Plex Hunter

this guide is no longer valid. 2/10 static sites have been removed.



A short guide to roaming for fights and making ISK along the way.


This is aimed at the Angel Creo-Corp Mining 2/10 complexes that are found in Metropolis, Molden Heath and Heimatar regions. These are Deadspace Complexes that are a permanent static fixture in space and require no probing, they are entered via an acceleration gate and consist of three rooms.


We will take a look at how to run them and how to get fights in them.

Running The Plex.

So you're out hunting and it happens to be quiet in space. These complexes can drop faction loot that sells for a tidy sum on the open market, so why not run them to earn yourself some extra ISK? Seems like a simple idea and in fact, running them is as simple as it could possibly be. You can run them in a t1 frigate, a destroyer or a tech 2 frigate and best of all it only takes about 10 minutes to blitz the site. Personally I would recommend an assault frigate for simple blitzing or a t1 frigate with an active tank. Thrashers are also popular choices and a lot of people also run these sites in faction frigates, the Dramiel being a popular ship choice.


First, make sure you have the Deadspace Overseer's Structure option checked on your overview settings. This makes for easy recognition if the complex is 'live' or not. You can only run the site when the complex is 'live', i.e the structure is there for you to shoot.

Warp to the acceleration gate and activate it. I would recommend warping to the gate at 10, as you will then reduce the risk of bouncing off the gate and you will be able to immediately activate the gate as you land. You could also warp at up to 100 if you want to have a look if anybody is lurking on the gate first.

It is worth noting at this point that deadspace gate warp mechanics will prevent fleet mates warping directly to one another if they are at range of the gate. Use this to your advantage if looking for a fight and you suspect a gang is ready as backup. If you are fighting at 130 off of the gate for example and your enemy calls in backup to 'warp to him' then they will always land at zero on the gate. A lot of people fail to understand this mechanic, often blaming it on glitches when really they are just misinformed.

Once you land on grid you will be able to see straight away if the complex is live and ready to be run. You are looking for the Deadspace Overseer's Structure, if this is on your overview then the complex is ready for you to run.

the plex is live! go go!

You will notice that all the NPC rats will begin to aggro you, ignore them. You do not need to shoot any of these rats. Just the structure needs to be destroyed, as this drops the key (Creo-Synchronization Pass)  for the next room.

Once the structure is destroyed a cargo container will drop, loot this and scoop all the contents.

factory gatekey

You now have the key for the next room.


Now activate the ancient acceleration gate and do the same as above (blitz the structure, ignore rats, take the loot).

Once looted head on over to the next ancient acceleration gate and activate.


You are now in the final room and once you clear the structure a cargo container will, following a bright explosion, (hopefully) drop your loot and your reward.

I say hopefully because there is a random chance that you will not get any nice loot at all. It is very much a lottery, but for what takes you approximately ten minutes to blitz you might as well buy a ticket. If you are lucky, most commonly you will get 1 Gistii item, although it is also possible to drop 2 faction items and it has happened before where 2 faction items drop AND a blueprint or Domination item. If this happens then you have just struck the jackpot on the 2/10 fruit machine.

Common loot drops.


Gistii B-Type 1mn Microwarpdrive ... 15-20 million isk
Gistii B-Type 1mn Afterburner ... 15-20 million isk
Gistii B-Type Small Shield Booster ... 60-75 million isk
Gistii B-Type Small Shield Transporter ...  once considered junk, prices are currently rising due to the introduction of t1 dedicated logi frigates. Expect the price to rise once these hit. Will probably fall in line with the mwd and afterburner prices I would imagine.


Various other named loot, mostly junk.


Rare drops.

Dramiel blueprint copy 1 run ... 50 million isk

Various Domination items ranging greatly in price.


With each cargo can you loot you will also pick up various Overseer's Personal Effects which can be handed in for isk at various stations across the cluster. Most notably via NPC buy orders at DED and CONCORD stations.

It is worth noting that the structure in the first room respawns approximately every 1 hour 30 minutes. Some players camp in the final room, which spawns every 45 minutes. I wouldn't recommend this personally as you not only become a slave to chasing the loot drops, you will also be looked on as an annoying gamer dood who nobody respects and everybody wants to pod.

