Pages: [1] 2 :: one page |
|
Author |
Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 1 post(s) |
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:15:00 -
[1]
Well since it seems to be the stylish thing to do. Star Fraction's Alliance tourney preparations began about six hours before the deadline for entries. Sakura pointed out that we had a few hours left to get this thing done and we had a quick chat on ventrillo to see if we had enough interested pilots who could commit to the match times. Was close but eventually we came up with a roster of:
Jasmine (yours truly) Azure Skyclad Selim Atandros Nemesor Aeaus
And then should the alliance tree to raise the billion isk for the entrance and got Jade to put in the entrance confirmation with a few hours to go.
I think its fair to say we'd paid the tourney preparations precisely "no mind at all" in the previous couple of months because we'd been busy with a war in the Mito Constellation against the Caldari Nationalists there and had been throwing the whole of our attentions and efforts at that objective.
So what to field? We decided early on we weren't going to bother with pirate implants or tank/gank strategies that required such things and we would try to leverage those advantages our team roster actually had - good drone skills and decent gallente/recon ships. JF manufacture EOS and Ishkur hulls do those were a no-brainer really. And everyone could use the dampener thing so the basic plan was - swarm the enemy small ships with 25 light warrior IIs and damp the big ships long enough to get an advantage.
(took about 2mins and a post-it note to come up with this strategy really)
So our roster was going to be:
Jasmine (EOS) A ship I'm pretty skilled with. (was disappointed to see info warfare links ruled out of the ruleset though)
Selim/Atan (Curse) As our killboard shows these guys are wizards with the Curse and really know how to get the best out of the ship.
Nemesor/Aeaus/Sakura/Azure (Ishkur) Our resident Ishkur fleet willing to bulk out fleet with fast moving hard hidding gallente dronage.
Luckily we already had a stock of Phased Muon sensor dampers so the market speculators didn't damage us too much on this score. We did spend a couple of hundred million on named damage controls though.
Anyways. We did a couple of practise sessions on the test server and did pretty well. Sorted! Total spent on prep was probably about a billion and a bit + billion entrance fee. We raised the money from voluntary contributions from the alliance members and would like to thank everyone who dipped into their pockets.
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:16:00 -
[2]
So match 1: Exquisite Malevolence.
We didn't really know much about these guys but some of our membership spoke well of the Beavers and I recognised some names from Mercenary Forces. We thought they'd be a fair opposition and a good test for our strategy. In truth we expected to win this match and were counting on beating Exquisite + Muffins + one of either Razor and ASCN to go through.
We fielded the EOS/Curse/3xIshkur strat. EOS had blasters + mwd, 3 dampers, cap injector, and a low slot tank. Curse had mwd, nos, dampers, tracking disruptors, low slot tank. Ishkurs had blasters, mwd, dampers, lowslot tank. We had absolutely no remote repping power. It was angry bee swarm for the win!
I called the ball on the fight and ordered the Exquisite flycatcher then frigate primary/secondaries and I just hurled my eos at the enemy Curse while ignoring their Nighthawk and Dominix. We almost won to be honest. I killed the Curse and we'd already done in the light ships but Exquisite had taken down our Curse seconds after and that damaged our ability to remove the Dominix from play. I ended up gambling everything that the 3 ishkurs + eos could break the Dominix tank before my EOS popped and I lost the bet. Good game Exquisite and a wake up call to our team!
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:17:00 -
[3]
Next up was RAZOR and we needed to do a bit of thinking. RAZOR were our arch enemies from the old Pureblind days and we really really really wanted to beat this band of ex PA territorialists on live tv. Taking the team back to the drawing board a bit we decided that we'd swap up an Ishkur for a Navy Vexor for some additional firepower, and upgrade the Ishkur weaponry for 150 rails so they could augment the drone damage from beyond conventional nosferatu range. Otherwise it was more or less the same. We practised some more and decided it was still our best shot.
On the day we were very very nervous to tell the truth. We really had to win this game or we were out. And going to RAZOR would be dreadful humiliation. 20mins to the game and Azure Skyclad broke the mood by playing an audio clip from Conan the Barbarian:
"Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!"
We all said amen.
So to the match. I was terrified still. But it really went to plan. We called the small RAZOR ships primary, switched the light drones to their Curse when they popped. Saw the Curse apparently chased from the field and eliminated. I heard myself calling their Sleipnir next with an audioable shake in my voice and could hardly believe it when it went down so fast with our old enemy Kusotarre at the helm. Then we had the problem of the RAZOR nano dominix but this time Atan had survived in our Curse and had nos on the rapidly moving ship and we just focused light drones again on its hull. The last throw of the dice for RAZOR was an attempt to bump my eos from the arena with a 3000 mps + ram but the dominix missed and we killed it with pure pleasure.
