Has it really only been one month? I feels like so much longer already. The 17th of last month was when we officially moved into Curse, so it must be true. Perhaps it feels this way because everything moved so fast. Once we were on location and began to get our pilots running through the standings redemption programma, applications began rolling in. Ironic, because initially we planned to get some more numbers first, and then roll it. But some diplomatic contacts changed that and we seized an opportunity that would have otherwise passed us by.

So here we are, one month in, and we’re doing well for ourselves. We have our little corner of Curse for ourselves to do agent work in, we have some like minded groups which we are on the same line with, and we’re actively working on getting combat operations up to “old” levels. We are also doing something that is pretty unique both presently and historically in New Eden, being a “pirate” faction loyalist alliance that bases out of the sovereign space of its faction.

We took a short stint into w-space a week or so ago, which was very educational, except that our potential targets vanished on us (a careless Heron did perish). Few days ago I also joined our new addition Deviance Cartel on a good old roam through Molden Heath. Got ourselves a Drake and a Hurricane in one of the asteroid belts, with an Ishkur just barely slipping away. The Hurricane pilot did try and run out, but at some point he just … halted and looked as if to turn back. I am not sure if it was an attempt to align out, but for once I did recall to overheat my warp disruptor to catch him out of regular reach. I swear it was as if I hear Yishal’s voice ring through my head, reminding me to use every edge available to ensure victory. Or maybe that clone just needs to be double-checked. We also snatched a pair of Bestowers later that evening, not sure what those careless sods were doing, but that should be a lesson learned for them. Shame they weren’t transporting anything of value, but well, can’t have it all in one evening right? I did end up blowing some of the hard work I had done to get restored into CONCORD’s good graces, but frankly I don’t really worry. I can hire help for logistical purposes should I need it, and with the way we are going, it looks like others will have to keep the Sansha incursions at bay.

I dropped by at the one year anniversary costumed ball of Knighthood of the Merciful Crown yesterday. Not something I’d usually attend, but as I was in Empire space already and with no plans of the evening I accepted Vincent Pryce’s kind invitation and got myself sorted with an angel costume. Wings alas were not found on short notice, but once at the venue Shalee Lianne was kind enough to lend me a second pair she owns, and Nikita Alterana offered a pair for future use as well should I need it. Now I feel almost odd, being an Angel, yet not owning a pair of wings to dress up with. Am I missing something here? The ball was lovely however, and it was fun to dance, but as I am planet-bound in only a few more hours I decided not to stay too long. Nethys Axion has been put in charge of Ghost Festival during my absence, not an easy task for someone recently appointed a director, but I have full trust in her skill. She as well as many of our new pilots have been absolutely amazing and I am proud to have them call me their boss. I’ve got a real good feeling about this, now more than ever before I know this is the path I’ve always wanted to be on, and I will keep on pushing for success.

Welcome to the eighteenth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed tocrazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

On May 6th 2010, EVE Online celebrated its 7th Anniversary. Quite a milestone in MMO history, especially considering that it is one of the few virtual worlds out there to see its population continually grow year after year. For some of you who’ve been here since the very beginning, EVE has evolved quite a lot since its creation. With the expansion rolling out roughly twice a year, New Eden gets renewed and improved regularly. But, how about you the player? How has your gaming style evolved through the years or months since you’ve started playing? Have you always been a carebear, or roleplayer? Have you only focused on PvP or have you given other aspects of the game a chance – say manufacturing. Let’s hear your story!

Getting near to my third year in EVE — I started in August 2007 — and I still haven’t seen it all, though I’ve certainly been around. Being a carrier pilot is something that will get ticked off this year, after which I need a new list. And while I never say never, 0.0 sov and all it entails is something I hold no real interest in, which is the only area I’ve not really poked my nose into.

A short summary of my carreer could be described as carebear gone pirate but remaining true to that carebear side. And then there is the constant of roleplaying all through the years. The specifics? Well, keep reading.

