Dominix Report

I only had time to fly one level 3 mission last night with my new Dominix battleship, but it worked great. I'm using a fitting similar to the one in my previous post. The battleship held up well, and tanking wasn't a problem.

I also made my first trip into Jita, and yes, it's true, the lag sucks. I can't imagine it worse than it was for me last night, but appaerently that was the case before the stackless I/O technology update.

Our Corporation is talking about issueing a few war decs, and that is fine with me; however, I'm still new and hope I'm able to help the effort. I've invested some time and money into being a tackler since it requires less skill points for the role. We'll see how that goes!

I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend- my work week ends tomorrow at 1:00pm!!! >=)

New Ship: Dominix

I purchased a Dominix last night; this will be my first battleship. The ship comes with 6 high slots, 5 mids, and 7 lows. As you can tell this ship is definately set to armor tank- as most Gallente ships are.

I'm fitting this ship to be a mission runner and I've come up with the fitting seen in the screenshot on the top left (click to enlarge). I'm going for more tank than DPS, but I'm open to any suggestions.

I've also joined a new Corp, but more on that later.

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be...

I was running level 2 missions last night for the Federal Intelligence Office; I'm trying to get my standings to 8.0 so I can install some jump clones.

I think this would be wise since I eventually would like to move to 0.0 with a Corporation, but would still like easy access to empire space for flying with newer pilots I might know IRL.

I've been thinking some time about what it is I want to contribute to a fleet / roaming gang; I've come to conclusion I like the idea of being the scout with probes. I like the fact that the scanning skills also play a role in PvE when scanning down complexes and other sites.

Scanning down radar & magnetic sites reminds me of the Cartography skill in Ultima Online. With the skill you could decipher treasure maps, which you then took a group of people with you to kill the spawn and dig up the treasure. This activity provided lots of fun for those that tagged along, but the problem was the skill was worthless in PvP.

I ended up playing that character much less, and eventually just played my PvP character as my main. With the Astrometrics skill, however, you can scan down other players as well as PvE ratting sites.

So, I've moved the following skills up on my priority list...

Astrometrics
Astrometric Triangulation
Astrometric Pinpointing
Signal Acquisition
Archeology
Hacking

I'm also going to focus training on ships of that type; this will require more research on my part as I've just made this decision last night.

I love setting my own goals in EvE rather than the carrot-on-a-stick developer imposed goals that other MMOs have. I'm sorry, but it's just I love this game, and I get on a soapbox every time I discuss game mechanics.

If anyone has tips on scanning, players or complexes, I would love to hear them! =)

Ship Loss: Brutix

I've had my first major ship loss in EvE now, and as much as it pissed me off, it also made me smile. I love the fact that a "death" in EvE actually means something. I remember sitting down during losing battles in WoW and just waiting for the death to come so I could respawn and be on my merry way- I hated it.

EvE Online is just a great MMO, and I wish more MMO's would learn from their sandbox philosophy.

Back to the ship I loss; I was flying level 3 missions with a buddy from work last night. He was in an Apoc set to tank, and I was bringing a Brutix for DPS (I would have brought a BS, but I don't have one, and can't afford to purchase one, yet).

I notice there is not an option to warp fleet to 100km, but there is that option for warping myself into a mission (assuming there's no acceleration gate). So I warp in at 100km and have my buddy warp to me; however, the ships were still targeting me and closing fast. I decided it would be best to kite, so I fly the opposite direction with an Afterburner activated.

Eventually it looks like the NPCs are diminishing in numbers and I turn back around to engage and help with DPS. Well, the ships were still firing at me, and damage came pretty fast. My active armor tank (Brutix is built for active armor tanking with it's repair bonus) held for some time, but I had replaced my DCU with a RCU for more PG (I was there for the DPS role, and more powergrid meant more guns).

A tip to any new players out there...

Without a Damage Control Unit (DCU) your ship's hull will evaporate, melt, disappear in mere seconds!!!

So, lesson learned, and I'm ok with that. I'll be back in my Vexor (Cruiser) tonight running level 2's to bridge the gap in how much I have now, and how much I need for a Dominix BS.

Small Update (Hek -> Juns)

I posted some time ago about moving from Oursulaert -> Hek to work for the Boundless Creation Corporation. I'm now completely moved from Hek and into the Junslaert (sp?) system. I have access to a LvL 3 / -9 quality Survalence agent (95% kill / 5% couriour) in the system, and the payout is great.

