So I hit the big numero uno on 1st April (no joke, heh, see what I did there?). All I can say is wow, hasn't it gone fast? I am happy with how the year has panned out, it has been a fantastic journey so far and a nice, at times steady, sometimes jolting-crashing-sharp learning curve.
I am a big kid now.
My time in The Hull Miners Union was the first time I'd been part of something big, a proper corporation and as part of Random-Violence alliance I am proud to say I was a piece of 't3h blob*' that steam-rolled Syndicate flat, resulting in, ultimately the disbanding of the alliance as pilots searched for new targets and new parts of space to wield their axes, each corporation in the alliance wanting to explore a different avenue.
* Even though Random-Violence had a reputation for blob tactics, unfairly I might add. I found most of my time in R-V was spent exploring the vast swathes of null-sec systems either solo or in small nano-gangs. I had a lot of fun out roaming null-sec, sharpening my teeth in the process.
I then left The Hull Miners to join up with a few friends in Gunpoint Diplomacy. Wensley and Raxip the main instigators in the recruitment heist. At the time we were just a handful of people, but now the corp has grown at a steady pace and I'm really enjoying the way things are going. Good gang action in and around Molden Heath should I wish, or on the road doing my solo thing whenever that takes my fancy. All in all I am now a part of a great corp with some pretty cool guys (and girls, hello Ariartus and Dian). Who'd have thought one year in the game I'd be a director of a corp. Heh. I would also like to say I think in Sard Caid we have the best CEO ever. Free ships, free mods, free everything, free cat gifs, free Thrashers - hehe.
So what next? Well I am going to be moving on and ratting up my security status and turning over a new leaf on the other side of EVE. I hope to be a reformed pirate and do much more on the PVE side of things, I want to experience high-sec in all its glory . . . .
LOL WHAT?!
I did a joke - derp.
As things stand I'm extremely happy being a RANSM pilot, I'll keep flying the Rifter and Jag, Wolf sometimes. I'll reluctantly jump into a battlecruiser when needed and I'm planning on finally getting into a Vagabond. I also keep meaning to fire up fraps and make my video, but I keep forgetting - such is life. Also, I have more Roaming Guides to finish off, I have another 18 or so roams half penned/planned, I just need to find time to polish them up a little and actually run through the roams in real time. Stay tuned.
Right, I'm actually boring myself now. I just felt I had to do the obligatory landmark posting.
This wasn't really the post I had in mind when I set off out of Molden Heath for a roam through the wild null-sec regions of Etherium Reach, The Kalevala Expanse and Geminate. My ship of choice was the Wolf and I'm really beginning to see the benefits of this ship, it really can bite and I find it is a perfect choice for traversing null-sec.
Before I go on I'll just quickly check how many kills I managed to snag on my 3 hour + roam. Ah yes, I didn't get any. Zero, zilcho, nada. Still, I found the experience useful, making lots of bookmarks along relatively quiet space-lanes that I will be able to use on future roams.
On the main pipe through Etherium Reach I stumbled across a gang of Cynabals and Vagabonds, approximate count of seven or eight cruisers. I didn't fancy tangling with these guys so I immediately slammed the Wolf into reverse and went back in the direction I'd just come from. They gave chase and eventually I managed to lose them but my new path had taken me away from the main hot-spots and I spent the next part of the roam in relative solitude, tip-toeing through vast unclaimed solar systems with the only life present being Rogue Drones.
Rogue Drones are hi-tech drones that have the ability to manufacture themselves. Rogue drone hives can be found throughout the universe of Eve and are a constant menace to space travellers.
These things make my skin crawl, the noise these rogues make on the stargates is haunting and it is no wonder that trainee jumpgate crew are kept awake at night in their bunks with horrific tales of the rogue drones that can eat a man and his ship alive with no effort. Describing the noise is difficult, imagine a haunted soul, a mechanical monster, no purpose, just mechanical chatter and the odd blood curdling frozen scream echoing across the dark backdrop. Something like that anyway, enough to drive a man to madness.
Moving on I eventually made my way through more emptiness as I quickly made my way through The Kalevala Expanse.
"When man’s creations rebel, it is no great surprise. It is simply God's reminder that mankind is not Him."
- The Forbidden Science of AI.