Don't become THAT kid

When you do come across somebody camping the final room it can be frustrating, some players like to save the keys or buy them off the market and they will then surprise the campers in the final room.



Fight Arena


Apart from the chance to make some ISK as you roam, these 2/10 complexes are a fantastic place to engineer fights. Only frigate and destroyer sized hulls can enter these complexes and this greatly favours the lone hunter or very small gang pilots.

Simply loitering in these systems will get you fights.

Most fights will occur on the entry gate or in the first room. Normally a pilot will wait on the acceleration gate for his enemy to warp into him, where he will then point them and initiate the fight before he has chance to activate the gate. He could also wait in the first room, but this is less common as the pilot will take aggression from the NPC rats in the first room and will either have to tank them or kill them. Alternately there may be somebody already running the complex and so the attacker will activate the gate and attempt to point them inside the first room, or if he has the keys, chase him in the other rooms.

I would say it is a 50/50 split between pilots who hunt in and around these complexes who are actively looking for a fight and those who are not looking for the fight, i.e looking to just farm the faction loot drops. This makes for a good hunting playground and because of this, usually you will find pilots who loiter at the gate simply looking for a fight with like-minded pilots, the gate acting as a pvp beacon for any pilot who happens to be passing and spots him and then narrows him down on a 5 degree scan.


These complexes really are great for finding fights, as we mentioned above, you will find the regular plex runner and those who genuinely do wish to fight. Obviously this should not stop you from engaging them all regardless of what they are doing there.

As you begin to get used to what generally visits the complexes that you frequent you will get a better picture of what ships and fits to use. Destroyers are popular ships used by those fighting and running the plex, in this instance fighting fire with fire is always a good option and destroyer versus destroyer fights can be rewarding fights.

I would also give a shout out to the assault frigate here. A popular visitor to these complexes, and a ship that can hold its own versus anything it might come up against, be that another assault frigate, faction frigate or destroyer.

You will often see tech one frigates in and around the complexes, whenever I see a t1 frigate I will always try and ship down if I have a hull in the area. It isn't that much of an achievement if you gank a Rifter in your Wolf.


2/10 Roams

So where exactly are all these complexes? This is a roam I regularly enjoy. I don't always complete it, of course, but I like to try. This roam should also give you an idea of where these complexes are and what to expect from the locals.

The 2/10 systems are:

• Heild
• Hrober
• Altbrard
• Hedaleolfarber
• Erstet
• Enden
• Bogelek
• Gusandall
• Ragnarg
• Lulm
• Olfeim

waypoints for epic 2/10 roam

This roam starts in the Molden Heath region. I will visit the plex in Heild and then visit the one in Hrober, a dead-end system two jumps out of Heild. Both plexes usually offer up the chance of some pvp if the locals are home.

From here I will roam up towards the Istodard pocket where the complexes of Altbrard and Hedaleolfarber await. Extra caution is advised when visiting this pocket as sometimes you will find the odd gate camp blocking your way.

Next up we make the trip over to the high-sec protected systems of Erstet and Enden. Often off the radar to most players with negative security status, however, these two systems are easily accessible via 3 highsec jumps that rarely trouble a frigate or destroyer. The two systems are themselves sandwiched between a 0.5 system but this is not a problem. With insta-undocks this 0.5 system of Nein can make for an excellent refuelling and spares outpost. The apparent safety of high-sec also makes for some interesting targets in this area of space.

After spending time in Metropolis I will make my way back onto the low-sec trail and then in to the Heimatar region where we visit the plex in Bogelek and then Gusandall. This area is usually another good area for picking a fight.

Next stop is the system of Ragnarg which is in the Hagilur pocket, another haunt for local pvpers you will no doubt find a fight if you stay for long enough.

From here we make the trip down towards our final two systems of Lulm and Olfeim, which are very close to Amamake. It is always worth checking on the in-game map and with killboard activities before taking this final leg of the trip if the gatecamp is active in the Eszur chokepoint. If so I will usually just bolt across high-sec or repeat back on myself up towards Erstet and Enden and then bolt across high-sec towards the Bosboger area.

