Carebear Tears and Pirate Blubbing

I use to fear pirates in EvE. I didn't like the idea of getting my hard-earned ship blown up for no reason. Before I revamped my Blog I had a post where I whined about this. But over the last year I have put the game in a different perspective as well as accepting a few truths.

Firstly, I have rememberd that it's a game. It's nothing but a load of electrons whizzing through logic-gates and circuitry to end up as organised light on the very monitor I am looking at. Secondly, EvE is a sandbox game. Pirates, Carebears, Mercenaries - everyone will lose ships and/or their pods throughout their time in New Eden. It is a fact, and there is nothing you can do about it (unless you're a market trader in Jita who stays docked up in a station, of course). I have lost a few ships to gate camps now, but when it happens I certainly don't produce tears. I simply shuffle off quietly in my Pod.

Because EvE is a sandbox game, we all have to accept that there will be a very broad range of players. We play EvE because we like what we do in the game, and people want to do different things. Some want to roam and destroy. Some like the idea of building and selling. Some people like the satisfaction of market trading. So they will all do these things. But I often see person A slating person B for their game-play style in EvE. Well, person B is paying for their account so they have a right to play the game in whatever way that satisfies them. Who is person A to judge person B on how they should play?

Many a time we have all seen pilots sobbing about getting ganked. I won't deny that I have done it. It's funny to the other party. A lot of Empire PvPer's thrive on the tears of the victim. But I saw one particular EvE-Forum post where a pirate was blubbing about finding it hard to gank Carebears. I found this a little amusing. He was annoyed that Carebears often got away and the game mechanics made it too easy. I read this post with interest to see the mixed responses that followed. But what a lot of these people seem to forget is that not everyone wants to fight. This guy seemed to be surprised at that. But then the impression I got from him is that his method of PvP was through gate-camps.

Pilots will have means of getting away from a fight, whether through a good ship set-up and/or shear pilot skill. If they are going to haul through Low-Sec, then of course they are going to take measures to avoid PvP and protect their cargo. Yesterday my CEO managed to escape a gate-camp in his Badger armed with nothing but a cloak and myself as scout. After some time passed with them unsuccessfully trying to de-cloak us I managed to lure them back through to the other side of the gate, leaving my CEO to happily warp off with his cargo-hold crammed full of Wormhole goodies. In fact, my CEO managed to get past them a few times and even started smack-talking them about their constant failure.

If the guy in the Forum really wanted PvP, then perhaps he should go roaming Low or Null-Sec instead of sitting on a gate trying to catch haulers. If someone is that desperate to PvP then look for someone else who is also wanting to PvP. To me, roaming sounds more fun than trying to pick on people who are actively avoiding a fight. Plus, there will be more of a challenge involved if the other party has a vessel built for fighting. Unless the gate campers have a very good set-up at an active gate then, personally, I don't see the appeal of the gate-camping evolution. But I cannot comment too much because, even though I am now delving into PvP, I am by no means experienced. All I can really do is imagine the methods I might prefer.

In a Wormhole, PvP is a constant threat - especially as there is no active local. But it's not as frequent as I first thought. And when opportunity does arise for a 'fair-fight', I have found it hard to engage in PvP. I now know how frustrating it can be when the other side won't play. I was salvaging a Sleeper site in my Noctis when Combat-Scanners appeared on the D-Scan along with a Nemesis. I warped out leaving a few wrecks behind. Some time later I went back again in my more expendable Catalyst. I was expecting the Nemesis to be cloaked around the field somewhere. I warped in and aligned to the star while targeting the wrecks. As I dragged them in the Nemesis de-cloaked. He began locking me as I warped out.

I returned as quickly as I could in my Manticore and dropped two bombs on the two groups of wrecks, hoping to pop the Nemesis. That failed, but I at least denied him all the wrecks. I de-cloaked and hoped the Nemesis would engage. I knew he was still there because he wasn't back at his Control Tower. I waited a while, but he would not bite. I warped off to a planet, and then warped under cloak to his Control Tower just in time to see him warp back in. I felt deflated that he had not risen to the challenge once I presented challenge.

The irony is that I could have popped his Hulk earlier on. While I was scouting the 'Hole out, I had his Tower surrounded with Combat Probes and I was cloaked and watching him, yet he still warped off to a Grav-Site. Had I known he was going to chicken out later on I wouldn't have shown sympathy on his Hulk.

