The game of cat and mouse is nearly over as the Taranis kicks open the afterburners, 20k, closing, slam-bang-overdrive, full throttle, fast, scrammed. The Jaguar closes the ground, nosferatu primed, smiling and ready for the onslaught. Two scrams now. Webbed, going nowhere. Weapons overloaded, bullets screaming, blaster slugs in flight, smash! The Taranis is neuted. ECM drones block out the light for the Jaguar. The Vagabond fights for its life. Tables turned for a moment? Out of nowhere another lock lands like a grappling hook on the side of a cliff face. The frigates hold on to their prey.
Taranis & Jaguar v Vagabond
The Firetail points the enemy cruiser. Battlecruiser lands on grid. Harbinger. Stay focused. Eyes on the Arbitrator. Watching for drones. Waiting for the neutralizers to bleed us. The heroic tackle of the Firetail is too much, spiralling out of control, explosions. The gang remain in the belt, determined. Arbitrator down. The lumbering Harbinger struggles. The pack of frigates and lone cruiser dismantle the beast with relative ease.
Firetail, Rupture, Rifter, Jaguar, Taranis v ARBITRATOR, Harbinger
Firetail, Rupture, Rifter, Jaguar, Taranis v Arbitrator, HARBINGER
Bloodclaw light missiles rip at the stricken Cormorant. A routine journey through The Citadel about to be rudely over, remote repair support long since gone. A slingshot and the fight is over. A pleasant surprise in the cargohold vanishes into the murky soup of darkness around the stargate.
Crow v Cormorant
The small patrol of frigates tear into the cruiser. The glow of the distant star reflects and shimmers on the hulls as they go about their business with ruthless efficiency. Flashes of light like an ancient firework display and the short fight is over. The dust settles. Silence.
Jaguar, Rifter, Rifter, Rifter, Firetail v Rupture
A demonic Firetail smells blood. The strategic cruiser is no match for a pilot possessed. Working for the devil, knifes are out. Sharpened. The Firetail's orbit is tight. A spectacular sight as the Loki swings for his foe but misses like an old drunk bare knuckle champion. Fallen.
Flashbacks for the pilot. DARKSTAR POWNYOUALL scoops his loot and adds another strike next to the ship image -- Loki.
Firetail v Loki
Firetail v Loki
The Daredevil smells an easy kill. The Jaguar dances and then strikes. Daredevil panics, neuted. The fight rages. Jaguar is king. Perceptive. Hip. Street-fighter.
Jaguar v Daredevil
Interceptor and Interceptor. Gloves are off. Rockets fly, zipping like angry flies. Malediction. Menacing, sleek and black. The Claw is raw, all-out brutal. Autocannons clattering. Fight is close, both pilots need the nosferatu, the reppers are whistling, buckling, overheated.
Claw v Malediction
The Stiletto parades suggestively on the edge of the bubble. Slicer engages. The fight is on. Slicer hits hard, aggressive like a rabid dog, biting. Stiletto needs to pull a manoeuvre. A daring move, Slicer is closer. Overloaded scrambler and the brakes are slammed hard stuck. Up close and personal the Stiletto is superior. The Slicer crumbles.
Stiletto v Slicer
MB.
19 Jan 2012
15 Jan 2012
Fight Night I
Joe Struck's fight night was on. The invites had been sent out and ships began rumbling towards Heild. Movement in the docking bays was frantic as crews scrambled to ready craft for the mayhem. The word had spread, tonight Heild would become a party venue.
As the clock ticked over to 21:00 the fight night was officially started. Afterburners whistled and popped in the hangars as ships made their way out of the station. Blasting off in warp around the system to ready themselves for the resultant carnage.
To kick off the carnival Joe Struck piloted a Mammoth industrial boat head first into a small group of frigates that had formed at a nearby planet, the result was predictable, with the cargo of goods emptied into space and free to looters.
After some initial cautious movements around the system it was reported back that a Rifter piloted by one of the Rebels, Nicholai Hel, had become the first frigate casualty of the evening, set upon by a Jaguar, a Nemesis and a Punisher it was never going to end well for him.
