Voices From The Void: Episode 6

Check it out!

News Update

If you're reading this, it's an article that I've posted on Eve News 24, which is back up for now.

I want to say, first and foremost, this is not some sort of “We’re back and this time for good” kind of thing. The news is back on. Let stick with that for now.

Been a fun last month and a half for all you news addicts out there. For those of you in the know, a few major news happenings have gone unreported, and I’d like to catch you up.

Drone Alliance Stopped at Tribute’s Door

Lets talk about the Drone Alliance Invasion first. Anyone who has the ability to load up dotlan(or the ingame map for that matter) has realized that the regions of Geminate and Vale of the Silent have fell to the Drone Alliance forces. R.A.G.E is down to about a thousand people, from a high of four thousand only a month ago. The alliance is dying quite quickly, but the only question left is if they’ll go all the way to disbanding. I think not, but it’s too early to tell.

Majesta is, as of this article still holding strong(they’ve only lost a third of their players so far), and I get the feeling they’ll be deploying elsewhere as an additional feint sometime soon. Basing out of Curse, they could do some real damage to the Drone Russian Federation heartland, and while the Charlie Foxtrot is hitting Cobalt Edge periodically, it could cause the Drone Alliance to start prioritizing defenses. This also assumes Against All Authorities is going to stop in Detorid, and if they face absolutely no resistance there, they have no reason to stop.

As for the Tribute battles, the stalemate has commenced. While the Drone Alliance has had some serious successes in the individual battles, they’ve lost or refused to engage during the important ones. No stations have been successfully won by the Drone Alliance. This is in large part due to the interference of the CF coalition from the west. Now that they’ve stalled their forward momentum, the DA is turning inward and consolidating their new acquisitions.

RaidenDOT, Red Alliance, and Solar seem to’ve split up Geminate already. The systems have settled down. Pandemic Legion doesn’t appear to be gaining any permanent space in this conflict. Any systems they’ve taken have been given over to the other players. Looks like they’re only in it for the money and the killmails, as only PL would be. Even NCDOT looks to be gaining some space in Vale of the Silent, which looks to be split mostly between White Noise and RaidenDOT.

The Effects of the War In the North

Now these movements all mean a number of other things in regard to the actors involved. NCDOT has mostly abandoned Providence, which sees a resurgent CVA taking space once more. White Noise has abandoned it’s Tenerifis holdings and is putting up at best a token defense of it’s core Detorid space. They’ve gone all in on Vale, and if the tide turns, they’ll be without space quite quickly. Taking it back will require all their force, since they’d be facing a combined AAA/Stainwagon force, which they could conceivably beat back, but not very quickly.

As White Noise loses it’s space in the south, the allies of AAA find themselves gaining more than just a foothold, with whole constellations being doled out. Formerly minor powers are quickly establishing themselves as mid-majors in the bid to be noticed when more space gets handed out. There’s movement, but without the resistance of WN or the greater DRF, it’s mostly peaceful.

The NCDOT/Evoke feint in Pure Blind, has been successfully beaten. At no point was it more than a distraction, but if you lived in Vale or Geminate under the NC, it was a successful one. NCDOT has been participating fully in the DRF invasion lately.

RED.OverLord has an Executor Corp Now!

RED.OverLord has finally set a new executor corp as well, after the previous one was completely banned from the game in the wake of the Big Bas scandal. This is pretty good news for anyone who’s been wanting standings set during the Tenerifis and Detorid war.

Everything Else

So that’s where we stand now, if you live in Delve and Querious, I apologize, but the only accurate descriptor for your conflicts are “shitty little wars”. When that heats up, or some of the more major players get involved, fine. But for now, we’ll let that go.

So now you’re up to date, and you’ll have some context for the next news story to come across your desk in the next few days. If you’ve got a tidbit of information(Battle Reports, Other kinds of news) you want to share, message me ingame at Hallan Turrek, and I’ll run with it.

Voices From The Void: Episode 5

I'd like to direct you to the latest podcast, and the parody song contained within. Enjoys.

Oh, and read my post on this page(it's about three or four posts down), I'm a fucking prophet. 2 1/2 months ago and I had this whole war pegged. Also, Majesta Forum dump. Love those guys, but seriously Trina screwed 'em hard and good.

What is this, I don't even

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind
Just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there is no hiding place against the kingdoms throne
The Impressions - People Get Ready

So. This new little things patch is another nerf to 0.0 life. I'm not calling it a good or a bad thing, but I am pointing it out.

