The New Worm

I don't really like to speculate on ships before they're released from ship yards, but with the Mordu's Legion ships only releasing their designs and the barest information, I can't help but think of other ships I can progress into.

My switch to a missile focus actually gives a great deal of choice in terms of T2 frigates and cruisers. To put that in perspective, the entire Khanid Innovations line up falls into that bracket, giving a variety of kiters brawlers, and even more specialized ships.

The pirate ships part of that progression is getting a significant boost from the Mordu's Legion ships, and a re-design of the Gurista's fleet.

Today, we'll look at the Worm, which was actually the first pirate ship I encountered in New Eden. A friend of mine received one from a mission agent, back in the days when agents gave out ships such as this for rewards. I was flying Matari ships at the time, and he had his heart set on a Raven so we sold it. For the high price of 5 million ISK. It was a different time...

Image from http://www.eveonlineships.com/.

WORM

Gallente Frigate Bonus:
10% bonus to kinetic and thermal missile damage (was 5m3 Drone Bay Capacity per level)

Caldari Frigate Bonus:
4% bonus to all shield resistances

Role Bonus:
300% bonus to light combat drone damage and hitpoints (was 50% bonus to Rocket and Light Missile velocity)


Slot layout: 3H, 4M, 3L; 0 turrets, 2 launchers
Fittings: 40 PWG(+5), 180 CPU(+20)
Defense (shields / armor / hull) : 830(+33) / 500(-82) / 620(-3)
Capacitor (amount / recharge / cap per second) : 380(+30) / 212000 (-22375) / 1.79 (+.29)
Mobility (max velocity / agility / mass / align time): 320(+33) / 3.8(+.31) / 965000 / 5.17s(+.42)
Drones (bandwidth / bay): 10(-15) / 25
Targeting (max targeting range / Scan Resolution / Max Locked targets): 30km / 650 / 5
Sensor strength: 15
Signature radius: 40

First a little introduction to the Guristas themselves. They are pirates, and rather peculiar for most of the non-capsuleer pirates in New Eden, are pretty much just that. They attack ships for booty, run drugs and develop shanty towns as docking ports in dead space areas. They also have a lot more invested in the politics of the rest of the cluster than the other pirate factions (who tend to be religious/political/narcissistic nut jobs). They are the quintessential pirates.

They were created by two former Caldari pilots (Fatal and the Rabbit), giving them both their badge and their naming conventions. Caldari ships follow bird names, whereas Guristas ships follow reptile names. The Worm is no different. Even the name Guristas is a fusion of Calari words for 'naughty people'.

The Worm lizard is similar to a snake in that it has no limbs. This probably refers to earlier designs of the ship. Until relatively recently, all missile launchers in New Eden were internal, meaning that there were no turrets visible on missile ships. In effect, the Worm appeared limbless. A nice little word-play, and one we'd expect from the less-serious Gursitas!

Although the ship is bonused for missiles, it would be a mistake to imagine that being its focus. The latest iteration of the ship (assuming max skills) will have an effective launcher count of 3. However, with it's role bonus, it will have an effective drone count of 8 light drones! That is a significant bang for only two real drones on the field, and even these two will be extremely tough to knock out.

Before the Worm used to be slow and well shielded, relying on great damage projection from missiles and drones to do damage. This has changed. It's base speed, whilst still not that close to that of Matari ships, is now at least comparable to armour vessels. In practice it may be faster. Thick shield resistances means that low slots can be used for propulsion upgrades, similar to how the Breacher tends to be faster on the field than the Rifter.

It's slot layout is similar to that of the Firetail, giving great flexibility in terms of fitting. 4 mids make for full tackle plus shield tank, and the lows give a lot of options in terms of both a light armour tank or hull modification. This is all topped off by a utility high slot.

Predicted tactics

Expect everything.

This ship is a fearsome brawler, with a great passive shield tanking bonus. Even blaster boats are going to find it difficult to punch holes in this little frigate. It's cap-less weaponry and utility high for a neutralizer means that anything that does get close is likely to be dead in the water. Attempts to kite this frigate will still have to deal with it's drones, the real source of firepower.

It can be a very tough, if slow kiter. Similar to a kiting Tristan, the majority of the damage will be coming from it's drones, with maybe some Light missile fire. A competent brawler should be able to close the distance easily, but again, those high resist shields will still cause problems.

