A Post For FCs With Girls In Your Fleets

(( Just to preface, this is merely my opinion, and not reflective of any position of responsibility or authority. I don’t work for EVE and I am not the boss of you. 😛  ))

 

Don’t forget to take more bio breaks! It is a scientific fact that females pee more often than men. (true story, I googled) So this means, when you plan your hours-long fleets, you need to pull the fleet over at a rest stop! Girl’s don’t have the luxury of peeing in a bottle at the pc, ok???

Don’t assume the girl is going to fly Logi. Sometimes I feel like there’s this misconception that all females are nurturing, and that they want to ‘take care of the fleet’ by ‘space healing’ it. Yes, some of us like to fly logi from time to time, but I don’t think it is any more than the guys. Sometimes we just want to blow shit up too, ya know? So ask, don’t assume.

Don’t allow your fleet to become a cesspool of porn talk. Some people on EVE act like fleets and porn go together like peanut butter and jelly, but it shouldn’t always be that way. I know that ‘guys will be guys’, but sometimes it’s just too much. When the talk goes from locker-room talk to talk about raping girls (yes, I was in a fleet once where that was literally ignored by the FC), then it goes too far. But in this regards, every player is different, and their threshold for what is okay varies, even among the guys. Some guys don’t want that kind of talk/porn links either because their wives/small children might be hovering near by.

Don’t use your fleets to flirt. I know I shouldn’t even have to say that one, but, it happens. I once joined a random, general militia fleet (years ago, back in the day) where I didn’t know anyone in fleet. The guys were nice, but the FC (who had been drinking, I think) literally stopped the fleet to chat me up. It was awkward, lol.

Don’t let your other pilots harass girls in your fleet. (or anyone for that matter) Again, every player is different, and their threshold will vary. Some girls can brush off locker-room banter, but if it is outright harassment directed towards the girl merely because she is a girl, then you should probably do something about it. Don’t let others say, ‘Oh you’re just being a White Knight’. There is a difference between White-Knighting and being a decent human being.

You’re the ‘Commander’ for a reason. Take control of your fleets. 🙂

xoxo
Elisen

What Not To Do As A Girl On EVE

What not to do as a female space pilot:

 
DON’T think you’re a special snowflake. Sure, you’re a female in a game with one billion guys (roughly 96%), but that doesn’t inherently make you any kinds of special.

DON’T use your womanly powers to get free stuff on the game. When you manipulate boys into giving you free ships/mods/ISK, just because you have boobs, you make the rest of girl gamers look bad. Put on your big girl panties and learn how to make ISK for yourself. Be a strong, independent pilot who don’t need no man!

DON’T think that if someone does give you something free, it’s because you are a girl. Lots of times, guys will give each other ships for various reasons. It isn’t because of gender. There are a lot of genuinely nice folks on EVE who will share the wealth.

DON’T play to a stereotype. There’s no need to play dumb or act all slutty. It is a game about spaceships, not hookers in space. Ugh, and please don’t be that girl who streams the game merely to show off your tits and ass. Nobody likes an attention whore.

DON’T bring your dating drama into the game. Okay, I was going to say, ‘don’t date EVE boys’, but some of you single girls are going to do it anyhow. (and sometimes it does work out for some couples) But do keep it private. No need to have your relationship be the main focus of your corporation or alliance, because if you break up, you’re forcing the people you fly with to deal with your angsty crap. Again, people are here to play a game about spaceships, not be awkwardly drawn into your Space-Brangelina drama.

DON’T be afraid to stand up for yourself. There are so many great guys in EVE, but there are some real douche bags too (it’s part of the Internet, no place is completely without them). Some guys will hate on you simply because you are female, and go out of their way to make things hard for you. If you find yourself harassed, you have several ways to handle it. If they are within your corporation or alliance, immediately report it to those in charge. It is their job on the game to deal with issues, it’s what they signed up for. If they are in a different corp/alliance, send a polite mail to their CEO/Alliance Executor. Use the block button, it is very easy to do. Right click their name and choose block. If they are in a chat channel with you, then report it to the channel moderator. Lastly, report it to CCP. From the CCP EULA: You may not use any abusive, defamatory, ethnically or racially offensive, harassing, harmful, hateful, obscene, offensive, sexually explicit, threatening or vulgar language. (Alternate spelling or partial masking of such words will be reprimanded in the same manner as the actual use of such words.) To make a report, click on the ? on your sidebar in game. It will give you a link to the Help Center out of game, and you can file a report under the EULA, TOS, POLICIES section. It simply isn’t okay to be bullied or harassed because you’re female.

DON’T think all smack talk is offensive. You have to have a thicker skin to play EVE. Coming into this game, you need to realize that it is a very dark atmosphere with an unforgiving environment. You’ll have to learn the difference between normal smack and someone deliberately trying to harass you because of your gender.

DON’T think that other girls are automatically going to be your new BFF. But some might. If you’re seeking to bond with other female gamers, there are two female-only channels. Visit the in-game channels, Women Gamers Public, or WGoE:Public. Just remember, not everyone can be a Space Pirate Queen like Mynxee or EvE’s Parody Queen, Sindel Pellion, so check your jealousy at the door.

DON’T settle for a bad corp. Take the time to find one that is going to suit your play style and have an atmosphere that you are comfortable with. You don’t have to settle for corp chat / fleet chats full of porn links and immature behavior. To find corps, you can always browse the EvE Online Recruitment Forums.

DON’T be timid or shy on voice comms. Yes, the majority of pilots on comms are going to be guys. Yes, they are going to collectively gasp the first time you speak. There will probably be comments like, “OMG a GURL”. And that’s ok. Let them get it out of their system.

DON’T give up! The game has a steep learning curve, and it might seem impossible to learn all the things when you’re just starting out, but know that it does get easier in time, and not everyone knows every little thing anyhow. If you don’t know something, it is okay to ask for help.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, welcome to EVE!

xoxo
Elisen

Why Null Wasn’t For Me

*dusts off the old blog, sending a plume of digital dust mites dancing into the hazy light of pixels*

So, it has been a while, and I will not apologize and say I have meant to write, (because that is what everyone says who finally gets back to their blog), or that a million real life things have gotten in the way (another famous blogging excuse).

Okay, well those things are true, I suppose. I really did mean to write. And real life did get super crazy. But the main reason I haven’t blogged is because I was addicted to another game. It happens, right? We are gamers, and other games do steal our attention from time to time. I am sure to write about it at some point, because there are a lot of comparisons to be made between the two games.

But, I never really quit playing EVE. Does anyone? I mean, even when you’re not playing, you’re still ‘playing’ in a sense. I never made a conscience decision to quit. I merely got distracted.

The biggest change on my return is that I don’t have my old character. I gave Shalee Lianne to my friend so that he can train her to be a super pilot character.

I’ve been playing on a former alt, Elisen. This toon is small skill wise, but with the skill injectors, I’ve managed to make her into a decent FW pilot. I’m loving skill injectors, that is the best thing CCP has done in a long while.

At any rate, it is fun to be back. I’ve missed spaceships. There really is no other game like EVE.

Since my return, I’ve moved back to Low Sec & FW. I gave null a shot, but I don’t think I could have ever been truly happy in Null. It was so different than what I was used to. Null Sec is super serious! And I’m more of a ‘whats that mod do again?’ kind of player, lol.

I also hate bubbles. Like, I passionately, f’n hate bubbles. The rage is real. I mean, one minute you’re flying along, and then bam! Bubble in your face. Everything is in slow motion. Or a gate is smothered with them and it is blinding. I just don’t need that kind of stress in my life, okay?

Bigger is better in Null. They like to fly expensive, blingy stuff, which is ok, to each their own. But when something very expensive is on the field, it seems like everything is more serious! People want to yell. I don’t let people yell at me IRL, I’m certainly not going to deal with that on a game because I didn’t hear someone say align. Sheesh.

The introduction of Entosis. ♫The ship on the button goes round and round, round and round, round and round.♫ I did enough of that in FW.

Everything was far, far away. When I was in FW and we planned to go 20 jumps somewhere, it was a thing. A whole big drama. We would make plans, jump some ships nearby for reshipping, etc. 20 jumps was like going to the end of the world. In Null, it was nothing to join a fleet and hear an announcement we were going one billion jumps away. When you join a fleet, it is a time commitment.

Deployments are the norm, and I am too much of a space hoarder to move so often. I like to have a lot of things, okay? And there would be times we’d move move while I was out of town or something. Do you even know how unnerving it is to go away for a weekend, come home to EVE and log into station and be the only one there! I’d be like…uhm, guys? I’m aloneeeee. And of course there would be bubbles between where I was and where I needed to be, lols.