Oh my God!
5-0 victory against our old rivals on live EveTV. One of my best moments in the last couple of years. Our alliance mates crammed onto ventrillo to tell us what the commentators were saying and to hurl their contratulations. Top of the world Ma! Absolutely fantastic.
But now the real prep would have to begin. We knew ASCN were running an awsome "circle-jerk tank" and would be extremely difficult to beat. We would have to change some targets to win this. Practise in the week was fun but of limited value really - the simple fact of the matter is that no SF members have the skills and pirate implants to replicate the repping power of the ASCN team. So we practised against their ships but not their full ability.
Our biggest help though was Exquisite Malevolence. They showed us the way ASCN could be beaten and neutralised in their fight and it really a significant weakness in the passive circle-jerking strategy. Hold these guys are range and damp them down and you only need to knock out a frigate to win the match.
We gambled that ASCN would not change their strategy against us. We figured they were super-specialised and had gotten into the habit of their strat in long practise and wouldn't be able to adapt. We figured they'd consider the Exquisite loss as "just bad luck" and maybe intensify their repping power rather than change their whole strategy. As it happened we were proven right:
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:17:00 -
[4]
What we did was dispense with the Ishkur and spent our points on a Dominix/Ishtar/Hugin/Navy Vexor. We actually packed some remoting repping after Wrayeth proved its worth to us in practise. The idea was to do what Exquisite Malevolence did but go one better and actually take ASCN out in detail. Target their frigs, get the lock from web and damp, then play bait and switch with the primaries and "accidently" let ASCN escape with one of their ships.
Anyone who saw the fight knows that it worked perfectly. We had Azure playing "Conan" again 10mins before and this time we were all cool as cucumbers during the engagement. Eve was utterly smooth and lag free. The environment was beautiful with one of those new dust cloads around our ships. The locks went on, dampers well, we managed to eliminate both ASCN frigs by splitting fire and forcing their logistics to dither. The "trap" worked as well and the Zealot died moments before it could edge back to its lines. The final sequence of the fight saw us take out both remaining ASCN ships with 30secs on the clock left. What a brilliant fight! It actually felt like combat zen out there and our team was fantastically impressed with how well it had all gone.
EveTV was full of praise and I think it just goes to show that even a team of muli-billion implant wearing elite alliance pilots in the best their 6000 person entity can muster can be taken out by enthusiatic amateurs playing the tourney for fun. It was a memory we'll definately take away with us.
Of course we still needed to beat the Muffins of Mayhem to get through and ensure that ASCN stayed dead and here the paranoia started to run around. We had seen Muffins throw their fight against RAZOR with novice ships after losing their first two matches pretty poorly and it was tempting to expect them to put up 5 vexors against us and just walk out of the tourney without presenting much opposition at all. Tempting but we just didn't trust it. It made sense that ASCN would fund them perhaps - maybe give them ships - or at least ask them to try hard on their behalf.
We decided to keep the same team. Put up the strongest we had and expect the unexpected from Muffins. Well we got it. 10 mins before the fight the Muffins team opened comms with me and said they'd been offered a huge bounty from ASCN for beating us but they were prepared to "let us win" if we offered them a larger one (2.5b isk) and they'd self destruct their ships if we paid. I turned them down. This wasn't the point at all. If we couldn't beat the muffins fairly we didn't derserve to go on and we weren't about to begin bribing our way to progress.
As it happened the Muffins had a very strong team that appeared configured specifically to beat us with counter damping and circle jerking and some impressive ships. It was a hard fought game but we eliminated their frigates and were able to neuter the rest of the fleet to helplessness while we waited out the remainder of the fight battering their remaining ships from a distance. Just goes to show - never underestimate anyone.
So then to the knockout phase and we had our first real crisis of confidence in the planning. We knew we were getting too predictable. We knew we'd be facing some real opposition and the -V- team we'd be facing next was very very good. We saw Light Darkness' Caldari Navy Raven demolishing oppontent after opponent and we didn't want to be next. How to kill the Basilisk giving it logistical support though? Was a real problem. We considered just junking our strategy and going with a bunch of Blaster ships (Mega/Astarte/Dominix+ with maulus support) but the numbers just didn't work. We couldn't see how to do enough damage to the Support cruiser fast enough that the CNR wouldn't blow our fleet to bits while we were doing it.
Ironically the Muffins had given us the answer though by smartbombing our drone swarm in the last group game ... Sentry Drones!