The next two hours were something of a blur with battles happening all over the system, 1v1's, group fights, free-for-alls, it was pure madness. On a personal level I lost a Rifter, another Rifter and a Firetail that landed in the middle of a ball of frigates at planet 1, tackling a Wolf was never a good idea in a ship with no tank to speak of.
On the kill front I had some interesting fights. I showed up on the killmail of Brink's Rifter after two Slicers cut it down shortly after I had fought him. After reshipping from that fight I jumped into a Wolf kitted out with a stasis webifier and parked myself on the entrance to the 2/10 plex. A Jaguar soon landed on me, I'm not sure if he was part of fight night but I made short work of his shields and the Jaguar quickly crumpled into a wreckage.
Shields regenerated from the Jaguar tussle it was then a Vengeance that tried to take on the mighty Wolf. The Wolf only just managing to grab the kill with few structure points remaining. A good fight indeed. Soon after this I whored onto another of Nicholai's Rifter losses before heading back to station for repairs.
After patching up the Wolf I was challenged by Kaeda to a duel, wanting to test out her ship against a Wolf. As I undocked and made warp for her position I wasn't sure of what I was actually going to be fighting. A Malediction was the answer. A good fight, Kaeda commenting that she couldn't quite manage to get under the guns of the Wolf, luckily for me.
I was docked in the station again making use of the repair facilities when it was announced that the devilish scamp Sard Caid had decided to warp in his Scorpion battleship into the party that was taking place over at planet 1. Planet 1 by now was littered with wrecks of every frigate variety and was looking very much like a salvage pilots dream scrapyard. Needless to say all the frigates set upon Sard with venom, after some of the plucky frigates were removed from the field via a fiendish assault of smartbomb warfare it was left to the rest of the pack to carefully remove the intrusive battleship from the field. Well played Sard Caid.
I then showed up on a Wolf killmail before it was time to prepare for the final event. The Fight Night Battle Royale Thunderdome that would kick off inside the 2/10 plex at 23:00.
All the frigates were assembled on the entry point. Joe gave the order to activate the acceleration gate and for battle to commence as soon as everybody landed. My Kestrel didn't have much of a chance from the start, taking some heavy blows from two angry Jaguars I decided to ungroup my weapons and try and shoot at as many ships as I could before I popped. I didn't get much of a chance to even do this as I exploded in a fire, the first frigate to be removed from the field and an early end to the Royale. I continued to watch the action unfold in my capsule. My initial plan for this frigate was to try and web the nano ships that I knew would be present, sadly I did not have the chance to put my plan into action.
For the next 25 minutes or so some twenty frigates were engaged in a bloodbowl of frigate duking, individual battles and all out brawling. We were now down to the final four. Kaeda Maxwell flying the R1FTA flag in her Vengeance, RANSM pilot's xxxAlloxxx in his Jaguar, CraftyCroc in his Stiletto and Arasul in his Imperial Navy Slicer.
The Stiletto and Slicer danced around the field, Kaeda tanking the damage and xxxAlloxxx dishing it out. It was glorious to watch. CraftyCroc was the first to fall of the final four, his Stiletto putting up a brave show as it fell to the firepower left on the field.
Three remained and Kaeda was next to give way, her Vengeance had served well but it was now game over and we were now down to our final two, the final dance had begun. Jaguar versus Navy Slicer.
After what seemed like a stalemate was about to occur both the pilots slammed into each other at close range and went for the final blow. The final race to the finish line was won by xxxAlloxxx in his Jaguar, the Slicer finishing a gallant second place. A thrilling finale to an exciting evening.
It was a fantastic evening of frigate combat. Thanks go out to Joe Struck for organising the event and thanks to everyone who came along and made the explosions happen. The picture below shows Heild as the number one system in EVE for kills during the entire evening. Quite an accomplishment!
Here is a list of the prize winners for the evening.