It was too much of a commitment. When not on EVE, I don’t want to be hassled by various apps telling me that I need to be on EVE. If I am on the game, then great, I’ll play it. But if I am not there, I don’t want to be sent pings about how I need to be. You know? I don’t want to schedule my time around pings, required fleets, or when some structure is going to be vulnerable. It stops being a game and feels more like work.

But it wasn’t all bad. I did enjoy most of my time in Null. I had a really amazing corp to fly with. Those guys were pros, and I adored my CEO/FC (Garst Tyrell). He is an amazing FC to fly under (wish he would move to Low Sec!!!).

It’s just that Null didn’t really suit my play-style, or my stress level. I am more of a casual gamer, even if I play a lot, I don’t play it hardcore. The things that matter most in Null are things that matter little to me.

So, I’m back where I belong, slumming around in Low Sec with dirty pirates and hunting down dirty Minmatar. Life is great.

Interview: Reginald Sakakibara

Thank you for doing this interview, Reginald. How did you come up with your name?

Thank you for having me, Shalee. Let’s see.. I wanted to come up with a name that blended two separate and distinct cultures. In this particular case, I drew upon a name associated with Victorian England and the surname of a daimyo clan from Feudal Japan.

How long have you been playing EVE, and how did you get started? Is Reginald your original toon?

I first learned about EVE when my younger brother showed me a Coercer-class destroyer in 2011. I found the graphics to be really eye-catching but didn’t start a subscription until a couple years afterwards. It’s actually a bittersweet story, if I’m allowed to expound a little. Essentially, I started out in one of the new player zones (Dresi, I think?) and was contacted by someone who promised that they would help me get started in the game as long as I made a new account through one of their buddy invitations. Being completely unaware of just how cutthroat EVE could be, I accepted the offer and, while I was at it, paid for a three-month subscription. I haven’t heard from that guy since, but here I am.

How would you describe your experiences at the two local, EVE meet-ups that you’ve attended?

They were fantastic! Getting to meet people who have similar interests in a setting outside of staring at a computer screen while on a Mumble or Teamspeak server was a lot of fun. The best aspect is that while there were people were from rival alliances or corporations, everyone just swapped stories and had a good time. Out of game, the EVE players I met were pretty respectful and were happy meeting other pilots who lived close by. After all, EVE is just a game played by real people.

How did the meet-ups differ?

The venues provided distinct atmospheres. The first one I attended was at a family-style diner, so most of the conversations were over chicken fingers and in a pretty quiet setting. It was also a meet-up made entirely of players, some of whom had driven three to four hours just to attend!

The second meet-up was at the Southern Pacific Brewing Company in San Francisco, which was sort of like a warehouse converted into a bar. There was a lot of music, people talking and laughing and conversations were harder to follow–partially, I suppose, thanks to the consumption of alcohol. Regardless, one of the salient differences was that this meet-up was attended by CCP Manifest and CCP Logibro, who simply happened to be in the area. My favorite moments were when CCP Manifest said I looked sophisticated and when I revealed to CCP Logibro that my original toon, Reginald, was unable to fly an interdictor. He responded by saying, “You are literally the worst.”

Would you recommend them to others?

Definitely! If you’re in the California Bay Area, I’d heartily recommend checking out the EVE meet-up website to see when the next ones are coming up. They’re great opportunities to meet some of the people you fly with or try to blow up. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the last couple, but I hope to make a reappearance in the near future.

 

Do you participate on out of game forums like EVE Reddit or listen to EVE related podcasts?

I would have to say that I did a lot more of those types of things when I first started playing. I basically learned about EVE by reading the EVE University wiki and watching youtube videos covering subjects such as the economy, pvp, and famous large-scale battles like Asakai. As far as EVE Reddit goes, I lurk far more often than I post. That said, much of the time, EVE Reddit and #tweetfleet are great ways to stay abreast of game developments as well as New Eden current events.

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

The most appealing thing about EVE is loss. I know that that sounds counter-intuitive, but there’s a certain satisfaction that derives from the knowledge that whomever you scammed, ganked, or conducted a corp theft on has to grind their way back to where they were before you struck. Loss, combined with the immediate consent to pvp simply by undocking, are the two great things about EVE.

The least appealing thing about EVE is loss, or more accurately, fear of loss. Fear of loss leads to risk aversion, which in turn leads to less content due to an unwillingness to engage an opponent. I suppose there’s a poetic irony in there–EVE’s greatest appeal is also a feature that can lead to blue-balling and frustration.

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

One thing? That’s a tough one to answer. I suppose that the cliches would be “get people to undock,” “create more content,” or “get rid of off-grid boosters” (which will actually be implemented soon). All the same, there are a lot of people in the game far more experienced and qualified than I who have opinions of what should be changed about EVE, so I’ll just focus on a boring aspect.

I think that it would be great if there was an out of game chat service that logged you into the in-game chat channels. Basically, it would be an EVE gate-esque evemail service but for real-time chats. This would make it far easier for people to communicate from outside of the game without relying on third-party resources and would also be a great way for people to just check in when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to commit to playing the game. Combined with status markings like away, inactive, or available like any traditional instant messaging system, an out of game chat service would be an easy way to handle discussions and keep up with your corporation or alliance when you’re away from your computer, traveling, or otherwise in a position that wouldn’t allow you to log into EVE.

What other games do you play and how do they compare to EVE?

I play a wide field of games, I suppose. Firstly, chess is amazing. Everyone should play chess. As far as computer games go, I enjoy single-player games with strong narratives that allow the player to decide what sorts of actions they want to undertake (Witcher, Mass Effect, Dishonored). As far as multiplayer games are concerned, I spend time with fellow No. Mercy corporation mates playing games like 7 Days to Die and Life is Feudal. An interesting observation of these latter games is that, thanks to EVE, we never let anyone we don’t know join our groups–we all know better than to let someone in who can steal our stuff. As one of my corpmates put it, “EVE ruins other games for us.”

Who do you most admire in EVE, and why?

I really admire you, Shalee. You are easily one of the nicest, balanced, and all-around amazing people in all of EVE–even if you’re too modest to admit that. You enjoy success as a great blogger, you’re a role model in the roleplaying community, and you just want people to get along and have a good time. Thank you again for inviting me for an interview.

Have you tried other parts of the game, like wormholes or high sec?

The only time I dabbled in wormholes was to help a friend of mine hijack things from corporations with lax security policies. His most memorable heist involved us having to self-destruct a Rorqual because the wormhole connecting to our lowsec exit was too small.

As far as known space is concerned, like many new players, I started in highsec in a mining corporation: Unexploded Ordnance [UXO]. That corporation didn’t last very long, so a number of members reformed under Improbability Drive Inc. [NO42] (the Inc. is important because “Incorporated” was already taken), which continued along on UXO’s industrialist path until we were wardecced by a one-man griefer corporation. Even though we ended up losing a lot, it whetted many appetites for pvp, so many of us went on to form a sister corporation: Heart of Pyerite [NO45], which would be our pvp and alt corporation. That corporation made its way through a number of lowsec alliances: The Mandalorians, Vitoc Health Services, WINMATAR., and then Imperial Outlaws. A number of the older members of Heart of Pyerite have come to agree that that corporation was cursed, as every alliance that we joined collapsed or dissolved within six months of our starting dates.

What are some of the benefits of living in null versus other sec’s of the game?

What has surprised me the most about nullsec–specifically, the sovereignty that Triumvirate holds–is that it is the safest space I have ever flown. If supported by an intel network and bolstered by pilots itching for fights capable of rapid responses to distress calls, there is nothing that is really equivalent elsewhere in the game.
What advice would you give to a new player starting out the game?

Find friends. At its heart, EVE is an MMORPG and interacting with others is the fastest way to obtain knowledge and skills crucial to thriving in EVE’s otherwise hostile environment and challenging learning curve. That being said, friends can often be wrong about game mechanics, so make sure they can back their statements up with recorded experience or reading material. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel for questions like “Will CONCORD kill me if I enter Amarr with -5.0 security status?”

What do you think of ‘fozzi-sov’ so far?

I think that “fozzi-sov” has a lot of parallels to faction warfare. Much of the fighting around command nodes is reminiscent of the small gang-style pvp that can be common in the novice, small, and medium plexes throughout faction warfare space. Unfortunately, EVE online players are really good at pushing things to breaking point, which is why fozzi-sov battles can be heavily influenced or even decided by gangs of artillery Claws–ships fitted with sensor boosters and warp core stabilizers for fast locking and to augment their invulnerability to bubbles, making them incredibly difficult to catch let alone counter. From the perspective of a line member in a pvp alliance, fozzi-sov can be exhausting and tedious, especially when the side invading your space simply runs the TCUs, station services and IHUBs to make you form a fleet only to disappear back into the aether once you actually respond.

