35 replies to this topic

[Greygal]

Great class and roam!  

 

Druur Monakh wrote a terrific write-up about our fight against the FA Algos gang here: http://hazardousgoods.blogspot.com/

 

Our ever-patient FC wrote a brief AAR below (or just click here: http://www.agony-unl...0/#entry309942)

 

And here's the poem Jalisco wrote for the roam today:

 

 BFF (Best Fleet Forever)

 

The pilots are thrilling, the frigates are willing

 to undock and find our align.

We're heading for danger and mayhem and killing.

We're planning a wonderful time!

 

I know you will die, and I guess so will I,

 but let's blow up some other ships first.

Together, we're fearless, invincible, peerless.

So, bad guys, come on, do your worst!

 

My fleet, I adore you as no other before you.

We've bonded forever today.

Until the next time we encounter each other, 

I'm warning you now, RUN AWAY.

 

Jalisco Eisen Koraka 10/5/2013

 

As always, we love feedback - good, bad or indifferent!  Feel free to share your thoughts on the class and roam - both were definitely unusual

[Zael Serine]

Great roam as always. Had many laughs, especially when the FC was ignored and pods were shot. Cmore did a great job, not as talkative as other FC's, but he knew what he was doing.

 

Only thing i could say is, If the Roam started at 19:00 or 20:00 it would be AU friendly, But after the amount of roams we received last month, the early start is understandable. 

[Othran]

Cmore did well. Was a hard roam in terms of keeping things going/finding fights so I'm very pleased to hear you got a couple of decent fights later on (after I left).

 

As an aside I'm starting to wonder whether the only time worth going out in big fleets is prime-time US (and the overlaps with the end of Euro/start of Aussie TZ). Seems like that's the only reliable TZ for finding fights with a large fleet. Shame if that's the case.

 

As always I'd do it again

[Talos Djuran]

Last night I had the most fun I've ever had in Eve so far. I managed to get in 17 different killmails, I've lost 1 slasher to the Algos drone army and went to bed at 4 am after the fleet went back to stacmon a last time with so much adrenaline I couldn't fall asleep for half an hour My second slasher has been smoking and burning with 60% structure for most of the roam and that was just cool.

I even survived a gang that bubbled the route to a station, good old ab and overdrive.

 

Cmore did a great job and the whole agony crew was really awesome. You really learn the importance of tacs and warp ins when flying with Agony. 

 

I really look forward to fly again with you guys, thanks for the great fun.

[liadon]

Excellent class for those of us who are new to PvP. I've flown a few fleets, but I think Cmore had the cleanest coms I've encountered. For pilots like myself the greatest threat is getting confused about what order I'm being given. Even when orders changed our class had clean and clear communication.

 

The only suggestion that I can think of is that it might be helpful to practice bouncing during combat. For instance, have something like a rolling safe as the "combat" zone, but call out for squads to "you are targeted and agressed, bounce to XYZ." I know it will take experience to learn. Finding a warp out, and back, in the moment, seems like a key factor in lasting long enough to win fights.

[Baland Grovinik]

I loved the class and the roam. Learned a ton and had a lot of fun, premature pod kills and bomb traps included!

[Druur]

A quick off-the-top-of-my-head feedback: it was a long roam, but a good one. If I hadn't been told afterwards, I would not have guessed that it was Cmore's first public roam as FC. Student behavior overall struck me as more disciplined than what I remembered from other Basic roams.

The lack of targets at the beginning I think was caused by the CZ FFA going on in Asakai, as it picked up later on (oh, and Greygal: I am still getting bounty notifications for Mangala - that was a mean joke you played on us last year!).

There were a few moments in the fights when I was briefly wondering if I should cancel out of the fleet punts. In one situation, we were chasing targets at their TACs around a gate, and I wondered if it could be useful to leave a tackler behind at the TACs in case they want to reuse them. In one or two other situations I was making good headway towards tackling a fast target, only to be punted away to some other shinier target (which at least once escaped) and to return afterwards. In those moments I went with the fleet movements, because I didn't want make the cat herding even more complicated; but in hindsight I think I should have acted at least on my impulse when I was chasing fast targets.

