Alliance Tournament 8

Its that time of year again, AT8 is around the corner and we are in it! As the CDM proprietor you can imagine that I am a great advocate of pre-arranged fights and I am extremely happy for ‘The Tusker Bastards’ to be participating this year.

Extremely happy and nervous I have to say. Nervous simply as I fear not to be picked in any of the starting squads. Last year my alt's corp participated but I was kept on the bench as the big boys got to play. This time around I am nervous as there are far more skilled pilots at the Bastards than myself, and many of them ranking much higher on Battleclinic to prove it. When our CEO Flashfresh called a corp meeting and announced the plans to form an alliance with fellow pirates 'The Tuskers' my heart sank; more good pilots to take away a possible spot in one of the greatest events in eve.

Out of 20 Bastards attending the meeting I was the only one to vote against an alliance for this very reason, that and the for the simple reason I wanted the tourney to be a Bastard-only effort. Yes, I have only been a Bastard officially for 6 months but I hold the corp close to my heart. There has been some hick-ups along the way and z0de is a prick but not everything can be perfect. I have great respect for our cool, calm and collected CEO and many pilots within the Bastards have taught me lots and still do.

A future post will describe my bastard love in more detail and I am sure to shock at least my mum with that post...

In the last couple of weeks various fleets have been formed between the Tuskers and the Bastards; now collectively known as 'The Tusker Bastards', and to be fair I have warmed to the idea. The main concern for both parties involved was that neither would be able to field enough pilots on the day of the AT to actually participate. We certainly will do now and we (collectively) will show the rest of eve we mean business!

AT8, yarr we come!!





O yeah before I forget I wish to make very clear where my votes will go this CSM (more on this later);

Bastard Recruitment Post #2

Thanks for Flash reminding me of the new recruitment link or simply copied and pasted for i-podsuleers;

"Who are The Bastards?"

The Bastards are a multinational, active low-sec pirate corporation. We engage in all forms of piracy and are committed to ensuring that others support our enjoyable style of playing.

We are also proud participants and supporters of Hulkageddon! Hulkageddon II saw us ganking our way into third place and reaping some awesome rewards and carebear tears. More info on Hulkageddon can be found here.

"What do The Bastards offer?"

Lots of fights. We encourage ransoms over explosions as we are pirates, not PvPers. We split all ransoms and loot profits among involved gang members equally.

Vent, KB, Ransom Board and corp-only forums that will all bring a smile to your face regularly.

Some logistical support. We have some corp ships available to those that need them. A large BPO inventory to meet corp members needs and members able to help you fill those ship and equipment needs from high-sec.

"Where can I find out more about the opportunistic businessmen called The Bastards?"

Our KB can be found here (ALL player related kills and losses are posted.): Kill Board

Our Ransom Board can be found here: Ransom Board

Our homepage including a link to our corp application and FAQ is: Homepage

"Characteristics of a Bastard"

Before you even bother with the below you should see our corp FAQ section here.

You must be able to use vent. If you’re online and x up for a fleet you’d better be on vent otherwise you’ll be ignored.

We recommend a 10 mil SP minimum and that you are at least 18 years old. These are not firm membership requirements and exceptions may be made on an individual basis.

You must be applying with your main.

-10 is inevitable so if you’re second guessing the lifestyle then you’re probably not Bastard material.

You must not be adverse to losing ships. We are a team and you may lose a ship while holding a target down for the gang. We will not ask you to throw away ships however, if you’re a sore loser then you’re likely not Bastard material.

You must have a good sense of humor. If you’re a sensitive type then you’re probably not Bastard material.

You must not already "know-it-all". If you do, you don't need us and we don't want you. Every Bastard has things to learn and knowledge and skill to share.

"How seriously interested must I be?"

