Smart pirates run mathamatical calculations on their setup to squeeze the best out of every aspect of their ship. Capacitor recharge rate, shield regeneration rate, damage per second compared to burst damage per minute. Module comparisons, out-of-box planning, instincts, and continual testing eventualy mold soft pilots into ruthless pirates. However far too many pirates forget a common and important attribute of their trade: Fear.
Fear is what makes the victim's heart skip a beat, hesitating slightly.
Fear is what brings the victim's mind to a sudden sprint, frantically processing the information in a blur of confusion.
Fear is what buys a pirate a second here, a second there, in order to turn a close-call fight into an overwhealming display of tactical superiority.
Take for example this situation I experienced a few days ago with my friends:
Fly in the Daran system we noticed multiple targets on the scanner, quickly pinpointing an Omen and proceeding to warp on top of it. Fade Routha (maller), Desolatus(punisher), Sicex(punisher), and myself(rifter) melted his shields and armor before he even remembered to enable his guns. A thorax and caracal warped in, obviously responding to a gang help request, but only exited warp as soon as the omen's pod was popped. A system of flashing red pirates, and one dead comrade on their end. The Caracal warps off to a safespot and the thorax makes a lazy warp to a planet. I note the heading and order an immediate gang warp to his planet. We plant right on top of him and the order to engage and scramble flows naturally.
He wasn't expecting this. The speed of our counter-attack, the sudden flashing of red on his overview, stopped him cold. It took three or four seconds for him to even realise what had happened and to return fire, giving us plenty of time to ensure multiple locks and scrambles to prevent his escape. A clumsy align for warp and only one weapon firing showed that he was far too nervous to figure out exactally what path of action he should take. Ten seconds into the battle his armor was eliminated and we noticed that his shield booster was finally active (not armor repair) and his quad beam lasers (not hybrid weaponry) was finally active and returning fire on the frigates, which he was unable to hit.
A caracal warped in on top of us, only to see his friend explode and his pod destroyed. The caracal, now having witnessed two of his friends destroyed in front of him and landing so close to us, paniced. It took a whole five seconds before he decided to align for warp and head back to his safe spot. Why was he not taken out? I honestly can't remember why, so don't ask again. The fight ended with a single sentance in local:
"Stay docked if you value your life, or rejoin your friends in the cloning station."
He didn't undock the rest of the time we were in system.
Fear of a flashing overview. Fear of quick actions. The inability to think clearly. Use the psychological tools to your advantage to compliment your already powerful tactical setups. Become more than a ship. Become the dark figure that everyone remembers, not out of anger, but out of terror.
22 Comments
Good post, all too true.
Wait. Sicex, as in member of Placid Reborn? Or are there some other Sicex I don't know.
Good post, all totally true.
Panic is a Pirates best ally. Nothing strikes fear into a target like watching your shield completely disappear with a single volley of thunderbolt heavy missiles.
em damaging ammo is great for introducing the “forgotten attribute�. This creates adrenaline which although actually makes your targets reactions work faster, their rational thought is effected usually resulting in them doing the first thing that pops into their head.
For example; the other night I practically solo’d a Ferox in my Rax simply because my target panicked and spent most of the fight firing his heavy missiles at one of my medium Vespa drones causing minimal damage. By the time he realised the blunder of his initial reaction and started to concentrate fire on me, it was too late.
Ryles
Yarr!
Fear is a powerful weapon, but remember ..... locking back on a frigate when you are in a cruiser does take time, they may not always be frozen in panic, but unable to fire because they can't lock quickly.
Other than that, great story!
Yes, the one from Placid reborn. While she is anti-pirate, she wanted to understand the way pirates thought. Why do they act this way? Why do they not care about blank? Are they really immature, or is there something more sinister?
Her actions in assistance were not continual and she has returned to the Placid region with a much greater understanding of PvP. She's a good pilot, a good player, and now a good friend.
Soloing bc's in thoraxs isn't exactly hard....
Actually, it is something. Especially against a ferox that is launching a barrage of heavy missiles against it's intended target, a cruiser. It isn't an impossible feat, but certainly something to be proud of. The thorax does a lot of damage, yes, but the ferox has a great deal of tanking power. You should know this, especially since Ferox's commonly tank sentry guns for gatecamps.
Save your trolling and "omfg thatz soo ezy" for knitting class. No one needs it here.
