Frigate Club Grows Up - March 1st 2000 Eve Time - Choose Your Option

[Endie]

Right, this week (23rd) I'm running the combat-probing/covops training op, but next week, March 1st, I'll run another op if people are interested.

The question is: what.  When peoples' security rating reaches -3 we start to see repercussions, so I have been thinking about how we can avoid further hits, and maybe even boost that back up a bit for those struggling to find decent ratting opportunities.

Anyway, the options as I see it are:

1) More lowsec roaming.  We're never guaranteed to find targets, and we've been lucky so far, but we're pretty good at it, it's fast moving, and a couple of hours seem to pass quite quickly.

2) Hostile 0.0 roaming.  We will die, but we are also absolutely guaranteed a fight.  Gatecamps are the real problem, since if we move fast we can probably get quite deep into 0.0 before we run into half a dozen HACs set up for ganking frigates and all catch the short bus home.

3) Set up our own gatecamp.  We may get fights, we may not.  The downside is that we can't force people to come through the camp, so we may end up getting cockblocked for the whole time.  Or we may get a huge fight, many vs many.

I'm happy to run any of these.  That said, option three has a few advantages: it's a change of pace to let people try it out; people could bring their heavy hitter ships; I have a few good locations; and it would probably make it easy for us to use 0.0 space in future.

I could probably arrange with CVA for us to set up camps at some entrances to Providence, which would mean the locals wouldn't shoot us.  The downside is that this means less fights.  I'd have to call targets on the basis of CVA standings, and we'd have to operate NRDS (not red don't shoot).  But it would also mean that people could bring their big ships without the certainty of provoking an almost-certainly-fatal confrontation with the controlling alliance.

It would also be a change of pace, giving a taste of gate-camping (albeit moving between four nearby pipes to moar targets keep hostiles off balance), which is also a taste of being the bullies for once    Finally, if nobody came through our camps - a very real possibility - we could liaise with CVA on chasing reds, and go find fights.

Finally, there is a payoff: if we successfully ran what would amount to a Providence defence op or two then it would make it pretty easy for us - especially Bat Country - to use CVA 0.0 space, since I'd spend my time in the Providence and northern-Catch defence channels calling us as blue the whole time as people queried.  With access to Providence you are able to rat freely (so long as you operate NRDS) and while most of Provi is not great truesec, those 500,000ISK triple battleship spawns will have your sec rating up in far less time than highsec can provide.

[tar]

Sounds interesting, any of it really. I haven't joined the covops training because I'm not sure I can make that week but this one should be ok.

I don't really have a strong preference for any of the options, 3 sounds the most different from what we've done previously but I'll happily join whichever is picked.

Bit of a question, I don't really understand how option 3 makes it easier for us to use CVA 0.0 in the future. Is this something to do with standings or...?

[Quinton]

I am very interested in more Frigate Club fun on March 1st.  Any of the three options sound like fun to me.

I'm going to try to make it to the 23rd session as well, provided I get everything trained up, etc.

I'm sitting at -0.72 standing still -- solo ratting in a frigate raises it very, very slowly...

[Der Helm]

Finally, there is a payoff: if we successfully ran what would amount to a Providence defence op or two then it would make it pretty easy for us - especially Bat Country - to use CVA 0.0 space, since I'd spend my time in the Providence and northern-Catch defence channels calling us as blue the whole time as people queried.  With access to Providence you are able to rat freely (so long as you operate NRDS) and while most of Provi is not great truesec, those 500,000ISK triple battleship spawns will have your sec rating up in far less time than highsec can provide.

THIS sounds like great idea. I also learned a new acronym.
 

[lac]

When peoples' security rating reaches -3 we start to see repercussions

I thought you were barred from entering 1.0 as soon as you dropped to -2

Bit of a question, I don't really understand how option 3 makes it easier for us to use CVA 0.0 in the future. Is this something to do with standings or...?

If we help enforce their policies by killing their enemies (mostly pirates that shoot at everyone regardless of the standing NRDS policy CVA has in providence) there won't be any problem for our people to roam in CVA controlled space. They allow everybody in their space as long as you abide by their rules and don't start shooting at people who haven't shot at you first.
 

