Tormented

Quote #163.

The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance.

-- (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens)

A few days ago I was contacted by a long time reader, recently retired from wormhole space and looking to find his way in lowsec, as such he endeavoured to battle me.

Yesterday I spent a fruitless day hunting the Minmatar faction warfare zones, I was met with either overwhelming force or MWD kiters, with only one fight I headed home, rather despondent with only one proper fight the whole trip.

Sitting in Amamake, on what would seem to be yet another fruitless day, when all the Navy Slicers would warp away, Jiffah contacted me and asked if I was still up for the battle, now anyone who knows me will tell you I love 1v1s, have always and will always honour them, so I headed back to Gusandall after a quick shower and dinner to get ready for what I expected to be an interesting fight.

I haven't had a 1v1 in a while, folk are so skittish these days that I've even been laughed at for even offering, saying I would just get my 'friends' to come gank them, didn't know folk were so attached to their frigates to be honest, so to say I'm a little rusty is a slight under statement.

1v1s are a little different than most combat in the universe, for a start, you need to make sure your 1v1 tab is set up properly, not having the person you're fighting show up on your overview does not help your cause.

Jiffah arrived in Gus with a Tormentor, a ship I have not battled yet but one I've heard a great deal about. I had chosen my Battle Probe, a ship that I consider to be pound for pound the best brawler in the game

Tormentor

 



The Tormentor is a Combat Frigate designed for frontline fighting.
Traits 
Amarr Frigate skill bonus per level:
10% bonus to Small Energy Turret capacitor use
5% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage
Development
The Tormentor has been in service for many decades. For most of that time it saw service as a mining ship, its size barring it from making any kind of impact on the battlefield. As with most Amarr ships, however, its strong defenses always made it a tough opponent to crack, and with recent advances in turret capacitor use and damage output, its lasers have now stopped digging into dead ore and are instead focused on boring through the hulls of hapless vessels in combat. 

VS

Probe

 


The Probe is a Frigate designed for exploring the depths of space.
Traits  
Minmatar Frigate skill bonus per level:
7.5% increase to scan strength of probes
5% bonus to Salvager cycle time
Role Bonus:
+5 Virus Strength to Relic and Data Analyzers
Development
The Probe is large compared to most Minmatar frigates and is considered a good scout and cargo-runner. Uncharacteristically for a Minmatar ship, its hard outer coating makes it difficult to destroy, while the limited weapon hardpoints force it to rely on fighter assistance if engaged in combat.

Kane Rizzel > just say when you're ready
Jiffah > I'm
Kane Rizzel > ?
Jiffah > I mean I'm ready and waiting
Kane Rizzel > in warp, gl and hf
Jiffah > you too :)

I land on grid and nothing on overview, quick pan out, lock and engage, I know the Tormentor can have good range but I have a trick up my sleeve to force him in,, we dance around each other at 8km with purple pulses of death slamming into my Probe, I reply with salvos of rockets and autocannon fire, drones from both ships, pass each other on the way to the other.

We're both in armour, I'm pulsing my repper as I start to orbit to mitigate some of the scorch damage, my opponent however seems to have activated Beast Mode tank, I'm starting to get down to my last few remaining explosive rockets (Another thing to remember about 1v1s is to bring enough ammo)

I make the mistake of switching to thermal rage rockets, but after he near reps all his armour back I switch to faction thermal and start to overheat in earnest. I'm slowly dealing damage to his structure before he reps chuncks of armour back, it's starting to look grim as bits of my ship start melting, first to go is my scram, I'm having to nurse my gun and launchers to make sure they don't suffer the same fate. With one last burst of overheating, I punch through his last armour and decimate what structure is left, the Tormentor torments me no more

Kane Rizzel > great fight
Jiffah > gf :)

I scoop the loot and dock up to repair what is left of my Probe, everything is on fire and my deck crew are going to have a hell of a time fixing everything. 

Jiffah > One more round if you don't mind?
Kane Rizzel > sure
Kane Rizzel > mind if I change ship?
Jiffah > sure
Jiffah > fair enough
Kane Rizzel > the probe is a little op
Kane Rizzel > that tomentor tanks like a beast
Jiffah > I burned out my AB, after that it was only matter of time when you finish me
Kane Rizzel > I always end up burning something out

Jiffah returns in another Tormentor but I want to try something a little different, I go for an old Incursus build of mine with one minor upgrade from my old standard

Tormentor

 



The Tormentor is a Combat Frigate designed for frontline fighting.
Traits 
Amarr Frigate skill bonus per level:
10% bonus to Small Energy Turret capacitor use
5% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage
Development
The Tormentor has been in service for many decades. For most of that time it saw service as a mining ship, its size barring it from making any kind of impact on the battlefield. As with most Amarr ships, however, its strong defenses always made it a tough opponent to crack, and with recent advances in turret capacitor use and damage output, its lasers have now stopped digging into dead ore and are instead focused on boring through the hulls of hapless vessels in combat. 


