The Wolf

I've been able to fly Minmatar Assault Ships for a couple of months or so now, first I tried the Jaguar and was left dissappointed. Second I tried the Wolf, and again was left feeling dissappointed.

I would really like to love flying these ships but somehow they just don't do it for me. My most fundamental reason for the dislike stems from the lack of the Rifter hulls tracking bonus. Throw that on them and they would go up no-end in my estimations. However, they are what they are unless CCP changes them.

I have lost three Wolves thus far I think, two of them them against possibly the worst type of ship for them to fight against, Arbitrator & Pilgrim. The other I lost trying to solo a Drake. Typing those sentences makes me realise that perhaps my expectations of this Frigate hull have been perhaps rather high!

I have only been running a single fit on my Wolf thus far, which is as follows:

[Wolf, KD: 125mm & rep]

4x 125mm Gatling AutoCannon II (Republic Fleet EMP S)
Rocket Launcher II (Foxfire Rage Rocket)

Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Fleeting Progressive Warp Scrambler I

Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Gyrostabilizer II
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I

My skills:
8560 EHP
860 m/s
227 dps
Runs the rep for around a minute

I am determined to keep testing Assault ships as I really do want to like them, perhaps the changes in Tyrannis to insurance will make this mission a bit easier on the wallet.

You know when sometimes...

You know when sometimes you just shouldn't say some things.

Like when you say "This vase has been in our family for generations"

Then you turn around and knock it off the shelf, smashing it into tiny pieces. Well, the last few days since I posted about the Cap Boosted Rifter have been a bit like that. You see, I almost knew it would happen too, and that from the moment I sang its praises it was doomed. So here follows the highs and lows:

I'm watching local and see a pilot in system in a Rifter, I recognise his name as someone I killed a few weeks back and thus decide to go play tag with him. I eventually locate him as he must have been docked up. He's in a belt with a Catalyst and a Stabber. None of the belts occupants were Tuskers so I report the activity to the Corp and jump on in myself. The Catalyst had popped by the time that I landed and the Stabber was engaging the Rifter. The Rifter pops as I'm 30km away from the Stabber. I report this to the corp too incase anyone else fancies a look. The Stabber engages me and I maintain a distance around 20km to attempt to wear down his cap through his use of the MWD. I'm taking a fair bit of damage but coping well enough until a couple of corp mates lands in the belt. The Stabber is taking damage fast and I want to get on the KM so hit . . . approach. Like an idiot. Certainly enough my dear old Rifter went boom and I was kicking myself. I'd also failed to attempt to use any hostile effects on the Stabber with him being so far away so didn't get on the KM either. Bah! At least the Stabber died.

The "Macro haulers" that pass through Hevrice have a new tactic it seems, they are posting noobships at the gate and setting them merrily dawdling off 340km from the gates to scout for their haulers. Of course being that far from the gates, the gate guns can't hit an aggressor. So I set off after one of them in a cheap throwaway fit, unfortunately as I'm 50km from the gate a couple of frigs jump in and decide they don't like me. They MWD after me as I'm trying to warp away but stop me in my tracks. The Rifter catches me first and is taking a fair toll. I think I could have perhaps taken him out if it weren't for the Tristan catching me tackling and setting his Warrior II on me as I had the Rifter down to half armour. Another Rifter down the drain.

Later in the evening I'm on a roam with a corp fleet and we find a mission running Megathron. He's a 2004 character but his fits is nothing short of appalling which has to suggest that the account can't have been either his all that time or active all that time. After a bit of dodging some larger fleets that were in the area we jumped in and took it down very fast. The pilot lost his Pod too, unwilling to pay the ransom.

Logging in yesterday I set off shooting the noobships that are on the gates taking out three Impairors and the pilots Pod twice too. Afterwards a gang is formed up and we head off. This gang ultimately ends up in a fight outside a station, first our "bait" blows up an Arbitrator before the cavalry arrives (I missed the KM), what happens next is rather strange as a Curse appears in front of the station and agresses. Again I don't target him before he is gone in a pretty explosion followed by his Pod, apparently the pilot lost around 2.5bn in implants from full +5% hardwirings along with a high grade slave set! I missed both KM's again though, Grrrr! The Curse pilot says that lag killed him, but I swear I have never heard that lag spikes launch your drones? The pilots in the station however won the day by undocking in one, then two and then three battlecruisers which ripped our small ship gang to pieces quick smart before we could effect an escape.

Last thing before logging last night we encountered a small gang of Zealot, Dominix, Guardian & Pilgrim on a gate. They agressed us and the Zealot went down, but not before the pilot BBQ'd my Rifter in around 4 salvos, along with Noir's Rifter soon after. We didn't have quite enough in our gang to break break the guardian so a tactially withdrawal was ordered.

Stoopid mistake

Lets recap on yesterday first as it won't take long. Sunday must have been the day of rest for a lot of people that's about all I can say. When eventually I did come across a Cyclone in a belt and duly pinned him down, took out his drones and 60% of his shields. To find that a Pilgrim decloaked nearby, as soon as he appeared on scan I warped out rather than take the assumed raping he would land on me. The Pilgrim was joined by a Hurricane shortly after and they finished off the Cyclone. Turns out I had a nice conversation with the Pilgrim pilot in local afterwards and he lives in the same part of the UK as me, it's a small world we live in.

Anyhow, on to the stupid mistake of the day. I found myself a nice Rupture, knowing as you will how I am a bit partial to a bit of Rupture in my Rifters. He was ratting, and as I fathomed his ratting route I lay in ambush for him. Surely enough he warps in like a good Rupture pilot and I approached and locked. Note here the key problem, I approached and did not orbit. Thus it was that I melted in the face of his autocannons and came to a delightful halt in front of him where he could rape me some more. Realising far too late the mistake I had made, I went bang before I could get into orbit. Hopefully a mistake I won't repeat anytime soon!

What happened afterward however, went some distinct way to compensate for my earlier folly. I stumbled upon a capsuleer around 4 months old flying a Hurricane. Deciding that I fancied my chances I followed him around which resulted in a little back & forth between systems and then to a belt where I guessed he may be waiting for me or hiding from me. Either way I was committed to the fight. Engaging a good orbit (this time) I set about the task at hand. He set a wave of three medium drones on me which I primaried as the biggest threat as he seemed to be artillery fit with some launchers. The drones went down pretty easily which enabled me to resume on the Hurricane itself. The Hurricane pilot convo'd me and was talking a little about this blog and ships, though conversation seemed to stop when I went into his armour. The fight was taking ages though and I was primarily concerned that other pilots may join in as per my fight yesterday, to that end I kept a keen eye on the scanner. Late in the fight another drone was deployed (or one that had been recalled) and promptly shot down. I was graced eventually with a satisfying pretty explosion, I requested a ransom for the pod and was instructed to nuke it, so I duly did without needing to be told twice. If anyone wonders how the Rifter held up in this fight, well it was never in any danger, comfortably repping to full and never going cap dry even with a web on me most of the fight. Here is a screenie: