Ransoms for everyone?

It seems that lots of people are willing to pay ransoms these days...

As a case in point, I found a C2 WH this evening where the hi-sec static entrance was getting ready to close for time.

I jumped in to take a peek and saw a Minmatar Control Tower on scan with no force field and nothing anchored.

Usually I just ignore these unless they have Ship Maintenance Arrays or Corp Hangars but I had a feeling about this one. Best case: it was in the process of being unanchored.

So - I quickly scan it down, warp to it and find that it is "online" but not forcefield.

As I'm trying to figure out why the owners wouldn't put up the force field, a bestower and an itty III jump in and warp to straight to the POS.

I kill both of them (one had a few weak POS mods and one had more fuel) and pod one of the pilots.

The other was too fast for me.

But - I convo'd him and offered to let him finish fueling and setting up his POS before the WH collapsed for time if he'd pay me 150 mil. After all, we want more carebears in WH's... not less!

He gives me a sob story about not being able to afford 150m but then finishes with 'But I can pay you 50m'

As I really didn't want to camp the WH anyway - I just took the 50m and ran. Not a bad use of about 10 minutes time and a little luck.

This is definitely worth remembering for the future.

Gimme your orca and I'll leave you alone!

I've learned better than to promise to keep writing more but I wanted to at least leave a simple post to kind of bring people up to date.

I've been hunting wormholes about 2 - 3 times a month with reasonably profitable results.

In one of the WH's I've been camping I've done over 10 bil worth of kills and personally gotten close to 5 billion in profit from it.

Not shabby!

But today is the day it came to an end. I needed to free my alt up to help with some other projects so I stepped up my extortion efforts and cashed out.

But first a little history.

It all started with my just missing tackling a vargur who was plexing in a WH. He was aligned and even though I bump tackled - I missed him. It got especially painful when I reviewed his contracts and saw that he most likely had several officer mods worth a total of 10 billion (tracking computers and enhancers are expensive) on his vargur.

Needless to say, that caught my attention and I started camping their WH.

That first night I caught a lone tengu plexing. I was able to talk him into ejecting to save his pod from the onlining Mobile Warp Disruptor Bubble. 100% drop rate is always preferable (2 billion profit is nice too!)



The second night they started plexing with 2 vargurs, a scorp navy issue and a tengu. I didn't have the hi-sec bookmarked so I tried to take them solo but they chewed me up. They didn't have points, but there was no way I was going to break them.

The good news is they were cocky! I called for help and was able to bait them into engaging us and got the following Vargur and the Scorp Navy Issue (6 - 7 billion in damage) that night. We split around 2 billion in loot between us.

http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=corp_detail&crp_id=11409

Things were quite for awhile with only a rare kill every now and again (and 100m ransom from a hulk) from this particular wormhole (but some good kills including carriers coming pretty much every weekend from others).

Then a couple of weeks ago I got a tengu tackled in their wormhole. He wouldn't eject, but he did drop everything I'd want him to drop.

Check out the tengu mail on their corp losses! (1 bill + in profit)

http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=corp_detail&crp_id=1155

I had been trying to extort these guys for around 1 billion isk to get me to leave them alone for awhile. What I didn't find out until later was that one of the guys who I'd invited along for a few kills (and didn't even have an alt in their wormhole) extorted them for the same 1 billion and they paid him while I was not playing due to work.

Ah well.. such is life.

So today I was watching their wormhole and saw that they had an orca assisting their miners (but also knew that they were watching for me to sign in etc).

I wasn't able to tackle the miner, but I did talk the orca into warping to the grav site and ejecting in exchange for me leaving them alone. I paid him 75m to sweeten the pot since I really wanted to free my alt up to camp another wormhole I'd found.