Another thing I learned was that I need to specifically practice bouncing - in particular keeping track of bounce targets - as I usually fly solo and don't have somebody to bounce to. Otherwise I could have lasted longer in that Algos fight.

Regarding the Algos fight: one theoretical counter-measure which just occurred to me would be Fly-Bys. These are of course near impossible if you don't have warp points set up, but maybe two bounce pilots and a hastily created bookmark near the hostile fleet could have worked? Just a thought.

Thanks to all of Agony who made this roam a success, and to everybody who came along!

And special thanks to my support pilot who spend the afternoon sitting (mostly AFK) in an Orca in Stacmon, so I could reship without having to dock up (as I don't yet fully trust my insta-undocks there).

[Phrase LL]

I too had a great time over the two nights (the class and then the epic 7 hours I was online for the roam). It is definitely the most fun I've had playing eve. It is true that Eve takes on a whole new level once you are working with other people.

 

It took me a bit to get used to warping and jumping around, I think having the dotlan tracking going was a great help - it made it easy to see where the fleet was, where the recon was coming from and how the 'shape' of the systems affected the strategy.

 

Some feedback I guess:

I would have liked some more explanation of how the scouts that were +1 and -1 go about their work. ie. I presume they stay on gate, check what's on grid, whats on dscan at 360 degrees and then dscan any celestials within range and compare to local? I was trying to keep up dscanning in the fleet system to keep up with some of the recon coming from the alumni, but at times felt like I was just being warped around the place.

 

Also I'm pretty fresh (8 weeks in) but when ships were spotted maybe a summary of what the ship is and its strengths/weaknesses would be good? a lot of the more experienced players know all the ship types, but for me I struggle with anything that's not gallente. ie. the fleet spots a caracel, what does that mean?

 

Also would have been good to have a few more peeps with remote armor reppers or drones... I had one and used it where I could post fights (even though I had to offline a gun and then online and then wait for 95% cap to re-online my gun etc..) but it was a bit of a shame towards the end of the roam that I was at 20% armour and couldn't get a rep off anyone.

 

Yes I agree with Druur above - I wasn't really sure about bouncing... both times I lost a ship (atron) I just launched into the battle and didn't really consider bouncing. then when I had a rupture pointed and was doing it damage I got into hull and bounced (panicking more than anything I think).. and lived to fight again.

 

All up I would thoroughly recommend to anyone (and everyone!). At first I was a bit unsure about the price... but then I had a 300m ISK faction loot drop in a high-sec system which took my bank balance from 30m to 300m and now frigate pvp and the class is easily within reach! :-)

 

finally - 4 hours online Friday night then 7 on Sat night.. how do you guys have the time?? my girlfiend (sp?) was out of town this weekend and I still had to pretend I was 'hanging out with my mates'.... 

 

cheers,

Phrase

[Druur]

Allow me some inofficial comments...

I would have liked some more explanation of how the scouts that were +1 and -1 go about their work. ie. I presume they stay on gate, check what's on grid, whats on dscan at 360 degrees and then dscan any celestials within range and compare to local? I was trying to keep up dscanning in the fleet system to keep up with some of the recon coming from the alumni, but at times felt like I was just being warped around the place.

There is a dedicated class for scouts, aka Skirmishers, but what you imagine is pretty close. Bonus points for trying to keep up with the intel, but don't feel bad that you didn't - it's not an easy task, and one of the lessons to be learned from the Basic is to trust the older wing and fleet commanders.
 

Also I'm pretty fresh (8 weeks in) but when ships were spotted maybe a summary of what the ship is and its strengths/weaknesses would be good? a lot of the more experienced players know all the ship types, but for me I struggle with anything that's not gallente. ie. the fleet spots a caracel, what does that mean?

The problem here is that describing the strengths and weaknesses would get into the way of actually running the fleet. Well, maybe it could have been a topic for questions whenever we had a longer break. In general I suggest take this as an incentive to actively learn about the ships you don't know about. It takes time - I've been around for a while and still don't know many ships in detail.

The other aspect is that with enough frigates, the particular strengths and weaknesses of a target don't matter that much anymore
 

finally - 4 hours online Friday night then 7 on Sat night.. how do you guys have the time?? my girlfiend (sp?) was out of town this weekend and I still had to pretend I was 'hanging out with my mates'.... 