How long have you been a part of No Mercy?

I have been a member of No Mercy since July 2, 2015.

What do you most enjoy about No Mercy/TRI?

The thing I enjoy most about No Mercy and Triumvirate is that the pilots are held to razor-sharp standards. In EVE, you have the option of becoming the blunt instrument sledgehammer that demolishes things or the sharpest knife in the box that executes with precision. No. Mercy and Triumvirate synthesize aspects of both philosophies by working to ensure its ranks of pilots are highly-skilled, well-disciplined, and respond well to contingencies.

You were once the CEO to your own corporation in FW. How does being a ‘line member’ now compare to running your own corporation?

As the CEO of Heart of Pyerite in the earliest of our days in FW, we often had a joke going around about how we had “one hundred percent participation of our active membership” in fleets: all four of us. During those days, I was carefree and flew around the Bleak Lands in unlinked gangs of frigates prowling for prey. This all changed when Winmatar. dissolved and we saw our active membership increase by over a thousand percent overnight. As we got bigger, I spent a good portion of my time handling diplomacy, reviewing recruitment applications, trying to keep the militia from falling into civil war, and managing POSes for the corporation. Unfortunately, time is a finite resource, so I would find myself bogged down in the minutiae of operations rather than flying around in space killing things. The biggest pressure of a CEO is the generation of some sort of content and Heart of Pyerite simply didn’t possess a wide pool of active fleet commanders. This simple fact served as a big stressor from the dissolution of Winmatar. to the closure of Imperial Outlaws. Following the latter event, I announced that Heart of Pyerite would be closing.

As a line member, my responsibilities are far less myriad. Basically, I get to serve in fleets to protect sovereignty and assets that are managed by others. Intriguingly, it’s the first time since I started playing where I haven’t possessed some form of leadership or managerial position. In some ways, it contributes to a feeling of restlessness, but on the other hand it’s refreshingly relaxing.

What are your favorite ships to fly? Least favorite?

I like to fly battleships and capitals. The raw power and survivability of those main-line ships has always been appealing to me, though if you asked me the same question when I was a militia pilot, I would have told you that I had no interest in them.

As for my least favorite, though I may get in trouble for saying this–triage excepted–I loathe flying logistics. I’ll do it and I enjoy keeping my fleetmates alive, but there’s no feeling of disappointment quite like standing down in a Guardian after a three-hour form-up with nary a volley exchanged by the belligerents. Flying logistics is fantastic if there is a fight and you feel like your contribution matters.

What are you favorite fleet comps to fly in?

I do enjoy my battleships, so Triumvirate’s Machariel and Rattlesnake fleets are the most fun to fly in. In the past, flying in Did he say jump, I greatly enjoyed the Apocalypse Navy Issue doctrine.

What is the best thing you’ve done in EVE?

Meeting you.

What is the worst?

I once missed a zero while station trading. We’ll not discuss how much I lost.

How long have you been role playing in EVE?

I began roleplaying in EVE shortly after Heart of Pyerite was accepted into the Imperial Outlaws alliance. I was invited by alliance mates to lurk inside a roleplaying channel–the famous Cerra Manor–and I found the concept fascinating and a lot of fun. I’ve been roleplaying ever since.

Tell us about your role play character, what are his motivations and goals.

Reginald Sakakibara is a member of the Amarrian nobility, a Holder–though that title has been in question on multiple occasions. He recently suffered a divorce following a dark spiral of a year that saw him purge his Holding of Sani Sabik influences in a brutal crackdown as well as an affair that eroded the sanctity of his marriage. He finds solace in service to the Empire and working to make New Eden a better place for his son and his niece.

What advice would you want to give someone who wants to try out RP?

RP has a lot of emotions associated with it, especially if you become invested in your character. If you choose to live a double life through the lens of your character, you risk merging your real life emotions with what happens inside of a computer game. Avoid this at all costs. Roleplay is about writing a story with other people. Good stories have conflict, drama, passion, romance, intrigue, and mystery. Don’t take things personally, read up on your prime fiction, respect others, and just have fun.

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:

CCP – Logibro
Cyno – Up
Monocle – Ibrahim Tash-Murkon
Jump Freighter – Expensive
Entosis – Not again
Scimitar– Anchor
No Mercy-Garst
Noob–Me
Troll–RiseOfFilth
Role Player-Shalee
Boobs–Crude
Fleet Chat–Spam
Carebear–Missing out
Amarr Local–Spam
Mining–CODE
Militia–Disappointment
Wine–Red
Fedo–Pet
Moongoo–Cadmium

Favorite:

Alliance (other than ours): Did he say jump
Pirate Corporation: Death By Design
EVE Related Celebrity: Grath Telkin
Ways to make isk: Station trading
Ammo: Scorch
Ship: Archon
Corpse: Grath Telkin
Star System: Huola
Faction: Amarr Empire
Drink: Old Fashioned
Song To Fly To: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 Allegro Ma Non Troppo Opus 23.

Thank you for the interview!

Interview: Cpt Patrick Archer

 

Thank you for doing this interview, Capt Patrick Archer. How did you come up with your name?

Names are hard mkay. I think I spent an hour trying different names and all were taken. My RL name is Patrick and I was watching Star Trek Enterprise, so yeah..

How long have you been playing EVE, and how did you get started? Is Capt Patrick Archer your original toon?

Yeah I am a newbie. I started early 2013, so only two and a half years.

Have you participated in any of the EVE Online real life events like Fanfest, EVE Vegas, or local meetups? Also, do you participate on out of game forums like eve Reddit or listen to EVE related podcasts?

I’ve never been to any real life meets and honestly don’t plan on doing that either. I have enough stuff going on IRL :p However, I check out Reddit quite often. It is cool to watch people shit talk each other for no real reason.

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

The fact that you can help build an empire (and get your face kicked in 2 days later), the living universe is what makes it cool. Least appealing: way too addictive.

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

I’m not going to turn this into a rant about Fozziesov, but I’d aim to remove the grind / pain in the ass from holding sov. Make that more fun than trolling sov.

Who do you most admire in EVE, and why?

I have respect for a lot of people, but I can’t think of anyone that I really admire.

What other games do you play besides EVE?

I used to play a lot of ArmA II and Project Reality but when I started Eve that kinda stopped. So it’s mostly Eve and some SupCom FAF or GTA V with my corpmates in QUAM.

Have you tried other parts of the game, like wormholes or high sec? If so, how do they compare to Null?

Like most noobs, I’ve started off in high-sec, then moved my corp to low-sec. Done that for a bit and then moved to null. I’ve yet to try wormhole space, but lately I was told that PvP in there is very dead, so I’m happy with what we’re doing now in TRI.

What are some of the benefits of living in null versus other sec’s of the game?

Deny other alliances access to moons and some “safe” space for the care bears I guess. And also bubbles, they impact fights quite a bit.

What advice would you give to a new player starting out the game?

GTFO of high-sec. Join a training corp / alliance that is part of a bigger group.
Discuss some of your most memorable moments within Triumvirate, and outside of Triumvirate.

I think the 1st defense of GTB in the Spire was the best fleet I’ve ever been in. Under SFC we fought off three different fleets, heavily outnumbered. We won the strategic objective, the ISK war, and I didn’t die for once.

What do you think of ‘fozzi-sov’ so far? Enjoying entosising all the things?

Sov is boring and even more of a grind it was before, and I think the recent developments in null-sec prove that. In my opinion, Dominion sov after Phoebe wasn’t that bad. We sure had a hell of a lot more fun taking Etherium Reach than we had fighting RA in Insmother over sov.

How long have you been a part of Quam Singulari[QUAM]?

I’ve been in QUAM for about a year, ever since the current CEO (Mike) revived it. I have been flying together for longer though.

What is your roll within your corporation? Discuss your duties.

I’m the director in QUAM and basically manage everything when Mike’s gone. He works for a Formula One team, so he’s away for work quite a bit. I hate to do pos bitchin’ apart from collecting moon goo, so I try to avoid that.

Tell us a bit about Quam Singulari [QUAM}, and what you look for in a potential recruit. If someone wants to join [QUAM] what is the process?

I think our requirements are pretty similar to other TRI corps. What I find most important is that our members are active on our corp coms. Chill when there aren’t any fleets etc. And be proactive in finding fights.