The chat log of that discussion follows:

(Thanks again to Tol Sirion for backing me up on the fact that I'm an honorable guy)

---------------------------------------------------------------

Channel ID: -14745487
Channel Name: Private Chat (Rockuso)
Listener: gutted
Session started: 2010.09.25 16:26:23
---------------------------------------------------------------

[ 2010.09.25 16:26:34 ] gutted > o/
[ 2010.09.25 16:26:43 ] Rockuso > what was wrong with that other wh u was in?
[ 2010.09.25 16:26:53 ] gutted > What other WH I was in?
[ 2010.09.25 16:26:59 ] Rockuso > yes
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:07 ] gutted > I don't know what you mean
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:15 ] Rockuso > genepool
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:29 ] gutted > what about genepool?
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:34 ] Rockuso > what atl u got in here
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:38 ] gutted > lol
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:45 ] gutted > not me or genepool :p
[ 2010.09.25 16:27:58 ] Rockuso > yeah u gota another 1
[ 2010.09.25 16:28:03 ] gutted > I told your CEO before that if he pays me 1 billion isk I'll take my alts out so you can be in peace
[ 2010.09.25 16:28:32 ] Rockuso > lol did yopur alt lose a ship?
[ 2010.09.25 16:28:35 ] gutted > no
[ 2010.09.25 16:28:42 ] gutted > I've killed a ton of you guys :)
[ 2010.09.25 16:28:51 ] Rockuso > 3
[ 2010.09.25 16:29:11 ] gutted > http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=corp_detail&crp_id=1155
[ 2010.09.25 16:29:14 ] gutted > a few more than that
[ 2010.09.25 16:29:19 ] gutted > also ransomed a few
[ 2010.09.25 16:29:27 ] gutted > and that tengu drop was pretty nice :)
[ 2010.09.25 16:29:34 ] gutted > would be cheaper for you to just pay me to leave
[ 2010.09.25 16:30:07 ] Rockuso > chlorinator~?
[ 2010.09.25 16:30:41 ] gutted > killed a few high hats too :)
[ 2010.09.25 16:30:42 ] gutted > http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=corp_detail&crp_id=11409
[ 2010.09.25 16:31:02 ] Rockuso > lol your gud
[ 2010.09.25 16:31:17 ] gutted > anyway... pay me 1 billion and I'll take my alt out of oyur WH so you can make isk in peace
[ 2010.09.25 16:31:50 ] Rockuso > lol if only i had that kinda isk
[ 2010.09.25 16:31:57 ] Rockuso > why do u think am trying 2 mine here
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:05 ] gutted > go ahead and mine
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:07 ] gutted > it'll be ok :)
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:29 ] Rockuso > lmao
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:31 ] Rockuso > haha
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:42 ] gutted > tell ya what
[ 2010.09.25 16:32:53 ] gutted > warp your orca to the hi-sec wh and eject and I'll take my alt out your WH
[ 2010.09.25 16:33:10 ] Rockuso > why??
[ 2010.09.25 16:33:13 ] Rockuso > can u fly it
[ 2010.09.25 16:33:30 ] gutted > yes
[ 2010.09.25 16:34:09 ] Rockuso > hmmm
[ 2010.09.25 16:34:25 ] Rockuso > it took me soo long 2 get it and i had 2 borrow 100mil
[ 2010.09.25 16:34:36 ] gutted > your corp will pay you back for it
[ 2010.09.25 16:34:53 ] Rockuso > my corp is almost all atl
[ 2010.09.25 16:35:06 ] gutted > yes.. but they are rich
[ 2010.09.25 16:35:12 ] gutted > at least judging by the kills
[ 2010.09.25 16:35:35 ] Rockuso > am not :(
[ 2010.09.25 16:35:49 ] gutted > yeah.. but they are.. and they can all chip in 100m or so to pay you back
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:13 ] gutted > you will have gotten me off of their backs so they can make isk in peace
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:13 ] Rockuso > why dont u just go
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:18 ] gutted > they'll be grateful
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:21 ] Rockuso > shurly there better things u cud do
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:27 ] gutted > because I keep getting good kills from your corpmates
