The New Planet Graphics Video - You'll need to sit down for this one!

December first can't come soon enough! It'll Christmas earlier this year, again!

And this is the original that I've already posted earlier this year.

EVE Blog Banter #13: Your mission, should you decide to accept it...

Welcome to the thirteenth 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 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 here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

The first banter of this 2nd year of EVE Blog Banters comes to us from Zargyl from A Sebiestor Scholar, who asked the following: On the EVE Fanfest 2009 page are pictures of prizes for the Silent Auction that was held during the event. One of these photos was entitled “Design your own EVE mission”. My question now would be what kind of mission would you write if you got that prize? What would the mission be about? Would it be one using the new system of epic mission arks? What would be the story told by it? Feel free to expand upon his questions and put together your very own mission!

EVE is known as the sand box of MMOs, where PvP is the core and heart of the game, and PvE is but an afterthought. But that would be stretching it a bit. Player versus Environment, or PvE, has indeed been neglected in the past, but in recent times, it has received some much needed TLC from the CCP Devs. One thing is for certain though, it'll take a lot more of that sweet viking love to bring PvE up to par with PvP!

Currently my time in EVE is somewhat very limited, if none at all. So I feel somewhat ill prepared to dive deep into this very complex essay of mission design. As such, I'll give the center stage to the folks below, knowing that they'll do a much better job then I would at this present time in my capsuleer career. I look forward to reading, commenting and discussing everyone's ideas!

List of Participants:

1. CrazyKinux's Musing - Your Mission, should you decide to accept it...
2. Zen and the Art of Internet Spaceship Maintenance - First Blood
3. The Elitist - Guristas Invasion
4. The Wandering Druid of Tranquility - ...It's another episode of Design Star: EVE Style...
5. Level Cap -Epic Battles
6. Roc's Ramblings - The Cave of Time
7. Aether - Teach a man to fish...
8. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah - Mission: Tangled Webs
9. Adventures in Mission Running - I can haz spaceship?
10. Nuke Thoughts - EVE Blog Banter 13
11. Diary of a Pod Pilot - Distressing The Damsel
12. Guns Ablaze - Dynamic Missions
13. Achernar - Confidential Report
14. Escoce - EVE Trader - Missions with player adversaries
15. Hands Off, My Loot! - Blog Banter #13, no witty title
16. Inanity and Doom - A question of impact
17. Cle Demaari: Citizen in EVE - See the Universe
18. A Starry Eyed Pod-Pusher - Wormhole Extreme!
19. Mike Azariah - Missioneer, not mouseketeer

MicroWarpCast - Special Edition: The Hammerhead Interview

MicroWarpCast was originally launched in the fall of 2008, with 3 shows seeing the light of days that year. Though two additional shows were recorded, lack of time and a suicidal PC eventually put the show on hiatus. Add to that the fact that my co-host, the YoMma, was 4 timezones away, that my better half and I had a second child and that I started a new job in late 2008, and you get to understand the difficulties I faced in trying to get the show back on track! No easy task.

Despite all these setback, I still very much wanted to use this outlet to voice my opinion on EVE and all that surrounds this wonderful sandbox-of-a-game!

When the opportunity presented itself to do a contest and have the winner interview one of the CCP Devs during a podcast, I knew that this was the perfect opening to get the show back on air. What you have below is the result of efforts by a few determined EVE Bloggers, by the winner of that contest, by an CCP Dev and by myself.

I'll admit, I was a little bit rusty and had to work Audacity to its limits in order to get a show of decent quality. Xiphos83 had a chance to ask his questions to CCP Hammerhead, the EVE Online's Lead Game Designer. All 3 of us had a jolly good time! Hopefully you'll enjoy the show as well!

Here is the link to LISTEN and DOWNLOAD the show.

Your comments are, as always, more than welcomed!

Show Links:

• Xiphos83's Blog - A Misguided Adventure
• CCP Scrum Development [Update: the video is not set to private and can't be watched]
• HTFU Video
• HTFU Ringtones
• EVE Forum Thread: CCP Hammerhead interviewed on Game Design - MicroWarpCast

P.S.: Want to thank my friend @Merivel who put together that amazing track! Thanks mate! Sounds amazing doesn't it! :p

Some new EVE Online Blogs

I've been trying to keep track of new blogs as I get folks emailing me or commenting on the EVE Blogroll Lovefest, or through the help of Ga'len and Alexia. The blogs below have been added over the last few weeks, and though I'm trying to add every new blog, there's a good chance I'm missing a few. If that's the case for your blog, or a blog you're aware of, then please let me know!

1. A Starry Eyed Pod-Pusher
2. Alone in a WormHole
3. Caels Caldanhai, Inc.
4. Caldari Piratess (The)
5. Chronicles of Riddick (The)
6. Evebowl Survival Guide
7. EVE Monkey
8. Industrialisms
9. Fury and Fire
10. Lonetrek (The)
11. Me vs EVE
12. Nosce te ipsum
13. Phaze-9
14. Ravings of a Lunatic
15. Rewarp (The) – starting over
16. So there I was
17. Underworld Excavators

Before you wander off visiting all these new blogs to welcome then in the EVE Blogging Community, make sure you update your blogroll for Hands Off, My Loot which recently changed its URL to http://handsoff.myloots.com/.

Fly Safe!