And to further illustrate how tough this ship will be: it has the highest sensor strength and longest target lock range of the pirate frigates. It'll be a little harder to ECM or Sensor damp this ship effectively than others.

Counters

Usual counters apply to either kiting or brawling vessels. It's a tough ship, but it's conventionally tough, meaning there won't be any nasty surprises as with the new Succubus or Cruor.

It's mobility is it's weakness. To get decent kiting speeds it will have to sacrifice damage or toughness, and even if brawling, it will have a tough time catching kiting vessels outside of its warp disruption range. This means that disengagement should be relatively easy for kiters (and even some brawlers!). Don't wait too long to disengage, as the Worm still packs a punch.

I don't recommend shooting its drones. Each one will be as tough as shooting down 4 regular drones, and they'll have at least 2 more in reserve. However, this would be a good time to find out if Tracking disruptors worked on drones. Even a single disrupted drone would drastically reduce the firepower of the worm.

Ultra-fast ships with low signatures (i.e. Interceptors) and long range should be able to whittle it down, and speed tank both drone and missile damage. This is risky... I recommend bringing an active tank, as you will take damage.

Training ship

If you're looking to learn drones, missiles and shield tanking, the best learning ship is not Caldari or Galente. In terms of spirit, the Minmatar Breacher shares more in common with the Worm. Both ships have shield tank and missile bonuses, and a drone complement. Both have flexible kiting and brawling fits, and they even share a slot layout!

A close second would be the Tristan. Whilst the Tristan does have similar flexibility to the Worm, and has much more drone focus than the Breacher, it's generally armour tanked, and tends to work best with hybrids.

Final thoughts

This is an incredibly flexible vessel, and definitely worth the space in your hangar. Like I said, it's conventionally good, and doesn't need to rely on any special tricks to be successful. If you're looking for a solid reliable ship, which ca re-fit easily into different strategies, this is your ship!

Nomadikon: Survival Kit

Living entirely out of a depot is proving an interesting way to live.

But now that I'm here in the Wildlands, there are certain things I brought that I wish I hadn't, and certain things I didn't bring that would be very helpful right now (and I'm hoping a lucky pirate kill will oblige me).

So here's a quick draft of what I'll call the "Nomad Survival Kit". I'll probably be heavily editing this list as I learn more about this way of life, and I'll leave a page up at the top of the site for people to use later on.

Survival Kit

• Ammunition 
• Salvager
• Cargo expanders
• Core probe launcher (and probes)
• Combat probe launcher (and probes)
• Armour/hull repairer
• Mobile Depots
• Cloaking device
• Warp scrambler

Ammunition is fairly self-explanatory. You'll have T1 drops of what you shoot, but you're much better off using faction ammunition. This is, however, the last thing I'd pack. You'll want to bring as much as you can, so pack the other items first, and pad out with ammunition.

The salvager is for salvaging wrecks. Not necessarily needed, but salvage materials, with their great ISK to cargo space ratio are nothing to be sniffed at for the nomad conscious of a bursting hold. That, and removing the wreck will hide your trail in a 'busy' system.

Cargo expanders are a must, if only for the trip out and for the eventual moving day. These are, of course, fit into every low you have. I know someone out there is trembling at the thought of not having warp core stabilizers... well, we'll need to trust in out cloak. The truth is that a dedicated ambush camp will kill you, and the warp core stabilizers are not going to help with that.

The Core probe launcher is to find an escape route if the net closes in on you, and you're not confident in your ability to sneak past. You can also use it to scan down combat sites. I count it as a travel fit item.

The combat probe launcher... I'm sure you can find a use for that.

The armour and hull repairer is something that sadly I wish I'd thought of before flying out here. My bomber took some armour damage, and there's no way for me to repair that outside of visiting a station. The hull repairer is for the same reason. It only needs to be a cheap one, but obviously, the better it it, the less time you'll be spending uncloaked and repairing.

As discussed earlier, you'll need at lest two mobile depots. Oddly enough, they're more secure after you've deployed them, rather than keeping them sitting in a hold. You'll have to balance the number you take with how much ammunition you bring.

Cloaking device will keep you alive. Never fly without one. That is all.