Yeah no idea what that means either but that's what was on the regional brochure that I had picked up. Doesn't exactly jump up and grab the attention of the space tourist like it maybe could. Or perhaps that's the intention? Or maybe it was a reference to the drones?
As I moved into Geminate I found some life at last. Although finding a battleship gang on your out-gate isn't really much use when you're in a fast frigate. I was expecting more hostiles after that little scare but Geminate was mainly quiet from here on in. Infrastructure hubs were ticking down their timers and wrecks and abandoned drones littered the skies. The whole place gave off an awkward silence and an odd-feeling as I waded through a dozen or so frozen corpses from a previous battle, perhaps left there as a warning to the next invaders. I got the impression that what I was experiencing was a calm before the storm type of moment as fleets regrouped in far off systems and battered hulls were repaired ready for the next great fight.
Two Drakes were on my d-scan aligned to an asteroid belt, there were only two pilots in local and they looked relatively young. I quickly checked their combat credentials and the results that came back were surprising, these guys knew how to fit a Drake and I wasn't going to break even one of them let alone two at the same time. I decided not to aggravate a hornets nest and moved onto the next system.
I then came across an odd few systems, the sovereignty indicated that the systems were home to a renting alliance. As I warped across the main station system I quickly checked the pilots in local, all renters, all probably docked.
I warped across the system, nothing on scan and then ......
Happily warping along .....
Suddenly Bubbles!
Crew brace for impact! Impact imminent!
I counted 17 bubbles anchored around the stargate. I hoped that in the time it took me to burn through them all that some of the locals would come out of their station and have a look. But they didn't. So I went back and warped into them again so I could take some touristy pictures.
Null-sec bubbles are dangerous. However, they can also be used as a gigantic spaceship bouncy castle.
It was now late so I set my navigation systems to BWF-ZZ where according to my starmap there was quite a gathering of pilots. Unfortunately when I arrived there was little happening. I tried to snag the odd pilot jumping in from low-sec but the size of the regional stargate meant they always had just enough time to warp off.
I decided to end my null-sec roam here and jump on into The Forge, where I then made my way back the 16 or so jumps to Molden Heath, I chased a few Dramiels and other assorted possible targets but nothing came to fruition. Upon my return I played around in a triple sensor boosting Hurricane, insta-popped one frigate that landed 50 clicks off of me in a belt and then died to a Malediction and another Hurricane when I got a little sloppy at the Sun. Still, in tradition with the theme of this blog post I will not post any of the mails.
The Imperial Navy Slicer was on its knees, the Wolf circling its prey ready to pounce for that final blow, blood frothing from the mouth, teeth sharpened and the glint of victory in the eyes of the howling beast.
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted another ship dropping out of warp and settling at a comfortable distance away from the frenzied dogfight that was taking place on the ancient acceleration gate. A Guardian. Fuck.
Like a Cosmic Necromancer casting his healing glow across the void of space, the Guardian was now illuminated to me in magnificent blood red and the Slicer had his full quota of armor points replenished as if by magic. To make matters worse, in the initial confusion of something else entering the killing fields I had taken my eye off the heat flow to my top turret and it went bang, closely followed by my other guns as the surge of heat quickly shut down the overloaded autocannons. The once magnificent beast was now limp, injured and desperate for escape, one rocket launcher shooting tamely at the now seemingly invincible Slicer.
Miura Bull's Wolf
There was no way out, with microwarpdrive shut down the Wolf was in effect trapped, maimed and ready to accept a slow and painful death. It was slow and indeed painful, I even had time to initiate conversation with my enemy as I mocked the woeful incoming dps I was returned with my foe remarking that it was okay as he had plenty of time.
As my ship finally succumbed to the inevitable I warped out my capsule and docked up feeling somewhat disappointed that I had been defeated in such a manner. It was the second time in only a couple of days that I had been brought to sword by player and alt. At the same time I also felt a kind of pride and belief that it took this method to slay me. I am also now confident that my Wolf can kill a Slicer, head to head and in a cage.
Anyway, it was time to take a breather and regain my thoughts and composure.
