Nation Warrior

The first rank of the TLF is Nation Warrior. The pin itself has a short inscription:

"Though free I am bound by the chains of my brothers."

Short and simple reminder of why we do what we do.

For my stint as Nation Warrior, I'll be using whatever is laying around in the hangar, an eclectic mix of attack frigates, Breachers and Rifters. I'm not too picky. At this rank I'l be focusing on burning stock rather devising tactics. I know how to use the ships already, so a tactical focus would be a waste of brain power.

Not that I'm using much brains for strategic focus either. My running orders look borderline suicidal, and a little out of character for me:

Standing Orders

Fly into combat zone.
Eliminate opposition.
Find and occupy first novice complex seen.
Find and occupy first small complex seen.
Come back in a pod.

The last one is important. When I spend a lot of time planning a ship and specific mission, I tend to make myself skittish about unknown variables. It's not fear in a normal sense, but more a case of not wanting to look stupid. Giving myself this objective for every ship sent out mitigates that somewhat.

It's simply formalising the "I didn't want that ship anyway" flying philosophy. It sounds bad, but for me it's getting me to take more risks, rather than fretting about how to mitigate them. That's the development I need at this point.

I'm also going to be ignoring my killboard for this entire rank for the same reason. I'll do a tally of victories and losses after I've ranked up. The idea here is to role-play impetuous youth again, with scant regard to loss or consequence.

Of course, I'll be posting any interesting stories along the way. That's the point of my blog after all!

Re-write

I recently wrote about how you need to make your own story. I think my own story came to a bit of a halt for the past few months. Well, half year.

I've spent the holidays trying to write a new narrative for myself. It ranged from the melodramatic to the maudlin, and frankly, was more exhausting than it was worth.

So, I'm re-writing my story.

Yes, simple as that.

And simple is the story I'm re-writing.

I'm leaving the pirates to re-enlist with the militia. The Republic again. I've got a fondness for Hek that goes beyond rational thought. It'll feel good to be part of its defense force.

As a change of tactic, I will also take my rank progression a little more seriously.

Before, I was mostly concerned with perfect fights. I'd sped a few days crafting a ship with tactics to go with it, and then go test it out. I spent a great deal of time on single fights, and analyzing them afterwards.

Valuable, but exhausting.

This time, I will focus on progressing through the ranks of the Republic militia. This is a much broader success criteria, meaning that fighting is just a small part of my overall development. Capturing outposts, mission running, I-Hub sieges... all these are important to success in Faction Warfare. And that's not to mention the logistics of supplying the front.

I fooled myself into thinking that capsuleer combat was all there was to New Eden. This is not true, and frankly, life would be boring if it was. Simple ship to ship duels are just a tiny part of the universe, and I did myself a disservice by focusing on that small section.

But enough rambling. Leaving pirates. Joining militia.

Looking forward to putting down some slave murdering zealots.

Slice of the Ol' Pirate Life

The stack of paper glared at me with the intensity that only ink and expectations can give.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my tired face with stained hands. The damned black stuff got everywhere, no matter how careful you were. It didn’t even seem to matter most of my work was done at the keyboard these days.

A cheery beep from my terminal reminded me of the half-dozen deadlines for tomorrow.

Take some time to appreciate the situation, I told myself. You’ve got a family to feed, and students who rely on you. And you wanted the shift from teaching language to hard science. Better prospects all around. All you need to do is push through these months of truly hard work, and everything will be better.

Don’t think about that government service job you applied for on a whim. Doesn’t matter you’re through to the second round. You have to think of a secure future.

All good points, I agreed with myself.

The stack of assignments and training plans shifted its glare to impatient gloating.

I need to get out for a while.

I left the sombre, confining office, and wandered out to the living area, my wife conspicuously absent. It wasn’t safe enough to bring her to Ardar yet. She was busy being pregnant with our first child back on Hek. Just a comm call away, but our schedules had fallen out of synch. She should be asleep by now.

I fled the empty, claustrophobic quarters, meandering aimlessly around my small section of the station. My corporation had a few levels rented out for members, but I was the only current occupant, footsteps clanging down the darkened hallways. Had to save power on the lighting bills these days.

I stopped abruptly outside my personal hangar. Three sets of key cards hung on the rack, each coded for a different frigate. Just two Rifters and the Prospect here. A fraction of the fleet gathering dust in Hek. Two Rifters.

I didn’t bother with the furtive glancing around. They were my ships, and if you can’t take your own damn ship out whenever you wanted to, what was the point in shelling out the ISK for it?

I grabbed the card for the Rhys Tai; a little project before I started training for my new job. Standard fitting, with plate and ancilliary repper, 200s and trinity tackle. The devil was in the details for this one. Two projectile ambit extensions instead of the standard nano-pumps.