This is one of my favourite roams. You will not only take in the systems with the plexes but there is also scope for extending your roam by visiting such places as Eifer, Hagilur pocket, the Molden Heath loop, Hadozeko area, Evati, Amamake and many other good hunting systems.

This roam covers eleven 2/10 complexes and if you strike it lucky in each of them and live to tell the tale then you can expect a nice pay day once you ship your loot to market. A couple of months ago I had stashed many, many items from doing this roam over a few month period (or at least chunks of it) and after deciding to cash-in came away with a cool couple of billion isk.

Not a bad return to say I was just roaming around looking for fights and running the odd plex when it was live.



MB.

A strange time to go dancing with death ...

A look back in time to an alien world of early pvp and in particular, the infamous m0o Corp. The original pirate material.

In the beginning New Eden was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.


It is hard to imagine, unless you were there of course, the humble beginnings of this great universe that we call New Eden. Imagine a game where just about everybody who is traversing the stargates is a starry-eyed noob, everything is alien, new and beautiful. Killmails don't exist as we know them today, nobody can warp to a gate at zero and sentry guns, eh? what are they?

Then imagine, a little over one month into this early adventure, the devil himself unleashing an army of death, a plague, a nemesis on the landscape. An army with knowledge and an advanced understanding of game mechanics and an undesirable will to achieve one thing. The destruction of everything that gets in its way.


m0o Corp, or Masters of Ownage, was originally created by former players of a Counter-Strike clan that went by the same name. The corporation first set up its roots in the Lonetrek region and it was here that they first became famous for their notorious pirate activities, resulting in general outrage that then triggered community and developer response. They are one of only a few corporations which have actually forced CCP to change or add new features to the game. Known mostly for their pvp prowess, an in-your-face attitude and infamous reputations, they are considered to be the original pirates and 'serial killers' of New Eden.

The success of m0o can be attributed to many things. A combination of skill, innovation and knowledge of the game mechanics created the most effective fighting unit in the game. Many would regularly accuse them of exploiting game mechanics and using unfair tactics and strategies. Of course, these allegations were continuously denied. Explanations of the game mechanics being used, and why playing the game as designed is different to exploiting, were given by m0o pilots on many occasions. The original m0o never grew to more than about 15 members, with their average online presence usually consisting of at the most 10 pilots.




The Mara Blockade

The system of Mara was one of New Eden's busiest choke-points, that also just happened to be the home turf of m0o. Over the coming weeks it would be impossible to pass through Mara. During the first day of the blockade alone a reported 250+ ships perished at the hands of the gatekeepers. Over the next few weeks the death toll would run literally into the thousands. The residents of New Eden were just beginning to see the havoc m0o would cause.

Many pilots and corporations were incensed by this behaviour and would try to fight back and remove the blockade. Most had one thing in common; they failed.

The blockade quickly become a hot topic on the forums, mainly because some players just couldn't understand how such a small crew could defeat, well, just about everyone. That’s when players started accusing m0o of cheating the system.

In the weeks of the Mara blockade, there were very few posts on the forums which didn't have something to do with m0o. Players openly discussed the pilots, their tactics and stated their opinions repeatedly. Arguing over whether or not they were exploiting game mechanics was common, and several GM's confirmed in both petitions and forum posts that this simply was not the case. Through the forums m0o reached true superstar status, and whether one was with them or against them, most people started to respect them.

But things would soon change.




Intervention

With bad blood between m0o and everyone else running deep as the blockade dragged on, CCP decided to rush the Mara camp with a squad of developer-controlled CONCORD battleships, in a brazen attempt to fire a warning shot at them and their aggressive, trash talking ways.

The sight of the arriving fleet caused the camp to flee, but for one individual, the CEO at the time, who went by the name of The Reverend, who stood and fought for his cause against the CCP-led fleet. He didn't last very long and his cruiser was reportedly one-shotted off of the field.

CCP had flexed its muscles and although this is what a lot of the community had wanted, amongst the many that were cheering and hollering in the 'victory' many also blasted CCP for messing with the ‘lawless’ nature of the game.