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:34 ] gutted > It doesn't cost me anything to keep an alt in here
[ 2010.09.25 16:36:46 ] gutted > I can kill people in other WHs while I wait for you guys to give me targets
[ 2010.09.25 16:37:08 ] Rockuso > oh
[ 2010.09.25 16:38:17 ] Rockuso > will ya not just go
[ 2010.09.25 16:38:37 ] Rockuso > like its pointless me playing this game
[ 2010.09.25 16:38:42 ] Rockuso > if your just gona be like that
[ 2010.09.25 16:39:00 ] Rockuso > :(
[ 2010.09.25 16:39:07 ] gutted > just give me the orca and you can mine in peace
[ 2010.09.25 16:39:19 ] gutted > the hulks will make 70m an hour or so
[ 2010.09.25 16:39:20 ] Rockuso > plus am never gona beable 2 afford plex
[ 2010.09.25 16:39:24 ] gutted > pay for the orca quickly!~
[ 2010.09.25 16:40:03 ] Rockuso > i minded last time for 4 dasy filled 2 hanger and i make like 100mil
[ 2010.09.25 16:40:14 ] Rockuso > i give it bk 2 who i lent it off
[ 2010.09.25 16:40:16 ] Rockuso > am skint
[ 2010.09.25 16:41:03 ] Rockuso > ok am just gona watch tv or sumit
[ 2010.09.25 16:41:11 ] gutted > tell ya what
[ 2010.09.25 16:41:23 ] gutted > warp the orca to the WH - eject - and I'll give you 50m so you can have some isk to get some other stuff
[ 2010.09.25 16:41:27 ] gutted > and still leave your corp alone
[ 2010.09.25 16:41:51 ] Rockuso > how can i trust u?
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:03 ] gutted > I've been honorable
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:09 ] gutted > I'll give you the isk
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:18 ] gutted > if you warp to a planet, I'll give you the isk before you eject
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:23 ] Rockuso > hmmm maybe
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:31 ] gutted > that way you'll know you have that
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:46 ] gutted > or - warp back to the grav sit you were in earlier
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:48 ] gutted > where the can is
[ 2010.09.25 16:42:50 ] gutted > that'll work
[ 2010.09.25 16:43:29 ] Rockuso > hmm give me isk then al warp 2 wh and ejct
[ 2010.09.25 16:43:35 ] gutted > nope..
[ 2010.09.25 16:43:39 ] gutted > cause then I can't trust you
[ 2010.09.25 16:43:40 ] Rockuso > we;; wtf
[ 2010.09.25 16:43:58 ] Rockuso > how can i belive anything ya saying
[ 2010.09.25 16:44:09 ] gutted > it's in my best interest to do the right thing
[ 2010.09.25 16:44:15 ] gutted > cause I want people to pay me in the future
[ 2010.09.25 16:44:20 ] gutted > I've ransomed your corp mates before
[ 2010.09.25 16:44:23 ] gutted > and let them go
[ 2010.09.25 16:44:35 ] gutted > got 100m for a hulk a few weeks back
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:15 ] gutted > If you warp to the grav site I'll give you 25m once I see you're in warp
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:19 ] gutted > and 25m once you ejecct
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:28 ] Rockuso > why dont u just play the game like very1 else do plexs and mission
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:33 ] Rockuso > go 2 00 2 kill ppl
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:40 ] gutted > cause this is more fun
[ 2010.09.25 16:45:44 ] gutted > and I used to live in 0.0
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:01 ] Rockuso > hows it more fun
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:16 ] Rockuso > am just sitten here bored
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:21 ] Rockuso > nothing 2 do
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:33 ] gutted > then warp and eject and I'll leave you alone so you can play
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:44 ] Rockuso > might just watch sum porn
[ 2010.09.25 16:46:50 ] gutted > will pay you the isk when I see you're in warp
[ 2010.09.25 16:47:14 ] Rockuso > r u gona go find another wh and stay out this 1 4 good if i do
[ 2010.09.25 16:47:26 ] gutted > yes
