Change

Eve is changing……. So I need to change

With the `new patch rhythm it is changing faster than ever, and with it I need to as well.  See Eve literally  saved my life well it comes down to one person in Eve, but the game and notable people in here helped  me.  There has been a shift the constant stress of RL and our current situation in Null have brought out feelings I had damned people on my blog/twitter/reddit.

 

So I need to change so I can be better, and hopefully feel better.  

 

First I deleted my Reddit account.

 

Reddit was a place I used as a resource for Intel at first, and then got embroiled in the trolling, and trash talking that is generated in there.  Now there good things there do not get me wrong, but there are good post that support fellow eve players/events, CCP posts and very good folks, but deleting my account was the best thing to help avoid me even wanting posting anything.  It pulled me into saying things that are not what I want to be like anymore.

 

The next thing was this blog:

 

I delete some posting that named folks that said or did things I felt wronged me.  They weren’t any more right than I was, but at least now I feel better that I don’t have to look at it, and move  on from there. I had thought about closing the whole thing as I am unsure if it was worth it, and if I

could do this in a way that was meaningful to anyone, but myself.  But Twitter changed my mind, and  thank the folks there that gave me the idea for this very post.   So in that same thread I apologize to those folks PFR, Emma Kado, and any other group I may have called out.  Right wrong or indifferent its over its done, and for what it’s worth I hope we can move on, go about our Eve business.

 

Eve saved me literally, and I owe it to a few people I wanted to thank, and show that there are some

great folks in eve. 

 

First to my Alliance and my Corp. you all are my brothers, and sisters that have followed my

FCing as best you can follow a crazy soldier!  Stay strong guys we’ll get though all the nonsense that is going on.

 

Our blues who have join my fleets and supported our operations you all have been great.

 

Personal thanks; 

 

The people below have had a heavy part helping and getting me feeling better, and really enjoying this game.  Some of these people I will name are their respective twitter handle or in game name if you would rather me not have you on there at this time of this posting hit me up and I will take your name off of here.  No offense on the order I just wrote as I thought.

 

Spanky Ikkala:  This man is one of the main folks who has talked to me and helped me with my issues.  A fellow soldier, and loud advocate for the Broadcast4reps (#B4R) in game channel/twitter hash tag. 

 

Maximus Aerelius:  My brother we’ve talked to each other about our similar issues on twitter for a

while, and we have come a long way.  Our talks have helped me be better, and I for one count you as my brother, and friend that I wouldn’t think twice to come running to help if you ever called.

 

Emma Kado:  I hated you for a time till I sat down and started writing this, and where I realized I had really messed up, and figured out we are one in the same for the most part.  Though I as told this once already by someone, and it is true looking at it.  Sorry about what I said for what it is worth, and hope the best for you.

 

Sarragossa:  People in the alliance call you mom, and for good reason.  You deal with all our problems RL and in game.  You care about the alliance more than the boss!  You've talked me from the edge of quitting more times than I like to think of, and I cant thank you enough for that. 

 

sweetnjuicy:  Saved me from myself, and still holds me together in the worst of times.  No matter how bad it gets always brings me back to where I am thinking straight.  There are not words to say to thank you, and or give enough to equate what you have done.  Thank you.

 

TorrinDeCaptor:  One of the blues I just met not to long ago. Pretty sure we were separated at birth or something.  I knew I like this dude the moment he hopped on comms!  We'll deal with our issues and pod those who try to fuck with us man.  Hoping I can learn a lot from you and your time FCing, and our Armor fleets will make others cower!

Joffy Aulx-Gao / Rixx Javix:  Dirty pirates both, but the best two folks you can run into.  They both have done what they can to help me out in Eve, and have been there for me when others could not.  Joffy you are an inspiration, and Rixx you got me to do this, which has helped me a lot.  Thank you both.

 

The real question is can I change?  Well I will have to or continue to suffer, and hurt those above who have been helping me.  So here it goes, and I hope I can get things righted so I can help get us through the crazy that is Eve, and these constant updates, and soon to be SOV changes.

 

Day one starts on this post, and lets see how it goes.  Fly safe folks.

 

Orion Sa-Solo

 

 

 

Lead, Follow, or GTFO

Sorry so for the lack of posting, but RL has been....difficult to say the least, and with the recent patch to Eve, and what this post is about has got me going and 100mph.