Now you might be asking... "What are you talking about Hallan, heck, now we can find anomolies in 10 seconds and from anywhere in the solar system!". Guess who else can find them? The red that just jumped his interceptor into system. This, coupled with the true sec nerf has really hit the anomaly runners hard. As if it wasn't bad enough to only have one Sanctum in certain systems, now if you're trying to run it, you'll be tackled in 30 seconds when a red enters system.

Don't forget the true sec nerf either, this is coming very shortly after most of Null-Sec became terrible for running anomalies.

I like this all of this to a point(for entirely selfish reasons). I gave up running anomolies a long time ago, because they were too easy to find. Now they're even easier... and I know the profit margins haven't gone up. Now if you're lost among the Hubs or whatever, you'll probably have time enough to get away. If you're planning on running Sanctums, you're in more danger than if you were in an asteroid belt. Havens are about equally as dangerous as belts. Only they take much longer to finish off.

So now you have to pay attention, there is no other option. This is good and bad, as that's how it's sorta supposed to be. If you don't pay attention to local, you deserve to get killed. This also kills any safety Carriers had. They better be fucking aligned and paying goddamned attention, or they will get tackled and die. End of story.

So is this good or bad? It's neutral. People will still do the stupid stuff, and they'll still die. Now they'll die more often, and hopefully it'll only be my enemies and neutrals, and not my blues.

But how often does that work out?

The other half of the spectrum is the boost to mission runners. The reduction of agent types to just 3, with combat, mining, and courier... that removes some of the more serious barriers to entry in missioning. You want to mine? You can mine. You want to run couriers? Go ahead.

You want endless combat missions? Go for it.

If that wasn't enough, there's no difference between agents of similar level. If you could run any level 4's before, you can run all of them now. And you get paid like you're running for Quality 20.

CCP's been listening to the "it's too easy in 0.0" arguments. Made by the same people who run level 4 missions all day long under the protection of Concord.

0.0 just got punked by a bunch of carebears.

Other important changes include the blueprint copy changes(you can tell them apart now! Amazing! Even the devblog wonders why they weren't always like this). Oh, and simplier social skills. Awesome.

The one thing in this patch that was certifiably awesome(having bookmarks on the overview), got pushed back to the next patch.

Voices From The Void: Episode 4

Episode 4 is out. Check it out!

And on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPGHrg2jz3I

Why CCP Should Fix Jump Bridges Even As They Nerf Them

Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up
R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

So if you came here expecting anything other than the name of the post, you'll probably be rewarded.

I rant sometimes.

Lets begin.

For anyone who is unaware of how jump bridges work, lemme break it down for you. In order to use a jump bridge, you need to know the POS password of the POS it's next too. Now, that don't make any goddamned sense, but bear with me.

This means you need to have at least one POS in the system with a public password. Jump Bridges don't let you through if you don't have the right standings, but you still need a password. There is no option to just allow standings to determine who uses it. That's pretty fucked up when you consider the scale some alliances work on, but bearable, since Jump Bridges do allow logistics to be incredibly easy.

Jump Bridges also cost 300 million per month per system. Particularly complicated networks cost billions. This is also bearable, since for 300 million a month, you can connect to two systems at once, and are afforded incredibly easy logistics. Anyone else starting to see a pattern here?

Cyno Jamming costs 600 million a month. That's effing expensive, but worth it on a high value system. Jump Bridges allow you to get capitals in that are friendly, without needing to turn off the Cyno Jamming. This is an incredibly useful and very common sense approach. If you're friendly, I should be able to let your capitals into my system.

So, CCP naturally says that Jump Bridges are too easy, and nerf them. Now, let me be clear, jump bridges needed a change, and this is a far cry from how far I thought they were going to go, but come on CCP: You need to wake up. You want to nerf JB's: fine. But in the same patch, in the same goddamned patch, you need to fix all of the issues with POS's, standings, and the like.

If you're going to nerf things, fix these things too:

1: Allow Jump Bridge owners the option of allowing for no password.
2: Allow POS's to allow people inside based on standings alone.
3: Allow jumping to Cyno Beacons in Cynojammed systems.
4: If you're halving the number of available Jump Bridges in any system upgraded for them, half the cost of the upkeep too. (Seriously, this is a "duh" moment if there ever was one).

Do that, AND nerf jump bridges the way you outlined, and you and I don't have a problem CCP.

With this following on the heels of the True Sec nerf, you need to give the 0.0 guys something or they will be out for blood. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This is a long time coming... all of it.

Voices From The Void: Episode 3

Here she is. Enjoy.

ENN will be on hold until EN24 comes back up. I cover the news pretty well in VandV.