Most Kills
Laktos (Prize - a set of navy faction frigates)
Ilik Tanikalot (Prize - Wolf)
Most Losses
Kaeda Maxwell (Prize - Jaguar)
four way tie for second
Laktos (No prize you won stuff already)
Fulgin Jet (Prize "Nightstalker" Combat Goggles)
Brink Albosa (Prize "Nightstalker" Combat Goggles)
Tao Icarus (Prize 100 Nanite Repair Paste)
First Kill
Xulgar (Wolf)
First Loss
Nicholai Hel (Jaguar)
Thunderdome Winner
xxxAlloxxx (Fitted Vagabond, courtesy of Lhorenzo)
Killing Sard Caid Award
Laktos (Tornado, courtesy of Korvus Falek)
Podded by Sard Awards
Tao Icarus (Prize Rifter)
Fulgin Jet (Prize Rifter)
Tomba (Prize Rifter)
Brink Albosa (Prize Rifter)
Now to get ready for Fight Night II.
MB.
As the clock ticked over to 21:00 the fight night was officially started. Afterburners whistled and popped in the hangars as ships made their way out of the station. Blasting off in warp around the system to ready themselves for the resultant carnage.
To kick off the carnival Joe Struck piloted a Mammoth industrial boat head first into a small group of frigates that had formed at a nearby planet, the result was predictable, with the cargo of goods emptied into space and free to looters.
After some initial cautious movements around the system it was reported back that a Rifter piloted by one of the Rebels, Nicholai Hel, had become the first frigate casualty of the evening, set upon by a Jaguar, a Nemesis and a Punisher it was never going to end well for him.
The next two hours were something of a blur with battles happening all over the system, 1v1's, group fights, free-for-alls, it was pure madness. On a personal level I lost a Rifter, another Rifter and a Firetail that landed in the middle of a ball of frigates at planet 1, tackling a Wolf was never a good idea in a ship with no tank to speak of.
On the kill front I had some interesting fights. I showed up on the killmail of Brink's Rifter after two Slicers cut it down shortly after I had fought him. After reshipping from that fight I jumped into a Wolf kitted out with a stasis webifier and parked myself on the entrance to the 2/10 plex. A Jaguar soon landed on me, I'm not sure if he was part of fight night but I made short work of his shields and the Jaguar quickly crumpled into a wreckage.
Shields regenerated from the Jaguar tussle it was then a Vengeance that tried to take on the mighty Wolf. The Wolf only just managing to grab the kill with few structure points remaining. A good fight indeed. Soon after this I whored onto another of Nicholai's Rifter losses before heading back to station for repairs.
After patching up the Wolf I was challenged by Kaeda to a duel, wanting to test out her ship against a Wolf. As I undocked and made warp for her position I wasn't sure of what I was actually going to be fighting. A Malediction was the answer. A good fight, Kaeda commenting that she couldn't quite manage to get under the guns of the Wolf, luckily for me.
I was docked in the station again making use of the repair facilities when it was announced that the devilish scamp Sard Caid had decided to warp in his Scorpion battleship into the party that was taking place over at planet 1. Planet 1 by now was littered with wrecks of every frigate variety and was looking very much like a salvage pilots dream scrapyard. Needless to say all the frigates set upon Sard with venom, after some of the plucky frigates were removed from the field via a fiendish assault of smartbomb warfare it was left to the rest of the pack to carefully remove the intrusive battleship from the field. Well played Sard Caid.
I then showed up on a Wolf killmail before it was time to prepare for the final event. The Fight Night Battle Royale Thunderdome that would kick off inside the 2/10 plex at 23:00.
All the frigates were assembled on the entry point. Joe gave the order to activate the acceleration gate and for battle to commence as soon as everybody landed. My Kestrel didn't have much of a chance from the start, taking some heavy blows from two angry Jaguars I decided to ungroup my weapons and try and shoot at as many ships as I could before I popped. I didn't get much of a chance to even do this as I exploded in a fire, the first frigate to be removed from the field and an early end to the Royale. I continued to watch the action unfold in my capsule. My initial plan for this frigate was to try and web the nano ships that I knew would be present, sadly I did not have the chance to put my plan into action.