Later on I decided to take out a Rifter and go see if I could find any real fights and I'm glad to say that I did, over the next few days I managed to find a proper Rifter v Rifter dual, in which I escaped with half my structure points remaining, that was a close one! I really enjoyed this fight and I wish that I could find more fights like this, it was pure unadulterated adrenaline fuelled frigate fighting at its dirtiest and best and was over in 30 seconds but my God it was good.
If anybody wants to have a pre-arranged Rifter fight for the benefits of this blog then do please message me in game. I'm game if you are.
Then, just today I stumbled upon an Enyo that was lurking in Isenan solar system. I warped in at range and initial intel reports were correct, the pilot was who I had suspected him to be, an 05 pilot. This would be a tough nut to crack but I was willing to give it a go and as I approached he made no effort to escape the field and the fight was on!
And then a short while later it was over. An excellent fight.
At one point I had totally capped out after some much needed armor repair work. I also had trouble disposing of the Hobgoblin II that was tearing into me. But, eventually the Enyo died and I was happy to warp off in deep structure. As the fight was nearing an end a Brutix appeared on the field but luckily it was initially some 70km off of the action. I managed to warp out to the sun just as the Enyo exploded and the Brutix started to engage me. Landing on the sun I was surprised to see the Enyo pilot's capsule land right next to me. I waved and slaughtered the pilot for the love of the security hit! Yarr.
A day in the life of a RANSM pilot. Blood and guts, thunder, ganks, losses, traps, gate camps, frigates, battlecruisers, pods, hulks, thrashers, tears, trolls, rifters, marauding, carefree.
JAGUAR.
I had warped to the top belt in Adirain chasing an Incursus that I had spotted hopping the belts, unfortunately as I dropped out of warp the Incursus was already on his way out and as I strained to see where he had gone he left my 360 degrees blip and then the system entirely, no doubt spooked. An Ishkur assault frigate appeared on scan and I waited to see if he fancied the fight, sure enough he landed right next to me and I immediately locked up and landed a web and scram on my prey. Moving out of blaster range I was surprised to see a flight of tech I Warrior drones unleashed on me, which my shield systems subsequently laughed at as the rather embarrassingly fitted Ishkur succumbed to an easy death, swiftly followed by the murder of the capsule.
Moving over to the Obalyu/Parts pocket I noted a Brutix out in space, after narrowing him down to a local Serpentis anomaly I warped on in and reduced the bumbling battlecruiser to scrap metal with ease, again I committed the pod to the harsh coldness.
Moving back to Parts I then spotted a Vexor which was seemingly in line with a nearby planet, I warped in at zero and downed the cruiser and pod with no resistance. The Vexor pilot had a corp mate in system and I held the pod for a few minutes whilst offering the release in exchange for a fight with the corp mate, any ship would have been acceptable but a couple of minutes of silence was eventually broken by a frozen scream and a squelch.
A short time later I spotted another Vexor in a belt with mining drones out, a trap perhaps? Nope, the Vexor was sent to the scrapyard and in time honoured tradition the pilot was murdered in cold blood.
Next up a proper fight.
Jaguar versus Dramiel. I don't really have a problem with the Dramiel as such, I've actually got three of them in various hangars but I rarely fly them. The thing that grinds me and most pilots that I have spoken to on the subject is the amount of pilots, usually novice ones who think they can jump into them and press the win button.
This fight wasn't going too well, I quickly had to work on a flight of Warrior II drones that were biting at my shields, after dispatching the drones I tried to shake the 20km orbit that the Dramiel had settled in, my shields were stable at about halfway. Each time that I tried to break the pattern with some neck jerking manoeuvres I would get to within grabbing distance of an overloaded web but the Dramiel would work its way out of trouble again. Not reaching the Dramiel with my own autocannons I decided one last trick, overloading my afterburner I turned to run, managing to quickly make some ground I noticed the chase was on, the Dramiel kicking into life and giving chase, I then slammed the brakes on and the web and scram was landed and I unleashed overloaded projectile venom right into the face of the now slowed down Dram.
After a period of downtime and repairs I undocked to find a Tormentor mining in the asteroid fields, without the relevant mining permits I dished out the punishment, two-fold and then moved over to Isenan where I found this unfortunate mining barge guilty of the same crime. Medical bays awaited the pilot.