That is too true. Though I am on the other side of the war between good and evil, I see it happening all the time. The effects work both ways, though to a lesser degree against pirates since they rarely get the heart thumping of combat anymore. Very well said Malka. You have set your finger on the weakness of most "anti-pirate" people, and I applaude you for it. The majority of them need to be rooted out anyway, the ones that are unworthy adversaries that is.
All to true about fear. It makes people confused, slows the reaction time, and makes them make mistakes. Keep a cool head while pirating. You have to keep the correct mind-set so you don't lose control yourself. The best way to describe it I think would be to paraphrase from the Lord of the Rings: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli just met Gandalf in Fangorn Forest and it is said they need to be careful because there are dangerous things in the woods. Gandalf replies with "dangerous things indeed" and explains that they themselves are some of the most dangerous things there. You, the pirate, with the flashing red icon and skull, YOU are the dangerous thing in these woods. Always remember that! Use it to your advantage. Be quick, and when you're target makes a mistake or reacts to late, jump on the opportunity.
Do you want a link to all the bc kills i have soloed in a rax on the sniggeredly killboard?
2005.12.31 03:25:00
Victim: Salvader
Corporation: Caldari Provisions
Destroyed Type: Ferox
Solar System: Amamake
System Security Level: 0.4
Involved parties:
Name: Narciss Sevar (laid the final blow)
Security Status: -9.9
Corporation: Sniggerdly
Ship Type: Thorax
Weapon Type: Hammerhead I
Destroyed items:
Advanced 'Limos' Heavy Missile Bay I
Advanced 'Limos' Heavy Missile Bay I
250mm Prototype I Gauss Gun
250mm Prototype I Gauss Gun
Shield Recharger I
Medium Clarity Ward Booster I
Medium F-RX Prototype I Capacitor Boost
'Accord' I Core Compensation
'Accord' I Core Compensation
Assault Missile Launcher I (Cargo)
Iridium Charge M, Qty: 40
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 19
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 19
2005.12.28 18:17:00
Victim: Jaran Farrel
Corporation: IMPERIAL SENATE
Destroyed Type: Ferox
Solar System: Orfrold
System Security Level: 0.2
Involved parties:
Name: Narciss Sevar (laid the final blow)
Security Status: -9.9
Corporation: Sniggerdly
Ship Type: Thorax
Weapon Type: Hammerhead I
Destroyed items:
Magnetic Scattering Amplifier I
Heat Dissipation Amplifier I
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 140 (Cargo)
Large Shield Extender I
Ballistic Control System I
Havoc Heavy Missile, Qty: 36 (Cargo)
Nanomechanical CPU Enhancer I
Miner II
Miner II
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 27
Havoc Heavy Missile, Qty: 28
2005.12.23 15:26:00
Victim: TheReal Lordnikon
Corporation: The Scope
Destroyed Type: Brutix
Solar System: Costolle
System Security Level: 0.2
Involved parties:
Name: Narciss Sevar (laid the final blow)
Security Status: -9.9
Corporation: Sniggerdly
Ship Type: Vexor
Weapon Type: Ogre I
Destroyed items:
Medium Armor Repairer II (Cargo)
Capacitor Power Relay I
Stasis Webifier I
Warp Scrambler I (Cargo)
Dual 150mm Prototype I Gauss Gun
Dual 150mm Prototype I Gauss Gun
Magnetic Field Stabilizer I (Cargo)
Antimatter Charge M, Qty: 545 (Cargo)
Warp Disruptor I (Cargo)
Overdrive Injector System I
Dual 150mm Prototype I Gauss Gun
Small Shield Booster I (Cargo)
'Langour' Drive Disruptor I (Cargo)
Antimatter Charge M, Qty: 102
Antimatter Charge M, Qty: 100
Antimatter Charge M, Qty: 95
2005.12.22 15:03:00
Victim: StarCasher
Corporation: Masuat'aa Matari
Destroyed Type: Cyclone
Solar System: Bosboger
System Security Level: 0.3
Involved parties:
Name: Narciss Sevar (laid the final blow)
Security Status: -9.9
Corporation: Sniggerdly
Ship Type: Vexor
Weapon Type: Wasp I
Destroyed items:
720mm 'Scout' Artillery I
'Malkuth' Assault Missile Launcher I
720mm 'Scout' Artillery I
Medium C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I
'Malkuth' Assault Missile Launcher I
Shield Boost Amplifier I
720mm 'Scout' Artillery I
720mm 'Scout' Artillery I
Defender I, Qty: 176 (Cargo)
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 57 (Cargo)
Bloodclaw Light Missile, Qty: 25 (Cargo)
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator (Cargo)
Energized Basic Magnetic Plating (Cargo)
1MN Afterburner I (Cargo)
Ship Scanner I (Cargo)
Widowmaker Heavy Missile, Qty: 15
Bloodclaw Light Missile, Qty: 62
Nuclear M, Qty: 14
Nuclear M, Qty: 14
Nuclear M, Qty: 14
Would you like more?
