Only a few hours after being welcomed back to EVE with open arms, I had already gathered up a number of my scattered ships and resources from so many years ago and collected them all in a central location in Highsec. In the middle of all this, Popo convinced me to come join the fleet he and his Corp mates had formed. Misunderstanding, I assumed that he was part of a pvp fleet and brought a Gank-fit Thorax. Gank-fit meaning (in my own terms) that the ship is designed to hit hard and fast at point blank ranges end have 'just enough' durability to limp away after a single brutal fight. The ship is designed to murder one or two ships of similar or smaller size.
Yet when I arrive, much to my initial disappointment, I find that Popo and his friend (who is running two accounts, thus allowing him to fly two ships at once.) are wandering through space in lowsec killing NPCs that spawn at various locations and clusters. Having relatively high dps, I am welcomed with open arms. Popo is flying a 'newbie friendly' ship similar to my own and his friend is flying a T1 Logi Cruiser (long-range medic ship) with one account and a a combat cruiser similar to Popo's, but a bit more expensive and effective.
All in all, I had nothing better to do and was still trying to optimize my user interface, so I did not mind wandering around with them for the moment. Nor did I mind when their friend with the artillery Battlecruiser decided to join us out of boredom. The ship was a glass cannon that sat back at long ranges and butchered targets with guns designed for use on Battleships. It was a more than welcome addition to the cluster of three close and medium range combat cruisers and the Logi cruiser. With the added DPS, we blew through sites and targets. What got interesting, was when a pair of Battlecruisers appeared within 14AU of our position.
The pilot in the Battlecruiser, an experienced PVP pilot, kept an eye on the pair, tracked their movement through the system, and quickly realized that they may end up trying to gank our little PVE fleet.
Good.
It was at this point that I reminded them that I was PVP fit and able to tackle. Within moments, the Fleet Commander ordered us to clear the current cluster of NPC targets and leave the last one alive. He then ordered the group of us to approach the far end of the NPC site and cluster in on the last NPC. The goal here was to make it look like we had just finished clearing a hard wave of NPC's and were only now finishing off the last one. To any experienced player, we would have looked like easy targets. And without locking on at combat ranges, no other player would be able to tell otherwise.
There was one problem with this plan. We needed a strong tackle and we needed it fast. I volunteered to sit on the warp-in point and cozy up next to an item that was dragging all of the wrecks and salvageable material to itself. At range, it would look like I was looting and salvaging all the NPC's after my allies cleared the site. At a glance, I would be easy to mistake my ship for a discount industrial hauler.
The FC was impressed by my suggestion and approved me to move into position. Less than a minute later, one of the two Battlecruisers appeared on-grid (became visible as it exited warp) at 100k meters from my position. It was well outside of engagement ranges and well beyond lock-on ranges for most ships smaller than Battleships. After watching us for a few moments, the ship warped away.
If it was going to happen, it was going to happen now. And after a few tense moments of waiting in silence, the Battlecruiser warped back. This time, he warped to Zero and landed directly on top of my cruiser. Six Tech 2 medium autocannons and 2.5 times my base armor against my four Tech 1 blasters, and the man lands directly on top of me. My adrenaline spikes and I jump into action. I lock onto the man, activate my warp scrambler and stasis webifiers, and fire everything. He may be nearly twice my size, but he isn't going anywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnG-3AuYd4U
We had to act fast. We knew that the other battlecruiser was coming and would take only a few more seconds to reach us. Guns and lasers blaze from our little armada of cruisers and the Battlecruiser melts. Particularly thanks to the artillery Battlecruiser sitting in the background aiming at a ship forced to a near standstill by my tackle (reinforced a few moments later by Popo's ship joining the fun from a more 'medium' range). As the second Battlecruiser appears on grid and comes to a stop on top of me, the first Battlecruiser explodes in a brilliant flash of light and it's time to do it all again.
A few seconds later, and I finally notice the massive adrenaline spike I'm experiencing.
This is EVE.
Yet when I arrive, much to my initial disappointment, I find that Popo and his friend (who is running two accounts, thus allowing him to fly two ships at once.) are wandering through space in lowsec killing NPCs that spawn at various locations and clusters. Having relatively high dps, I am welcomed with open arms. Popo is flying a 'newbie friendly' ship similar to my own and his friend is flying a T1 Logi Cruiser (long-range medic ship) with one account and a a combat cruiser similar to Popo's, but a bit more expensive and effective.
All in all, I had nothing better to do and was still trying to optimize my user interface, so I did not mind wandering around with them for the moment. Nor did I mind when their friend with the artillery Battlecruiser decided to join us out of boredom. The ship was a glass cannon that sat back at long ranges and butchered targets with guns designed for use on Battleships. It was a more than welcome addition to the cluster of three close and medium range combat cruisers and the Logi cruiser. With the added DPS, we blew through sites and targets. What got interesting, was when a pair of Battlecruisers appeared within 14AU of our position.
The pilot in the Battlecruiser, an experienced PVP pilot, kept an eye on the pair, tracked their movement through the system, and quickly realized that they may end up trying to gank our little PVE fleet.
Good.
It was at this point that I reminded them that I was PVP fit and able to tackle. Within moments, the Fleet Commander ordered us to clear the current cluster of NPC targets and leave the last one alive. He then ordered the group of us to approach the far end of the NPC site and cluster in on the last NPC. The goal here was to make it look like we had just finished clearing a hard wave of NPC's and were only now finishing off the last one. To any experienced player, we would have looked like easy targets. And without locking on at combat ranges, no other player would be able to tell otherwise.
There was one problem with this plan. We needed a strong tackle and we needed it fast. I volunteered to sit on the warp-in point and cozy up next to an item that was dragging all of the wrecks and salvageable material to itself. At range, it would look like I was looting and salvaging all the NPC's after my allies cleared the site. At a glance, I would be easy to mistake my ship for a discount industrial hauler.
The FC was impressed by my suggestion and approved me to move into position. Less than a minute later, one of the two Battlecruisers appeared on-grid (became visible as it exited warp) at 100k meters from my position. It was well outside of engagement ranges and well beyond lock-on ranges for most ships smaller than Battleships. After watching us for a few moments, the ship warped away.
If it was going to happen, it was going to happen now. And after a few tense moments of waiting in silence, the Battlecruiser warped back. This time, he warped to Zero and landed directly on top of my cruiser. Six Tech 2 medium autocannons and 2.5 times my base armor against my four Tech 1 blasters, and the man lands directly on top of me. My adrenaline spikes and I jump into action. I lock onto the man, activate my warp scrambler and stasis webifiers, and fire everything. He may be nearly twice my size, but he isn't going anywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnG-3AuYd4U
We had to act fast. We knew that the other battlecruiser was coming and would take only a few more seconds to reach us. Guns and lasers blaze from our little armada of cruisers and the Battlecruiser melts. Particularly thanks to the artillery Battlecruiser sitting in the background aiming at a ship forced to a near standstill by my tackle (reinforced a few moments later by Popo's ship joining the fun from a more 'medium' range). As the second Battlecruiser appears on grid and comes to a stop on top of me, the first Battlecruiser explodes in a brilliant flash of light and it's time to do it all again.
A few seconds later, and I finally notice the massive adrenaline spike I'm experiencing.
This is EVE.