Later in the day I made my way over to the Amamake area. In Bosboger solar system I landed smack on top of another Dramiel and the fight was on, we exchanged blows and I felt 100% confident that this was going to be another victory but then the fight tipped as a Rapier decloaked in the belt and joined in the party. Lame. I continued to work on the Dramiel as we both entered structure but I couldn't hold off long enough as I exploded and the Jaguar's work for the day was over.
This was a good fight spoiled in my opinion, I guess some people just can't solo. The Dramiel must have slithered away with the tiniest fragment of structure remaining, it really was that close and I can honestly say I've never seen a structure bar so full of red without a resultant explosion soon following. Still, I offered up a good fight in local and scurried away in my capsule.
Cyclone.
I decided to mix things up a bit and undocked in a Cyclone that had been gathering dust in my Lulm hangar. Moving back towards Bosboger, the system was now empty so I warped to the top belt and waited. For a brief moment I had to leave my controls but a planned short minute turned into a few more . . . forgetting that I was parked in the top belt I returned to find . . .
A Burst mining right next to me! I kid you not. With one huge chug of my autocannons the Burst exploded and the pilot even stuck around for me to lock up his capsule and deal out another pod killing.
I then spent the next half an hour or so parked in a belt in Lulm, four, yes four Dramiels and an Enyo decided that they didn't want to have a nibble at me and I decided to dock up and fit out a Rifter. The thing is if all those Drams and the Enyo had knocked their heads together I'm quite confident they could have easily taken down my battlecruiser, but alas it was not to be.
Rifter. (with a small dose of Hurricane).
Moving towards Amamake I found another Rifter and a quick smash and grab raid resulted in this first strike for my Rifter, coming out on top against an unusual fit.
I then moved towards Egghelende and upon landing on the Egghelende gate in Siseide was greeted by the sight of approximately ten or twelve various frigates all affiliated with each other. I jumped through and they followed. None of them managed to snag me so I warped to the station and re-shipped into a Hurricane for the purpose of science.
Noticing the pilots were all still in system I narrowed them down to the top belt and warped in expecting them to be there at zero, they were. Keeping range I locked up what I could in random fashion, spitting hot projectile fire at them as they burnt towards my hulking battlecruiser. Picking off this Rifter and then this one, the gang decided they were fighting a losing battle and they wisely scattered in various directions.
Back in the Rifter I made my way over to run the Amamake - Eifer Pipe and then would progress on towards Molden Heath. On the way I got into a scrap with another Rifter, which then met its demise to the hands of my vessel. I also found a Wreathe that was parked up at a nearby planet command centre, it died a nasty death.
In Arnher I found an Amarrian Slaver crew patrolling a plex in their Coercer. Being the hot-blooded Brutor male that I am I thought it would only be fair to wander on in and introduce myself.
The Hatchery Gank.
Now back in Molden Heath, the rest of the RANSM guys and girls were suicide ganking Hulks so I decided to dock up my Rifter and join in the fun. After just one round though, intel reported the movements of various fleets so we shipped up and went out hunting them, I jumped into a Hurricane. After a few false leads we eventually managed to butcher this Drake and this Harbinger, our fire power too much for their defences. Good fun.
Suicide Thrashers.
The day was now late and the end of a long shift was approaching, however this did not dampen the spirit and great fun was had harassing the local mining communities. This Hulk was first up for sacrifice, soon followed by this Mackinaw, and then this one. I ended the night with one final Hulk slaughter. The locals no doubt annoyed at the disruption of their operations and the random memes that we kept spamming in their local chat channels.
So there you have it, that's a typical day in the life of a 24 hour pirate. Who says low-sec is dead? Who says Hulkageddon is over?
As I made my way down the hill towards the outpost I could make out the domed shields buzzing in the distance as a brisk wind swirled over the hot sand. It was rare for the shields to be up at this time of day, the night was drawing close and the outpost and service areas glowed magnificently under the hundreds of bright lights that sparkled like jewels. Huge artillery batteries overlooked the outpost and attack drones hovered outside the shields, primed and ready should they be needed. The docking pads, protected by the shields were now closed to all inbound traffic.