Friday Video: Borderlands Making Of - Part 1 & 2

A first look at Halo Waypoint - Video

We're likely to see a lot more of these "themed-waypoints" in the future on XBOX Live, and I can definitely see one for EVE Online once DUST 514 comes out and it gets integrated in the EVE universe. Until then, you can check out Halo Waypoint when is comes out on XBOX Live on November 5th!

Ship Setups - Crusiers: All Purpose Uglies, by the Gaming Griefer

This is a guest post by the Gaming Griefer. You can follow him @JohnBatDell.

The cruiser class in EVE online is nothing if it isn't the most versatile. It was precisely this versatility which attracted me enough to make a priority of training every racial cruiser skill to V, and has kept my interest over all other ship classes save Assault Ships and Pirate Frigates. A competent cruiser pilot is a welcome addition to any roaming gang, if gang roams are your thing. They aren't mine. I was born in the year of the tiger, so I choose to hunt like one: alone.

As I mentioned, cruisers are my third choice. With to the upcoming changes slated for December 1st, anything I write about the pirate frigates would either be obsolete or theory-craft, and I don't really feel like parting with my favorite AF fits. Nevertheless, I've been fairly successful over my EVE career in cruisers, and if you manage to find me on Battleclinic, you'll see that cruisers are by far my favorite prey. Cruisers it is, then.

Before going into specific ship fits, there are a few things I'd like to prepare you for. The first thing is that I prefer an afterburner + warp scrambler combination over a microwarp drive and disrupter on almost everything. I use close range weaponry, and fitting a MWD is completely antithetical to close in fighting.

The second thing? Buffer tank... buffer tank... buffer tank. I fit a buffer on my ships when I can, with the goal being to give myself as many effective hit points as possible and outlast my opponent. Active tanks generally fail on PvP ships with a few exceptions. Having your lifespan, your damage output, and your tackle all tied to your capacitor is just asking for trouble.

The third thing I must point out is that all ammunition is variable depending upon the situation. I usually use T2 ammo in HAMs, and faction ammo in guns. The actual type… well…

One last thing: I use rigs on my cruiser fits. With the addition of medium rigs, and their lower costs, I just don't see why not. If you're going to roam around on your own, you need absolutely every advantage you can get, and throwing down another 2-9 million on some rigs just seems to add up for me.
With those caveats out of the way, I present to you my collection of favorite cruisers, which I dub my "all-purpose uglies".


Gallente
The Gallente Federation has designed some of my favorite ships by far. The ideas behind their engineering is simple: get in close to unload hell on your target with blasters and drones, and have enough durability to make it into blaster range and stay there long enough to make the other guy die for his corporation rather than you dying for yours. I like to make it personal, so this "in your face" philosophy has always suited me just fine. They've got a couple of decent choices in the cruiser department, but if I had to choose one, it would definitely be the Vexor.

My Vexor Fit

[Lows]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II (x2)
Damage Control II

[Mids]
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Warp Scrambler II
10MN Afterburner II

[Highs]
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I (x2)
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S (x3)

[Rigs]
Anti-Thermic Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Anti-Explosive Pump I

[Drones]
Group 1
Hobgoblin II x1
Hammerhead II x2
Ogre II x2

Group 2
Warrior II x5

Some notable statistics:
392 DPS
442 m/s
22,844 ehp with 75/74/74/64 resists
-360 target cap per 12s cycle

The first thing most people notice when they see this fit is how I’ve not only opted for small guns, I've opted for small auto cannons to boot. The reasoning behind this is simple. The Vexor's primary strength is drone deployment, and though I could squeeze out another 125 DPS by fitting medium blasters, the advantages of fitting small guns, 2 medium energy neutralizers and an 800mm plate buffer are just too compelling for me. Though it spits out close to 400 dps instead of the 500+ of a gank-Vexor, it has staying power and can suck the life out of just about anything given enough time. Going with small auto cannons instead of small blasters drops a measly 13 dps for the advantage of guns that don't use cap. I felt this was important since all cap on this ship is earmarked for sucking the life out of my opponent and keeping him there.

The second thing people note is the drone grouping. Group 1 I use for targets cruiser sized or bigger, gaining about 75 dps over a group of 5 Hammerhead IIs. Group 2 is used for smaller targets. Warriors, I'd like to note, have the singular distinction of being the only drones that fly 5 km/s out of the box, giving them the ability to run right over most interceptors.

Minmatar
Minmatar ships were the last ships I trained for. This wasn't because they weren't good ships. It honestly had to do with how skill intensive they really are, and of course because they're butt-ugly.

As uneasy as they are for the eyes, they're even more uneasy on an opponent's hull. What's my favorite? If you guessed the Rupture, you win a cookie.

My Rupture Fit

[Lows]
Gyrostabilizer II (x2)
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II

[Mids]
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
10MN Afterburner II

[Highs]
425mm Auto Cannon II, Hail M (x4)
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Hellfire Rage Assault Missile (x2)

[Rigs]
Anti-Explosive Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Anti-Thermic Pump I

[Drones]
Warrior II (x5)
Warrior II (x1 - reserve)

Some notable statistics:
532 DPS
509 m/s
22,069 ehp with 75/70/65/58 resists
Cap Stable

I opted for resistance rigs over trimarks, as both give about the same benefits to effective hit points, and I felt that fitting a Minmatar cruiser to fly less than 500 m/s was absolute sacrilege. This fit pretty much speaks for itself. It hits hard, soaks up damage like a sponge, and is very easy on the capacitor. It's fairly easy on the wallet as well. With a flight of Warrior IIs to fend off those pesky interceptors, there just aren't too many ships I don't feel comfortable going toe to toe with in this hull.