After submitting an application with API your application will be reviewed. If we like your written app you'll be contacted by a recruitment officer for an interview. If that goes well then you will be invited to our semi-public channel to meet members and friends as well as fly in our fleets for a time to determine your compatibility with us. This will gauge how well you fit in and ensure for you that the life of a low-sec pirate is for you.

Our recruitment process is involved because we are committed to bringing on new members that have a real passion for the pirating life style and can become a valued member of our community. We care more about what is between your ears then how many SPs you have accumulated and what ships you can fly. Don't waste our time and yours trying to impress us with either.

Start the application process here.

Bastard Recruitment Post

I was sorely dissapointed with the news there will be no Fanfest this year. My holiday budget for this year would have been spent on tickets for the family to fly over to Iceland and represent the Bastards at this epic-geek-get-together.

So with that plan on hold I asked our glourious leader Flashfresh what I can do for the corp instead to better it for the future. His suggestion was to get involved with recruitment and I gladly volunteered.

Recruitment is still open so dont be shy and click this link. For any further questions or status updates please feel free to eve-mail me and I shall endevour to get back to you as quickly as reasonable possible.

Help Desk #5: How to fit a Vexor

Help Desk #5: How to fit a Vexor

Time for another Helpdesk me thinks. Back by popular demand it seems as the previous Helpdesk post is in the top 5 most read posts on my blog to date. This time I shall discuss my one and only Vexor fit.

I love the Vexor as mentioned in previous posts, even though I have lost 8 of them so far for only 41 kills in return. Not the best statistics perhaps but love this fit so much that it is the staple ship in all my hangars around EVE. In total I have 13 of these beasts fit up and ready to roll plus various spare hulls.

This is my Vexor, there are many like it but this one is mine…

[Cookie Cutter, The only one!]
Low Slots
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Mid Slots
10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator

High Slots
Medium Diminishing Power System Drain I
Light Ion Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Rigs
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

DroneBay
Ogre II x2 (Group 1 => Medium & Heavy Targets)
Hammerhead II x2 (Group 1 => Medium & Heavy Targets)
Hobgoblin II x1 (Group 1 => Medium & Heavy Targets)
Warrior II x5 (Group 2 => Light Targets)

Statistics;
With all lvl 5, PG-4 implant, ZET500 implant, no overheating;
EHP: 40003
Shield Resists: 12.5/30/47.5/56.3
Armor Resists: 75.1/67.6/67.6/55.1
Capacitor: 4m49s
DPS: 451 (With Group 1 Drones)
Volley Damage: 295 (With Group 1 Drones)
Weapon Range: 3.4km
Locking Range: 65.63km
Scan Resolution: 345mm
Speed: 1086m/s
Align Time: 10.6s
Estimated Cost: 31 million isk

Notes:
*This particular example is without low-grade slaves but may you have the money; low-grade slaves 1-5 would increase the EHP to a wopping 48747.
*The usual setup would have a small NOS in the Highs but just to fly this particular setup I have a PG-4 implant to upgrade the NOS to a Medium.
*I personally recommend Faction ammo as the penalties using T2 ammo are not worth it.
*The name suggest it, it’s a cookie cutter, decent ship for solo roaming, small or large gangs.

Disclaimer;
Please commence infinite discussions about this, I don’t care, this post just has my two cents and suggestion for fitting a Vexor. Please note that I fully support anyone’s choice of fitting as long as it makes sense. This is a mere suggestion; you don’t like it?; troll the many copies of the similar/same Vexor fits posted on Battle Clinic.

Meme; Whats in your Hangar?

Whats in your Hangar?

Hell why not, this seems like a topic I can participate in…

I actually have several hangars in use at the moment (Egghelende, Old Man Star, Barlequet, Ardar, and Hevrice) but I shall discuss my main hangar in Evati to give you an idea of what I have. Too many times have I lost a ship and not had anything to replace it with resulting in annoyance and therefore I generally keep my fleet well stocked up.

