dropped was present.

Our fleet was rather unique and the only common thread was that we were all shield based, other than that? Well we had a Drake, a Gnosis, a Naga, an Oracle, a Talos, a Caracal, a Gila, a Hawk and a few fast tackle - along with my Scythe. The enemy did show up and landed on us directly. 2 T3s, 2x Omens, a Rupture, Thorax and Vexor. Strangely enough they focused fire on the Gila and the fight was on.

Despite having only flown Logi a handful of times in the past, I have been well schooled in their operation over the years. I had my watchlist properly set-up and immediately started repping the Gila. I had also brought along combat drones so I could get on some friggin' killmails! (Fix this someone!) I know the enemy wanted a Gila km, but picking the one ship in our fleet with the highest resist profile wasn't the smartest move. It was touch and go for a few minutes, but once they started exploding, the amount of dps dropped off quickly.

You can see the Battle Report for yourself. But we came out of this without losing a single ship and got some nice kills. We switched up additional Logi after that and got the POCO back in shape.

Well done to everyone involved. Our FC did an excellent job of organizing the fight and we all had a blast. Which is, after all, the most important part.

I love it when a plan comes together.

The Stay Frosty Frigate FREE For ALL!

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Stay Frosty Presents: FRIGATE FREE FOR ALL (FFA): SUNDAY JAN 26TH from 16:00 to 22:00

EVEOGANDA and STAY FROSTY PRESENT an event for ALL PLAYERS young and old - FRIGATE FREE FOR ALL!! 

The event will take place on Sunday, January 26th from 16:00 to 22:00 UTC and you will be free to engage anything that lands on grid with you, including your alliance mates, blues & fellow corp mates - everyone is fair game. 

A wide range of prizes will be awarded to anyone ONE YEAR old or younger that participates! Prizes will be based on the event killboard, details of which will be released 48hrs prior to the event. All killmails must be posted to the event killboard to be eligible for prizes.

RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• No link alts allowed - Any boosters in system will be hunted down and destroyed.
• Gangs and Teamwork are not allowed. The is a Frigate Free For ALL!
• No Podding.
• ONLY Tech 1 Frigate hulls are allowed until 20:00, after which any Frigate or Destroyer is allowed.
• Warping off is allowed. We discourage the use of safe spots and the hugging of stations/gates will be strongly discouraged.
• Cloaks are not allowed.
• A variety of FREE fitted T1 Frigates will be available to all participants, until they are exhausted. Stay Frosty has built nearly 6,000 Frigates for you to explode. We also encourage you to bring your own.
• ECM is not allowed, drones and/or modules.

The system name will not be announced until 48hrs before the event, here in this post, on EVEOGANDA and on the forum thread.

Comm information will be made available during the event in the in-game channel EVEOGANDA, feel free to join that channel to discuss. The Event in-game channel is STAY FROSTY FFA and updates and details will be posted there.

DONATIONS: We are actively seeking sponsors, prize donations, isk support, or whatever else you can contribute. Please contact Rixx Javix to coordinate, thank you.

PERMALINK: The Stay Frosty FFA PAGE is now open, please share THIS LINK with your Corp/Alliance/Forums and whatnot. Updates, prizes, and system name will be announced there!

Stay Frosty!!


All rules are subject to change without notice by STAY FROSTY. Feel free to contact us in regards to donations, prizes, or support in the in-game channel EVEOGANDA or by contacting Rixx Javix by eve-mail or at rixxjavix@gmail.com

3000 Ships Exploded

This blog/journal/rag/propaganda magazine is about a lot of things, but one thing it is about is marking the various milestones of my own personal Eve journey. If you go back thru the Archives you'll find plenty of struggles, hard-ships and near disasters. I am, if anything, an open book.

Yesterday I exploded the 3,000th ship of my Eve career. I wasn't trying for anything special to mark the arbitrary nature of that number, since it is rather arbitrary. So the milestone kill wasn't anything special, in fact it was another Venture.

I know there are plenty of pilots with more kills, and significantly more with less kills. But for me personally it remains a rather triumphant accomplishment. And one that I am rather proud of. I still remember my first kill, and racing to 100, 500, 1,000 and so on. I remember being ranked 42,000 on BattleClinic. And I remember my first two and a half years of living in Null and being more than happy with a handful of kills in a WEEK.