This is what was bred into me for 4 years, and something that sticks with me to this day.  We have great people in my Alliance, but getting someone to take charge during a fight at times became an issue.

I am still new to the game, and with only a year in I still feel unqualified to be CEO, and now a FC (Fleet Commander).  My first try of it was a nasty one, and I welped about 600mil worth of ships against a Snails and Frogs gang.  If you do not know who Snails and Frogs are they a Worm Hole group that can give you a nasty fight if you do not respond quickly, and fight on your terms.

LEAD:

Taking charge is key, and setting the tone of who you are going to be as a FC/Leader in general has to be first and foremost.  Do you want zero chatter? Loose and free comms?  Whatever you decide make sure everyone knows as soon as you take control so there is no confusion.  DO NOT! tell your fleet (we are all going to die).... I do not understand why you would do that, even if you know you are going into a fight that you will lose.  Take the fight like you are going to win always, and the reason for this is you'd be surprised how people react even in the face of a losing fight, and what can be accomplished.  Even if you are unsure about a command or what you are about to do act like it's something you've done a 100 times.  Confidence like that even if it does not work out helps show that you are not second guessing yourself.  As soon as you do that they will start to second guess you.

FOLLOW:

This is really the hard part in my opinion as getting people to follow you, is not easy especially in Eve Online.  As trust is worth more than PLEX at any given point, and once gained is a powerful tool.  To you all fleet members follow if you have questions ask just make sure its not during an active part of a fleet.  Educate yourself if your FC, Corp, Alliance, and so on are not so you can be a better asset to the group.  If you do not like the way the FC is running a fleet wait till after or just bow out early if you can.  Disrupting a fleet can get everyone killed and/or kill the moral of the fleet.

GTFO:

Like it says get out if you are not willing to do either.  If you want to be a solo pilot thats great nothing wrong with that, but in a corp/alliance you've got to be able to do one of the above.  If you cant your not helping anyone.  Eve is all about helping helping each other....or helping destroy one another..

Orion

Little Victories

Being a CEO or really just being a player in Eve is the little victories.  

For me it's the little victories in Eve, and they in turn keep me doing what I am doing.  Trying to run a corporation, keep members logging in, putting together content, and making sure folks do what is asked of them can be difficult at its best.

Getting new members!

Teaching a new member the basics of living in Null Sec, and them earning more isk than I do!

Catching that pirate that's killed some of your members this CODE. you take that, and take a small victory lap.

Getting your first good loot drop from a Rat.  Got this little guy Rogue Drone 42-X Nexus Chip!  Which you can turn into a Sisters of Eve LP store to get a Nestor BPC, and then build a Nestor from that.

To the point Eve is a harsh place that can be as dark as space itself.  Taking the bad with the good is the only way to survive, and keep playing Eve.  

CEO: what can I do?

For me it's providing the enviroment to be able to get those little victories.  

Letting your directors handle their areas.  This seems straight forward, but you have to be vigilant and make sure what they do, and intend to do falls inline with your vision.  Guide, and set paramiters so they know where to stop, and how far they can go.  Have them or yourself set up goals you'd like them to attain or see what theirs are.  Start small getting those little victories early and often will only help to do bigger and better things.

Set up awards and/or medals to give out to members.  A little recognition can go a long way for moral.

Set up small corp events that will test them, and have a payoff.  Example would be a mining fleet night with with goal of mining enough for a Carrier.

These are my little victories, but what are yours?

Finding new members

Hello can I tell you about the word Bob?



Recruiting in Eve Online is one of the most interesting, and possibly one of the more frustrating things in the game.  I'll try to cover Recruiting in Eve as best I can, and from how I started to where I am.

So you've started a Corp. and now you are looking to fill it?  Well there are a lot of options out there to you, and as a new CEO you may not even know some of these exist!  These are not rated in any kind of order of which is better than the other.


1.  Corp. Advert:  If you are looking for new members using this is a must especially when looking for new players.  Setting this up I feel is pretty important as it's a direct representation of your Corp. and how you do business.  Filling this out with what you can do, and what you do not do is key to finding the right people you are looking for.  Put your own flair to it, and you would be surprised how many members you can pick up from it.  That being said it tends to run in spurts when you hit milestones like the sliding scale; 10, 50, 100, and etc.  Once you hit those you'll see a marked increase in applications when you hit those numbers as your advert tends to populate more on the recruiting page.  Be sure to set it up with a recruiting chat channel, and throw some people in there that can be good at talking, and helping people through your recruiting process.

