Arbitrator vs Cyclone

Quick combat evaluation.

I have been flying an Arbitrator in low sec this last week. Not the one I have described on this blog earlier but  a tracking disruptor and nano version. It still does about 370 DPS with a 17k tank and 1425 km/s. The biggest downside for me is its cap. It doesn't have a large reserve of that so running the MWD too long isn't really an option ( which is prob not a good thing on a kiting ship^^). Decent I'd say on paper so I wanted to try it in real combat.

Today I got my chance vs a  Cyclone. He jumped into a system  with me and I decided to warp to a planet at 70km while trying to make it obvious where I was warping to. So I picked one of the 'outer rim' planets not one near the sun.

He shortly followed me after. My strategy with this ship is to kite while mitigating his DPS with my TD and let my drones and own 2 turrets do the damage. So I warped to 70km thinking he would warp to 0m. Unfortunately he managed to land right on top of me and scrammed me before I could manage to get out of scram range. So first part of my tactics had fallen to peaces already but.. it wasn't lost yet so I activated my TD , launched my drones and piloted my ship to fly away from him to see how the fight would develop. Then his drones jammed me... And I was jammed most of the fight. I managed to regain lock when I was in about 20% shields but at that moment I was still in scram range. Unable to get away my ship slowly died. I did manage to get some distance between me by clever piloting which delayed my inevitable demise for longer that I had expected. But die it did. Goodbye Arbitrator.

 Thinking back there are a couple of things that I could have done better. One; once I had landed at the planet I aligned to the gate where I came from ( and the gate the cyclone was coming from) . So it might have been that he warped to 100km and that I had flow back in the same path that he was coming from making it more likely that he would land closer to me. It would have been better if I had made a 90 degree turn and burned away for a bit from the trajectory he was coming from. There is always a chance that someone will come in at unpredicted distances so it is safer to burn of in a different direction.

Secondly I should have had drones on my overview. I didn't because I like to de clutter my overview as much as possible and I have a separate tab for drones but now I didn't see the drones fast enough so I could not respond to him launching ECM till I was too late.

And I should have launched my drones before he landed. It was clear we were going to fight, why didn;t I?! Ah well.. Mistakes will be made.

It sucks being pawned like that though.. damn. Anyways, tomorrow is another day for another fight.

Glad to fly an Abry again, btw. I Love it so, I hope I can make it work with the new drone mod.

Sometimes...

.. I just want to slap myself in the face while PvPing. (fortunately I don't)

After a few weeks of non PvP I took a few cruisers out to play.

The first , a Stabber that  I manage to loose in a pefectly manageable gate camp: couple of T3 BC 250 from the gate and 2 tackle frigs near the gate. For some reason I panic... forget all I have learned since I started PvPing and fuck everything up.. I even forget to activate my guns and MWD.. Total blackout on my side and my ships pops without much of a fight followed by my pod..

Later I am flying around Placid in low sec and spot an Ishkur.. we fight and I get him to structure when a falcon decloakes and jams me. I warp out.. <sigh> later I realize I still had six drones unused in my drone bay.. That Ishkur would have so died if I had thought of launching them. Would have made my day too after the Stabber loss. I could also have stuck around longer as my tanks was fine and I had neuted the Iskur to hell.

Anyways, more lessons learned.

Now for something totally unrelated:

http://mimiandeunice.com/

Merlin vs Taranis

Yesterday I took my little Merlin for a spin again into Syndicate. I was really looking forward for the thrill of a PvP fight since I hadn't been able to log in to EVE for a week or so. Well I did go into low sec with an Arbitrator looking for trouble but nothing came out of that short adventure so I wanted a quick fight in null. So I head out to 6-CZ49, Syndicate enrty system from Verge Vendor. 

When I enter 6-C is the only time I have used a scout so far. I have run into to many gate camps in that system and I think it is such a waste of ships to jump in blind that I have stationed an alt there to spy on the gate before I jump in. I only have one account so I need to relog twice to do that but it is worth it.

This time I spotted with my alt a Taranis, a Merlin and a Kitsune on the Reblier gate in 6-C. The Merlin is a good target for my Merlin, The Taranis.. well not sure if my Merlin could take it on but worth a shot, the Kitsune is not a target. I would avoid the Kitsune like the plaque because of its ECM. But the Kitsune left so I decided to jump in with my main VR Highfive. 

