Celestis Cruiser Kill

The Rifter banked smoothly around the asteroid belt and shot forward as the warp drive kicked in. A strange rattling noise emanated from the right side and Starwalker looked at the control panel for any sign of fault. Nothing showed but then again it seemed like only half the controls were working at all. A mental note was made to actually pay for real repairs and replace some of the duct tape with real nano welded plates.

The Rifter dropped out of warp to find a Celestis cruiser dealing with some pirates and Starwalker decided to help... himself to the loot. After all, the pilot – Kevin Bois – was too busy shooting pirates and collecting the loot would save him the trouble. The first two wrecks gave up some trinkets and Starwalker decided to say “Hello” by targeting and orbiting the Celestis at 600m. The Celestis targeted the Rifter – hello! So Starwalker waited expectantly for the Celestis to open fire. Nothing happened. Starwalker waited longer but still nothing, perhaps the Rifter was too close?

The last wreck was some 20km away so Starwalker decided to tempt the Celestis by getting further away and so headed to the wreck to collect the remaining loot. The Celestis opened fire just as the loot was taken and so it turned red – the fight was on. Starwalker checked the damage report and noticed that the excellent hit had done virtually nothing to the shields, so it was time to move in for the kill. The Rifter sped back towards the Celestis, manually piloted to just one side, to have at least some traversal velocity. Quickly the distance closed and Starwalker applied the lock, guns and scramble as the Rifter settled into orbit with the afterburner going.

It was clear very quickly that the Celestis really wasn’t doing any damage and was going to go down. The Rifter circled its victim with guns blazing away and rockets slamming into the cruiser and the little red bars went through shield, armour and structure. The Celestis exploded (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10057191). Starwalker looked through the cruiser wreckage and noted the slim pickings, perhaps the repairs would have to be done later.

It was also obvious why the cruiser had done so little damage – the high slots had a railgun, miner, salvager and missile launcher. This ship fit was a classic case of trying to create a general purpose fit that is consequently no good at anything. Starwalker made a mental note to not repeat that mistake and always to fit for a specific purpose.

Party in Poinen

The Prey in Poinen had given a good fight and the Rebels chatted in local still warm from the glow of victory. Tomba came on in chat very disappointed that he had missed the fun through real life commitments, especially as he was one of the first to see Pain in Poinen. He was eager to rejoin the fleet just in case there was any more action. He got lucky - it wasn’t over.

A Maller cruiser suddenly appeared at the stargate and Starwalker was so surprised that he accidently hit the jumped through the gate rather than approaching the Maller. That mistake was quickly rectified and the battle was on as lock, scramble and guns were applied. The call went to other rebels that the Maller, piloted by Doktor Farlig, was pointed. Surely Doktor Farlig was running out of ships lose?

As Rebels arrived on the scene so did two Ravens piloted by Imperial Damnation and uneX86. These same guys were back again for round two – they really were gluttons for punishment! It wasn’t long before the Maller exploded (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045425). Starwalker was 50km from the two Ravens and started to burn towards them, quickly closing the distance. Lock, fire and scramble.

The Rebels focused fire on uneX86 and before long his Raven was history (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045424). (The sweet detail on that was Starwalker’s Rifter got the killing blow – a frigate downs a battleship!) Rebel attention turned to the second Raven piloted by Imperial Damnation and it was clear that it would not have much longer in this life. It sent out a desperate distress signal and... it was answered. Doktor Farlig was back in the fight again in yet another ship, this time a harbinger. Some people just don’t know when to give up! J

Despite the arrival of the Harbinger the end of the Raven was inevitable and it duly obliged with another set of fireworks (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045423) lighting up the sky. The harbinger couldn’t possibly survive the onslaught alone and it too succumbed (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045422).