Usually people have a chat with me, hop on TS3 and talk about what they want to do and expect from us. In the mean time I check their API and pretend I’m good at that. After that there is a trial period that drags on for as long as I feel like it.

How long have you been an FC? How did you get started?

Ever since my first month in Eve I was always the guy to get some people together. I basically did it because nobody else took the initiative quick enough. And I am a dick and think that I can do shit better most of the time. My main goal is to make the people in my fleet enjoy the game to its fullest potential. I think in TRI it matter more that we take a fight, regardless of the outcome.

Best and worst FC story?

I’ve been thinking really hard about this one. There were so many good (and bad) fleets of all sizes. To be honest I find it more rewarding to do a small gang and see that one newbie understand his role and grow into that. It’s really hard to name one success or fail story though.

After asking around a bit I remembered my worst fleet ever. We were going to bash a POS of some irrelevant dudes near our Null Entrance. When I came home from work, I fell asleep and woke up two minutes before I had the planned op. I rushed to my PC, not wanting to do the op, but there were like fifty dudes waiting for a fleet. So, I formed a fleet (can’t remember the comp) but it had about twelve dreads in it. Meanwhile we had a Gorgon nano gang in our staging that I kind of missed, (or ignored) and called dreads to undock. This piqued their interest and obviously they tried to set up a trap. I was too tired and wanted to rush the dreads through. Our dreads ended getting bubbled on gates for an hour with me half asleep and still raging at our Russian friends. We ended up losing nothing, but everybody was incredibly bored and pissed off. Oh, and that POS never got reffed..

What advice would you give to a new FC?

Run the numbers beforehand and if you think it’s doable. Just go in.

Oh and most importantly DON’T RAGE.

What are your favorite ships to fly? Least favorite?

The Nano gang Oracle because of its crazy damage, and the Rattlesnake in fleets because of its versatility.

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

Hands down; losing my pro-fit tengu to Chris Lares:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/43510556/

What is the thing you’re most proud to have accomplished in EVE Online so far?

Building QUAM to what it is now, but I’m not done yet 🙂

Please link any blogs, kill boards, or videos that you’d like to share.

Dat intro

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:

CCP – Thanks
Cyno– Selfdestruct
Monocle – Lol
Entosis– Cancer
Rattlesnake– Beast!
QUAM– Singulari
Noob– Kato
Troll– Cepter
Director– Me
Boobs– yummy
Fleet– up!
Carebear– Cancer
Jita Local– Spam
Mining– Noob
Militia– ISIS
Wine– Meh
Fedo– Pet
Alliance Chat– Shittalk
Moongoo– Epic

Favorite:

Alliance (other than ours): Northern Coalition
Pirate Corporation: Starwinders
EVE Related Celebrity: Chribba
Ways to make isk: 500% Markup on alliance contracts and embezzle moongoo money.
Ammo: Scorch
Ship: Oracle
Corpse: Yours 🙂
Star System: HED-GP
Faction: Gallente
Drink: 10/10 Southern Comfort 7-up
Food: Tagliatelle.
Song To Fly To: Ride of the Valkyries when yolo’ing around the grid.

Thank you for the interview!

Interview: JAY WRIGHT

How long have you been playing EVE? Is Jay Wright your original toon?

I’ve been playing EVE since 2007, and JAY is my first toon. I’ve had a few alts I’ve trained to sell and have a second account which I also use for other things.

Have you participated in any of the EVE Online out of game events like Fanfest or EVE Vegas?

No. I’m not that cool. I don’t have Facebook or twitter nor do I tend to use EVE related social media sites.

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

The thing I like most about EVE is the people. They make the game. The good, the bad, and the down right idiotic. They keep me logging in to catch up, help, and laugh at and with. I met my future wife in EVE  six years ago and we have been sharing the same hanger bay now for 5.

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

That’s a hard one. I could say Fozziesov right now but I think everyone is pissed at that one. I think the most annoying thing to me is CCP’s intent on creating new shinny stuff all the time instead of fixing the things that have been broken for years. Simple things like Guest list in stations not showing people’s standings, and getting aggression timers when your mods cycle yet don’t activate. The smell in my hanger bay, but I think that’s just the corpses. The fact that EVE doesn’t auto correct my spelling. Now that would be a fix worth seeing.

What other games do you play besides EVE?

I was a mad tanker for a while. But other than that, EVE’s really been my major love for years. There are plenty of MMO’s and great games out there, but EVE seems to have everything I need.

Have you tried other parts of the game, like wormholes or high sec?

I’ve tried most aspect’s of EVE. I’ve lived in WH space for a few months, and been -10 in low sec. I’ve run small corps and have done mining. I’ve even done the whole hi-sec care bear thing which I fall back to if I just need a break from 0.0, but I’m afraid to admit I’m a kill-mail whore and like making other people’s ships explode.

How long have you been an FC? How did you get started FCing?

I wouldn’t concider myself an FC. Having flown with some of the best out there like Shadoo, Mister V, and the guys we have in Tri, i’m so far down the pecking order I’d not even take the tags lol. I have commanded large fleets from my days in SoK. We covered around 15 c3 and below wormholes and I was responsible for covering those. I did a lot more when In -FA- , smaller corps I’ve helped out. I tend to sit on the side and step up with the smaller ops and in a major fight when all the good ones are dead lol.

What advice would you have for a new FC?

The thing I find is people who lead fleets like to get in on the action too much sometimes. You have to stand back and watch. Your job is to get your people into the fight on the best terms possible and aide them by kicking the enemy’s tree house down. Be calm in your actions and commands, and allow your people to do their job. Micro-managing fleets will cause you to burn out and resent leading them.

My personal aim is to have intel and scouts everywhere. Knowing what the enemy is doing and going to do wins more fights than just warping in and beating each other with sticks, though a pure balls deep brawl is fun from time to time. I also find smooth comms and calm heads win more fights than screaming at pilots when they warp in at 10km instead of 0 zero and calling folk out for using the wrong kind of ammo. That’s for after the fight. I also try to be the first on grid and the last to leave, and I’ll bend heaven and earth to get my people home. I follow real life rules there: never ask of those you not willing to do yourself.

Discuss some of your most memorable moments within Triumvirate, and outside of Triumvirate.

Well as I’ve not been in Tri for more than a few weeks, but I’ve had a blast so far. I hope you lead me to glory and good fights. Out side of Tri, gearing my future wife chewing out an FC who got her entire fleet slaughtered for no reason and swearing at him for 20 mins in more languages than I have ever heard including Latin. It was the first time I’d heard her voice on comms and I was done. He was the alliance CEO but she made him run to his mum. 200 people stopped talking while she went bat-shit and I sat there with the biggest cheesy grin on my face and fell in love.

What do you think of ‘fozzi-sov’ so far?

Fozzi-sov… faction warfare in 0.0. The idea was sound but yea, I think it’s going to take a long while for it to get there.

What is your roll within your corporation? Discuss your duties.

Duties in my corp… making the rest of them look good? lol, no I’m a combat monkey. I have no roles or duties above turning out for as many fights as my time allows and blowing as much stuff up possible.

What are your favorite ships to fly? Least favorite?

I am afraid to say FALCON. God I love that ship. Yea yea I know, sit at range and jam people. But a good ECM pilot is like a good FC. Used well, they can really f*** shit up. The widow is a very close second. It’s amazing to look at, deadly to use, and requires a box of tissues to hand out … FOR THE TEARS! God you people.

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

That’s easy. Trashing a mates faction tower and mods. A good friend had been deployed to Iraq and had folded his corp while away. I was asked to haul all his gear back to Hi-Sec for storage and he had contracted me like 20 billion isks worth of stuff. 6am and no coffee caused me to ‘trash’ instead of ‘select all’ and poof went one faction dread tower and 62 faction pos items.

I twigged what I’d done and the sweat started rolling off me faster than a vicar at a kid’s party. I shit myself and started screaming to CCP for help. I knew there was no chance they would, but don’t ask don’t get, and I spent the next two days thinking who I could get hold of the gear again. But CCP saved my arse big style. They gave me it all back, and even moved it to a Hi-Sec station for me.

What is the thing you’re most proud to have accomplished in EVE Online so far?

I’ve been in a lot of corps and alliances, but the thing I love the most is my private channel where my mates hang out. Stupid I know. I could have said all the fights I’ve won or the shinny ships I’ve killed, but my chill out room channel is my main joy. In there are the people who have mentored me, befriended me, and become family to me. We are closer than most real life families ever will be, and most of the guys have been with me since the start. Plus of course meeting my lady. Not many people can fall in love and move in together from playing games but yea 😉

Please link any blogs, kill boards, or videos that you’d like to share.