Warp scrambler is a bit of a thorny issue with me. On the one hand, I don't really advocate piracy, or at least I find the actual act of it something I can't do. On the other, We really need to use any resource presenting itself. A mining barge with strip miners is worth at least a million in loot and salvage. So, I'll put it there as an option. Be warned though: We're better off co-existing with locals rather than earning their ire, leading to better relations with them and less chance of a battleship group parking itself in system.

As for the thing I wish I'd left behind? I brought a small pulse laser for dealing with frigates. After using it, it's not really worth it. It doesn't hurt, but the bomber's torpedoes deal with frigates well enough. The lasers damage just isn't enough to justify mounting it.

Nomadikon: Camp sites

Alternative title: At least two baskets...

One of the biggest problems of living undocked full-time, is where to put your eggs, er, I mean, loot.

Battleship drops can be as big as 50m^3, which is roughly 1/5 of a bomber's cargo hold. It's a fairly big chunk of space, even on something cruiser sized. I had filled up my hold within 10 mins of clearing belts, and was sitting in a belt uncloaked wrestling with my ships inability to jettison more than one can every five minutes, trying to sort out the valuables from the not so valuable.

The best solution is a mobile depot.

Mobile Depots

• Big cargo hold for it's size (50m^3 gets you 3000-4000m^3)
• Difficult to scan down (depending on meta level)
• Ability to re-fit ship
• Fits easily in a frigate.
• Relatively cheap (depending on meta level)

You could also use secure containers, but these don't have a good size to cargo capacity ratio, don't have the reinforcement timer, and doesn't look as good.

The depot also has an interesting mechanic, whereby if you emergency scoop the depot, the items inside are immediately jettisoned into a can. Nice for a quick transfer of items between friends, but something to consider if you find your depot under siege and need to bug out quick.

This is the important tip though: have more than one.

Procedure:

• Maintain 2+ depots in your hunting grounds
• Keep at least 2-6 jumps distance between each depot
• Divide ammuntion stores equally between them.
• Divide loot stores equally between them
• Do not log off at your depots
• Safes at about 15AU distance from jump gate travel lines are preferred
• Adopt naming conventions of the locals

Quite simply, if someone finds it, and you can't defend it, you will have lost a good chunk of income. The best solution for this is to have at least two depots you store items in, so that the risk is somewhat mitigated. Nothing is going to stop a determined attacker from getting your spoils, but that doesn't mean we should make it easy for them.

That's why we keep them a number of jumps apart, and away from common travel lines. It only takes a quick D-scan to find a depot (and then a long while probing to actually locate it), but depending on where you set up, those 2-6 jumps can have enough divergent paths to make it a hassle to find them all. Keeping them out of easy D-scan range reduces the risk of people finding them.

Furthermore, keeping all of your assets split up, gives you many more choices to re-deploy from. If one of your depots is taken, you can refit from a different one, and get back to hunting. Be wary of escaping to a system with your depot in it. They will eventually catch you and your depot. Be brave my friend, and run into unknown space, and return once pursuit has lost interest.

The last point to consider is naming your depot. By adopting the naming conventions of the local residents, we gain anonymity in the crowd. Resist the temptation to mark your territory. The closer you mimic  the POS and other depots around you, the less notice you'll attract. They may even assume you to be a friend. 

A brief oddyssey

Occasionally I get the deep desire to go to wormholes.

And why not? They're exciting places. New space, with weird and wonderful creatures infesting their lonely space lanes. Almost unspoiled systems. And treasure. An awful lot of treasure to be found.

I jumped in my Astero to find the nearest wormhole I could, and go looking for treasure.

And the first one was 2 jumps out of Hek!

I leapt inside and...

Found myself in low-sec. Thrilling.

Well, treasure turns up in odd places. I warped out to a nearby belt to make a safe-spot.

Quick tip: Making a safe spot in every system you come into is a good habit to get into to. Never know when it might come in handy. The procedure is simple: bookmark your location in warp. Their are four levels of safe:

1. A bookmarked location between two known orbitals (stations etc.). 
2. A bookmarked location between a safe and a known orbital. 
3. A bookmarked location between two safes.
4. A bookmarked location out of D-Scan range from the furthest orbital of the sun (now all but impossible to get).