For starters when I have little time, am bored or it simply needs doing I make fitting packages. A fitting package is simply a medium container with a full set of fittings for a particular ship. The package will include ammo for the guns and double that amount to put in the cargo hold, drones, modules and rigs. I do this so I can quickly fit up any ships, keep my hangar tidy but mainly so that if I move large amounts of ships around I don’t have to repackage ships and lose rigs etc.

On top of that I split all my further items in large station containers to keep everything nice and tidy. Bulk buy is my style and at times my hangar is better stocked than Jita…

I have run out of clever names by now so more than likely all future ships are called ‘Baby on Board’. On top of that I number my ships too, for example ‘Baby on Board IV’ to indicate how many I have lost so far and later numbers may have slightly better fittings due to better skills etc.

Anyways here’s my list of ships at the moment;

Kestrel
I always have 1 fully fit and rigged ‘Kessy of Doom’ more for sentimental reasons than anything. ‘Kessy of Doom’ was the ship I flew in the early CDM’s but it never sees action anymore these days. Apart from one ready to roll Kestrel I have 3 spare hulls.

Tristan
Named ‘Chack’Nul’ after the pilot who killed me in this ship (twice now), I simply copied his fit as I liked it very much. It rarely sees action these days and has 6 spare hulls.

Incursus
This was to be my frigate of choice until I can fly a Rifter competently. I am still looking for a fit that suits me hence non are fit and I have 3 repackaged hulls.

Rifter
‘The Bleeding Rose’ was left to me after a CDM with Galen. (yes he beat me). I also have 5 spare Rifter hulls but I can’t actually fly any just yet. I am currently completing another 36 days worth of skills before I will strap myself into this beast.

Worm
I have 2 fully fitted Worms in Evati at the moment, one fit with dual propulsion and one with a huge shield buffer. I have had some decent kills with this ships but I must admit that the lack of DPS has made me favour different faction Hulls. Both ships are named ‘Korako’.

Federation Navy Comet
My personal flavour of the month! I like the Comet as I can fit it to my current style and does an amazing amount of DPS. I currently have one fitted and named ‘Baby on Board VII’ and 2 spare hulls.

Dramiel
Again I can’t fly this but I felt the need to own some for when I can. I purchased two of these but gave one to Roc Wieler for fixing Capsuleer/Nashh Blog Issues. Read all about that disaster here.

Catalyst
I don’t fly this ever. It’s simply there as a remnant of Hulkageddon II.

Nemesis
I can fly both Gallente and Caldari Stealth Bombers but currently only have two in stock after I lost 2 in CDM 19. All my Stealth Bombers are named ‘Silent but Deadly’ and have either Target Painters or Sensor Dampners.

Crow
Sensor Boosted ‘Black Bird’ has seen some action in the early days at the Bastards but is gathering dust at the moment. Its paper thin hull has made it less appealing over time however I do keep 2 spare hulls also.

Kitsune
Two unfit, repackaged Kitsune hulls are gathering dust as I don’t have a suitable fit for them yet.

Keres
For a little while I started naming vessels after the 7 sins, I have since given up on that but ‘Envy’ has kept its name. So far she has only participated on one kill but I would like to take her out again.

Ishkur
I absolutely love my Ishkurs even though they are expensive and I lose them at an alarming rate. I currently have one fit up as my standard style and 3 spare hulls. I have experimented with a ‘kiting’ version with reasonable success but I enjoy the ‘in your face damage’ of my cookie cutter.

Enyo
Still practising this bad boy and occasionally take experimental fits out for a spin. Mixed results and after losing my Enyo with Roc I have not refitted either of the spare hulls I have in Evati right now.

Caracal
Just 2 repackaged hulls. I have fitting package ready for an ‘anti-frigate-caracal’ but I never fly this.

