Ecliptic Rift

…or so a pilot named “Lightening Bug” [sic] seems to believe. I popped into Offikatlin on business in my Mastodon. LB sat in a heavy interdictor on the gate. Note, a HIC with a scripted warp disruption field can obviously trap a deep space transport despite the built-in warp core stabilization. So like any well-prepared and well-trained lowsec hauler, I aligned to my destination, engaged my MWD and cloak, and when the MWD cycle ended, decloaked and warped off. LB did not appreciate having her prey escape so easily.


[ 2010.02.27 19:49:14 ] Lightening Bug > nice exploit
[ 2010.02.27 19:49:16 ] Lightening Bug > reported


Perhaps the pilot in question should follow the advice she has in her own bio.

“Like everyone else, you want to learn the way to win, but never to accept the way to lose. To accept defeat–to learn to die–is to be liberated from it. Once you accept, you are free to flow and harmonize. Fluidity is the way to an empty mind. So when tomorrow comes, you must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying.” — Bruce Lee

Not all victories result in a ship explosion: she didn’t get a killmail and I completed my business in the area. Though I suppose the pirate losing to the industrial makes it an exploit, right?

I can haz ransom?

Some pirates use their head. They grab your industrial quickly with a heavy interdictor (whose “infinite point” overrides any warp core stabilizers), invite you quickly to a private channel, negotiate a ransom, and send you on your way.

Other pirates, not so much. They just two-volley you with multiple gank battleships, getting less ISK in the process.

Yes, you can haz my ransom

And some of us traders should think through their own tactics a little more so as not to run into both types in the same trip. Because last night… well, let’s just say Essence has more variety than my friend might have thought. I mean, it happened to a friend, but it could happen to anybody, right? Everybody gets caught sometimes…

Image credits EssjayNZ and shutupyourface via Flickr

Yes, we fly ships.

Yesterday, I asked on Twitter, “Question for the day: what ship class do you currently not have trained but REALLY want to fly?” I got some interesting responses:

• CyberInEve: “Heavy Interdictors”
• diaryofaraider: “Time to sound like a total noob. Battleship. I’ve been way too obsessed with T2 frigates to train beyond them.”
• tehmetalleer: “covert ops!”
• ericscho: “Still badly need to do stealth bomber and interceptors on FW pvp alt !”
• Novon: “I’m finishing my SB skills then going intercept. After that going to look a going lvl 5 in cruisers.”
• Rettic: “Right now I really want to fly a Battleship since i can’t seem to do any successful solo ratting in 0.0 atm… but really I want interceptors. Shouldn’t be too long.” This led to an interesting discussion on 0.0 ratting ships as we educated him a little.
• SHM5: “I have just trained carrier and supporting skills bit can’t afford one. I’d love to fly a Titan & blow up 400 ships in one go” Not for long!
• hi7ch: “Macherial (spelling) Have Gal BS 5 do not have Min BS5.. or even BS 1. then again that isnt a class.. sorry”
• autumnn_aether: “strategic cruiser. 22 or so days away. (and a couple hundred million ISK…)”
• MissionsCollide: “blackops. Mmmm. Blackops.”
• ChainerCygnus: “T2 ships Destroyer and above, Strategic Cruisers, and all Capitals.” Way to focus, bro..
• chocolips: “For me, marauder. I do a lot of missions in my mach. But the vargur is more efficient. Just fugly “
• 00sage00: “HICs (Broadsword), HAC (Ishtar), Recon (Curse), Command ship (Nighthawk). A lot of ships. And all different races. ”
• Ionst0rm: “easy – Wolf and Jaguar ”
• automaticjim: “I’d like to be able to fly a black ops battleship. I Know people don’t like them but the seem cool to me. ”

What about you?

Image credit unincorporated via Flickr