[5150]

When peoples' security rating reaches -3 we start to see repercussions

I thought you were barred from entering 1.0 as soon as you dropped to -2

Yep, once you hit -2.0 you cant enter 1.0 space without the NPC's toasting your ship - every point below -2.0 is a lower high sec system you cant enter (so -2.1 cant enter 0.9) is how I understand it

[amiable]

Crap, I'm going out of town that weekend, and I will have trained up Inties finally...  Ah well....  Have fun!

[dbltnk]

2) Hostile 0.0 roaming.  We will die, but we are also absolutely guaranteed a fight.  Gatecamps are the real problem, since if we move fast we can probably get quite deep into 0.0 before we run into half a dozen HACs set up for ganking frigates and all catch the short bus home.

Voting for this one.

[ajax34i]

3 sounds good.

[Endie]

2) Hostile 0.0 roaming.  We will die, but we are also absolutely guaranteed a fight.  Gatecamps are the real problem, since if we move fast we can probably get quite deep into 0.0 before we run into half a dozen HACs set up for ganking frigates and all catch the short bus home.

Voting for this one.

If you like I could do option 3 in two parts: a gatecamp for a while (till the locals get used to us being there), some hunting reds using the local defence channel to find them, then a roam through the South towards somewhere like Stain for those with a deathwish.  This last part would be fatal, however, so it would be worth people who bring big ships for the Providence part picking up frigates from the 9UY or Prometheia stations in 0.0.

[bhodi]

I like 3. Wandering around NRDS in 0.0 and getting the bat country name out there sounds like fun.

I assume you park your covops on the other side of our camped gate and do a check for the people coming through? Have another one the other gates and such?

Hell, by that time, 3 of us (I think) will be in covops so we can cover all entrances into a system.

[Endie]

I like 3. Wandering around NRDS in 0.0 and getting the bat country name out there sounds like fun.

I assume you park your covops on the other side of our camped gate and do a check for the people coming through? Have another one the other gates and such?

Hell, by that time, 3 of us (I think) will be in covops so we can cover all entrances into a system.

Yeah, we'd camp pipe systems - Provi has three within a few jumps of each other - so one scout in each direction will give warning and let us call who is shootable and who is not.

[Hoax]

I'm voting 2, while I like the idea of 3 I'd rather see almost everyone up to Cruiser+ expendable for pvp levels before we start trying things like that.  Eve is a rough game if you bite off more then you can chew and nobody can end up dissapointed in going to 0.0 and dying when that's the idea.

Three also means I'm going to have to take money making a bit more seriously so I can fly a Harb for it.

Final thought:  I am getting the UFC PPV on March 1st, so let's start on time for once damn it.

[Endie]

I'm voting 2, while I like the idea of 3 I'd rather see almost everyone up to Cruiser+ expendable for pvp levels before we start trying things like that.  Eve is a rough game if you bite off more then you can chew and nobody can end up dissapointed in going to 0.0 and dying when that's the idea.

Three also means I'm going to have to take money making a bit more seriously so I can fly a Harb for it.

Final thought:  I am getting the UFC PPV on March 1st, so let's start on time for once damn it.

To be clear, we can camp a gate with everyone in throwaway destroyers and frigates: it's one of the things that destroyers are actually useful for.  I certainly wasn't suggesting that we take expensive ships further into 0.0.  As I said, if people really want to roam into hostile 0.0 and die then I'll provide frigates in a nearby 0.0 outpost.

[Grand Design]

I'm down for 0.0 roaming or gatecamping.  The lowsec pirating was great, but we should move on before people / Concord start to remember us.

Gatecamping intrigues me more since that's something I've never done.  I think either way we are going to spend a good bit of time waiting.

Either way is good.  The more exposure to 0.0, the better.

[Phildo]

Sounds fun, I'm in school permitting.

[Endie]

Right, I'll open an actual op thread.  Enough people from here and AM seem interested for a 0.0 op, which I'll make a combination of 2 and 3.