It was finally over and much respect to Space Jumpers who brought the fight to the Rebels and kept coming back for more, although it was not the most intelligent decision! J

Prey in Poinen

Starwalker and Zodiac Black were joined by Miura Bull, Drago Issier and ArkReaper in Nomaa. The only contact so far had been with a Ferox but it was suspected that the pilots of Space Jumpers would elect for battlecruisers or similar sized ships. So Miura Bull transferred to a Myrmidon, Drago came in a Megathron and ArkReaper in a Hurricane.

Starwalker and Drago entered Poinen to look around and Starwalker found two pilots (uneX86 and Imperial Damnation) in dock. Suddenly as Starwalker undocked there was a call that a fight was breaking out on the gate to Nomaa and he raced to the scene. It was chaos with Rebels and Space Jumpers firing at each other furiously.

The nearest target was a Prophecy battlecruiser piloted by Doktor Farlig and the Rifter sped into action with autocannons blazing away and scramble applied. Imperial Damnation had also undocked and was flying in a Raven battleship, which targeted Starwalker with his HammerHead II drones. The drones were not very effective but the Prophecy was going down very slowly and the Rifter’s shields started to drop as the drones continued to attack. Eventually, after what seemed an age the prophecy exploded (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045283) and Starwalker wasted no time - locking and scrambling uneX86’s Ferox battlecruiser.

Starwalker’s Rifter was now taking serious damage as Hornet II and Valkrie drones also tried to apply some hurt. The Ferox had already taken a lot of damage so the Rifter carried on firing away as the shields dropped further waiting to see the Ferox go down. But it was starting to get close, the shields had nearly gone. The Ferox gave a last gasp and then burst into flames (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045269) and Starwalker warped away with just a sliver of shield remaining, to let the shields regenerate before re-engaging.

Starwalker waited for what seemed an age as the fight continued and the shields slowly, very slowly regenerated. When the shields were up to 75% he could wait no longer and warped back in to the battle. Space Jumpers still had two Ravens and a Drake battlecruiser engaging the rebels. Starwalker moved in for the kill, locking, scrambling and firing on the Drake, piloted by... uneX86. He had lost the Ferox and had now come back in another ship! He must be a glutton for punishment.

Starwalker’s Rifter was soon taking damage again from the drones and but he wanted to see the kill, to see the Drake become a fireball. The shields soon dropped again to 5% and the Rifter’s armour and structure would offer no real resistance, he had to leave now. But the Drake was also getting close, maybe just a little longer, just another few seconds. No, the Rifter had to go the armour was already 25% gone so warp was engaged. But, just as the Rifter started to warp away, the Drake lit up the heavens like a firework (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10045272) and a nearby Raven joined the Drake in providing the light show for the locals. The last Raven decided it was time to bug out and the Rebels had emerged victorious.

Pain in Poinen

Starwalker had been stalking the heavens rather unsuccessfully with the Rifter, finding few targets but many heavy assault cruisers and battlecruisers out hunting. Taking on a cruiser would be far too ambitious in lowsec and very dicey in hisec. Whilst out and about another Rebel noted that some war targets were giving him some smack talk in Poinen – time to bring the pain!

Starwalker collected more ammunition and started the trek to Poinen. Intelligence was showing that five targets had gathered in Poinen and so the discussion turned to how to divide and conquer. It was at that moment that Starwalker noticed a single target in Nomaa, just outside Poinen - the101ace was flying a Ferox (Battlecruiser) but he docked up. By now three Rebels were on location all in Rifters and it was agreed to go for the Ferox and to watch each of the three gates: Geras, Saisio and Poinen.

Suddenly Tomba called point and that the101ace had jumped into Poinen. Starwalker and Zodiac Black quickly arrived on scene but Tomba was close to done and was soon destroyed (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10044683). The Ferox then turned its 250mm guns on to Starwalker and with the flight of Hobgoblins I the shields were being decimated by all of the fire. So Starwalker decided it was time to leave as soon he would have no ship. Zodiac also disengaged as not only was he outgunned but now only two rebels were sharing a system with six war targets. There was prey in Poinen and they would fight. It was time to call for reinforcements... and the call was answered.

