The funny thing is, I didn't really have much time to play Eve yesterday. I hopped on at lunch for about thirty minutes and then again in the evening for maybe an hour or so. Which is exactly the kind of scenario that benefits the Pirate Lord's casual play style. I decided to just hop into my new Wolf fit that I've been working out and warp around the neighborhood and see what kind of trouble I could get myself into. What unfolded is one of the best days I've had in Eve in a long time.
Fight #1 - Jackdaw
Stay Frosty kills a LOT of Jackdaws. We have a couple of pilots who have become rather skilled and proficient at popping these ships. The Jackdaw has become the de facto choice for pilots running those Left Hooks, Reprisal, Dead Man plexes in Low Sec. The damn ships are everywhere and they are notoriously difficult to catch. They sit about 150k off the button and they warp away immediately. Usually.
This one was sitting right on the button. At least he fought back, most of the time they just curl up into a fetal position and wait to die.
Fight #2 - Tristan
I gotta give Rima credit here for trying. This is the kind of fight I like to get myself into, so total respect for giving this a shot. It isn't as crazy as it sounds on paper. The MWD driven Tristan is fast, has drones (something my Wolf doesn't have), and is an accomplished kiting ship choice. Given the right circumstances and the right target this fight might have gone the other way. In fact, it was a bit tricky. Luckily my Wolf is also extremely fast. Surprisingly so.
Fight #3 - Jackdaw, Jaguar, Merlin, and Garmur
For some reason zKill is lumping an earlier Jackdaw kill that my corpmate FireSequence scored into that Battle Report. What happened was that Fire entered a plex to attack that Jackdaw (which he exploded nicely) and when I landed on the gate I was pointed by a Merlin. This Merlin was the vanguard scout of the Jag and Garmur pilots who would show up shortly. So I stuck on the gate killing the Merlin while he was inside killing the Jack.
That's when I saw another Jack on scan at another plex and warped over to say hello. And that's when the Merlin's buddies decided to join in. So I was already engaged with the Jackdaw, who was fighting back to his credit, when the Jag and then the Garmur landed. Ok, fine. I knew, based on experience, that the Jack would explode pretty quickly, so I focused fire on him while also trying to position myself for the Jag next. I also needed to keep an eye on the Garmur to figure out what kind of Garmur it was. He started pulling range, so I figured he was probably the light missile version.
I love the Jaguar. But it has a flaw or two. The DPS is not awesome and it usually comes shield boosted, so charges are an issue eventually. The tank can be amazing, especially when combined with the ADC. But eventually it can become paper thin to incoming dps. I have to admit here that this fight was not looking good for your friendly neighborhood Pirate. The Jag's tank was holding and mine was slowing failing. I finally had to admit to myself that my Wolf had seen her last fight and the best thing I could do was try and save my pod. I OH'd everything and aligned out. Spamming the warp button. Waiting for death.
And I did warp out, except I wasn't in my pod.
I was in my Wolf!! 2% STRUCTURE LEFT!!!!
The Jaguar had exploded and the Garmur was probably holding his point to try and snag my pod, so I warped away because I was aligned already! EPIC!
The Garmur pilot called it luck in local. I'll take it. The God's know it often works against me.
Fight #4 - A Comet, Another Comet, and an Atron
You'll notice that the Atron above doesn't have a link. That's because it didn't die. That's right true believers, they finally got me. Turns out that three incoming blaster ships DPS is what it takes to explode my epic Wolf. But just barely and by the smallest of margins. In fact, given one more volley from my guns, I think the Atron would have been the one exploding. That is how close it was. (See above about "luck". The wheel turns for all of us.)
Still, a great fight. And I learned a few things that I will perfect further in the next generation. Perfection awaits!
Fight #5 - The Gila
Warping my pod back to station I couldn't help but notice the Gila on scan. I waited at the undock and did a quick scan. Sure enough, there was a Gila in a belt. To be fair I grabbed my own Gila and undocked to go say Hello. I didn't know it then but the poor Gila ratting in that belt had zero chance of living. We learn these things afterwards. Still, I got to use my Gila. That's a win.
Fight #6 - The Executioner
I have a lot of ships. Many times, when people retire from Eve they will contract me their ships so that they can be used in combat. (Always remember the Pirate Lord accepts donations and all ships, mods, and ammo will be used in combat by a certified Stay Frosty pilot!) I don't fly Executioners very often but I seem to have three of them fitted in my hangar. So I grabbed one and undocked to fight the Executioner in the Novice. What I didn't notice until I landed in the Plex was that this ship had an AB fitted... and not the MWD I was expecting.
As you would expect, that fight did not go well for me.
Fight #7 - The Executioner
Just to end this epic day on the right note, I did remember to fit a MWD on my Slicer! This wasn't an easy fight, but the pulse MWD slingshot trick worked and the enemy Executioner exploded nicely. I did manage to win that isk war in that exchange. My Executioner was worth about 4m and theirs was more like 15m.
Always remember kids, never take the second fight.
And Stay Frosty!