2.  New Player Help:  You remember being new to Eve right?  Well there is a Rookie help channel you join when you first start a new character, and if you have time sitting in there and helping can bring people to you.  After helping a couple of people in that chat they later asked me if they could join win win I say!

3.  Gate to Gate:  Hitting the Stations, belts, and mission areas looking for people I find the best luck in myself.  If looking for miners I'll grab an Orca with some ships, and make my way to the systems around a starter system.  Normally I start at a .5 and make my way up to the 1.0 area hitting all the belts in a Procurer, or my Orca depending.  Then I just chat up any player not in a Corp. or those who started there own, but they are the only one in there.  If they are not interested I'll see if they need any help, and hang out for a bit.  If I have done any mining I jet can the Ore, and abandon it next to him on my way out.  Mission running is a bit different I'll run some missions, and look for players in need of advice or help, and try to do my best.  These tend to be the ones that are not in a Corp., and are needing some guidance on fitting or finishing off a room etc...  PvP is a bit tougher as normally you just popped your potential recruit!  But all is not lost saying Good Fight in local, and paying for his ship loss ( within reason), or starting a convo talking to him about things he could have done better could get you a new member.

4.  Forums:  I haven't had any luck on forums, but it is a tool none the less!  If I could suggest a site its Eve University's.  They have a Work Fair thread where you can put up your recruiting information once you register.

5.  Real Life:  You'd be surprised who plays video games, and telling people you play one like Eve isn't near as looked down on as it used to be.  So talk about Eve to others wouldn't you want someone you actually know flying the ship next to you?


The Interview

 



Every Corp. is different, and they should be!  Stay Frosty. is a totally open PvP Pirate corp for example.  The key is letting them know what you expect/want, and ask questions to better figure out who you have that wants to join.  I normally ask things like what do they want to do in Eve?  Do you have Team Speak?  What are your play times? Etc. Etc.  I've found out this way that English may not be the person's first language which is important as a lot of things can be lost in translation.  I do not tell them everything till I have checked out their API (more to follow on that), and kind of got a better of idea of who I have been typing at.

Background Check:  Like with the Interview this is subject to how you do things.  Our Alliance requires a Account Wide non-expiry API in order to join.  This may seem intrusive and in regards it can be, but it's a check that everyone uses to prove you are who say you are.  I use Evemon a free program to check the API's I get submitted.  I also check sites like;  Eve Who and zKillboard these help me get a different look at their information.

I am sure there is more that you or your group does, but Eve is back on line and I need to get in!

-Orion

Mob Mentality

While playing Eve I try to be as easy going as I can be.  Not try to jump to anger, and be understanding to;  issues, complaints, problems, he said/she said, drama, etc...  I try to remind myself not to troll people as you never know how your words may affect someone else.  I'm human though and fail a lot in things I try to do, and this brings me to the Mob Mentality.

I say Mob Mentality as if a group starts to troll another even though you're not the type to, you very well may troll those people in return.  This normally seems to start in Eve with a bit of trash talking from one side or the other.  Nothing hard hitting just thinking like; 'come out and play' 'aww dont run', 'dont be scared of us', and etc....



The turning point normally in Eve is when side starts taking major ship losses, losing the fight, or losing a war.  These can be amplified if the two sides have bad blood to begin with which doubles the chance of things like cursing, personal assaults, and hate speech.  Like the fight itself it progressively escalates it burns itself out like your prop mod in a low sec fight.

I try my best to not do these things, and seeing personally how words have a real way of hurting or helping someone.  I'm human though, and if one of my corp members get caught out I'm out for spaceship blood.  I'll taunt in local to see if I can get him to slip up, to break his focus, and give me or my gang a opening to get retribution.  In the Mob though things can go do far, and get out of control so it takes strong minded people with influence to stop the cycle. As a leader you have to see the point where your mob mentality has turned in the wrong way, and stop it cold if possible.  This may not be possible depending on how intense the situation is, so you may just need to help guide it the right way before mistakes are made in game, and to someones mental health.


You may not care, and Eve does not care that is for sure, so why should you?  I can type till my hands bleed with reasons you shouldnt, but like in RL its all up to you.