Rupture
I have the hull of the vessel I flew in a CDM against my now CEO Flashfresh. I won that fight which had as a rule; BS sized Weapon on a cruiser hull. Great fun trying to find a possible fit for that one, try it…

Vexor
By far my most favourite Cruiser hull. Because of this ship I carry a PG-4 implant. I don’t take her out enough to be honest but I have scored 40 kills in its hull type for 8 losses. I currently have 2 fit and 5 spare hulls.

Arazu
Unfit as I haven’t got a suitable fit just yet.

Drake
Most my kills are still in the Drake and I do have a soft spot for them. I have one standard fit and one Podla fit drake ready at all times. It has been a while since I have taken the drake out tbh but only because of my Frigate frenzy of late. All my Drake’s are called ‘Bait’ and usually get a chuckle in local. 4 spare hulls.

Myrmidon
This ship is so versatile it is mind boggling. I currently have a buffer fit called ‘Buffoon’ Ready to go with 4 spare hulls. ‘Buffoon’ recently took out 2 missioning Canes by itself and a similar fit also once got attacked by 12 Frigates and T2 Frigates. It died but took 5 of the little pesky ships with him. I would love to experiment more with this ship, shield tanking, lazors, duel rep, triple rep…

Dominix
One unfit hull. I have a fully fit Domi in my Ardar hangar but it rarely sees action.


Other than that I have a selection of Shuttles, noob ships and Zephyrs, don’t ask me why, I don’t know. There are lots more ships I can fly or would like to have but I havent been shopping for a little while so perhaps towards the end of the month this post would have been more interesting.


So now you know what’s in my hangar… what’s in your hangar?

Pirates Ahoy #3 What goes around comes around

Pirates Ahoy! #3 What goes around comes around

Last month was the most successful in my pirating career to date. Top of the list for Top Killer, Top Scorer, Solo killer and Top Pod Killer. No mean feat considering the quality of pilots we have at the Bastards. My winning streak have seen my battleclinic ranking rise from 20000 to 15000. I hope to get myself in the top 10000 by the end of the year.

That all said and done the last ten days have been dreadful, I mean really dreadful. Starting with my losses on the day of CDM #19 with the loss of 2 Nemesis and a pod my losing streak continued; 1 Worm, 2 Ishkurs, a Navy Comet, an Enyo, an Ibis and 2 more pods. Auch…

I kill lots, I get killed lots…
I guess what goes around comes around…

Easter Sunday and ‘o my’ was Evati bustling. Lots of mission runners and a pair of slippery canes that thus far have proven too slippery. This time their mission was easily probed out and I choose a Buffer Myrmidon for the job.

I got all the way in my slow-boat to their last room but I was 3 k too far too get a point and they ran away. This repeated itself a few times and thus I went balls out and reshipped into a test fit Navy Comet. Again my prey spooked and ran away until I reached their last room for a 3rd time in Comet. This time they didn’t run, I burnt towards the closer of the two trying desperately to keep up some transversal. I failed and the 2 canes made short work of my test fit Comet.

This had gone on for more than an hour and as the y where committed to their mission I was now bound with their destruction in mind. A further 4 attempts included logofski, cloak and patience. Patience finally won as I simply sat in their mission’s last room and waited for them. The combined power of the 2 Canes where hard to deal with but I stayed calm, only briefly moving point from the first to the second foe. With one dispatched it was still a close call but I was victorious in my burning Myrmidon Hull.

They kill my Comet, I kill their Canes…
I guess what goes around comes around…

Non other than Roc Wieler came up to visit Evati shortly after. I had promised him a little present and he was keen to come and pick it up. A swift drink in one the local bars later I requested to trade with him. One by one I picked the modules I figured he would require to fit the Dramiel I had purchased for him.

With the Dramiel fitted and good to go, the Colonel was keen to set off. The gift had some self interest I admit, I have travelled up to Dal on various occasion’s looking for Roc, either to attempt a kill or to fleet up. This was my opportunity to escort his shiny new Dramiel back to Dal.