Guide: Fitting Tackle

You really had me going
Wishing on a star
The black holes that surround you
Are heavier by far
Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

First of all, the main role of pointing frigates in combat is to do just that, point. Not put on additional ewar, not to DPS(although a few fits can point and DPS), and not to try to slow down targets. You can do stuff like that, but that's not what this guide is about. I'll probably include links to some very good guides on transversal and piloting interceptors later, for now, I'll add comprehensive fittings.

They can try to tank damage, speed tank damage, or both. Staying still is a death sentence. Trying to tackle a Vaga/Cynabal/Stabber Fleet Issue is suicide. Beware of Hurricanes, beware of big drone boats with neuts. Beware of other frigates on the field. Beware of snipers sitting 100k away. Beware of bombs with your MWD running. You job is to point anything that can't kill you, and hold it until it's either dead, or pointed by someone else.

Lets talk a bit about the various sub-roles in tackling. Namely: Fast Long Point, Tanked Long Point, and Tanked Short Point.

Fast Long Point

The point range bonus interceptors are ideal for pointing from range(shocking, I know) and very little tanking is expected/required. These ships are useful in catching a bomber... or certain utility ships.... something that poses little threat to frigate sized ships, but is hard to catch.

Amarr

[Malediction, Fast Long Point]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Overdrive Injector System II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Sensor Booster II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
Salvager I

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


One of the faster and coolest looking frigates in the game... you will love flying this. The faction MWD(Coreli C-Type) is in the 20 million range, so it will double the value of the ship should you choose to get it. It will make you cap stable, but this lasts for 10 minutes without it. Don't worry about shooting anything in this, the rockets are just for show(and drones). The sensor booster will let you target out to overloaded point range(36 kilometers), which is important. Leave it unscripted, cause the extra range from the script doesn't help you. More scan resolution does(if only a little bit).

Gallente

[Ares, Fast Long Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Sensor Booster II
Warp Disruptor II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Salvager I
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I


Remarkable lack of Nano's on this, since it's main selling point is all that structure. Work around that, and you still have an incredibly fast ship with low sig radius and an ok EHP. Most of the same things that applied for the Malediction apply here as well. Same deal with the faction MWD, where this all lasts 8 minutes instead of 10.

Matari


[Claw, Paper Tiger]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Warp Disruptor II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I

This ship does not have the natural resistances to armor tank, it does not have the CPU to effectively harden it to armor tank, it has 4 low slots, but not enough fitting to make it do anything other than go VERY fast. The roles of the two Matari 'ceptors are reversed, with the long pointing version having a decent tank but being comparably slow... while the one without a point range bonus is faster than any other non-faction frigate.

Caldari

[Raptor, Fast Long Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II
Sensor Booster II

75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Gremlin Rocket

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

This one tries to do everything, and is ok at all of it. Not great though, and for a specialized ship, that sucks. Can DPS from outside normal point range(if only just barely) which none of the rest can effectively do, EHP is low, and speed is lower too. You'll find that Raptor is the least suited ship to the tackling role. If you trained Caldari Frigate 5, use the Crow.

Long Tanked Point

Interceptors without that long point range can be fitted to tank decently, and should be... they're ideally suited for ships that could pose a threat to frigate sized ships, things that aren't Vagas/Cynabals or Snipers at range. Something like a Hurricane, or an assault missile fitted drake. You hold the ship for just long enough to get the gang in.

Amarr

[Crusader, Tanked Point]
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

Tanks well, and can put out mediocre, DPS. It's also incredibly fast for such a ship with a plate on it, so it's got that going for it.

Gallente

[Taranis, DPS Frigate]
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Warp Disruptor II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
1MN Afterburner II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


Hobgoblin II x2

The Taranis is not a ship for the faint of heart, you'll see many other more conservative fits floating around, and if you want to try one, go for it. I fly the Taranis for the rush, and you'll get that and more out of this. It's the fit I used to get this kill. So take from that what you will. You pick your targets carefully. This one is set to point at range, while the one I used to kill the drake had a scram. I just pulled in real tight and scrammed him, while still running the AB. It's fast... and if it isn't on fire, you're not flying it right. On this fit, the AB will be used when you want to apply DPS to a target. Otherwise MWD and stay the hell away.

Matari

[Stiletto, Best Long Point]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Sensor Booster II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
[empty high slot]

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I





This ship is fast for it's tanking ability. One of the harder ships to shake off, this is the go to ship for a longer point that can hold it's target for a while. The added bonus here is that the ship can point and tank from outside of t2 heavy neut range... making it the best choice for pointing, period. The fitting is incredibly tight, and if you need to drop the guns, go for it. Shooting stuff is not your job.