Regardless, CCP later intervened for a second time, sending all members of m0o Corp to random locations in the game world away from their camp in Mara, scattering them far apart to hopefully spread disarray in the ranks. It didn’t work, they simply found their way back to Mara and carried on where they left off. The decisions for this random scattering are still unclear to this day.



FD-MLJ

The Mara camp lasted until roughly early August 2003, when m0o moved to its legendary home system, FD-MLJ. It was the choke-point entrance into the entire northwestern area of New Eden. Syndicate, Fountain, Outer Ring and Cloud Ring were the homes of many new corporations and alliances, and m0o exploited that in any way they could. The camp of FD-MLJ lasted for around two months, was filled with thousands and thousands of kills and then m0o entered its first hibernation period.



The Second Chapter

m0o returned later in the same year, late October 2003 and had expanded from their original quota. A merger with The Legitimate Businessmans Club and a recruitment drive and the poaching of several other pvpers resulted in the corp's roster jumping to around the 30-40 mark.

This era also coincided with the release of some of the first and most famous m0o pvp videos, some of which can be found today by searching on youtube for The Chronicles of m0o. The alien interface and graphics really are quite intriguing and are highly recommended viewing. It is like Stone Age eve.

During this time, m0o pilot Lord Zap became the highest-profile player in EVE, with a mind-boggling bounty on his head of 20 million ISK (a record at the time, yes that is a twenty) and a place among the legends of New Eden.

m0o now found themselves in the Stain region and waged a new war upon the local residents of Stain Alliance, they now had some allies to back them up too, most notably Curse Alliance. During their time away the game had changed somewhat and m0o found that they needed to create new strategies, fits and tactics.

After a month or so of geurilla operations and sparring with Stain Alliance, and after destroying Grikl's Apocalypse Imperial Issue on December 1st 2003, m0o decided upon a new target; the Coalition of Free Stars. This would kick off a chain of various wars that m0o waged, they easily became bored of their enemies and would simply choose a new war when they saw fit. They were even known to turn on their allies  if they so chose.


With the rise in numbers of m0o pilots it was only inevitable that a bad egg might fall into the nest. In February of 2004, Miz Cenuij (who would later become infamous for camping the Rancer corridor with a Nyx for months on end as well as for the Ginger Magician permaban) who was a member at the time borrowed about 500 million ISK from several of his corpmates. He had told them it was for a Battleship BPO investment. The next day he wrote a heartfelt post detailing the reasons for his departure, and subsequently departed the corp to join MASS, 500 million ISK richer.

The dizzy days of pvp super-stardom were beginning to creep into the clouds. In the summer of 2004, The Reverend attempted to sell off m0o corporation to the highest bidder. Little or no interest was shown in his auction, and the corporation kept going as before. The corporation dealt with several internal disputes, such as the departure and re-joining of Lord Zap, Stavros and Vegeta (in three unrelated cases).

One other event of note was the destruction of the only Gold Magnate in existence to a m0o camp. The ship was downed in A2-V27, piloted by Tyrrax Thorrk, and the final blow is said to have been claimed by m0o pilot DrStrangelove.


The second chapter of m0o lasted until the end of 2005, when the corporation had grown to around 75 members. Many were unhappy with how the corporation was run, mostly due to loose recruitment policies and lack of goals. The decision of hibernation was made by The Reverend. Was this now the end of m0o?



The Third and Final Chapter

It took just over two months of hibernation before m0o were back playing and active again. Many saw these hibernations as a regular 'm0o thing'.



This chapter saw very few of the original and older members returning. The key people now running the corporation were Odet, Madcap Magician, Tbone and Fairlane, and while the former leadership sat semi-inactive on the sidelines it wasn't quite the same. The third chapter was regarded as a mistake by some people, since most felt that the corporation failed to live up to its high standards. It is notable that m0o ended this 'third chapter' with a perfect 10 to 1 Battleship kill/death ratio, despite usually fighting heavily outnumbered. However, a corporation's inner structure is not made by kill/death ratios. Despite this efficiency, most uninvolved people perceived m0o as having lost its touch because it was less influential in New Eden politics and pvp development.

