Starwalker had recently lost some ships after what had started as a 1v1 but had ended with 1v2 or more. It was both frustrating and normal, it was the nature of the beast in New Eden:
- This Hawk had fallen victim to the combined forces of a Daredevil and Cambion
- This Hawk had fallen victim to the combined forces of a Federation Navy Comet, Incursus and Stabber Fleet Issue
- This Daredevil had fallen victim to the combined forces of an Enyo and Astero. The shame of this fight had been that Starwalker had switched to Null to fight the Enyo at range but when the Astero arrived he switched target but was so close that Null was the wrong choice. The Daredevil exploded just as the Astero was entering structure, with Caldari Navy Antimatter it would have been destroyed
These recent experiences had led Starwalker to question some fits that favoured tank as when being ganked the tank was not really the deciding factor. In those situations, what Starwalker wanted was to be able to kill at least one of the attacking gang before he went down. That required something like a Daredevil or Enyo or even a Merlin for a T1 frigate, something that could put out a tremendous amount of firepower quickly.
It was with that thought in mind that Starwalker had ventured into Syndicate with a Daredevil and when he ran into a Sabre. He knew that a Sabre was rarely alone but he decided to gank it fast. It worked, as the Sabre went into deep armour and then was destroyed before the de-cloaking Falcon got a lock.
Starwalker had reviewed his losses over the previous few months and had noticed that 80% of those losses were in situations where he had lost his ship to two or more attackers. Perhaps he had spent too long in Placid and it was time to contemplate a move to a different region. The problem with that idea was that his main base was at Covryn and it would be painful to move it, even so, something to think about.
Sometimes Starwalker regretted being in space, especially when suffering losses from gate camps. If the gate campers knew what they were doing, were fitted appropriately with fast lock and high alpha, it was almost impossible to survive.
Starwalker waited, hoping to escape, and then decided to crash the gate immediately both times but it didn't work:
- This Daredevil in Black Rise didn't stand a chance. The Daredevil did have one claim to fame before it was destroyed - it caught this pod, without a scrambler. At 2.75 billion ISK that was an expensive pod loss for Maelgar
- This Hawk ran into a smaller camp in Metropolis but did not fare any better and even the pod was caught. The third ship (Legion) in the camp was too slow and didn't get onto the killmail, clearly it was not sensor boosted
Emerging from the clone vat in Covryn, Starwalker upgraded his clone and plugged in a new set of implants. He decided not to undock again as he was feeling a little jaded, perhaps it was time for a holiday.
Starwalker was in space less than usual as his attention was being diverted elsewhere. However, he had recently got himself into a Vexor with the express intent of seeing how he could lose it. After three years in New Eden he had found many ways to lose ships and the Vexor was no exception.
The experiment with the Vexor started out well. He wanted to fly something in the cruiser class and the Vexor was a good ship with a good engagement envelope. That was put to the test when he scanned three frigates in a medium complex: Incursus, Kestrel and Hookbill.
He was soon engaged, with the Incursus and Kestrel in close and the Hookbill kiting from around 20km away. The fight had only just begun when another Incursus came in and a Maulus. Starwalker was liking the odds a little less now but he was committed and so the Kestrel was hammered into wreckage, followed shortly afterwards by the first Incursus.
The Maulus decided to beat retreat as soon as the second Incursus went down. The Hookbill was safely out of scram range and as soon as the Hobogoblins came its way it simply warped away. It had been a good fight and Starwalker was pleased with the outcome.
He was less pleased though being caught on a gate and being fired on by a small gang (Heretic, Dramiel and Taranis) and the rats on the gate. It was a vexed question - fight on the gate or crash it. Starwalker decided to crash the gate but he did not make it. The tank disappeared surprisingly quickly and he started the armour repairer far too late, although that would not have changed the outcome.
The life of that Vexor had been short and sweet and it also reinforced for Starwalker that he liked frigates the best. He had passed far too many single frigates in small complexes where he could not engage and that was far more disappointing and out-weighed the opportunity to engage a small gang solo.
Whilst he would not restrict the type of ships he flew it was still the frigate that held his love and attention. Cruisers and battleships were good for a change but not for his main choice of ship to fly.