A must see. All three.

And this, cause I sound like an utter cock so may as well get it over and done with.

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:

CCP – serverdown again
Cyno – SHHHHIIIITTTT
Militia – targets
Monocle – Riots
Entosis – FFS
Carrier – ratting
FC – Rage
Noob – me
Troll – Mittens
Directror – shoot on site
Fleet – 😉
Carebear – food
Jita – Trolls
Minmatar– iskies
Warp core stabs – ffs
Fedo– Ketchup
Gallente – ishtar
Alliance chat – ROFL
Moongoo – Broken

Favorite….

Alliance – Any that steps up and fights.
Eve Related Celebrity – Vile rat. Rest easy among the stars brother.
Ways to make isk – Any way possible.
Ammo – Any cause someone’s going to have a headache.
Corpse – The idiot who pissed my lady off . Took me four years to finally find that guy and pod him, I gave it to her and the rest of the night, well , ffs behave you lot.
Star System – Lamaa,  where I ran into Lords. My first pvp corp. Best corp ever and the place I was schooled in the arts of E-War.
Drink – Coffee.
Food – Anything but sprouts.

Interview: CivilWars

Thank you for doing this interview, CivilWars. How did you come up with your name?

I have used this name for FPS games since probably 2006. I get asked often if I am a fan of the Revolutionary War, or the band, but Civil is a bit of a play on my last name IRL, and I added the Wars part I guess for the irony.

How long have you been playing EVE? Is CivilWars your original toon?

Since 2009, and Civil is my original toonie.

Have you participated in any of the EVE Online out of game events like Fanfest or EVE Vegas?

I would love to go to both, but have never been to either. Some friends and I always try to make plans to go to Vegas since it is relatively cheap, but so far have not made it. I do help organize a monthly meetup in Dallas though, and have met several players from all walks of EVE there.

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

Most appealing to me is mutually consensual PVP. While I enjoy a gank or hot drop as much as the next guy I prefer when both sides say “let’s do this” and fight to the death. I especially enjoy the fights we get in TRI when outnumbered and still hold our own. The least appealing thing about EVE for me has to be logistics. Not the ships that fire heal bullets, but the task of moving items from point A to B. I have flown a freighter once in my EVE career, and if I never have to do it again it will be too soon. I truly appreciate those who spend their time stocking markets and contracts, so I can be lazy and just buy what I need when I need it.

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

I think right now the biggest problem in EVE is the players. Many/most/all complain about Fozziesov, jump fatigue and/or other mechanics as the problem, but I feel the biggest problem is with the player base. CCP does not make 1, 5, 10, or 40k people alliance and coalition up. We choose to do that to ourselves, then complain there is nobody to fight. From a game mechanics perspective I do dislike the fact that CCP in their effort to make the game more new player friendly seems to be alienating the old guard. Titans are in most cases nothing more than a mobile jump bridge, now that sov is no longer decided by EHP supers seem to be in a bad place, and even carriers and dreads aren’t seeing as much use as I am sure many would like. Many players have spent lots of time, effort, and isk on ships that rarely see the light of day.

What other games do you play besides EVE?

Right now I am playing World of Warships, and maybe some ARK. I used to be into FPSes like BF2 and CS:S, but to me their newer releases failed to live up to the fun of their predecessors.

Your Employment history shows a corp named ‘My Little Pwney’. Does this mean that you are a Bronie in real life?

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, no. It was a corp I started with some other friends, and it was more as a joke. We thought it would be pretty funny to kill people and them have My Little Pwney on their killmail. I didn’t even know what a Bronie was until much later.

Have you tried other parts of the game, like wormholes or high sec?

I started out in HS as a filthy miner playing with friends who got me into the game. I realized somewhat quickly that I would rather file my nails with a belt sander than mine, so I started training for PVP things. My friends and I then started day tripping into wormholes in late 09 and early 10 to gank PVEers, and get the occasional fight. We then settled into a WH before I got bored, and went to 00. I have transitioned back and forth between w-space and 00 a few times over the years.

What advice would you give to a new player starting out the game?

Find friends to play the game with. This game, like many others, sucks solo. In addition to that there is too much to the game for one person to master everything, so it is easier to be an expert at one aspect, and learn from someone else who is an expert at other things. I am capable of doing things like setting up and fueling POSes, but I am very thankful that there are other people in corp who actually enjoy it, so I rarely have to.

What are some of the benefits of living in null versus other sec’s of the game?

I like the scale of war in null. I have never spent much time fighting in LS, but the majority of the fights in w-space that I was involved usually had less than 30 pilots per side. While these were fun there is something awe inspiring about seeing over 1k people in local, or 100+ in your own fleet.

Discuss some of your most memorable moments within Triumvirate, and outside of Triumvirate.

The thing I love about TRI is our ability to take fights that would appear to be at best even, and in many cases in our opponents’ favor and still win. I spent 10 months in the CFC, and learned that I am not a fan of the blob or blue ball mentality. I have much respect for Goons for the empire they have built, but it’s just not for me. I especially loved our fights with Nulli when no other entities joined in the fun. We had some nice brawls, especially the super fight, but that was likely just fun because supers died. Outside of TRI some of my favorite moments were in BL. I got my first 2 titan kills, one of which I dual boxed a T3 and a dread from Venal to Catch by gates, which I will never forget. One of other favorite things was when Elo would take us to CFC staging. It would be a total zerg rush of assault frigs just burning for us and going down in flames. We would kill the same pilots 3, 4, and 5 times because they just kept reshipping and coming back. Any fight we take outnumbered I find fun, win or lose, but especially when we win.

What do you think of ‘fozzi-sov’ so far?

I think the intentions are good, but the success will rely largely on how the “content creators” in null sec choose to play the game. There is no secret mechanic that will fix null sec. It is up to those who live in smokey rooms on skype, jabber, and slack to make the choice that massive coalitions are what is wrong with this game, and do something about it. The goal seems to be to encourage alliances to only hold sov they can/will use, and to leave the rest of the region to other groups that you could fight regularly. My best guess is the entrenched groups will hold what they want, and continually crap on the little guy that tries to take a system or two until they break their will. I hope I am wrong though.

Recently you were the one responsible for the infamous Xenuria joining our Alliance for all of two hours. Tell us why you invited Xenuria and what you hoped to achieve.

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I can be an asshole. One of my current favorite targets is Saeka. It even got to the point that I offered him a Wyvern or 25B to leave alliance and never come back. Mystical then had the idea to recruit Xenuria to alliance to have an autist-off between him and Saeka. Jayne, the SASH CEO, said SASH would leave is Xenuria joined, so challenge accepted. I recruited Xenuria, but SFC asked me to kick him for “reasons”, and out of respect for Star I did. FWIW Saeka if you are reading this most of what I say is just trolling. Ask Ama as I still give him a hard time as well.

How long have you been a part of [RLLO]?

RLLO formed out of a corp split last year while we were still in w-space. Some of the guys got fed up with things and wanted to do things differently, and I went with them as they were the guys I liked to fly with. We then jumped around as a group for a bit, but are now where we belong. I have been back in RLLO almost a year.

What is your role within your corporation? Discuss your duties.

“What would you say you do here?” is somewhat of a running corp joke. My main duties are recruiting, which I kinda suck at, and I guess you could say corp vision.

Tell us a bit about Rolled Out [RLLO], and what you look for in a potential recruit.

Recruitment ads all seem to sound the same, but like everyone else we look for active PVP pilots in the USTZ. We want people who can joke and have fun, but aren’t total douche rockets.

If someone wants to join [RLLO] what is the process?

Join our pub channel, and send hang out. If you can put up with us for a few days we will probably accept you. We don’t have minimum requirements per say, but you need to have PVP history as evidenced by an active kb, and be able to fly TRI doctrine ships.

What are your favorite ships to fly? Least favorite?

I don’t really have a most or least favorite. I hear people complain about doctrines all the time, grrr Ishtars, and think it is dumb because anchoring up and pressing F1 or F is the same regardless of ship. When we do smaller gang stuff I enjoy flying more DPS ships than tackle, logi, or ewar though.

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

I lost a hyperion to a solo torp bomber. It was early 2010, and I had just made it to 00. Back then belt ratting was the best way to make isk, and I just trained into the hype. I warped to a belt, and as I was landing a neut entered local. He warps to my belt, and while trying to warp off I bounce on a roid, and get pointed. He sank my battleship.