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:18:00 -
[5]
This needed some swapping around of pilots though. Atandros wasn't able to use Sentry drones and so we had to put Azure in as the Ishtar Pilot, With Nemesor in the Navy Vexor and Selim reprising his role in the Hugin while I continued to fly the Dominix. Our solution to beat the -V- CNR plus circle jerk was sentry drone EM volley damage against their hookbills. We crossed our fingers played "Conan", prayed to Crom and hoped for the best.
And it worked. The -V- team was powerful but suffered from the same lack of imagination that ASCN did. They had a tactic that worked and they stuck with it. Remote repping the Hookbills had earned them a stalemate against SMASH and they expected it to work with us too knowing that if their Raven ever did get to lock it would murder us in seconds. We imagine Light Darkness has spent billions on implants and maxed his missile skills so it made sense to exploit the weakness of torpedos inability to do anything without a lock.
We deployed light drones agains their drones. Pulled the Hugin to maximum webbing range while remote repping it. Then rolled out the sentries and volleyed the Hookbills into oblivion. We had the win right there and then. We knew it, -V- knew it. Their pilots actually began smacktalking us in the middle of the fight which was pretty amusing - they must surely have been very frustrated. The bonus was that we then took out the Basilisk with volley damage too while the smack continued. To his credit Light Darkness had a pretty much undefeatable tank on his Raven and though we continued to attack it for 6-7 minutes we just couldn't take it down with 1200+dps from sentries + guns. The complaining continued from the -V- team and one of the members suggested I move my Dominix to within lock range so the Raven could kill me in 4 volleys ...
I politely declined.
So that was it, we'd made it into the last eight. A billion worth of a kit and a team picked in 5 mins a few hours before the deadline. We'd made the quarter finals and had a chance at the big time. Just a couple of hours to prepare for a showdown with THE R0NIN and decide what to do.
Well, they were a team with Hookbills/Curse/Absolution/Abaddon. Tough. We'd seen them take Stain Empire out of the tourney earlier and we knew it would be hard. We considered switching out our suprise blaster strategy again but rejected it again on the grounds that we simply didn't think we could kill one of their ships before losing some of our own. In the end it was just a decision to keep gambling, keep on rolling the dice. Maybe R0NIN would stick with their own strategy - maybe they'd underestimate us. Maybe they'd do something crazy.
Well, Azure played "Conan" again and we made a prayer to Crom. We checked out loadouts, swapped to thermal light drones for Curse killing and prepared for the Quarterfinal.
And it was game-on.
And fair to say we lost in the first 2 seconds of the fight. We'd gambled and lost this time. R0NIN had prepped a strategy to wipe us out. Sensorboosters and Dampers of their own achieved EW dominance and forced a cascade failure of our strategy. I couldn't even lock our Hugin within 60secs to remote rep it! Our Navy Vexor went down, then the Curse, then the Ishtar and I was left alone.
We'd been beaten fair and square by a team that had paid us the respect of watching our fights and using the ideal strategy to beat us. I aimed my Dominix at the Abandon and set full speed with all hardeners and reppers running. Thanked our opponents in local and wished them well in the future and yelled "Banzai!" as the -JFS- Revolution crashed and burned in flames in the middle of the R0NIN fleet. A little sadness amongst our team for sure but it had been a very good run. Much better than expected and just goes to show how far its possible to get without much preparation or expensive implants. I'm glad we went out against a professional and respectful team that ended up the runners up in the tourney. Good game R0NIN
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:20:00 -
[6]
So that was that. Our total loss in the tourney = DOMINIX/EOS/ISHTAR/HUGIN/CURSE/NAVY VEXOR/ISHKUR/ISHKUR/ISHKUR. Probably 800m of ships. Maybe 600m of mods. We won 4, lost 2. But the impact was pretty significant I think. We showed that enthusiastic amateurs with little prep and a post-it-note strategy can take on and defeat some of the big names in the alliance scene and come up on top against organisations with thousands and thousands of players and devoted supporters. (somehow I think our total spent was less than the cost of Light Darkness's implants!)
This then is Eve. Its fantastic, its a brilliant game, a superb community and well supported by one of the best sets of developers and managers any game is blessed to have. I've been pvp'ing in eve for three and half years and nothing I have previously fought in game prepared me for the pure nervous tension and excitement of those fights. Absolutely amazing.
I want to give my formal thanks to the EveTV crew who have made this very special and enjoyable throughout, to Lemonde for his time and effort and all the other devs and volunteers who played a role in putting this event together. Winners all!
