Neal Cassady
Shih Yang Tong
Pirate Coalition
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Posted - 2006.11.27 19:17:00 -
[1]
Here's my take as a 5 week old pirate:
I pirate for fun and profit. It is surprisingly difficult as a young player to just break financially even pirating. There is a steep learning curve. I rat when i'm broke.
That said, I feel that my skills as a PvPer are improving at a much greater rate than if i was more cautious about diving into low-sec and trying to warp scramble someone. I now know how to survive in low-sec as an outlaw, what the pitfalls are, and who to watch out for.
No fights in EVE are fair. There are too many variables. Skillpoints, mods, allies in the area, and pvp experience all come into play. As a pirate you gather the best intelligence you can about a potential target, then decide if attacking that taget is worth the risk of losing your ship/pod.
An interesting anecdote to illustrate this point: Last week I was flying around in my Rupture looking for targets and saw an Ishkur ratting in a belt. We were the only two undocked in the system, and he had no corp or alliance mates in system. He was four months older than me. I didn't have the best mods on my rup (finding quality mods at decent prices is the hardest part about being outlaw). I also, being a somewhat noob, didnt realize that the ishkur was an assault frig and not a regular frig. So I jumped him, thinking he would pop like the Rifters and Merlins always do. The match turned out to be much closer than that and by the time he popped i had 400 structure hitpoints left. I had miscalculated his capabilities due to my ignorance and almost lost my ship because of it. But, as they say, fortune favors the bold and i looted him of a whole slew of t2 equipment including 13 t2 drones, 2 t2 railguns, 8000 rounds t2 ammo, etc. The whole incident netted me about 4-5 mil isk, or about half the price of a low sec rupture without mods. Did I profit? yes. Was it worth the risk? no. I figure that fight is a 50-50 chance for either to win so, in order to make out financially I would have to gain double the cost of my rupture for the win.
This is why I try to always choose targets i can beat. Fair fights (which i guess means 1v1 where both parties agree to fight) are for chumps and little kids who dont understand how to make a profit pirating. I honor ransoms because it is financially beneficial to have a good reputation. If i agree to duel you, however, be aware i will try to screw you over any way i can. I like to know im going to win.
In terms of stabs, I don't use them for reasons outlined above. Stabs are bet-hedging mods that allow you to extracate yourself from a situation you wont win. Unfortunately, if you fit stabs, the number of engagements you can win drops significantly.
-Neal Cassady
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