Hindsight...

The 23rd EVE Blog Banter (December 2010 Edition) - Topic: Incarna

Welcome to the twenty-third installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so 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 to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

With Incursion giving us glimpses of what Incarna will have to offer (the the Character Creator), this month's topic, by @Minerpewpew, comes just at the right time. He asks "What are your thoughts on how Incarna will effect the current EVE Online social dynamic?" I'd like to see this questioning go a bit further. How will this affect EVE's player base? Who will Incarna attract? New players to the genre? Seduce old players back into the game? Will we see new players come in that will never leave their station? Please explore to the best of your abilities!

There is always talk of Incarna in the Forums, which are littered with the bleats of 'CCP will ruin internet spaceships if they implement this!'. People will always battle change as it comes there way. And once it is here, they will continue to complain until the next change looms over them and only then will their focus shift. CCP, however, need to move forward. They're long-term goal is to amalgamate DUST 514 and New Eden, and (character-wise) Incarna will allow us to better connect with our toons in the game by bringing them to life. I applaud this notion - DUST or no DUST.

However, I recognise that this change is genuinely not important to everyone. For some people, flying space-ships is what makes them kick off their pants. So, from certain stand-points, the expansion is pointless even if they do play in-character. Others that have several accounts might be distanced from the idea of navigating several toons around a station, which could be a pain. Players (like myself) who do have a focused toon are offered a better connection with our space-fairing alter-ego. Being able to have a much more 'alive' character who can wander stations and interact with other pilots physically (as far as sprites go) will improve the experience a great deal more. So this is one of the best steps CCP can take for role-players.

As long as pilots can still function as if the expansion wasn't there, I can't see it being a problem in any respect. And by that I mean trading, selecting missions, creating contracts, etc. If pilots had to 'physically' leave their pod, wander off into the station and track down a seedy figure in a bar to acquire 'Damsel in Distress' everytime, then I can see a lot of subscriptions getting cancelled. However, I am confident in saying that CCP will not do this. Although, it would be nice to have the option to. It would also be nice if agents, etc, would actually talk. I'm sure this would be a short-lived novelty as people would get sick of hearing the same voices say the same things over and over again but, as before, it would be nice to have the option.

So what else would I like to see? How about in-station first-person missions? Why not have the option to 'Stop the Thief' before he even gets away with those stolen reports? And if you don't manage to chase him down through the crowds of fellow pilots before he gets to his ship, then you just have to hop into your Battlecruiser and take him out the old-fashioned way. If the in-station missions were broad enough, then that alone could attract a whole new world of subscribers. Sure, it may drag some pilots out of their ships and reduce the number of folks in space for a while, but that would undoubtedly be off-set by the new first-person subscribers giving 'life in a space-ship' a whirl. The levels of 1-5 will still remain, security status will continue to rise or fall as in 'normal' missions and skills would still be trained (Hand-to-Hand Combat Level-5, anyone?).

So, I guess I'm saying that the mission mechanics in a station would be the same as in space (even 'fleeting up' with other players), but it would be so visually different that it could work. And don't forget with first-person missions - it wouldn't be a case of standing in the middle of the room and tanking the weapon fire, tactics and cover would need to be used here.

In-station missions could also lead into the manufacturing and inter-system trade of skills, medical supplies, drugs, fire-arms and ammunitions being sold in player-owned 'shops'. Yet another commodity to introduce which will please traders, manufacturers, researchers and pew-pewers all in one hit. And while you're waiting for your flame-thrower and it's ammo to be delivered why not stand at a real-time view port overlooking the docking-tunnel of Jita. We could witness the constant flow of ships along with the flashes of turret fire as pirates bring down juicy freighters. All this would surely make activity in station rich and interesting.

Bounty hunters can still attempt to gun down those wanted pirates on foot. It wouldn't be EvE if pilots couldn't shoot or brawl or 'stealth-attack' other pilots - in or out of ships. How about thieves stealing that prized laser-pistol from your very own utility belt? How about 'awareness' skills to reduce the risk of someone successfully depriving you of your treasures? A personal drone hovering over you emitting a protective shield? And, or course, CONCORD would still be present as security guards. NPC characters could offer a lot, too - whether just as background to 'fill' the stations or talking to them to find bonus missions, story-lines, secret locations, black-market sellers, bonus items/ships or even just juicy targets to thieve or gun-down and loot before CONCORD realise what you've done. As always, putting richer rewards in (or rewards that are only exclusive to) Low-Sec might draw more people out there.

