The current position of the Tribal Liberation Force

Much like when I first started at the Crusade, the situation is fairly dire for the TLF. They are down to one or two stronghold systems (ironically a jump or two away from Kamela, the Amarr stronghold system), member count is low, and Crusade pilots are lurking around Hek.

Is this bad?

If you're a Matari living in the The Bleak Lands and the less protected areas of Metropolis, yes. For capsuleers? No. In fact it's rather good.

Offensive plexing, or capturing of hostile outposts, nets you more Loyalty points (LP) which can buy you things at the militia quartermaster. The more hostile systems there are, the more choices you have to capture. If there is a concentration of crusaders in one system, no matter, just avoid them, and attack somewhere else.

If, like me, you plan on using Imperial Navy ships and armaments (for reasons that will become apparent later), it actually works out better for your wallet. The market is currently flooded with Imperial tech and weaponry. Their prices are low. Republic fleet items are running low, and they are worth more.

Aside from the occasional Cap booster and ammunition for my Rifter experiments, there's not much I want from the TLF quartermaster. Everything I get from there is for sale... and what's better, I don't have to pay extravagant shipping costs to get these to my market partner.

So, we have a target rich environment, with cheap weapons that I want to use, and a relatively safe income source. Jolly good.

There is a downside to this. Operational range is, of course, limited. I can't use stations to rearm and repair for extended patrols into the Bleak Lands. And there is also a strange question of fighting style, which I'll discuss in my next post.

It involves me exploding. A lot.

To dark places

I sit here now, thinking deep thoughts about my career.

When I first started, I was proud to follow my King's decree. I believed in my objectives. I believed in having a reason to fight.

The desire to do a duty, even to a figure I had never met, gave me the impetus to strike out beyond safer places of space. The Crusade forced me into danger. It forced me into combat with other capsuleers. Under my King's orders, I was prepared to carve a bloody swathe through the stars, leaving a rail of my own cloned corpses and wrecked ships.

I fooled myself into believing that King Khanid's ideals and goals aligned with my own. Independence from the Amarr Empire. Freedom from tradition. Defying God's law, as told by theocrats. These attributes made me proud to bear the Khanid badge, proud to declare myself a Khanid Kataphract.

But it is illusion.

King Khanid is simply another Empire ruler. He serves his own interests, and is willing to do anything to get what he wants. This makes him admirable. To not be constrained by tradition or others' laws is freedom for him.

But without guidance, without someone else's goal, you must have one of your own. The ship does not sail without a destination in mind. Even those ships have something to look for.

What is my purpose?

In the Crusade, I was a simple soldier. Learning how to fight was my goal. A simple life: follow orders, do as well as you can, and get rewarded.

So what now?

I have my oath, but an open ended 'Learn to fight' goal doesn't have any real conclusion to it. My current plan of arbitrary 'Get x kills' is hardly compelling. But what else is there for me to do? There's no great war for me to fight. The current Empire Wars are only the bizarre outcome of controlled self-interest, regulated to the point of irrelevance.

There is nothing to really fight over in the Crusade. There is a lot of money to be made, but my market slave is nearly producing a fully fitted cruiser a day for me, at no real effort on my part. So why fight at all?

And after a week of wrestling with the concept, I still have no definitive answer for what I want to do in the end. All I really know is that I want to get better. To what end, I don't know. Perhaps that will be my goal. A romanticized drift through New Eden searching for a new objective.

My family's oath is to walk in dark places. I think I have found a dark place to walk. There are shadows there, shadows with skill and experience beyond what any in the Crusade can teach me. I'd like to walk with them for a while.

I hope they accept my application.

I hope my family will understand.

100% and Moving Forward

When in sevice to a cause higher than yourself, personal acheivement pales in comparison to the overall aim. Such is the pride I find in service to the Khanid Kingdom.

However, when such personal achievements do occur, I see no reason not to celebrate them!

In the last month, I lost 0 ships. This meant my efficiency in combat was 100%! I reported this to my King, and he rewarded my family with the leasing of one of his private asteroid belts. Not an uncommon gift, but apprecited none the less.

The caveat is this though: I only performed two patrols in October. But still, 3-0 is not bad.