I was of two minds about it. The nano-pumps were a nice, safe, and easily quantifiable advantage, based on the sound military principle of being on the positive side of damage in versus armour repaired.

The ambits, on top of the Rifter’s already impressive range, gave a much more incalculable advantage. Distance against hard firepower was always tricky, but I was confident the Rifter could exploit this advantage well.

Mostly confident.

Within moments the little Rifter prowled out into space. Its butch form was a façade. This frigate needed a delicate touch, and a careful, considered mind. But still, by looks alone, it is one of the more empowering pod sheathes.  

I jumped a few systems, leaving the paperwork to glower in my ion wake. Just an hour or two away. To fly amongst the stars… And then I’ll be good. I’ll willingly press my face to the grindstone.

The various low-sec denizens fled before me, like startled pigeons. The pirate colours I fly tended to have that effect. I don’t begrudge them it. When I fly the Prospect, I act in the same way. Prudence over bravado is my usual running order.

Not today.

A Slicer on scan.

He who dares…

I warped to the complex gate, slightly changing my initial contact tactic. I tend to gamble on warping in on top of my opponent when using Rifters, a habit born from my early days of flying brawling frigates. Today I started 30km out.

The Slicer probably couldn’t believe his luck! A clapped out old Rifter, flown by a pilot so rusty he melded into the Matari penumbra, and right at his optimal range! Incredible!

Pulse fire came in stripping shields with ease, and chewing through armour with equal abandon. Reppers cycled, but the inevitable stream of fire began melting holes of vulnerability.

But it wasn’t going all his way. It wasn’t, in fact, going his way at all.

My own projectiles had punched through his shields, even as he orbited at 20km, the ambits casting the hail of radiated metal across the gulf between us. His micro-warpdrive made him an absolutely massive target, his signature bloomed out like a waiting flower, my own, Matari engineered radius needle thin in comparison.

I managed a text book slingshot manouver, something I’ve never been able to pull off before, and his incoming fire dropped to a trickle. I was neatly under his guns.

Victory was nearly mine when both my rocket launcher and auto-cannons burned out, melted to slag through over use. I made some efforts at escape, but the inevitable happened, and the Rhys Tai erupted into flames.

I set my pod back to Ardar. Just twenty minutes since I left.

It was… perfect.

Well, not the exploding part. But that was a minor set-back, caused by a little inattention to heat levels, and clumsy, out of practice hands at the controls.

The slingshot perfect. The theory behind the ambits verified, at least in this one test. The Rifter could easily match most mundane kiting frigates, and some navy specials, whilst still brawler fit.

I attacked the stack of papers with renewed vigour, its glare reduced to a morose stare.

Everyone needs a little slice of life every now and then.

Yarr.

War Record: Cop killer

You know what's frustrating? Patrolling for Crusaders, but finding only Tribal Liberation Forces saturating the contested zones.

Fantastic news for the Republic, and I'm sure a multitude of slaves are embracing freedom for the hundredth time in the never-ending spat between Empires, but for the lowly dog-of-war looking to capture space and take Amarr bounties, it's fairly frustrating.

Still, there are still pockets of Crusade resistance. I eased into system, and warped off to capture a novice complex. I was flying the Agkulis Condor. I don't usually like to capture complexes, least of all in a brawler, but with nothing but allies around, I couldn't think of anything more productive to do.

Quick tip: If you find yourself with nothing to do, think of some way to earn a little bit of extra cash. There's an opportunity cost argument in there somewhere, but basically you should keep yourself doing something. Avoid ship spinning at all costs.

I jumped in, and Scourge rockets popped the Amarr Crusader lackey with ease. I reloaded, starting orbiting the beacon at 500m, and warmed up the weapon systems.

The timer ticked down, and it really looked like I was going to capture the point without incident. For a change, I started orbiting the complex itself rather than the warp-in beacon.

A TLF capsuleer in system commented on my ship's name, but that was the extent of interaction. Not that my ship's name was offensive or even interesting... but that was literally the only thing someone could talk about in system.

Until the police showed up...

Well, the Police Comet.

Piloted by a pirate.

I didn't have time to think about the irony of that, since it jumped straight into my complex and started shooting. Didn't even read me my rights first.

I don't know much about Comet's beyond them being Gallente, and Gallente generally means Blasters. I leapt towards my opponent, starting in a tight orbit, and widening out to the limit of my rocket range(~8km). I intended to fight in the blasters' fall-off.

Rockets flew and little pulse of light erupted from the Comet's guns. My shields took a beating, but just a few pulses of the booster brought them back up.

I took a closer look at the guns, and noticed they weren't blasters at all! He had fit rails! I re-adjusted my orbit to point blank range (500m), and damage to my shields dropped the a trickle.

