It has been a while. Real life upped the tempo for a bit. Work front, home front, children. New job (back to being an Enterprise Architect) and created a fair dinkum real deal linkedin profile again. Not a fun one for my Eve character. Serious stuff.
Have had some fun mucking around with my writing. The novel story line has progressed significantly, and have actually typed out quite a few chapters. Grammar is as atrocious as ever. Detail. Meh.
Been talking to Pinky. We have a good idea for a book. Like a life guide. But for nerds like us. Not the popular sense of cool nerds. Real nerds. We have not written anything yet. So... anyway, lets see.
Startup wise had some interesting interactions. Met a guy who introduced me to some other guys. Connected really well with one of them. We talked about setting up a consultancy. Its sort of in motion. Showed him the stuff had been working on with Graph data and how to use that for real time modelling of an entire enterprise. At first it was "interesting" then it was actually interesting and then its become an ongoing discussion. Same thing with some VC guys. At first oh thats cute, then "seriously how can we help you" and then "it would be remiss of me to not show this to my investors". Nice. But VC in Australia doesn't work like America. You have to give away major chunks of the company (like 70%+ and for a lot less money. Basicallly remove a zero for the funding at each stage) if your not generating serious revenue. I don't need it atm... would be nice... but dont NEED it. So we are powering on for the moment. But more meetings. See what happens.
Now for what really matters. Eve.
I got pestered by Dirt n Glitter to join them. After being spectacularly dunked by Amarrian Commando's because I dared call out one of the friend corps for supporting pirates that killed my corp members (#CRUORGATE15) and then them not being quite smart enough to get that beating us to death beyond a stiff disciplining would lead to issues, I put the corp on ice after a few key pvp'ers left. It was a case of, oh ok Amarrian super hero's lets see you live up to your claims of being able to do it all on your own. Amarr was in Tier 3 then. It is of course in Tier 1 and at about as bad as it can get now. Right about now would have been a good time to have a new player friendly large serious about plexing corp on Amarr side.... But I guess they are too busy farming Minmatar LP at present to notice. Oh and they are roleplayers. I dont quite know how they justify in their head that they are the real deal Amarr loyalists here but they do.
So joined DnG they then decided to join TEST. I did go out to null sec. It was exactly as I remember. Painful, horrible if you dont have a jump freighter and 3 alts, and if your not in the dominant timezone boring as shit but you coudnt use the time to rat. Mostly I got depressed about the time commitment it takes to do ANYTHING and that the only pvp you could win was large fleet. Everything else I just didnt have the ships, fittings, few guys etc. it takes to have a chance.
Now there was some gudfights in 0.0. Make no mistake. I had some fun, even the times when i died horribly. Like this.
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47249032/
There was even an epic nearly hour long battle on a station with bubbles and snipers and doctrines, where I zipped around in an interceptor just nuking their ECM support ships. After killing like their 10th one I think it got mentioned on their comms because they would warp off if I got closer than 200km from a support ship.
But in the end that's all it was. Gudfites. No real sense of purpose. I was not connected to the vision, the mission of TEST. My time, efforts, thought were not going towards something I genuinely cared about. I don't play this game to pretend I'm in a dogfight simulator.
It just didn't live up to my sense of manifest destiny to crush the Matari's and advance the great work in the name of the one true religion of New Eden.
Back to the Warzone.
Said bye to the temp CEO of DnG. He said he understood. I still love DnG, great guys.
Quit corp.
Wut do?
Well I was going to ask PIE if I could join them. But they had JUST kicked me out of the PIE public channel. No explanation. I had been sucking up to them, pretending their insipidly mild interpretation of the Amarrian faith was enough. I do have a lot of respect for them, their dedication. But they bring a knife to the escalating WH40k weaponisation of ideas fight that is the modern eve memetic battlefield. You are weak old men.
So back to Battlemonks. Swapped CEO from my alt back to me. Yay. I'm CEO of a 1 man corp. Again. Fuck.
Running an eve corp is a LOT like starting a business. You can do it with a lot of money and planning up front.... and thats great... but it can and mostly still will fail. Or you can scrabble around aimlessly trying to be popular and scratch up a few followers until they just get bored or stop remembering to log in. Or. OR you can get to it. Just do what your there to do. Undock. Fight. Engage with your friends. Be the you you wish you were.
This last one, ends up attracting all the things you needed. People, partners, friends, money. Because you are doing already the one thing it is all about. Killing Minmatar.
So I started back to doing that. But mostly focused on grinding up some isk first. I think I've posted a few times how I think Im one of the hardest working lazy isk farmers in low sec. People tend to not believe how much isk can be made just ratting until they follow my instructions. Then, oh shit, screw this pvp thing I can get a dreadnought easy doing this.
So was doing that. Made about 2bn isk just playing very casually logging in for an hour here and there.
The browsing reddit I find I have a new message. Click. Oh not actually just a message. It's a mention of my user name /u/edeity in a post.
Some dude was asking about starting up an Amarr Fac War Corp for AUS timezone.
About 10 people said "talk to edeity".
lol.
Say hi on the reddit post. See what happens.