First Solo Kill

Starwalker headed out into the great unknown looking for adventure. The Rifter entered Arnon, banked smoothly and warped to an asteroid belt; lots of secure cargo containers but nothing of interest. The next belt had a Retriever in it and three rats were moving towards it with murder in mind. The Retriever deployed three warriors and engaged. A quick check on Show Info showed a new character and so Starwalker moved in to loot any rat wrecks and give the Retriever an opportunity to fire on him.

Suddenly the belt seemed to get busy as both a Caracal and a Thorax arrived. It was not clear whether they were co-operating or not but it seemed a little suspicious, however, no guts no glory. So Starwalker looted the next wreck then headed towards another wreck. The Thorax targeted and then fired from only about 3.5km away - the fight had started. Starwalker ignored the wreck and immediately burnt towards the Thorax with the afterburner fired up and targeting it. Starwalker’s heart was pounding as the autocannons burst into life and the Rifter entered orbit at 1000m and scrambled the Thorax. The scramble was applied a little late but the fight was really on and someone was going to die very soon.

The Retriever and Caracal decided that they wanted no part of the fight and left, leaving the Rifter and Thorax to bludgeon each other. Starwalker wasn’t taking much damage but turned on the Damage Control anyway, to avoid any accidents via a wrecking shot. The guns and rockets were blazing away hitting solidly for around 150 and 33 damage respectively. A quick check of the log showed that the Thorax was missing far more than hitting. Starwalker watched mesmerised as the red lines went through shields and then armor and then structure. It was over – Starwalker’s first solo kill (http://r1fta.killmail.org/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=10011205) and above class too.

The adrenalin rush was great and Starwalker was so pleased at the achievement of killing a Thorax solo that ded Mitrich’s pod got away. Even sweeter was the 5 medium blasters that dropped, providing an overall cash injection of about 14m ISK, very nice indeed. Given this fight occurred in hisec, after Starwalker got a GCC from stealing loot, there was no impact to security status.

When Starwalker checked the killmail it was a little disappointing that a rat had ninja’d a slot on the kill but then surely 1% damage doesn’t count :-).

Hunter becomes Hunted

The Rifter slid smoothly into high speed and banked sharply towards an asteroid belt to get out of the main traffic highways between stargates. Starwalker checked the flight controls and handling, the cargo bay was reassuringly full of ammunition. Local showed only 8 other pilots and the Rifter moved on towards the next planet to look for targets on the directional scanner.

Starwalker ignored the battlecruiser but saw a Noctis that might be interesting. The scanning narrowed and only two hits came up - an Augorer Navy Issue and Noctis. So they might be together and if so would likely be too much for the Rifter but if nothing else finding them would be good practice in using the directional scanner to hunt for targets. The hunt was on.

Finding them was easier said than done and the hunt highlighted Starwalker’s lack of practice with the scanner. Starwalker warped to a belt at 70km – still no sign of the Augoror or Noctis. Four rats at the belt targeted Starwalker but given the low threat level and distance Starwalker went back to the directional scanner. These ships did not appear to be near celestial objects (planets, belts, moons, custom offices...) perhaps the right tool for the task was a combat scanner and probes. Two of the four rats were actually now in range and Starwalker decided to despatch them as the other two closed in. A few controlled bursts and they both exploded just as the other two arrived on the scene but they were not the only arrivals.

Starwalker’s overview flashed yellow as a Dramiel piloted by Anzoxe Hitorii (security level -4.3) arrived on grid. It must have warped into zero and was now 80km away but closing distance fast, so probably micro warp drive fit. Starwalker had no intention of waiting and warped away immediately – the hunter was now the hunted. As Starwalker approached his escape point he looked for the next immediate warp point and started to warp again immediately, which was just as well as the Dramiel correctly guessed the warp point and was now only 4km away. Too close, far too close, but Starwalker was already warping away before a lock could be established.