But regardless of what it will offer, Incarna won't please everyone. What expansion does? In fact, forget the game for a minute and lets look at real life. What single decision pleases everyone when it is addressed to a large group of people? I'm talking about realistic decisions here. But thinking about it I'm sure even Empire gankers will have a great time popping macro-runners while the 'active' player-base swarms to stations to try out all the shiny new things on the release. So the players that are worried about people dwelling or hiding in stations, don' be just yet - give it a chance. And even if players do take to 'hiding in stations' then so what? After all, this game is for EVERYONE and if there are players who like to immerse themselves into a station-dwelling story rather than being potential pew-pew fodder then let them. However, I trust that griefers will always find a way to break through if such barriers were put up. After all, no-one is safe in EvE, right?

In one of the previous blog-banters CK put forward the question asking why there is a lack of female players in EvE, and (from what I read) it was largely down to the inability to customise ones appearance. MOST women like to decorate their appearance (well, that's no secret) and EvE's lack of this function deterred them from signing up. It will be a good test to see if Incarna does increase the female player-base. And for people who perhaps left EvE due to the void created by the lack of a 'physical character' and story-line to role-play with might now return.

And with regards to it's release, yes CCP probably announced the expansion far too early as we've been waiting a long time for it, but if they get it right and release it bug free then I'm happy to wait for a long time yet. I can enjoy the game as it currently is, and any expansion is nothing more than a bonus.

Wormhole Work-Up No.3

This will be the final post about my move into Wormhole Space.

I'm not sure what it is, but I seem to be playing EvE a lot less than when I was living out of the Wormhole. I think this is a combination of things. Firstly, work and life seems to have stepped up a gear with the build-up for Christmas. The other reason is 'things to do' in the Wormhole. Or lack of, as it were. I knew before I started that there would be periods where our 'Hole or the adjacent C2 would not offer us any sites (whether through no spawns or an uncomfortably active neighbouring C2). And when an uninhabited C2 rich in sleepers sites does spawn, sods-law always steps in and finds a reason for me not to be able get on-line.

I often find myself trying to collapse C2's with my Orca in the hope to find a better system. But more than often the 'Hole's mass allowance is over-the-odds and remains active in a critical condition. No way am I taking any ship through for another jump. My Corp mates are 5-7hrs behind me and with no other players about times can get pretty lonely. In times like these there's nothing else to do but solo mine. Which sucks (not as much as High-Sec mining though, as nearly all types of Ore dwell out here!).

So I have two options; move out of the Wormhole and back into Empire space (I can't wait to get back into my SNI!). Or leave my Corp and join/form a time-zone friendly one in another 'Hole.

Well, I'm not going to do either of these. I like my Corp, as I often mention. Clearing five Sleeper-sites brought me 110mil and my CEO managed to cash in over 600mil just in three days of solo-running the 'Hole. Plus my CEO has started making reactions from the abundance of gas and ore that thrive in these systems. So the rewards (when they happen) make it addictive. But even the most basic Sleeper-sites bring in the big ISK - especially the Battleship salvage:

Living in a POS is also a little more of a pain than an NPC station. Things can't be repackaged and you don't really have your 'own space' like normal stations offer. When ships are launched their shields and caps take a hit, so there's a delay in warping off (depending what it is you're doing!) while you wait for everything to recharge.

But my closing topic for this wishy-washy trio of Wormhole posts will be the ships. I now have a nice collection:

PvE Sites: Drake, Noctis, Covetor, Caracal (Gas-Harvester)
Defence: Drake (PvP), Drake (Cap-Drainer), Crow, Merlin (Back-up Tackler), Manticore and Flycatcher
Logistics: Buzzard, Heron x2 (Back-ups), Orca, Crane (Covert-Ops), Badger II (Rigged), Badger II (spares), Osprey x2 (Shield Reppers) and Shuttles

I can never have every situation covered, but I think I have managed to put together a collection that can deal with a broad spectrum of modest situations in a C2. I'm thinking of bringing in a Heavy Interdictor and a Command ship, too. But on the PvP front I haven't come across a threat (so far!) that warrants such ships. Our Wormhole has two statics; the C2 which I mentioned as well as a Low-Sec. So traffic really is minimal. In fact, to date, we have only been bothered by the C2 - the Low-Sec gives us almost no traffic.