Anyway, at the belt I found the wreck of a clone pirate. Un-looted. Clearly someone got scared by me entering system, and left even the very valuable tag inside. Nice.

So, with a hold suddenly worth a great deal of money, I dropped back through the wormhole to the tune of 10 million ISK. Not bad for what amounted to a few system jumps.

It did start me thinking though. I have been spinning my heels around Metropolis and the Crusade stomping grounds for a bit too long. And my Rifter experiments haven't born much in the way of good news. 

Maybe it's time for a change of pace.

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.

Strategikon: Rifter Ammunition

Whilst I'm neck deep in money making schemes, I'll take a quick break to talk about Rifter ammunition. I promised this months ago, and with the recent changes to the Rifter it became more achievable.

Introduction

Before, ammunition selection for the Rifter was tricky. It's bonuses favored a close in style of fighting, which meant a variety of close range ammunition types, along with Barrage for dealing with blaster boats. I was all set for a comparison of resistance vs. damage types, which escalated quickly, since modular customization of New Eden vessels makes for a massive variety of resistance profiles.

That changed with the fall-off range increase. Or rather, my perception changed.

Lets look at the graph again, this time updated for the new fall-off bonus.

Blue lines are pre-fall-off bonus. Red are post.

The new ammunition change point is about 7 km. If you're thinking this is a pretty good sweet spot to be orbiting, you'd be right. Just at scram range, and in deep fall-off for most blasters. If you're going quick enough, and can finely manage the distance, you might also be able to out-run rockets. Missiles have a travel time which limits their range. Rather than follow straight lines, they follow more of a 'chase' trajectory. If you're at the max range of rockets, they might not make it to you.

Kiters

Regardless of damage type, you want Barrage for kiters.

The reasoning is simple. Unless you are very very confident you can catch a kiter at close range at the beginning of a fight, you will lose applied firepower getting into range. If a kiter managers to escape your grasp, you will also lose firepower.

Blaster Boats

If you are fighting any kind of blaster boat, use Barrage. You'll need to keep out of range whilst your superior fall-off range whittles them down. In the case of most blaster boats, this will mean a lot of whittling. Your biggest problem will be the Atron, as they have comparable range.These fights will be very close for you.

This hasn't really changed since before. The benefit now is that new Rifter pilots without access to Barrage have a much better chance of countering blaster boats. It also makes your fight more forgiving if you get jumped by one with your close range ammo loaded.

Rocket Boats

The above applies to rocket ships as well. Unlike a blaster boat, auto-canon firepower won't overwhelm your opponent. It's also more likely that rocket boats will be faster than you, and better able to dictate range. Load Barrage, and keep your damage application more consistent.

Pulse Laser Boats

The only time you'll be using short-range ammo is when  you're fighting a pulse laser boat. These will typically fight within scram range, and you'll be able to use the Rifter's higher speed to close the distance. Your superior tracking will take over at point blank range.

These ships are Punishers, Tormentors, and Executioners. Looking at resist profiles for these ships, you're best off using explosive rounds. You may come across a Succubus, the Sansha pirate frigate... but honestly if you find yourself under threat from a pirate frigate in a Rifter, perhaps disgression is the better part of valour.

Rocket choice

Conventional wisdom states that thermal is best, to avoid hitting a brick wall when it comes to resistance. The rules are slightly different for rockets, because you'll be using them at all ranges, and it's only a secondary weapon.

Summary of charges to be carried

Barrage
Republic Fusion
Navy Inferno rockets
Nano-repair paste

Conclusion

Does this negate the damage type selection of projectiles? Yes, but to be honest, it's not that great a benefit in the first place. Unless you can be absolutely certain of your enemies fit and module layout, you invite catastrophic failure, rather than a tougher fight.

The advantage still has relevance in attacking the uniformly designed non-capsuleer pirates that infest New Eden, so it's not a total loss.

Further experiments

Whilst I think the above is probably the best choice for ammunition choice, I have hunch that the traditional, high-damage close range rounds aren't the best choice for the new Rifter.

Before, with the Rifter's 25% tracking bonus, and AC reliance on fall-off, short range ammunition is preferred. This was smart, since ACs out-tracked most other turrets at close range, meaning a point-blank attack usually worked out well. Slashers are perfect for this tactic, with the speed to nip in under turrets and stick there, gently pricking their opponents to death.

