Jonah's Take On Ronan's Report

Hello everyone, here's my take on some events that fellow Tusker, Ronan Jacques, mentions in a recent post on the Tuskers' Public Relations blog.

I've put my first Stabber on a test run in a recent fleet roam with the Tuskers. The roam was an extension of the one Wensley writes about below, though I joined late and did no participate in any of the fine kills he posted in his report.

So back to the report... I joined a Tusker fleet consisting of Ronan Jacques, Toady11, Avan Sercedos, Grohalmatar, Ka Jolo, and Robert Mason. Immediately upon undocking at Hevrice V I joined in on a fight with a Rook and Manticore. The Rook was called as primary, points were established, and the Rook was easily destroyed. The Manticore was called next and I managed to close the distance before the other Tuskers and establish a point with my Warp Disruptor. Ronan Jacques joined in and the two of us destroyed the stealth bomber under the eyes of the station's sentry guns. My participation in those two kills managed to place me as #4 on Nex Gero's killboard where I remain at the time of this writing.

My Stabber was setup with Tech 1 fittings while I train up for Tech 2 Autocannons, so my turret damage was far from ideal in both fights. Once I can use Tech 2 Autocannons I will be able to switch to Barrage M rounds, which will offer better accuracy at the distances I plan to fight at. My previous missile training while running missions for the Caldari Navy paid off, however, and I managed to get some good missile volleys in and contribute to both fights.

The fleet planned a quick roam outside of Hevrice and I decided to bring the Stabber along despite the inefficient fitting. The roam was going to be a great opportunity to get comfortable in the cruiser class vessel. A Drake was spotted on scan before we could leave the system. Toady11 used his excellent probe skills to track the battlecruiser down in a mission area. Toady11 regrouped with the fleet and we warped in as a group. Points were established quickly and the Drake was quickly lost it's shields. We ceased fire at half armor and a ransom request was offered, though the pilot rejected the conversation invite. The call was made to destroy the ship and we opened fire once more, causing it to quickly fell to our combined arms much as the two ships before. I managed to contribute almost 10% of the damage, which I was happy with considering there were 9 of us in the fleet at this point and I was still only using Tech 1 fittings.

The fleet moved out of Hevrice and ran into no targets until reaching Old Man Star. A Rupture was scanned down and the fleet moved in to engage, though the Minmatar cruiser was fit for extreme speed. The pilot was acting as bait... first one Hurricane and then another warped in to our location and the call was made to escape. The fleet warped out and regrouped in a distant safe spot without losing a ship.

We moved on again and didn't come across any targets until reaching Lisbaetane. A Typhoon appeared on our Scanners and Toady11's scanning skills were put to use again. The battleship was in a mission! Toady11 warped the fleet as a while to the ship's location and we quickly scrambled it's warp drive before engaging. As with the Drake before, the Typhoon pilot ignored the ransom conversation request and the order was given to destroy it. The pod was caught before it could escape and the pilot logged off before we could initiate another ransom request. We made short work of it.

Overall the roam was a great one. 4 great kills and 0 losses! My share of the loot came to around 10 million Isk, my largest from any fleet operation so far. My Tech 1 Stabber was already profitable, which was good considering that I lost it shortly after when undocking at a station in the same system where we killed the Typhoon pilot! The lesson learned is to always check local for hostiles before undocking. :)

A Good Kill After A Minor Loss

Hello everyone. I've recently returned to the stars after a business trip sent me to land for a couple weeks and the last few days catching up have been busy. I've helped found The Tuskers Public Relations Blog along with my fellow Tuskers, setup a successful Market trading operation, and managed to get a kill and get killed in just a couple of days.

I've long heard about pilots making billions of Isk just by playing the Market. Piracy isn't always a profitable endeavor and I needed to profit, so I decided to look into playing the Market further. A helpful post on the Tuskers Forum got me started and some great advice from my fellows has refined my trade strategy. All in all, I've managed to grow 9 million Isk into 25 million in just a few days, enough to help me move up from flying Rifters exclusively.

Following more advice from my fellow Tuskers, I paused my skill training in Intercepters and began training up the skills needed to fly a Stabber. I should be able to field one in less than a day. Tech 2 weapons should be fittable within a week! Using some of my profits from Market trading I was able to purchase a full Stabber setup for when the skills are ready... with extra money to spare in setting up a fleet of 5 Rifters until then!

I'll continue to fly my Rifters, though I do look forward to widening my list of potential targets. I feel that I am fairly capable in the Rifter, so look forward to learning a new class of ship.

The Tuskers.

Since my last post I have been quite busy. I am no longer welcome in high security space, I've achieved my goal of self sufficiency while using the market trade game as an additional form of income, and I've ended my run of solo piracy by joining a band of talented pirates named The Tuskers.

I will also be contributing to The Tuskers Public Relations blog and will mirror posts here as well so please check in at both!