Guy messages me in game. We have a chat. He seems to not be a dick.
OK lets work together then.
He has a brand new corp for Fac War. I have Battlemonks. I suggest we use Battlemonks just because of the history of it and it has all the reds n blues already sorted. I'm not sure how much infrastructure he thought I already had, but have always run the corp lean to make spies and thieves just quit. Its the drama that kills corps not the isk.
He agrees to this idea. Secretly I'm happy. You always want to see your baby grow up a little each day. Awwww.
Bunch of people from Reddit msg me asking to join as well. OK. This may have legs.
Mooseyman from the post is accepted in to corp and promoted to a director. I give him the Battlemonk new director speech. Tradition of Battlemonks is that a directors decisions is never questioned. Even by me. Its both a freedom and a responsibility. You wanna declare war, shoot anyone, up to you. I'm never going to have the conversation with you to ask why. You decided, thats reason enough for the corp.
The next thing was the Battlemonk Rules Of Engagement. We are not like normal corps when it comes to an ROE. Purple, Blue doesnt mean anything except I maybe, just maybe dont instantly kill you.
The ROE for Battlemonks has always ALWAYS (even when in CVA as part of a Providence alliance) been if someone is not doing their damned hardest to really sincerely show they are there to help and not in anyway be a threat, KILL THEM. Or to put it another way, it is appropriate for fellow members of the 24th Militia to think twice about ever being within scram range of a Battlemonk. A Battlemonk is never asked to provide proof. Their word is all that is required.
That all said, there are positive parts of the corp culture that is very important. #1 We dont lie. #2 We dont scam. #3 We dont Awox for fun. These are important. A Battlemonk will kill you if you displease him, but he will be honest about it and why. This builds trust. Sort of. Very important when your killing militia members when other people in militia are given all sorts of claims about how evil this corp is. No. They know us. We are good, generous, fair and beyond reproach for honesty. But we do kill ppl who do wrong. Its in the damn corp name sunshine. What were you expecting? A bunch of limp wristed roleplayers?
So Mooseyman and our new recruits get settled into our staging system (Arzad) and get used to the locals. PIE has some activity occuring regularly in Arzad as well (where they stage too).
Troops are getting restless. We need to fleet up.
Epic Space Battles
Before Down Time. Mooseyman is all - should we fleet? A bunch of other guys in corp are like yeah lets blow shit up. I'm like yeah yeah sure whatevs man. After DT.
After DT. I do a ratting run, make 100m isk. Head in to Amarr. Mooseyman is getting all antsy. FLET FLET FLET or something like that.
Mooseyman forms a fleet. Battlemonk Fleet. We join. 4 people. He opens it up to militia. One person joins from militia. *sigh* Amarr militia... how low you have fallen.....
Talk in militia of forming a fleet to defend Huola. By this time more Battlemonks have logged in and joined fleet, and the Militia guy has left.
I say in militia channel - "I've got 6 Battlemonks in a fleet do you want us to merge into you?
Usual posturing about who is the cooler FC from militia. This usually triggers an involuntary eye roll response from me. They get organised and then people realise the fleet was set to private.
I link the Battlemonk fleet again in Militia and say well you can just join that one. We are heading to Huola now.
Militia joins en masse.
Now Moosey made the fleet, so he is given the job as FC. First time in Fac War as an FC for him (he did do FC'ing in 0.0 so he is not completely new.... but trust me 0.0 battles and Fac War battles - very dfferent).
As per usual the minmatar are dicking around outshipping, outsnaking, out linking and outnumbering. But thats ok. They have taught me that is the only way they ever fight, and I've learnt you can still win against that. So lets dance heathens.
Mooseyman is bringing the Arzad Battlemonks from well.. Arzad. The new militia fleet members are all in Huola, as am I. We are getting targets of opportunity but no FC here to co-ordinate. Ask Moosey mind if I run it here until you get here, and away we go.
First Blood:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47902485/
And we are off....
Now fleet lasted nearly 3 hours. We got around way past 2 bn Isk in kills for well over 20 ships (less than 30 I think). There were losses, including our links ship. But over all we were ahead in both numbers killed and isk by many multiples. Damn fun fleet.
Notable kills:
A PIMP Loki: https://zkillboard.com/kill/47904140/
Tornado trying to save the Loki: https://zkillboard.com/kill/47904149/
A succubus I didnt even realise I killed https://zkillboard.com/kill/47904401/
The loki was funny.
After obliterating the Minmatar in Huola and what few remained running away we went for a roam. Played around. Lost one ship to an elegant bait Harpy trap in Tarraran (everyone was amazed we didnt lose more) and created a new bait Algos doctrine that we proved never works but is a good idea on paper.
I think we got a few random kills. I know I killed a condor at one point because he thought dicking around with a sentinel was gonna be a cool safe thing to do. Or he was asleep. Who knows.
Then someone says hey the Minmatar would have respawned in Huola by now. LETS DO THIS. So it was best speed back to Rousharz.
Huola scouts identify Minmatar are being dicks with logis and cruisers and curses. No chance for us. Or is there!
