I don't PVP well. I have poor reflexes. I do much better when I plan my panic responses ahead of time. I large group healed in that other game for a long time based on 'when panicked press this'.
I have been ganked far far too many times to want to count. Normally it is a gate camp in low sec, part of the reason to move into a wormhole.
For the first time in eve; I got ganked at a customs office, in a Iteron II, by 2 Proteus (T3 cloaky cruisers). I have a policy of talking to anyone, anytime; especially gankers. My response was entirely reminiscent of an animal in headlights: Oh; if I stay still maybe they ..... (Rest in pieces recently departed animal).
I received useful advice to add to my existing list of 'avoid the hunters' tips. These are not designed to keep you 100% safe; merely safe 'enough'. These are my tips for collecting PI goo.
- DScan before you leave the POS. Every time. It's quick; and there is no reason not to do it apart from laziness or forgetfulness.
- If you fly t1 industrials, keep enough space in your customs office to deliver before loading. This minimises the chances of needing to shuffle goods.
- Manipulate your planet (including launching goods to customs office) from behind POS shields; or at a safe spot while cloaked.
- Open your cargo hold and 'Access' your customs office before warping to it. This saves a few key clicks once you get there, and you know what you are going to do.
- Warp to a 'safe spot' before warping to your final destination. Hunters can see where you are aligned to and get a fairly good idea as to what you are warping to. They can be cloaked so that you don't even know they are there. Warping to a safe then to your final means that they need to find you before warping to you. (Thanks to the recent ganker for this advice).
- Customs houses are for delivering and collecting of goods. You should warp in; deliver; pick-up and warp out in quick succession; vulnerable for less than 5 seconds. Remember; they don't know where you went because of your detour via a hard to find safe spot warp.
- Mix up your planet order a little. If you have exactly 6 customs offices; and just did planets I,II,III; that cloaked hunter's ship will be hiding on planet IV.
- If you fly cheapish ships then stay logged in. I am sure this drives friendlies to distraction. However, Hunters look for changes in names or ships. If you are logged in but safe, Hunters will find you; wait for you; then get bored and forget about you. Their boredom is your friend.
- 1 Point of warp stabilisation is worth it; especially in the better T1 industrials.
- A cloak and scanner with probes is also worth it as a backup in case things go really sour.
I have learned a few tips; but there always more tips to learn. As a hunter; how do you catch someone doing the above? As the hunted spending 2/3 of your PI goo collecting time in low skill alts, what else do you do to avoid ganking in WH space?
PS. I have windows 8 installed from a purchased DVD; it worked a charm. I re-washed then rinsed my video card with de-ionised water, and it is still sitting in a cloth surrounded by 'clean' silicon based cat litter (and well away from the cats).
Those are decent tips, but I would change 2 things.
ReplyDelete1: If you live in wormhole dscan is your best bud, you shouldn't be hitting it before you go collect PI. You should develop a habit of hitting it every 5-10 seconds. Train yourself so your mouse just, everytime you've got a little break or have alt tabbed or cycled something, moves and clicks the dscan button. This is the only way to find a halfway competent combat prober and will let you see if someone has decloaked (a single decloak, even in a cov ops ship, leaves you on dscan for 10ish seconds).
2: Put one core probe out, set to cover you're entire system (32 au), or multiple probes if needed to give the system generous coverage. Every minute or so click the scan button. This will let you know the minute someone k162's in. One of the first things I do after I jump a hole is cloak up and warp around looking for haulers.
This is why I trade small valuable items and stay away from bulky items like ore and ammo.
ReplyDeleteMy main has not been caught even once since getting Cov Ops a while back. My alts all fly small fast frigates fitted for speed and align time and rarely get caught. Usually when they do get caught it's attempting to run a major gate camp (EC-P8R, Rancer, Auenenen, etc.) during prime time.
For hauling larger stuff, I wish there was a destroyer sized T1 hauler with less cargo capacity but more speed than existing haulers, better align time and enough low/mid slots to be useful but not so many to make it overpowered. Ideally, it'd have about half the cargo capacity and be about twice as fast with 3 mid slots and 4 low slots.
@MoxNix: Collecting PI is different from trading, collecting PI in a wormhole is completely different anything else, especially if only a few people live in the hole. No local, no 23/7 vision of the entrance = no way to tell when those ninja lokis are preparing to bump and destroy your ship.
ReplyDeleteI understand all that. Just saying I don't do it because bulk haulers are primary targets for gankers and easy targets too.
ReplyDeleteFirst I would restate what the first commentor said. D-scan, D-scan, then you guessed it D-scan.
ReplyDeleteSecond, never ever speak in local. No matter how lonely it is and even if you havent spoken to anyone in days, NO local comments. It just tells would be gankers that there is an active pilot around and he is probably doing something they would want to blow up.
Third, if you can fly cloaky haulers use one when feasible. If you can not start training for them. The blockade runner is good too, but beware of its very slow align time. (built in warp staps are nice)
Be wary of possible cloaked T3's as they are super dangerous; but if you prove to be good at slipping away from gankers then be prepared to warp away from a would be attackers, smile on your face for having bested them, only to run in to a heavy interdictor somewhere between your customs office and your safe pos. Nasty little tricked that I have "seen" used. (being an upstanding citizen, would never resort to such tactics)
Most importantly have fun, and the only way to do that is to stay alive and make isk off your P1.