A Rookie gets his feet wet

While I am an avid reader of Eve-Pirate.com, this is my first posting here. I really enjoy reading Ander’s posts, as well as the others that have graced the main page here. I love the first hand experiences of players put to words, so I will offer up my own for your perusing. Please beware, this is long, but is intended as a short story of real events.

I do not consider myself a PvP-er. I am not a Pirate. I started the game about four months ago really not knowing what I was getting into. I am a Sci-Fi nut, and when I came across EVE, I sort of had a reaction like “Oh snap! This game roxors my boxors!1!!” or something. Anyway, I did very light reading on the game before I jumped in with the trial. It only took 3 days out of the free 14 for me to sign on the dotted line, and commit my hard earned cash. I started training all kinds of skills, ship piloting, weapons, mining; I wanted to do it all. As I matured and got into a Corp, I learned the ‘core’ skills to train up and of course the learning ones too. At this point, I have about 1.5mil SP and am pretty diverse. I mine a lot, mostly for ISK, and to build some expendable frigates because hey, stuff happens. So I get restless. It’s too ‘safe’ where I am in 0.6 space, and the Rats are not a challenge anymore even in large numbers, plus their loot is about as interesting as pocket lint to me now. I’m hungry for something bigger.

I head to my home station, and get into my Ferox. Not my main ship, but more something of an experiment to figure out what fitment I like best in a BC. I fit it out with a few Heavy ML’s, and a couple of Auto cannons, with two Med. NOS’s in high. A couple of large shield hardener’s in Med., Warp scrambler and a Webber. In low, I have my WCS, DCS, and ECM backup for the anti-jam. All this because I know I am heading into low-sec, and even though I am really seeking out Bot Rats, I know this territory is frequented by the flesh and blood variety. I take a last look at my fitment and undock. Form where I call home, I am only 1 jump from 0.4, and two from 0.3, and so I don’t have to go too far for ‘watch your back’ space. I decide for now I will explore the belts of the nearest 0.4 area. I set course for the gate and jump out.

As soon as I see the new system popup, I can feel my heartbeat begin to quicken. My currently unused left hand begins to play with it’s fingernails in anxiety of what is to come. My still cloaked ship appears, my eyes dart over to the top right of my screen to the overview, immediately scanning for ships. Nothing. A quick peck into the local channel….there only two other pilots here, both with high sec. ratings. Should make Bot Rat hunting pretty easy. I pick out a belt to hit, and warp in. Check the overview again, nothing, no rats, just a bunch of cans and big rocks. Next belt then, again checking the overview. Sweet! Three Bot Rats, two Angel’s in Cruiser’s and one….Domination BC?! Never seen that flying around a belt before. I can feel the questions enter my brain already about this mysterious ship. No time for that now though. I quickly target the two smaller ships first, and begin to web and NOS the closest one to ensure he stays right where I want him while keeping my cap up. I hit him with my guns, holding him at optimal range. His counterpart gets locked by my missiles, and I release the first salvo digging into his shields. By now all three are agro on me, and I begin taking damage to shields. Nothing I can’t handle with my hit points. Just as I get the first one into structure and only seconds from destruction, a new item appears onto my overview. This is not Bot, this is a human pirate, and he is heading straight for me! No doubt scanned me down over here and is pleased to see me tied up with these Bots, I’m sure. I take a look at his ship, an elite frigate of the Amarr variety. His bio page shows him to have a fairly low sec rating of -5.3. Obviously, this is nothing new to him. I see he is target locking me by now, and begins hitting me with some form of auto cannon, nipping at my shields. I realize that I am going to have to turn my attention away from at least one of the remaining Rats to fend this bugger off. I decide to lock down the larger of the two, and give him my guns while I send missile salvo’s toward the incoming intruder. I also decide to web and NOS him, as he is attacking from close range. My missiles tear into his frigates shields, quickly bringing them to half. I send a second round his way and they hit home, taking his shields nearly to zero. I am so excited I nearly wet myself at the prospect of taking down an experienced PvP’er while fending off ship’s flown by pilots who can’t think for themselves. All of a sudden, before my next salvo gets off he warps out. Damnit!! In the excitement, I had forgotten to jam him up so he couldn’t escape. Can’t dwell on it though, still two Rats here to finish off with the hope of good loot, and my shields are beginning to weaken rapidly now. Quickly, I lock them both back up, and decimate the remaining Cruiser with one last salvo. My attention is now fully onto the Domination BC.

I throw the kitchen sink at him, even the jammer just cause I feel like it. It takes a minute or two, but feels like an eternity to bring him into structure, all the while watching the overview. No time to even check local for comments from the recently escaped aggressor. Then, finally, the remaining Rats hull caves in and ignites like a fourth of July display. I quickly ignore the other ships cans and head straight for his. I stick my face right up to the screen in anticipation of what this box in space holds for me, much the same feeling I used to have as a kid at Christmas morning. In range, I open it up…..Some faction ammo, an armor hardener, shield booster, and a faction MWD!! Yes!! I don’t know what it means yet, but this must be good. I smile from ear to ear.

My glee is short lived though, as in my overview I see not one but two new entrants into the space I currently occupy, and they do not look happy. Immediately, they target me up. I glance into their info briefly and see I am being pursued by another elite frigate, and a cruiser, both flown by experienced pilots. “I should be o.k., but I need to get out of here with my loot a.s.a.p.” I say silently to myself. I target them up, and begin my return assault. Not all that impressive against these experienced and no doubt T2 fitted foes. I begin my getaway, and then….it’s taking forever for me to warp. Damn, they are scrambling me! My WCS should get me out in a few seconds, but do I have that kind of time? My shields are all but gone now with the constant assault I have received since I got here, and Caldari ships are not known for their armor. Then, of all things…..the cruiser lets out a horde of drones! Crapola! They head right for me, and begin to chew at my armor, bringing my poor Ferox to its’ knees. “GET THE F--- INTO WARP!!” I scream at my widescreen LCD, as if anything in there can hear me and oblige. Finally, half way into my armor, my ship disappears into the darkness of warp. I can hardly believe it, and I have no idea if I even had the presence of mind to head to the warp gate back home. Thankfully, I drop out of warp right on top of it, and no one is there to prevent me from exiting ‘stage left’. I approach the gate, and hit jump…..only to be met with the words ‘You are denied access to the gate due to your recent acts of aggression’. “WTF??!?! You have got to be kidding me!? #$%!!”

I quickly compose myself, and warp over to the nearest station, hoping they will grant me and my battered ship access to their facilities for some repairs, some rest, and some cold beer. A little hot food wouldn’t hurt either, but I just need to get the hell out of this area, and fast. I come out of warp, and request permission to dock. Thankfully, they immediately reply that I will be towed into the station. Whew. I wait until I see my ship in the dock, and I sit back from the keyboard into my seat, still physically trembling from the events that just transpired. I survived, with my ship and my loot. My first real taste of PvP was an exciting one, and left me wondering…..what if…?

Cleared for publication by: Ander