And to our opponents:
Exquisite Malevolence - top guys, very clever and innovative. I hope you go far! Muffins of Mayhem - cheeky buggers! But you can certainly fight when you want too! RAZOR - boo hiss! (no really) you guys were fun to fight and good sports in losing! ASCN - super hardcore devoted experts, was a huge buzz to manage to defeat you so completely! -V- - your loadout was incredibly hard, you just need to learn a little more humility in defeat smacktalk from the losing seats is not smart or clever.
And The R0NIN - you are the icy faced poker players who finally called our bluff. Brought us back to earth with a bump and showed us there is always more to learn in this great game of Eve online. We couldn't ask for better more professional and polite people to be utterly wiped out by! Enjoy your special ships and awards - you earned them.
To everyone else:
See you next time!
PS.
ôCrom à to HELL WITH YOU!ö
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
GoGo Yubari
Sharks With Frickin' Laser Beams Mercenary Coalition
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 15:28:00 -
[7]
Originally by: Jasmine Constantine On the day we were very very nervous to tell the truth. We really had to win this game or we were out. And going to RAZOR would be dreadful humiliation. 20mins to the game and Azure Skyclad broke the mood by playing an audio clip from Conan the Barbarian:
"Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!"
We all said amen.
Azure,
Not only have I long wanted to make babies with your avatar, but right now I'm almost ready to profess my undying love. That is, even if you are a hairy Scottish git. Or maybe because.
On topic, the way you beat the ASCN juggernaut was absolute class. I didn't see all of the other matches, but that was one the better fights in the entire tournament - not because it was uber dps pwnage which usually gets me off, but because it was a tactical victory executed with what looked to be flawless precision.
Good game, Star Fraction.
|
El Yatta
Mercenary Forces Exquisite Malevolance
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 17:21:00 -
[8]
Great read Jasmine, and nice work on spending even less than us!
Your gallente-heavy team was perfect for taking out ASCN, and I'm glad you "nicked" the idea off of us - droneswarm was much more appropriate for taking out them than our missiles/lasers. It was masterfully done, and we felt we had to then take it back, improve again, and came out with our setup that beat The Five - which once again required the separation of their team and the breaking of their nos/rep/cap transfer chain.
You were a pleasure to fight, and came very close to pulling it off - the feed dying as you killed our dictor and laid into our curse had me petrified. Perhaps railguns on your eos so you didnt come into the Nighthawk's dampened-down lockrange would have won you that comfortably, but such is hindsight!
Oh, and your conan theme = the win. I feel some sort of dressing up/themed team next time is in order for all entrants!
---||---
|
FraXy
0utbreak
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 18:10:00 -
[9]
Very nice writing and much props for taking out ASCN`s unimaginary turtle-tank setup.
Well fought Jericho indeed.
This is my lazy attempt to make an uber-signature, please go away!
|
Mazca Lopez
INTAKI UNION
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 20:27:00 -
[10]
sweet read, as always. SFTW
|
|
Sakura Nihil
Tabula Rasa Systems The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 22:11:00 -
[11]
Originally by: Jasmine Constantine Jasmine (yours truly) Azure Skyclad Selim Atandros Nemesor Aeaus
Uh, Jasmine? Hi .
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 22:51:00 -
[12]
Originally by: Sakura Nihil
Originally by: Jasmine Constantine Jasmine (yours truly) Azure Skyclad Selim Atandros Nemesor Aeaus
Uh, Jasmine? Hi .
lol I was in a rush to write something - fixed it now!
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Sakura Nihil
Tabula Rasa Systems The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.11 23:27:00 -
[13]
Edited by: Sakura Nihil on 11/12/2006 23:27:26
PS: next time we should play the ending half of Mars by Holst, vary things up .
|
slip66
Black Nova Corp Band of Brothers
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 02:06:00 -
[14]
Nice post! I will have to dnload the vids and watch them.
Originally by: StOrM ViPeR Theres a skill called surgical strike in game I've learned that it actually stands for Band of Brothers |
Andor Traxel
Nebula Rasa Holdings Nebula Rasa
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 02:26:00 -
[15]
Join the Revoulution Now!
I love the Star Fraction. Truly an Awesome group. Would be a great honor to fly with any one of you.
|
Selim
Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 03:25:00 -
[16]
Roll the dice, don't think twice.
|
Engad Tanon
Enterprise Estonia Veritas Immortalis
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 08:35:00 -
[17]
Edited by: Engad Tanon on 12/12/2006 08:35:18 uhh smack in local?
but gf
|
putukas
Enterprise Estonia Veritas Immortalis
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 08:38:00 -
[18]
billions in LD's head?