The new Rifter might better benefit from the mid-range ammo. Deplete Uranium or Titanium Sabot both have a 20% tracking bonus, somewhat similar to the old Rifter tracking bonus. The damage is significantly less, but you'll be able to apply that damage better.

This is the best mind-set to have when piloting a Minmatar ship. It's not about the firepower you bring to the field, but the accuracy in how you apply it, and how best to avoid it.

I'll be testing out the effectiveness of fusion vs. depleted uranium on my own ships. If it works out well, I'll let you know.

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.

Full Circle

Today, we will talk about circles within circles, and unplanned positive outcomes.

Despite being a proud Khanid, and the lengths I've gone to fight their natives, I have a tremendous fondness for the Republic regions.

A long time ago, back when I first began as a capsuleer, I had grandiose dreams of setting up Imperial colonies in the fringes of Republic space. I imagined myself as some kind of missionary, bringing the light of civilization to the poor Matari savages. Well... we were all young once.

Since I was developing planetary industry there, my goals fell in line with the Republic Fleet, and I worked with them a great deal to drive away the Angel Cartel pirates that infest their space. I spent a great deal of time in Molden Heath, and I consider that region to be my first home in space.

Then King and Crusade called, and I set my guns to the very people I sought to protect, not so long ago. For nearly a year I attacked my former allies, all for the sake of greater diplomatic relations with, lets be honest, an incompetent military ally. (Really, they've been entrenched in a war with the same opponent for years now. Either make a push, or pursue peace.)

Now, making full use of the freedom regained by joining Stay Frosty, I have moved back to the Republic regions. We have a staging area just adjacent to the Marr/Minmatar FW zone. It's a nice 'coming home' kind of feeling.

Quite happily, the Stay Frosty staging area in Heimatar lines up quite neatly with my old Molden Heath staging area, and also my market slaves base of operations in Hek. Everything is on the same 15 jump line, providing a variety of space to explore along the way, from Crusade space to more lawless territory. Much better than that, is that my old caches of weapons and ships in Amarr territories are on the opposite side of the rich FW hunting grounds.

I have a circle of arms caches and stashes around the entire FW zone.

The benefit of this cannot be stressed highly enough.

One of the most demoralising aspects of solo capsuleer combat is the inevitable retrograde pod voyage. In other words, running away after a fight. Depending on your luck, this flight back to your staging area might be only a few jumps, or something much more arduous.

However, by having multiple equipment stashes across space, you cut this particular downtime down to a minimum. You extend your particular range in space by a great deal. It also gives you a clear patrol path to follow... simply plot from cache to cache, meaning that a roaming map is not needed.

Not only this, but the statistics can be useful. If you find yourself re-stocking a particular cache more than the others, then this will give you a good idea of where to find battles, or at least willing opponents. Population is an easy thing to measure, but the willingness of locals to fight is a good deal more difficult to calculate (I chased an Executioner for an hour around Heimatar the other day).

Am I suggesting that all pilots create their own networks of supply caches? Well, perhaps for the logistically inclined.

At an individual level, it might not be worth your time, particularly if all you want is the thrill of combat. However, such supply networks at the corporate level provide a clear advantage, particularly for small gang and solo based entities. Members will appreciate the convenience, and be much more likely to stay with the corporation once the shine has worn off the corp logo.

It depends on how much of a support service you'd like your corporation to be, as opposed to a social group.

So at the end of that rambling, which I'll label as Strategikon, whilst not really being concise enough to be called so, I just wanted to point out my own good fortune, and the benefits of creating circles. 

Stay Frosty

So, I joined Stay Frosty.

Run by the infamous Rixx Javix, this corporation is a motley collection of skilled pirates and rookies looking to escape the drudgery of High security space.

I'm not sure how well I will fit in here. I led a more disciplined life in the Crusade, and my targets were usually Republic Militia types, or aggressive pirates. I never shot first against those not flying the Tribal Liberation Force flag.

Pulling the trigger against any combat vessel is something I will have to learn.

Pulling the trigger against a civilian, or non-combat ship... well, that will be the source of some inner debate.

