Making like a banana
7th July 2011 – 5.12 pmThe home system looks quiet. Intelligence puts a maximum of a couple of possible hostile pilots available to cause disruption, but none seen locally recently. My mission can go ahead, and I start scanning for an exit. The static wormhole leading to our neighbouring class 3 w-space system is easy to find and space is clear on the other side of the connection. I launch probes and scan, focussed on finding wormholes to the point of even ignoring finding any local occupation. I'm moving my ships out of w-space and just want to be quick about it, which is perhaps a little reckless but I need to regain my autonomy.
As luck would have it, the first wormhole I resolve in the C3 is an exit to high-sec empire space, jumping out putting me in the Tash Murkon region. It's hardly Caldari space but it is fairly central and certainly safe. I dock my scouting Tengu strategic cruiser, buy a batch of frigates, and pilot the first back in to w-space to start the minor evacuation. Glorious leader Fin arrives and, thankfully, is simpatico with my plan to leave the system behind. The good timing, lucky connection to high-sec, and coordination will work out well. I was planning to simply get my scanning Tengu, ratting Tengu, and rather expensive Widow black ops ships out of w-space, to mitigate the financial loss when the tower goes off-line, but now we can move more, and more safely.
Fin loads the first Orca with modules, ships, and loot, and I prepare the first Widow as an escort ship. Both are high-value targets, but we suspect there to be only the one hostile pilot still camping in our system, with maybe one more ready to be called upon should we disregard our safety, and my Widow's potent ECM systems should enable us to get clear of any minor aggressive attention. And I have already told Fin that should more of the hostile corporation suddenly wake up, as if being scrambled for an assault, I will abort the operation at that point. For now we seem okay, and Orca and Widow get out to high-sec dock safely.
I share some of my frigates with Fin and we go back to w-space. With a wingman I am persuaded to get more ships to safety, feeling strong enough in twin Legion strategic cruisers to take them out next, then our two Tengus. And with w-space remaining quiet I pull my Damnation command ship from the tower, a ship I haven't had a need to fly since moving here but have a sentimental attachment towards, and get it to dock with Fin's Nighthawk command ship flying alongside. My supply of frigates is lasting, and I recover a Crane transport ship stuffed to the gills with fittings and other items, followed by bringing out Fin's Crane also packed full of modules, as Fin does the same with the Bustard transport ship after taking our laboratories off-line.
Pushing my luck a little, and having to buy more frigates for all these trips, I get another Nighthawk out to high-sec. But despite all going smoothly I realise that I am pushing my luck and should probably stick to my original aim, which was to pull out the high-value assets and leave the system behind. Smaller and lower-value ships can be replaced, if necessary, and they are not worth dying for. I will make one last trip, having saved the second Widow to accompany the second Orca. I let Fin know my intentions and she fills the Orca with all that it can carry, and we warp out together, just as we started our withdrawal. Again, we get to high-sec without seeing another ship, and I feel satisfied about the operation going so well.
I am satisfied, but also disappointed. The denial-of-service attack on our home system doesn't really seem to achieve anyone anything, and only serves to move more capsuleers out of w-space. Maybe we'll be back, but I have no idea how fanatical this hostile corporation will be towards us. At least for now I can run missions with one Tengu, scan for and hunt in w-space with my other, and have my most expensive assets safe in a station where they cannot be lost.
14 Responses to “Making like a banana”
Forcing pilots out of W-Space does accomplish something. Theoretically, if enough pilots are forced to leave then supply of the materials found there will drop. And when the supply drops while demand remains stable, the prices should go up.
Your acts of wormhole piracy have the same effect, though in a more scattered manner; you are not forcing pilots out, rather you are either diminishing supply or increasing your own supply (the former being a good result, but the latter being a better result).
That's a fair point. As long as our attackers have industrial connections, even if it's just a different corporation in their alliance, then their actions also serve their interests.
I imagine it's simply happy circumstance for them, though, in much the same way that my own piracy despite being an end also acts somewhat as a means. I don't suppose either them or me really look too far past the shooting.
Let me tell you this straight: the WH evacuation is just crazy. You are overreacting to a bunch of stalking morons, giving up so easily what you like to do in the game. Set up a fleet, fight back, chances are that if you manage to kill their scouts, you'll never seen this people again in the future.
I'm not yet a great pvp pilot (it's my easy way to tell you I still suck at pvp), but i'd be more then happy to join the fight if you need an helping hand. Just convo me ingame, ask the ship you want me in, and I'll be more then happy to join your payback fleet
Awww, it feels like the end of an era.
