30 Apr 2009

EVE Pirate Speed Linking March/April 2009

Welcome to my March AND April 2009 speed-linking of pirate focused blogs here in New Eden. Lots have been happening as of late and I have been busy in real life as well as in corp but have no fear, you should now have double the number of posts to look through - all summarised by yours truly.

The last few posts by Marlenus of Ironfleet has been about his experiences in worm hole space, a new phenomena for many capsuleers. Worm holes have been in New Eden since even before the collapse of the gates and the long dark night of ignorance and heresy. However, it wasn't until recently that the technology was stable and economical enough for the majority of the capsuleer community to utilise.

The prospect of newly unexplored space, right on your doorstep with potential rewards in rare ore, gas clouds and sleeper technologies all there to entice the brave, the greedy, the entreprenure and the foolish; has meant potential rich pickings for pirates.

So, one of the best accounts so far has been Marl. His posts (so far five) have been most excellent reading and I recommend them to anyone who wants to exploit the w-h space for their own ends. Latest post is title 'Oh God, How the gas rolls in' as he kills a gas cloud harvester. Yarr indeed. There's been a fair few new posts since the gas cloud one, Marl is a regular poster and his new area of W-SPACE salvage and piracy is a brilliant move.

However, is piracy possible in w-space? It certainly seems so judging by this particular encounter between members of RAZOR and Veto. Some obscenely crap fits there. Anyway, the reality is that a pirate corp needs to be comitted to it with logistics in place. The WH entrance could collapse behind you and one will need to probe themselves out. Being outlaws means that only another WH system or low-sec system is a viable exit point. An worm holes leading into Empire space is non-viable in anything but a covert-ops or nano-fitted ship. Still, I would be very interested to read up or chat to pirates who have gone down this route.

Eve-pirate is a great site but I have neglected it as of late but there's a new post by a chap called 'Grumbles' who has skilfully posted about what an adrenaline rush piracy and pvp is in New Eden as he embarks on his first solo kills in his thorax. New posts include: On a Whim and trial of a newb, part 1. If you want quick snippets of pirating goodness from newer bloggers, go to Ander's excellent site. I still think their forums can do with some improvement....

In terms of networking and ability to get other bloggers to chat, none can beat our dearest Mynxee as her latest Life In Low Sec Discussion kicks off with subject No: 5 'location, location, location...'. Also, due to real life issues, I missed out on contributing the the 6th EVE-Blog Banter.

Now as CEO and blogger-star that she is, for all those pilots out there who complain endlessly about being bored and there being no fleets or action , Mynxee says :'GET OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING, DUMBASS' or words to that effect. Let me say once and again, if you're female and want to join the best female-only pirate corp in New Eden, drop Mynxee a shout.

Also, doesn't her portrait look HOT?

Been eagerly waiting for the next installment of Shae's excellent Thicker Than Blood series and here it is - Chapter Seven and about time! However, the most thought provoking post was the one near the end of March titled appropriately 'The Skin We're In.' Brilliant stuff and highly recommended. However, lately - there's been some events that has made Shae think more philosophically and none better captures this than her recent 'leaf in the wind' post. There are some new changes being pushed through in New Eden and a shake-up is due. I saw Roc's recent broadcast and being Minmatar myself, I am proud of how my race has stood up for itself more and more but the slight lurge to authoritarianism is worrying me generally. While I view piracy as a life-style and choice; it isn't for everyone and yes, we're viewed as criminals and villains by many. I knew that sooner or later, there would be a reckoning in low-sec space. It will fail.

New Eden's best solo pirate, Kane Rizzel has come back after a break and his tales have exhilarating. His prowess as New Eden's most prominent solo buccaneer resulted in an invitation to be a guest teacher at the Black Rabbits Pirate Academy. I am thrilled and very proud of Kane; well done. Even with his new found academic interest, Kane still had time to kill someone with some class, this time in his Dramiel. A more recent post, has Kane chewing the fat over friends in new eden and how those who are friends can become enemies and those, who were enemies can become friends. It's a funny old world, New Eden more so if you're a pirate.

Wensley has been on leave for a bit and the blogsphere was a bit quiet but he came back with a bang, melting his way through enemy ship after enemy ship; all to the tune of A Little Less Conversation, Elvis Presley! Actually, Wensley has put together a corp blog for his bunch of cut-throats, the Tuskers and the blog is here. or http://thetuskers.blogspot.com/. It's a good idea and creates a portal for his corporation. In fact, I like it so much I might do the same thing for The Bastards; so thank you Wensley. A recent update has Wensley fly the devastating AC Thrasher, a ship set up that I like too but he hasn't had much luck with the sentry guns....better luck next time Wens!

Addendum: Wens is changing the name of his blog to Rifter Drifter and he explains more.

A serious of disturbing posts from Hallan helps explain his disappearance a few weeks ago. Looks like he was kidnapped and then tortured. Why was he tortured so horribly? He was being asked about The Bastards' defensive setup around our 'home' system. Hallan had nothing to say and he was only telling the truth. We simply don't have any defensive weapons systems, procedures or even scouts. People should know where we are - no need to resort to this! So why was Hallan even kidnapped in the first place? It can't be due to his objective of interviewing some of the new CSM candidates could it? Read up his interview with Larkonis of NeoSpartans, here as well as visiting Larkonis' own CSM blog. Hallan also interviewed Chip Mintago, another CSM candidate of which the contents were leaked to the media. A voice recording sorts this one out.

A former corp member both of Black-Flag and The Bastards, Jorge Belda is finding his sea legs once more and relishing the thrill of the solo hunt. JB left us once again to strike out on his own but he still pops in occasionally to say hi and his blog posts keeps us up to date. Just recently he has given notice of the imminent arrival of the next chapter in his 'Dark Omen' series.

It is a welcome return to New Eden for Havohej. He spent six months in a wet-navy pirate world of PotBS but has decided that he will swap his wooden-based frigates for the joys of a tritanium built wolf-class assault frigate. A lot has changed as Hav observes but it is all good and certainly a challenge for all. Just an addendum: his latest post is called 'whispers' and is a recommended read.

Now what has Spectre been up to? Lots it would appear. Since rejoining with the newly formed Python Cartel he's been busy, busy, busy. I chuckled at his latest post about the plight of us blinkies. It isn't easy being green.....

Meanwhile Kor Anon is furiously grinding his sec back into the positives for a mission of some sort. I am very interested in finding out more.

Turning the tables is the latest instalment from Lanissum's well-written and regarded pirate blog. It's a retelling of his engagement with a thorax and hound in his myrmidon after a long and frustrating day. The screen shot of his 18% remaining hull as he docked was testament to a close but enjoyable engagement.

New pirate blogs (well to me anyway...)
  • Let me introduce to you Brutus Severus and his blog (http://brutusseverus.blogspot.com/) - another rifter loving pirate, welcome to the brotherhood!
  • Hardin has a new blog and while it's nothing to do with pirates - it is a good read..http://internetspacewars.blogspot.com/
  • A recently withdrawn candidate, Jmarr Hyrgund has his own blog and a well-written and formatted one at that. His name is Keith Neilson and his name will be known in the future.
Addendum: Jmarr has decided to re-organise his blog and In character posts are now under: http://eveyarr.mygamescribe.com/ and it's all good stuff.

Addendum 2: We're now reconsidering his application and his withdrawn status and will re-activate his application soon. He's improved so much in the last few weeks. He's a pirate and a good one too.
All of these blogs have been added to my list of pirate blogs visible on the right hand side. Have a looksee and tell me what you think?