Fighting BACK...

Continuing the theme of how Tura sux at PvP, and his plans to unsuck hisself…(Jeez that sounds SOO bad…)

OK, recent PvP experiences:

+1

In the 8+ months I have been ingame I have been more concerned with learning my way around, skilling up, getting into better ships, finding my “place” here… which turns out to be a Wormholer. Living in a wormhole can be very lucrative and in the right hole, can be, strangely enough, quite a bit safer than HiSec. I have lived in the C2 ever since we anchored Serenity Station 2 months ago… but so far ALL of my losses since then have been when I am in HiSec during wars or LowSec during roams or such.

Now that I am getting settled into the lifestyle and career path I have chosen my interest in PvP is growing and my dissatisfaction with my performance in PvP is growing apace. So I had finally made a successful store run with my Whoredur (get it? Hoarder…  lol) full of gas mining products for the corp. While in HiSec at Dodi (Dodixie) station, I decided to try for a little PvP practice and do a solo LowSec rattin run. I wanted to see if I could… (1) enforce myself to keep my cool when under attack and (2) if so to work on making snap decisions, hopefully good one, IE whether to run or fight, and how to execute each in a calm cool James T. manner.

I have a love for the Stabber… I own several. It is fast and can be decently close range armed. It makes a very good Tackle Crusier and can run multiple tackle mods, Web & Scam and Neut & Nos. You do give up tank for tackle, but as with Tackle Frigs speed is your friend, you use your speed to avoid getting hit so if you fly it right you shouldn’t need a big tank… plus they are inexpensive and easy to replace. This one I am going to fly till I get popped. I want some PvP and I am willing to lose this ship to get it. Now unnerstand I want to fly home a winner… but I full well realize that I am (1) going solo and (b) I am but a nubbins still at pew pew… While this may be a really good way to get some PvP, it is also not a ‘winning’ combo in most cases. Most lowsec pirates work in teams and groups… Statistically speaking I will face a lot more PPPVP than straight up PvP.

So… I jumped in my Stabber “Back II” (get it? ‘BACK’ ‘Stabber’??  LOL) and checked the map for a nearby LowSec other than Decon…  (I say other than Decon as we have done a LOT of lowsec roams there in the recent past…) anyhoo, I end up back in Decon simply because it has good stats… not ‘too’ many pilots insystem ATM and not ‘too’ many recent jumps and not ‘too’ many recent ship and pod kills… but not none neither…

Anyhoo… I head on out and jump in. I start randomly running the ABs looking for NPCs. Now my plan is to actually rat… to kill NPCs making some bounty and loot I$K. then asplodin my wrecks to deny others the salvage cause I’m just that way you see. I warp in at 50KM, if there are NPCs, I go to work. I constantly spam DScan and I keep my tactical view zoomed out to at least 50KM so I can immediately pick up on any pirates what might warp in on my locale. I am tryin to keep my head about me, getting myself set in PvP mode… sorta preamping myself up so the sudden arrival of a live pirate won’t (hopefully) blow my cool as it usually does.

And it finally happens. Now I would love to tell you all the gritty details in a proper After Action Report style as to the Ship type, Ship name, Pilot name, etc., etc. … but that is part of the overall issue… I get overamped and the simplest tasks become incredibly hard plus, it has been a day or so ago and I am an OLD MAN… with OLD brain and deep case of CRS (Can’t Remember Shit)… anyhoo, so I had this Flashing Orange Pirate land approx 20KM out from me and he makes to do violence to my boat as it were. I go through the rush and the sudden NEED to RUN, I am trying to get a grip on myself, I turn and…

It is so hard to describe in words how I feel during PvP. Scared? Yes… but of what? I mean it‘s a computer GAME… it’s not REAL. But yes… scared. The age old “Fight or Flight” instinct kicks in and as is usual, Flight is the first response as Fight can get you hurt or killed. Fight is always a LAST resort and if there is a way to Run your instincts tell you to take it. You have to force yourself to turn and attack when you think there may be a way out… and in space, it is hard to feel ‘cornered’, if you know what I mean. Yes your logical mind tell you that he has you webbed and scrammed and you are in essence, cornered or trapped, but there is all that empty SPACE around you… Run Away! Run Away! your instincts cry…

But I don’t. I force myself to turn and attack... and so we dance… my heart is pounding… I am controlling my ship and myself and fighting ONLY by sheer willpower.

I lock him up and start the music. He’s a bit faster than me so I can’t get in Nos and Web range but I am hittin him w/ my guns and my One Lone Drone (which I ALWAYS forget to launch… dint THIS time!!  Ha HA!) I am manually flying, jinking and constantly working to get him in range of my webber while also avoiding flying directly AT him thereby keeping some transversal velocity. He is hitting me… and getting into my shields… but less than I had expected. I am hitting him… getting into his shields… lees than I hoped but more than I expected… prolly my One Lone Drone is really helping there, Warrior I’s are quite fast and it keeps hittin him cause he is concentrating on me and not my drone.

Then another ship lands on the field… CRAP!! Is he an ally of my attacker or a neutral or, hope against hope, an eminy of my eminy?? The pirate attacking me breaks contact and warps away. The other guy also warps off…  huh? uh… whatinhell?? My shields were down to approx 50% his were down to something like 65% so neither of us were in that bad a shape. Mebbe the other guys was an eminy of his or he felt it was a losing battle… I was tanking his damage somewhat ok… I’ll never know I guess.

I warp ‘tween safes while waiting out my GCC timer then go to the local station and clear my hold of the loot I had picked up and head back out. Start back randomly runnin the belts and rattin. Doesn’t take long afore I attract the attention of another pirate. As I said before I am concentrating on tactics and fighting so I don’t know if this is the same guy from earlier, but I don’t think it was. Anyhoo… he lands really close on me and we start to dancin...

And I pop. LOL… I check the kill mail and it was a Cynabal running 425mm AutoCannon II’s… I was pwned. Oh well… I fought back as best I could but he had me webbed and scrammed and once I lost transversal, he just tore through my tank. So it goes… I got my pod out (getting good at that at least) and went home feeling a just “little” bit better about meself…

I had fought off one pirate earlier… no I don’t know why he broke contact and left but he did and I was NOT getting pwned by him at the time. Mebbe he reshipped and he was the guy who popped me later… but he dint do it the 1^st time!!!

Fly Safe and see you in the Sky  =/|)=