My neutraliser came into play, and soon it was dead in the water, rockets hammering on its hull, rending great holes in the metal, exposing the soft innards to hard vacuum!

And soon, it was little more than a rapidly expanding cloud of debris!

Victory was mine, and 'gf's were exchanged in local. Remember your post-fight etiquette.

At which point the TLF member who commented on my ship name warped in to the complex. He inquired what 'gf' meant, and I replied 'good fight'. He then made a coarse comment, and that was it for our little interaction. His character was revealed by waiting around the complex to leech the Loyalty Points for capture.

I didn't really care. The LP is a nice bonus, but the loot the Police Comet dropped covered the price of my Condor. The thrill of bringing down a faction frigate in a T1 hull is nothing compared to a few thousand LP, and a solo kill mail is a treasure beyond that of monetary gain. And I picked up some drones too!

Wait, where did the drones come from?

Oh...

Review

I was a little lucky. The Comet was fit for kiting, and was clearly expecting a kiting Condor to match. However, had my reaction of getting into a tight orbit and hitting the scram and web on fast meant he had little chance to escape. There may be something in orbiting the complex as opposed to the warp in spot.

It was good that I checked his weapons early on in the fight. If I had remained out at scram range, eventually his higher firepower (and drones) would have carried the day. I'm pleased that I was able to adapt my strategy mid-fight.

The neutralizer worked out great as a engagement shorten-er. I doubt it was the defining victory module, but I'm reasonably confident it helped speed things up. Against laser ships it'll certainly prove more useful, but in this fight it shut down his armour repairer.

Apparently, the Comet has a complement of drones. I did not realize this, and as such, did not have my drone overview settings open. I didn't even find out about them until after the engagement, when I scooped them into cargo. The oversight here was lack of knowledge. Hardly a fatal error, but something that should be considered for future fights.

About the rather rude TLF member, well, that's an issue I had in the Crusade as well. Nothing much you can do about it. When you're a dog working with other dogs, you can't be surprised if a few of them are mangy or ridden with fleas. Just remember to take a bath regularly and don't hang around the vermin. You might catch their fleas.

Action Plan

Study Gallente ships a little more thoroughly.
Take a bath.


Overall, I'm very happy with this fight. It stands as a shining example of how good planning, and prior knowledge (with a healthy dose of luck!) can give you victory. Even if you fly a T1 attack ship against a faction frigate.

For records of other engagements click here.

A Great Resource

I've never claimed to be an authority on all things Faction Warfare. I'm not even the best at capsuleer combat, which is why I write about and study fighting. I have to do a lot of reading.

So I have a lot of reference material:

http://www.factionwarfare.com/

The above is a fantastic website for budding Faction Warriors. It endeavors to have up-to-date news about the dramatic and dynamic landscape of the FW arenas.

It also has amazingly high quality writers publishing regular columns and opinion pieces. How do I know this?

I'm one of them.

Take a look!

War Record: Rifter vs. Everyone

I dislike the notion of usurping one of my favourite bloggers, but Jack Dancer, fellow Rifter Pilot, has fallen silent over the past few months. Whilst he rests, I'm more than happy to wave the Rifter banner, high and proud.

I love the Rifter.

It's not my most efficient frigate - by far, that honour goes to the Breacher, which I simply cannot find fault with. Great damage projection, and a secondary drone weapon set extending to any range gives it punch against kiters and brawlers alike. It's also faster than a Rifter, and with an ancillary shield booster can completely cancel another frigates damage for a good while.

But despite all these virtues, I still come back to the Rifter. That flawed, mess of a ship, which is designed to be so adaptable it's near unfocused. Call it romantic notions against my better judgement, but I'd rather ride a Rifter into a fireball than any other ship to an assured victory.

Ahem. Poetry aside...

The Rifter, as I've discussed before, is an ambush ship. This is largely the same for most Matari vessels. Unlike Amarr ships, which are spear and shield disciplined-yet-unimaginative warriors, or Gallente ships, which are all about the romantic notion of weathering fire to come to a dramatic and decisive point-blank axe-blow, Minmatar vessels are about hurting your opponent from a position where they cannot hurt you.

Well, I thought I was done with poetry...

The Rifter, as it is now, is a warp scramble range kiter. For preference, your warp scrambler should be overheated, and you should be engaging blaster-fit opponents at about 9km, perhaps closing for a kill once you're sure their active tank has been exhausted, or the guns burnt out.

However, as discussed previously, you're better off engaging laser fit frigates and point blank range, where your superior tracking can carry the day. A Rifter in a fast, tight orbit and avoid much of the damage. This is most clearly exemplified in the following battle.