Amarr
Amarr ships usually rub me the wrong way. They just don’t seem to be built for my style of play, for the most part. Nevertheless, when I crossed trained for Amarr, I did so with a few ships in mind: the Zealot, the Curse/Pilgrim, the Punisher, the Sentinel, and (drum roll, please)...

...the Arbitrator.

My Arbitrator Fit

[Lows]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane I
Reactor Control Unit II

[Mids]
Warp Scrambler II
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
10MN Afterburner II
Tracking Disruptor II

[Highs]
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I (x3)
Small Energy Neutralizer II

[Rigs]
Ancillary Current Router I (x2)
Drone Durability Enhancer I

[Drones]
Group 1
Hammerhead II (x5 w/ x5 reserve)

Group 2
Warrior II (x5 w/ x5 reserve)

Some notable statistics:
238 DPS
485 m/s
15,576 ehp with 66/55/48/45 resists
-648 target cap per 12s cycle

I was so happy when CCP introduced small and medium rigs, as it allowed me to construct this monster without a guilty conscience. Though it may not have the impressive tank or nasty bite my other cruiser fits have, this Arbitrator sucks an amazing 648 cap per cycle out of anyone within 6.3 km, and 540 out of anyone within 12.6. Simply put, if they don't have a cap booster fit, they'll be in trouble fast, and even if they do, they'll still probably be in trouble. The longer the fight progresses, the more this boat shines.

Anything I can do to panic the guy I'm trying to melt is gold, and if he needs capacitor for anything, this ship will be a very nasty awakening.


Caldari
Most PvP veterans will tell you Caldari ships, except for ECM specialized ships are crap. I think that's complete rubbish. Though it is true that missiles are underpowered in PvP, and also true that shield tanks usually use up precious mid-slots normally reserved for tackle, like anything else in the EVE universe, there are always exceptions to any given rule. If you were paying attention to my previous fits and what they say about my play style, you've probably already guessed what my Caldari submission to the "all purpose uglies" list is: The Moa.

My Moa Fit:

[Lows]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II (x3)

[Mids]
Large Shield Extender II
10MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II

[Highs]
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M (x4)
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Hellfire Rage Assault Missile (x2)

[Rigs]
Ancillary Current Router I
Core Defence Field Extender I (x2)

[Drones]
Hobgoblin II x3

Some notable statistics:
440 DPS
493 m/s
23,293 ehp 34/48/61/67 resists
Cap Stable

Though certainly not my favorite cruiser, I've taken down a few battle cruisers in one, and more than a few cruisers and frigates. Their strength comes from their penchant for being underestimated, and in the colossal amount of punishment they can actually dish out and take.

There you have it. There are other ships I’d love to add to the list, but CrazyKinux limited me to a total of four. Honorable mentions go to the Stabber, the Thorax, the Maller, and the BlackBird.

The opinions shared here are those of its author and not necessarily mine. /CrazyKinux

Friday Video: "Welcome to the Borderlands" HD Trailer

Looks very Mad Max don't you think? And that's totally fine with me!

87 Bazillion Guns? My kinda game!

Speaking of Borderlands, for those of you who missed, or simply couldn't attend the "Production Consistency Through Chaos" presentation a few weeks ago here in Montreal, the IGDA's Montreal chapter was kind enough to record Lulu LaMer's presentation. Here it is embedded below, and you can find it on MotionBox as well.

And speaking (again) of IGDA, last night I attended their GameCafé Discussion on social media in games. Three different variations of this topic were discussed in small groups; in 20 minute sessions, after which we would change tables and discuss a new topic. It was very interesting to see how the Montreal Game Developers are approaching the social media revolution as it pushes into gaming - see CCP's COSMOS initiative for the EVE Online correlation.

Finally, here's a 30 minute video review of the game from the guys over at Giant Bomb, where you see some of the co-op play.

As I said, it looks darn fun! The game is scheduled to come out on console next week, and on PC the next after (through Steam), and though I'm really looking forward to it, I'll probably won't get it right away when it comes out. I just don't have enough time these days to add another game to my roster.

UPDATE: G4's Borderlands Launch Primer

You realize you play EVE Online too much when... (Part 2)

Back in July when I first ran this list I had a few items on that list. But I got a load of great comments and had promised to put a list together from those. So here goes!

You realize you play EVE Online too much when...

1. You try to run from an accident so you don't get podded, Kyle Langdon
2. You consider buying a new PC solely to play eve on maximum GFX settings, Fluffydave
3. You're driving along and then abruptly get stuck at a red light and the first thing you think is "lag!", Latro
4. Parking your car in the garage you hear "Docking Request…Accepted" in your head. And you like it, Rettic
5. You sign your emails with your ingame name, Flashfresh
6. You go train more charisma skills when you make a social idiot of yourself, Rakanishu
7. The first thing you do on any computer after boot up is launch EVEMon, Kirith Kodachi
8. You don't need to play with the sound on because your brain adds all the sounds for you, SubtleQuiche
9. You wonder how many high slots are on the ship in the movie Wall-E, Phelps
10. Police DUI stop, first thought "Gatecamp!", Zarro Starkiler

Great list guys! Got anymore?