Before I jump though I switch my Hybrid ammo to Null S. A few moments later this turn out to be and important decision. When I make the choice before I jump I am playing with the though to 'kite' the other blaster ships using my web/scram/afterburner trio and use the range of null to wear my target down while staying out of their blaster optimal range (assuming they will use antimatter). The optimal of null is 3,6km with 5,7 km falloff while antimatter has 1,1 + 3km. That is why I decide to switch to null. It it really just based on a hunch and curiosity to try this tactic.

So I jump thru and the Taranis sits at a tactical bookmark 300km from the gate or something like that. I warp to a tac as well to get off the gate. By then I have decided to take on the Ranis. I am pretty confident about my setup and I have nothing to loose. What a good opportunity to try something new. The Ranis doesn't approach but warps to a wreck as a invitation to fight or so I interpret his move. I am only to happy to oblige so I warp to the wreck at 0m. I land at 10km from him and the fight starts.

I approach and orbit at 500m AB running... and there it is.. I made the first mistake.. my whole plan out of the window and I am flying like I am using antimatter ammo..  I didn't realize this during the fight only after . So what happens is that we approach and I start damaging him pretty early. Its going really well and his shield and armor go down fast. He has a small armor rep and he is repping as hard he can but in the first 15 sec the fight is going my way. I start feeling hopeful .. might I actually kill a Taranis in my T1 frig? 

But .. when he is at 10% armor the DPS I do to him stops. I wonder is he tanking my DPS with his rep? He isn't regaining armor? Am I not hitting, he is now fairly close and blasting away at my shield which are holding oke even though his blasters are taking big chunck from it every volley the ASB can keep up with it somewhat.  But as I am not damaging him anymore.. I am not sure what to do at that moment but wait for the inevitable; my boosters running out.. I keep hoping for hits but it doesn't happen and after my ASB runs out my ship pops seconds later. 

It was still pretty close and am not unhappy with my fight vs a T2 frig but I am left with a feeling that I could have gotten more out of that. After the fight when I had warped my pod to safety I remembered I had null loaded.. and later I realized that was probably the reason why I failed this time. 

First of all the decision to orbit at 500 while having null loaded  was a bad move. When the Taranis got close I prob could not track him anymore. I assume he was dual prop fitted. I always assume Ranis are Dual prop:).  So with me and him orbiting with afterburners on tracking might have gotten real difficult with null ammo. 

Had I loaded Antimatter I might have done much better as it had better tracking and more DPS.

With null I should have followed my original plan: try to stay at  3,5km. Not sure if that would have worked with a dual prob adversary but it would have made more sense.

Anyways.. it was a good lesson. Next time I will try something else; Stick with tha initial plan.

The New Merlin and why I think it Rocks

I saw Merlins being used in the first match of the Alliance tournament and I thought I'd like to write my thoughts about them down because since they got rebalanced I really like this little ship.

The Merlin was one of the frigates together with the Tormenter, Rifter, Punisher and Incursus  that was changed in CCP's ship balancing project. 

Being interested in flying cheap ship for learning PvP I was curious at the changes and did some EFTing with them. 

The Merlin caught my eye the most in its new form. I can't even remember the old bonuses it had I think it was a shield resist bonus and a rocket velocity bonus.. forgive me if I am wrong. Anyway.. CCP made it into a little brawler with a 5% shield resist and a 5% hybrid damage bonus.

A resist bonus screams active tank to me and especially the Ancillary shield booster (ASB) so I EFT ed a fit with one and came up with the fit below.

When theorizing about a possible fit I like to find a balance between the DPS it can apply to its targets and the DPS it can absorb before exploding. I found a very nice balance in the following fit;

 [Merlin, Neutron blasters active tank AB]
Damage Control II
Tracking Enhancer II
Reactor Control Unit II

Medium Ancillary Shield Booster, Cap Booster 50
Stasis Webifier II
1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I
Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I

With all skills at lvl 5 the stats are: 

DPS:155DPS , (178 OH)

EHP: 3627 or 1563HP

SHIELDBOOST: 146HP, (170HP OH) for 10 cycles = 1460HP (1700HP OH)

Velocity max: 1043m/s

Optimal: 1.3km

Falloff: 4.1km

Lets look at the tank with the ASB.. and to compare lets calculate the HP not the EHP. 

The basis is 1563HP ad the cycles of the ASB to that overheated because that is how I use it always.  The ASB can take a lot of overheat compared to the other modules, almost 4 minutes which is much longer than a fight will last.

So total tank= 1563+1700= 3263HP. Compare that to a simular buffer tank with a medium extender (2876HP) and you will see that the ASB give you more survivability. But for a short while ofcourse.

My oppinion is that the DPS is pretty good for a T1 frig. The problem is as with any blaster ship is applying the dps onto the target. The optimal is very short and so is the falloff with Antimatter ammo. Getting in close which you need to do can give problems with tracking but fortunately the Merlin can fit a web and a scram. 