What is the thing you’re most proud to have accomplished in EVE Online so far?

I am most proud of the fact that I have people I would consider friends all across EVE, and that at least a few of them have some respect for myself and/or RLLO. I have long said that everyone in EVE is shit it is just a matter of why, so I don’t claim to be a good pilot, or even a great corp, but I enjoy the fact that I can chat with people we may be neutral or even hostile with and carry on a decent conversation.

Please link any blogs, kill boards, or videos that you’d like to share.

Shout out to my bros at http://forums.zulusquad.org/. I used to frequent kugu, and when it went offline the Zulu guys took me in, so thanks.

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:

CCP – Fozzie
Cyno- PL
Siphon– Antar Logan
Monocle – Sith1s Spectre
Entosis– sovwand
Carrier-suitcase
No Mercy-Garst
Noob-Ama
Troll– Civil
Director-overrated
Boobs-my wife
Fleet-pvp
Carebear-food
Jita-local spam
Mining-kill me
Beer-yuck
Fedo– pet
Quafe-energy drink of champions
Alliance Chat-cancer
Moongoo-stolen, wait don’t print that. I didn’t really steal it Agent.

Favorite:

Alliance (other than ours): I will probably get lynched for saying this, but PL. Yes, I know, they are the “cancer ruining this game”, but I have mad respect for the way they play the game. BL is a close second, and would probably be #1 if they were to kick Dog.
EVE Related Celebrity: Elise Randolph. I spent a brief few months in BUSA/PL, and Elise was the FC of my heart. If I ever left RLLO it would be for Habit, but I hear Elise isn’t very active these days, so RLLO is safe, or doomed, depending on how they look at it.
Ways to make isk: Stealing the moon goo of course. I actually made ok isk in w-space, so I don’t do much to make isk these days.
Ammo: Aurora
Ship: Dominix
Corpse: BlueMajere
Star System: K3J
Drink: Mojito
Food: Anything Mexican
Song To Fly To: I don’t listen to music often while playing, but Fight Song is on the top of my play list right now.

Thank you for the interview!

Interview: Garst Tyrell

Thank you for doing this interview, Garst. How did you come up with your name?

Garst is the combination of the first few letters from my first and last name. Tyrell doesn’t have a specific influence but I could possibly have been thinking of Blade Runner or that imperial commander from Star Wars in the back of my mind. I’ve been using the Garst Tyrell handle since I played my first MMO Star Wars Galaxies back in like 2005.

How long have you been playing EVE? Is Garst your original toon?

Garst is my main and first toon. I started playing in FEB 2009 on trial after Age of Conan got boring.

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

I love the high skill ceiling for organizations and individuals. More preparation really does pay off and the more organized, more dedicated party will reap the rewards for their hard work. There is always something new to learn, a more innovative or efficient way to do something. Fights are unpredictable and are about as far removed from a tourney 6 v 6 counter-strike or DOTA match as you can get. The flip side is the high barrier of entry to some parts of the game. Groups that have historically done something very well are able to shut out new contestants from the most lucrative arenas, which leads to my answer to the next question…

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

The stagnation of coalition politics. Its natural after 10 years that leaders would learn to work with each other for their benefit and CCP has done little to encourage conflict between them. The years N3 spent with sov stretching from Cobalt Edge to Period Basis was a low point for the game that I fortunately missed.

What other games do you play besides EVE?

Loads over the years but since stepping up for TRI I mainly play single player games during luls to unwind. I don’t play any other multiplayer games at the moment. I just finished Dragon Age Inquisition and I’m currently playing through Pillars of Eternity. Next up Witcher III.

I know that you pretty much started your EVE career in Amarr FactionWar, and now you fly in Null. What did you enjoy about FW? Why did you leave it?

In 2009 FW was a lot different than it is today. There were no FW missions that encouraged gimmicky LP grinding for isk that dumbed everything down to frigs vs frigs. The EVE population in 2009 was much higher, and so there was an equally larger proportion in FW and low sec piracy. FW was a great place at the time to learn the game and pick up FCing as you could regularly get into battleship and the rare capital fight. You just don’t see those anymore. I had the pleasure of Fcing some of the largest fights in low sec in a while including a Amarr vs Minnie POS fight over a Star Fraction staging titan staging pos in Kamela on Halloween in 2009 and then later an Amarr vs minnie POS fight in Heimatar over a Dark Rising corp POS in which I was able to get CVA involved. I left because it was time to take my corp out of FW and prepare for my long term goal–nullsec warfare. NoMercy pirated around a little and then joined the old Gentlemen’s Club alliance (no affiliation to the current incarnation) in Scalding Pass as part of the ATLAS bloc. We had a lot of fun there and that was my first exposure to null sec wars, but that’s a story in its own right.

Have you tried other parts of the game, like wormholes or high sec?

I briefly roamed into wormholes as a noob with my bud Raphael Saint, both of us in navy omens. We lived out an anchored can in a safe in the earliest day of their addition to the game when they were fresh and still wild areas. I think CCP allowing anchorable POS in wormholes killed a lot of that wonder and it was a missed opportunity to develop them as a roaming, nomadic experience for EVE players. NoMercy dabbled in offline high-sec POS bashing and war-decs while in faction war, and had an ongoing war-dec from Star Fraction that bled over into high-sec.

What are some of the benefits of living in null versus other sec’s of the game?

Bubbles. Its amazing how much a single game play mechanic can drastically change the quality of play and options available for fleet pvp. In low-sec fights are consensual or require brawling with hard tackle in order to keep enemy fleets from running. For this reason almost every low-sec fight is based around armor, usually t3 doctrines. Throw bubbles in the mix and everything changes. All of a sudden the geometry of fleets fighting each others matter. Defensive bubbling, slings, walls, every angle allows you to control range or suck enemies into a trap. Bubbles can also force enemies to commit or suffer losses while running away. Bubbles keep supers tackled when they would otherwise be able to escape in lowsec. In a nutshell they change the calculus of fleet pvp completely for FCs which really encourages higher level game play and more challenging fights where a better FC and his fleet can shine over superior numbers that would lose a warp-to-0-brawl. Brawling doctrines still exist somewhat in nullsec, but the doctrinal choices are much more interesting and range control is paramount. In the end this is just one factor that encourages far superior fleet and individual pvp in 0.0. Other factors are just the nature of the beast that nullsec is fought over higher stakes and attracts people who want to do ‘srs business’ pvp so the skill level can be very high.

You are both CEO of No. Mercy and Alliance Executor of Triumvirate. How did you become Alliance Executor?

NoMercy joined TRI when I restarted the corp in August 2014 after coming back from a 2.5 year absence. NoMercy was enjoying the catch thunderdome for small gang roaming and pvp when TRI deployed down to Curse as our neighbors and invited us to join. I stepped up as one of the lead FCs using my prior game experience and as the existing leadership became busier with RL and Wargod eventually resigned, I naturally gravitated into the spot.

What are some of the trials and tribulations of being Alliance Ex?

The same as any senior leadership position. You must be willing to accept public scrutiny and the fact that you will never make everyone happy, all the time.

You will put in long hours and be expected to be around daily. Alliances whose leaders disappear or perform the cliche afk-executor role are circling the drain.

Discuss some of your most memorable moments within Triumvirate, and outside of Triumvirate.

NoMercy had a t1 cruiser roam for our first corp birthday while we were living in Derelik after Gentlemen’s Club. Someone posted it on scrapheap challenge and turned into a gank night 🙂 We had 150 people show up, jump into ahac omens and travel with us to provi where we brawled down a 80 man drake fleet. We had so many ships left over we flew to stain, dropped fleet at the star and did a FFA thunderdome to see who the last man standing would be. I almost made it to the end 🙂

I remember doing supercap hotdrops onto an supported PL dread fleet bashing NC towers in venal with Elo Knight and Ben Booley, lighting the cyno, alt tabbing back to my aeon only to find the client crash. Shouting ‘oh fuck oh fuck’ in comms as they loaded grid, giving elo a heart attack because he thought I just cyno’d him into a trap… but they ganked a naglfar and slipped away. Too ez.

But then I got elo and booley’s supers killed a couple weeks later while fcing a nice battleship/cap fight against venal residents to save our POS. Somehow I ignored the fact that PL was deployed to H-PA in jump range during the entire fight, bumping our supers into the shields when PL’s entire cap fleet jumped into local. Their titans promptly vollied what was left of the POS’ structure and killed our supers. Bad times.