EVE Fanfest Giveway: Hands Off my EVE Online Loot!

On this Canadian Thanksgiving I'm in a very festive mood and wanted to share some of the EVE Fanfest loot I got while attending last year's Fanfest. That's right, I'll be giving away some of the extra loot I brought back from the 2008 Edition of the EVE Fanfest; not this last one which was help in October, but last year's.

On top of the Fanfest loot I'll be giving away 2 random issues of EON magazine and @AnMiTh was kind enough to give away two (2) - 1 Year Free Extended Hosting Plan, as well as two (2) 50% Promo Codes!

In all, I'll be giving away 2 packs of loot from the following items:

• 2x EVE Fanfest 2008 T-Shirt
• Some EON coasters
• 2x Random EON magazine issues
• Some EVE Online Postcards
• 1x EVE fridge magnet
• 1x EVE mini-mouse
• 2x packs of EVE Collectible Card Game (CCG)
• 2x Fanfest Schedule
• 2x 1-Year Lonetrek Extended Hosting Plan
• 2 50% Promo Codes

So what do you have to do get a chance to win such fine EVE memorabilia? It's very simple, I just need you to promote CrazyKinux's Musing and @CrazyKinux, through posts and tweets until the end of the month. All through the month I'll monitor Twitter and the comments of this post - where you'll be putting links to your promotional posts on your blog. Then pull 2 names out of the bucket and announce the winners after Halloween!

Got any questions? Ask in the comments!

Good luck to all!

Ship Setups - Electronic Attack Ships: Hyena, Sentinel, & Kitsune, by Manasi

This is a guest post written by Manasi the Mule of A Mule in EVE.

Skills needs

These are frigates level 5 skills, so on your way to fly interceptors EAS is not a terrible skill to get. Also needed are electronic upgrades to level 5 as well. Aside from that, the skills needed are really for the modules you might fit on these little guys. With a limited number of slots you’re going to have to be careful with both power grid (in the future referred to a ‘grid’) and CPU. Note at the time of this writing I am not able to fly the Keres so it was not included

Slot Layout

• Hyena 3/4/3
• Sentinel 3/4/3
• Kitsune 2/5/3

The one thing to know about EAS (Electronic Attack Ships) is that they are very specialized at what they are intended to be good at. How useful that is to you can be debated…

• For the Sentinel, that is energy vampire and & energy neutralizing. They also tracking disrupt!
• For the Hyena, that is long range webbing and target painting, with some speed thrown in.
• For the Kitsune, they specialize in electronic counter measures. (Referred to as ‘jamming’)

Pro's

Sensor strength

Something to point out is all of these ships have good sensor strengths in this order:

1. Kitsune ~ Gravimetric strength 24… same as the Rokh and Scorpion
2. Sentinel ~ Radar Strength 21…. only 1 point less than the Abaddon
3. Hyena ~ Ladar Strength 21…..Same as the Maelstrom

So their sensor strength is on par with battleships even though they are only frigates.

Speed and Agility

Inertial modifiers and base speeds

• Hyena 340 m/s 2.75 inertial modifier
• Sentinel 324 m/s 2.97 Inertial modifier
• Kitsune 315 m/s and a 2.7 inertial modifier

The Hyena is fastest, but not by a terrible amount and ALL of these will align to warp incredibly quickly. All these ships are given the ability to ‘get out of dodge’ really quickly. They will warp within a second or two of each other, somewhere between 4.6 S for the Hyena, to 5.84 S on the Kitsune.

Benefits

The benefits that EAS ships can bring are numerous. The Kitsune is light and fast and can keep up with small fast fleets that need some ECM support. Realize you will be ‘primaried’ first in a Kitsune for a reason. If other ships cannot lock they will become angry at you. The Sentinel can help you eat up interceptors. Just watch out for the other jammers. The Hyena can help stop people for exiting a bubble with their longer range web.

Cons

Durability

These ships will not last long nor, if they are engaged, will they survive very long, the notable exceptions to this are: The Kitsune and the Sentinel. If the Kitsune can lock fast enough she may survive the fight. The Sentinel has a better chance as tracking disruptors can reduce the tracking speed of turret weapons, allowing you to escape, and sometimes the speed to lock as well.

Lack of weaponry

The primary attack of these ships is the electronic measures they provide to the fleet. These are not damage dealers or solo ships. The majority of their ‘grid’ and CPU is to get them in, do their job, and get out (speed). There is absolutely no ‘tank’ what so ever…if you are targeted first, bail out.

Use

These ships are good for specialized purposes. Let’s look at the Kitsune for example. It is a very fast locker (with a Sensor booster II and scan res script) and can be an effective anti-jammer role. Example: mixed fleet fighting in a system starts getting jammed by a falcon...Bring in the Kitsune and lock up the falcon…if you get the lock/jam first then your buddies are free to fire. Probably to most widely used EAS frigate in game. If the Kitsune is on the ‘field’ first they will be killed….immediately

The Sentinel is a different breed; she gets bonuses to neutralizing and draining cap. This ship is highly effective versus the interceptor class of ships. No capacitor, no MWD…no MWD the interceptor goes boom. This ship needs help in killing the interceptors and the Hyena’s (if fitted with painters) can help in that role. The tracking disruptors allow this ship to close in on anything except missile boats.

