I'm breaking this update in 3 parts to cover all the things I've done properly, so I don't fall into that category of blogs. :)
Part 1. PVP
The amount of red activity in the Providence and Domain regions have increased considerably in the last week. We have seen a new group (at least new to me) called Balls Deep Inc. roaming a lot in the area. That with the regular -A- fleet always looking for trouble has made the PVP interesting. I really like this extra activity in our area. Every night that I felt like PVPing there was always a fleet to get into. The extra activity also makes me pay more attention when not in fleet and makes the game feel more *alive*.
I'm still flying the Thorax. I followed some of the advice given by Kirith Kodachi in a previous post and ended up with a better tank (1400+ more EHP) and better dps (+15) than before. Basically I changed one of the MFS I for a MFS II and the second MFS for a second EANM I. By next Wednesday I'll be done with Gallente drone skills which will finally unlock Hammerhead II which will increase my dps. In some near future I'll add Hull Upgrades V to open up the EANM II option.
I still think I'm doing something wrong. I originally thought it was just *luck*, but I now think there is more to it. Let me explain...
After our scouts spot some reds and their direction we would either wait for them at the other side of a gate or set up a trap with some tasty bait on their side of the gate. Once the bad guys are locked the fights usually go down really quick. Unfortunately I feel that I'm a universe away to be part of the fight. With my new ammo selection (antimatter) my optimal is almost 1k. Even with the mwd engaged it takes me an eternity to get to a distance where my blasters can do any damage. Usually my drones are the only contribution to the fleet.
I felt that luck had to do a lot with this because I would be at ~10k from the gate waiting for the incoming target, but it will pop at 10k from the gate at the COMPLETE OPPOSITE position from mine. In other words I have been always 15-20K away from my target. By the time I get there I'm lucky if I shoot once. Then I read this really good post by Xiphos83 and I think that my problem is not having the Thermodynamic skills for overheating my mwd (and maybe web and scramble as needed). If I understand the post and skills correctly, this should give me enough push for me to get in order quicker and use my tackle earlier. I'm adding these to my July training schedule. I thought about adding it earlier, but I'm in track for flying a Brutix by the end of the month!!
I'm really excited about the Brutix. I'm a sucker for Gallente spaceships. It is a really easy ship for me to slip into since it uses a lot of the skills I currently use for the Thorax. If all goes as planed I will have BC skills up to iv with a bunch of related skills to iv also. I saw one of those in action in one of the fleets I joined and I was really impressed.
What are your navigation skills like? Also, for a ship like the thorax, get closer to the gate so you are equal distance to all incoming targets or can jump through to catch one running.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning I was positioning myself close to the gate, but thought about orbiting around the 10k mark hoping to get someone right in top of me, but never happened.
About the skiills...
Navigation, AB and evasive maneuvering to level iv,
acceleration control and fuel conservation to level iii
high speed maneuvering and warp drive operation to level ii
Acceleration control will be soon (after i'm done with tech 2 drone training) put in the queue for level iv.
As always, any comments are welcome.
Thx!
Your best bet is to just sit at the gate because that garuntees that a target to be 10km away, give or take a little. But when you orbit the gate you run the risk of the target warping in on the oppisite side; thus putting you 20km away. Reread Kirith's post and I realized I'm just restating his comment :P
ReplyDeleteFor a Thorax, I would get Navigation to V (more base speed), Acceleration to IV (more MWD / AB speed boost), and Evasive Man. to IV or V (more agility). Also make sure Spaceship Command is V for even more agility. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to both for your comments!
ReplyDeleteI currently have Spaceship Command at IV and in my training plan I have this training to V along with acceleration control to IV. I do have to find a spot for Navigation V.
Will try back on the gate as suggested.
Don't forget that post Quantum Rise, Blaster boats get the short end of the stick when it comes to small to medium gang warfare. Most of your smaller run-of-the-mill red gangs will fly Interceptors, Recons, and HACs in Providence 0.0 so you're almost always going to encounter ships that are by nature hard to snag, even being in a cruiser yourself.
ReplyDeleteBlasters are not quite as dominating as they used to be and they were given a death knell by most veteran plays last fall, but since then there has been a leveling out of sentiments concerning them. Yes they are still viable, no the Megathron is not dead for PvP, but they are less likely than before to whore killmails or get in some good licks on a primary before it goes down.
If you really love the blasters, consider training to T2 Small Blasters, as you can get more EHP off a Thorax by fitting 1800mm Tungsten and T2 Light Blasters than 800mm Tungsten and T1 Medium Blasters. Until you are able to front T2 Meds, the DPS difference between smalls and mediums is minimal (think 5%). The reason I say T2 smalls is because then you can fit T2 ammo, so slop some Null S in there while you're trying to gain a tackle, you only lost 25% of your DPS when you use Null S instead of Void S but you go from total effective range under 3km to total effective peaking at almost 9km.
A Thorax still does a considerable amount of DPS with it's T2 Hammers as well, so you should be packing around 390DPS with minimal skills so long as you can fit T2 Smalls and Hammers.
er sorry, correction was thinking meds, the difference is between 3km and nearly 7km, and if you're on top of the gate as suggested, that means you can start dealing gun damage at 7km instead of 3km. You may now whore killmails! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and tips!!!
ReplyDeleteBy Sunday I'll be using Hammerhead II and by mid July hopefully T2 guns.