Over the next few months, many new players were brought into the corporation. Some of the older players left and found homes in other corporations, most notably Evolution. In the spring of 2005, m0o corporation was finally closed down for the last time. The original serial killers and the most notoriously infamous corporation the game had ever seen was no more.

m0o pilots left to form and/or join corporations like The Royal Syndicate, D.N.A, Finite Horizon, Evolution and Reikoku.




Effects on EVE

If it wasn't for m0o then New Eden would perhaps not be the same today. Sentry guns, CONCORD, Gate NPC's, warp-to-zero on gates, are all here in the form we know them today because of m0o and what they did back in the early days.

They also pioneered frigate combat, at the time it was the norm to fit over-sized missile launchers (that could fire cruise missiles) to frigates and m0o mastered these tactics. Balanced turrets as we know them today are mainly here because of m0o's tactics and fighting styles.

At the other end of the scale, m0o were masters of the battleship hull. At the time a very rare sight in the skies of New Eden.

Gank fits were also a 'm0o thing'.

Log-on traps and aggression tricks were all born out of the mind's of m0o pilots.

The use of oversized afterburners was mastered by m0o pilots.

m0o pilots were the first pilots to master the art of scouting with an alt. At the time an alien concept until m0o began doing it.

There are a lot more, I am sure, but what we take for granted these days is easily missed when looking back to a time that is so long ago in gaming terms and is easily accredited as 'the norm'. One final thought, smacktalk, could we label m0o as the original smack kings? I'd like to think so.


Stavros > Keep flaming lamers, just like your ships did when we ended you

~


Spikum > I joined m0o just short before
Spikum > Reverent told me that he wanna check my scorp fitting and he need it to look at it
Spikum > i gaved it him
Spikum > then he kicked me out of corp
Tachy > Spikum :) mOo is a great corp, isn't it?

~


Odet > How is it possible we dont have a tackler?
Nmwone > Well if you'd stop killing all our recruits maybe we'd have a tackler right now.
Odet > I hope your mother dies tonite


Many of the old m0o members and indeed its founding membership are no longer playing. Some are still active though, and most are scattered amongst many corporations. Are you a former m0o pilot? It would be great to hear from any former members or veterans of eve who have crossed paths with m0o in the past.





MB.

A Strange Sequence of Events

Frustrated with my time in lowsec I had ratted up my sec status all shiny and law abiding. I remember writing at the time that I didn't really know why exactly I had decided to rat up my security status almost overnight and to then seek vacation in the sanctity of highsec. Perhaps the ever unfruitful beacon dance and acceleration gate chase with those who simply did not want to fight me had become too tiring. When all that was missing from my game time was the Yakety Sax theme tune from Benny Hill it was perhaps just the right time to recharge and take a step back.

But, alas, I lasted about three weeks before I was stood once again at the rusty old gates of lowsec begging for her to take me back, the bright lights of highsec blurry in the distance. Highsec just isn't me, but at times it does have a strange pull. Was it the dream of triggering aggression on a mission running treasure ship or something else? Whatever it was, I just. Didn't find it. Didn't really chase it.

In next to no time I was back to minus ten. The red flash was back and killing was fun again.

The last few weeks in lowsec I have noticed a remarkable sequence of events, a shift in pattern from the normality of lowsec life. The pond of lowsec, its waters murky and deep and usually riddled with disease, decay and the dead who have strayed too far, now seems to have cleaner waters and new fish swimming in it. Have recent changes to mining barges triggered a greater sense of adventure for the highsec crowd? Those who would previously turn around in fear once they arrived at the uninviting gates of lowsec now seem to be inclined to face their demons and trigger the rusty old gate with the skulls hanging over it.

Yesterday I spotted a Hulk and a Covetor sat at zero in a lowsec asteroid field, this together with numerous mining parties that I have seen and crashed in the last few weeks, sparking most of them to flee back to the gates admittedly, had aroused my lust for the brutal destruction of those that stray too far. The Hulk and Covetor were not so lucky this time and the asteroid belt was left bloody and wreck strewn.