The choice for Neutron blasters was not really for the extra DPS because they don't an much more (about10) but for extra range and they fit of course. I put the tracking enhancer in there as well to get more range out of the turrets and better tracking as I am not really sure if the blasters will track well enough. I am still learning what works best but as I mentioned I want to make sure I can apply all that DPS on target. High DPS is no use if you can't hit your target. 

Even with null ammo loaded the DPS is not too bad (123 and 140OH) and I personally would prefer having null loaded over antimatter so I can start applying damage as soon as possible. Unless I was sure that I would be on top of my target in no time.

The speed is alright , nothing to write home about but not too bad. You can exchange the Afterburner for an MWD without changing anything  on the fit which is convenient. Till now I have flown it with a afterburner but I keep a MWD in the cargobay if I change my mind.

So all in all I think this ship rocks in its current state with the ASB and even without it. I have had a couple of fight in it vs Rifters (the former king of t1 frigs, excluding pirate and faction frigs ; ) .

I took one down relatively easy and of another ended undecided. I had to leave grid though when my booster charges ran out.

BTW don't be afraid to comment or correct any kind of mistakes I might have made in my calculations. I am still learning a lot of how this all works and how I should interpret the information I get from EFT or Pyfa. Also and advice you may have is welcome.

Three Rifters, a Thrasher, one good fight.

This sunday I probably had my most successful solo fight of my career so far.

Roaming Syndicate late in the evening in my artillery Thrasher I ended up  in JH-M2 . Different gangs were roaming the area and I was following the most traveled routes using an IGB tracker website (I'll link it below).

At one of the gates I found a group of Agony T1 frigates.  I guess waiting for information from a scout or something, I don't know, but it was a perfect opportunity for me to try and get get a good fight.

So I warped to the gate at about 30 or 50km,can't remember exactly. I just know that I didn't want to get too close to them while also wanting to be close enough to be an interesting target. Having experienced Agony members before in fights and knowing they were in a gang I assumed they would not find my single Thrasher too threatening. 

My plan was to burn from the gate as they would give chase and pop as many of them as I could before the would get close and swarm me. If they could get on top of me  it would be game over for my ship.

Unfortunately a heavy interdictor landed at the gate at the same time as I did. Apparently he also having a mind to catch a few T1 frigs. Soon to be followed by a small battlecruiser gang consisting mostly of Hurricanes. So it was time for me to bail and warp to a tac on the same gate.

The Agony gang jumped when the dictor arrived, I think. They lost 1 frigate in the process if I recall correctly. They still had a Ares on the grid who decided it had an appetite for Thrashers. In other words; it was going fullspeed for my ship :). Gotta love those interceptor pilots who burn 250km to a target.

Nothing much came out of that fight between me and the Ares. Except for me having to leave the grid. I did my standard protocol flying this type of ship when he approached> align, keep my distance as long as possible and let him fly into my DPS but that didn't work with this guy. He changed course after getting hit a few times and evaded the rest of my shots. Time to warp out. I had mistakenly overheated my MWD to long and it burned out. Time to leave and repair.

A few minutes later, Round2. AT the same gate I warp to my tactical bookmark and an Agony Rifter arrives at a tac on grid as well. I figure his friends can't be far off so I warp to the gate and jump, guessing he will follow with some friends.  I burn from the gate right away to get some distance between me and my attackers when they come thru and set my modules for overheated operation.

Moments later the Rifter arrives and starts to burn right towards me. Perfect. When in range (30km on those arties :) yay!) I open fire and he pops. 2 of his friends jump in, in Rifters, as well. They give chase and I lock em up and they pop .. that went faster than I expected. But in the mean time more people arrived thru the gate, the Ares , an Incursus and 2 Merlins.. I go for the Ares first but can't get enough DPS on him. He evades my guns and when he comes closer he scrams me. I switch to the Incursus thinking I might be able to take him down before my ship blows up. He is coming dangerously close.. 15km.. and closing. I get him to structure before I get webbed, and he is orbiting me soon after. The fight is then over for me. 

My Thrasher pops and I warp my pod to safety. When checking my killmail/lossmail I noticed a few cruisers had been present as well, I never noticed them :D. That tends to happen to me more often. 

Three kills in one fight, best I have done so far. The sacrifice of a Thrasher was worth it to me. And four kills in one ship (1 Ranis and the 3 from this fight), pretty sweet. To bad I didn't get the Incursus but hey, there is always room for improvement. :-)

IGB Tracker Link

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