I've never played for numbers. I don't multi-box a scout or booster account. I only take drugs for special engagements. So the vast majority of those kills came the hard way. It is just the way I choose to play and not an indictment of anyone else's play style. ( I always feel the need to disclaimer that statement.)

Next milestones? I should pass the 100m skillpoint milestone soon. And then, at some point, the 1k barrier on BC ranking. Which begins the slow climb to number one. Granted, I may never make it, but it is after all the journey and not the destination, isn't it?

And this has been a great journey so far.

The Mighty Venture Eve Mini-Game

I have a special love/hate relationship with the lowly Venture. On the one hand I think it is an awesome model, one of my favorite new ship models in the game. It reminds me of an underwater vehicle you might have seen in the Abyss, designed by famed production designer Rob Cobb. On the other hand it is a Mining Frigate with WCS abilities built right into it!! Which makes it like salt in the wound of your friendly neighborhood pirate.

No matter what ship I am flying at the moment the words "Venture on scan" are uttered or seen on scan, I will warp into the belt intent on killing it. Since they were introduced back in December 2012, I have destroyed 98 Ventures and podded 67% of their pilots. Yes, I counted them this morning.

I don't hunt Ventures. They are not typically considered "good fights", although I have run into a few Battle Ventures over the last year. Although they also exploded. If I've destroyed 98 that must mean I've tried to destroy hundreds and hundreds of the darn things, since most of the time they get away.

I've destroyed Ventures in just about any ship you can imagine:

With a Daredevil, Incursus, Wolf, Caracal, Tristan, Merlin, Rokh, Astero, Stabber Fleet Issue, Broadsword, Comet, Hawk, and Coercer, just in the last two months!

It is like a bizarre mini-game within Eve. And yes, most of these pilots are young. And no, these are in no way good fights. I will say this however, most of these ships also had the option of simply warping away. I rarely fit two scrams to a ship. In some cases, like the Rokh, I could have made a sandwich in the time it took to lock the Venture.

Why bring this up? I don't really know, I find it interesting and an aspect of the game that is rather odd and amusing. I destroyed two of them yesterday and I was curious about the numbers.

The funny thing is, I have two Ventures fitted up to kill Ventures and I've yet to register a kill with either one. Thing is, every time I undock in one... well, it is a mining Frigate isn't it? And there is always the chance someone like me will come along and insta-pop me with a Artie Wolf.

And that thought usually results in me docking up and grabbing something a little more appropriate.

But not always. Someday the Venture will have its blood.

Stay Frosty Astero PvP Video

My Week with the Wittle White Ship

I'm just a tiny bit crazy about Spaceships.

As I reported earlier this week, my good friend and fellow Corp mate Akirra Menelaos was nice enough to sell me one of the very first Astero Frigates off the assembly line early Tuesday. I immediately fell in love with the little Frigate and started working on a fit from scratch.

Considering the bonuses and the configuration of the ship, I was convinced it could be the perfect Anti-Plexer Ship. And that is the purpose I started fitting it for. I know other people are using it for other things, but that is the purpose I see for it. I tweaked the fit constantly during the week, as usual aiming for both effective use and cheapness. The goal, I believe, of any true pirate.

I essentially started with Cloak/Nuet in the highs, Dual-Scram, Web, AB in the mids, and then Plate, Adaptive, Drone, DC in the lows. Initially at least, that was the starting pattern. A dual Web fit wouldn't catch stabbed plexers, in fact I missed my first kill of a Venture with a dual Web fit. Which is why I switched to dual-scram instead.

Some examples:

Catalyst
I landed back at station after the Venture miss and changed the fit up a little, removed the extra Web and went dual-scram. Undocked and saw this Catalyst and his buddy in the Navitas on scan. Perfect targets to prove the concept. Landed close enough to the Cat to get points and the Navitas stayed to provide reps. It was a lot closer than I would like, I considered breaking off a few times, but the Cat finally went down. The Navitas warped off before I could get point. The ship proved how tough it was.

Comet
Another few tweaks and another chance to prove the concept. This time I showed myself long enough to get attention and then cloaked up and waited. Sure enough, he landed near me and I boated over to de-cloak and get points. I had some back-up on this one and I already detailed this kill in my last post.

