31 May 2012

Good fights bad fights?

Yesterday when passing through Melmaniel solar system I noticed quite a few frigates and destroyers on scan, narrowing them down to a military beacon I was pleased to see that my Wolf would be allowed to fire up the acceleration gate. I landed on grid with two Dramiels, two Catalyst, a Rifter and a Tristan. This would be a nice test for my newly unwrapped Wolf. 6 v 1, my kind of dogfight.

Landing right on top of the Rifter I quickly blitzed through his, erm, multiple tank and then started taking railgun fire from the two Catalysts. At this point the Dramiels had fled the scene, no surprise there, good to see people still putting the Dram to good use and doing what it does best. I was soon on top of one of the Catalysts, and he was soon space wreckage. The other Catalyst had now managed to slip from my overheated scram range and despite my best efforts he too warped off, quickly followed by the Tristan who was always quite far away from the action.

I was slightly disappointed, in the course of the fight I had only needed to pulse my repper once, after taking initial heavy railgun fire, when what I really wanted was a mangled and buckled overheating mess of a repper. This could have been a real test for the Wolf, if all those ships had stuck together and coordinated some kind of attack then the Wolf may well have bitten the dust. In fact I was resigned to losing it, in exchange for a couple or three killmails of course. Instead, pilots who were (supposedly) all flying under the same banner went and scattered to the four winds, every man for themselves, what is an ally or a friend when you've got your pixelated piece of scrap metal to save?


At the moment the best fights seem to be good old fashioned 1v1 dogfights, or in some cases 1v1's that turn into a 2v1 or 3v1, such is the nature of the beast. I seem to be noticing a lot of Daredevils in space at the moment, a ship I've never really liked, it just strikes me as a poor ship, not something I could ever see myself flying in all honesty. But of course I will always fight them, or try to fight them, as I have noticed a fair few Daredevil pilots have read the Dramiel Flyer's Guide To Making A Quick Escape.

I spotted one such beast out bouncing around the many asteroid belts of Agoze, carefully watching his movements I second guessed the projected landing spot of his next belt and sat there in wait, guns sizzling under the forced heat. Sure enough the Daredevil was soon on top of me and I sparked the Wolf into action, reducing the Daredevil into a glittering pile of bent metal.

The next Daredevil I found had a Cynabal buddy in tow and also a couple more corpmates in the system and in the surrounding systems. This too was in Agoze, oddly enough. I wasn't sure what the other pilots were flying but had narrowed down the Daredevil and the Cynabal to an asteroid belt. Engaging warp I knew this could be a tough fight, my plan would be to quickly remove the Daredevil then hopefully land a scram on the Cynabal. I landed smack bang on top of the Daredevil but the Cynabal was some 50 clicks off of us. As to be expected the Daredevil was no match for the blistering power of the Wolf, and was soon delivered to the scrapyard in the sky. The Cynabal came in closer, to 30k, I had no chance of realistically chasing him but I tried anyway. Narrowing the distance to 20k, taking some heavy fire in the process he then    pulled some more range before warping off the field. At this time I had noticed that multiple ships were now on scan, maybe 5 or 6 buddies of the Cynabal and in nasty looking ships, so I decided to wait out my GCC in safety before moving on, happy with my killmail.

After championing the Firetail in my previous blog post I have been flying them quite a bit recently. Most of the fights I have found where I have won have been quite standard affairs, or alternatively, fights that have simply been the wrong fit for the Firetail, resulting in expected lossmails. I have quite a few in stock now so will pretty much engage anything in them if it means getting a fight.

I spotted a Daredevil in an asteroid belt, again, these guys must love loitering in belts. Landing in the belt with him I was 50k off, after a short stand off as I weighed up my options I was soon burning for him. He did the same and we met about half way and we began the dance. This was more of a test for the Firetail and the repper was put through some serious hard work, but the resultant flames from the Firetail's structure were well worth it in the end, as another Daredevil killmail was added to the bank. I also podded the guy and collected a bounty of 36 million isk.