In TRI we continue to take fights outnumbered, many times it goes well…sometimes it does not. TRI took 100 in fleet including 60 rattlesnakes against 400+ CFC in domis and AFs over a cadmium moon in vale. We were winning until euro goons executed a nice jump clone trap from fountain to 40 pre-staged dreads in tribute which blapped us, wiping the rattlesnakes almost to a man. Gee gee.

There are so many good fights its really hard to pick just a few. Faction war, low sec, Gents Club, Venal, Solo super hotdrops up north on jump freighter logi routes, small gang in curse, TRI’s winter 2014 campaign against the CFC, and now TRI’s offensive to the east… In the relatively few years that NoMercy has existed in the game, we really have punched above our weight class in picking fights and creating content for everyone.

From your perspective, what are the strengths and weaknesses of Triumvirate?

TRI is one of the highest SP alliances and oldest names in EVE. This is a double edged sword. TRI is unlike any previous incarnation with brand new leadership and ideas for EVE in 2015, not stuck in nostalgia of what EVE was in 2007. Although we have a lot of rich and high SP players with a high individual skill level, we also face high attrition rate of bitter vets who understandingly have diminished interest in the game after playing for a decade. Wargod is a good example of this. I choose to leverage this weakness into a strength by providing an environment where the old guard can play and mentor the new generation of aggressive PVPers who are keen to move from one challenging campaign to another and crush everything before them!

How long have you been an FC? How did you get started FCing?

I have been FCing since I started the game in Amarr FW. I had some experience in guild management and leading raids in Age of Conan during the 6 months I played that and its been a learning experience and long road ever since. I guess taking a leadership role was something I naturally gravitated to–“if you want something done right, do it yourself”.

What advice would you have for a new FC?

Have a plan. Put yourself in the enemy’s shoes and ask yourself how you would fight your fleet if you were them. Then take those most dangerous courses of enemy action and plan against them to pre-empt their actions. Give the enemy as few opportunities to put you in a position of weakness as you can. This applies not to just to strategic fleet fights but also to small gang roaming. There are no fair fights in EVE, and if you expect otherwise you are being naive. Take any advantage you can in a fleet fight.

What is your favorite fleet comp to FC?

Battleships! I was known in the old days for running armor Amarr battleship doctrines when Hellcats were still a thing, and before that brawling battleships in low sec and faction war. In TRI I pushed hard for a heavy Rattlesnake doctrine during our winter war with the CFC post-Phoebe but it never really came into its own until the spring offensive against the drone lands. The Rattlesnake has probably become TRI’s most iconic doctrine of incarnation but we also use armor machariels for sniper gangs.

Are you looking forward to ‘fozzi-sov’? How do you think it will impact the alliance?

I am not. I believe its a flawed mechanic that just isn’t fun to play based on feedback from the duality war games and entosis links on TQ. We will have to see how the meta changes in July and adjust accordingly. TRI should be able to defend its sov easily enough as we took it before the changes, avoiding any beacon grind. TRI has strong allies in the region and owns “shit sov” that most people don’t want anyway since they underestimate the real value of Etherium Reach as the gateway to the east.

Tell us a bit about No. Mercy, and what you look for in a potential recruit.

NoMercy is a family. I cant genuinely recall the last time we’ve had drama or even arguments in corp despite flying in high stress, high stakes combat daily.

Many of the current members since the rebirth of the corp have applied in groups from previous corps that closed down so they have brought this previous working relationships into the greater whole and gelled. NoMercy is always selectively recruiting experienced and competent PVP pilots who aren’t looking to be spoon-fed.

Any potential member must understand I hold my corp to a very high standard and expect them to be the role models for whichever alliance were in.

If someone wants to join N.M, what is the process?

Simply join No.Mercy pub channel in game and ask to speak to a recruiter, often myself. Be prepared to give full APIs for any relevant accounts.

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

Other than jumping my titan into a NCDOT cap kill fleet instead of bridging? 😀 I remember my first loss in EVE was running hydochloric acid between low sec stations in my bestower for 12 MILLION ISK PROFIT PER RUN!! Until I met Mr. Tachyon Abaddon on the lowsec side of the gate. Rude.

Please link any blogs, kill boards, or videos that you’d like to share.

Merciless

70 Merciless Abaddons vs 300 NC Maelstroms.. we won 🙂

Battleship fights in Venal

AHAC fights on the 6NJ8 undock against the Northern Coalition

NoMercy t1 cruiser scrapheap gank night against Proviblob

TRI

TRI + Solar + BL vs XIX domi CTA blob featuring yours truly doing some driveby doomsdays

TRI and Solar take a cap fight with S2N that escalates into PL rushing over to finish off the S2n scap fleet

CFC 40man dread hotdrop onto TRI rattlefleet taking on 400+ hostiles

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:

CCP – T2 BPOs
Monocle – Wargod
Entosis– AIDS
Carrier– Wyvern
No Mercy – Professional
Noob – For A Few Finns More
Troll – Reddit
FC – Lawgiver
Boobs – http://www.bonjourmadame.fr
Fleet – My domain
Amarr– Faction War
Jita– AIDS
Mining– Prey
Beer – Yeungling
Failheap challenge – Babe Thread

Favorite:

EVE Related Celebrity: Elo Knight
Ways to make isk: Moon Goo Embezzlement
Ammo: Scorch L
Ship: Rattlesnake
Corpse: Jade Constantine
Star System: K3JR
Drink: Yeungling
Food: Chinese Takeout
Song To Fly To: The Island Part 1 – Pendulum

Thank you for the interview!

Interview: StarFleetCommander

Thank you for doing this interview StarFleetCommander. Explain why you chose the name, StarFleetCommander?

I chose the name StarFleetCommander because the day I made this account, I had just watched the New Star Trek (2009), so I guess I just thought of the film.

Your corp title is ‘Dave Ja Vu (SUNFLOWER)’ …explain.

Well the SUNFLOWER part was because all of the V0lta members are in a wassapp group and I guess we were talking about something and my name came up, but the app auto corrected it to “sunflower,” so it just stuck lol. DAve Ja Vu is because my name in David IRL, so I guess Dave Ja Vu is fitting :).

How long have you been playing EVE?

I started to play in 2009, but really got into pvp late in 2011 when I joined V0lta. Before, I was only in wormhole PVE corps and the guys I was with at the time tried to avoid pvp, but I was very curious and I got some kills here and there. So all in all about 6-7 years.

Tell us about your first experience playing EVE.

My first experience playing EVE was in like 2006-07 when I joined HYDRA and was just a kid. I was trolled out of the game cause I was just a kid 🙂 and EVE was such much harder back then.

What advice would you give to a newbie just starting out EVE?

Get involved into a corp that is active and wants to do things. Be active yourself, it’s the only way you will learn; go out and die a few times and from that you will get better hopefully.

Have you always flown in null sec, or have you tried other parts of the game? (if you’ve tried other parts, discuss that a bit)

I’ve done most things. I’ve lived in every sec of the game from LOW/HI to NULL and Wormholes. At the start of this TRI MK4, we lived in Pure Blind, then went to low sec. I do love the nomadic like style, not really enjoy being in one place too long. I like fighting different people. Back in the day in Verge of Collapse, we used to fight people all over EVE. So all in all, I’ve pretty much lived everywhere.

How much of that time has been within Triumvirate? And, what other alliances have you been a part of?

The last two years have been with the current TRI. Before that was Verge Of Collapse, a Wormhole alliance that lived in a C5, but primarily pvped in null sec. This was by far my most fun time in EVE during the time VoC was alive. Before that, it was occupational Hazzard, a large Merc alliance ( around 1500 members)- where we spent most of our time fighting GOONS and taking other contracts. For example we took a contract to help -A- evict RA.

Discuss some of your most memorable moments within Triumvirate, and outside of Triumvirate.

In this TRI, its was at the beginning the FADE campaign in the north, during this time GOONS were on deployment down south so we was fighting the likes of TNT,Co2,SMA,RAzor,fcon. It was great fun and there was so many kills to be had. But out side of Tri, the entire of VOC was awesome living in whs and poping our heads out only to dominate everyone.

How long have you been an FC? How did you get started FCing?

I’ve been Fcing for about 3-4 years. I started to FC by being Wargods secondary FC and learning from him and watching him.

What advice would you have for a new FC?

Watch and learn a good FC.

What is your favorite fleet comp to FC?

Hmm this is hard. I really enjoy Teir 3 nados, but ofc ISHTARZZZZZZZZZ!!!!

Are you looking forward to ‘fozzi-sov’? How do you think it will impact the alliance?

Fozzie I think might be headache for both the attacker and defender. It’s going to make holding sov annoying. It wont impact large coalitions with a lot of alliances.