I caught a Punisher on D-scan. He had allies in system, but he was isolated in a novice plex, whilst the majority were engaged in capturing a medium plex.

A Punisher is designed to withstand damage. I noted this rather useful tactic on the part of the opposing gang leader. He had his higher damage, but less tough ships grouped together, with two fairly tough Punishers capturing other plexes. If the main group was caught, their combined firepower would be enough to dispatch the aggressor. If the Punishers were caught, they could withstand the attacker until help arrived.

Very clever.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to see this trap in action. As Jack says, I turned up all modules to 11 (i.e. overheated them), and jumped to the gate. I loaded up Rep Fusion rounds, as per my suggestions against Amarr ships.

Just as I was warping off the acceleration gate, a pirate Slicer warped in right on top of me.

In retrospect I should have cancelled the warp. The Slicer, whilst being quite tough, is still a kiting ship and he had landed in scram range. Its MWD would have been useless. Would have been a nice kill for my Rifter, but oh well.

I got into the plex, and locked up the Punisher. I went point blank, and started unloading round after rocket after round into him. The Slicer came in, and began adding his own fire.

Needless to say, it was destroyed.

Immediately, the Slicer and I went at it. Temporary allies against the Punisher, now mortal enemies, we managed a few volleys at each other before the Punisher's friends arrived - a trio of blaster boats.

Needless to say, I was destroyed.

The Slicer escaped destruction for  while, but was too, destroyed.

Review

Whilst the Punisher clearly had the Slicer locked down with a scrambler, as seen on the kill mail, there was a good twenty or so seconds before it arrived where it simply couldn't hit my more nimble Rifter in close orbit. A few reasons for this:

• Pulse lasers have poor tracking
• He fit Scorch, further exacerbating the tracking issue.
• The low quality fitting of the Punisher hints at a low-trained pilot.

So yes, the Rifter should get into close range of laser fit ships.At the very least you buy yourself a few seconds of no fire as the opposing pilot switches crystals. It might be worth considering leaping out beyond 5km at that point, forcing them to switch crystals again. Watch for the change in beam colour.

• Purple = fly closer
• White = fly out

The trap was well executed by the opposing gang. However, I think the Punisher would have gone down even without the Slicer's help before the cavalry arrived. I would have had time to escape if I didn't spend time fighting with the Slicer. It comes down to a philosophical choice: which is more important to you, curiosity or safety.

Overall, I was pleased with the Rifter's performance in this fight. I look forward to more in the future!

Strategikon: Tactics of Faction Warfare (Solo)

Please note, this does not refer to overall strategy on a corporate or alliance level, but will focus on the strategies a single pilot can use to succeed in Faction Warfare.

I also write this from the perspective of a solo pilot. I rarely fly with others, and although it's on my to-do list, don't know the first thing about leading a fleet.

Tasks for the solo pilot in FW fall under three broad categories. Two of these are socially acceptable. One is frowned upon. We will discuss all three. A good soldier should learn about all tactics, even if they never employ them. I also cast no particular judgement on the use of that strategy, as it does directly benefit the goals of the militia.

It's only annoying to combatants. It's not like you're blowing up freighters full of slaves.

The below are very abbreviated summaries of the three broad strategies.

Search and destroy

This involves hunting down war targets, destroying them, re-arming and repeating. Often called a roam.

This is the more offensive strategy, and gives you total choice over whether or not an engagement takes place. In general, you will enter a system, and warp to a safe spot. You locate targets using your D-scan, and, depending on what you find, will engage at your discretion.

Whilst you will find many engagements, you will not be earning a great many loyalty points. I recommend a brawling vessel for this, as these (usually) tougher ships give you the greatest chance of surviving the defenders counter-attack. You will also find many novice kiter pilots sitting on the warp-in point, leading to easy kills.

This is the strategy employed by pirates to find targets. If you're looking to learn this, Stay Frosty is a corp that will teach you well.

Fighting patrol

This was the first strategy I used for the Crusade, and involves capturing complexes.

Warp in system. Find an empty complex using the probe scanner. Orbit around, and wait to capture. If a pilot comes into the plex, engage.

This is the most defensive strategy (ironic since some pilots doing this are participating in offensive plexing... you are attacking the enemy militia's outpost). You will engage any opponent that seeks to stop you capturing the plex. I recommend using a kiter for this. Your greater range will allow you to choose whether or not to engage the enemy entering the plex. If 3 destroyers and a Griffin warp in, you'll have a 20km head-start for running away.

The militias are the best place to learn this strategy, as you will earn LP for every fight you don't get. Win-win. If you are outside of the militia, you an modify this for any important objective you know enemies will come to.

Occupation patrol

Similar to the above, this is where you capture complexes, but avoid combat.