It's not technically against my Family's oath, and now I've left the Khanid Navy, I certainly won't face court marshal for it. I might have trouble if I ever wanted to go home again, but once you undergo the capsuleer process, you tend to sever ties to grounded life anyway. But, I feel it violates the spirit of my Oath. Destroying a ship which cannot fight back is hardly bringing the light (well, except for the obvious laser blasts and consequent explosions).

However, piracy is what I'm here to learn.

I'm here to learn how to fight like an outlaw. A lifetime of military service has me wrapped up in so many rules and regulations that I'm consistently confounded by electronic warfare, and unorthodox tactics. I hope for these unorthodox ladies and gentlemen to teach me their ways.

The first thing I shall change: My patrol hunting pattern.

From now on, I will no longer orbit complexes. There is no value. I do no one any favours by hovering outside a station, and in fact can only cause panic to the people on board. Now:

• Aggressively enter complexes known to have capsuleers.
• Spend no more than 4-5 mins in each system looking for a capsuleer.
• All combat vessels are to be engaged.
• Other pirate faction vessels to be engaged as targets of opportunity and profit.

This is something I could have done in the Crusade, but the lack of trust between militia mates means that entering a complex with a militia member inside might result in friendly fire.

I have brought a stack of 5 Kontarion Breachers near to Hevrice, the home land of Stay Frosty. I shall have to get used to the Gallente and Caldari low security systems, but at least I lessen the risk of awkward encounters against Crusaders.

I hope the honourable Mr. Javix doesn't mind the slight edits I did to his corporations emblem. I'd like to keep a small link to my past.

Many pilots are talking about crossing the Rubicon, a reference to a truly ancient history. I believe that today, I have crossed my own personal Rubicon.

I haven't received any word from my family about my actions.

Choosing to be prey

Honestly, the prospect of exploring low sec and wormholes has me nervous. And I've just worked out why.

Before in the crusade, I'd head out to the wildlands to ferret out Minmatar dogs without batting an eye. The security status didn't phase me, and I whilst I wasn't reckless, I didn't avoid combat.

Not so with exploration. Flying in an unarmed, lightly tanked ship as I am, my only saftey lies in speed and stealth. I am no longer a hunter, but the hunted. The worst thing about this is that I put myself in that position.

I have invited predatory capsuleers to strike me and confound my plans. Despite flying a black ship, I'm a highly visible, and easy target.

It puts me in an odd position. Technically I'm doing a safer activity, but it puts me at more risk.

There's not much you can do to avoid this. But I wouldn't be me unless I conjoured up some solutions!

• Patrol planning
• Deployment of material

The same as with the Crusade, your best friend is a map. See my post on patrol planning for an in-depth examination. The principles are the same here. Map out your route to encounter the fewest pilots. This is slightly easier than in the Crusade, as relic and hacking sites aren't tied to any specific system... and backwater systems far from traffic are more likely to be unexploited anyway!

The deployment of material is fairly similar too. Only one or two exploration ships are required, and then bring a small stack of combat ready vessels. It'll depend on the sites you're hunting down, and I'm going to have to explore possibilities later. I'm undecided whether the ships should be fit for anti-rat or capsuleer combat. I think it will depend on the operating region.

However, a slight difference would be to include a mining vessel or two in the redeployment. Whilst exploring you will find many brightly coloured and interesting rocks to exploit. It would be a waste to ignore these opportunities!

The deployment then gives us back a rapid re-shipping option, weakening the impact of ship loss. Even if we are destroyed, we can fit out a new ship, and head back out into space in a short window.

I must think more on how to lessen the fear of being prey. 

Strategikon: Anoikis

Early Khanid culture shares a surprising amount with Early Gallentean. Whether this denotes a common ancestry or not is beyond my feeble scholastic skill, but there are clearly parallels to be drawn. The way the Gallente name their ships is taken straight from this shared cultural background, despite their extremely different naming conventions for systems.

The Khanid are an odd, mongrel race, claiming deep historic ties to Amarrians, shared language with the Gallente, and even an Pre-Stellar age nomadic lifestyle similar to that of the Minmatar. Throw in the Kingdom's more modern acceptance of Caldari technology and business practices, and you have a race robust enough to be at home in all environs.

Which is perhaps what has interested my King in Anoikis, or Unknown Space.