In my first post I commented about using a Spider-Tank set-up for Drakes. This really is not necessary in a C2. I also mentioned about using a Drake for shield repping. I quickly learned this was also pointless, as my shields have never dropped below 50% on solo runs. My main reason for having Logistical ships was to boost the Tower's shields during set-up and if it ever came under attack. To rep a tower, you need to be outside of the Force-Field (about 18km). Fitted to a Drake, the repping range is about 8km, which is no good. The range-bonuses of the logistical ships (Osprey, in my case) are needed to rep a POS.

Bringing in a Noctis was interesting to say the last, considering our Empire static is Low-Sec. I was determined to have one, so I scanned down our Low-Sec exit and got to work. I scouted the 4 jumps from the Low-Sec exit to Hi-Sec a fair few times to monitor activity. The quietest system was the one with our Wormhole exit, the other two held very light traffic while the final was quite heavy but everyone seemed to be dwelling in stations. So I kitted out the Noctis with fast-align rigs and Inert-Stabs and made a run for it. It was smooth up until I made the jump into the system harbouring my Wormhole entrance. A couple of pilots had decided to camp with two Battlecruisers.

Now, during my moving into the Wormhole, I managed to lose two rigged Drakes to a (very impressive!) gate camp. Even though my ships were fitted with cloaks, they were still able to locate my position, de-cloak and pop me. With this in mind I was apprehensive to move the Noctis off the gate and activate cloak. Inevitably, I had no choice but to do this anyway. I doubt I would have managed to warp away before a lock. I checked the info of both pilots and they were only months old. So I hoped for the best when I moved off and cloaked. Well, they didn't budge. Either they didn't see me or were after a juicier target. To be honest, I expected them to run down a Noctis because it probably would have been one of the first ever 'Garbage-Truck' kills. But I made it to the Wormhole safe, and the Noctis almost makes salvaging a pleasure!

Although it has been hard work and costly, the move has been (for my Corp mates, anyway) very profitable already. I shall start to knuckle down and really kick the ISK out of the 'Hole over the coming weeks.

But, if there is one piece of advice I can give about living in Wormholes, it's this - a Buzzard with Sisters Probes and Launcher coupled with good scanning skills is priceless.

I will continue to post as normal from now.

Wormhole Work-Up No.2

Wow - that was hard work. And it's still on-going. Even now I'm not fully settled.

Perhaps I put in a lot more effort than was really needed. I do have a lot of ships and equipment stashed in the POS, and my total investment to date has been the best part of 500mil. In fact, between four of us we have nearly filled both the Corp and Ship Hangars. I'm hoping the line from Edna in the Incredibles 'Luck favours the prepared, darling'  will ring true.

Initially, the move into the Wormhole was slow going. We are residing in a C2, which has a Low-Sec and C2 static. The Low-Sec entrance on that day was 2 jumps from High-Sec, and we managed to get the Tower along with other structures and some fuel into the 'Hole using my Orca. I hate taking my Orca through Low-Sec, but it survived on this occasion. So, we began setting up with the basics. I left the 'Hole that night, while my CEO stayed to babysit the tower.

A couple of days later another exit appeared 6 jumps out of Jita in a Low-Sec system adjacent to a High-Sec. This was good news, and we managed to get four Orca-loads of fuel, some ships and most of our equipment through successfully. A couple of days after that the seemingly impossible happened - our adjacent C2 had a High-Sec exit to our home system! Much cheering followed.

I was still in the middle of acquiring and building equipment, but I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. None of us did. We got a second Orca involved from an allied Corp and dragged in everything we could. A forth Corp member also jumped in and made the move. He brought a Charon full of more fuels and equipment which we then shipped through the whole with two Orca's (the Charon's mass was too big for the 'Hole). The Tower was also upgraded from a Medium to a Large, which was a big bonus.

We had a close call at one point. The second Orca, which was being piloted by an allied Corp member, nearly lost the ship to our own Tower. On his first arrival at the POS he was halted at the Force-Field to find that the Tower saw him as hostile. The POS then proceeded to target, scram, web and fire upon the Orca. Oops! I was frantically off-lining the gun batteries as the ship's armour was being stripped from it's hull. Luckily, there were only three batteries active, and the cycle-time is quick, so the Orca lived to see another day. I'll never forget to adjust the Tower defence settings again.