This is the best strategy for making money. Keep an eye on D-scan, and run when you see an enemy appear. Your ship will be quick (with an MWD and maybe a back up Afterburner), and you will have warp core stabilizers in your lows. You will need some weapons to defeat the non-capsuleer militia ships.

Pilots performing these patrols are near universally reviled by most combatants. However, they have their place. As the majority of pilots, particularly the skilled ones, are only interested in padding out their kill boards, the actual act of capturing space gets left to these pilots.

Personally, I don't judge the pilots themselves, but rather the peculiar system CONCORD created to restrain the Empires from annihilating each other.

This strategy is only applicable in the militias, which reward LP for capturing points.



My personal favourite is Search and destroy. Hunting is generally more fun than being hunted, and you take a lot more control of the battlefield. I've never done an occupation patrol. It has it's value in terms of overall alliance strategy, but for the solo pilot, it's only purpose is money.

And I get that through other ways.

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.

War Record: Compounding stupidity

The Kataphract Slicer was handily destroyed by a Firetail, fit with both a scrambler, tracking disruptor, neutralizer and webifier.

Even though the Slicer could brawl in a pinch, the guns were disrupted, speed limited to about 100m/s and the capacitor drained. The fight was ended within seconds, and the Firetail's shields barely scratched... which didn't matter, as he was fit with an armour plate.

How do I know this? Civility and diplomacy. I congratulated him on his victory, and politely asked for his fit, which he was kind enough to send me. Remember, the Arcani are pledged to learn from shadows.

How did this happen?

I warped to an acceleration gate, where he was already orbiting. Foolish. He locked me up faster than I could get away, and from then on, I was doomed.

Review

So what could have been done better? Simple enough: don't warp so close to the acceleration gate. Warping to the complex itself always lands you at a beacon, but the acceleration gate can be approached more cautiosly.

New routine: Warp to 30km.

This engagement again highlights my weakeness towards Electronic warfare, and close quarter fighting in general. I dislike brawling. I believed it to be the domain of gutter fighters, and the unthinking brute. This fight has taught me better.

Minmatar ships, whilst they can be adequately fit for long range warfare, are ambush predators. These are the weapons of guerrillas and terrorists, not the true fleet ship. They have their advantages in catching the enemy off guard, and doing unexpected tactics.

Amarr ships, whilst they have an edge in conventional fights, have limited tricks up their sleeves. They are soldiers weapons, designed to exemplify traditional combat values: firepower, damage application, and defense.

My training so far has just been with Amarr tactics. Clearly, I cannot win by simply understanding these tactics. I will learn how to fight like a Minmatar. Once they are understood, they can be defeated.

My kill counter will be reset. I still have yet to check off the first step on my plan.

***

The next loss was hardly even noteworthy. Experimenting with a Slasher, I landed at a complex I expected to be empty, only to find 3 frigates already brawling. The reason: my D-Scan setting were wrong.

Utter stupidity.

To be honest, those pilots should have taken my clone as well. I deserved that.

Review

Check your settings. Idiot.

As my old teacher used to say, on a week like this, it's time to put down your gun, make yourself some tea, and contemplate your multitude of sins. 

War Record: My weak spots

Some things confound me more than anything else. My weak spots, whilst obvious, is no less frustrating for being so. In fact, it's much more irritating because of it.

On a recent patrol, I took my Kataphract Slicer into a Medium complex. The Republic Fleet cruiser gurading it was relatively easy to take down... a close orbit of less than 5km meant it's slow guns couldn't track the agile Slicer.

This was the first time I had entered a Medium Complex, and I was looking forward to finding what targets I would face. A cruiser? A destroyer? What ship would seek to end my Kataphract's survival streak?

A pirate frigate appeared on scanners.

Disappointing, but I readied my weapons, and quickly exained what type of vessel it was.

A Maulus. An Electronic warfare ship, specializing in Sensor Dampening. It also fields drones, making it an excellent kiter.

Sensor Dampeners do exactly as the name suggests. They reduce your locking distance, or increase your locking time. For a kiting ship, this is effectively a combat nullifier... if you can't lock a target at range, your strategy is useless.

But, foolish and cocky from my recent good luck, I attempted to close to short range against the frigate, loading Multi-frequency crystals, determined to brawl the target down.

The Maulus entered, and sure enough, the Sensor Damp hit, bringing me down to a limited lock range. What followed was the most tragic display of piloting on my part, and an excellent display on his. He was similarly fit with a MWD, and could kept out of range of Kataphract, sling-shotting around me with ease, his drones pummeling my ship.

I believe I got off one salvo on him.

Seeing my armour slowly whittled away, I decided disgression was the better part of valour. I overheated my MWD and burned away, putting enough distance between him and myself to escape.