Alts

• Same account: Valnurana, my trader, newbie hauler and alliance executor resides on the same account as Myrhial, as for a long time I was very stubborn about getting a second account and did not have the income to pay one with PLEX. She’s mostly retired now. Also have the placeholder CEO for Ghost Festival sitting in the third slot.
• Different account: Faber Demaunier is my miner and has taken over the role of hauler from Valnurana. She will eventually take over the role of trader too. Will probably go down the path of research and manufacturing in the future, or mission running, or even both.

Carebear

• Exploration: A constant throughout my career, with which I share a love / hate relationship. Have gotten a rare few good catches, an overall steady income when focusing on radar plexes, but also a great many sites that just were a waste of ammo. Primarily focussed on these in lowsec.
• Research: I have personally researched all blueprints in my possession and aided PRELI with researching blueprints which were payment for the POS tower they received in exchange.
• Manufacturing: Mainly making my own ammo when running missions, or produce rigs for my own use to save some ISK on fitting ships. A few months back I finished Production Efficiency V and started buying up cheap salvage to create rigs and sell them at profit. Not a bad income for the slight effort it takes.
• Mission runner: My earliest source of income. Have done both combat missions and couriers in highsec, lowsec and nulsec, and have worked for the Caldari, Amarr, Thukker and Angel Cartel.
• R&D: I’ve got five agents working for me and once every few months I blitz through highsec to collect my earnings. A nice wallet booster but not as good as it used to be back in the days.
• Mining: I once mined in a Procuror — lol terrible ship — in lowsec just for the sheer lulz. I still get poked fun at for that. When I was a wee lil’ pirate I mined a few lowsec gneiss plexes in an Osprey, but other than that I leave this to Faber.
• Wormholes: Potato RR fleets make quick work of Sleepers, and getting near 100 mil a person for a few hours work is great. While quite dull in itself — point drones at broadcasted target and sit back — the vent chatter does get me through it.
• Trade: Mostly marging trading and probably where I’ve gotten most of my ISK. I’ve also invested in shares and IPO’s, all but one payed off, the one that didn’t was due to the player vanishing into thin air. Not sure if that was an intended scam or not. Have also done some resale for people, and selling goods on their behalf with getting a cut of the profits.
• Planetary interaction: Running a nanite repair paste chain spread over two accounts, with Myrhial working on five planets and Faber taking care of the sixth.

Pirate

• Ships of all sizes: I have flown T1 / T2 frigates (with the exception of ewar frigates), destroyers, T1 / T2 cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships into pvp combat, mostly fit for pvp but the few occasional encounters in pve setups have been there as well. I fly mostly in fleets but have also tried my hand at solo combat.
• Faction war: Busting plexes or simply clashing with a militia group, picking off stragglers from large fleets and even opening plexes to bait targets inside, faction war offers a variety of strategies and was where I really learned to pvp. Operation Bold Harvest will always hold a dear spot in my heart.
• Mission busting: This has got to be the most profitable kill till date. Delicious faction loot. Not all are like that though, and it is usually newer players you catch because they aren’t watching the scanner or even unaware of probes. The bulk of targets in Operation Longshot were of that kind.
• Ransoms: A rare occurrence, not because of a lack of trying but because a situation has to lend itself to it and then there is still the willingness of the target to pay up.

Roleplay

• RP corp / alliance: All corporations / alliances I have been part of have had roleplay as part of their activities. My character has undergone quite the transformation, from State loyalist to Cartel loyalist. While this has had a certain impact on her personality as well as her cultural thinking she’s still very Caldari in her ways.
• Channel RP: From bars to political discussions, I’ve been in a fair number of channels. Favorite hangouts are The Skyhook and The Last Gate. I’m one of those eternal lurkers in The Summit as well.
• In character blogging: Been slacking on this a little — and blogging as a whole — since I’ve stepped down as CEO, but for the two years I’ve been blogging I’m at around at least two posts a month.