By the time the 'Hole lost stability it was 2am for me, and the alarm clock was due to go off in four hours for work. There was still some fuel to bring through, which would take a well-rigged Badger II four or five trips. We made a start but the 'Hole collapsed as the pilot before me made the jump, leaving me stranded in High-Sec. I couldn't be annoyed - we had achieved a great deal. A few days later one opened up 17 jumps away, so I took a shuttle and headed over.

I'm now living in the 'Hole full time. But this week I have still been hauling in the remainder of the fuel. Why does Strontium have to take up so much cargo space? Bringing Planetary Structures also got thown amongst the Crane trips at the start of this week. Yesterday I began setting up my PI, which I still have not finished. I'm being a bit more precise in the set-up this time around as Large Towers are hungry for parts. Once that's done (tonight) I should be able to finally start enjoying the riches that Wormholes have to offer.

Wormhole Work-Up No.1

Well, the work-up has very much been under way. I've even gone back to mining!

I've been continuing my research into Wormholes. I already follow a few Blogs, but I've pulled off some pretty neat tips from the internet, too.

I've decided that Drakes will be my main ship-type. Mainly because a battlecruiser is the largest ship that can squeeze into most C1-C3 'Holes. But they are also relatively cheap and, therefore, expendable. I already own two; one is PvE (High-Sec missions and Wormhole Ops) while the other is PvP (residing at my Low-Sec POS). I have built another five so far, and I plan to construct a few more.

One Drake I had to surrender to my better-half (she can't afford to buy one yet -or so she tells me). Apart from our High-Sec exit collapsing behind us, we raked in some nice ISK on our Wormhole Op last week. But the Caracal fit I constructed for her to use on the Op (which could perma-run a Medium Shield Booster and had good resists) did not last more than thirty seconds against Sleepers. She escaped with only a small amount of her hull intact. So, when we returned to High-Sec she trained for a Drake. That's completed, and even though it's a T1 fit the ship still managed to tank one of my L4 missions very well. I really have to tip my hat to the Drakes.

I will carry some spare Drakes as well as other ships, but the roles I have planned for the battlercruiser's are: a solo Sleeper-site runner, PvP defence, a salvage boat and a Spider-Tank for Corp Sleeper-Ops.

I really like the idea of having a group of Spider-Tanked Drakes. But it's damn hard to fit one up that can perma-run a Medium Shield Transfer while retaining an effective DPS and some defences. So we'll see on that.

I haven't ever built a logistical ship before, but I've read they are key in building up and retaining POS shields. So, I kitted out two Ospreys - one that can perma-run 3x Medium Shield Transfers (reasonably cheap), but the other I went to town on and plumbed in 2x Large ST's that can also perma-run. The latter I had to fit some faction componants to get it cap stable, but it's quite impressive. What I will invesitgate next is whether a logistic-fit Drake would be more effective. Straight away, it doesn't have the range-bonuses of the Osprey (which repairs from a little over 50km), but I don't know how vital that might be in a Wormhole.

Other ships I plan to take through are a Buzzard and two back-up Herons, as many Badger II's as I can make in the time, my Crane, a few tackle-Frigates and maybe my Manticore, and either my Hulk or a Covetor. Ideally, I'd like to buy a FlyCatcher, but there just isn't enough time to train for one with all the other skills I'd like to progress.

In summarry, here is my ship-plan:

PvE: Solo Drake / Spider-Tank Drake
PvP: Drake / Tackle-Merlin / Manticore
Covert-Ops: Manticore / Buzzard
Scanning: Buzzard / Heron
Mining: Covetor or Hulk
Salvage: Drake
Logistical: Osprey or Drake
Hauling: Badger II / Crane

I'd love to take my Orca, but I don't know if there are any C1-C3 'Holes that allow such a ship? Otherwise, are their any current Wormhole-dwellers who care to share advice on ships? Have I got it covered?

Expanding our Horizons Further

This post almost heeds as a warning that I may be a bit quiet on the posting front for the next two or three weeks.

Although we now have a POS in Low-Sec I still spend a lot of time in High-Sec. It's easier to make ISK there. However, I do pop in to the POS almost every day. I have PI out there and I also like to run scan sites. But the system we picked to harbour our POS is in the middle of a Militia war-zone. The advantage is that traffic is particularly quiet, but it is apparent that CCP has not seen it viable to implement decent rats or scan-sites. So there is not a great deal to do other than PvP, and anyone who follow's this Blog know's how much I suck at PvP. Although the moon-mining makes the Low-Sec POS worth it, flying out there doesn't seem to hold any major rewards for anyone not in a Militia. I still intend to learn PvP out there, but something else now has my attention.