A self sufficient pirate is a better pirate.

Still no kills. I think I need to extend my patrol route from just 6-7 low-sec systems to about 20-30 connected. I may also emphasize lower populated systems since that is where solo miners and NPC pirate hunters may be hiding.

I've also decided to make an attempt at becoming entirely self-sufficient. I've purchased blue-prints for the Rifter frigate as well as for every type of module and ammunition I intend to use. My hope is that help sustain myself by processing loot from the NPC pirates I've come across and using the resources to craft the ships and modules I will need to continue to pirate. The extra bounties will help too. Actual booty from pirate kills will be the bonus overhead.

I've set the following goals for my path to self suffiency:

1. Acquire blueprints for every type of item I plan on using.
2. Find a low-sec system to serve as my new headquarters with stations that offer:

• Manufacturing
• Insurance
• Repair
• Medical Facilities for my clone.
• Close distance to good patrolling ground.

3. Pick a station as my new HQ and move all blue prints and ships to that location.
4. Learn Corporate Management I and create a 1 person corporation. Sever my ties with Caldari Provisions!!!

I will be starting this soon while also finding time to hunt prey and expand my patrol route!

The First Patrol

With my fleet of Rifters setup and backup modules stored at my staging area, I was now ready to test the waters and embark on my first patrol. I undocked from my station and took a moment to double-check my setup. Ammo? Check! Booster Charges? Check! Cold blooded skill? We'll see!

The first system to check out was Hysera, which immediately bordered by 0.5 staging system and which was the first of a series of low-sec systems linking this part of Empire to 0.0. My hope was to see if I could catch prey making their first trips into low-sec, passing through for factional warfare, or making hauling trips to and from 0.0 further in. A security warning appeared after my attempt to 'jump' through the gate reminding me of the dangers of low-security. I took a moment to reflect what I was about to do, then confirmed my intention to pass into the dangerous areas beyond.

I arrived on the other end of the jump gate in Hysera and quickly moved off to set a series of safe spots by dropping bookmarks while warping to and from the various planets and asteroid belts in the region. I was hoping these would come in to use while scanning for prey or hiding from other predators. I also begin to scan 'Local' to get a feel for who else was around.

20 People! A wide variety of folks. I also noticed Skira Ranos, the author of the beginner's pirate guide that got me started. I hoped she was not actively on the prowl as well!


With my safe spots set it was time to look for prey. After a few scans I found my first potential prey, a Thrasher, though it vanished from my scanners soon after while I was trying to narrow down it's location. A wider scan showed that it either went out of range, docked, or left the system. A Heron was spotted on the scanner further out!

I narrowed his location down to Hysera II - Moon 7 - Expert Distribution Warehouse... the hunt was on!!!


I went through the plan in my head as my tiny Rifter warped to the station. Upon exiting warp I would use my afterburner to close the distance as fast. Once within range, I would use my warp scrambler first and then enter a close orbit. The hope was that I would be too close and moving too fast for his weapons to hit me, something the Rifter excels at.

I exited warp and there he was, all alone about 40km away. Afterburn engaged, I should close the distance in no time! I found myself counting down the distance as I closed in and then... help arrived. A Dominix warped in on the station while the Heron remained still. It seemed too close of a coincidence and I didn't want to chance things on my first run.

I chickened out and warped to one of my safe spots rather than risk taking the bait and falling into a trap! Pirates work best when picking their fights carefully, I said to myself in an effort to restore my bruised ego.

Further scans showed no potential prey... as did the same in 5 more systems. I returned home without a single fight, though alive and well to fight another day!

Preparing For My First Run

I've staged myself on the outskirts of low security space in a 0.5 system called Oshaima. I have setup a small fleet of four Rifters, all brand new and shiny.


My goal is to patrol the belt of low security systems that connect Empire to deep space. I am relatively ignorant of this area and am unaware of how much competition I may have or whether or not I may become the hunted rather than the hunter!


Either way, I'm sure it will be a great learning experience!

About Me

My career as a mission runner has given me a bit of a head start that most new players would not have if they immediately embarked on a life of piracy. That is not to say that I am far from new, though.

Here I am!


Concord has given me the Security Status rating of 0.40 for my brief exploits fighting crime during my missioning days. I suspect that will change pretty fast with my new career. My skills are fairly well-rounded, with particular care toward frigate flying. I plan on flying a Rifter first and feel I can adequately fit one out. Time will only tell.

The main head start I have over newer players is my Wallet. At just under 72 million Isk, I can deal with a few set backs as I start my life of honorable crime!

I discovered a great resource for budding pirates called the Beginner's Guide to Pirates 2.0, written by a successful pirate named Skira Ranos. After studying it, selling all unnecessary equipment, and preparing a small fleet of Rifters in a low-sec bordering system, I feel I am ready to begin my first stab at piracy!