Kurt Lance

Meet Kurt Lance. That's right motherfuckers, I did it again. I bought a new main. I kinda miss the convenience of a jump freighter though so I know what I gotta save my iskies for. But after trying to resurrect the Duke name, I was quickly convinced I didn't want to train Advanced Weapons Upgrades V again. And all those racial destroyers... yeah fuck that.

Unlike Tawa Suyo, Kurt has no baggage. Despite his years of SP, he has a fairly untouched killboard and a blank reputation waiting for me to fuck it all up. So with that said, here is a blast from the past via Miura Bull's old Brutor Bullfighter blog.

Tell us a little bit about your background in New Eden.

I was given an early release from prison to participate in the Caldari State’s Capsuleer Program under the condition that I enlist in the Militia and fight for the State’s independence. The corporate leaders and politicians thought it was a good idea to unleash an army of vicious immortal murderers upon the Gallente Federation. The arrogant bastards thought they could control us…

How did you become a Black Rebel?

Looking for trouble, I stumbled into a dimly lit bar where I met some crazy a** pilots in black jackets kicking the sh*t out of a newspaper reporter... Just f*ckin with ya. Drugs, booze, hookers, and bullets, sounds like home. How could I not sign on the dotted line?

What were you doing before you joined the Black Rebels?

Before joining the Rebels, I served in the Caldari Militia as part of my court-ordered rehabilitation. Apparently the Caldari Militia doesn’t take kindly to assaulting their officers so I had no choice but to get the hell out of there. Somehow, my drunkenness led me to the Minmatar Militia where I was once again reminded that I was fighting for someone else’s agenda. I went AWOL again and became a Rebel. Now I fight for my own cause, whatever that might be on any given day.

What is a Black Rebel?

What is a Black Rebel!? A Black Rebel is someone who would punch you in the face and tell you to go f*ck yourself for asking something like that. A Black Rebel is that flashy red icon on your overview that makes your a**hole pucker up. A Black Rebel looks out for himself and his fellow Rebels and that’s it. A Black Rebel is everything you are not Mr. newspaper man.

Is it true you need a tattoo to be considered for entry?

Such a thing would constitute a rule and BRRC has none of those.

The Rifter, tell me more?

According to Evelopedia, “The Rifter has a wide variety of offensive capabilities, making it an unpredictable and deadly adversary.” The same can be said for a Black Rebel and therefore the two are made for each other.

Are all Black Rebels unwashed scumbags whose only goal in life is to terrorize those they tag as 'the enemy'?

Would you rather be murdered by a cleanly shaven scumbag?

Tell me about your corpmates?

The Black Rebels are the most vile, disgusting, bloodthirsty, pieces of sh*t New Eden has to offer. You’ll find none finer.

Describe a typical day in the life of a Rebel.

There is no typical day in the life of a Rebel. It all depends on the target(s).


End of transcript ////

Follow - Up (Homeless)

After yesterday's rant on being homeless in EVE, I've decided to quit sniveling and adjust. I considered heading back out to null but the corp I applied to turned out to be closed. I have graduated from joining cascading alliance in the process of their crumbling to attempting to join alliances, which have already failed and closed up. Hey, it saves me time and agony this way.

I seriously considered Brave's small gang corp, Brave Operations - Lollipop Division, but it always comes down to timezone for me. One of the biggest driving factors for soloing has always been the fact that no matter what corp I join, people are usually sleeping when i'm ready to break shit. When they want to break shit, I'm busy sucking down booze and roasted turkey legs that were cooked over an open-pit flame by my ol-lady. Who am I kidding? I'm a lone wolf. You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but all he needs to know is how to bite.

It has become fairly evident to me that the scram-kite game I enjoyed much success with has proliferated throughout Lowsec. The masses have caught on. I have had four fights with my new toon. Three losses and one victory (finally... SHIT), all of which demonstrated the evolving meta of Lowsec PVP.