Nearby a huge camp had formed and as I drew closer I could make out some hundred or so ships parked up in random fashion, rooted in the sand seemingly stuck, some of the ships still had their thrusters running hot and occasionally a booming noisy Rifter would blip its afterburner and then whistle and crackle as it idled to a steady hum. Close to the swarm of Rifters a couple of battered looking Ruptures and the huge frame of a Hurricane battlecruiser stood out like hulking menaces, hundreds of crew and revellers mingled underneath the mighty ships. The Rebels and friends had hit town.
How did the Rebels grow to be such disliked hell-raisers? The answer is that it wasn't at all easy. They worked the hours, put in the grind and overtime and excelled at being crafty, cruel and cowardly.
Music now filled the air, dancing to the heavy beats the thousand or so revellers mixed with the Rebels, the locals standing out with distinction from the tattooed and grimy gang members. A short walk from the hedonistic party-goers and the music a large fire was burning and a main core of around two hundred were warming in the now cool night, drinking beer and whiskey it was calm but the atmosphere electric.
It was here that I bumped into Joey, he was wild with excitement, his eyes glazed as he shoved a bag of red pills into my hand and urged me to take a couple.
'Eat some man, they'll keep you going, it's going to be a long night'.
Remembering Joey's wild ways I asked him what they were in milligrams, but he shrugged and looked back at me blankly.
'Just take about ten and if that don't work, scoff some more'.
I nodded and ate two but Joey had gone, lost again in the crowds. They looked to be about five milligrams each, which is enough in my experience to keep most people alert and jabbering for several hours. Ten pills, or fifty milligrams, would send anybody but a hardened pill freak to a medical facility with symptoms of acute delirium. Later several Rebels assured me that their uppers were indeed 'fives' - at least they said, that was what they were paying for. They never quoted their wholesale price but as the euphoric evening turned into the early hours and the sun began to rise it turned out that they were more like 'ones'. Earlier in the night, when I realised that the pills were having little effect, I took more and more - now I had eaten close to fifteen and that was at best a guess. If the Rebels had been honest I'd probably be gnawing down trees like a beaver right now. As it was, they had helped me stay on my feet and I was in a blissful mood, happy that I had partied hard with the Rebels.
A righteous Rebel loading up for a frigate run or party will consume almost anything, and in any quantity combination or sequence. As I walked through tired and passed out bodies it was evident that some had gone a bit too far - I hoped some of them were indeed still alive. Barbiturates and alcohol can be a fatal mix, but I was told that the Rebels combine enough stimulants with their depressants to stay alive, if not stay rational. This made me somewhat happier as I strolled through the littered landscape.
By now many of the revellers had departed, most of the ships that were strewn across the desert were gone and just a few remained as the crews checked over the remaining hulls preparing for travel. The noise of a plasma welder in the distance irritated me, my head fragile. As I turned to set off in a new direction I froze, stopped in my tracks by a group of about ten Rebels and now in front of me stood the leader of the Rebels, Joker Diablo and with him was the founder, Miura Bull. I gulped and my stomach twisted.
Next up in my series of roaming guides we will be concentrating on a pocket of 'sheltered low-sec systems', by this I mean you will need to traverse high-security space in order to reach your target destinations - no matter which entry point you decide to take. Jumping between the systems will also require some degree of high-sec manoeuvring, thus the recommended ship hull will once again be something light and fast, preferably a frigate hull or nano-cruiser.
The Vieres-Arand Creek
An old Gallente Federation smuggling run situated off the main pipe in the Essence region, this mixed bunch of systems set in the two constellations of Vieres and Arand is an excellent hunting ground for the seasoned veteran and the budding combat pilot. The old run itself would start in the high-security system of Droselory and end in the safety of Arant, where goods would be then shipped off to the markets in nearby Villore, Orvolle and further afield.
Your playground this evening, sir.
Jumping in from Droselory your first sytem will be . . .
System 1 - Atlulle 0.4
Atlulle is quite a large system consisting of 22 belts spread over four clusters, the most populated cluster being the IX cluster which contains fifteen individual asteroid belts. Over in the XI cluster there is an ice field that can attract the occasional opportunist backwater mining vessel, I like to warp to this (bottom) belt first off in the hope that I can catch anything that happens to be loitering there.
Hulk on scan? Maybe, just maybe.