You make compromises and return the favors, like with any time-consuming hobby. Of course, there is always the option of living by yourself...

[Lucre]

I had a great time doing the course second time around, I think I'm even getting better at dodging bombs.
The engagement with the Algos Drone fleet was excellent bouncing practice.
Thanks to the Agony Team , and thanks FC Cmore.
Looking forward to my next Agony outing.

[Jeremiah Cole]

Also I'm pretty fresh (8 weeks in) but when ships were spotted maybe a summary of what the ship is and its strengths/weaknesses would be good? a lot of the more experienced players know all the ship types, but for me I struggle with anything that's not gallente. ie. the fleet spots a caracel, what does that mean?

 

Phrase

 

Learning the ships is something that comes with time and changes patch to patch. Agony members are happy to answer questions regarding ships but it's up to the individual to learn the varying ship types/strengths in their own time. If Agony taught them all, we'd be here for a lot longer than just a couple of hours!

 

Something I was linked to during my first Basics class was a ship flashcard website. I've dug it up for you to take a look at

 

http://phase.org/Eve.../view/flashcard

 

I still use it to make sure my knowledge of ships is constantly expanding.

[glepp]

finally - 4 hours online Friday night then 7 on Sat night.. how do you guys have the time?? my girlfiend (sp?) was out of town this weekend and I still had to pretend I was 'hanging out with my mates'.... 

My wife, God bless her patient soul, knew she married a nerd. She also works nightshifts occasionally.

[Druur]

finally - 4 hours online Friday night then 7 on Sat night.. how do you guys have the time?? my girlfiend (sp?) was out of town this weekend and I still had to pretend I was 'hanging out with my mates'....

My wife, God bless her patient soul, knew she married a nerd. She also works nightshifts occasionally.

I am sensing a new last topic for the PvP Basic class...

[Blitz]

First off I was only on the roam until the Algos fleet engagement as it was well past 1 AM here, so i didn't see all of the night's action. The lack of targets during the "early start" of the US timezone may seem like a disadvantage but in all honesty I'd probably pick a timeframe where a fleet with little experience (off each other and possibly fleet movement/tactics) can get off to a slow start and get a bit of confidence before whelping

In essence I enjoy every chance I get to fly with Agony (Air) and this roam was no different. Cmore did a great job instilling confidence and moving the fleet with purpose. Comms were rather quiet at first (as always) but picked up a bit later on. Target's shouting "Come at me bro's" before being stomped out are definitely fun and lighten up the mood (as well as the dark outlines of space when their hulls burn brightly).

The new students moved quickly and got the hang quickly. I was a bit surprised about the small number of Skirmishers but I guess that's just preference of the FC (just a suggestion for future roams...if you have Alumni that don't mind hanging about in null Sec around the Staging System just let them check possible hotspots and catch up to the fleet later).

The Algos fleet was the last thing I saw this roam and boy they turned my little Frig into a bouncing ball. I think I had to warp of more times than i was able to target stuff... well that is until the loses of fleetmates made me angry enough to not care any more and just stay trying to get one of the Vigils down and consequently falling prey to the droneswarm, pretty much instantly.

So all in all a nice package of fun delivered by Agony that is such a great service to the Eve community that "thank you" to all involved is almost not cutting it. You guys rock.

 

o7

 

Blitz

[Cmore Hanaya]

This is quite a short AAR even though it was quite a long roam in total. So my plan was to head to fountain and play with the local resident down there. As what usually happens we were side tracked by a gang in 3KNK camping the undock of Agony's home station. On arrival they didn't really want to play with our fleet. So i started heading up the pipe towards Cloud ring and we fell accross a Cynabol which was pretty much just a gank of the ship and Pod. Then up towards Cloud ring again and we find a Myrm ratting and  here was another gank. We lost a couple here and Gizz escorted them to 3KNK to reship them. We ended up returning to 3KNK and moved forwards into Outer Ring. It was very quiet and it gave chance for the fleet to slowly speed up it's movements.

We didn't find much happenin in Outer Ring and moved quickly towards Could Ring where again it was very quiet so onwards towards Fountain.