With this in mind, I'm re-opening my old Plan. I hope to get a 5-kill solo patrol streak, before learning the intricacies of Fleet Command. In addition to this, I will start adding Small Complexes to my target list, hoping to take down Republic destroyers. At first I shall attempt to use the Kataphract Slicer, but I may need to change to a destroyer myself.

On a recent patrol I found that the cruisers guarding Medium Complexes could be easily taken down with the Slicer, by flying in close orbit. I will add this to my list of patrol targets, with the aim of finding what ships make their way into such arenas.

Despite a relatively poor exploration trip, October was a good month!

Return of the Kataphract!

Whilst I freely admit I am a slave to my King's commands, that doesn't mean I don't see value in what I do. it certainly doesn't mean I can't have my own goals in mind.

My investigations of wormhole space reveled far more mysterious than this soldier can decipher. Exploration, whilst a pleasant break from the battlefield, is clearly not my forte.

I will post my findings later on, but for now, I am returning to the crusade. My King has put far more learned men than me to the task of investigating wormhole space, and exploration in general. I will post my own findings here in due time.

For now, I have been returned to the Crusade. Let the Minmatar rebels tremble in fear. Let pirates retreat to their shadows. Let Amarrians bear witness once more to a true Khanid warrior.

My goal is as always:

Walk in dark places,
Learn from shadows,
Bring the light.

I will learn and teach my fellow pilots how to succeed in combat. I will teach them how to survive to come home to their families. I will show them that civility need not be lost on the battlefield between immortals.

The Khanid Kataphract has returned!

War Record: Routine patrol

Today I completed a routine patrol of the Crusade conquest zones.

Why? Well, whilst I hardly think of myself as a mercenary, there were a few items in the loyalty store I wanted for my projects, and needed to endear myself to the armorer. I also felt a little guilty about leaving the front lines so abruptly.

In any case, I planned my patrol as usual, hitting Minmatar held complexes, as usual, flying my favorite frigate, the Kontos Executioner. It's upgraded a little now, since my fitting skills allow a bit more power, but the idea is the same.

Nothing much of importance happened. A few ships dropped in on me as I was capturing, but wisely thought better of tackling a Khanid fighter! My fellow crusaders have been doing well in my absence, so there were few systems for me to capture in.

On the way back I noticed a friendly complex whose cloak had failed, and went to provide cover until they repaired it.

Another Executioner appeared on scans.

After a quick comment to the complex crew not to panic, I readied my weapons, and the capsuleer working for the Minmatar entered.

The fight was short, and altogether uneventful. I was a little rusty, allowing the other ship to graze my armor, but he was defeated in good order.

I sent him a quick courtesy, which was ignored. No matter.

After the complex was restored, I flew back to my staging area, and repaired my ship, and went to smile sweetly at the loyalty store vendor.

Review

My piloting was sloppy. I failed to maintain my orbit of him, and lost warp disruption twice, and over compensated my orbit allowing him to get close. Foolish.

It was not a display of my skill, but more accurately his pilot errors. Even when I was close enough to his scrambler range, he failed to shut down my Micro Warp Drive. I was lucky.

I must maintain better discipline when it comes to orbiting. I think perhaps my early tent-pegging exercises are no longer enough.

I will begin working on my manual piloting skills.

Stategikon Arcani: Ballista

For our first solution to the I-Hub siege problem, let us consider the ballista

A ballista is an accurate weapon, as siege equipment goes. It is essentially an over sized crossbow, hurling javelins at your enemy at great range.

It's best used against troops, rather than buildings. A 4 meter long stick to the chest presents a greater problem to the average infantry man, than it would to a stone wall. However, it's lighter construction, and the kinetic force it exerts still make it useful as a piece of siege equipment for a light, highly mobile task force.

Essentially, fire enough large sticks at a wooden gate, and eventually you'll get in. Hardly elegant, but easier to move than larger pieces of siege equipment.

Which brings us to this: the Man'jenuk Stealth Bomber

[Purifier, Man'jenuk]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II

1MN Microwarpdrive II
[empty med slot]
[empty med slot]

Torpedo Launcher II, Mjolnir Rage Torpedo
Torpedo Launcher II, Mjolnir Rage Torpedo
Torpedo Launcher II, Mjolnir Rage Torpedo
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
[empty high slot]

Small Processor Overclocking Unit I
[empty rig slot]


Posted above is a max damage fitting for the Purifier, the Amarr stealth bomber. If it looks inflexible, that's because it is, and because it is designed to be.