Two more fast warps and Starwalker felt a little safer but also up for a little bit of cat and mouse. Of course being the mouse is a little dangerous but it would be fun. So Starwalker returned to the scene of the crime and where the two rats along with the wrecks were still around. He quickly despatched the remaining two rats and collected the loot confident that the Dramiel would be back. The suspicion was correct and the Dramiel appeared but Starwalker disappeared again in a flash.

Starwalker arrived at the stargate after some bouncing around and decided to burn away from the gate rather than warp again. Luck shined on Starwalker as just as he reached around 100km another Dramiel piloted by Spot Finder (security level -6.8) arrived and then shot past, clearly warping to the next gate. Shortly afterwards, 5 Drakes and a Myrmidon jumped into system and all bright red. The place was getting too hot, not only were these pilots all sporting low security levels but they had bigger or better ships. Time to leave before being podded and so Starwalker quickly escaped back to hisec.

No kills but an eventful and fun roam.

Accidental Salvager

Whilst Jita was suffering a mass protest Starwalker was scanning down mission runners to have a go at Ninja Salvaging. The intent was simple enough:

·         Take the Probe and scan down a battleship class ship

·         Bookmark the scanned ship

·         Warp to the bookmark in the Probe and apply cloak if needed

·         Observe mission runner and decide when to enter with the Vigil salvager fit

Of course the master plan failed miserably as Starwalker took nearly 30 minutes to find and then scan down a battleship. It looked easier on YouTube. The key problems were:

1.    Finding no decent scan targets

2.    Finding a scan target, which is then lost on subsequent scan

3.    Reducing the scan radius resulting in loss of target

However, a Raven battleship was finally bookmarked and Starwalker warped in... only to find blue wrecks. So much for ninja salvaging the Raven had gone and left behind the dregs. Starwalker wondered if it was worth collecting the remaining loot and salvaging the wrecks and decided that the only way to know for sure was to do it. So, he went about this task and in the process became an accidental salvager, not exactly the master plan.

The only good news was that the Vigil made short work of salvaging the wrecks and the proceeds were collected and sold at market for a grand total of about 4m ISK. Most of that 4m ISK came from the salvage but it was simply not worth the hour spent getting it, from the first scan to items sold on market. Unless desperate.

This view is based on the income from level 4 mission running. Dependent on the level 4 mission, Starwalker had previously seen the mission value including salvage total somewhere between 20m-30m ISK on average. This was when using a battlecruiser (Drake) rather than a battleship and did not include missions like an Angel Extravaganza.

The 4m ISK haul was clearly disappointing and also a reflection that this is simply what the mission runner left behind. Well, time to get into a Rifter and seek some fun.

Completed Move to New Base

It was painful and laborious but Starwalker has now moved to a new base for operations, with a selection of ships acquired for use in fireball cocktails:

The move from Kador, Citadel and Forge required lots of round trips in the specially trained Mammoth and involved 238 jumps. Starwalker was not happy. Suggestions to use the Red Frog freight service were looked at but with Starwalker’s modest wallet and big ambitions it was an easy decision to accept the pain and get on with it.

There are a total of 31 Rifters that will find their way into service and they will all become fireballs, destroyed in a blaze of glory. Lick and a Promise will be the first Rifter in the queue. A few other ships are also around to play with and try experimental fits: Thrasher and Rupture. The Thrasher proved a deadly opponent and so it is worth taking a closer look at what it can do, so the appropriate artillery skill training is in progress. Of course, Starwalker already has small autocannon specialisation so no need to train that. The Rupture is a cruiser class ship that Starwalker is not fully trained for yet but it too will taste action in time. This will be the next step up before getting into Assault Frigates and Battlecruisers.