The Hyena is not seen very often. The webbing bonus is nice so I have seen them used in gate camps trying to stop folks leaving a bubble. They just die too fast and too easily. I have seen a few used in small fleets and gate camps to good use.

Builds

Kitsune

Slot	Module
LOW	'Hypnos' Signal Distortion Amplifier I
	'Hypnos' Signal Distortion Amplifier I
MID	1MN Afterburner II
	BZ-5 Neutralizing Spatial Destabilizer ECM
	Enfeebling Phase Inversion ECM I
	'Hypnos' Ion Field ECM I
	Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
HIGH	'Arbalest' Standard Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Bloodclaw Light Missile
	'Arbalest' Standard Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Bloodclaw Light Missile
	125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Carbonized Lead S
RIGS	Small Signal Disruption Amplifier I
	Small Signal Disruption Amplifier I

Highlights:

• 10.76 Sensor strength
• 1.1 Second lock time on a Falcon hull
• 1010.13 M/s
• Cap stable

Sentinel

Slot	Module
LOW	Capacitor Power Relay II
	Inertia Stabilizers II
	Overdrive Injector System II
MID	Tracking Disruptor II, Tracking Speed Disruption
	Tracking Disruptor II, Tracking Speed Disruption
	Cap Recharger II
	1MN MicroWarpdrive II
HIGH	Small Nosferatu II
	Small Energy Neutralizer II
	Medium Pulse Laser II
RIGS	Small Egress Port Maximizer I
	Small Egress Port Maximizer I

Highlights:

• 3105.43 M/s
• Nos Range 19200
• Nuet range 18900
• CAP stable with max skills
• Lock time 1.8 Seconds on a Zealot

Hyena

Slot	Module
LOW	Power Diagnostic System II
	Overdrive Injector System II
	Inertia Stabilizers II
MID	Stasis Webifier II
	Stasis Webifier II
	Stasis Webifier II
	1MN MicroWarpdrive II
HIGH	280mm Howitzer Artillery II
	280mm Howitzer Artillery II
	Salvager I
RIGS	Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
	Small Projectile Ambit Extension I

Highlights:

• 3518.27 M/s
• 36.67 DPS EMP S 19K range
• Can web at 20 KM
• Locks interceptor at 2.99 Seconds
• Cap stable

Analysis

Looking at these three builds several things comes to mind:

• Each ship has something specialized that they are very good at. Wither you can USE that bonus depends on what you need the ship to do.
• Gate camp bring the hyena
• Anti-interceptor bring the Sentinel
• Anti- jammer bring the Kitsune

The sentinel can probably be used most offensively. Tracking disruption speed on those that target you plus your high velocity means guns won’t be able to track you well. Missile ships are your problem. 108 GJ of neutralizing per every 6 seconds will shut down an interceptor to be sure. So go after the interceptors neutralize them down and you and your friends eat them up. Your still very fragile though so don’t forget that speed is your defense.

The Kitsune is the most fragile and the slowest but using Bernoulli formula (thanks to Grismar’s EvE wiki for this)

C = J/S * 100%

C=10.76/28 * 100% or a 38% chance with a single Jammer to jam a falcon

Where J is the jamming strength of your jammer, S the sensor strength of the target ship and C the jamming chance in %. The chance to jam a target with multiple jammers is a simple deduction of Bernoulli's formula:

C = (1-(1-J/S)^n)*100%

c = (1-(1-10.76/28)^3 or 76.658 % with a full rack of BZ-5’s

This gives you a fairly decent chance to jam a falcon…you must remember you’re their #1 problem so you will be eliminated

Hyena of the three EAS I am familiar with this one may have been seen the most use probably at a gate camp setup. Yes a Rapier can do the job better, and you may survive better in it CAN be done. 20KM web means you can do a tight orbit around the gate and still be able to lock them down and web them. If you substitute a Warp Disruptor you might be able to do both ‘pointing and webbing’ roles in a small gang but remember you ARE very fragile.

The last word

The Kitsune, Sentinel, and Hyena, with the exception of the Kitsune, are underutilized. They are not terribly expensive, and they can do the job their bigger brothers can do with a bit more speed. Sadly many are not used, as they are quite fragile, most pilots do not wish to die a horrible death, without providing a good benefit to their friends. The Hyena, at gate camps can provide some effective webbing potential. The Sentinel can be used to break some really nasty shield tankers, and can be especially potent against interceptors... but missile fire can eliminate them. The Kitsune is a highly effective anti- falcon/anti rook ship, but tends to get ‘primaried’ and die very fast.

If you like these ships and their abilities combined with a bit more toughness look to the T2 cruisers: The Hyena is replaced with the Rapier, The Kitsune with the Falcon/Rook, and lastly the Sentinel is replaced with the Pilgrim. Bring your wallet with you as these ships are NOT cheap!

The opinions shared here are those of its author and not necessarily mine. /CrazyKinux

Friday Video: DUST 514 - The Full Trailer and more!

Dust in looking more and more as one hell of a shooter. And looking at the way CCP Games wants to integrate it into the EVE Online Universe, it just makes me want to loose myself in the game just as I did the first time I popped that Halo DVD into that rented XBOX way back when.

Below is the short trailer in HD, courtesy of the fine folks from CCP PR. I've got a downloadable HIGH RES version, but am waiting for them to give me the green light before I can make available to you guys. I'd you're interested, just leave me a comment.