• 700dps
• Low price
• Relatively low Skill Points
• Cloak

This solution draws inspiration from the tragically named CFC raiding groups that roamed around Fountain in their conflict with the equally tragically named TEST Alliance: Please Ignore. Despite their names, however, they do have some of the best strategies and tactics in New Eden, proving the old adage: a rose by any other name can still make you bleed with it's thorns.

The CFC would form large raiding parties of Stealth Bombers and assault various sovereignty structures. They were largely successful in paving the way for larger capital fleets to come and put in the decisive blow. Using Black Ops battleships, these fleets could strike deep into enemy territory.

The advantages of the Stealth bomber are it's relatively low price tag to damage done ratio, coming in under 50 million isk and putting somewhere between 400-700dps depending on skills. Whilst the max damage variant takes a while to skill up to, meta modules and faction ammo can be used for similar effects.

It's use is simple. Warp to structure, target and begin firing.

The supreme advantage of the Stealth Bomber is it's cloaking device. Should an enemy fleet counter attack the siege fleet, cease fire, cloak up, and warp away to evade capture. You can then regroup, and mount a surprise counter-counter attack from stealth!

Unfortunately, it is not perfect for our task. Like the versatile ballista, the Bomber is best used against heavy troops, or in this case, cruisers and battleships. It only achieves our benchmark dps at highest skill levels, and as you can see, is fairly inflexible.

Any changes to the above fitting will result in a loss of dps. More than that, unless you are a missile specialist, you will have to stop your normal weapons training in order to use such a bomber.

Unlike the Null sec warlords, we have no need for the complex web of jump bridges and Black Ops ships. The Crusades operations can all be done via traditional Jumpgate warfare.

It certainly provides you with a plethora of strategic options, and a good soldier of the crusade is not doing himself a disservice in training for one. However, I prefer a much less subtle ship, which I'll discuss in my next post.

Setting a goal

So after a week long shore leave from the front, I've decided that solo fighting on its own is not satisfying enough.

I understand that many pilots enjoy it, and I can see the appeal, but I've always preferred building, logistics and strategies to a fist fight. No to say I don't enjoy them from time to time... a good warrior should always keep his basic combat skills sharp. But I feel I can, and thus, should be doing more.

In any case, my King keeps asking for progress reports. A few destroyed frigates has not been satisfying him either.

So, I want to create a Savaran, or corporation of pilots.

The reason is simple. The Crusade needs bastions.

For a single roaming militia member, the most annoying thing is losing your ship, and having  long trek back to your staging area to re-ship, and fight again. Another problem with patrolling deep into enemy territory, is that you are not allowed to dock in enemy held stations. This is more significant for Amarr pilots, as armour does not replenish itself... and any true cataphract of the Kingdom trusts in his armour.

The Crusade needs bastions placed at regular intervals across the war zone, to allow faster re-deployment of our pilots, and keep them from frustrations of logistics.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to lead a corp, or even the mechanics to maintain it. But, as my family's oath states: Learn from shadows. I intend to learn more about how to fight in this war zone. And any training program needs goals.

Action Plan

1. Get 5 solo kills
2. Particiapate in 5 sieges
3. Command a fleet of frigates
4. Develop frigate fleet strategies and tactics
5. Command 5 frigate fleets
6. Command a fleet of cruisers
7. Develop cruiser fleet strategies and tactics
8. Command 5 cruiser fleets
9. Command an I-Hub siege fleet
10. Develop siege fleet strategies and tactics
11. Command 5 siege fleets
12. Create a corporation

During these steps, I will be creating a format for my corporation to maintain a bastion.

Hunting Ghosts

I was flying back after an extended patrol in space.

There were no engagements so far. The Republic seemed unwilling to fight with me that day. No matter. I had a productive time capturing some minor stations deep in enemy territory. The Republic will pay for its lack of defense when these systems are made vulnerable.

Entering a system, I noticed a war target broadcasting in Local communications. My sensors picked up the distress call from a minor training outpost. Readying my defenses, I warped to the invader! He would pay for threatening such young recruits!

I leapt into the complex, ready to do valiant battle.