For the next 25 minutes or so some twenty frigates were engaged in a bloodbowl of frigate duking, individual battles and all out brawling. We were now down to the final four. Kaeda Maxwell flying the R1FTA flag in her Vengeance, RANSM pilot's xxxAlloxxx in his Jaguar, CraftyCroc in his Stiletto and Arasul in his Imperial Navy Slicer.
 |
| Kaeda's Vengeance. |
The Stiletto and Slicer danced around the field, Kaeda tanking the damage and xxxAlloxxx dishing it out. It was glorious to watch. CraftyCroc was the first to fall of the final four, his Stiletto putting up a brave show as it fell to the firepower left on the field.
 |
| Stiletto piloted by Gunpoint Diplomacy pilot CraftyCroc. |
Three remained and Kaeda was next to give way, her Vengeance had served well but it was now game over and we were now down to our final two, the final dance had begun. Jaguar versus Navy Slicer.
 |
| Arasul's Slicer cuts through the field. |
After what seemed like a stalemate was about to occur both the pilots slammed into each other at close range and went for the final blow. The final race to the finish line was won by xxxAlloxxx in his Jaguar, the Slicer finishing a gallant second place. A thrilling finale to an exciting evening.
 |
| Slicer and Jaguar dogfighting to the finish. |
It was a fantastic evening of frigate combat. Thanks go out to Joe Struck for organising the event and thanks to everyone who came along and made the explosions happen. The picture below shows Heild as the number one system in EVE for kills during the entire evening. Quite an accomplishment!
 |
| click me |
Most Kills
Laktos (Prize - a set of navy faction frigates)
Ilik Tanikalot (Prize - Wolf)
Most Losses
Kaeda Maxwell (Prize - Jaguar)
four way tie for second
Laktos (No prize you won stuff already)
Fulgin Jet (Prize "Nightstalker" Combat Goggles)
Brink Albosa (Prize "Nightstalker" Combat Goggles)
Tao Icarus (Prize 100 Nanite Repair Paste)
First Kill
Xulgar (Wolf)
First Loss
Nicholai Hel (Jaguar)
Thunderdome Winner
xxxAlloxxx (Fitted Vagabond, courtesy of Lhorenzo)
Killing Sard Caid Award
Laktos (Tornado, courtesy of Korvus Falek)
Podded by Sard Awards
Tao Icarus (Prize Rifter)
Fulgin Jet (Prize Rifter)
Tomba (Prize Rifter)
Brink Albosa (Prize Rifter)
Now to get ready for Fight Night II.
MB.
7 Jan 2012
Okay enough rambling about assault frigates
Now time for something new. A new logo, something to break all barriers that have come before us. I don't know what that means it just sounded cool. Hope you like it.
MB.
MB.
5 Jan 2012
Say no to the Assault Frigate buff!
Title says it all really. Buffing the assault frigates as planned will create a domino effect of imbalances and game impacts that I don't personally think have been thought through properly.
Here is the link to give your feedback for the planned changes.
I strongly advise anybody who flies assault frigates, other tech 2 frigates, t1 frigates and faction frigates to go make their views known.
In particular go to page 2, scroll down and read the posts from Ava Starfire, Ilik Tanikalot and Kaeda Maxwell.
Thanks.
MB.
Here is the link to give your feedback for the planned changes.
I strongly advise anybody who flies assault frigates, other tech 2 frigates, t1 frigates and faction frigates to go make their views known.
In particular go to page 2, scroll down and read the posts from Ava Starfire, Ilik Tanikalot and Kaeda Maxwell.
Thanks.
MB.
A New Year (but please stop warping away)
Recently on our corp forums we have been talking about goals that we have set for the coming year as a corp and also for the individual. Obviously it mainly revolves around kills, kills and more kills. Everybody loves a good kill right?
Of course they do.
In general it looks like we've set some tough tasks, but ones that certainly are achievable if we all put the effort in. Recently we have been ending the month on something around the 700-800 mark as regards to total kills. Our target now for every month for this coming year is to break 1000 kills per month. I think we can do this, either way we'll have a good go at getting as close to it as possible. As a guide and reference point, if we look at an established group of killers like The Tuskers, they tend to hit approximately 1,300 kills each month, give or take a few hundred either way.
