3 April 2013

Win Some Lose Some

New Eden gives and takes away. On any single day Starwalker has no idea whether it will be filled with good fights, easy kills, losses or long fruitless hunts. He had set out in Caldari Navy Hookbill confident that this ship had good range control capability by virtue of its speed and web.

[Caldari Navy Hookbill, Double MSE]

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II


Medium Shield Extender II
Medium Shield Extender II
1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator


Rocket Launcher II,Scourge Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Scourge Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Scourge Rage Rocket


Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Bay Loading Accelerator I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I



Starwalker had also elected to fit this ship with a double medium shield extender. Normally he opted for gank over tank but he was feeling in an experimental mood and wanted to try it out. This cyno-ship was hardly a test but it did show that the tank was very capable against the sentry fire. The Vengeance spotted in a complex would be more of a test and Starwalker decided to engage.

The Hookbill established range of around 7km and hammered away with its rockets but quite frankly the Vengeance seemed to be tanking the damage fine. Starwalker was considering whether to leave when a Talwar jumped in and immediately targeted his Hookbill. It was time to leave.

Starwalker aligned to the sun and overheated his afterburner but instead of gaining range he ended up moving closer to the Vengeance. He had not actually checked their relative positions first and this mistake allowed the Talwar time to establish a secondary point. The Hookbill's rockets were redirected to the Talwar but it was a futile attempt to take one down with him and the Hookbill exploded.

A short while later Starwalker was out in his Tristan and killed yet another cyno-ship.

[Tristan, 200mm SAAR]

Damage Control II
200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II


1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator


Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S


Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I


Hobgoblin II x5
Warrior II x3


He had elected to redefine this build with more tank on the basis that it was too slow to establish range control. Therefore the intent was to tank the incoming damage whilst the drones did their work. The Merlin on scan at the complex would be a tough customer but Starwalker warped in anyway. The Merlin simply tore through his shields and overwhelmed the small ancillary armour repairer. The Tristan tried to gain some range but failed and it was wrecked by sheer firepower overcoming the tank, even with a T2 200mm plate providing some buffer.

Undeterred, Starwalker undocked in his Hawk, which also sported a heavier tank than usual with an MSE and medium ancillary shield booster. He found this Algos - ratting, which was the first ship he had found and caught ratting in a long time. Finally, he decided to return to base and just as he was about to dock he noticed a Navitas on scan at the medium complex, it was perhaps the same Navitas that he had chased earlier and had taunted him in local.

Whilst Starwalker had ignored the taunts then he had remembered the pilot's name and when he warped in it was indeed the same pilot. The Hawk landed on top of the Navitas and it was destroyed very quickly - it wasn't even fitted with any modules. The pilot, Laila Vemane, cried "noooo" in local and Starwalker smiled to himself.



No comments:

Post a Comment