Incursus
The first dual stabbed Plexer. The Plexer doesn't get much warning with this ship, which is a big part of the idea of course. The only time they see me on scan is when I am already jumping into the plex. The dual scram worked its charms and he went down relatively easily.

Megathron
I detailed this engagement in the last post, but suffice to say the little ship managed to hold tackle on the Mega and survive the de-cloaking Pilgrim long enough for the gang to arrive. Yet another successful proof of concept.

Punisher
The first straight up 1v1 against a good PvP pilot who knew ahead of time what I was flying. We went to the Sun and had at it and the Astero came out on top. Good fight and it was close. Nice to know it can hang with the traditional frigates. Confidence is growing.

Comet
This one was pure concept realized. The Comet was cloaking up as usual, so I warped in and flew around a bit, then aligned out as if to warp off - but instead cloaked up! And then waited a few minutes and sure enough, it de-cloaks about 37k from me. I boat over and the rest is history.

Tristan
Bad Tristan fit, but yet another plexer caught and taught.

Hookbill
Another perfect example of the concept at work, this time the sudden appearance of my ship was enough to grab the points needed to hold him down. Good fight.


Everytime you undock your ship it is already dead, so eventually all good things must end. We set a trap for two Kestrels that were using Legion links. I was orbiting the beacon and Sea was cloaked off of me in his Pilgrim. They landed and they hit very, very hard. We did manage to get one of the Kestrels, but I did lose the Astero.

Like any ship in Eve, it has its limitations and advantages. I'm still convinced it is a great Anti-Plexer ship and given the current environment of running and cloaking, a ship we needed to help balance the field.

Got another one on order.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A never ending series of good fights, horrible losses and my continuing stupidity in the face of the world's most amazingly frustrating and rewarding game experience, Eve Online.

Here then are some of the highlights and lowlights from the past week or so.


The Good: Falcon Dies
So there is this Moa about and we quickly grab some ships to see if we can catch it. Nothing fancy mind you. We do grab it, when suddenly The Falcon de-cloaks next to us! Yeah I lost a Caracal, but both the Moa and the Falcon die. And that was worth it. I'll trade a ship for an ECM dishonor boat any day.


The Good: Decisions
Killing a Corax with a Tristan isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but as is often the case, it is the story that makes the story. I had just lost a really bad fight and jumped into the Tristan when I spotted this Corax. The system was loaded with nasty things, so obviously there were some gangs about. I never hesitate, but I did this time because it sure looked like a bait situation, no one else was bothering the Corax. Finally I decided to go for it anyway and sometimes that works out.


The Bad: 600m Pod
One thing I have learned over the past six months is that my former corp mates are more than willing to stoop ever lower and lower in order to kill me. On their kill-board they proudly predicted an angry blog post about this loss, which sadly means they haven't learned a damn thing about me during the last six months. I'm not angry about this, I don't actually get mad, but this was totally my own fault for not paying attention. They have to live with their own actions.


The Ugly: Linked Cormmies
Who knew that even the vaunted Vengeance is no match for five Tengu linked Cormorants? Ok, I did. But this fight didn't start out with five and the Tengu only appeared on scan at the last minute. They got my pod too, they must be so proud.


The Good: A Coercer
I have never really flown the Coercer much, so I decided to fit two of them up and go see what it could do. It is a fun ship to fly and puts out some impressive deeps, but is extremely prone to dying. But I did manage to get some good kills with it.


The Ugly: Moar ECM
I'm a system over when my Corp mate tells me he is going for a Harpy in a plex. Suddenly he is jammed by the suddenly appearing Griffin. Big surprise huh? I haul ass next door and save him by taking the Griffin down quickly. The ugly part of this story is that this happened again later that same day with a different group and this time they brought a Falcon. He got away again, but when I brought out my Rook, they ran away.


The Bad: Fish with Teeth
Sometimes when a fish runs from you it isn't because he doesn't have teeth, so going back to get the dual scram Atron is not a good idea. This happens so rarely that it isn't worth considering, but it does happen. So be warned.


The Good: And Equal
And then sometimes everything works out perfectly and you find the perfect ship to fight in the ship you actually happen to be in and you have a really good fight on your hands. Thank god this still happens from time to time.


Those are just some of the more memorable fights from the past week or so. What will happen next? Stay tuned.