We've set some recruitment goals too. Recruitment is currently open for the month of January, after this we probably won't recruit much if at all during the year ahead, if you're some kind of pvp God or something we might let you in. We're hovering around the 100 member number right now so if you want in on the action then apply now for the R1FTA blob. In reality we rarely fly with more than 5 pilots in a gang, the majority of us being solo types, spread far and wide across many different regions.
Having said that, Molden Heath region is definitely our home now and most of our pilots do base out of the region. We've settled into a great community, one that I honestly don't think exists anywhere else in the game. We share good intel, comms, forums and some other things with some of the best guys in the game but we will also fight each other when we seek a good fight. You guys know who you are. Thanks for having us.
Most of the individual goals that were set involve climbing killboard ladders. Personally I'd like to break that top 1000 mark on battleclinic. I've been borderline a few hundred places short now for far too long. So all I would like to say to those above me is stop pvping for a bit please. Excellent.
Speaking of battleclinic. R1FTA have been in and around the top 30 for recent corp activity ranking for the last few months now. By the middle of December we were number 20 and I believe we are still at number 20. I still find it hard to believe a corp that started up again just over 7 months ago is the 20th best corp in the game according to killboard stats, but I guess the figures don't lie, regardless of what people think of the stats. A few of our members had never even played the game let alone knew how to pvp when they signed up. Sticking to the trend of difficult targets, as a corp we would like to be in the top 10 by the end of the year. Watch this space as they say, the corp full of rifter-flying-noobs is on the rise. Ha.
As a corp we have agreed to continue our philosophy of not really giving a flying ****. This to some may seem to contradict some of the goals we have set, you could argue against our claim to not care about killboard stats for example by my rambling above about, well, killboard stats. It is hard to explain to those who don't 'get us'. You see, the good killboard stats and high-ranking that we achieve are down to one thing--not really giving a damn. If you start to worry about killboard stats then you die a little in this game (in my opinion). If you go out there, shoot everything that moves and play with a smile on your face regardless of winning a fight or losing a fight then the rest will come good. Trust me, it is tried and tested.
__
I'd like to finish this post by giving a nod to part of the title of my post (the warping away bit). Just this last day I have been out in the belts looking for the good fights. The first fight involved me in a Wolf against a small gang I had spotted causing mischief in one of the asteroid belts. There were 3 rifters, an incursus and a maulus, 5 v 1. As I land on the gang it looks like a cat amongst the pigeons. Everybody panics and tries to warp away. I grab the incursus and kill it and then chase the others around the system until they eventually leave. I am fully confident that if that small gang had just stuck around and stayed calm and did all the right things they would have turned my Wolf to dust. Sure I'd have kicked and screamed until the end but yeah, stay and fight! Test your limits and don't be afraid to fight the flashy red in the belt.
Next up I decided to go roaming in a rifter, thinking maybe the Wolf spooks people too easily. I found an awesome fight with a punisher. We exchanged blows and eventually we were both hitting structure, cap is tight and I lose my point. It looks like the punisher is going to win as I have mods burnt out and I start to get that sinking feeling, but as soon as my point dropped the punisher warped off into the distance, voiding any killmail for either of us. Maybe I am from a different school of thought but I would never try and warp off in a tech 1 frigate in such a close fight. Stick around you never know how the fight will end!
In the same system after repairing the damage I loitered around a plex entrance and I spot a gang in system. A slicer, a rifter and a catalyst. I think what the hell, 3 v 1 and this gang by far and away has the advantage. Slicer lands on the gate 50k off of me and then burns towards me but just before any hostilities commence he warps away. His two mates join the action but they are way off and they too warp off. Puzzled by their tactics I give chase but again they leave the system. Really? I was in a rifter. My rifters are not invincible. Far from it.
In fact every ship I fly is already lost in my mind. Fly this way and you'll have a lot more fun and end up with more killmails.
End of rant.
:)
Recruitment link. Recruitment open for January only!
MB.
Of course they do.
In general it looks like we've set some tough tasks, but ones that certainly are achievable if we all put the effort in. Recently we have been ending the month on something around the 700-800 mark as regards to total kills. Our target now for every month for this coming year is to break 1000 kills per month. I think we can do this, either way we'll have a good go at getting as close to it as possible. As a guide and reference point, if we look at an established group of killers like The Tuskers, they tend to hit approximately 1,300 kills each month, give or take a few hundred either way.