Enjoy!

I've also found these 2 low-res video that provide much more information then the previous trailer. The two-part video goes on for over 10 minutes and gives you a bit of background information you don't get from the previous video. Hope you appreciate!

You can hear both Torfi's and Nathan's comments during both videos. Quite interesting!

A New EVE Online Ship: Oveur's Beership!

Oveur at his best!

Seriously though, I don't know if this little video actually showcases the new graphics for the planets and asteroids that we've been promised, but if it does, I mean OMG!!!!!!! Can anyone who attended Fanfest let us know more about this video?

CCP Games goes balistic - HTFU Permaband!

A pretty slick video from CCP Iceland, Atlanta and Shangai! You've got to see that Icelandic Techno Viking at the 1:54 minute! Love ya Oveur! And Noah, you make the cutest Water Boy!

Nuff said!

(via @Lacrimae)

Ship Setups - The Stealth Bombers, by Hallan Turrek

This is a guest post by Hallan Turrek from A Merry Life and a Short One.

One of the four beasts said, Come and see.

Revelations - Chapter 6, Verse 1

Introduction

Welcome to the second installment of CrazyKinux's Ship Fitting series. Last week, Kirith Kodachi covered PvE fittings for Rifters and Breachers. This week I'd like to do the first of what will probably be many PvP fitting posts. I'll be covering Stealth Bombers.

Most people are unsure as to the role of stealth bombers in a gang. What you have is a highly mobile and cloaked piece of artillery, for better or worse. You can hit at range and hit hard. You can warp cloaked and sit in a safe cloaked. You decide when to engage and when not to engage. As long as you use it wisely, you will very rarely die.

Skills

What kind of skills do you need to start flying stealth bombers? I've made you a list:

Cybernetics I Instant Recall I Analytical Mind I Learning I Instant Recall II Analytical Mind II Learning II Instant Recall III Analytical Mind III Learning III Instant Recall IV Eidetic Memory I, II and III Analytical Mind IV Logic I, II and III Learning IV Logic IV Iron Will I, II, III and IV Spatial Awareness I, II, III and IV Empathy I and II Focus I, II, III and IV Clarity I, II, III and IV Electronics IV and V Electronic Warfare I and II Frequency Modulation I, II and III Electronic Warfare III Long Distance Jamming I, II and III Long Range Targeting I, II, III and IV Sensor Linking I, II, III and IV Signal Suppression I, II and III Target Painting I, II and III

Mechanic III Jury Rigging I, II and III Launcher Rigging I, II, III and IV Hull Upgrades I, II and III Acceleration Control I, II and III Evasive Maneuvering I, II and III Navigation IV Afterburner I, II, III and IV High Speed Maneuvering I, II and III Astrometrics I, II and III Astrometric Acquisition I, II and III Astrometrics IV Astrometric Pinpointing I, II and III Astrometric Rangefinding I, II and III Hull Upgrades IV Missile Launcher Operation I, II, III, IV and V Guided Missile Precision I, II, III and IV Standard Missiles I Weapon Upgrades I, II, III and IV Standard Missiles II and III Heavy Missiles I, II and III Torpedoes I, II, III and IV Missile Bombardment I, II, III and IV Missile Projection I, II, III and IV Rapid Launch I, II, III and IV Target Navigation Prediction I, II, III and IV Warhead Upgrades I, II, III and IV Racial Frigate I, II, III, IV and V Electronics Upgrades I, II, III, IV and V Covert Ops I, II, III and IV

These are not a ships for the faint of heart. That's about 90 days of training if you're starting with a new character. Everything on there is worth it though.

Ships

Next up is the list of Stealth Bombers. Now I fly all of them, but you'll likely be training up for just one. I fit mine all with the same concept in mind. Range, not damage. You will see no bomb launchers. You will see a damage control. You will see an offline expanded probe launcher. You will see a missile range of 73.7 kilometers. The lowest targeting range is 72 kilometers. The DPS is identical for each build.

Pick the one you'll be flying out of the list, and we'll start talking about why I fit it that way below.

_______________________________________________________________

The Purifier

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Revelations - Chapter 6, Verse 2

The Amarr Purifier has the lowest targeting range of any of the bombers you can use with my builds. It actually starts out with better range than the Hound, but given the small difference between it's targeting range(72) and it's missile range(73.6), I chose to not worry about it. Because of it's EM damage bonus, this is an especially effective Bomber against Ravens, Drakes, Falcons and Rooks. If it shield tanks, it's likely to have an EM hole, and no matter how well they plug it, it's probably going to be the lowest resist. This is especially useful when going after ratters in places that deal Explosive and Kinetic damage. Be sure to load Mjolnir Torpedos!

_______________________________________________________________

The Nemesis

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Revelations - Chapter 6, Verse 4

The Gallente Nemesis is a ship I have not gotten much use out of. I prefer the Manticore for multi-purpose damage, but the Nemesis is a solid choice. Thermal is usually a better choice for when you're unsure of what you're going to face than Kinetic, Explosive, or EM. This will still give shield tankers a rough time, but not nearly as much as the Purifier. It will probably do at least decent damage to armor tankers as well. For the build I've given you, the sensor booster can be switched for another target painter if that's your preference. I prefer to lock faster if I can. Be sure to load Inferno Torpedos!