The first fight was Atron vs. Atron. I never really know how to proceed with this kind of battle but in this instance I decided to use my range and hope he was looking to slug it out up close. I loaded null and burned off the beacon to around 7km. Things were going well but he started closing on me. I don't think he was snaked or linked, probably just speed rigs/mods but who knows? I believe I took him into armor first but I was a little slow on activating my repper. This fight was where the rust really showed... Once he hit my structure I instantly exploded. Someone forgot to turn on their damage control...

I'll spare the details of the next two fights. Sard Caid kicked my ass with an arty Firetail and once I realized what was happening it was too late. Then I had another Atron vs. Atron scuffle that was basically me wanting to brawl him down with Caldari Navy Anti-Matter and him fitting rails and saying nope to my stubby blasters.

The fourth fight was Slasher vs. Atron. I used to love fighting Slashers in the scram-kiting Atron so when I saw this dude on scan I licked my lips and got ready for an easy kill. I was in a 150 rail Atron this time, slightly gimped due to being smartbombed and losing my genos (WTF with the Santo wannabes?). But this dude was closing range on me like nothing. It was a really good fight. I eeked out the victory but my mids were fried and so where his. After reviewing his fit, I realized the lowsec meta was evolving again. Again, speed rigs to counter those pesky scram kiters...

Sometimes you get set in your ways. Things work so well that it becomes hard to do anything else. I have been so stubborn that I didn't even have EFT installed on my computer. I had lost sight of what makes EVE so great... the constant evolution of tactics.

I think I'll stay in Lowsec and lose some terribly fit T1 frigates for a bit.

666 Page Views

I haven't had much to post lately. A combination of insufficient fitting skills and real life obligations have kept me away from internet space ships for the last week. Before I went AWOL, we had a nice little R1FTA wolfpack roam on a Saturday afternoon. I spent most of my time reshipping but we nailed a pair of Sviples (SP?), whored on a Myrm kill that Lord Paylor basically solo'd in his Confessor, and took out a couple cruisers I think. It was a fun roam but I still hate FCing.

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Skilling up a new character is frustrating and takes a lot of patience, which is generally something I don't have. So I gave in and purchased another character with great skills and the ability to fly a lot of things. I want to keep Duke in R1FTA and continue contributing to this great corp by FCing roams and providing content, while he builds up skill-points. But with my new toon, I want to venture off into something different. 

I considered starting my own corp again but that never ends well. Being a CEO is a challenge that requires a special kind of person. I just don't want the hassle and a corp is something you just can't, or shouldn't walk away from. As a CEO, other players' enjoyment of EVE is riding on you and that is a little more responsibility than I'm looking for. 

So where to next? I think the lowsec meta has passed me by. I feel like an old dog that just can't learn the new tricks, or maybe I just don't want to learn them. Lowsec doesn't feel like home anymore. Nowhere does. 

I recently did a two week stint with Brave. While I enjoyed the friendly nature of the coalition at first, the TiDi was unbearable and I didn't really enjoy being lost in the pack. There are soooo many people on comms, you have no idea who you are talking to half the time. The new SOV changes are interesting, not that I really understand them, but they do present something new. 

NPC Null has always intrigued me. It seems like a big fight-club atmosphere but from what I hear (and see on recruitment forums), it's pretty dead. 

I hate FW and RvB. No offense meant but they just aren't for me. 

Highsec wars... Fuck that.

And I'm done probing wormholes...

So this brings me back full-circle to SOV Null. If only they had smaller corps within the grand scheme of it all... small gang operators... fleets that don't crash my laptop... smaller groups to socialize with. 

Thanks blogger for helping me work this out. 

~DK

What's In My Rifter's 8-Track

Rebirth

“Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you're allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It's like killing yourself, and then you're reborn. I guess I've lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now.”
― Charles Bukowski

....

The thumb... It's what separates us from the animals. It's what he used to release the clip from the .45. The sound of cold steel on cold steel as the magazine dropped from the pistol into his other hand...

He closed his eyes and held the mag below his nose, inhaling the sweet metallic sent of the hollow points as if he were smelling a woman. Then slammed the mag home, racked the slide, and dropped the hammer. Music to his ears. Gun in hand, he stroked his mohawk from back to front before sliding the weapon into its holster. 

Warn black leather boots...

Wraparound locs...

12 inch bowie knife with bone handle...

...tools of a Rebel.

He took a long pull on the whiskey bottle, then walked out of the room. 

He was back.

 

What's in My Rifter's 8-Track

I love that dirty sound...

Tale of the Tape

When CCP rebalanced Tech 1 frigates, the Rifter was left behind. Once the mighty king of the T1 Frig world, the Rifter soon became a ship that simply cluttered our hangar bays. What made the Rifter so powerful was its ability to project damage from the edge warp-scrambler range. The ship was one of the fastest available and often fit with the Scram/AB/Web combination allowing the pilot to dictate range. Throw in the ability to select damage types and you had yourself quite a death-delivering beast with the ability to handle just about any ship in its way.

That all changed with a single patch. Other frigates became relevant while the Rifter remained itself. CCP Developers bestowed the scram-kiter crown to the Atron. The Atron possessed the same sig radius, faster speed, and three mids for the always-valued Scram/AB/Web combo, a higher damage producing weapon system, and enough range to generate chaos from 8-9km out. The only downside to the Atron was its lack of damage selection, however the amount of DPS the little ship could generate made up the difference. Frigate enthusiasts mothballed their Rifter fleets and purchased Atrons in bulk.

It was heartbreaking to witness the Rifter’s decline. Surely CCP would not let this valiant warrior rust away into obscurity. And they did not. CCP rose to the occasion and gave the Rifter its place in the sun. Recent changes to the hull (Specifically the falloff bonus) have made the popular ship valuable again. Although she will never be the king-of-the-hill she once was, she has a place again beyond just in our hearts.

Dust off your Rifters and take a journey with me as we examine this beast along side its new scram-kiting sister, the Atron. Overheat those afterburners and burn out of that Merlin’s blaster range. It’s time to feel the battle-rattle of the 200mm autocannon once again.

[Atron – Cookies] Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S Light Neutron Blaster II, Null S J5B Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I X5 Prototype Engine Enervator Experimental 1MN Afterburner I Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Small Ancillary Armor Repairer Damage Control II Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I Small Hybrid Ambit Extension I Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I	[Rifter – Cookies] 200mm Autocannon II, Barrage S 200mm Autocannon II, Barrage S 200mm Autocannon II, Barrage S J5B Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I X5 Prototype Engine Enervator 1MN Afterburner II Gyrostabilizer II Small Ancillary Armor Repairer Damage Control II Small Projectile Burst Aerator I Small Projectile Ambit Extension I Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
(All figures based on all V skills) Speed: 1325 (1725 OHd) DPS: 154 (177 OHd) Range: 3.15km Optimal +7.55km Falloff EHP (Vs RF Fusion Projectile Ammo): 2.68k	(All figures based on all V skills) Speed: 1193 (1562 OHd) DPS: 113 (130 OHd) Range: 1.50km Optimal +15.50km Falloff EHP (Vs Caldari Navy Antimatter): 2.95k

Comparing the numbers of two nearly identical fits (The Rifter’s fitting numbers allow for a T2 AB giving a little more speed), the Atron is faster and has better DPS, while the Rifter has better range and more tank against the Atron’s null ammo.

The Rifter’s increased range with barrage actually brings its DPS into the same range as what the blaster Atron’s would be at the edge of scram range and exceeds it the further you move out. Also, the Rifter’s range advantage translates over to the higher-damage producing Republic Fleet ammo. The numbers using Republic Fleet Fusion ammo, for example, are: DPS-141 (163) @ 750m optimal + 10.3km Falloff.

Graph courtesy of roigon (@roigonEVE, http://www.the20minuters.com/)

The conclusion is, in a scram-kiting battle, the Rifter should trump the Atron. It would be a great fight with the outcome hinging on pilot skill but the Rifters ability to use ammunition that exploits the Atron's weakest resist should allow it to come out on top.

Welcome back Rifter… Welcome back.