[ 2010.09.25 16:47:35 ] Rockuso > what do u work as
[ 2010.09.25 16:47:58 ] gutted > I work for a software company
[ 2010.09.25 16:48:11 ] Rockuso > whats it called?
[ 2010.09.25 16:48:20 ] gutted > it's a small company
[ 2010.09.25 16:48:29 ] Rockuso > cool i wud like 2 do that
[ 2010.09.25 16:48:46 ] gutted > alrigt.. so are you coming?
[ 2010.09.25 16:48:49 ] gutted > then you can get back to mining
[ 2010.09.25 16:50:06 ] Rockuso > how can u trust u
[ 2010.09.25 16:50:30 ] gutted > my corp doesn't support scamming
[ 2010.09.25 16:50:38 ] gutted > I can let you speak toa director who will confirm
[ 2010.09.25 16:51:25 ] Rockuso > ok
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:15 ] Tol Sirion > afternoon chaps
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:15 ] gutted > Tol is a director
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:24 ] gutted > he can confirm for you that the corporation doesn't support scamming
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:28 ] gutted > it's right on our website also
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:40 ] gutted > http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/
[ 2010.09.25 16:52:50 ] Tol Sirion > actually its one of our things we are pretty harsh on, kicked people out for it
[ 2010.09.25 16:53:21 ] Rockuso > lol so your a corp that ransoms ppl
[ 2010.09.25 16:53:45 ] gutted > ransoming goes in 0.0 (like wormholes) but we don't pirate in low-sec or scam
[ 2010.09.25 16:54:38 ] Tol Sirion > I would say its sometimes beneficial to all involved to pay a ransom.
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:29 ] gutted > cheaper for your corp in this case for sure
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:33 ] gutted > you've lost several billion in loot
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:37 ] Rockuso > no i wud say its sportsman like asin playing eve just 2 play eve like most ppl do asin mission mining plexing trading
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:43 ] Rockuso > 00 pvping
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:51 ] Rockuso > not ransoming ppl
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:53 ] gutted > and you ejecting from your orca is only 300m instead of the 1 billion I asked for
[ 2010.09.25 16:55:54 ] Tol Sirion > a WH is 0.0 though
[ 2010.09.25 16:56:22 ] Rockuso > yeah but its not pvping its stoping a playing for plainiong asin mining
[ 2010.09.25 16:56:48 ] gutted > I won't stop you any longer if you warp to the grav site and eject from your orca
[ 2010.09.25 16:57:02 ] gutted > you can make the isk back quickly
[ 2010.09.25 16:57:16 ] Tol Sirion > have you ever been fishing its the same principle. You take a boat out to where you know the fish like to swim
[ 2010.09.25 16:57:45 ] Rockuso > omg
[ 2010.09.25 16:58:15 ] Rockuso > al just come bk on later maybe
[ 2010.09.25 16:58:19 ] Tol Sirion > I know thats kinda simplictic and possibly patronizing for which I apologise but its the best analergy I can relate it to
[ 2010.09.25 16:59:12 ] gutted > would be much better for you and your corporation to get this over now rather than me just killing you eventually anyway
[ 2010.09.25 16:59:13 ] Tol Sirion > is it you want to do your thing but gutted is in system?
[ 2010.09.25 16:59:25 ] gutted > your corp would pay you back from this - but not if I just catch you and kill you
[ 2010.09.25 16:59:55 ] Rockuso > what happens if u get killed
[ 2010.09.25 17:00:03 ] gutted > me? it happens
[ 2010.09.25 17:00:06 ] gutted > I get a new ship
[ 2010.09.25 17:00:09 ] Tol Sirion > I laugh and tell him to be more careful
[ 2010.09.25 17:00:20 ] gutted > I find enough people to kill that i can pay for new ships
[ 2010.09.25 17:00:29 ] Tol Sirion > true
[ 2010.09.25 17:01:17 ] Rockuso > am considering
[ 2010.09.25 17:02:13 ] Rockuso > i still think u shud just try playing the game instead of playing the player
[ 2010.09.25 17:02:30 ] gutted > EVE was intentionally made this way
[ 2010.09.25 17:02:37 ] gutted > it's for people who are ready to HTFU
