User:Dominik isu

Page Under Renovation

Taken from Rodrigo's excellent forum post, especially geared towards new unistas.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Before even considering undocking you should:

- Be in a fleet: While University rules state that you can be in a fleet by your own (or not in a fleet), it's not advisable. If you do make your own fleet, then make sure that it can be joined by other Unistas, making it a lot easier for them to warp to your location. An ideal fleet to join, even if you are just going to PvE, is Operation Fortress. The fleet is typically based in and around the Aldrat area, but if you're a few jumps away from Aldrat and you see War Targets in your system, then you can alert your fellow Unistas to the danger.

- Join Mumble: Even if you're unable to speak, you can still listen and react to what you hear from fellow Unistas. It's a lot quicker to say "war targets in Aldrat" then it is to type it!

- Check local: Local is the simplest intelligence tool at your disposal, and possibly the best. See below for more details on how to get the best out of the local channel

- Stay away from trade hubs: Trade hubs (Jita, Amarr, Dodixie, Rens, and Hek) are deathtraps for any Unista during wartime. It's recommended to stay away from them (preferably at least 3 jumps away), as war targets actively hunt Unistas near trade hubs, and staying away from them is your best bet to staying alive. If you need to go to a trade hub, go to Hek, as it is usually guarded by people in Operation Fortress. Even then, use discretion.

- Check LiveIntel: The in game channel LiveIntel.ILN will give recent war target spottings. However, this is not a be-all-end-all failsafe. The information is only as good as the moment before it was posted. You may want to toggle your timestamps to be for your chat channels so you know how fresh the intelligence is.

Still having doubts? Ask in Mess.ILN (or the Operation Fortress fleet channel), where a lot of good PvP pilots will be happy to help you.

I joined OP Fortress and they didn't manage to kill the WTs

You may not like the war targets - in fact, you may find them annoying. But some of them are really good PVPers, with very good ships and powerful fits. So, for Operation Fortress to actually consider killing a WT we need:

• Enough people willing to PvP
• Tackle and DD
• Someone willing to FC

We have PvPers and we have someone that can PVP. Now what?

It depends. While players can choose to engage, it doesn't necessarily mean that they should. If the war target in question is flying a Tech 3 Strategic Cruiser or a Tech 2 battleship, then you will need more than a handful of frigates to attempt a kill. In fact, if you did attack with such a poor force, all that would be achieved is a handful of dead frigates lossmails and an improved kill board for our enemies.

Players also need to understand the battlefield. Do the WTs have boosts? Are they in kiting fits? They may just be trying to goad us into a fight near a station and play station games.

All Unistas need to understand that, sometimes, winning a fight might be impossible. While you may have a sufficient number of PvPers to form a fleet with, if you lack specific roles (such as DPS, fast tackle, a Fleet Commander, etc.) then launching an attack against a superior force just provides the enemy with easy kills.

The Bottom line

We do not give our enemies easy kills! That's why the WSOP tells you not to use autopilot to fly your ship. That's why flying expensive ships that you can't afford to replace is a bad idea. That's why using a Uni character to fly cargo into or out of trade hubs is a bad idea. That's why we create tactical bookmarks to check out a camped gate. Avoid doing silly things and your chances of being a casualty reduce.

Local chat

Local is one of the best intelligence tools at your disposal - even your best friend! It tells you who is in the same system as you, their standing with your corporation, and if they are a war targets. If you see a lot of names with red minus signs next to them, for example, you're in a potentially dangerous situation. Remember:

- If you see a war target in local, warp off and dock.

- Don't wait to see if the war targets are just travelling through the system.

- Don't think you will have enough time to warp out when the WT lands on the grid.

- Don't think you can afford to wait 10-15 more seconds to finish a mission or finish your salvaging. You don't. If a war target shows up on local, just dock up immediately.

The best way to set up local is highlighted here. You can drag-and-drop the local channel away from all the other chat windows, allowing it to stand on it's own. In this example we can see the local channel and the corporation channel tabs. We don't particularly care about what is being said in local, so adjust the sizes to minimise the chat area. You can also remove the portraits from the list of capsuleer names - just click on the small "cog" (it's to the immediate left of the red square on this image) and select "Show text only".

You can also use local to highlight when new names enter the system that you are in. When you enter a system (perhaps one that you play to mission or mine in), select a name (any name) from the local list and press Control & A together. This will select or highlight all the names in local. Then, when you check local to see if anyone new has entered the system....they won't be highlighted. A "spike" in local numbers could be an indicator of a fleet moving through your system.