We've set some recruitment goals too. Recruitment is currently open for the month of January, after this we probably won't recruit much if at all during the year ahead, if you're some kind of pvp God or something we might let you in. We're hovering around the 100 member number right now so if you want in on the action then apply now for the R1FTA blob. In reality we rarely fly with more than 5 pilots in a gang, the majority of us being solo types, spread far and wide across many different regions.
Having said that, Molden Heath region is definitely our home now and most of our pilots do base out of the region. We've settled into a great community, one that I honestly don't think exists anywhere else in the game. We share good intel, comms, forums and some other things with some of the best guys in the game but we will also fight each other when we seek a good fight. You guys know who you are. Thanks for having us.
Most of the individual goals that were set involve climbing killboard ladders. Personally I'd like to break that top 1000 mark on battleclinic. I've been borderline a few hundred places short now for far too long. So all I would like to say to those above me is stop pvping for a bit please. Excellent.
Speaking of battleclinic. R1FTA have been in and around the top 30 for recent corp activity ranking for the last few months now. By the middle of December we were number 20 and I believe we are still at number 20. I still find it hard to believe a corp that started up again just over 7 months ago is the 20th best corp in the game according to killboard stats, but I guess the figures don't lie, regardless of what people think of the stats. A few of our members had never even played the game let alone knew how to pvp when they signed up. Sticking to the trend of difficult targets, as a corp we would like to be in the top 10 by the end of the year. Watch this space as they say, the corp full of rifter-flying-noobs is on the rise. Ha.
As a corp we have agreed to continue our philosophy of not really giving a flying ****. This to some may seem to contradict some of the goals we have set, you could argue against our claim to not care about killboard stats for example by my rambling above about, well, killboard stats. It is hard to explain to those who don't 'get us'. You see, the good killboard stats and high-ranking that we achieve are down to one thing--not really giving a damn. If you start to worry about killboard stats then you die a little in this game (in my opinion). If you go out there, shoot everything that moves and play with a smile on your face regardless of winning a fight or losing a fight then the rest will come good. Trust me, it is tried and tested.
__
I'd like to finish this post by giving a nod to part of the title of my post (the warping away bit). Just this last day I have been out in the belts looking for the good fights. The first fight involved me in a Wolf against a small gang I had spotted causing mischief in one of the asteroid belts. There were 3 rifters, an incursus and a maulus, 5 v 1. As I land on the gang it looks like a cat amongst the pigeons. Everybody panics and tries to warp away. I grab the incursus and kill it and then chase the others around the system until they eventually leave. I am fully confident that if that small gang had just stuck around and stayed calm and did all the right things they would have turned my Wolf to dust. Sure I'd have kicked and screamed until the end but yeah, stay and fight! Test your limits and don't be afraid to fight the flashy red in the belt.
Next up I decided to go roaming in a rifter, thinking maybe the Wolf spooks people too easily. I found an awesome fight with a punisher. We exchanged blows and eventually we were both hitting structure, cap is tight and I lose my point. It looks like the punisher is going to win as I have mods burnt out and I start to get that sinking feeling, but as soon as my point dropped the punisher warped off into the distance, voiding any killmail for either of us. Maybe I am from a different school of thought but I would never try and warp off in a tech 1 frigate in such a close fight. Stick around you never know how the fight will end!
In the same system after repairing the damage I loitered around a plex entrance and I spot a gang in system. A slicer, a rifter and a catalyst. I think what the hell, 3 v 1 and this gang by far and away has the advantage. Slicer lands on the gate 50k off of me and then burns towards me but just before any hostilities commence he warps away. His two mates join the action but they are way off and they too warp off. Puzzled by their tactics I give chase but again they leave the system. Really? I was in a rifter. My rifters are not invincible. Far from it.
In fact every ship I fly is already lost in my mind. Fly this way and you'll have a lot more fun and end up with more killmails.
End of rant.
:)
Recruitment link. Recruitment open for January only!
MB.
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