I'm missing your point? So you have found a setup specifically kitted to take out battlecruisers? That's beautiful. Here is another helping of ego for you.
But for other players who are new to piracy, taking out a BC is a good step in the right direction when they don't have the same character skills as your character has, and without sniggerdly training. It's something to encourage and commend them on, not degrade them. Most of sniggerdly pirates act much more mature than you, why is that?
Stuff the ego, shove it in a paper bag, and start instructing and teaching rather than throwing killmails around like a victimized teenager.
Pay no attention to the trolls Malka, they dont bite. They just make a lot of noise.
I probably have less skill points than ryles there and have some of the lowest skill pont ammounts in sniggeredly. I just ponted out that killing bc solo in a thorax isn't hard. So anybody should be able to do it, if thats not encouragement i don't know what is. Btw thats an all purpose setup that uses 1 warp disrutor + 1 scrambler and no web. Thats the key to killing bc's, making them stay around long enough. The reason i posted killmails is because you just didn't seem to believe me and called me a troll for pointing out a personal opinion. Yes fear is a grea tool, but to say its a big factor in that ferox killing is dumb, as ryles drones do most of his damage it was a valid tactc to try and shoot his drones down, he just used the wrong weapon.
All too true, my first suprise attack from a priate had me scambling all over the place with hands shaking and all, eve can get all too real sometimes, you guys have this to your advantage.
Yeah, meeting with a war target outside a station when he's in an Interceptor and your in a Frigate gets the heart beating slightly. Quick dock inside the station, slight refit of equipment, distress call in Alliance channel and I'm told *Undock now* engaged the spoon and won, apparently doing most of the damage myself (I did have assistance from a HAC but he said he only got into range after I'd brought the Inty down to structure) . Much jubilation in Alliance as a repeat offender of some one who preys on new mission runners was taken out. ALthough afterwards I couldn't fly properly, I was still proper shaking and all elated from my kill. Maybe I got too into it, but it was a damn nice feeling, and I think my enemy was ever so slightly shocked. Maybe the whole *Why is the Frigate actually coming out to fight me* factor had a play in that battle.
Very nicely done. That heart-thumping, chest pounding feeling you have is completely natural for your first few PvP engagements and is most likely going to be one of your more memorable moments in EVE. Little by little you will get used to PvP and that thumping will go away, your mind will clear, and suddenly you are not engaging in a nervous fight so much as tactically and calmly planning your victims defeat.
Yes, we are aware of this incident and Sicex has been severely reprimanded for her crimes. Placid Reborn does not tolerate piracy and any future infractions will result in termination.
LOL. Seriously though, thanks for taking care of our Sicex, that night was pretty funny. "Guess what I'm doing?" hehe. I decided it happened in an alternate universe because to think otherwise would break my poor character's brain.
Malka is the good kind of baddie. Her TS server sounds like a good place to learn the pirate ropes.
Actually, I'm not too impressed. The first was tanking with a medium shield booster AND a shield recharger in a Ferox, and was dumb enough to not get away even if he had two stabs in his lowslots. Next was using passive hardeners and at least two miner modules, so wow, you killed a miner, great job. Next you kill a guy with a railgun setup; I guess he had a webber, but it's standard t1 (why? the rest of the stuff was way more expensive) and you could've avoided his fire by orbiting at 11km or at point blank, tracking of the med rails really isn't that great. Fourth guy is also fitted for long range, though mayhaps without a webber.
if i remeber right Narcis Sevar was run from 2 Caracal cruiser , and he was piloted a Thorax .... u can explain Narciss ?
I may be a noob when it comes to pirating, but Malka is oh so right about the flashing overview freaking people out. I tried pirating on my primary account and due to skill limitations and a couple of other factors I had to pull out of pirating the first weekend. But while giving it a whirl i made 1 pod kill which along with several other unsuccessfull attacks took my sec lvl to -1.7 Well when i came back to high sec to rejoin my corp and start this char, I have continually had folks newer than me freak out and leave a belt when i come in to haul our ore back to base after mining. Never thought I would see someone in a cruiser run like hell from someone in an unarmed badger 2 lol. On the serious side, am looking forward to joining you folks with this char as soon as I get him skilled decently :)