My foe wisely turned tail, and fled, before my warp disruptor could catch him. The outpost recruits thanked me, and I defended the system until they could bring up their cloaking systems again.

As I was about to leave, a distress beacon was lit in system again, this time a small patrol fleet discovering they were the target of a Republic mission.

Two stealth bombers appeared in Local, and I hunted them down, daring them to engage the fleet so I could ambush them in return.

Eventually, they decided my pulse lasers were too much of a threat, and left the system, their objectives thwarted, at least for now.

Minmatar aggression subdued, and without firing a shot I might add, I continued on my journey home.

On my flight back, there were many targets of opportunity. Many small stations were captured without retaliation.

Some of the braver Republic pilots scouted my operations, including another elite Firetail, but declined combat. Their reasons are their own, but I saw none for them to give up their complexes to me without a fight. They were content to menace me from the furthest extent of my scanners.

These are minor victories. No kill mails are attached to them, but each one furthers the Crusade's objectives. Remember, it is capturing points that will win this war, not the number of wrecks floating in system.

This should be your mind set when engaging in combat. You are there to deny your opponent his objectives, and further your own. This is best achieved through careful planning and maneuvering. Once you come into contact with the enemy, you invite variables which can lead to you losing your objectives.

That's not to say you flee from combat. But choose the fights that further your goals, rather than simply attacking the first thing that moves. Ships are expensive, and you shouldn't treat fighting in one like a drunken bar brawl.

War record: First Kill

This was the first time I used the Kontos Executioner. Apologies for the late posting, but I had no idea how to post information about the kill. Turns out it was rather easy, a subject for a later discussion.

A course was plotted throughout The Bleak Lands, starting at Kamela.

Strategy:

• Offensive capturing of points.
• Fly high orbit of structure
• Utilize Tent-pegging

Kamela is a popular staging area. There are probably good duels to be had here, but I dislike it due to the high population.

Lamaa by comparison was nearly empty. I warped to a Novice complex, and began my strategy. Whilst I waited, I made myself a cup of coffee. I didn't have to wait long.

A Firetail appeared on D-scan outside my complex.

Adrenaline kicked in, and my hands started to shake. The enemy appeared in the complex, I clicked to lock and started to orbit, pulse lasers pummeling purple destruction into the foes frigate.

So far so good.

He managed to close to 13km, and I activated my web, pinning him back. His shields went down.

He closed again to 13km, and I clicked my web, but it did not activate! The overheat had shut down, reducing it's effective range to 10km!

He closed the gap rapidly at that point. A warp scrambler landed, killing my MWD. He was faster than me, with better tracking.

I fumbled the crystal switch, loading Multi-frequency crystals. He was into armor now, but my flimsy shields were failing.

I noticed I was simply traveling in a straight line, easy prey for his guns!

His bullets crashed into my ships plating, armor stripping off with every shot.

And then suddenly... his ship vanished.

All that was left was a rapidly expanding cloud of debris.

I had won.

I complimented him on the fight, and thanked him for his participation in my first kill. He took it badly, but I was too high on victory to care. His loot was mine, and the complex captured, and my first kill is now a Faction frigate in a common hull.

I retreated to a station to repair my armor.

Review

After the fight, I realized that letting him close the distance could have been easily avoided. Making sure the web is over-heated is crucial to maintaining distance from the target.

I fumbled the crystal switching, leading to valuable seconds of damage lost.

I was also remarkably lucky. Not only was his ship set up for close range fighting, but he did not even have long range ammunition ready.

In retrospect, traveling in a straight line at the end probably gave me the victory. He had far better tracking than I did. It would have been better for him to be on a tight orbit, where my pulses would have trouble hitting him.

And finally, when I am in an engagement, I must remember to put the coffee cup down. It was only after I looted the wreck I realized I was still holding it.

Appendix: Those cunning enough to check the rest of my kills will see a number of losses before the Firetail, and a 'kill'. I assure you, I was nowhere near that Incursus when it exploded. That pilot beat me without breaking a sweat.

Strategikon Arcani: Patrol planning: Solo

Time for my first sortie.

Before I even un-docked from Station, I planned out my route. Using a reputable mapping service, I plotted a loop around the Bleak Lands and Devoid.

My objective: Engage pilots in solo duels.