Missioning or mining in a system with only a few names in local can also give you a slight edge. It's a lot easier to notice 4-5 new capsuleers appearing in local when there's less than ten names in local to start with. That's a number spike. If you're mining in a system with over 100 people in.....well you may not notice that gang of WTs entering the system - and you can be sure they will have seen YOU in local!

D-SCAN

"I'm not actively PvPing - I don't need to use D-SCAN"

Sadly that's not the case. D-SCAN is arguably one of the most mis-understood tools at your disposal, but with just a few minutes practice you can add D-SCANning to your arsenal of tools to avoid War Targets. The Directional Scanner Guide can provide you with a wealth of information, but here are some basic tips:

What am I looking for in D-Scan? There's no WTs in local...

- War Targets (just like everyone else) have alt characters, and they can easily be in an NPC corporation. They could be on your Overview right now, providing a warp point for a WT ganking gang.

But I'm in a PvE site. How can they find me?

Combat Probes.

The WT alt is probably scanning you down with combat probes. So, if you see Combat Probes on D-Scan, warp out and dock. Be paranoid - assume that those Combat Probes are looking for you!!

But there's no War Targets in the system?!?

Are you certain? Maybe that War Target IS in the system - he's just not logged in. Right now he's using his alt to probe down your location - he then logs into his WT character, undocks and warps to your location... meaning that you're probably about to be killed.

He might be in the next system! LiveIntel is not infallible. Don't take it for granted

Bottom line is: You never know. So, as a rule of thumb, if you see combat probes on d-scan, DOCK. Don't wait, don't assume that you're being paranoid - just dock. Remember: I'm saying D-SCAN! Some people think they need to be on grid with you, to be able to punt you down. They don't. They won't.

Keep d-scanning. Press that button each 5 to 10 seconds. When you see a scan like this you know it's time to dock up... or die.

Don't know how to D-Scan? Just read about it here.

LIVEINTEL

You must be in the liveintel.iln channel. You must read the MOTD. LiveIntel is NOT failproof.

Quoting from LiveIntel Wiki:

Pay attention to the channel LiveIntel.ILN for recent war target presence. LiveIntel is not universal nor is it omnipotent for war target intel. The intel posted is only as good as the moment before someone posts it.

You might not have a fellow Unista on the next system. Or the fellow Unista might be AFK. Or he sees a WT but doesn't post it on LiveIntel. Keep that in mind. Use Liveintel, and other sources to gather information about WT's, and where they congregate. Stay away from those places. That's why it's good to be in a fleet and in mumble. And in Mess. You have more places to gather intel info.

You find the password to liveintel ingame in the Alliance bulletin under the corporation interface from the neocom.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

• You want to PVE? Go ahead - just PvE safely! Know how to do it (follow the previous instructions). Know WHERE to do it.
  • DON'T DO PVE IN ALDRAT - Doing PVE in Aldrat is the same thing as asking for a WT to kill you. If a WT wants to find a Unistas target he just has to fly to Aldrat - local will be full of juicy targets. Don't be the easy kill!
  • Aldrat backpocket is a good place (all systems connected to Aldrat, except Eygfe). Why? It's simple. WTs must travel all the way through the pipe, jump into Aldrat and then jump into the backpocket. That gives you a better chance to avoid them because:
    • Probably someone will report in on LiveIntel
    • You probably will hear about them on Mumble / Fleet Chat / Mess
    • The Operation Fortress fleet may have enough time to intercept them.
    • Again: don't take it for granted. They might be in your system. Logged off. Or in one of the other backpocket systems.
  • Have a friend doing pve with you. If you can, have a friend in a PVP ship to protect you.
  • Use an Alt Hauler to haul. Seriously. Don't use your main. Use an OOC Alt. It's safer. It only takes 9 hours to make one.
  • Don't even think you can escape a gatecamp in a PVE fitted ship
• Local, D-scan, LiveIntel.
• If you see a WT in local, a report of a WT in the next system, combat probes on d-scan, JUST DOCK. If you think you can stay on grid for a few more seconds, you are wrong. You WILL die. Sooner or later, they will catch you.
• Do not go AFK. You should not be AFK. If a WT doesn't kill you, I will kill you for being AFK.
• Bookmarks, bookmarks, bookmarks... Create an Insta-undock and an Insta-dock. Don't know what they are? Read it here.
• Make lots of bookmarks on the places you go the most.
• Again, don't mine in Aldrat! Go to the Backpocket to mine.
• If you are mining, do not use a T2 Exhumer! They cost vastly more than their T1 counterpart, but offer little more in bonuses.

Just follow those simple steps and you should be fine. We have lots of WarDecs on us. This never kept me from doing my PVE missions around Aldrat. Be smart. Think. Use your resources (liveintel, d-scan, local, etc..). Don't take it for granted.