So what is so special about another Incursus being exploded? It happens all the time, so what makes this fight one of the best 1v1 encounters I've had in awhile?
I left the fight by the skin of my teeth, 6% structure left, on fire, half my mods burned to a crisp and my hands trembling. That alone is not unusual, close fights are awesome, but this one went beyond even that measurement.
The other day I decided to fit up another Hookbill, and this time I'd forgo my usual shield based fits and try something new. I had fought a few HBs that had been armor fit and I wanted to give that a try. Something new. I had the fit I liked so I just needed to find some trouble to get into with it. A new fit is like a new girlfriend, you are excited but also fearful about what you might be getting yourself into. What new level of crazy is this going to be?
Funny thing is I almost didn't undock. I'd already lost a INS and a Comet earlier, that little voice told me it was probably time to log off and be happy with the eight kills I'd already notched. Needless to say I don't often listen to that little voice.
I almost missed him. He was sitting in a Plex near a gate I was jumping, I always spam d-scan while in warp, and I quickly cancelled my jump. Sure enough, Incursus in the plex. I knew who it was, there were only a few people in local. At this point I had to make certain assumptions, Incursus in a Plex typically means blaster fitted, dual-rep armor tanked beast. So I loaded CN Nova to start and a tracking speed script into my TD. I'd have to be ready to adapt those choices on further information, but it was a good starting place based on the law of averages.
I landed about 20k from him inside the plex. Well out of range of my webs and scram. Already on heat I started burning, already the rockets were hitting him but not doing as much damage as they should have. Within the first few seconds you know a lot if you are paying attention. He wasn't running away, so he was prepared for a fight and the sight of me in a HB didn't cause him to turn tail and run. That meant he felt some level of confidence, which is excellent. Second he wasn't blaster fitted, since his rails were tearing into me already. This put me in serious jeopardy, since I had initially guessed wrong. I'd need to make some changes if I was going to live.
At this point I was seriously losing the fight. The new HB fit was untested, so I wasn't confident in how it would perform. But as long as you are still alive, you ain't dead. This is where many younger pilots make critical errors. The fight is never lost as long as your ship is still intact. Manage your position, your mods, your heat and get the most out of your ship that you can.
I decided to stop burning for a chance to use my dual webs, and switch to a kiting position. My poor AB was already feeling the heat, but I started to pull range. At this moment I switched to Nova Javelins and switched out the speed script for an optimal range one. This started to increase the amount of dps I was doing to him and decrease the amount he was doing to me. I used my webs a few quick times to keep him at range, but essentially we seemed to be rather even on speed.
I lost my AB as it finally sputtered and died. But now it was down to the numbers. His tank was dropping fast, but so was mine. Luckily my damage control was better than his damage control and with mere slivers of tank left, his ship was the one that exploded.
We exchanged good fights in local. He was as surprised as I was. There were several moments in that one fight that it seemed he had me dead to rights. But in the end, the constant manual changes, mod manipulation, and heat management, won the day by the barest of margins. The armor fit, while not my favorite due to its cumbersome agility and speed limitations, proved to be a tough nut to crack.
Good fight.