Another fight that got the blood pumping recently was a fight I had with a Claw whilst I was out in a no plate cap boosted Rifter. At first the Claw carefully danced around my Rifter, no matter what I did I just couldn't break his piloting and land the scram, but at the same time there was no exchange of damage. Then he decided to go for it and we were soon brawling up close. This fight was one of the best frigate dogfights I have had for a long time, a very, very close fight and lots of burning modules afterwards. I was happy to leave with the killmail and also had a good chat with the pilot after the fight, which is always nice. He was on his way home to dock up for the night and thought 'what the hell, let's have a brawl', this kind of attitude towards fights I like, a lot. We need more pilots out there like this.

Sometimes you find a fight that ends in no killmail for either party, and whilst you have nothing to show for it in the end you certainly take away some satisfaction of a good fight. Sitting in Iges solar system in my Firetail I noticed another Firetail on scan. Soon enough, Dischordant from the pirate corporation Repo. was in the belt with me and we were slugging it out in what was a good brawl, unfortunately I managed to cap myself out near the end of the fight, not sure if I bled my cap dry from my over use of the repper outside of nos range or if I got neuted, I can't recall if he had a neut or not, but either way I lost the power to my scrambler in the end and he slipped away from my clutches in structure I believe. Good fight. Dischordant has a cool blog that is well worth a read.

Finally, another fight that resulted in no killmail.

Again I was in my cap boosted no plated Rifter when I encountered an Incursus spoiling for a fight in Ouelletta solar system. The pilot, well-placed in the top 500 of battleclinic's ranking would sure pose a mean threat, together with the new improved capabilities of the Incursus.

This was a fantastic fight, almost up there with the Claw fight. The Incursus danced around the edge of my neut range, zipped in and out and at one point we were straight up brawling each other in the face in blaster range. My repper was singing and working overtime to repair the damage as it got hotter and hotter. At one point I thought I had the upper hand, the Incursus deep in Gallente structure, he was fast and as it looked like I may pull off an unlikely victory he began to burn out of my range so I gave chase. In the excitement of the pursuit I was doing my level best to push the afterburner to its absolute limit and then suddenly it went bang! Oops. The Incursus was still with me, but with no afterburner now I decided to hammer the warp drive and get out of there before he noticed how slow I had now become. Good fights were exchanged in local.


Every gfgf should end with your modules toasted.




MB.






22 May 2012

Republic Fleet Firetail

A long time ago in a solar system, far, far away.......

It is a time of fear within the Republic, the borders of this great tribal nation are infested with cruel and twisted space vermin. Trade lanes are regularly plundered, kidnap and horrific station-side murders are on the increase. Rumours circulate of an evil pirate warlord--name and face unknown--his evil band of corsairs and mercenaries raiding together under the black flag of the Lazari Dromitus.

Little is known about these cutthroats; who they are, how many they number, where they come from and where they base. Operating exclusively in small squads of frigates that lurk in the shadows and then strike with ruthless efficiency and barbarianism, spearheaded by a mysterious, heavily modified, wasp-like, agile, speed junky of a frigate called the Shamrock.

The Matari militia will stop at nothing to defeat this terror cell.......





The Republic Fleet Firetail is often dismissed as an underwhelming frigate, however, I feel this is quite unfair as it is an immensely fun ship to fly and if flown correctly can be a mischievous little killmail winner. It is a logical stepping stone before jumping into other advanced frigate classes such as the Interceptor and the Assault Frigate.



The Firetail really comes alive with its speed which is right up there with the Interceptor hulls, this gives it the ability during solo engagements to dictate range, and also means it can be used to great effect as tackle in gangs. 





There are quite a few different fits out there, its slot layout meaning an armor or shield tank can be fielded.





