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I logged on last night and found a damn carebear convention in my home system. I started grinning from ear to ear, jumped into my assault frigate and headed for the nearest belt.

I would normally begin the hunt by scanning the belts for a victim but, in this case, the victims did the work for me. Two of them in Badgers were happily mining away while a friend of theirs’ guarded them in a Rifter. To pass the time they were chatting in local about their ships, the asteroids, what belt they were in, etcetera.

I was wishing for a covert ops so I could be sure to jump right on top of them but, lacking those skills, I warped to the belt and hoped for the best. I landed 45k from the nearest one, clicked approach and turned on the AB. I was 9k away and priming my scrambler when the first warped out, followed closely by the other two.

Bah.

I jumped back to my central scanning spot and immediately found a Caracal NPCing in the next belt over. I jumped in 12k from my target.

I scrambled the Caracal and fired up the blasters, 30 seconds later I had reduced it to a can and a pod. I locked the pod and considered a ransom but he was only a month old and I had just blown up his shiny new cruiser, so I let him go.

As I’m collecting the loot he convos me asks me to give back his 4 launchers that survived the explosion. I said no so he offers me 1 million.

I flew to a planet to wait off my criminal flag and savor that sweetest of plums, selling a victim’s stuff back to them.

I flew to the station he was in and opened a trade. He puts up 800k and says that’s all he has. I pull back the launchers and wish him luck when, all-of-a-sudden, it turns out he has 1 million after all.

Not much money, but it’s just enough for a war declaration, perhaps it’s time to try that out.......

-Jocindus.

Ship-type: Merlin
Role: Solo Hunter
Last revision: Red Moon Rising
Skill Requirements: Caldari Frigate, Small Blaster Specialization, Rocket Specialization
High-slots: 2xLight Neutron Blaster II’s, 2xRocket Launcher II’s
Med-slots: 1x1MN Afterburner, Tracking Computer, Webber, 7.5k Scrambler
Low-slots: PDU, Magnetic Stabilizer
Cost: 2 to 6 million depending on the grade of modules
Comments: This is the setup I’ve been using for a while and it's working great for me. It’s cheap, easy to replace and can take on just about any frigate or cruiser. If you’re hunting larger prey this same setup works on the Hawk AF. Hawks have a bad rep because their DPS is low compared to the Harpy but Hawks have better shields and are 1/3 the price of a Harpy.

With decent skills you should get 7k range on the rockets and 1.6k on the blasters with AM charges loaded. The DPS isn’t especially high but when you get in close it’s enough to break any tank I've come across.

The Merlin got a nice shield resistance boost with RMR so it can take quite a beating. This setup is still vulnerable when moving in on a target, though. Missile boats are particularly tricky so the target should be chosen carefully. Some range can be sacrificed for survivability by dropping the TC for a Shield Booster if you have good fitting skills.

I'll have a new post about this weeks' (mis)adventures and evil-doings up tomorrow. Until then, leave some comments on my setup if you can, I'm always looking to upgrade.

.....rapidly followed by my quick and painful death.

I was out browsing the belts in my new hunting grounds looking for a good target to begin my pirating career. I had been coming up empty for about an hour, everyone I came across either warped before I could get close or was flying something over my head like a BS or AF. Finally I found a belt with what I thought was 3 new-ish players in destroyers.

I warped in and checked my overview, I saw 2 Cormorants and a Catalyst. They were NPCing and had spread out in a line with about 40km between each. I considered my strategy and came up with a plan –- Get’em.

I fired up my afterburner and dove for the Cormorant at the back of the line. In a matter of seconds I had ripped through his shields and by the time the other 2 seemed to notice me he was in his pod.

It was about this time I noticed that it wasn’t 3 destroyers, it was 2 destroyers and a Rupture. Somehow my overview had shifted when I first took inventory and I had missed the cruiser. I figured, hell with it, they’re still spread out and I’ll kill’em one at a time.

I turned for the Rupture, now about 20k from me and hit the AB. That’s when his drones came out and I was hit by a volley of missiles. My little frig built for speed and damage was no match. Even quicker than I had killed his friend, he killed me.

As I sat there, in my pod, next to my first victim, I had some time to consider his one question to me:

****** > what the hell were you thinking?

Um.., well.., you see…….


Anyway, frigs are cheap and, at least, I learned just how much damage my ship will do to another player’s and I learned the limits of what my setup can take. Next time I’ll have a much better idea of how far I can push it.


Happy Holidays all�
-Jocindus.

I've decided to take the plunge. After 7 months of being a good little Eve citizen I've packed up my gear, sold off my empire assets and moved to low sec. It's time to become a pirate.

I started playing this game back in May after becoming bored of EQ2. I had read the "Great Scam" story and was intrigued by the openness of Eve, so I downloaded the demo and started a new character. Within 2 hours I was hooked and I've stayed hooked ever since.

I've tried most of the carebear professions Eve has to offer and none of them could really capture my interest. I came to realize that the only long-term hook for me in this game would be in PvP, piracy specifically. Piracy has always called to me as a way to live outside the law and prey on the fringes of empire but until now, I haven't committed myself to the dark side.

Now, I've got some ISK, I've got some SPs and I've got a ship with some guns ready to fire. I expect that over the next few months I'll learn some harsh lessons but I hope to teach a few as well. I'll be sharing my experiences of starting a new profession as a low-sec pirate and I welcome any hints from those who have gone before me.

See you in space-

-Jocindus.