Too Much Fun

Normally I find something interesting to write about over the weekend.  Not this weekend.  I was heavily involved in watching Alliance Tournament X and playing Eve.  No time for surfing the net and getting inspiration for a post.

I have to say that this weekend's coverage of AT X was pretty interesting when the stream worked.  Apparently the new studio, while looking good, had some wiring issues and it lost access to the internet during one of the matches.  I have two sentimental favorites I root for, Red vs. Blue and Capital Punishment..  Red vs. Blue, who should fly under the name "Purple", I think is a sentimental choice for a lot of players.  Capital Punishment. is a small pirate corp practicing their trade in Minmatar low sec and as a Minmatar pilot myself I have to root for the home team.

Both Red vs. Blue and Capital Punishment need victories to advance to the knockout stage.  RvB, one of the few 2-0 teams to not clinch a spot in the finals, can ensure a spot with a victory over Pandemic Legion.  I'm not sure what the scenario is if RvB loses.  Capital Punishment. is in a worse spot.  They need to win plus Verge of Collapse has to lose.  I don't know the scenario for Capital Punishment. advancing if Verge of Collapse wins, but I think it involves Verge of Collapse not getting full points in their match.

While watching the tournament I managed to finish my latest faction grind so I now have stations in my low sec area where I have perfect refining.  That isn't as important as it was before the changes that eliminated drops of meta 0 loot from rats and scrap metal taking up hardly any space.  But having the capability is handy if I ever try my hand at low sec mining.  I hear CCP might buff mining ships one day.

Finally I broke my two-year moratorium and finally flew an armed ship into low sec.  I'm still wary of the pros coming in and swatting me around so I fitted up a Hound and went ratting.

If I wasn't undocking, you'd never see me

Ratting in a stealth bomber?  I found I could do it as long as I don't mind warping off.  Just align to a celestial so if the damage is too bad I can just warp off at the touch of a button.  I also have found that finding a celestial that does not point my ship directly away from the rats helps mitigate the damage. With a target painter and firing Nova Torpedoes to take advantage of the Hound's 15% bonus to explosive torpedo damage per Covert Ops level I managed to down groups of 3 Angel battlecruisers and even a group consisting of an Angel battleship with 2 elite cruisers.

I think my tactics not only work against the rats but take into account the realities of low sec.  If someone shows up on grid, I can instantly warp away and cloak up.  A stealth bomber is pretty squishy.  However, I think I have a fit that will allow me to take some potshots at people who do land on grid if the situation is favorable.  While I'm not looking for kill mails, I might get one if I run into someone even less experienced than I am.

So no thought provoking post today.  I had too much fun playing Eve.