Or: Rusty ship, rusty pilot.
So, my first few sorties were a terrible tragedy.
Lets start with my first flight since I returned from the Academy.
This flight was actually when I was still flying with Stay Frosty. There's not much to tell about this defeat. Rather than make the most of the Rifter's fall-off bonus, I decided to brawl at point blank range. The Tristan has drones and a tracking bonus to hybrids... close range is not where you want to be if they are blaster fit. And this one was.
Maybe things would have gone better if they were rail fit, but the next flight shows that my piloting skills really suffered from my absence.
Before that though, I lost this clone. A simple gank as I warped into Hek to re-ship. An important reminder to not be sloppy with your long range navigation, and to mind your suspect timers.
The second defeat was one of pure incompetence. I decided to change my control layout. What I thought I was doing was hammering my after burner on, wondering why the module wasn't working, and I wasn't going faster. What my opponent saw was a Rifter crawling along furiously pulsing it's warp scrambler.
Again, I lost this clone, as I was too slow in warping away. Luckily the implant lost wasn't too expensive, and my skills had outgrown the need for it.
The third loss was against a Slicer, and kind of solidifies a theory I have about capturing plexes. When I was a pirate, the easiest kills I made were on brawling ships orbiting warp-ins. In this fight, I thought that since I was sitting on the warp-in, I could catch any kiter that came in before it could get to it's preferred range. As such, when I saw the Slicer on D-scan, I loaded close range ammo.
Unfortunately, the pilot overheated his MWD, rushed toward me and got out to his preferred range before I could tag them with my scrambler and web. I then had to spend 10 seconds reloading barrage before I could hit them. If I had long range ammo fit before the fight started, I might even had won.
However, before the fight began, I had already given my opponent control over the engagement. He chose when to start the fight, whereas I was simply waiting for him. If you are capturing a plex, I highly recommend a kiting ship. It gives you much more control over the engagement, as you can simply speed away from a fight. There are exceptions, but if you have terrible reflexes (like me) this will make you more successful.
These kills were fairly won by my opponents. It's important to not excuse your losses, as doing so encourages complacency. In frigate combat, there is no room for error, and even the slightest mistiming or course correction can mean the difference between loss and defeat. As a pilot, you must learn to shelve your ego, and admit your mistakes, and the simple truth that your adversary was better than you.
That way you can get better than them quicker, and exact revenge.
Review
Know your ship: If you are flying a long fall-off Rifter, don't get close to the blaster-boat. But actually these losses did give me clarity on what ammunition is useful for the Rifter to carry. Playing the averages, it does cut down what you need to carry quite a lot.
Navigation discipline: If you have insta-dock warp ins, use them. Related to this, have an escape plan ready for when your ship is lost. I like to warp to the sun, but any celestial body will do. Follow up by warping to your safe spot.
Timer awareness: If you are a suspect, never assume anywhere is safe.
Know your controls: Don't be an idiot. Know which button turns on your after burner.
Know your situation: I'll recommend it here again. For capturing a plex, use a kiter.
So, my first few sorties were a terrible tragedy.
Lets start with my first flight since I returned from the Academy.
This flight was actually when I was still flying with Stay Frosty. There's not much to tell about this defeat. Rather than make the most of the Rifter's fall-off bonus, I decided to brawl at point blank range. The Tristan has drones and a tracking bonus to hybrids... close range is not where you want to be if they are blaster fit. And this one was.
Maybe things would have gone better if they were rail fit, but the next flight shows that my piloting skills really suffered from my absence.
Before that though, I lost this clone. A simple gank as I warped into Hek to re-ship. An important reminder to not be sloppy with your long range navigation, and to mind your suspect timers.
The second defeat was one of pure incompetence. I decided to change my control layout. What I thought I was doing was hammering my after burner on, wondering why the module wasn't working, and I wasn't going faster. What my opponent saw was a Rifter crawling along furiously pulsing it's warp scrambler.
Again, I lost this clone, as I was too slow in warping away. Luckily the implant lost wasn't too expensive, and my skills had outgrown the need for it.
The third loss was against a Slicer, and kind of solidifies a theory I have about capturing plexes. When I was a pirate, the easiest kills I made were on brawling ships orbiting warp-ins. In this fight, I thought that since I was sitting on the warp-in, I could catch any kiter that came in before it could get to it's preferred range. As such, when I saw the Slicer on D-scan, I loaded close range ammo.
Unfortunately, the pilot overheated his MWD, rushed toward me and got out to his preferred range before I could tag them with my scrambler and web. I then had to spend 10 seconds reloading barrage before I could hit them. If I had long range ammo fit before the fight started, I might even had won.
However, before the fight began, I had already given my opponent control over the engagement. He chose when to start the fight, whereas I was simply waiting for him. If you are capturing a plex, I highly recommend a kiting ship. It gives you much more control over the engagement, as you can simply speed away from a fight. There are exceptions, but if you have terrible reflexes (like me) this will make you more successful.
These kills were fairly won by my opponents. It's important to not excuse your losses, as doing so encourages complacency. In frigate combat, there is no room for error, and even the slightest mistiming or course correction can mean the difference between loss and defeat. As a pilot, you must learn to shelve your ego, and admit your mistakes, and the simple truth that your adversary was better than you.
That way you can get better than them quicker, and exact revenge.
Review
Know your ship: If you are flying a long fall-off Rifter, don't get close to the blaster-boat. But actually these losses did give me clarity on what ammunition is useful for the Rifter to carry. Playing the averages, it does cut down what you need to carry quite a lot.
Navigation discipline: If you have insta-dock warp ins, use them. Related to this, have an escape plan ready for when your ship is lost. I like to warp to the sun, but any celestial body will do. Follow up by warping to your safe spot.
Timer awareness: If you are a suspect, never assume anywhere is safe.
Know your controls: Don't be an idiot. Know which button turns on your after burner.
Know your situation: I'll recommend it here again. For capturing a plex, use a kiter.
i never recommend warping to the sun .. your enemy will look there first.
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