I love Vexors. I want to kill one of every ship in the game, solo, with a Vexor. Albeit, when we start talking about supercapital ships, this becomes quite impractical. But a man can dream.
Anyway, I’ve also been losing a lot of them as well. Essentially, as much as I wish it weren’t true, the rate at which I lose ISK PvPing with Vexors is greater than the rate at which I learn how to not lose ships and get better at PvP, if the two can be related at all. Thankfully, I’ve progressed past worrying too much about money issues, so my wallet isn’t much of an anchor holding me back anymore, as long as I don’t go wild and spend it all. If an Innerzone Shipping Vexor comes out though, I don’t think I’ll be able to restrain myself.
So instead of pointlessly losing Vexors, I decide that it’s time to change things up a bit. I will continue to PvP, but in another way that is pointless.
From now on, if I am heading out alone to find some juicy fights, I will not equip a warp jammer of any kind (colloquially known in-game as ‘points’). Enter “pointless PvP” (pPvP). And already, I’ve secured kills:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/39206666/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/39212218/
Both of them fought back, and both of them didn’t run, even though the Merlin in the first picture had warp core stabilisers, which negate the effects of warp jammers. Here was what I fought them with:
[Incursus, Ursus]
Small Armor Repairer II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Small Nanobot Accelerator I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Hobgoblin II x1
Pretty standard fit in the most part and I’ll go into the pPvP aspect of it later, but first lets consider what a point module actually achieves. There are two types of warp jammers in EVE, warp scramblers and warp disruptors.
Disruptors have a 1-point warp scramble strength*, and essentially do nothing to assist in the combat situation except to ensure your prey does not get away.
Scramblers apply 2 points*, however, and in combat this can be especially useful if your enemy has a microwarpdrive, as two warp jamming points means these modules are deactivated.
*Faction and officer versions of these modules can possess a greater warp scramble strength than the typical modules. For example, Gotan’s Modified Warp Disruptor, which can apply 2 points out to 35km!
Essentially, disruptors are meaningless to the enemy who is also looking to fight. If they’re pointed, they do not care, because escape was never their intention. And since it does nothing to affect the fight otherwise, it slips from the attention of the PvPer, who has many other things to worry about. Scramblers are slightly more noticeable in their presence due to their ability to shut off microwarpdrives. If someone is able to activate this module during a close-range brawl, instantly they know they can probably get away either by pulling range from a disruptor, or realise there actually is no point on them, and warp off.
What does this mean in terms of not using a point when fighting? Well, if the alternative is to have a disruptor, then by discarding that disruptor you’re gaining an extra mid slot for other modules, and overall a net gain in effectiveness in combat. If the alternative was for you to be using a scrambler, then by discarding that scrambler you lose the ability to lock down MWD targets, but besides that in almost every other situation (and as we will see shortly, even against those with MWDs), you’re also gaining a ‘free’ mid slot. Free in the sense that point is such a staple on PvP ships that many would almost think they’re in-built to the fit, and have to take up that mid slot.
As a newbie solo PvPer who nobody really knows or cares about yet, I am constantly seeking ways to 1. get better, 2. win fights and 3. compensate for the SP gap between me and my victims. 3 is not so much of a worry, as I’ve addressed in another post. Getting better (1) probably means I should look for more fights whilst using a point, and get used to having it, because in the fights that matter, I don’t want my enemies escaping my clutches. So pPvP is me seeking to maximise my ability to win a fight. I compensate for 3 and my lack of skill (hence the need for 1) by acquiring this free mid slot.
So how much of a benefit is this extra mid slot? Lets use the example of the fit I linked above, which some of you may have mulled over as I waffled on in the last few paragraphs. What have I put in that now open mid slot which used to contain a warp scrambler? Well, a webifier. I have traded the ability to lock down enemies and shut off MWDs for a slightly longer range slow. Lets take a popular kiting fit, the MWD Imperial Navy Slicer. With a single nanofiber structure, which compromises tank and potential DPS, a slicer can move at 3.4km/s. Apply both my webs, though, and this is reduced to 730m/s. Interestingly enough, slower than my Incursus moving with an afterburner. Unless he’s boosted or has seriously fitted for maximum speed, I can easily keep up with the Slicer. Not only that, but Webifiers when heated can reach out to ~13kms, so I have a slightly longer reach whilst still ‘disabling’ the power of the MWD.
Now, if that was the limit of the usefulness of the dual web in combat, I’ll admit that I’m probably wasting my time. Why not fit a web and scram, and take the sucker down to 200m/s, with no ability to run?
The real counter to pPvP as I see it, is the MWD. It’s really the only thing that means having a point gives you an advantage in combat. So lets go back to why having a free mid slot and in my case, having two webs, actually can do better.
Longer reach and strong (but not total) speed negation we’ve mentioned. But CCP has acknowledged the power of the MWD by giving it ridiculous weaknesses. They burn through capacitor like nothing else, simply having it fitted and online reduces your maximum capacitor, and unless you have specific ships, increase your signature radius by a significant amount (meaning you can be locked onto faster, and are easier to hit).
So not only have my dual webs allowed an Incursus to keep up with the average Slicer, but for the Slicer to even have a chance of escaping, it has to keep burning capacitor and becoming more susceptible to my guns with a higher signature radius. That’s the other thing about my fit specifically. With dual webs, targets are slow enough to be smacked with Void, meaning I can make up for the Incursus’ lower-than-average DPS with blasters and high-damage low-tracking ammunition. And to be fast enough inside my webs and still avoid Void (-chuckle-), you’ve got to have a hull which reduces the signature radius penalty of microwarpdrives, and even then if you’re stuck in range for too long your cap is going to burn out.
Or the victim could simply warp out. Here I think is where many people will find a bone to pick. Why go PvPing when you can’t catch anything with half a brain? Because I like to think I have a bit more than half a brain, and I’ve died in fights where I haven’t been pointed. This time, on the other side, I look for PvP for the fight, not the conclusion. If they run, I accept victory, and move on. Pointless, you may say, and pointless, I will agree. That’s the point. >:)
Anyway, looking forward to sharing more pointless PvP fits.
Taking wing - An EVE Online Blog, with other things sprinkled on top. 