Tell us a bit about your corporation, Volta,  and your roll within your corporation.

V0lta is corp with A LOT of old characters from the 1st TRI. It’s a mix of PL, Hydra, NC and others but generally a group of people that stick together no matter where they go. We all hang out on team speak even if we are in other alliances.

My role at the moment is kinda leading the corp.

What does Volta look for in a potential recruit?

If you want to join you have to have a decent KB and history. If you have a vouch it makes it easier to get in.

If someone wants to join your corp, what is the process?

App on the forums, mail me or endo and we will interview you.

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

When I was a young player I killed a Caldari Navy Raven, which had loads of faction loot. It was in low sec so I was flagged. I picked up the loot and jumped to high sec and the police killed me and I lost all the loot. No kill mail was generated as no player got on the mail 🙂

How many Alliance Tournaments have you been a part of?

Three so far, soon to be four.

What have you enjoyed most about doing the tourneys?

The pvp in the tournament is completely different to TQ pvp; you have to think of everyone’s angle and every ship. Each ship is as important to the next one, be it a merlin or a vindicator, they all have roles and are both important.

How do you think TRI will do in the upcoming tourney?

I hope to win 😛

Please link any blogs, kill-boards, or videos that you’d like to share.

My youtube channel

Word Association! First word that comes to mind when I say:
CCP – Fozzie
Monocle – Wargod
Entosis– Link
Carrier– Kill
Volta– Dota
Noob– Man
Troll– Lord
FC– Wargod
Boobs– Shalee (SFC: Wow where did that come from?) (Shalee: Literally every fleet Ive been on? lol)
Fleet– Doctrine
Amarr– Burn
Jita– Price

Favorite:
EVE Related Celebrity: I have a few, Garmon,fozzie,rise,elise,bluemelon and a few more and of wargod and supertwinkey69
Ways to make isk: AT winnings :), renting BPO’s
Ammo: RF EMP
Ship: Otherus
Corpse: CCP RISE
Star System: X-7o
Drink: Coke
Food: Curry
Movie: Star wars
Song To Fly To: ACDC Highway to hell

Thank you for the interview!

Interview; Vlad Cetes

How long have you been playing EVE? Is Vlad Cetes your original toon? Also, explain your name, does it have any meaning?

Since January 2006. Yes it is. Vlad Cetes comes from my old UT2k4 name, which was Vlad The Impaler, but that name was already taken and at the time you could only have two words in your name.

Who do you most admire in EVE, and why? (can be people, corps, alliances, or devs)

I had some great times with the original MC (clearing the old NC out of the North for the “New North” and then beating up on -A- and IAC in Catch). I’ve been in the game so long it’s hard to say who or what I admire the most. Maybe easier to make a list: Wraithstorm (good guy, decent but not great FC, hoot on comms), Seleene (best FC I ever flew under), Manny (great content generation), and Garst (for making EVE fun again after CFC).

What is the most appealing thing about EVE? Also, least appealing?

The most appealing part of EVE is getting the big ship (caps, supers, high value stuff) kills. The least appealing is getting all ready for a fight and getting blue balled.

What other games do you play besides EVE?

Right now, just GTA V.

Outside of Null Sec, what other parts of the game have you tried?

The only thing I haven’t done is living in high sec. I’ve done everything else in the game.

What are some of the benefits of living in null versus other sec’s of the game?

The main benefit is the big and heavy fights. It’s the only region where you see really heavy and constant use of capitals. It’s also easy for a line member to stay in ships (OK but not really good income from anomalies or belt ratting).

How long have you been with Triumvirate? And, what other alliances have you been a part of? How do they differ from Tri?

I joined TRI at the beginning of May (almost 2 months, wow time flies). 10 years in the game means I’ve been around most blocs. I’ll just list the major ones:

Storm Armada
Natural Selection
-A-
IT Alliance
NCdot
Merciless
FEARLESSdot
FA
In Exile
FA (again)
TRI mk( IV or V idk does NCDOT count as a TRI mk?)

Discuss some of your most memorable moments in the game so far.

My second day in null sec, the guy who was our corp’s mentor called for a fleet. Joined in a t1 missile Ferox (back in 06 mind you, no Drake) and we killed a Veritas Imortalis Thanatos in Great Wildlands. I’ll never forget his words “you’re spoiled now, getting a carrier kill your 2nd day in 0.0”
Killing 5 PL titans in Y-2. IT & PL were fighting over a timer & -A- brought over a bomber fleet to kill dc’d PL caps (-A- & IT were blue at the time). IT then tackled all the PL titans on the field and we warped over to get on the killmails.

Burning to QRH to try and save Garst’s titan after he jumped instead of bridged. It was a great adrenaline dump since it was race against time.

What are your initial thoughts on Entosis?

I think it’s a great tool for trolling renters/bad alliances by turning off station services.

Are you looking forward to ‘fozzi-sov’? How do you think it will impact the alliance?

I’m on the fence about fozzi-sov. I do think it will take the focus off of the massive blobs (win through numbers and no skill *caugh CFC*) and allow more skill to be a determinant. I don’t like that it will make the time grind worse though, because it is fixed duration and there is nothing players can do to speed it up. I would add that the entosis link time to capture should be sped up or down by player actions (either damaging/repping the structure or hacking mini-sites).

What is your most embarrassing killmail/story?

Two of them. First was jumping a rather pimped Vargur into K3J when there were hostiles in local and getting ganked.

Second was shooting a bustard in a Nightmare in low-sec with Star Fraction around. They weren’t supposed to shoot but the wankers blew me up anyway. Part of the reason I have VERY bad blood with them.

What are you most looking forward to within the next year in EVE?

I’m looking forward to getting good fights now that we have secured Etherium Reach and Spire for a good alliance income. It will be nice to go third party on other people now just to get a good fight.

What is your favorite solo ship to fly, and why?

I don’t solo much, but when I did it was the Machariel. Good agility, VERY good dps application and range with autocannons, decent EHP.

If you could change one thing about EVE what would it be?

I would overhaul FW. It hasn’t changed fundamentally since 2008. I would change it so that it begins to really affect the in-game story line and make system capture worth something. I would also change the FW alignments (maybe empires vs drifters or empires vs pirates) to bring something fresh in.

In your opinion, why should someone join Tri versus other null sec alliances?

What makes Tri really good is that is has the benefits of a high SP alliance (very good FCing, high end doctrines that can punch above their weight, logistics that know what they are doing) without becoming an “EVE is a job” alliance. It’s very chilled and laid back, you can have a lot of fun while also flying with some very good players. There’s also good content (wormholes, 3rd partying other people, etc).

How long have you been a role player on EVE?

Since the end of 2006.

What is the best thing about role playing?

Creating your own story in EVE, something that is more lasting than just going out and pew pewing or making ISK.

Tell us about your RP character, ie: back history and his motivations.

Vlad is a synthetic life-form, it’s a armored core with a SKIN (nanotech that predates ship skins since it can’t be changed on the fly) that acts like flesh and blood. Vlad was originally a Caldari tube child bred to be a fast grown pod pilot, birth to full adult in 2 years. Unfortunately the process caused his body to begin failing, and as Vlad begin replacing organic parts with cybernetics he eventually became all machine, with his mind uploaded to a self created supercomputer hive mind. Fittingly Vlad feels that synthetics (Drifters, Sleepers, Sansha) are superior to humans and that they will overthrow normal humans.

Alignment on a D&D Scale: Neutral Evil. Vlad is a mercenary and a psychopath. He does what is practical to advance his own interests (power for himself and his own kind) without qualms of who or what he hurts to do so.

In your opinion, why should someone try out RP on EVE?

It’s another dimension to the game. If you are into immersion in the game universe, the RP part of the game really creates a sense of you being your character instead of you being an alliance grunt or being a high sec care bear.

What advice do you have for a new rper?

Read up on the EVE lore, EVElopedia is a great resource. Read some of the character blogs but keep in mind that your character won’t know that happened. Jump in and get started, EVE is pretty open with what your character can do as long as it isn’t completely outrageous.

Please link any blogs, killboards, or videos that you’d like to share.

 (How Not to Use Your Titan)

Favorite:
EVE Related Celebrity: Manfred Sideous
Wartarget to shoot: The whole Minmatar militia
Ways to make isk: quad boxing 10/10s
Ammo: ECM Jammer
Ship: Falcon
Corpse: Jade Constantine
Star System: Egghelende (EPA 4 lyfe)
Drink: Modelo Especial
Food: Jet’s Pizza
Song To Fly To:  (Sabaton: Ghost Division)

Thank you for the interview!