Only a day before this, passing through a system that is usually dormant but for the odd plex runner I spot an Orca and a Mackinaw in the top belt, not something you see every day in lowsec. Warping in as a Talos arrives on scene I decide to warp out and into the next door system to formulate my plan. I switch my Atron out for a Jaguar and head back in for round two. When I arrive in the top belt again they are gone, but switching my scanner to the next belt I see the Mackinaw is there. As I land on the Mackinaw the Talos decloaks (!lol) and I begin to shoot all the drones that are stinging at my shields. As I am executing the Talos the Mackinaw eventually decides to leave the scene. My associate who had joined me in hunting this party reports that the Orca is 100k off of him but aligning, and alas he warps out of harms way. Joining me back in the belt he just misses point on the departing Mackinaw. The Talos dies and refuses our pod ransom.

What is going on? Why would a Mackinaw decide to mine in lowsec with Orca support and a Tr3 battlecruiser as defence?

Another strange incident. I am in a Drake in a remote lowsec system and I spot a handful of cruisers and frigates in a belt. I warp in, there is approximately twelve of them. I begin to point what I can as most of the frigates scatter. Some stick around and try to fight back but this is no raiding party and those that are still here I fully expect to slay. My killing spree is brought to a stop after one cruiser and a frigate kill when a local hero Falcon pilot decides to warp in and jam me. Looking at the mails it dawns on me that the frigates were shooting the battleship rat whilst the cruisers were providing them with remote reps. Talk about effort for little reward.

Is this the new face of lowsec and is the pond evolving? I can't help but wonder if this is just an odd few weeks in my calendar and soon enough the pollution will once again set in and the pond will begin to settle, and its blackness again turning stagnant, the dead bits floating to the top.


MB.

Miss Carry's 99 Rifter Brawlout

Invader Carry had sounded the battle cry. 99 Rifters were parked in the pos, littering the sky and partially blocking out the sun. The rules were pretty simple.


Everybody that wants to participate meets at Pinkypie-POS in Eugales
in his favourite Rifter.

There you will find 99 T1 fitted Rifters, waiting for action.

On signal [comms would be groovy] everybody targets 4 or 5 random fellows
and we shoot each other silly. 

If you die, move your Pod to one of the T1s, board it and fire away, 
until all 99 Rifters are used up.




Rules:
1) No arty-kiting fits, have a scram fitted.
2) If you accidentaly pod someone you're out
and pay for it, get slapped, spanked, molested
and groped by someone with big hands.

The Rumble Rifters will be T1 fitted so everyone
should be able to fly them.
There will be a few weird ones inbetween.
Should you grab one of them and can't use it,
leave it and take another one.

The time had come, total mayhem was but a few moments away. We revved our afterburners as the order to warp to the beacon was given.

CHAAARRRRGGGEEEE!

The event got off to a bit of a bumpy start, firstly overview technicalities and then an overly keen pos that was spitting out balls of venomous ecm jams to the unsuspecting pilots. I lost my first Rifter with two laser modifications and then the fighting was prematurely stopped while the engineering staff disabled the angry pos settings and here we waited out our aggression timers.

It was decided that the event would resume at a cargo can on-grid to the pos and Rifters were soon back up and running with cannons booming and lasers lazing (is that even a word?) and all was good in Eugales as merry R1FTA pilots pummelled the crap out of each other under the burning sky.

The kills were rolling in.

A pattern was emerging.

Warp to the can-shoot-shoot some more-occasional sneaky ungrouping of the guns as you were popping, Rifter on fire and smoking and screaming and firing off a last salvo to make the mails-warp down to the PARKING LOT-new Rifter-rinse and repeat.

Good times.

Then there was a handful of Rifters left. Zodiac Black was the last man standing beneath all the rubble and wreckage.

Thanks to Miss Carry for organising a great event.



Battle reports.



MB.

The Little Frigates That Could

The Atron, Condor, Slasher and Executioner.

Apart from a couple of very rare exceptions, a set of frigates that were often discarded to the role of throwaway cyno ship or disposable fast travel ship. Cheap and nasty, tacky, sneered at by their bigger brothers.


But the wind of change blows cold and spiky through the tunnels of New Eden.