I mentioned in my previous post that I was keen to run Wormhole Sleeper-sites again. At the end of last week I sent out a post to the Corp stating that I would be making it a reality from this week. This ended up sparking another twist in our Corporations' direction. After talking to the CEO about WH Space, the simple Ops I wanted to run progressed towards setting up a small POS camp. This way we could stay in a 'Hole for a few days. Then, some old Corp and Alliance friends got involved and we have banded together. Now it looks like we're actually moving into a Wormhole. It won't be permanent (they apparently weren't intended for an indefinite base anyway), but we are likely to be away for a couple of months. My CEO has expressed an interest in T3 building, so who knows - it could be even longer.

The work-up is very time consuming. Wormholes demand special attention to a few skills, like scanning. It can't be said enough - good scanning skills are vital in Wormhole Space. So I have stepped my scanning-skills up a gear. I have just trained, bought and kitted out a Buzzard with Cov-Ops and Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher with matching Sisters Probes - that was one way to spend 100mil. Luckily, I already have Transport ships trained and my Crane is already on stand-by. But it will soon be joined by it's bigger brother again, the Bustard. Then there are the other ships, both Sleeper-running and PvP for defence. I intend to mostly use Drake's and Rokh's (WH Class permitting). I am undecided at the moment whether to use a Hulk/Covetor or a Rokh for mining.

We intend to start in a C2, just to test the water. If it is C2 then there is talk of us bringing in Ship Assembly Array's so we can build our Battleships and maybe even an Orca. We want to start in a lower-class because we might not like living in Wormhole Space. A lower-class 'Hole needs (to a certain extent) less setting up, which means less taking down. We're aware that they can give you almost no scan-sites for days. Plus, we are ultimately in it for the ISK and if we keep getting jumped by POS-killers then there is no point in us being there. But the ISK-Loss ratio looks favourable.

There are actually very few of us embarking on this new adventure as we leave the majority of the Corp behind. In fact, the few former-Corp members and old Alliance members who are joining us out-number the folks coming from our Corp. Tonight I am running Wormhole Sleeper-sites to take a few of the newer (and some seasoned) players through to see if they like it. Hopefully they will, and therefore will join us. The more the merrier, right?

Anyway, I will post our progress into Wormhole Space, but the next couple of weeks will just be preparation work.

Function Vs Aesthetics

I have a thing for symmetry and neatness. I always have, I always will. When I built Lego as a kid anything I constructed not only had to be perfectly regular, but also well defined. If it didn't look right, I broke it apart and started again. The same goes for anything I design today, with everything being well-proportioned and refined with the 'less is more' motif attached. By profession I'm an engineer, and a lot of engineers will know that more than often things just can't be completely symmetrical. So I have managed to (mostly) accept that as long as things are at least 'neat and tidy' then I will pass them. But I think the quality of my work swings more towards a level of 'OCD' than 'pride'.

My girlfriend might be thinking at this point why do I not adopt this attitude with house cleaning? I just don't. My house seems to emanate a symmetry-and-tidiness dampening field that affects only me. I can't explain it, so don't make me try.

When it comes to flying ships in EvE, it goes without saying that I will always opt for symmetrical designs. I almost have to. If I ever turned up to a mission-blitz with my Corp in a Moa, it would be like arriving at work wearing yesterdays underwear and a very ill-fitting suit. I would feel dirty and ridiculous.

Being an engineer, I have even found myself mulling over some of the irregular ship designs and decided they clash with physics. Many of the vessels should not be able to fly in a straight line, unless they have a component of ridiculous mass hidden in the hull on one side of the vessel. Some of them just seem to have either too many rocket motors or oversized exhaust nozzles bias to one side.

But who cares? It's a game, and what's more it's science-fiction. Anything is possible in science fiction. But everyone has their quirks, right? Some people worry about CCP nerfing ships, I worry about CCP not positioning the engines correctly about the vessel's centre-of-gravity. It takes all sorts. And who am I to question the design teams' work, anyway? I'm not trying to take anything away from the folks over there - it's better than what I could have ever done. And as space-ship designs go, they can be as ogre-looking as the designer likes - no atmosphere, no stream-lining required!

