How to Get Blatted

Basically, don't learn the disadvantages of your modules.

I don't blame Mal -- he obviously rigged the ship the way he wanted it. A Megathron. With Heavy Hybrids firing Antimatter and Iron. And including, in the lows, two Warp Core Stabilisers.

Which apparently cut your targeting range by half each time. Which meant that, before I could target a ship, I was looking down its gun barrels, and was well inside the effective range of any of my guns.

Took it into a fleet with AKFT, and found out. Escaped the first engagement, because they drew fire off me; never got into range on the second one (the AFB kept cutting out as well).

First experience of a Command Ship being in-fleet. Kept getting Shield points added, which made me think I was taking damage.


After that I took the Meg for a stroll among some other ships. Unfortunately they were far too heavy and by the time I got out (thankfully unscrambled) I was deep in armour and wondering if I hadn't ought to have structure tanked as well.

Won't be going back there in a hurry. Wonder what works well against 3 BS and a small horde of smaller. The Ogres didn't even have an effect.

Inshal.

Ponie-feeding time.

Combined Ops

Scoped out an unlisted jump-gate with the CovOps and found it guarded. So I sent the BC in, to clear the guard, and then sent the CovOps through the gate.

Which turned out to be hairier than the poniez wanted -- there were a fleet of ships, but there was also a close-in spotter. Who, when I decided to warp out, turned out to be packing something that shut my warp-drive down, as well as a webber, to kill my regular engines. Fortunately, when I'd stopped Snoball from panicking, I cut in the afb and just ran for it. And managed to outrun the warp-drive shutter-downer's range.

So, having had a day to think about it, I went back with the BC, and shot the guard, and then, once I'd Gone Through, I poured everything at the inside spotter. He (or she, I suppose -- though the piloting was about male-standard) melted and I got to look round, with everything else at about 60 k.

Then I spotted another PC ship -- a strategic cruiser -- my first to get a look at -- had a hole in the middle. Someone was firing at her, and since I had the opportunity, I fired back on his account. And then shamelessly kited along, letting her draw fire, and then picking off anyone who responded. Of course, that left wrecks, at which I wanted to look. Was tempted to use the BC salvager, but didn't want to be stranded when Whoever came back.

So had to warp out, and go fetch one of Mal's salvagers, with tractors. Eventually got all but two wrecks (which were full of scrap metal when you salved them), but then had agression at 40K, and decided to leave those last two and keep my skin whole.


So, just waiting now to get the bounties and then I'll nap.

Happy patch-day everybody !!

Fleeting Glances

Have had enough (for now) of Just Mining.

And didn't fancy the offer of L4 missioning with a fleetlet (sorry, gals); so I spent the day flying ships back and forth (or forth, and shuttling back), getting my own best set together in one place at one time, to see what I could do.

One BC, one Hulk, one Mammoth, one salvager, one scanner ship, one Assualt Frigate just in case things get needful.

Now I'll see what the poniez and I can do with them.

Though if a first flit is anything to go by ... Put it this way, 16 belts of roids, all of them scoured clean not only of rats but of rat corpses. I eventually found three rats cowering in a corner, and set drones on them (I was in the salvager at the time), and then found none of them had salvage to take. So I suspect that the Real Loot is somewhere else, and I will have to seek it out.


Wish me luck.
J

Hundredth-and-one post (apparently).

Broke from mining, to go ratting and meet up with the AKFT.

Took the Cheetah into the L1 dungeon, and found it totally empty, so slaughtered everything there, and salvaged. Oddly enough, there was no trigger to the next bit and no Overseer.

Then did some higher-sec belts waiting for corp op time, and then took Mal's Hulk into belts to wreck roids. And the Bear must have pimped up her Orca skills, 'cause my Strip Miners were running about 10% up (or down -- faster anyway) and they seemd to be clawing more ore, so that I didn't bother keeping it in my hold but just dumped it straight into jet cans.

When that had to end (RL Chinese run), I switched to clearing some of my module-loot. In the end, with a trip to Hek and back, and with Bear paying me for mining, I ended up netting almost *9 million*.

So me and the poniez are off to a spa for a day or two.

Then it's back to the mine face, I fear.