Tagged:

Ok, I go on vacation for a week for some fun and sun in Las Vegas and return home to find out I’ve been tagged.
Tagging is a blog game where bloggers tag other bloggers, whereupon the ones tagged post a few facts about themselves and then tag other bloggers in the hopes they'll do the same thing. The Rules:
Link to the original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about myself in the post - some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

Seven Facts about me:

I am a Pharmacist (yeah I know very weird)
I once lived on a small farm in Ohio and we raised milk goats
We traveled to China and adopted a 6-month old daughter who is now 13 years old
My favorite hobby is to fly fish and tie flys in the winter months when not playing Eve
We have 3 dogs and 2 cats and a gecko!
I always build my own computers and also build them for friends and family.
My favorite TV show is 24

It looks like most Eve bloggers have been tagged, but here are a few more:

1. Tired Ire

2. Uninvited but not Uninvolved

3. /Random

4. a merry life and a short one

5. Dawn of EVE

6. Derekest Blog

7. I am a Camera (Drone)

CrazyKinux

I recently had my blog added to the EVE Player Blogroll. Be sure and check out this site for a list of other Eve blogs and great information.

Also, my blog will be featured in next Friday's EVE Speedlinking, another wonderful part of CrazyKinux's great Eve web site.

You can also catch my blog on the next Micro Warp Cast podcast. You don't want to miss these podcasts. They are so entertaining with great information about the Eve game and community we are part of.

It is so good to see so many bloggers writing about their life in Eve. These authors entertain us and we can learn so much from their writings. A true testament to how involved Eve is in our everyday lives.

I am honored to be mentioned by CrazyKinux. This site contains the finest blogs in Eve, and I can only hope to live up those expectations.

A Pirate and His Dog!

I know every pirate should have a parrot, at least in books and movies, but I have my dog. Her name is Gracie, a Brittany. She is always by my side if I'm on the couch, working outside, and, yes, playing Eve. This wonderful dog will sit by me while I fly around the Eve universe. I can always reach over and give her a pat if I have a bad roam, and, yes I talk to her a lot as I fly. We celebrate success and laugh over losses. This dog is a true friend in every sense of the word and makes playing Eve that much better. The only thing she demands is a rub now and then, but otherwise she is content to watch, listen and fall asleep while I play. I know in my mind she would be flying with me on every adventure I have. This pirate needs no parrot just, Gracie, the best gaming friend around.

On another subject, I see a lot of bloggers are writing about what attracted them to this game and why they stay with it. I was attracted to Eve because of a fascination with space. The thought of flying around a universe in a space ship is simply wonderful. I was also attracted because of the complexity of this game including, the PvP, the economy, the unique career options, and the ability to interact in space. These are some of the things that make Eve unique and challenging. There is also a simplistic reason that this game attracts me, that is Eve has no levels. I have grown tired of playing games that require a player to race to get the maximum level as quickly as possible. Eve is a game of patience and that is what keeps me in it. While the skill-based system can be frustrating at times, it is a much preferred system over levels. I will never know the experience level of a PvP foe. I can guess from his or her age, but I have no level to judge his experience. This unknown experience level keeps adrenalin flowing as a pirate. I especially enjoy setting up a skill plan and watching it delevlop. To me there is no better satisfaction when playing an online game.

The Directional Scanner - a mental block?

The direction scanner may be the most important tool a pirate can use to find ships in a system. Well, maybe every pirate but this one. I read on the forums that a good pirate can scan out a ship in less than 30 seconds. Well, not me! Somewhere in my brain there seems to be a mental block from 180 degrees and less with that scanner.

I have read posts, blogs, and guides about the scanner. I have flown with pilots that use the scanner with ease and find targets quickly. I seem to have a mental block for that skill.

Lately, I have spent a lot of time reading the post: Learning to Use the Scanner and the guide: Grismar's Scanning Guide, two well written articles on using the directional scanner. I have also spent a lot of time in my home systems practicing. I still seem to have trouble locating that target so I can warp in for the lock. I have narrowed ships down to a belt, moon, or planet I believe they are at but, on warp in, I find nothing. The important 5 percent scan eludes me to this day.

I guess this post today is part rant and part a subconscious cry for help. I will keep practicing and not give up. I'm sure it’s not a permanent mental block.

It's a Difficult Life!

I have found becoming the pirate I want to be so much harder than I ever thought possible. I tried working solo for awhile but found targets hard to come by and life seemed lonely somehow. I missed a gang, a fleet, a wingman, and buddies to laugh about kills and losses with. Life as a solo pilot is a difficult life!

