Monday, October 29, 2012

Brief Glimpse of a Silver Lining

        "Did he just run away from us? Are we sure something scarier than us didn’t just undock as well?"
        "Well I thought of that, but there are no shuttles on scan." 

            -- Fodder, Burke - Clear Skies 2

[ You lost another Purifier?! ] Even over the comm link Eta's exasperation was palpable. [ This is now your third... ]

"Fifth!", I corrected.

[ ... fifth, whatever. Do you get them for free with your morning coffee or something? ] She took a breath. [ And since you're going to tell me anyway: How did it happen this time? ]

"Glad that you ask!" I replied happily, ignoring her little barb.

"You know that I hadn't had time for flying since the Tannakan conquest last week, so when I undocked yesterday after rearming my ship, I again went for some defensive plexing."

[ Still uncomfortable fleeting up with random others, and heading to the frontlines, eh? ]

"Yes." I admitted, with only a hint of embarrassment. "But seeing that, defensive plexing is perfect: I do something for the war effort, and it's an open invitation for hostiles to come and shoot me. And it worked out as planned: I was in my second plex, when Rakkas Kanenald in his Wolf assault ship dropped by for an exchange of pleasantries, counsel, and highly explosive ammunition."

[ Let me guess: you foolishly decided to engage with your mismatched weapons, he kicked your butt, 'good fights' were exchanged, drinks for everyone. Can I go now? ], she ended sarcastically.

"Not quite..."

[ Drat! ]

"...you're right, though, in that I did engage, and started launching my ordnance as soon as I was in range. I briefly considered also putting a point on him, but piloting manually I just couldn't keep consistent range, so I didn't bother. He did land a couple of hits on me, which were easily handled by pulsing my shield booster, aaannnd ... suddenly he was in low armor and high-tailed out of the plex!

  Rakkas Kanenald> unexpected :)

were his exact words."

[ That's a first! ]

"Yup." I grinned at the memory.

[ But how... oh, he came back, right? ]

"That he did. And I knew for sure that he wouldn't have come back if he hadn't thought of a way to counter me. Plus, I saw a Myrmidon and a Falcon skulking around on scan, though in the end they didn't interfere with the fight.

"Obviously, the chances weren't very good, but I didn't want to just bail and run, so I decided to change my tactics: instead of aggressively orbiting him, I decided to try and kite him, let him come to me. Unfortunately, he had refitted from Autocannons to Artillery, and my low transversal was just what he needed.

"Plus, for some reason I had switched from my Navy Mjolnir missiles to Nova Furies - so my damage projection was far insufficient. The shield booster bought me some time, but inevitably the bleed-through from his artillery strikes tore my ship apart.

"So ... *poof*. And then in the excitement I forgot to warp my pod out. ... I could have accepted the pod ransom, but I think I was too embarrassed at that moment."

[ At least you were cheap. ]  Eta sighed. [ I hope you learned your lesson of flying this paper bag-excuse for a ship. ]

"Are you kidding? This was fun!"

2 comments:

  1. The main problem with a purifier taking on a frigate is that the torps really don't do great damage to ships of that size.

    However, there are options that are (a) cheaper and (b) much like the sort of fight style you're already working on. The condor, for example, is an excellent t1 missile frigate and should be an easy cross train for you, assuming you can't already fly it. As an added benefit, you'll be picking up good skills for flying the new Caldari missile destroyer (the Corax) in December, an update to the game that will also update the minmatar/Burst (missiles + active shield tank bonuses) and introduce the Minmatar missile destroyer.

    TL;DR: try out the Condor! :) Eve Altruist has a number of fits here: http://www.evealtruist.com/2012/10/what-to-fit-slasher-and-condor.html

    This is a pretty low-skill version I share with new pilots that might work for you. It's quite cheap and surprisingly durable, if you can maintain range.

    [Condor, T1 TD Kite]
    F85 Peripheral Damage System I
    Ballistic Control System I

    J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
    Small Ancillary Shield Booster, Cap Booster 25
    DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I, Tracking Speed Disruption Script
    Limited 1MN MicroWarpdrive I

    Experimental TE-2100 Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile
    Experimental TE-2100 Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile
    Experimental TE-2100 Light Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile
    [empty high slot]

    Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
    Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
    Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for fit! I have been at the receiving end of a Condor before, and it wasn't a happy ending for me, so I have found respect for it. The only problem is... it's a Caldari ship, and I just can't seem to bring myself to like them, no matter how über some are. I have flown the Drake when its specific advantages warranted it, but even that rarely. I may change my mind since I am really starting to like light missiles and rockets, but I'll have to see.

      But while I agree that using a Purifier for Frigate combat is a stupid idea (incidentally that was the name of my most recently lost ship), I think you missed one detail... :)

      Delete