[ 2010.09.25 17:02:46 ] gutted > this offer is only for today
[ 2010.09.25 17:02:57 ] gutted > after today it goes back to the 1 billion isk to get me to leave you alone
[ 2010.09.25 17:03:58 ] Tol Sirion > Look at all the big alliances that have been played. They really did design it to be like this otherwise this kinda situation wouldnt arise
[ 2010.09.25 17:04:14 ] Rockuso > lol
[ 2010.09.25 17:04:56 ] Rockuso > think am just gona log
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:04 ] Tol Sirion > ok
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:17 ] Rockuso > lol al just come on wen your at work
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:21 ] Tol Sirion > sure you will see gutted again
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:25 ] gutted > you are just costing yourself and your corp in the long run
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:38 ] Rockuso > lol
[ 2010.09.25 17:05:45 ] Rockuso > you guys r canny
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:10 ] Tol Sirion > scottish?
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:16 ] Rockuso > no
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:33 ] gutted > tell ya what..
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:33 ] Tol Sirion > desended from scots?
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:35 ] gutted > final offer
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:46 ] gutted > 75m to eject from the orca
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:46 ] Rockuso > am from newcastle
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:47 ] Tol Sirion > sorry yes back on track
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:48 ] Rockuso > wbu
[ 2010.09.25 17:06:57 ] gutted > at the grav site
[ 2010.09.25 17:07:14 ] Rockuso > and yal go 4 gud
[ 2010.09.25 17:07:19 ] gutted > yes
[ 2010.09.25 17:08:17 ] Rockuso > swear on ya family lol
[ 2010.09.25 17:08:23 ] gutted > yes - I swear
[ 2010.09.25 17:08:43 ] gutted > tol would kick me out if i broke this
[ 2010.09.25 17:08:46 ] gutted > he's seen my offer
[ 2010.09.25 17:09:00 ] Tol Sirion > honestly and I know its hard to believe he is honourable
[ 2010.09.25 17:09:52 ] Rockuso > invite me 2 flet
[ 2010.09.25 17:10:43 ] gutted > you can warp to gutted
[ 2010.09.25 17:10:49 ] gutted > gutted is in the grav site
[ 2010.09.25 17:11:08 ] Rockuso > nice bonus
[ 2010.09.25 17:11:12 ] Rockuso > lol
[ 2010.09.25 17:11:24 ] Rockuso > 380 odd mil here
[ 2010.09.25 17:11:28 ] Rockuso > has rigs
[ 2010.09.25 17:12:09 ] Rockuso > in warp
[ 2010.09.25 17:12:13 ] Rockuso > u gona be afir
[ 2010.09.25 17:12:41 ] gutted > half the isk is sent
[ 2010.09.25 17:12:44 ] Rockuso > wait a min can i just get that can first
[ 2010.09.25 17:12:47 ] Tol Sirion > afir?
[ 2010.09.25 17:13:09 ] gutted > go ahead and eject
[ 2010.09.25 17:13:19 ] gutted > I sent half the isk
[ 2010.09.25 17:13:29 ] gutted > will send the other half when I'm in the orca and safely out
[ 2010.09.25 17:13:32 ] Rockuso > why not full?
[ 2010.09.25 17:13:43 ] gutted > to make sure you actually eject
[ 2010.09.25 17:14:01 ] gutted > doesn't do me any good to pay you 75m for the privilege of killing you
[ 2010.09.25 17:14:32 ] Rockuso > ok u be fair now
[ 2010.09.25 17:14:41 ] gutted > ok.. omw back with my alt to pilot the orca out
[ 2010.09.25 17:14:46 ] gutted > will send the other half in a minute
[ 2010.09.25 17:15:26 ] Rockuso > u promise 2 leave?
[ 2010.09.25 17:15:29 ] gutted > yes
[ 2010.09.25 17:17:42 ] Rockuso > so u happy with that
[ 2010.09.25 17:17:47 ] Rockuso > will u leave this wh :)
[ 2010.09.25 17:18:01 ] gutted > yes
[ 2010.09.25 17:18:20 ] gutted > ok.. total 75m isk sent
[ 2010.09.25 17:18:59 ] Rockuso > ty
[ 2010.09.25 17:19:39 ] gutted > fly safe
[ 2010.09.25 17:19:40 ] gutted > and gl
[ 2010.09.25 17:19:48 ] Tol Sirion > o7 all the best
[ 2010.09.25 17:20:05 ] Rockuso > lol
[ 2010.09.25 17:20:15 ] Rockuso > okies maybe i can make sum isk???
[ 2010.09.25 17:20:19 ] gutted > I hope so!
[ 2010.09.25 17:20:34 ] gutted > o/