After a quick compliment on his skill, I left the system, soundly defeated, my tail between my legs.

Review

This patrol highlighted all of my weak spots, and lays them bare for me to think upon.

First of all, over confidence will get you killed. I underestimated my opponents advantage, and did not act cautiously enough when attacking a new threat. Lesson learned: act with caution against EWar frigates.

That said, I do not know the weakness of the Maulus. I assumed paper thin defenses, but that's not something you can count on when you can't even lock. Does it have low speed? If I destroy his drones, is he out of options? These things I must know.

Second, my piloting skills are terrible. The Kontos Exectuioner largely removed this problem for me, the equipped Webifier allowing me to make mistakes and maintain distance at the same time. I've come this far by working around my problem. I must tackle my failings head on.

Third, I have not considered defenses against EWar. I was unprepared to counter Sensor Damps, despte having lost a ship to one before. I lost a Coercer to a Hookbill wielding a Sensor Damp (I can't find the kill mail... I do however have an odd capsule loss I don't remember). I must find a defense against Sensor damps...

All in all, a reminder that I have much to learn from these shadows.

War Record: Return of the Kataphract and Anti-Piracy

My return to the Crusade, and the first flight of my Kataphract Slicer, could not have had a more fitting story.

My first patrol point put me on course for Taff. I have a strange fascination for this system. It presents a unique opportunity within the Crusades fighting zone... that of a civilian refuge. Some pilots on the Minmatar side who live there, the corporation Taff as Nails, recognize this too, calling it Fortress Taff. It is a cul-de-sac  collection of systems, easily defended, allowing exploitation of the resources.

But enough of that. My first stop proved to be in Gulmorogod. A minor Minmatar complex's cloak failed, and I quickly took the initiative to claim it for the Crusade. As I was overseeing the handover, a rookie pilot warped in.

If you are a new Crusader, be warned: this can lead to your destruction.

Typically, the more psychotic militia pilots will shoot you on site, for two main reasons.

1. They believe you to be a spy
2. They believe you to be a thief of Loyalty Points, the currency used to curry favour with the Crusade quartermasters.

Happily, I am not as paranoid or greedy as the common mercenary. My slave provides me with ample funds, and the Crusades armoury merely provides the occasional bonus. I gave the pilot some advice, and offered him the credit for the capture. He was greateful.

Unfortunately, as we were speaking, two pirates attacked! A Punisher and a Rifter, exploded into the station!

To my shame, I lost contact with the rookie pilot, and set myself to the task of destroying the Rifter. It went down surprisingly quickly, no doubt in thanks to the Kataphract's boosted lasers. I turned my attention to the Punisher, and stripped it's shields, before it escaped. An error on my part... I must pay closer attention to my Warp Disruptor.

I messaged the rookie pilot, and thankfully he had escaped unharmed. I think that seeing his companion fall so quickly had him rattled, and he lost concentration. The rookie pilot came back, and he took the complex, planting a Ni-Kunni marked Amarr flag on the station.

Good for him. New pilots should be shown leniency by their militia mates, and more importantly, shown how to survive. I wish him luck in his future patrols.

Continuing with my journey...

In Taff, another complex presented itself for capture. I leapt to the attack, sweeping away the lonely Minmatar regular fleet frigate, again, overseeing the removal of Matari personnel. As soon as it was captured, another pirate attacked!

This time, a Dramiel, one of the most powerful frigates in New Eden. I stuck to my plan, blazing away at range. it launched drones which hammered away at my shields. A quick ammunition switch to Multi-Frequency allowed me to damage his drones enough to force him to disengage.

I was migtily relieved, and cngratulated him on a battle well fought. He invited me to another duel, which I politely declined. If you think me a coward, then I can only excuse myself by saying my objective was complete in that system. Taff was brought to a vulnerable state from my capture, and I had other appointments to keep.

On the return home...

My flight home proved very eventful.

After a few hours stay in a Crusade held station, I took to capturing another minor complex, this time in Kourmonen. This system is usually a hive of Republic capsuleers, but I was looking to test the limits of the Kataphract Slicer.

Again, as I was capturing, a pirate attacked!

This time a Firetail. This time, the pirate had equipped a Micro-Warpdrive, and caught me with a Scrambler and two Webifiers. I was clearly a dead man, reduced to under 100m/s of speed.

But let it never be said that a Khanid goes down without a fight!

With a lion's roar I pushed my modules to their limits. I would not allow this rat to sully the maiden voyage of Kataphract! I would not allow this predator of the weak to dishonour the Khanid way of combat!

My armour repairer worked furiously as plasma bullets and EM rockets hammered away at my armour. My pulse lasers burned brightly, sending pure white rage into his hull!

The Kataphract was brought into structure, unable to keep the barrage of damage away.