After discussing this situation with some pirates that I am proud to call friends, I realized finding a pirate corporation is the best solution. With their suggestion on corps I started talking to recruiters and also looking at the recruitment posts and the in-game recruitment channel. I really wanted a well-known pirate corp that I could call home. The quest for a corp has been long and trying. First, I have low skill points. Second, I can only fly a Rifter and Rupture with any level of confidence. Third, I have minimal PvP experience with Blackheart. I heard these statements over and over again: We need someone that can fly a battleship to tank sentry guns. We need you to have more kills. You look like an alt, based on your skills. On and on it goes. Being a pirate is a difficult life!

After more talking, watching recruiting channels, etc. I stumbled on a pirate corporation that finally looked promising with fun and helpful members all ready and willing to help me learn. I decided to join up and was ready to rock and roam. I loaded up my Rifter and headed out to apply. All went well, and I was accepted. Well, the first week, I noticed a few members left and less and less were on each day. I never saw any ops scheduled, or for that matter, anyone even on! My questions about the future of the corporation went unanswered. So I decided to roam alone and stick it out for awhile. Bad decision on my part. As you can guess, the corp went from bad to worse and I had to bailout as I was really just a solo pirate again. It’s a difficult life!

Luckily I was able to find another pirate corporation recruiting and, I met all their criteria. I loaded up my ships in my alts freighter and moved them to my new location. I applied and was accepted. I quickly noticed that only two other members were on in the evenings that I am on (USA time). We joined up for a roam and had a great time killing 2 Drakes and the capsules. Wow, I'm a pirate now and I did a good job tacking each Drake in my Rifter. Well a few days later I noticed the player that recruited me left the corp. Then I noticed a few left with him. Then the CEO went inactive. In the end I was left with only one or two players that were active. We tried to make a go of it but, our conversation always centered around finding a more active pirate corp. It's a difficult life!

I will end the saga here and return to the recruitment channel and ponder the future of my pirate dreams.

Safe Spots

I quickly realized after flying into a low sec system I was so exposed. Of course I was dressed! But where do I go to have a look around and be relatively safe for a short period of time. Yeah , I need some safe spots. I headed back out to high sec, docked up, and started doing some more reading.

I found, what I think, is a very good explanation of all the kinds of safe spots in this wonderful blog: A mule in Eve (Getting your a$$ of the fire v2) written by Manasi. I have started using this guide since it was written and it has proved to work and be invaluable.

So, I'm off to make more safe spots. Remember to name them in a way that you understand where they are. I already learned the hard way on that one. Also, don't stay there too long in one safe spot. A good probe scanner will find you faster then I ever thought possible.

Coming Next:

The scanner and overview and safe spots....ugg so much to learn

Skills, Skills, Skills...........more skills!

Skills breakdown into to two categories. Those needed to fly the ship and the support skills to make flying that ship better.

The skills needed to fly the ship are simple and easy to find. Take the Rifter, that awesome little ship I am preparing to fly.

Just to assemble the ship so you can look at in you hangar, you need:

Minmatar Frigate III
Spaceship Command I

Simple enough and quick to train.

But that is far from all the skills you will need to be successful in flying the Rifter in PvP.

You need to fit the Rifter with the modules discussed earlier and that takes skills. You also need a myriad of support skills to make fitting, flying, and fighting possible.

To fit the high slots you need:

Gunnery I
Small Projectile Turret I
Missile Launcher Operation I
Rockets I

The mid slots:

Afterburner I
Navigation II
Propulsion Jamming I
Electronics III

Low slots:

Hull Upgrades II
Mechanic I
Repair Systems I

So there are the basics to fit an armor-tanked Rifter. Easy enough, but if I try to fit this all on my ship, I quickly run out of power grid and CPU. Plus this is only the basics and what if I want to upgrade to the better T-2 modules. For instance, I really want to fit a Microwarp Drive in place of that afterburner and some more powerful T-2 guns. More skills!

Let's look at some key support skills:

I like to break my skill training plans into logical units so training seems quicker and I accomplish more sooner (at least in my mind).

Energy Management:

• Engineering V
• Electronics V
• Electronics Upgrades
• Energy Grid Upgrades
• Energy Management
• Energy Systems Operation

Weapons:

• Gunnery V
• Sharpshooter
• Trajectory Analysis
• Surgical Strike
• Weapon Upgrades
• Advanced Weapon Upgrades
• Controlled Bursts

Other categories I use, include shields, armor, targeting, missiles, speed, etc. I encourage you to research the skills needed to support flying a ship successfully in combat. I use the forums and blogs to read about skills that will give me what I need to have edge over a flashing red target. The importance of good skills is second only to fighting experience in realizing success.