Due to its proximity to two high-sec systems, this system is ideal at off-peak periods for ratting, keep your eyes open on the D-Scanner for those unnamed Destroyers, Cruisers and sometimes even Battlecruisers that can often be found causing trouble for the local Serpentis population. I've even come across mining Battleship hulls in the area.
Also worth checking out is the Natural Phenomena that is located in the system, as the local lore tells that whilst often dangerous, these places attract frequent research expeditions, your next fight might just be examining the local gas content.
Atlulle has four stations, they offer up all the usual services that you would expect of a backwater Gallente low-sec system, including a medical facility over at the Ishukone Corporation Factory.
The local market is fairly basic, mainly consisting of items that have been looted and salvaged from the wrecks of broken Serpentis fighters and from ambushed starships once belonging to the lost souls of now dead crewmen.
System 2 - Isenan 0.3
There are 28 asteroid belts to explore in Isenan, a dead end low-sec system that has been the retreat for various corporations, criminal entities and even some mining conglomerates over the years. At the moment it seems to be quite derelict, although on occasion it has been frequented by ratters and miners who seek the opportunity of bounties and ore in its relative safe environment.
If there are locals out in the belts then the best bet is to 'rush' the clusters and hope they didn't notice the local spike. I have found various success in here but at the same time, those who do earn their living out here tend to err on the side of caution when threats appear.
This is you to the local populace.
There are seven stations in Isenan, mainly mining outposts and travellers rests, the only service not available is any sort of medical facility and also, as expected, the market is generally poor.
Moving back to Atlulle we then make a jump through the high-security system of . . .
Allebin 0.5
The next system after blasting through Allebin is another dead end system . . .
System 3 - Haine 0.4
Haine is another system that is highly attractive to ratters and miners, whilst it does not boast as many asteroid belts as the previous systems we visited, the high-sec border system offers a greater degree of safety for the discerning belt-ratter. A quick check on the Dotlan maps for npc kills should give you an indication of whether you will get a hit in Haine. If there is little activity it might be as well to give it a miss completely, should you wish.
The three stations offer all the creature comforts but again the market is to be considered poor.
After your quick visit to Haine it is time to trace back through Allebin 0.5 and onto the next low-sec system.
System 4 - Parts 0.4
This is where the roam should really come alive, this system and the next should provide you with some good fights if you stick around and scan the belts and watch for local traffic spikes, npc kills etc . . .
Parts is a favourite system of mine, it is a medium sized system which has everything needed for a good combat arena. Four asteroid belts that are well spread out enough to need two different scan spots for monitoring, it has a plethora of Serpentis and Drone anomalies that can be found with a simple blip of the 'system scanner' and it also has a Deserted Gallente Outpost that also attracts regular visits.
All of the above make for a nice attractive system to various elements of New Eden life. Watch out for those unnamed ship hulls again! Also, watch out for those who are lurking about looking for those unnamed ship hulls. Either way, you will find something to fight in Parts, it's a bit like a bare knuckle pit at times. It might also be worth pointing out that sometimes bait ship tactics are deployed here with waiting gangs ready to pounce, just kill the bait and warp out for added feel good factor.
1 v 1 ?
Again, the market around here is poor but the six stations in the system should provide you with all the required services, repairs and medical facilities.
System 5 - Obalyu 0.4
The final system of our short roam - Obalyu is another entertaining system for combat, it is a large system, consisting of 12 asteroid belts that are well spread out, it has no stations meaning nowhere to hide (barring a cloak or deep safe) and it borders a moderately populated high-sec system which has high traffic flow from the noob starter grounds. All this makes for an excellent hunting system and often if you are lucky the ratters in here don't even know what has hit them as you lock up their pods.
Whilst not a particular long roam by any stretch of the imagination, this pocket of systems, if patrolled with discipline and over a period of prolonged presence, should provide you with some good fights, some good ganks and if you are new to pvp or piracy, should provide you with a good arena for cutting your teeth in.
Happy hunting!
One final note . . . . The area has a high traffic flow of haulers, couriers, autopilot fans and similar low braincell types. There is a good trade route for those who like the risk and the area is also high in wormhole activity, usually supply traffic going to and from the entrances. It would be foolish of me to suggest a triple sensor boosting Hurricane or something of similar ilk would disrupt this traffic flow.