[Republic Fleet Firetail, 400 DualWebBrawler]
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Damage Control II

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

200mm AutoCannon II
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I
200mm AutoCannon II

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, Dual Repper]
Small Armor Repairer II
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II

Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II
1MN Afterburner II

200mm AutoCannon II
Rocket Launcher II
200mm AutoCannon II

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Nanobot Accelerator I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, ShieldStorm]
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Overdrive Injector System II

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
1MN Afterburner II

200mm AutoCannon II
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I
200mm AutoCannon II

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, Dual Prop]
Gyrostabilizer II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
F85 Peripheral Damage System I

Limited 1MN MicroWarpdrive I
1MN Afterburner II
Medium Azeotropic Ward Salubrity I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

150mm Light AutoCannon II
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I
150mm Light AutoCannon II

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, TD Howitzer Turbo]
F85 Peripheral Damage System I
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Gyrostabilizer II

1MN Afterburner II
J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I

280mm 'Scout' Artillery I
[empty high slot]
280mm 'Scout' Artillery I

Small Projectile Metastasis Adjuster I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, TankArty]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Damage Control II
Tracking Enhancer II

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

280mm Howitzer Artillery II
[empty high slot]
280mm Howitzer Artillery II

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, 250]
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

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

250mm Light Artillery Cannon II
Rocket Launcher II
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II

Small Core Defence Field Extender I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Ambit Extension I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, TDSkimmer]
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II

1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Stasis Webifier II
DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I

200mm AutoCannon II
Small Nosferatu II
200mm AutoCannon II

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I

---

[Republic Fleet Firetail, TwinGyroDualProp]
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
F85 Peripheral Damage System I

Limited 1MN MicroWarpdrive I
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Medium Azeotropic Ward Salubrity I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

125mm Gatling AutoCannon II
[empty high slot]
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
Small Ancillary Current Router I


---


Quite a variety! I'm sure there are even more variations out there as well. What is your favourite fit? Some of the fits are pretty tight on the fitting requirements so some playing around with meta modules may be required. Have a play in eft and then give some of them a try.




MB.




















20 May 2012

Top Toys

The table below shows the top 5 of ships used by R1FTA pilots during combat operations.



No surprise at the number 1 spot really, if it was something else there we'd probably get done for false advertising. It is a figure that should really be a bit higher, as I think most of the killmails that get registered as a capsule were in fact hero tackle Rifters that bit the dust.


Number 2 spot goes to the Wolf. I would probably say my favourite assault frigate at the moment. I can't get enough of its kick, once it gets you in its jaws it doesn't like to let go.


In 3rd place we've got the Thrasher. A figure that is always going to be inflated slightly due to its long service as a suicide gank ship, however, you can't knock the sheer destructive capabilities of a combat Thrasher.


Number 4 on the list goes to the Jaguar. For a long time my numero uno weapon of choice. I lost a little bit of love for the Jag when the assault frigate changes came around, but after playing around with various different fits I am now enjoying flying her again. A fantastic ship.


In the number 5 position we see a cruiser hull poking its nose into the realms of popularity. What can be said about the Rupture? One of the best ships in the game, value for money, versatility--devastating in armor or shield form. Not to be messed with. You can fly them solo or put them to excellent use in gang form, this fight here showcasing its potential.




Whilst on the subject of kills, I recently broke the 1000 corp kills barrier and received a shiny new medal for my troubles. Now to go sprinkle some gunpowder on my cornflakes.




Finally, R1FTA are currently recruiting new blood for a limited amount of time. Go check out our recruitment post on the eve forums by clicking this link here.


MB.

13 May 2012

And now.....

For something totally different........

A taster, a sneak peek, an appetiser, a teaser, you get the drift? Courtesy of Lao Mah/R3v3r Productions here is an insight into the life as a member of R1FTA and what 'goes down'--but that is not all, there is method to this madness.

Starting this Summer 2012, R1FTA will begin work on its latest ambitious venture. Outside of the box thinking and a dynamic approach to script writing and performing arts, we will bring to you the R1FTA Musical.


Stay tuned.







MB.