I use Evemon to setup all of my training plans. What an invaluable tool!

Rifter Reputation

What a reputation as a fine starting ship. The Rifter. A small ship with a huge reputation as a killing machine when used properly on well chosen targets. There are endless posts about this little beast.

Well, I got my first Rifter today. Damn, this little fragile looking thing can kill? Well only time will tell. I have been pouring over posts on how to fit and fly this small beast. I have discussed this ship with some fine pirates, including Mynxee, a sweet pirate with a killer instinct. She has a blog that is well worth every minute to read and enjoy.

After all this background work, I have boiled the setup of this ship down to three basic alternatives:

1. Armor tank with autocannons
2. Shield tank
3. Armor tank with light artillery

Hmm maybe I will get three of these babies and try all three. Oh, wait a minute, what about skills for all these setups. Let's look at the setups and then I'll see what skills I will need.

First the Armor tank option:

High:

3 - 150mm Autocannons (EMP)

1 - Rocket Launcher (Malkuth) with Gremlins and Phalanx

Mid:

1 - 1mn Afterburner

1 - Stasis Webifier

1 - Warp Scrambler

Low:

1 - Small Armor repairer

1 - Damage Control Unit

1 - 200 Rolled Tungsten Plate

This is a good standard fit that is considered a basic starting point to start fighting

Of course there are options to this fit, primarily involving the low slots. Maybe replace the DCU with a Gyrostabilizer. Tech 2 guns would be a great step up for this setup to add precious DPS to you attack. Any other tech 2 modules add cost but increase effectiveness (use at your discretion)

Shield Tank Option:

High:

3 - 200mm Autocannon (EMP)

Mid:

1 - 1mn Afterburner

1 - Shield Induction

1 - Warp Disruptor

Low:

2 - Shield Power Relay

1 - Overdrive Injector System

Armor Tank with Artillery option:

This setup in an armor tanked-option but instead of autocannons fit 250mm Light Artillery and a named 20K Scrambler. This setup gives you an alternative to close up in-your-face fighting of the autocannon setup. With artillery, your range is increased to keep out of your opponents web range, So you can deal effective damage in a range that limits you opponent the ability to web you and hit you with frigate-sized guns.

Well, I could go on and on about the merits of each fit but only time will tell for me which one I find most comfortable and reliable for my style of fighting. To any new pilot I can only recommend read the forums, blogs, and talk to lots of pilots to learn setups that are worth looking into.

Blackheart

Blackheart started her life with nothing but the smallest of starter spacecraft and a few books to learn how to fly. I read those books carefully for I was starting in a new life. No longer a well trained Gallente pilot but a Minmatar newbling. New ships, new ways of fighting, new weapons, and so much more awaiting me.


I read somewhere long ago to spend the early days studying and honing your learning skills (an investment in the future). My ancestors taught me to have patience and it will be rewarded. So that is where I started. I spend weeks getting my learning skills training to perfection. I have to say it seems to be well worth the time. I train skills very fast compared to my first character. Now there are many that talk about and calculate payback time for investing in these skills. I only know that I feel well assured that I train skills about as fast as I can and I am progressing faster then I ever expected.

Soon I will be flying in a Rifter.

Why? I ask Myself

Why. Why do I want to be a pirate. As a previous character in Eve I have lived through great null sec wars, super battles, titans, etc. I have fought POS's, beat up on station services, scouted for endless hours in enemy space, and for what. For the thrill of holding or gaining territory (sovernity). Life in 0.0 is hard but, for me, mindless after awhile.

From this boredom a new character is born. A character refreshed and revitalized about what is to come. PvP is the key ingredient in most online MMORPG's but none more than Eve. Sure you can be a carebear your whole career, but the real game revovles around mano a mano PvP. Look into the eyes of that pilot and may the best pilot win. Where else can you experience this revitalizing life more then as a pirate.

I was never the type of person to hide behind mining, mission running, or other mundane tasks. Yes, of course these mundane tasks are so very necessary, but I want to do them as an alt. Experience the trill of the fight in your gaming life. The thought of losing a ship to a better foe or defeating a superior ship excites me and calls me to keep fighting. With every skill point and fight you can become a better pilot and experience the thrill of the adrenalin rushing to your brain. That thrill was lost long ago while living in null sec. But, low sec, now that is an unknown exciting place for me. A place I always sneaked and sped through usually cloaked to get to my destination in Empire or 0.0. Never did I give the inhabitants of that section of space a second thought. But, no more. Today I plan to adventure into that space. To fight, learn, make enemies, and hopefully some good friends.

Blackheart