The Drone Lands War: Etherium Reach Part 1

Jump Range Nerfs

This would be the spark that would set my former home ablaze like we had never thought it would.  The restrictions on jump ranges were/are huge in mitigating responses from the larger blocs in Eve.  I am for limited force projection though while reading this you may think I am not right in the head in being for it.

This is my memories (right or wrong to whomever reads I do not care) of our time in Etherium Reach from Renters to building a Coalition of Industrialists to defend their homes.  We thought ER was a place no one wanted, but us....Others thought it the perfect place to start because they thought the same.....

Its starts literally day one of the patch an upstart group called PFR with a noble goal of freeporting station in Nullsec for all to dock.  To each his own I guess, but thoughts are if it was meant for everyone to dock it would be Low/High Sec.  Neither here nor there so on to the post.....


It all started for us on November 4th 2014 with us finding out PFR had made a move to claim WPV-JN.  They had taken down the Sovereignty structures required to online their own TCU.  We were asked to kill it as we had really just started to grow and get ourselves ready to do PvP due to the new patch we took on the challenge.   We were not alone at the time a local lowsec group was helping us F0RCED ENTRY. a good group of pilots who you will hear more about later.  They had anchored the TCU so to deny them their claim we killed it and its defenders Battle Report.

I at least thought that would be the end of it our Land Lords don't have to come do anything job done we look better, and back to growing our alliance.  Oh how wrong I was!  They were tenacious to the point of absurdity/ignorance. 

We had got intel from a source on them moving a freighter with another attempt at placing another Sov. structure down.  We nearly had stopped them, but sadly we were to slow.... I burned my alt in a interceptor as fast as I could to get tackle and a warp in with help of ROC..  A snall fight with their small defense force was enough time for the freighter to offload, and secure its objective.  Battle report from that event.

At this time there were more groups either at the time scouting out the area Mostly Hammered, and even ROC. had ideals at this time to even try to take space.  With all these factions starting to bleed into ER we were asked to deploy and sport defending the front pocket of ER. So we deployed to C-4D0W. 

This would be our deployment area to defend ER from those coming in as best we could.  Now mind you we did have landlords who did come and help but rarely and only for the final timers normally so keep that in mind.  Though through our early successes we did something no one thought possible we grew a USTZ Renter coalition, and one had it been given more time could have done a lot of good things for the area.

Now to continue...

We fought with a T1 Doctrine of what we called the Mighty Maller, and the Moa.  Since most of us were new to PvP to easy the cost, and skill points needed we went these as our main line ships.  We wanted tank over DPS which helped us early, but proved to really make grinding anything painfully slow! With T1 and eventually T2 logistics we could hold the field far longer than we really should have been able to.  These were what I cut my teeth on as I learned to FC and take fleets out.

As things go people change sides and who you worked with are against you the next.  Seeing weakness in our landlords ROC. and F0RCED ENTRY. both went to either support PFR or do their own thing.  * I will not try to dig to deep on the politics here as my memory is terrible and I don't want to bog this post any more*

We lost WPV and surprisingly we had no idea that CT8K-0's station after the last invasion was never repaired so when PFR struck it was quick, and we woke up to PFR owning their first Freeport on 11 November 2014.  Now with them having a foot hold we were asked to be the force to make their work miserable, and to hit them everywhere.  We continued to pressure them with fights here, here with help from the best solo pvper I know Joffy!, Small things but it was building to one of the most defining fights for me personally as the largest battle I had FC'd. 

Though this isn't all we were battling a group called Anti-Social Club was trying to take space as we were called.  Oh at this point we were no longer renters per our land lords a major milestone for us and renewed our members, and helped us grow our new coalition.  This is one of my first FC battles, and with a ship I had little knowledge and use of the Ishtar.  The Battle Report and Video below.

 



 

 

We win the fight, and kill their attempt of hanging on to Sov in ER.  Then a few hours later we have to scramble to stop the take over of CL-IRS by a group all thought dead, and would eventually be dead again Ethereal Dawn TCU kill.



Now the first fight for CT8K-0 was not to happen.  PFR called for help, and had a NPSI group come and support them so we stood down knowing that we had one timer to win, and it was the one that mattered.  If you would like to know more about that please refer to PFR's Reddit.   The armor timer for the station was where we would make our stand, and one that would change the course of Eve for me, and my want to go full into FCing, and doing what I can to make my Alliance great.

Please see below video, and Battle report here for the down and dirty.  For me it was the largest fight I FC'd, and I was wide eye'd, but determined to fight and lose it all to try to win this fight.  At the time we formed 50 pilots from our Coalition, and were told Legion of Xdeath and/or Shadow of Xdeath were not going to be able to make the timer at all or if so late.  PFR called upon those who believed in their cause, and those looking to get into a fight which I think was their undoing in the end.  Notably TEST / Brave came through a new frigate Worm Hole with a maulus fleet which made our logistics group only able to lock out to 5k at best forcing us to ball up.  This with their other supporters and randoms brought the total if 300 pilots at its peak vs our 50.  PFR switched from their normal Caracal doctrine to Vexor Navy Issues which in my opinion a better choice, but I feel they just didn't have enough time in them to be very effective, and that I focused on their logi to help us drop their DPS quicker, and that caused them to leave the field early the first time.

So due to the Maulus's ships that failed to anchor up died or had to leave field and return later.  In the video any time you here me stop mid-sentence is our logi FC letting me know these issues.  They dual log on comms to avoid cross talk and allow me to call targets without them having to wait till I was done to relay information to the rest of the fleet. 

Yes I know a blue killed another blue I had no idea during the fight, and he like most of us was new.  Anyone that came to the fight and supported us I couldn't say anything bad about especially with the odds we were against so meh.  The Battle Report from Eve Kill as the Zkill doesn't show the total number of pilots.


We won little did we know that this would be the last good battle we would have as a coaltion, as a real enemy was lurking, and slowly approaching....

Unto the Breach "liberal use of Shakespear"

Orion Sa-Solo

Once more unto the breach, dear SERIN, once more;
Or close the Station up with our SERIN dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a pilot
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the Blasters, Lasers, and missiles; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful systems.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you SERIN!
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many ,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your FC; now attest
That those whom you call'd CEO did beget you.
Be copy now to pilots of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in Etherium Reach, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'For SERIN, and Etherium Reach!'

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