_______________________________________________________________

The Hound

And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
Revelations - Chapter 6, Verse 5

This one's only kinda tricky to fit for range, eventually I settled on a tech 1 signal amp in the lows. The Minmatar Hound is pretty fast for a bomber, but that makes it pretty damn slow for a frigate. It gets a lowered targeting range in exchange for it's increase in speed. The signal amp kicks the targeting range over the needed threshold and then some. Any armor tanking ships that you run into should have a bit of trouble taking damage from this sucker. Especially if they're armor tanking NPC's that shoot EM and Thermal. Be aware of your situation. You can take that Signal Amp out if you decide to fit for damage instead of range, but not much else will fit in there. Due to CPU being tight, this uses a named MWD. Be sure to load Bane Torpedos!

_______________________________________________________________

The Manticore

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
Revelations - Chapter 6, Verse 8

Finally the Caldari Manticore. It has more targeting range and CPU than you'll have any use for, but I find that extra wiggle room to be useful. Once again I opted for a sensor booster for faster locking, you may switch that for a painter or a damp on this ship because of it's excess of CPU. If you're trying to decide which bomber to use, this is probably your best choice. It's damage is multi-purpose and it comes with a few built in advantages Just be sure to load Juggernaut Torpedos!

The Equipment

Some of the items are optional. One could switch out that damage control, switch a few other things around and cram an extra ballistic control on any of those ships if they so wished. You can switch out the range rigs for damage rigs. You could go all painters on some of them or all damps on others.

One of the reason I chose to use range increasing rigs is that it increases my survivability. I have ample time to run away from anything chasing me. I'm near the edge of point range for even the longest range overloaded points. I'm outside immediate targeting range of most of my targets, and those that can get me targeted get a face full of range dampening. If no one's targeting me... I can cloak at will.

The sacrifice is DPS. Compared against a similar ship rigged for damage you won't get top DPS, but you'll survive the battle every time if you play it smart.

Some smart EFTer will look at those builds and note that you can get slightly increased range from mixing a flight time rig with missile speed rig. I prefer missile speed rigs because it increases the range of my torps while still allowing mine to hit at the exact same time as the bomber that shoots at 54 kilometers.

The damage control is a personal fitting requirement. Your choices may vary, but I've gotten good things out of it. It's saved my bacon a couple of times and it will for many more encounters.

Why a range damp? With this setup it is absolutely a must. The benefits of using one range damp at normal bomber range is minimal, but at this range you'll be able to remove a threat.

Why a painter? Easy enough, a painter increases the signature radius for the ship you're shooting it at. Torps were meant originally for Battleships to use, and as such do horrible damage to smaller ships. Stealth Bombers get a bonus to make them do a bit more damage to smaller ships, but you'll still run into some problems. Using a painter works wonders in increasing your damage.

Why a microwarp drive? If I kick that on and get hit by missiles I'm toast, right? Yeah you will, so don't do that. If someone shoots a bomb, or lets missiles of any kind fly at you, just move. Fly in a direction, preferably aligned to a planet. Do not activate that MWD. On the other hand, if you've warped to a gate at 70 kilometers expecting a fight, but the guy jumps through and your fleet is in pursuit, it's easier to just burn hard to the gate and go through(and once through, easy to burn away from the target). It's easier to set up your safe spots off gates. The MWD should almost never be used in combat unless you've landed way to close to something and it's decloaked you.

Why best named torp launchers instead of tech two? Skill requirements to start with. Also fitting requirements. You'll note that tech two torp launchers take alot more CPU than the Arbs. Unless you're flying a Manticore, they're almost not even an option. Just remember: if you have to drop a Ballistic Control Unit to fit tech two launchers, it might not even be worth it. The DPS of the faction torps is very nice.

Why not best named sensor damps and painters? Cost. You gotta keep your costs down. You will lose this ship sometimes. It's best to understand that now. I've lost it to a smartbombing gatecamp and warping down on a friendly bubble while a battle was already engaged. It stung. Lower costs whenever possible. The next best named modules are literally almost as good. Use them instead and save ten million.

Why an offline expanded probe launcher? This was not something on my original fit. I used a core probe launcher for a bit, then switched to a small armor rep for 0.0 work. It came to me that sometimes we needed a combat prober. If you're doing 0.0 work, you want an out, and core probes will find you a wormhole eventually. That makes you a mobile resupply point. Find a WH to highsec and let your corpmates know. You'll have to offline a lot of stuff to get it working, but once it's online probing a logoffski is a snap. Your gang will love you when you just happen to have this at the right time.

Strategies

Remember, a bomber can warp cloaked. There is no reason not to cloak as you align to warp from gate to gate. Just hit warp, then cloak as soon as gate cloak dissapears. You can do cloaked scouting easily as well. Just be wary of bubbled gates in 0.0.

When in combat, I prefer to orbit my target at 65 kilometers, adjusting as necessary. If you start way inside or way outside of where you want to be, uncloak and microwarp drive to where you want to be. Make sure to turn it off when you're done. Also be sure to activate your modules on the target(assuming he doesn't have inactive drones around him). Even if he has drones, once you're out to your max range, you'll be outside of his drone control range. Just be careful, there are rigs and modules that increase that drone control range. You still ought to be able to warp out before they kill you. Just be watching.