The even better news was that the hi-sec system I ended up in was two jumps from where I'd left the loot from their tengu kill a few weekends back (and some other loot from other kills that weekend). So I loaded the ship my alt had been flying into my shiny new ship maintenance bay, put all the lot in my shiny new corp hangars - and off to Jita I flew.





(I'll try and do better about short posts and updates going forward - but no promises)

Been a little while (and arrogance and greed are still bad)

When last I posted here, I'd finally managed to join a carebear corporation with my new pilot.

It was a corporation of one member who flew a faction fitted golem.

The reason the posts died off is that that other pilot was suddenly nowhere to be found. For three months he was totally AWOL.

So I went back to doing other things.

I had a few great fights along the way like this one where I found and scouted a fleet in to kill two carriers and a host of RR BSs trying to keep them alive (full battle report on SHC):

http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=kill_related&kll_id=25150

Edit: fmercury FC'd this fight and made a video of the 2 x Carriers going down. Watch it here:

http://dl.eve-files.com/media/corp/VidContainer/wh_carrier.wmv


and this one where I found and killed 2 T3s and their support totally solo (well, dual boxing):

http://www.freelancerunion.co.uk/eve-killboard/?a=kill_related&kll_id=25174

but I really wanted to finish my unfinished business.

So, when the guy in the golem finally showed up again I jumped at the chance.

I fitted a maelstrom with 3 Heavy Neuts, 3 Caldari specific ECM modules, 2 signal distortion amps, and buffer tanked the lows.

He explained that he'd gone missing because his old golem had been suicide ganked on a gate while he was AFK. He had only just come back, but had bought a new golem with a Gist C-Type X-Large Shield Booster and some other faction goodies.

$$$ signs started dancing in my eyes as he fleeted me up and we warped to a mission.

But this is where I made my mistake. This pilot in the Maelstrom is still very new and the DPS is anemic at best. Aggressing the golem as soon as we came out of warp as opposed to waiting for mission aggro to go to him was not the best of ideas.

As it was - I landed a few jams but not enough. Even with 2 x 1600mm plates in the lows it only took him about 7 or 8 volleys to pop my poor maelstrom.

He was at about 40% armor when I exploded and that was with only my pitiful dps so if I'd waited until we'd gotten close enough for the rats to actually aggress then I'd have gotten my kill and potentially my faction goodies.

Oh well - very little time wasted since I wasn't actually playing that character much but a valuable lesson learned.

I'll do better next time and there are still plenty of targets out there!

In the meantime - I've been focusing on my old tactics and protecting sleepers from those who would prey upon them.

Here lately, I've been experimenting with asking pilots to eject rather than going for killmails.

This has lead to some amusing results in that I've now netted myself 3 hulks, 2 drakes, 1 geddon and an ORCA in the last 2 weeks.

More on the Orca in my next post.

Edit: I'm unsure whether I want to focus my time on killing juicy targets in WHs or baiting missioners to their demise. Any comments on which you'd prefer to read about will definitely be taken into account as I'm trying to decide what to do to stay active.

Also, thanks to those who have looked me up in game recently and asked me to start posting again. I appreciate the kind words.

So... joining carebears is harder than it should be

I have been scanning marauders and faction battleships for quite awhile and trying to join likely looking corporations. I'm amazed by the number of Russian / Asian corporations there are out there.

I'm thinking the standard 'Someone in rookie chat told me to join a corporation to whore corp / faction standings with an agent' won't be as believable if I don't speak the language.

I found one likely corp to join where the CEO flies a faction fitted Golem with gist-x xl booster and faction tank that had a pubby channel but they want me to hang out in the channel and chat with them for forever before they'll let me join.

There is only so much chatting I can handle with guys who cream their pants because there is 40k of Nocxium to be mined in the mission they're doing right now...

To top it off, their sister corporation is apparently big into Faction Warfare and the guy gushed all over me about how important they were in the big scheme of Faction Warfare. They're a 14 man corp but they always turn the tide of the battle etc. Apparently they are important behind the scenes as well and I should be impressed.

When I asked what they did behind the scenes he clammed up and acted like I was a spy trying to blow up his CEOs Marauder or something. It was insulting!

I'm still hoping they'll let me in some time so I was polite but I REALLY wanted to ask him what happens when they win fights in faction warfare? And if his corporation is so good then how come Caldari recently completely wiped the field and took all Gallente systems etc? But I think that was supposedly before my time so I just kept my mouth shut and acted impressed.

Eventually I decided I was just going to have to be less picky... So... instead of scanning on my alt, I took my new pilot to the target system and starting convo'ing likely targets as they undocked to go to their missions.

The third guy I convo'd had just undocked in a Golem and was in a 1 man corporation. This seemed promising. One man corporation pilots traditionally have some of the most expensive fits I've seen when scanning.

This guy seemed amiable enough to having me tag along and showing me the ropes and.... BINGO! he asked me to turn in an application!

I'm currently running my second mission with him while I pump him for information about his fit. Unfortunately, he doesn't use faction hardeners... it seems he's got a dual Pithii B-Type Small Shield Booster tank and faction BCUs. He also uses a CN Shield Boost Amp. All in all, only about a 600 - 700m potential....