By this stage Moosey man had stepped down as FC after loosing his links ship and 2 frigs - but it was confirmed he definitely brought the fights and fleet did very well under him. This morning he was still logged in to eve, and I just talked to him about an hour ago and he was all "I think I fell asleep with eve open man". There are Orca wrecks in the belts in Arzad this morning... didnt feel like asking if they were his (he has this thing about mining in one of the heaviest pvp traffic systems in low sec).
So I was now in charge and telling people what to do which is always good fun.
So matari dicks. No chance.... OR CHANCE TO BE AWESOME.
I devised a clevar plan. I want to split off their ships but give enemy sense of control and dominance. Split our fleet into 2.
Frigates jumped into Rousharz, sitting on the gate to Huola at optimals. "THIS IS WHERE THE FIGHT WILL HAPPEN" in my best epic action movie speech voice.
Destroyers warp to the small where the Minmatar cruisers are outside. At 70. Align back to Rousharz gate. Warp to gate when they are within 50 of you.
Some stuff happened. Friendlies flew in the middle of the mexican standoff. Someone fucked up and died. Cruisers started approaching. Destroyer fleet warped to Rousharz.
....
...
Minmatar would not follow.
SONOFA.
Talk on Team Speak for a few minutes about how they just wont fight willingly unless every single odd is in their favour, rant rant rant.
A loki flies past our fleet, neutral, into Huola.
"Gate Activation"
"Loki just jumped back into you guys" - one of the destoyers on Huola side.
pfft. They are using Loki links.
Loki decloaks.
Yellow boxes me.
Lewl. As if. I can just jump the gate. I know hes not stupid enough to shoot at me.
Loki fires.
"ENGAGING LOKI ENGAGING LOKI. LOKI HAS RED BOXED. ALL ON LOKI."
Now I can understand his plan. I fly pimp as fuck ships. This is known. Not always, but regularly.
Im in a sentinel. The easiest to alpha ship like ever. High sig radius. No tank. Lowest ehp tech 2 in the game I think.
He is in a Loki, that is obviously now not a links loki but a full DPS monster ship. It is also from a tank and dps perspective immune to energy netralising from my sentinel.
But I dont fit my Sentinels like normal people do. Mine is made for tank.
I tackle the loki.
"LOKI TACKLED I HAVE TACKLE"
overheat neuts.
Tracking disruptor on.
One of our frigates holding tackle on him gets popped. I have closed the range (he got some distance) and re-applied my tackled just as the tackler goes boom. I think it was Mooseyman who had just joined us back.
Loki shields are 1/3 gone.
Shit. We may actually get this guy.
"War Target Tornado jumping in to Rousharz"
Shit. As in real shit.
I channel Red Five - stay on target.
"Hes Repping"
Ii realise my neut pressure must be doing something because his reps are sporadic. Like they would be if he only got cap when his cap booster cycled.
"War Target Tornado 60km off"
"dont worry I got it. Tackling."
"Tornado tackled"
I swap my TD to the tornado and swap from range script to tracking speed script.
"Loki is in armour"
a bit of cheering on comms.
"He's going down"
he gets a few more shield reps off and then his hull starts going all red.
Boom.
"All on Tornado"
that one was a lot quicker.
So all up the epic trap to bait the Matari fleet didnt work. But it did sucker a neutral Loki and his Matari Fac War alt into thinking he could stomp us and getting a bad surprise.
We then docked, repaired, had only lost a few cheap frigates and were back out in space in about 5 minutes virtually patting ourselves on the shoulder and omg the loot THE LOOT.
Within about 15 mins we got another big brawl outside a plex. So many ships, we left the field.
I only got out by skin of teeth. I was tackled, neuted by a curse and being hammered by drones. Now normally this is when you gg. But it was late, I was tired, and just did the actions by rote. Align celestial. Try get distance by slow boating. Watching armour disappear at alarming rate. Don't scream. Cant activate MWD, no cap. Press warp button. Disrupted. Repeat over and over.
Then WTF I have cap?
Gap in neut cycles of curse and my super fast enhanced cap regen gave me enough to get one MWD mouse click to work. Pull range. Disrupt disappears. Click warp. FUCK YEAH.
Masturbate furiously for 2 hours straight. Ok no I didnt do that. But it was a close call. We still came out isk positive even in that fight.
Everyone is laughing and going hells yeah good fleet.
Disband. Go to bed.
So all in all, not a bad first battlemonk fleet with help from the rest of post DT Amarr Militia. Big thanks for support and following our FCs Mooseyman and me, edeity. Dun good. Played strong.
Well thats it for this blog post. My goal in these things is to give a bit more than the usual blogs about spaceships - I like to give insight into the doubts, concerns, motivations, lack of knowledge. Eve pvp is not a simple thing - its part of your whole life. I guess I'm trying to show here that the mighty fleet that blew up all those tough bastards is actually just put together by people a lot like you and they have similar stresses, limitations and doubts that you have. This is what makes eve cool - that it really is real, its just part of what you do - some because you have to and some because you want to.
Until next time I feel the urge to write some crap.
PAX AMARR BITCHEZ.
On a separate note, did I mention
HOLY AMARRIAN BATTLEMONK IS RECRUITING.