VS

Incursus

 



The Incursus is a Combat Frigate designed for frontline fighting.
Traits
Gallente Frigate skill bonus per level:
7.5% bonus to Armor Repairer effectiveness
5% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage

Development
The Incursus may be found both spearheading and bulwarking Gallente military operations. Its speed makes it excellent for skirmishing duties, while its resilience helps it outlast its opponents on the battlefield. Incursus-class ships move together in groups and can quickly and effectively gang up on ships many times their size and overwhelm them. In recent years the Incursus has increasingly found its way into the hands of pirates, who love its aggressive appearance. 

Jiffah > Ok, same spot, i'm here
Kane Rizzel > ok, omw gl and hf

I warp in again, Jiffah is at 18km from me, and he moves rather quickly, but very soon we're in range of each others scrams,but my blasters seem to be doing very little damage to his shields, I'm barely scratching him at this point, so with a web advantage I move closer and reload to void, the Tormentor explodes.

I check the killmail and see why my damage to his shields appeared weak 

Kane Rizzel > gf again
Jiffah > gf
Kane Rizzel > did not expect the switch to shields
Jiffah > hehe
Kane Rizzel > thought my damage was really poor lol
Jiffah > rushing straight to you was clearly a mistake
Kane Rizzel > I switched to void
Kane Rizzel > so yeah
Kane Rizzel > clear punched right through
Jiffah > more important you caught me with scrambler
Jiffah > no chance for MWD
Jiffah > anyway that was fun
Kane Rizzel > yeah, thanks for that, very rare I get 1v1s these days, everyone so paranoid
Jiffah > thank you too for accepting my challenge
Kane Rizzel > you're welcome dude
Kane Rizzel > will do a blog about it :)
Jiffah > That's it for now, fly dangerous o7
Kane Rizzel > o7
 

Thank you again Jiffah, was an honour to battle you.

I did the Faction Warfare loop once again, swinging via Bosena and the only fight I got was a terribly close encounter versus this fellow, good fight sir, I was in structure and on fire :)


Edit: A little closer to home while I sort out my loot hangar to be moved to market a curious fellow in a Worm calls me out

hoogy thekiller > Gusandall IV - Republic Justice Department Tribunal
hoogy thekiller > come out

So I undock in my Tristan, I'm almost convinced it's a trap as he's hugging the station but I intend to see this through as I close and start to circle, he engages and the fight is on, I'm already in armour as my drones and guns start to chew meaningfully into his shields, an overloaded repper is just about dealing with the incoming damage but I have now well and truly got him as his shields vapourise and chunks of armour are shredded away, he explodes violently, lighting up the dark side of Gusandall station.

Kane Rizzel > gf
hoogy thekiller > fuck u
Kane Rizzel > no use get angry about it, you called Gus out
hoogy thekiller > can i see ya fit
hoogy thekiller > and i had lagg

Oh well, sorry for your lag.Other than the guy being an absolute muppet it was a very good fight.

Gusandall IV - Republic Justice Department Tribunal: Courts where judicial matters are judged

And this finally arrived in the mail this afternoon, my favourite ship in the whole wide universe

The 200

It is said that whosoever the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. In fact, whosoever the gods wish to destroy, they first hand the equivalent of a stick with a fizzing fuse and Acme Dynamite Company written on the side. It's more interesting, and doesn't take so long.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Soul Music)

Some milestones are best left without fanfare but to be honest, I'm just honest. I'm also not very bright but you don't have to be the smartest to be the best, you just need to be smarter than the other guy. This does not however, always work.

A known plex runner/farmer is in Gusandall, in a Dramiel, in the direction of the 2/10. My normal reaction would be to grab a Daredevil and go ruin his day, however he is wary of me and my Greebo, he has felt the fury before. This time I chose something a little, how shall I put it?

Unconventional.

The Worm class faction frigate has garnered me one or two successful kills, but test like a Dramiel is something she has never encountered, I warped to the 2/10, he had warped out, I waited at the gate, just out of activation range, hoping if he spotted on scan he would investigate.

He did, warped to the gate, but instead of engaging he activated the gate and warped to the first room. I closed till in range of the gates activation range and followed him in, where he was waiting. I engaged, he obliged and started shooting right back. I launched a flight of drones, quite possibly the only way to win this fight would be to use the 'hope and pray' tank afforded by ecm drones, as my Worm was not very strong. However, my luck, much like my intelligence abandoned me to the mercy of the Dramiel's guns and drones. My Worm explodes and I whisk my pod to safety, but not before looking upon the wreck of my latest milestone, loss number two hundred.