His main apparently flies a paladin that is much more expensive but is in another corporation. I am tempted to go ahead and take this guy down and maybe try and ransom him for more than his loot could possibly be worth. He may pay 750m or so to save his ship.

That being said, I'm not sure if I wouldn't rather have the killmail. Either way I'll probably get the same amount of carebear tears so that's a positive.

So... here's what we know... he tells me his Golem will perma-tank 600 dps. He uses torps but has velocity / flight time rigs. I intend to fit dual neuts, ECM drones and a faction specific ECM.

The main question for me will be timing to make sure I have Mission Rat DPS to help with the take down. Hopefully the combination of ECM and the WTF factor will let me get him pretty far down before it's too late.

Regardless, he's a nice enough guy and the standings increases are coming quickly so it's not a bad thing to hang out with him for awhile to support my 'image' when I try and do this to the next corporation. I don't want to appear like I joined a corporation and left it within days too often. :)

Plus... he's talking about selling the Paladin so he might beef up his Golem tank in the interim. :)

So... here are the questions I need help with...

1. Do I go ahead and take him in a BC or wait 2 - 3 days until I can be in a BS and be sure he goes down? (I'll have a REALLY hard time waiting for this training to occur - it's hard not to take him down even as I'm typing this)

1a) Do I bring my main into this with a Guardian / Basilisk to make sure I accomplish my task or do I risk blowing it but going for max glory by getting the solo kill (or ransom)?

2. Do I try and ransom or go straight for the kill and the glory of being ~20 days old and killing a marauder?

3. He mentioned Teamspeak and I have FRAPS ready to go... how important is it that I wait for the opportunity to hear (and record) the tears for the few of you that actually read this stuff?

EVE really DOES start slow!

Shortly after my last journal entry (but before the helpful comment) I realized that it might be more productive for me to spend my time making connections within my chosen corporation than it would be to keep droning away at meaningless tasks with my level 1 agent.

This proved to be true and within a few short hours I was ready to start doing meaningless tasks for a level 2 agent.

This was a BIG improvement... except that it really felt more like Super Sizing a Value Meal at whatever the current equivalent for McDonald's might be than a real change.

I did enough missions to prove that - with patience - I could run most of the missions I was given in a lowly skilled frigate. But even that challenge didn't hold my attention for long.

I was going to need more than this to keep myself going.

And so, with a sigh of boredom, I sent myself back to school and focused on laying the foundation for my evil endeavors.

Now, with my trial period a little over half way over, I'm almost ready to start trying to find my way into a corporation.

Today will probably be spent finding a likely target.

By next weekend I will hopefully have chat logs and video with which to remember the fun... :)

Before you can beat them... you have to join them...

I am a new pod pilot. I've invested my life's savings in joining the capsuleer program and outfitting my first ship.

Like most new pilots in Eve, I'm starting out by training learning skills to shorten the time it will take me to train to the truly essential skills. I know this isn't really helping me get to the ships I'll need to kill Marauders and Faction Battleships fit with 3,000,000,000 isk worth of officer mods, but it will help me be more flexible in the future. Flexibility may be key in being able to take down the pride and joy of a 3+ year old pod pilot with one that is less than a month old.

I've also realized that in order to convince other corporations to invite me into their confidence, I'll need to make my story believable. Unfortunately, this means I have to act like them. I'll need to have some kind of standings for the corporation that they primarily run missions for in order to convince them I'm serious about being a contributing member of their little racket.

After two hours of killing disgruntled employees and stopping minor pirate blockades I'm ready to gouge my eyes out. How do these guys do this for hours on end?

Only the promise of joining some mission-runner corp and teaching them a lesson is fueling my desire to continue.

It certainly isn't the 1,300,000 isk I've made in the last hour.

A New Beginning (Again)

I'm not a thief. Or at least.. that's not my main objective.

My goal is to teach a lesson to corporations who have forgotten that their only protection from the brutal universe that is Eve comes from Concord... and unfortunately for them... Concord only protects them from those outside of their corporation.

My goal is to taste the tears of pilots who think they are perfectly safe in Empire fighting against known targets.

My goal is to destroy the flagships of as many corporations as possible with a pilot who is just beginning to feel his/her full potential.

My ultimate goal is to get richer, quicker than the mindless grind of running missions for agents could ever hope to make me.

This is my story.