The Probe and Vigil have a different purpose in mind and Starwalker will see if he likes to Ninja Salvage: maybe, maybe not. However, it should help replenish some of the ISK that has gone on buying a small selection of fittings.

Now, Starwalker is ready to move out into the surrounding systems looking for adventure and danger.

Selecting a Base for Operations

Starwalker needs to select a base for operations before his negative security status impacts his ability to travel in empire space. The key issue is to consider the longer term, to avoid selecting a location based on immediate need without considering the future.

What Starwalker wants from a base for operations is:

·         Current high security (hisec) location that is close to a future low security (lowsec) location

·         Close to a trade hub, at least whilst able to travel in hisec. After that, a hauler alt will be used to buy and move items

·         Short distance (jumps) to interesting roaming locations, where lowsec has a focus on solo and small gang PvP

·         Close to other corporation members for small gangs

·         Lowsec is populated with relatively newer pilots that are less than a year old, Starwalker is only 4 months old

·         Station has clone facility and repair shop along with the usual services like market and insurance

Quite some time has gone into thinking about where to relocate and a very useful tool to perform this type of research is Dotlan EVE maps (http://evemaps.dotlan.net/). It is brilliant to see not only the regional map but also the map of each region and to quickly do things like:

·         See the system security status

·         Travel relationship to other systems

·         Number of kills: ship, pod, NPC over the last 1 hour or 24 hours

·         Stations, owners and services

After some research Starwalker had two regional areas as the favourites:

1.    Heimatar and Metropolis, in Minmatar space

2.    Essence and Placid, in Gallente space

Starwalker has chosen two relocation systems that are only two jumps from each other, allowing a quick transition from hisec to lowsec. The only problem with this research is that it is theoretical and practical experience is better, however, the choice is made. The move to lowsec will also trigger the creation of a Hauler Alt to buy ships and stuff and be based in hisec. Next job – start to move. The bad news, Starwalker’s current stuff is still spread around The Forge, The Citadel and Kador. There is also the need to consider what to do with the employed Kaalakiota level 4 Research Agent, unfortunately there is not a similar agent in lowsec.

Negative Security Status

There are many ways to legitimately kill other ships such as when

·         At war either via a war declaration or faction warfare

·         Flagged from stealing from you or your corporation.

·         Flagged for aggression towards everyone, i.e. committed an unlawful act and under a Global Criminal Countdown (GCC).

o   Shooting a player that is not flagged, a war target or an outlaw

o   Stealing property

o   Shooting a non war target starbase or player owned structure

o   Assisting an outlaw or someone under a GCC

·         An outlaw with a security standing at -5.0 or lower

·         On your Kill Rights

·         You are in nullsec

However, attacking or killing a ship illegally and especially a capsule will result in a loss of security status and eventually into a negative security status. Various criminal offences:

·         Attacking or destroying a law enforcement ship

·         Attacking or destroying civilian ships

·         Capsule or pod killing civilians

Starwalker achieved the first negative security status milestone with the First R1FTA Kill. It was the capsule kill in particular that moved the status from 0.45 to -1.15. The loss of standing is calculated by using your current status and -10 and then reducing it by a percentage. The percentage reduction can be seen in the Neocom, security status:

1.    Aggression or attacking is about 0.5%

2.    Destroying a ship is about 2.0%

3.    Killing a capsule is about 12.5%

The impact of a negative security status is to restrict movement within empire space when faction police will attack on entry or sentry guns at stations:

·         Players with -2.0 or worse will be attacked in 1.0 systems

·         Players with -2.5 or worse will be attacked in 0.9 systems

·         Players with -3.0 or worse will be attacked in 0.8 systems

·         Players with -3.5 or worse will be attacked in 0.7 systems

·         Players with -4.0 or worse will be attacked in 0.6 systems

·         Players with -4.5 or worse will be attacked in 0.5 systems

So now that Starwalker has entered negative security status it is more urgent to consider a base for operations as Empire space will gradually become off limits.