I dont think he even have cybernetics lvl5 :p
but other story is kinda right, we were too predictable. We didnt expect more dampening from other teams then SMASH did to us.
|
Selim
Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 09:03:00 -
[19]
Originally by: Engad Tanon Edited by: Engad Tanon on 12/12/2006 08:35:18 uhh smack in local?
but gf
Actually, from my position, it was more of Light Darkness whinging than any 'smack' on our part.
But gf, indeed.
|
jamesw
Omniscient Order The Sani Sabik
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 09:32:00 -
[20]
Well done star fraction - Hope to see you back for the next one, and go one (or two!) better! --
Latest Vid: Domination! |
|
Wrayeth
Tabula Rasa Systems The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 09:58:00 -
[21]
Edited by: Wrayeth on 12/12/2006 09:58:11 Our theme for the next tournament should be Monty Python, TBFH. We could field a nano-machariel while the "Brave Sir Robin" theme plays in the background.
EDIT: BTW, no smack intended - just humor. -Wrayeth "Look, pa! I just contributed absolutely nothing to this thread!"
Might As well Train Another Race |
DB Preacher
Reikoku Band of Brothers
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 10:36:00 -
[22]
Great write up, awesome fighting, you deserved your place in the top 8.
If not only for your fighting skills but also for the way you presented yourselves throughout the tournament.
Alot of the other "bigger" alliances could look towards SF as a model of how to have fun.
dbp
Caldari Alliance PVP Championship Winner Current RKK Ranking: (PSCAL6) Proficient Short Tanto
|
|
Kreul Intentions
Forum Moderator Interstellar Services Department
|
Posted - 2006.12.12 15:07:00 -
[23]
Excellent write-up.
|
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.13 14:09:00 -
[24]
Originally by: DB Preacher Great write up, awesome fighting, you deserved your place in the top 8.
If not only for your fighting skills but also for the way you presented yourselves throughout the tournament.
Alot of the other "bigger" alliances could look towards SF as a model of how to have fun.
dbp
Thanks DB! And yep, I'm proud of the way the team behaved throughout too. Sportsmanship and good humour is an absolute must in this sort of thing. Congrats on your victory and hopefully we'll be there for another go in the future!
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Nalya Nephilim
Gallente Vanguard Venture
|
Posted - 2006.12.14 03:45:00 -
[25]
Great write up indeed, the match against ASCN was a real masterpiece but to be honest I didn't catch all the tactical work you did about it until you explained it all on the forums. Not only a stylish thing to do but also very enlighting on how this tournament really went for you.
The Star Fraction VS Nebula Rasa was my dream final, both teams not only had original setups but also showed a real progression thoughout the matches, and all in a refreshing good spirit.
I'll definitly look out for you in the next tournament.
Nalya.
|
Azure Skyclad
Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.15 00:37:00 -
[26]
Only nearly Scottish GoGo.
AS DB Preacher and his countrymen might understand it: Scotsman with his heed kicked in. I'm about 50 miles from the Scottish border.
One great thing i can bring out of the tournament though. PvP, in the real sense of the word holds zero fear for me now. Those who have fought in the allaince tournament will doubtless know what i'm talking about. Once you've been through that a few times, day to day PvP seems like taking a walk on a sunny day.
Anyone who had any doubts about taking part in this one (or missed the deadline) should start saving their billion isk now. You won't regret it.
To all the nay sayers who think it's a BoB only fight: To Hell with You!
http://www.voodoorockers.co.uk/ |
Sevarus James
Minmatar Meridian Dynamics Namtz'aar k'in
|
Posted - 2006.12.15 01:45:00 -
[27]
Brilliant write up as usual Jasmine, and congrats on your team's performance!
Updated Linux Desktop+EVE+EVE-TV |
Sakura Nihil
Tabula Rasa Systems The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.15 11:15:00 -
[28]
Originally by: Azure Skyclad One great thing i can bring out of the tournament though. PvP, in the real sense of the word holds zero fear for me now. Those who have fought in the allaince tournament will doubtless know what i'm talking about. Once you've been through that a few times, day to day PvP seems like taking a walk on a sunny day.
QFT - if you mess up in front of your alliance, that's one thing - to have about 10k people watching you do it on live TV to be followed by a grilling courtesy of the commentators on the other hand? That's nerve-wracking .
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.15 13:12:00 -
[29]
I think we're all stone-killers now on the next alliance war
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
Jasmine Constantine
Gallente Jericho Fraction The Star Fraction
|
Posted - 2006.12.15 13:13:00 -
[30]
Originally by: Kreul Intentions Excellent write-up.
Thank you kindly!
Star Fraction is recruiting
|
|
|
|
|
Pages: [1] 2 :: one page |
First page | Previous page | Next page | Last page |