Caldari

[Crow, Fast Tanked]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Medium Shield Extender II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

A bit like the claw, but without the point bonus. If you want to fly an Interceptor, and you're caldari specced, this is the only real option for you. That said, it's one of the better ones in this role... nice tank, pretty fast.

Tanked Short Point.

Finally, Assault ships come in two flavors... DPS and Tanky. However, each of the races has a different way of doing it's job. This is where scrams will be used, and in some cases webs. Webs have been optional for a long time, but where used they can be very useful(Since the MWD changes that made scrams shut them down). These ships, once they achieve point, aren't going anywhere, because they're probably pointed too. Be damn sure your gang is ready to help you. These are ideally suited for tackling bigger and dangerous ships, the kind most frigates shy away from.

Amarr

[Vengeance, Immovable Object]
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Damage Control II
Small 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

Small Nosferatu II
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I



This ship is slow. I mean REALLY slow. It's the only one fitted with a MWD, because without it, it wouldn't even catch half of the battleships out there. You'll be burning hard with MWD on, probably overloaded, and once you get the target in scram and web range, hold him there. Your tank is impressive, and really your job is to sit on a BS and make sure he goes nowhere until the gang gets there. I don't particularly like the ship, but tanking over 100 DPS a second is going to last you a long time. Sadly, this is for single targets, more than one or two, and it'll be easily overwhelmed. I suggest you leave this one in the hangar and pick something else.


Gallente

[Ishkur, TankyTackle]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Scrambler II
1MN Afterburner II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I

Hobgoblin II x5

The Gallente Option is actually the DPS assault ship. However, it's a doozy... probably the best non-faction frigate in the game, the Ishkur is a dangerous boat. It's one fatal flaw, and what makes it less than ideal for "fast" tackle, is that when fully tanked out, it turns like the Titanic. As is the case with any heavily armor tanked frigate, you lose part of the point of having a frigate(align speed). In this fit, you'll ride in like a fucking Valkerie, point something, and put on significant DPS while the gang gets there. Just be sure not to overshoot the target, cause you align about half as fast as a BS. Also be sure not to kill it till everyone else gets on the killmail(JK, you're flying a brick for a reason).

Matari

[Jaguar, Tanky Point]
Power Diagnostic System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Medium Shield Extender II
Invulnerability Field II
1MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II

125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Small Nosferatu II

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


The Jag: A shield tanker who can run a small gisti B-type shield booster indefinitely(not that we will be doing that) with decent base resists. Faster than the other options as well(as expected since it's a shield tanking Minmatar ship), but not many people's first choice. With this fit, you can scram the target, and comfortably wait until the cows come home before you need to worry about dying. The NOS allows you to keep running the AB and point even if you're neuted all the way down(it'll kill the invuln, but you've still got impressive EHP without it).

Caldari

[Harpy, Tanky Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II

Photon Scattering Field II
Medium Shield Extender II
1MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I



The Harpy is a shield tanked Ishkur, basically. It's a bit faster, and can put out respectable DPS on it's targets. This is a nice balanced ship, which doesn't excel in any of it's strengths, but comes close.


Conclusion

Some notes: a lot of these ships assume you have near perfect fitting skills. Some of the shield boats will need shield upgrades 5 in order to work(or a 1%/3% CPU implant). You can do named modules to fix some of these problems, it's up to you.

Spring the extra 30 mill or so for implants: "Zor's Custom Navigation Hyper-Link" will give you a 5% bonus to MWD or AB speed boosts. "Hardwiring - Eifyr and Co. 'Rogue' CY-1" will give a 3% boost to your ship velocity. Neither are incredibly expensive, and they equal aproximately 10% of speed increase above 5000 M/S. 5000 becomes 5500, which is an impressive yield for the price of the implants. Less than that, is still viable, and the implants help all ships you fly as well. They've been part of my standard implant set for a year. I'm probably increasing the price of them just by posting about them. Oh well.

Again, these are just one component of a successful gang, you need other ships fufilling the other roles, or these fall flat on their face. Taranis/Ishkur/Harpy aside, these are not solo boats, and will die if they get caught alone.

On stacking penalties: Increases to base speed are multiplied by the MWD. This is important on ships that rely on speed, because it means that the stacking penalties(if another overdrive only adds 20 M/S for example, it's going to be multiplied by at least 5, and perhaps more depending on your skills/implants) are less of a big deal. Still, if the next module only adds 5 M/S or .1 align time, you're probably wasting a slot.

V and V: Episode 2 and Eve News Now: Episode 22

This week's Voices From The Void.

And Eve News Now.