I'm still saving my funds for the Dominix battleship; I plan to heavy tank the ship while my IRL friend uses his Apoc for DPS. As for training, I'm halfway through Learning IV, and only need three more teir 2 learning skills.

I'm anxious to get to my learning skills goal so I can start training more ship skills. One of my first goals is Astrometerics, Hacking, & Archeology for scanning down and running complexes and sites. I like the idea of Exploration as it lets you run activities in other systems where you don't have access to any agents. With mission running I sometimes feel corn-holed into certain systems, but with Exploration you can scan down complexes in other systems and get some good action and money.

Seeking Corporation

Yes, that is correct. I'm giving up on my current Corp as there is never any of the other 23 members online, and the CEO replaced himself with a newbie alt while he went and joined a large PvP Corp.

Here's what I'm looking for...

1. Members Online: This can mean a large Corp and/or Alliance member count; as long as one or the other has enough numbers to produce a minimum amount of players online at any given time.

2. Some PvP: The title of my blog says it all; I love PvP! However, I'm still a new player (3 mill sp) and I'm not ready for pure PvP 100% of the time. This just means I'm not interested in a strictly industrial corps and/or strictly located in empire.

3. Mission Running: This is my current form of income, so joining a Corp with no focus on mission running leaves me bankrupt.

So, to sum up my expectations...

Medium-Large Corp, Preferably in a Medium-Large Alliance, and runs Mission & PvP ops.

Now... what I bring to the table...

I'm a dedicated gamer with 10+ years of MMORPG PvP experience. I started with Ultima Online where I was part of the #1 PK (Player-Killer) guild on my server. I then moved to SWG where I was the PvP officer of my guild, and we ran many PvP ops on Rebel bases (die, Rebel scum!). After UO and SWG I started playing WoW. I played the game for 3 years before I grew bored. I quit during Season 2, and at that time I had amassed a complete set of S2 gear with all the major enchants. Our 3v3 Team was rated 2045 at one time, but we consistently maintained a 1900+ rating.

I love to PvP, and as such I do my research on what works and what doesn't. I hope to eventually help my future corporation in the areas of PvP operations.

As of current, my character in EvE is sitting at 3 mill SP, and this may not seem like a lot; however, most of these points are in learning skills. This means my character is primed and ready to train as fast as possible (bearing the acquisition of +4 implants).

I'm a casual player, but I am active. I try to play at least 1-2 hours a night, and if I miss a night I usually make up for it over the weekend.

I can fly up to a Battleship T1, but I'm able to fit plenty of T2 modules due to my Gunnery & Armor Rep Skills.

If I sound like a fit for your Corporation, then please drop me a line in-game (Placebo Effect), or feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back with you.

Thanks,
Placebo Effect
Gallente
3 mill SP

It's a Little Late, but Here is the Blog Banter...

Things I Would Like to See in Ambulation

I come from an older gaming era when MMO's consisted of only a few choices. In today's world there are plenty of genres and game types out there for MMO's and they have all borrowed one feature or another from previous works in the field while adding their own twist to each title.

The one feature from old-world MMOs I don't see improved upon, or even implemented much, is housing. Now I know what you're thinking- How does housing have anything to do with Ambulation and a space MMO?

The answer is simple- longevity.

Housing adds another layer of Customer staying-power that is only out-matched by community. Have you ever known someone that won't let go of an old online title because their "friends" still play that game? Well, I know dozens of people that wouldn't leave Ultima Online because of all the work they put on their house and how connected they felt to it. Building up a house with design, materials, and rare possessions brings the same joy as building up a character does to most people in MMO's.

I once spent my entire 4 year savings on Fur Rugs.

Yes, that is correct. In Ultima Online I had amassed a small fortune and couldn't decide what to spend it on, so I eventually went with Fur Rugs. The Fur was a rare item that sold for 350-400k. I bought enough of them to line the entire floor space of my tower with Fur Rugs. To most this seemed ridiculous, but to them I say, is it any different than someone spending an exorbitant amount of money on a skill path to fly a ship that's rarely used, or even seen as the most proficient in the field?

No matter what they add, I sure hope there is some form of a customizable area for players to decorate with the heads of fallen foes, and not just an area for Corps and Alliances...
The opportunities for Ambulation are through the roof, and I hope CCP can deliver an excellent in-station experience!