Heading down the pipe we find a couple of Fatal Assention battlecruisers that were bait to hold us while their AHAC gang forms and comes after us. WE oblige and kill the bait and move onwards running away from a gang that would have just totally whelped our fleet with ease. So the plan now was to return to syndicate and see what the locals would bring at us. On our way back FA offer to bring a 50 man Dessie fleet against us. 50 Dessies against our 60 or so frigs was way to much for us so we settled on 30 and headed back to J5A to be met by a really good fleet comp of Algos's. We died not as quick as i thought we would to them and props to FA they flew really well and the Alpha of the 100 or so Hobgoblin 2's was more than enough to wipe us out. So after we headed back to stacmon and dropped off who wanted to leave.

We then headed out again into syndicate and poked at moon warriors who were kind enough to warp in ships 1 at a time to be ganked thanks to our new pro punter. They soon became wise to this and docked up. We heaed through EZA and towards M2 chasing a couple of ex Agony corpies that had a Oracle, Talos, Bellicose, Malediction and a couple of fast tackle. We hpooed into 97X and applied range damps on the to tier 3's and manage to get tackle on the oracle and bring him down. Eve Uni had had eyes on us previously so we headed back to see what they had formed. Again another fight. We pick a Caracal and a slasher off then on the other side of the system we take on a Cruiser gang  that I am sure we would have won if Moon Warriors hadn't brought in a fair size gang of cruisers to play aswell. Knowing that Uni and Moonwarriors sometimes groupo together we scatered towards the sun and decide to head home.

On the way back top stacmon we get eye's on a Goon frig gang but I was a bit slow and we only end up ganking a single frig.

Thanks for coming along on my first Class roam and to Edward for skirmishing for us and getting his Graduate status for the class he took last month

Cmore

[Swann Zeigenfuse]

Thanks for coming along on my first Class roam and to Edward for skirmishing for us and getting his Graduate status for the class he took last month
 

Cheers for the roam Cmore and look forward to flying Agony Air again sometime soon.

[OvTopik]

Great two nights. My second sitting on the Basic class.

 

GG is an extremely competent instructor and herded the cats with surprising aplomb.

 

The roam was too quiet for my liking, but I guess thats the nature of nul. TBH I was glad to get back to Low where there never isnt a hostile or two in local to chase.

 

Cmore has the perfect calm controlled tone for an FC. If I could offer one constructive note of feedback as it was his first class fleet, it would be to remind the new students to switch on their DCU's when breaking the gate cloak and entering warp. A few were lost to the bombers and I heard a few mention they forgot their DCU's.

 

But that is by no means a criticism! He really did a sterling job.

 

Looking forward to more classes and roams.

 

Ovv

 

o7

[Jalisco Eisen Koraka]

Cmore and Greygal,

 

Thank you both so much for the fleet. I love flying with friends. This tradition is one of the things that makes Agony my home away from home. Thank you to the scouts, skirmisher (s) and Jeremiah - for being the incredible help he always is. I love my Aussies friends, too. Zael, you are always such a good guy.

 

Agony fleets, best fleets.

 

Thank you for us letting us fly Greygal's Agony Air.

[Zael Serine]

Zael, you are always such a good guy.

 

dawww

[Leucy]

Really enjoyed both class and roam. Looking forward to taking a Wolfpack class and joining future roams. Big thanks to all staff members of PvP-U

[Druur]

I didn't write up the whole roam, but the one fight which really stuck in my memory: the one against the Algos fleet. In the process I watched the fraps five or six times (12 min, 300MB if you're interested), and there may still be details which eluded me.

Enjoy!

http://hazardousgood...that-fight.html

[VennCarr]

Is there a way for me to view this fraps?  I'm very interested in seeing the fight.

[Greygal]

Great write-up, Druur!  I too would enjoy viewing that video!

[Druur]

Is there a way for me to view this fraps?  I'm very interested in seeing the fight.

Only if you promise not to laugh at my mistakes!

http://eve-files.com/dl/265298

[VennCarr]

Nothing to laugh about there. Holy hell, that is an amazing fleet concept.  They melted your fleet and there was not much you could really do about it.