Rocs spider-senses where highly alert and some light paranoia started to brew as I too was finally ready to depart. Roc although thankful for the complex fit Dramiel kept on his toes at all times, me being a pirate after all…

My alt scouted the route ahead and a mere 4 jumps later a lone Vagabond sat at a gate. Myself and Roc pulled up into respective safe-spots. I recognised the pilots name… I killed him just a few days earlier in my Vexor against his Navy Slicer. An odd choice for him to attack me I thought at the time and simply branded him a noob.

I explained the situation to Roc and as the Vaga had a negative security status I asked if he fancied a kill on the way. ‘Sure’ Roc replied. The Vaga was a mere 8 k from my Enyo as I jumped through. I de-cloaked and burned for him, I was pleased to see the Vaga also engaged me taking away his option of jumping through the gate.

My shields and a large part of armour stripped away from my vessel before I reached a comfortable orbit around the target. ‘Point!’ I muttered into our fleet comm. My armour slowly repaired itself until…’the capacitor is empty’ Aura spoke softly. ‘O crap’ I managed, ‘what?’ Roc replied now also engaging. My weapon systems switched off and my target lock broke indicating a form of ECM being used on me as well. My transversal now looping in wider arks and my afterburner not responding resulted in the loss of the Enyo.

I warped out my pod and requested Roc’s status. Comms stayed quiet and I warped back to the gate at 100 to see Roc kill the Vaga. Alas no such luck, on landing the Vaga was still in one piece and the Colonel was now also in his pod.

That pilot sure got lucky with our two vessels loots. Although non of the good stuff from the Enyo survived, Roc’s vessel still had some complex items in its cargo hold.

I killed Tuquita’s Faction Frig and he owned me and the Colonel in our shinys..
I guess what goes around comes around…

Mr Wieler scanned the local stations and found one with a gym just a jump away. This is where we parted our ways, a mere 4 jumps into our tour and I had picked a target with bigger teeth than us. My apologies Roc, I hope the gym sorted out that frustration.

I on the other hand whilst making some notes forgot I still hung 100 clicks from the gate I just got killed at. Not for long as Toquita’s Vaga by now had caught up with me and popped my egg.

I awoke in Amarr, 48 jumps from Evati as I had not moved my clone back there yet after my fight with Prometheus. I undocked in an Ibis intending to get safe and self-destruct my pod. No need it appeared as a sensor boosted battlecruiser did the hard work for me…


Watch this space…

Return of the Capsuleer

Yay! I am finally back on Capsuleer! Roc Wieler has spent infinite hours with a team of 20 specialists, Apple engineers and CCP devs to get this blog working again.

Your time has been much appreciated Mr Wieler, I shall ensure your efforts will not go unrewarded!

For those that only Read me on Capsuleer, here’s what you have missed;

2^nd March 2010

Reluctant Blog Pack Drop Out

I briefly got kicked from the blog-pack but CK has a soft spot for sad panda’s.

5^th March 2010

Bio Funnies #7

A bio that made me chuckle.

6^th March 2010

Lakisha my entry for this contest

A short fictional story with some artwork. I didn’t win btw.

8^th March 2010

A week in the life of the Python Cartel

One of the most popular post since I started this blog!

11^th March 2010

Helpdesk #4, How to fit a Drake

After all the Drake-bashing I figured someone should say something nice…

12^th March 2010

Pirates Ahoy! #1

A review on some pirating action.

17^th March 2010

RL NEWSFLASH

I am a dad again!!!

19^th March 2010

Blog Banter

My response to the 3^rd Blog Banter this year

25^th March 2010

Pirate Ahoy! #2

Forcing myself to go solo. With success too! Top of the killboard!!!

30^th March 2010

Calling all Capsuleers

Finally realising my blog is not on Capsuleer I requested if anyone else did have it…

31^st March 2010

CDM #19 Prometheus

The return of Celebrity Death Match!

That’s all you missed! Check them out, leave me a comment, follow my blog, stroke my ego!

Watch this space…