I really hope you guys find a new wormhole to start your hunting games up again. I've really enjoyed all of these posts.
Let me tell you this straight: the WH evacuation is just crazy. You are overreacting to a bunch of stalking morons, giving up so easily what you like to do in the game. Set up a fleet, fight back, chances are that if you manage to kill their scouts, you’ll never seen this people again in the future.
I’m not yet a great pvp pilot (it’s my easy way to tell you I still suck at pvp), but i’d be more then happy to join the fight if you need an helping hand. Just convo me ingame, ask the ship you want me in, and I’ll be more then happy to join your payback fleet
By Gil Roland on Jul 7, 2011
i agree with this - c'mon, you guys are organised, capable and respected ( yes respected). play in empire for a bit if you need the space, but, don't leave !!!
I hope that you will take up the fight again; not to sound like a dork or anything but the adventures you shared while in W-space gave me a second wind in EvE. I was wondering what I was going to do and before finding your blog, I hadn't even considered W-space. I enjoyed reading your posts so much that I searched for and joined a WH Corp... I should have asked a few more questions though as they are 6 hours ahead of me and I don't get to play with them that often but when I do, it's the most fun I have ever had in EvE. I have you to thank for that.
If I can find my way out of my WH and help you blow up some pests like your other responders I'd be happy to. Don't give up the fight, we're cheering for you!
Thanks for the encouragement. And to those urging us to shoot back: shoot what?
The point is that they are not out for a fair fight but to get kills, which means biding their time until they outgun us. If it looks like we will win they won't reveal themselves, let alone engage us. Just as we know when they are on-line, they will know when we are, and they won't fall for obvious bait. You can be sure they have scouts in our system, perhaps in a different corporation and maybe even in an NPC corp., making them difficult to identify, and any scout worth his salt won't be flushed out easily. As much as I want to fight back I also don't want to stalk empty space for days on end, nor do I want to throw T3s and pods at our aggressors until they reach their pre-set kill limits and shut down.
And although the C4/C3 is a good system, it's not the only one. There are dozens in w-space just like it, and hundreds more that are equally suitable for us. Let their scouts sit like turkeys in an empty system for weeks on end waiting for us to return. We'll be elsewhere, hunting and getting kills. The evacuation is not the end, it's to ensure we can keep going.
I hope you return to w-space quickly. It's been great reading your day to day adventures.
As a fellow WH dweller I hate to see anyone driven out of w-space for no particular reason.
IMO it was a wise choice to evac, given the circumstances. I've lived in space (albeit nullsec) where you have constant afk cloaky gangs which will occasionally come out to play if there is a fast easy gank to be had.
...and unless they make a mistake (like dabigredboat losing his nyx to us), they pretty much get to dictate the rules of engagement, making resistance pointless.
You've probably done yourself a favour by not feeding them any more goodfites. You can always find another wormhole, too.
I was thinking more along the lines of a cloaky ambush but I can see your point.
Yes, we could set up a cloaky ambush, but I don't see them being so easily fooled in to such obvious bait if they see several of us on-line but only one or two of us out and about.
My comment about throwing T3s at them was more about us going about our normal business and pewing Sleepers for profit. We'd only end up losing our ships to the bigger and PvP-fit fleet, and if we continued to offer juicy targets we wouldn't get rid of our stalkers. Hobb3s summarises the situation nice and succinctly.
A medal always have 2 face, and I reckon we are on opposite side of view in this talk. I don't wanna start a flame on this, afterall is your WH and the path to take is up to you. Also, talking about strategy on a public blog that your enemy is reading 100%, is just pointless.
Last but not least, I think we are giving this morons exactly what they want: their 5 minutes of notoriety talking about them through your blog. So good luck, I hope to read more stories from you, whatever your EVE life will be from now on. You're an excellent writer. My offer for my ship by your side is always available, should you ever need
Thanks, Gil, your offer is appreciated.
I don't see a problem with giving these pilots their due, they clearly know what they're doing. And I wouldn't worry about talking strategy or giving away information here. If you want to know what I'm doing today you don't read about what I did yesterday. ...if indeed it was yesterday when it happened.
Speaking of hitting back on the cloaky gangs, yes, you can have some fun with that. You might even be successful a couple of times. You'll take out a few bombers at first...next time, you'll probably see more recons (particularly arazu and falcons) making them much harder to catch. Isk-wise, once you get to this point you have to risk more expensive ships and numbers to engage, and once again, they control the field, and may not engage at all.
In nullsec you have no choice but to adapt. In w-space, you can move. Practising being mobile is an advantage in itself.