Despite the antique look of the word, Anoikis is actually a modern fusion of some ancient Khanid or Gallentean phrases, and is translated as 'to be without a home'. Very fitting for those systems only accessible by a wormhole.

As a simple aside, anoikos is a recorded word of antiquity, meaning 'homeless wanderer'. Given the conspiratorially nature of Anoikis lore, loose connections such as this should be noted.

The very word Anoikis hints that these places are actually some kind of place of exile, and there are at least a dozen conspiracy theories to explain this. It's also a medical term for a stage in the development in cancerous cells, with a dozen theories for that too. Then again, there are theories of all kinds surrounding wormholes, and don't really give us any guide lines for success.

Here is what you need to know:

• Do not speak in local
• You MUST bring a probe launcher
• Stealth is helpful.
• D-scan all the time.

The capsuleers that have moved into Anoikis are a paranoid and highly disciplined bunch. They live far removed from the comforts of Empire run stations, living out of POS stations and often leaving ships hanging in space with only a shield to protect them. The above is taken from listening to them.

Local broadcast only shows ships that start communicating. You have a certain degree of anonymity by not taking in Local. I intend to break this rule eventually, but I wouldn't recommend it for those who want to survive.

There is no way to locate a wormhole without a probe launcher. If you jump into Anoikis, and forget to bookmark your exit wormhole, and you don't have a probe launcher, you will need to destroy your clon to make it back home.

Stealth will reduce the chances of ships scanning you down. It's not a perfect defense, so make sure to use your mobility defense. Keep moving.

D-Scan all the time. You can see probes searching for you, and either run or cloak up. I suggested retrograde maneuvers.

I'm looking forward to my first solo steps into a wormhole. I'm also enjoying reading the mysteries that surround the history of these phenomena. But first, I'm going to need some scanning practice.

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.

Trade Log: Buying (Regional Trading)

Hi again. I'm here to tell you about Buying.

So, this is actually the hardest part of the whole trading business, and how well you do as a trader is a direct product of what you choose to buy.

That said, don't feel too pressured. So long as you set your sell order higher than what you bought the item for, you will make a profit. Of course, when you make that profit is a completely different question. It depends on your patience, and how active you want to be in trading.

Before you do anything, choose your hubs. Here is an excellent description buy a far wiser trader than I am, which highlights the regional hubs by size. The idea is buying from a bigger hub, and selling to a smaller. The hubs I work are Amarr and Hek... the reason being I was born in Hek, and Master Arcani operates from Amarr.

On a side note, flooding the Republic's markets with cheaper Amarr goods also sucks wealth from the regions economy. This is the one reason my Master didn't kill me on site for selling guns to his enemies. An added bonus is the intelligence my Master picks up from his patrols. Every ship he blows up gives us an idea of what the Liberation Force is buying, and thus what I should be selling.

A better idea is to work from Jita, that giant ISK blackhole in Caladri space. Prices tend to be the best there, and you'll never want for supply. If you are a serious trader, not working a Jita store is dumb. Really dumb.

Anyway, the easiest way to find things to buy is to use appropriate intelligence channels. This trade tool will give you a distinct advantage in choosing items. Essentially, set your budget, fill in your hubs, and you can just select the items you want to trade.

Sound simple? That's because it is! Using this site, you are nearly guaranteed to make profit.

Nearly.

This is where your experience and knowledge will come into play. Some items sell faster than others. As a rule of thumb, the fastest sellers are:

• Skill books
• Implants
• Modules
• Rigs

... and in that order too. Avoid things that are manufactured, since you'll put yourself in competition with the industrial capsuleers. Use your common sense too. If you can pick something up for a million and sell it for a billion, chances are it's too good to be true.

Feel free to take risks and gamble on unfamiliar items. The only thing that can hurt is a slow down in profit, provided you don't go all in on one item.

The actual buying can be done in two ways. Ideally you'd set up 'Buy Orders' at the bigger hub, so you can get something for the cheapest possible price. The problem with that is that you'd have to manage the buy order, which is added hassle.

The lazy way to do is simply to buy from the cheapest 'Sell order'. Not the most ISK efficient, but it depends on your chosen vocation. A pure trader can spend his time managing the buy orders along with what they station trade. If you'd like to do other things with your time, just pick up a sell order. It all comes down to what's important to you.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the next post which tells you how to haul. 

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.

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.