Using the Mob Mentality for good:

It can be used for good though, and applied the right way it can do lots of good.  Your corp/alliance is a 'Mob', like mine I, and my awesome members do my best to train new players and help them as much as we can.  The Angel Project is a great 'Mob' doing great things in Eve Online, and I am sure there is more support, but that is a known group that assist hard up pilots.  Eve University is another 'Mob' that does so much I can put everything that mob can do!  Is there more?  Well that's for you to find out...

Orion

Real Life and Eve

When this blog goes dark, and like even Eve itself it will go dark eventually.  I wanted to say why I really started this blog.  I needed an outlet something to help me express my feelings.  Channel the varied emotions, trials, and tribulations that is this wonderful game.   That and Real life which dictates when or if we can even undock……

My RL

Though what this blog really is, is something hopefully that will help me figure out myself, my real life (RL).  I've mentioned I am a soldier with 11 years active service.  These last 2 years have been the worst for me mentally and physically.   I'm currently seeing a psychiatrist, and going to other medical appointments to see what is wrong with me.   As it stands it's all in my head which in its own way seems worse to me.   Either way those are my burdens to bare, and thankfully I have good people around me to help deal with them, and a loving family.  I count myself lucky to have that, as others may not, and if that's the case I hope I could help someone in need.

Eve & RL

I use Eve as an escape from RL, but....

I had both collide in a way I wasn't prepared for.  We picked up a new member who was a soldier as well.  Soon after we picked up a WarDec, out of the blue.  So I reached out to them, and found out they were after our new member.  Not unheard of, but they wanted us to kick him, and or have him undock to get attacked.   Sadly as a CEO I didn't have this knowledge and this was our 4 WarDec and would keep my guys docked and I'd lose more members.  So I kicked him and immediately regretted it. Come to find out they were other soldiers who he'd had a disagreement/fight (not a lot of details) with and they were harassing him in game.  This violates some rules CCP has in place, so my diplo filed the ticket to have it stopped.  This places me in a odd place I ask for RL numbers as a leader bullying, and harrasment like this in game, is likely a lesser of what he is getting on RL.   Once I confirmed I out ranked all parties against my corp mate by several ranks sufficed to say they stopped the in game stuff.  I also knew the people to call on the RL side were they were stationed that'd stopped it cold.  In the end I invited him back, as soon as I found out the full information, but he declined making feel even worse for what I had done.  

Loss

Sadly even we cannot fully escape death of those close to us by logging into Eve.  People like Vile Rat, Uber pain, and many others have passed on avid players of Eve Online.  How this impacts everyone is different, but all are a huge blow to someone.  Vile Rat touched many and by far the most notable loss to the community as a whole.   Such a high profile person in his RL won't go unnoticed when something as tragic as what happen come to pass. Their losses have RL effects that we cannot begin to fully emotionally rationalize, and leaves holes that will remain hollow.  I didn't know Vile Rat in game, but he was a patriot in RL as am I.  So I'll call him brother, and mourn him like I would a fellow soldier as he should be.    

Uber is what everyone called him, was a pilot from our alliance, and had a huge effect on some our members.  I didn't know him either, but regardless he was in our Alliance, and one of us... so I undocked.  I flew my Gila on my main, and my Skiff on my Alt, orbited a lone can that said RIP Uber.  The Alliance head, and other leadership and orbited the can shooting fireworks, and snowballs.  It stop me cold it felt like I was looking at a combat memorial in Iraq.  

Excerpt from Alliance mail:

Today we gather to recognize the loss of a brother; Uber’s time on Earth and in New Eden came to an end in March 2014. 

Kel Gallnt, uber pain, over medicated, black, vicodin

Uber was a great man and a valued pilot who will be missed. His bluntness made him a man we loved to hate at times but loved him all the same. I remember spending many late nights having a good laugh at the jokes he would tell. He would keep us entertained with his life stories and blunt jokes.

 

He was always willing to lay his pod down for his EVE friends and family. Regardless of the odds he was always there. If there was an event he was there to support his friends and family.

Eve is Real

This is when Eve isn't a game anymore it becomes a community.  A group of brothers, sisters, friends, and enemies.  We laugh, and cry with one another, and in this instance grieve for those we've lost.  It touched me they did this for Uber, and what struck me more was others from my corp that undocked.  They never knew him, but I felt as leadership I needed to attend either way.   They fired all their Fireworks, and snowballs, then we undocked larger ships, and repped the can with drones.  Some were related a story, and talk about taking a roam to an area he had wanted to go to.  One by one people docked up, and like RL the pain is there, and the memory brought forward to deal with.  

