Warp Scrammed

Eve SOB has come up with a good idea for last-man-standing frigate fight to support more solo PVP in Eve. Check out the details on his blog here. I think this is a fine fine idea and encourage anyone interested to participate.

I have one suggestion re the rules: put in something to discourage ducking and hiding. He’s put everyone in a fleet, so you can warp to anyone anywhere, but it would still be possible for a cowardly type to bounce around safe spots avoiding fights until there are only a few left, then engage with full tank and ammo. I’m not sure how to do that – maybe a rule that says you have to appear on a certain number of killmails, and not all at the end of the event?

So I’m not with Agony Unleashed anymore.

You need to be comfortable with your PvP before you join Agony, and I wasn’t there yet. Agony is a place to grow and learn new tactics and strategies, and try out new ideas, but you really need to be grounded in PvP when you go there. I was too much a PvP noob. So, I stepped back and will look to get more confidence and experience before considering Agony again. I’m planning to try Agony again, but when I can contribute at a higher level.

I’m getting back into RvB with my alt. I think RvB is a good choice to gain experience in fleet warfare, and to learn some leadership skills. One thing I took from my time in Agony is a desire to develop FC skills. Let’s see how that goes.

Since joining Agony Unleashed, I’ve been learning. A lot. Some through internal seminars, and some through hard knocks. Last night was hard knocks, and at the hands of former corp-mates (and others) to boot.

We were on a roam not too far from our new home in Providence, trying out a new fleet tactic. I was scouting 1 system ahead. The scout role is one I’ve done before, but I’m still pretty newb at it. I moved my Stiletto into 4B-NQN from 9UY4-H right into a Paxton Federation camp. A bubble was up with about 20 PXF pilots (including several from m3 corp, who I flew with briefly last year) in a fleet of BCs, logistics, HACs, recons, interdictor, cruisers, and inties.  After the grid loads I see the bubble effect in my face, and plenty of red in local and on overview. Pfft… all my practised recon reporting vanished and nerves took over. How do I get out of this one?

Well you don’t, unless you’re really lucky. And when you’re scouting for a fleet, that shouldn’t be the first thought in your head. The first thought should be to get your recon done. Your fleet needs to know what you’ve run into. You’ve got 30 seconds before your gate cloak breaks, use it just as if you’d entered a system without a camp – read local, do a 360 directional, and read your overview. Then give your report, clearly and concisely. Then worry about getting out.

And if you haven’t guessed it yet, I didn’t get a good recon report out. My FC didn’t realize the opposing fleet was as big as it was, nor did he gain a good idea of it’s composition. As a result he engaged in 9UY and our fleet went down. If he’d had accurate intel he likely would have made a different choice and either avoided the confrontation entirely, or set up to engage on better terms.

It was a good fight, at least as best as I could tell from the clone vat. I don’t show in the main battle, I guess because I went down on the other side of the gate and the KB didn’t connect my loss to the main battle. GF to Paxton – Paxton has an excellent and deserved reputation for their PvP. I look forward to facing them again.

I was impressed with the response from my fleet after it was over. My fail was pointed out to me, but it was done in a very constructive way. Guys lost some expensive ships, and I’ve seen players get really upset about things like that in the past. But Agony is different. They express their opinions and comments in a very constructive manner with the view to helping each other learn and improve. Now it’s up to me to do better next time, because there will be a next time.

For the budding scouts out there, take a lesson here. Some day you’ll jump into a camp like I did. When you do, take a deep breath, and do your recon report. Sort your overview so you can read off the ship types quickly and easily, and have an overview tab set up that excludes pretty well everything except opposing ships (excluding drones too). Give your FC as much intel as possible – if you wind up losing your ship but the intel you give helps win the battle or avoid a slaughter, you’ve done your job well.

Time to go practice….

Well much has changed for me in the last few weeks. Since January when my dream home project got to a point where the critical components were done (walls, windows, doors, roof, and insulation) for winter, I’ve been considering my play options in Eve. When I started the dream home project I left M3 because I was going to be AFG for some time, but I planned to apply to them again when I got back into the game. In the interim, however, they joined Paxton Federation, one of the CVA holder alliances, and I just wasn’t keen at all on becoming part of that whole pro-Amarr glory to the empire shtick.

Since my PvP skills were rusty (to say the least), I wanted to polish them up. So when Wensley announced a scholarship to the Agony Unleashed PVP University Basic course, and a course came open, I jumped at it. Good decision! The course was informative, eye-opening, and fun. They have just switched to a 2-day format from 1-day format. The 2-day format gives you one day of class time (with some in-space time for demonstrations of concepts and techniques), and one day of roaming in a large T1 frigate fleet where you go in search of a good fight. The experience was exciting and fun – a rush like I hadn’t had in a good long time.

The experience had me primed for more, and I promptly signed up for the following course: Wolfpacks. During these two courses I was exposed to Agony Unleashed and their philosophy and attitude to the game, and I was very impressed. Agony Unleashed’s stance on attitude, respect, honor, friendship, and common sense describe the kind of environment I was looking for. It was similar to what I’d experienced in my first corp (Strife Mercenaries), which had been a very positive experience. And since I felt I brought the personal qualities that they were looking for, I applied to join. Another good decision!

I’ve been accepted to Agony Unleashed as a trial member (the normal process), and I’m enjoying the experience. Agony walks their talk – which is to say that what they say they are about is how they play. They are serious about participation, contribution, and standing on your own two feet, but they don’t leave you hanging. They support each other whether that’s through a pat on the back, or a constructive comment or suggestion. I’m very much looking forward to enjoying my Eve time with these people and being an active contributor.

Somewhat ironically, I’m in Providence, not too far from where M3 is. Agony Unleashed is taking space in Providence, but the difference is that Agony is not in CVA, and role-play will not apply. PvP fun will.