A new breed of ship class is born, breaking out of its cocoon and challenging the very existence of the tech one frigate pvp field as we know it today. A champion in the making perhaps not. But these new reconfigured frigates are little firecrackers, a delight to fly, cheap and fun and no longer nasty. Could this set of lite-interceptors be the training wheels of future champions?


After some brief testing the Atron is the stand out option for me at this moment. But here are a few examples of what you can do. The beauty of these ships is that there are so many fitting options out there, making for a wide variety of fits and a colourful licence for the imagination of the fitting connoisseur.



[WE FORM ATRON, Atron]

Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Stasis Webifier II
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Light Neutron Blaster II
Light Neutron Blaster II
Light Neutron Blaster II
-empty high slot-


Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I



So what can these things do? This is very much a do or die class of ship, I'd recommend buying a nice stock of them as I don't envisage them lasting that long on the field. But you will learn so much from blasting around lowsec belts in these cheap ships and losing them than you would from buying two or three more expensive interceptors, losing them horribly and becoming disheartened. You should pick up some killmails along the way too.

My first test in the Atron wasn't really much of a test at all. A simple Merlin with no guns that was going round in circles in a faction warfare site. Then a mining Vexor that I found. With this Vexor kill I scooped ten strange 'Harvester' drones that I was pleased to notice are worth approximately 150 million ISK each to someone. God knows who but at least those little drones will pay for a good number of these new tech one ships at my next shop.

My real pvp test came against a Rifter. I was hesitant to engage at first. It's a Rifter! My champion frigate, could I kill a Rifter with an Atron? You betcha. A great fight that really got the heart pumping.

Next up I spotted a Thrasher acting suspiciously in Gusandall. Now this would be a test, could I kill a Thrasher in my Atron? I'm all for throwing away ships in the quest for finding an answer so I jumped right in and snatched victory from the claws of defeat with 12% structure points remaining. Another great fight!



The Slasher looks like it could be fun too.


[Slasher, Slash n Burn]

Damage Control II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Medium Shield Extender II

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Ambit Extension I
Small Projectile Ambit Extension I



I have not flown the above fit yet but it stands out as one with potential. I wanted to try an artillery fit but not having access to highsec I decided to raid my hangar for looted items and general junk. I came up with this monstrosity.


[Slasher, JunkBoxMonster]

F85 Peripheral Damage System I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 1MN Afterburner
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Small Unstable Power Fluctuator
280mm Howitzer Artillery II
280mm Howitzer Artillery II
280mm Howitzer Artillery II

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Auxiliary Thrusters I


A paper thin arty boat that I wouldn't expect to last very long but one that could perhaps generate some killmails if underestimated. Maybe? I undocked and spotted a Catalyst in one of the belts. I decided to roll the dice and as luck would have it I came up against what can only be described as a terrible fit. Still, I was happy I had scored a killmail in it.


The Condor looks like it will see some great fights. It will become an annoying little wasp of a frigate that can kite you into oblivion and sting you hard.



[Condor, Horn of Condor]

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Ballistic Control System II

1MN Afterburner II
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Medium Shield Extender II

Rocket Launcher II
Rocket Launcher II
Rocket Launcher II
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I


I am hoping to get a batch of these soon. But in the meantime it looks like my corpies are having a blast flying these hulls. This Federation Navy Comet kill standing out from the crowd thus far.


The Executioner is a ship that I will likely not fly as my laser skills suck. But this should not put you off. It looks like it could be a good Slicer trainer amongst other things and already there is a wide selection of fits out there.



[Executioner, Lazor Burn]

Damage Control II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Faint Warp Disruptor I
Optical Tracking Computer I

Medium Pulse Laser II
Medium Pulse Laser II
Medium Pulse Laser II

Small Energy Collision Accelerator I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I




[Executioner, AxeMan]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II

1MN Afterburner II
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I

Small Diminishing Power System Drain I
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Dual Light Pulse Laser II


Small Energy Collision Accelerator I
Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster I
Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster I



All four of these ships will bring great appeal and a new dimension to tech one frigate combat. Perhaps you'd like to share your fits and experiences of these hulls so far?



MB.

New Blog!

I've started a new blog, a kind of side project blog but with a twist. It's not just going to be me posting content to the blog, it will feature work from eight pilots including myself who have joined the project.