Suddenly, the deadly percussion stopped. The Firetail detonated into a ball of flame!

The Kataphract Slicer had survived a duel with it's natural predator. The pirate flippantly broadcast I was lucky. I agreed, and congratulated him on the battle. He didn't take it well, devolving into a vulgar display of bravado and threats. I simply smiled in my still intact ship, and left for Kamela.

Pirates beware. The Khanid Kataphract has returned!

Review

The Kataphract Slicer flew exactly as intended. I will say, however, it's important to overheat the repairer as well. Keep an eye on it. Deactivating the module turns off the overheating, and you should remember to re-heat before using again.

Sadly, I only killed pirates today. I must find more Republic targets. Not that I'm ashamed to show these criminals the courage of the Khanid!

Strategikon Arcani: The Kataphract Slicer

My return to the battlefield also brings with it a new direction. I must start learning new flight techniques. The Kontos Executioner has served me well as a training vessel, teaching me the importance of range control and damage application. Now, we will look at how to effectively wield a kontoss, without the aid of a Webifier.

But first, a history lesson.

Early Khanid settlements were on Arthra, now caled Amarr Prime. The Amarr civilization grew on an island of the coast of Khanid lands, the isolation no doubt leading to their zealous obsession with God. The Khanid themselves lived on the mainland, tribes of horse masters engaging in petty squabbles with each other.

When the Amarr left their cloistered island in the Reclaiming, the Khanid were the first to be absorbed into their growing empire. We became famed mounted warriors, adopting a heavily armoured style. Our warriors and mounts were covered in gleaming chain mail. Such was our prowess, that the Amarr, whilst all other civilizations crumbled before them, recognized the Khanid as equals.

This heavy cavalry warrior is known as the kataphract: quite literally meaning 'fully enclosed.'

Heavily armed and armoured, these were flexible assault troops, often required to field both lance and bow, well defended, but used offensively.

To mirror this, we will need a true master of frigates.

The Imperial Navy Slicer.

Advanced laser technologies increase the range of this vessels weaponry, extending our reach beyond that of the Kontos Executioner. Significant increases in power output to weapon hard points give this ships two turrets more punch. It can be flexibly fitted, giving more armour, more speed, or even more range. For those in the Crusade, this ship is easily obtained.

Today, we will look at a balanced ship, one that lives up to the potential of the thinking warrior.

The Kataphract Slicer

[Imperial Navy Slicer, Kataphract]
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
Heat Sink II
Overdrive Injector System II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Damage Control II

Faint Warp Disruptor I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
[empty high slot]

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

The rig slots are my personal preference, but at least one Locus Coordinator is a must. My own ship exchanges the Fourier Transfrom Tracking Program for a Tracking Enhancer 2, but this requires some implants.

This vessel is a true Kataphract; able to wield it's 'short' range weapons to beyond 20km, with the speed and agility that was once associated with cavalry. Not only that, but it fields the armour lacking on the Kontoss Executioner, able to withstand more punishment, and patrol for longer before re-docking, truly a ship 'fully covered'. It also carries several plates of black armour... hardly the true Khanid Black, but better than nothing.

I cannot claim full credit for this fitting, as I started with a basic layout given by a very dark shadow indeed: Rixx Javix. His fitting for the Slicer formed the basis for the Kataphract.

Like his ship, this is a flexible vessel. Our running order is still to kite, to give us a chance of tactical withdrawal. However, our much improved defenses allow us to engage in close quarter fighting as well. Since we can only control range with our speed and piloting, this option proves extremely useful.

Fighting drill:

• Overheat weapons
• Orbit at 18-20km
• Fire
• Manage heat
• Repair as needed (turn auto-repeat off)
• If the enemy closes and lands a scram on you, switch to Multi-frequency crystals, and hope God is smiling on you that day.

This ship is fairly expensive. If you are still unsure of your skill, stick to the Kontos Executioner.

As the infamous pirate Javix says, be daring. This ship will be enable you to engage a wide variety of targets. However, my own advice is this: be smart. This ship is flexible, but flexibility comes at the price of excellence in any one field. Brave men die in glorious fashion. Smart men go home to their wives.

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.

War Record: Honourable Rebel

Today I lost a Kontos Executioner.

Kill mail

Very briefly, I was surprised by the auto-canons hitting me out to 12km, and made the mistake of believing them to be artillery. I closed to range to finish him off... where his rocket launcher made short work of me. A shame, as the foe had burned out his weapons trying to kill me. I could have won, if I stuck to my strategy.

Review

Trust in the strategy if you are winning.


However, the pilot was gracious in victory, offering me his fit so I could see how I lost. We had a nice post match discussion, and he admitted he couldn't believe how much trouble he had with me. I take the compliment, since I am still a very poor pilot.