Leadership

• Corporate: Have been a director and later on a CEO, now serving as shadow CEO while I take out some more time for myself. Don’t worry though, Naraka will be back, no matter what people are saying or assuming. I’ve already got so much ideas on where I want to take the corporation and being in Veto has been a very enlightening experience so far. Someday I hope to chronicle my experiences in a guide for beginning CEO’s and directors.
• Fleets: PVE and PVP, I’ve been FC, backup FC, backup backup FC and logistics coordinator. Having invested in learning leadership skills I’m also serving as fleet booster when needed.

Participants:

1. CrazyKinux’s Musing: The Heroes with a Thousand Faces
2. StarFleet Comms: Life. Evolved.
3. A Carebear’s Journeu: This Carebear Thinks He Is Developing Teeth
4. The Elitist: Our ventures in EVE
5. A Mule in EVE: From a guppy predator
6. Travels of the Ronin: Evolution and Adaptation
7. The Ralpha Dogs: The Past Through Tomorrow
8. Where the frack is my ship: A journey, not a destination
9. I am Keith Neilson: 7 Year Itch?
10. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: Evolution Me
11. EVE Opportunist: A long history of a short time
12. Roc’s Ramblings: Things Change
13. Guns Ablaze: Onwards and Upwards
14. EVE On Real Life: Haven’t you grown up yet?
15. The Fang: The path of the ninja
16. EVEOGANDA: Whoops Apocalypse!
17. EVE SOB: Learning to swim
18. The Life of a Dead Jester: My Time with EVE
19. Personal Files, Ciarente Roth: Personal Diary 18.6.112
20. Learning to Fly: Change is Good
21. Depths Unknown: Falling With Style
22. Morphisat’s Blog: Jack of all trades
23. Sarnelbinora’s Blog: Thoughts of EVE
24. Confessions of a Closet Carebear: It’s the yellow box, stupid…
25. Adventures in Mission Running: My path amongst the stars
26. When 11 Ninjas isn’t enough: First days in the North (continued)
27. Lost in New Eden: My EVE Life So Far
28. Life in my Hole: How My EVE Experience Has Evolved
29. The Lathspell of Mithrandir: EVE-olution
30. Chocolate Heaven: Recurring Themes
31. More as they get published…

[Delicious Tag: eveblogbanter18]

When the announcement came that planetside industry would at last be opened up to capsuleers I immediately locked myself in my office and started to consume every bit of information available and developing a plan on how I could make this work for me. And when the first command centers left the assembly lines I invested in no less than five, lowering them on planets in and near Goinard and establishing an industrial network that is still undergoing rigorous tweaking to maximize output and minimize facility downtime.

I’ve always enjoyed the creation part of being a “demi-god”, perhaps even more than I enjoy the destruction part. Although, when doing export and import routines yesterday, the two came together as a Condor and Coercer appeared on scan in Goinard. With Morwen off scanning down a Badger Mark II I had spotted earlier, and receiving intel from her that these were beginning outlaws, I decided to reship and take this chance for some combat practice. When one complains about difficulties of finding prey, one should not pass up when the prey presents itself on ones doorstep, no? Especially not if it sits waiting in the system’s top belt with the intention to also hone their combat skills.

Balancing my chances to catch them with enough survivability I had my pod transferred to the Mercutio, an Arbitrator class cruiser. The fight itself was nothing spectacular, landing on top of them, pinning down the Coercer which received the firepower of a full flight of Hammerhead II’s while tracking disruption crippled his offensive capabilities. I directed my rocket launcher and autocannons at the Condor, and took down his shields and half his armor while he got out of distance. Might have even had him had I been quick enough to set the statis webifier on him. “Good fight”, the Coercer pilot hailed in the local channel as he warped his pod to safety. “Good fight”, I returned. We spoke a little more and he detailed how his wingmate had been surprised by the damage the rockets did to his little vessel, and how they will try to learn from this skirmish to improve upon themselves.