The Dramiel then engages a Claw inside the plex and I hope this distraction will allow me the subterfuge to grab my Greebo and to extract revenge. However he warps out as I land, but curiosity gets the better of him.

Is Kane having a bad day?
Would he be able to overcome the might of the Rizzel Daredevil?
Only one way to find out. He warps back at 70km from the plex entrance, I start to close, he's staying still, until I reach 20km, he starts to move but is shortly halted as my web and scrambler stop any thought of escape, we engage at point blank range, the Angel frigates, both fearsome in their own right, locked in mortal combat, only one would warp away intact.

The Dramiel explodes, much as any other before that has danced with Greebo and his kin.

As this happens, another Daredevil enters local, piloted by an ex resident of these parts, devildog215. He lays down the challenge, a 1v1 vs Kane foshizzle Rizzel. The Dramiel pilot indicates to him I would be found at the 2/10, which I confirm, he warps in and we dance the deadly dance, until one stands, victorious, Greebo, the Champion of Gusandall.

A little saddened that one of Greebo's kin has been slain, I warp to a safespot to wait out my GCC timer, the Dramiel pilot has returned in a Rifter and is waiting inside the 2/10 for me, I kindly oblige and once again introduce his pod to the cold, harsh, reality of the Gusandall solar system.

A mixed evening for me, but once again, frigate combat reigns, the truest test of man and machine, even if it only lasts seconds, the euphoria of winning or losing, stands till the end of time.

I dock up, Greebo sitting comfortable over his docking circle, a spin or two before I retire to my quarters for a cup of Earl Grey and a movie.

Negative Ten

"Today Is A Good Day For Someone Else To Die!"

-- (Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay)

Some milestones in Eve are greater than others and the journey to them is what defines many of us as pilots, pirates, capsuleers. I have achieved a fair few in my time and I now celebrate re-achieving another.

Many moons ago I had busted a mission in progress in a nearby system, a Raven battleship was downed by my Pilgrim, using drones and energy neutralisers. However once the Caldari Battleship went down my drones, in their infinite wisdom, decided it wise to destroy one of the rats, thus ruining my pristine, perfect negative ten security status.

It has been a long time coming but I once again proud to be true Negative Ten:
Kane Rizzel -10.00000000000000

The Hawk and the Worm... Or how Kane feels dirty

As is the always the case, intel of a ship trying to run the static plexes reaches me, a Hawk assault frigate is in the 1/10 DED rated complex. Sitting on my new couch, I peruse the ships in my hangar and choose something a touch... Unconventional:

Worm

Korako 'The Rabbit' Kosakami, Gurista leader, has a particular love for stealing the Caldari's ship designs, souping them up, and turning them on their creators. With the Worm, he has taken the Merlin design so familiar to Caldari pilots and turned it into a defensive powerhouse with increased electronic warfare capabilities.

Special Ability: 50% bonus to Rocket and Light Missile velocity

Caldari Frigate Skill Bonus: 5% shield resistance per level
Gallente Frigate Skill Bonus: 5m3 Drone Bay Capacity per level

It is... Very different from what I normally fly and is not exactly fit to the most common specifications but all in all I thought it would be ideal for what I intended and as is my habit, I intended to introduce it to someone in a violent fashion. The most peculiar thing about this particular Worm is the tank, the fact it doesn't fit a conventional tank means I would be relying on things out of my control to win this fight, but you never know your luck until you try it :)

I warp to the 1/10, he's just about to activate the gate into the second room, I follow with all haste as there's only a small window for me to activate the gate on his key. We both exit warp about two clicks away from each other and I engage, point blank range, rockets fizzing all around, I deploy my tank... A flight of EC-300 ecm drones...






He's hitting me hard, I have no shield buffer, or armour for that fact, I'm relying on the ecm drones to get a jam and some fancy flying on my part.

He's hitting me very hard up close, at 10% shields I hit my afterburner, to gain range and possibly decrease the damage from his rockets, at ten clicks I set orbit, dual webs and scram holding him in place as my speed mitigates some of the damage from his launchers.

My thermal rockets aren't doing much but the EC-300s are starting to do their job, allowing me to regenerate some of my shields. I change to EM rockets and the damage increases, along with the jams, I'm starting to turn the fight, so I move in close again, but he relocks and starts to pulverises my shields, Once again I move out to ten clicks to mitigate the damage.

His tank is failing and I'm at about 50% shields, I decide it's time to finish, the EC-300 drones have another jam cycle and I recall the little beauties... Only to deploy a flight of Warrior IIs to help finish off the last of his shields.

He explodes violently, bits of Hawk littering the plex.

A good fight shared in local and an apology from me for using ECM drones.

Sure I felt dirty, but it was a good fight, a fight in which luck, more so than any other fight, played a very big role and for once I was on the other end of EC-300s :D