The trick here is to avoid larger roaming fleets. Systems with high numbers of jumps are to be avoided. Large numbers of jumps are indicative of high traffic, and more organised patrol groups. Whilst the traditional Minmatar warrior is very much the heroic personal challenge seeker, the modern Republic soldier has adopted more conservative (and much more effective) military doctrines. This growth in tactical maturity has led to larger patrols focusing fire on single targets.

This is not to be treated as cowardice. Intelligent combat is always better than brave and foolish.

Systems with very-low to no jumps are to be avoided as well, but marked for later. There will be fewer targets here, and thus longer before any meaningful engagement can be made. However, these should be marked for later capture. Victory comes with the capture of systems, not with the number of enemy dead. Equally, the rewards for capturing plexes are higher than that of destroying enemy ships, and rewards will directly fund our own operations.

The course you plot will reflect your daring. Higher traffic will mean higher risk. You will have to decide what risk you will take.

To re-iterate the Strategikon's teachings here:

• Plot your course
• Avoid high traffic
• Avoid very-low to no traffic.

Again, I am by no means a master. Please give your own insights into this strategy.

Strategikon: Deployment

My King has ordered me to war. For the Arcani, Khanid and the Kingdom!

But before we go flying off into a blaze of glory and destruction, proper planning and strategy must be discussed.

Contrary to popular belief, successful capsuleer combat rarely follows the form of 'Jump into frigate, find fights, win.' That more than often ends with one dead frigate, one dead clone, and a long, tedious turn around between fights.

To give ourselves more time fighting, and less time preparing to fight, we should choose a system to fight from, and to re-ship from.

My trade hub, where I purchase all of my arms, is Amarr Prime. It is a great hub to work from, and a strategic advantage for the Crusade. Prices and availability of weapons and ships are good here. However, it is too far from the front lines.

As with all warfare, first go to your maps. I have a fantastic cartographer who I use for this.

I have chosen a system near The Bleak Lands to stage from.

The system you choose will be based on what your needs are. As a solo player, I won't be able to mount a consistent defense of a Faction Warfare system. I can only access stations in systems the Crusade has conquered, meaning tht should the Republic take it back, I will have a struggle to reclaim my armoury.

I could choose to stage from a system occupied by other militia corporations, but that would leave me vulnerable to their own defensive capabilities.

Instead, I have chosen a High-security system, just on the outskirts of the Faction Warfare zone: Kuomi. This system gives me to entry points into the War Zone. CONCORD prevents the Republic from invading these systems, so my arms will always be accessible. It also has an allied corporation running the stations there, which I appreciate. Caldari food is satisfying, if a little bland to the Khanid palette.

To move there, I have a choice of hauling it myself in industrials flown by my slaves. Concord should hopefully protect them from pirates, but there is still a risk of lost goods. A second choice, more expensive but less risky, is to use PushX Industries. They are a courier service I've worked with in the past, and have always been reliable.

To begin with, I will move ten frigates plus fittings there. When I fall in battle, I will fly back, and grab another frigate from here. Moving stacks of ships and equipment will allow me to fight many times in one day, without needing to retreat back to Amarr

Eventually, I can set up buy orders at this staging area, to attract traders to courier my weapons for me. This will save me time, and allow me to get on with the task of defending the Empire.

Stages:

• Decide on your needs
• Find a map
• Find a system that suits your needs
• Move many stacks of equipment you need

This will be my first serious deployment. If any have advice about how to do it better, please let me know.

Royal Decree

Khanid II, King of the Khanids, decreed that his kingdom and the Amarr Empire will reconcile their differences.

Why there are differences is a history lesson for later, but part of the negotiations is military aid in the ongoing 24th Crusade. In return, Khanid Kingdom has a seat on the Emperor's Privy Council, whilst keeping it's independence.

Military aid is where I come in.

We Khanid are excellent fighters, with a long martial tradition. Discipline, and cunning are the ideals we strive for. We adhere to past doctrines, but welcome new innovations. We never discount a path to victory.

In ancient times, our ancestors rode into battle on steeds, covered in armour, wielding a variety of weapons. I honour this tradition.

I am Behnid Arcani, son of the Arcani Holder family. We are relatively small family compared to the larger Holders, but we lay claim to a wealthy chain of islands on Khanid Prime.

I now fight for the Imperial Crusade.