He was even gracious enough to give me some information about his corporation and where they operate. I appreciate this. When I set up my own Savaran, I will base it in a system where the most tenacious and skilled pilots are. My own pilots will need the practice.

Details aside, the best thing one can do after a fight is engage your fellow pilot in conversation. Polite conversation I might add.

I don't believe in the so-called 'smack talk' which is the posturing of inexperienced pilots who only seek a superficial rush of adrenaline in combat. This kind of pilot will inevitably find himself humilated as he strokes his own ego at the expense of others.

Far better to be like the honourable warrior who discussed tactics with me. I may have lost a frigate, but I come out of it with valuable information. He has his kill mail, denies me my objective, and also comes out with information, improving upon his victory. Had he reverted to tribal chest-thumping, he would have lost this opportunity to learn more of his enemy.

I hope to meet this man in battle again. I hope to fight his Firetail once more. This, I believe, is why so many are fascinated with this solo patrolling.

I still have to explain to my King exactly why I lost my frigate to a ship with no guns. That's not a conversation I relish.

My kill counter will revert back to 0. Five more to go, before I allow myself to command a fleet.

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.

Strategikon Arcani: Infrastructure Hub Siege (Sub-capital)

So after the rout at the Lamaa I-Hub, I decided that a siege vessel was needed.

The target:

Shield: 10,000,000
Armor: 2,500,000
Structure: 2,000,000

Shield regen: 700 hp/s

The above stats are really not accurate, but I'm having trouble finding legitimate sources of information for an I-hub. If anyone has any other details (beyond about the same as a POCO and hearsay) I'd be grateful. Remember, the FW hub is a smaller version of the null-sec sovereignty one.

Nevertheless, the shield regen alone gives us a good base DPS target. If our We should at least be aiming to cancel out the regen. then whoever else joins the fleet can actually begin applying damage.

We also need to consider the mobility of the ship. Ideally for shooting structures, you would use capital ships. Even if I could pilot it, it becomes unviable as a solo pilot, due to the need for scout ships, jump drive operators and so on. It is not Strategically mobile in Low security space.

The use of capital ships is a fleet effort. It should not be done lightly.

Needless to say, a capital ship is also an attractive kill mail. Many pilots would risk a great deal to take one down.

Range, whilst traditionally needed for large caliber weapons (so you're not caught in your own explosion), is not an issue here. The explosion radius of star ship weapons is far exceeded by the range of even the smallest caliber star ship weapon.

Defense is less of an issue than you might think. The I-hub does not shoot back, and should the siege fleet be assaulted, the first thing to do is retreat to a more advantageous battlefield. Staying to fire a few more volleys into the structure (or shoot down a frigate) will cost you your ship, and maybe even your clone.

Avoiding capture and warp disruption is much more important than being able to absorb damage.

Here are the necessities:

• Damage scale-able up to or above 700dps
• Strategic mobility
• Warp disruption evasion.

Preferable:

• Low cost
• Accessible at low skill

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting my two solutions, for two different uses.

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: I-Hub siege

Shortly after my initial sortie, a call went out to an Infrastructure Hub siege, commonly referred to as a 'bash'.

Once a system is taken to a vulnerable state, the I-Hub structure becomes open to attack. The attacking force then spends a long time focusing fire on it to capture. I will write a Strategikon post on this later, once I am in a position to enact good strategies for this.

I flew to the bash. It was a relatively small group, but I was shown immediately that my Kontos Executioner is unsuited for the task. A mere 120dps was barely registering compared to the battlecruisers and stealth bombers hammering the structure.

Nevertheless, victory comes with taking systems, and so I set my frigate to hammering the station, whilst researching viable siege ships.

About half an hour into the bash, everything went bad.

The I-Hub was brought to 50% shield strength when a Minmatar fleet of missile cruisers and battle cruisers dropped in, scattering the Crusade's siege fleet.

I was caught unawares, but remembered my running orders. I picked a target, orbited and took him down, before warping out.

I very nearly escaped, but unfortunately, the frigate was lost to combined fire from many cruisers.

I escaped in my pod to a celestial, and retreated back to the staging area. The loss of my first Kontos Executioner is not a heavy blow. It was able to garner about 20,000 Loyalty Points before exploding. More than enough to cover it's cost, with some profit, and I still have 9 back at the staging area, ready to go.

Review

It was short-sighted of me not to notice the sudden increase of Minmatar militia in the system. I must keep an eye on local chat for sudden population increases.

Equally short-sighted is not having a ship ready for siege work. I will research this thoroughly, and have a ship waiting at my staging area for such tasks.

The siege was a failure due to the low firepower brought to the field. Strategies for bringing firepower must be found.