Warping off with all the loot in my cargo hold, but forgetting my drones clearly shows I’ve room for improvement as well. Solo combat still makes me jittery from the adrenaline. I’ll have to take the opportunity to take the lessons offered to me by a few other Veto pilots earlier that day to become a “solo hero” as well. Although with finalizing the plans for my next business venture, which will be a corporate project if I can gauge enough interest for it — and initial polling for interest does make it appear so — the solo combat training will get pushed further down on the agenda again. If all goes well though the earnings will be spectacular and I can buy me enough frigates to last me a lifetime, ignoring the pseudo-immortality of our kind.

When LeTo announced that he was organizing a Dramiel operation I just had to be there. After all, many of those originated from the blueprints I bought in Curse and had shipped over to Goinard. I had found buyers for each within Veto and soon after discussions on how to fit and operate the ship were held all over comms. The ISK this generated will be invested into improving my ability to run Cartel missions within hostile grounds, as Cursed Alliance and other capsuleer groups in the area are keen on defending “their” territory. Here’s to hoping my plan will work. I’ll probably write a little something about it later on.

Arriving in Old Man Star, our first destination of that evening, targets were sighted in the first belt: A bunch of Rifters with Osprey logistical support. The resulting battle was quite a sight, and Korthan captured a recording of it. While the Dramiels were doing their thing I directed my torpedoes at the Ospreys, which while far from optimal were the best targets for me on the field. Eventually dominating the field we collected the spoils and found out through local channel chatter the fleet were a group of Tuskers, whom were checking on a target there themselves. Ah, how quickly the roles of the hunter and the hunted can change. I had to break off a little later as I was feeling tired and unable to focus, but from the combat records I learned the fleet (or some of its members) ended up taking out another Stabber, Stiletto, Atron and Myrmidon. To my great joy — even though it is bad for my personal business — all Dramiels made it back home safely at the end.

Many camera drone snapshots were taken and shared around in the following days, the Dramiels being such aesthetically pleasing crafts to behold, but one of them beats it all. Morwen took a shot of them gathered around the Loki that provided us with leadership bonuses, and added a rather witty caption to it.

With the recent loss of members, and the want of those who remain active and loyal to ramp up our activities the decision was made to move from Goinard to somewhere closer to nulsec. It has been a long search, during which I came to realize just how ideal our home is, and thus I made the call that instead of looking for a new home we’d go on a nomadic roam and take it from there. A nomadic roam is an extended stay in a target area where pilots take ships of certain classes suited for the work on that location, and frequent supply runs are held to replace lost assets and send spoils off to the market. This roam was named Operation Longshot and will run for about a month, with the possibility to be ended after two weeks, or extension upon success if the membership supports this. Being such a new concept and having a trimmed roster means evaluation is of even greater importance than usual.

Being finally settled here it is not long now until we will venture into nulsec (getting pilots to be available at the same time is hard sometimes!), but of course we haven’t kept still during daily operations. My last two losses having been recons I decided to return to the trusted Arbitrator for a bit, which has proven itself so far in the termination of four targets, two of them also being sent to the clone vat. Our newest member, Sah Phyre, was present for all this and I feel much joy in educating her about the fine art of piracy, not to mention her enthusiasm is very motivational. I have also made an effort to go out by myself during quieter times but so far the few targets I found slipped my grasp.

I hope this operation will have the desired effect of increasing our level of activity again as well as forming the first step into mastering combat in nulsec, so that we can start another recruitment drive soon. A bit of corporate and alliance rebranding is on schedule before that, which hopefully will appeal to more pilots, both combat and industry. We’ll always remain Cartel loyalists however, but sometimes a little more focus on just why you’d want to be on our side is needed, instead of merely presenting who we are and what we ask for. I really think we’ve worked hard enough to be proud of being an alliance with a combat wing with a long history, and an industry wing that is taking large steps into becoming able to do all the in-house production we could wish for. Not to forget our logistical backbone, alliance-wide operations, and close ties with other successful outlaw organizations such as Veto and Hellfleet.