This blog is an in-character and slight storyline based review of our fights. It will be updated regularly, as you can imagine with eight people on board we hope to have a flow of content and make this the go-to place to simply read about some fights.

No other real content other than fights. It will become a library of fights sprinkled with some dark and twisted storytelling straight from the pen of the pilot.


The title of the blog is The Fighter at the Gates of Hell.

You can find the new blog at the link below. Please follow and join us in our journey. The first post is now live!

projectfighterx.blogspot.co.uk/




Thanks.


MB.

Sentry Gun Activated

My first thoughts I must admit were 'lol campers gonna be mad, they mad'.


After thinking for a bit though and reading through this thread.....


I don't personally enjoy getting caught in gatecamps, I don't do gatecamps myself nor do I fight on gates that often. I tend to die to them a lot of the time if they have instalock tacklers or I am not flying a frig that day but I tend to man up and throw up a begrudging gf in local and be on my way. I also tend to avoid the most obvious camps, cos you know you do get used to where they usually are.

So perhaps I should be all for this proposal? I'm not convinced. Part of me wants more people in lowsec, part of me does not.

This proposal (it must be noted that this is still only at the idea stage) does come across as a kind of lowsec stealth nerf attempt and a poor one at that. I don't think this is the way to 'fix' gatecamps, how do you define a fix for this tactic/profession and who are you trying to appease? And why? There are no answers here or am I missing them? Gimping fleet combat on gates and spoiling certain avenues for pvp is not the answer. Should the fixing lay somewhere with risk-free orca tactics, remote repping and t3 boosters in pos's, I dunno?



I get the feeling that somebody 'upstairs' wants to attract more people to lowsec? May I even border on the edge and suggest this change may in fact be directed at attracting new players to the game? New subscriptions and more honey for the pot? I am all for this more people in lowsec debate to an extent and do think that more people will come to lowsec if they know that the horrible gatecamp isn't going to trouble them on the way in as a result of these planned changes.

But I don't really like this kind of easy eve.

As a wide-eyed noob I was attracted to lowsec because of the horrors that I might find behind every stargate. Nervous excitement and the not knowing was like a shot of adrenaline for me. This playstyle that you are trying to fix was one of the very reasons I subscribed to this game in the first place! It came across as brutal and not a very nice place--I don't want to play in nice places. There will be other potential customers out there who are drawn to the evil and mystic ways of eve, if you change eve to an easy mode then you will miss out on these potential new customers. I know for a fact I wouldn't have played if I knew it was all safe and policed.

Are people really scared of lowsec? If so and they are holding off jumping into an eve subscription because of ooh scary camp then they probably aren't going to last in the long run anyway in all honesty. Are these the people we want in eve? People who play games as if they are in a daycare centre. People who don't like risk.

I don't think I do.


A great man who went by the name of Snypes once said....


Low sec in EVE reminds me of an inner city ghetto. Kids with ski masks ganging up on someone and threatening to stick em if he doesn't give up his chain and the $5 in his wallet. Pimped out "economy" class space ships flying around because nice rides get left on a stack of bricks with nothing left but the stale air freshener you were supposed to change 5 months ago. Seedy people hanging outside the stations wearing aviators, smoking a cigarette, eyeing people up until they see someone weak enough they can take his pocket change to get themselves a cup of coffee. You all get the idea.


Then, there's the rest of EVE. They know low sec exists. They certainly have opinions on it and about the people that choose to call it their home. They spot the low sec gates on their overview while surfing the calm relaxing currents of high sec in their luxury billion isk Sundays best. Or pass nearby on patrol scanning down the latest sites in 0.0 turf. They even give advice to newer players about low sec based on their assumptions of what it's like. This can be both hilarious and really annoying to players who actually live or know life in low sec. It's like me thinking I'm privileged, intelligent, and amazing enough to make wild statements based on assumption that high sec is full of nothing but a bunch of bumbling retards who couldn't find their way out of the noob zone because it's too big :P... It's not necessarily true but if I spammed it in the rookie channel using ALL CAPS some people might believe me.



This attempt at sentry gun change is not what lowsec needs right now.




MB.