So enough about my peculiar mental characteristics.

Being a CareBear, much of my income has come from running missions. So, in light of everything I have just said, you can probably guess my Caldari ship-choice as I've progress through the levels.

L1 - Merlin

L2 - Caracal/Hawk

L3 - Drake

L4 - Drake/Rokh

For those who know their ships well enough, all of the above are missile-platforms (apart from the Rokh which is a hybrid. Yes, the Merlin is, too, but at that stage of the game it doesn't really count). Apart from the Rokh, I'm sure that most Caldari pilots will have followed a similar pattern up until the Drake. After the Drake, however, many would have jumped into the Raven. Me being me, I opted for a Rokh due to the Raven's very irregular design. But (as just mentioned) the Rokh is a hybrid ship, and nearly all my weapon skills are in missiles. So I had to spend a month or two learning gunnery skills just so I could fly the Rokh effectively. Is that being ridiculous? Probably. But then I will play in a way that makes me happy, as I'm the one paying for my account.

I managed to get the Rokh in a set-up where I could perma-run an X-Large shield-booster and chuck out 515 DPS. I was running all Level-4's no problem, providing a few sensible tactics were employed in some of the more demanding missions. It was working out superbly until I made the fatal error of leaving my drones in aggressive-mode on one particular run. My overview was suddenly filled top to bottom with blinking reds. The Rokh's shields quickly fizzled down and I began to align to warp out. I recovered my drones and casually clicked the 'warp-to' icon.

Nothing.

I started spamming the icon. Still, nothing. Then I realised. I had been warp-scrammed by three or four Frigates.

A lot of swear words exploded out of my mouth. There was no way I could deploy drones and kill the Frigates with the rate my armour was being chewed up. It was a horrible feeling as my Rokh popped. My cockiness and over-confidence had got the better of me. Not only that, but I now carry the shame of losing a Battleship to an NPC mission. D'Oh!

So, back to the Drake. But I didn't mind returning to that ship. Sure, it was taking me far longer to complete missions, but it is such a good ship. I also think its one of the best looking hulls in the game.

While I rebuilt my funds, I started thinking about a new mission-running vessel. I thought long and hard as I compared my missiles skills to gunnery. Missiles were winning by an obscene amount, so it made sense to go back to them. The Raven only has 3 DPS more than the Rokh with my skills, and the shields are 10,000hp inferior. But the Caldari Navy Raven is a different matter. It comes in at 586 DPS with shields 10,000hp superior than the Rokh (it's worth noting here that I always fit out my mission ships to run cap stable, hence the low DPS figures compared to what could actually be squeezed out. And, no, I don't like pulsing the SB!). I took a deep breath and (finally) decided that it was more important to have function over aesthetics.

But then a Corp mate suggested the Rattlesnake. I didn't even know what that was at the time, but now I know it's a variant of the Scorpion. The Scorpion is a ship I had always over-looked, and not just because it was once an irregular design. I knew it was geared for ECM, and I have no place in ECM warfare, so I never considered it for anything. I was almost embarrassed when I suddenly learned only recently that there are a total of four Scorpion hulls.

After some extensive research through forums, I decided on the Scorpion Navy Issue. Although the Rattlesnake seems like the T1-variant Daddy, I do not like the idea of relying on drones for DPS (for those that do not know, the Rattlesnake is a passive-fit drone-ship with an amalgamation of Caldari and Gallante technology). The SNI variant, however, drops it's ECM role to become a missile-platform.

But the biggest bonus for me is the design. I absolutely love the look of the new(ish) Scorpion hull, and anyone else I've spoken to has also given it a big thumbs-up.

At 542 DPS, it's lagging the CNR's 586 (remember I always fit cap-stable for perma-running an XL-SB). But the SNI's shield is 5,000hp superior. To me, that's an offensive-to-defensive trade I can live with. Plus, the SNI come's in at around 400mil ISK, 200mil cheaper than the CNR. I've only ran a few missions so far, and none have really been testing. But in some cases I haven't even needed to turn the shield-booster on, so it looks promising.

And the best part of all this? I have a missile-platform with a symmetrical hull! Well, in truth, the bridge is slightly offset on the Scorpion. And even the Rokh has an additional structure half-way down on it's starboard side. But, really, I'm not that pedantic!

However, sooner or later I'm sure the day will come where I will have to put aside my petty quirk and step into a Golem.