Use your modules properly. If you're primarying a Myrm that just won't die, and a Raven lands on grid with intent to violence your boat, do yourself a favor: take the range dampener off the Myrm and put it on the Raven. Have operational awareness.

Heavy Assault Cruisers are something you must watch for. A zealot will mess your day up instantly if he's fit for range. Get him damped, if there is more than one, rethink decloaking. Any HAC set up for range can murder you very quickly.

Make sure to load some other damage types into your holds. It's fine to carry mostly what you're bonused for, but sometimes you'll hit some serious resistance problems. Just watch that damage.

I suggest you have fun in the ship as well, cause if you aren't it's a waste of time.

Conclusion

Did you actually get this far? Alright, thanks for reading. Thanks to CK for thinking up this crazy idea. If you find it useful, make sure to let me know.

Peace.

The opinions shared here are those of its author and not necessarily mine. /CrazyKinux

EVE Online Fanfest 2009 Speedlinking

I'm slowly gathering all the good articles and information that I come across in regards to the EVE Online Fanfest Coverage - articles, facts, photos, blog roundups,etc. I'll keep updating this post as I find new info. If you've written something or are aware of a great article I haven't linked too (and there are plenty of these), then please add them to the comments and I'll add it to the list.

What we've learned so far on:

EVE Online

• Ship formations with added bonuses will soon be introduced
• The next expansion, Dominion, is to be launched on December 1st, 2009
• COSMOS social network has been renamed "New Eden"; and some folks just don't agree with the new name
• New Tech III loot as well as Tech III Frigates are coming
• Planetary ring mining (been looking forward to this one for quite some time)
• Comet mining (been promised this way back when)
• @chocolips' take on what COSMOS is - pre-Fanfest

DUST 514

• Will have customizable vehicles. with modules like eve ships.
• DUST 514 is a large-scale multiplayer FPS in the style of the Battlefield 2142
• Will have Microtransactions to allow access to blueprints and stuff.
• DUST Corps and EvE corps can be in the same alliance.
• DUST players act as mercenaries in the pay of EVE Online's space pilots.
• DUST 514 will have microtransactions (aka Micropayments)

From CCP Games

• Dominion Presentation Video

From Massively

• EVE Fanfest 2009 highlights

From EuroGamer (great coverage btw)

• EVE social network site detailed
• DUST 514 to use micro-transations
• EVE: Dominion out December 1st
• DUST 514 preview (a must read!)

From TenTonHammer

• EVE's Economics and "Unholy Rage" Video
• CCP Reveals More Details about DUST 514 at EVE FanFest 2009
• EVE Online Incarna Teaser Trailer
• CCP Unveils DUST 514 at EVE FanFest 2009

From other corners of the Intertubes and Blogosphere

• Roc's Ramblings - Iceland 2009 – Entry #8 & Entry #8b
• Diary of a Pod Pilot - Fanfest 2009 review: Awesomeness
• Hellforge - No Subscription Fees for DUST 514
• Dotlan EVE Maps - Fanfest 2009 Roundup
• ZAM - CCP Presents - Fanfest 2009 Keynote
• DJ Alienhand's EVE Fanfest Party Free track
• The Mondes Persistants' EVE Fanfest 2009 Flickr photo sets - Thursday - Friday - Saturday and Sunday
• @chocolips' Flickr sets - Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 and recap post

INCARNA: an EVE Online Trailer (low quality)

Filmed today by @jamesremuscat this is the Trailer for Incarna, or what was formely known as Walking in Station, originally Ambulation. You're still with me here? Enjoy this little gem of a preview!

Friday Video: Subject Zero - This isn't your daddy's Mass Effect

Talk about a different Mass Effect. Pretty interesting trailer, as well as very different from what we've been expecting from Mass Effect's visual style and music track.

Subject Zero is described as ".../for every kill, she has a tattoo – and she's inked from head to toe. Her biotic powers are crushing. She ran with gangs, shaved her head to join a cult, then kept the haircut when she left."

Now that's a lot darker than I've been used to so far with the Mass Effect lore. Does is work for you?

10, make that 12, TinyURLs for EVE Online Players

I've created a bunch of TinyURLs I use when ever I'm tweeting and want to share links quickly with others. They're much easier to remember and type then trying to remember the full length URLs.

I thought I'd share them with you in effort to get you to share and use them, but as well to get you to start using them for your own blog! Create your own and spread them around the Intertubes!

• For WoW Players wanting to make sense of EVE: http://tinyurl.com/eve4wow
• For the EVE Noobs out there - Yes you know who you are: http://tinyurl.com/eve4newbies
• An EVE Blog Banter on why we love this game: http://tinyurl.com/whyweplay
• EVE Blog Pack: http://tinyurl.com/eveblogpack
• The RSS for the EVE Blog Pack: http://tinyurl.com/blogpackrss
• EVE Blog Banters: http://tinyurl.com/evebanters
• EVE Blogroll Lovefest: http://tinyurl.com/eveblogs
• EVE Online Speedlinking: http://tinyurl.com/speedlinks
• My EVE Online Guides List: http://tinyurl.com/theguides
• All Massively articles tagged EVE Online: http://tinyurl.com/eveonmassively

And a few more:

• EVEBloggers.com: http://tinyurl.com/evebloggers
• EVE Tweet Fleet: http://tinyurl.com/thetweetfleet

Your thoughts?