Tomorrow we undock like any other, but hopefully with the purpose of enjoying the time we have in game and out with the people we care about. 

Fly safe

RIP Uber

This blog was for you all at C5, members who knew him, and Sara 

Skill Training for new Pilots and my Procurer

This is one of the hardest things for a new pilot to figure out.  Lots of options, and normally when you first fire up Eve it can be over whelming looking at everything.  So the TL:DR (too long didnt read) pick a ship you'd like fly and skill toward it.

High end corps/alliance/coalitions tell you what you will skill toward.  That's even if you make their SP (skill point) requirement!  

I take on brand a lot new pilots still in trial or just getting their first 30 days in.  I've been lucky some have stayed, and grown with us!  So the leadership will get asked what they should skill toward, to get better.   I ask what do they think they'd like to do.   Because at the end of the day if they aren't happy then they don't log in or work toward your goals at all. 

If I do make a suggestion I start with mining, or PvE especially with very new players.  Why? Because ask anyone PvP doesn't pay out for new pilots, and getting ISK early on is the name of the game.  My first suggestion is to create a goal, pick a ship you like that fits that role and start skilling to sit in it.  

We'll go with mining in this instance, and my suggestion as a goal for new members to skill towards.

The mighty Procurer!

Mining Barge bonuses (per skill level):

5% bonus to ship shield hitpoints

2% reduction in Strip Miner and Ice Harvester duration

Role Bonus:

150% bonus to Strip Miner yield

60% reduction in Ice Harvester duration and activation cost

50% bonus to drone damage and hitpoints

This is by far the ship for newer members.

Source of information from Eve Uni:

http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Procurer

I am in the minority in fitting these or any mining ship, because I choose tank over all things.
So do not loose your mind when you see the fits I suggest!  That being said the below fit is optimized against ganking ships like the often used Catalyst, so Kinetic and Thermal damage is what we are tanking against in HiSec.  

Sub any T2 mod you cannot fit with a T1.

Hisec Procurer Ore/Ice Miner

High Slot - Ice or Ore Strip miner T1 or T2

Mid Slot -Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Mid Slot -Kinetic Invulnerability Field II
Mid Slot - Thermal Invulnerability Field II
Mid Slot - Medium Shield Extender II

Low Slot - Damage Control Unit II
Low Slot - Ice Harvester Upgrade II or Ore Harvester Upgrade II

Drones: 5xHobgoblins

             5xSalvager drone*

*I like to collect salvage so I can build rigs with them.

Null Sec miner

High Slot - Ice or Ore Strip miner T1 or T2

Mid Slot -Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Mid Slot -EM Invulnerability Field II
Mid Slot - User's choice
Mid Slot - Medium Shield Extender II

Low Slot - Damage Control Unit II
Low Slot - Ice Harvester Upgrade II or Ore Harvester Upgrade II

Drones:  5xWarriors *1

              5xEC-300 *2

*1 Warriors because are the fastest drone out there, and the best with keeping up with frigates, and Interceptors
*2 EC-300 If you are looking for a way out this is possibility if you are not looking for a fight and just getting out.

I am sure you can make all kinds of arguments as to why not to use these ships for mining, and you are right in a lot of instances.  The reality is if you want to minimize your chances of death from be it Neuts, or Suicide gankers.

How I do skilling has evolved, and will most likely cause the Eve L33t people to have a seizure.  I skill toward what I need or want at a given time, but it Alliance/Corp need or a ship I'd like to try out crazy I know!  Though I do it a bit differently I work week to week (does not work so well once you get to the longer skills) I work toward say flying a Gila.  I'll start working the requirements for that for a week, and once I finish that week I work toward Core skills following .

Core skills:  These vary just about everyone you talk to, but Eve University has a great list here:  http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Core_Skills

Basic top 5 skills:

Mechanics
Shield Management
Capacitor Management
CPU Management
Power Grid Management

Again the basic skills here, and only the beginning!

Anything after that, and skilling core skills on the Eve Uni list is a great start to helping you on your way with your path.

Basically go with whatever you want, but have a goal and work towards that.  Skill "core" skills as you can as they'll help you across the board.

Orion