So You Want To FC, Eh? Part 3 - What Should I Fly?

So I was reading a post on my Corps forums today about HICs ( Heavy Interdictor Cruisers) and saw our CEO likes to FC in them.  This made me think about what ships I prefer to fly when I FC(I admit my skills do not give  me a giant range of options yet).

Now there isn't a set rule for this, nor should there be.  For new FCs though the question remains on what to fly.  I am going to go over many of the ships types and the pros and cons of each one.  As an FC survivability is #1 priority.

T1 Frigates

Ahh the "lowly" frigate.  I think Frigates actually make excellent FCing ships.  In T2 frig gangs or even cruiser and bc gangs, the T1 frigate will rarely if ever be primaried and will probably be the last one to go(unless you get to close to something). This gives you free range of movement on grid to be able to call targets and keep a close eye on what is happening around you.  Here comes the surprise. The Tristan, Rifter and Merlin, although excellent ships, do real good dps(for a frig) and can be tanked well, thus making them targets.  Not to say that they will get targeted over say an ishkur, jag, or taranis, but the risk is there. 

Assault Ships

AFs are amazing all around combat ships.  They can fit a respectable tank, put out excellent dps, and can all be fit a myriad of ways.  This makes them a real good choice as a command platform. You will start to notice a pattern here: The ships with the highest dps will probably be primaried in a T2 Frig gang (you may luck out in ther gang types) so the Wolf, Ishkur, Enyo, Hawk, and Harpy wouldn't make the best...even though they certainly are doable!.  I, however, recommend the Vengeance and Jaguar.  The vengeance can fit a ridiculous tank as can the jag, thus making you more likely to survive if primaried.

Covert Ops

You cannot go wrong with FCing in a ship that cannot be seen, but don't expect too many killmails!(well maybe...more on that in a bit).  Covops give you the freedom to move around the battlefield or sit at a distance, thus giving you more focus then a more conventional combat ship.  For the newer FC these are excellent for focusing more on the fight then dealing dmg or dying.  For the KMwhore type, you can either use a stealth bomber or battle fit your covops.  A battle fit covops, so long as there is a covops cloak, wont hinder you at all since you are not scouting..  Definitely one of my fav picks.

Interceptors

Inties are a gray area.  They are fast and agile, but lack tank.  Also due to their unique roles are often popped first. I will leave this one up to Pilot discretion as it will be heavily reliant on pilot skill

Cruisers

I am going to go ahead and throw all cruisers into this category.  Cruisers make excellent ships to FC from with three exceptions: The High DPS output ships, Logistics, and the EWAR Platforms(some not all).

However, there are several Cruisers that can stay at range or fit a ridiculous tank.  Both the Maller and the Vexor can fit ridiculous armor buffer tanks, the Maller more so. This gives you the staying power you need to stay on the field.

The Caracal, Moa, Cerberus, Eagle, Ishtar, Muninn, and Zealot can all hang out at super long ranges if sniper fit.  They can also chill at medium range to keep a better eye on the field.  Just be cautious...some of them have high dps outputs or shiny prices so can easily be called primary.

HICs-All of the Heavy Interdictors can fit substantial tanks.  That combined with their mobile nature gives you free reign of the battlefield.  That and you don't have to worry about calling bubble up, as you are the bubble! This makes them excellent, and popular, FC vessels.

Recons- This one is iffy.  They do not fit substantial tanks, that and their utility that you have to juggle can make it complicated.  Once again I would say this one be left up to pilot skill in FCing and multitasking.

Strategic Cruisers-  My only beef is that they are bling...and therefore highly sought after KMs.  However, all of the T3 cruisers can fit MASSIVE tanks.  This coupled with decent dps output and modest utility make them excellent , albeit, highly expensive Command ships.

Battlecruisers

Ahhh here we are, the battlecruiser.  This is one of my personal favorites for FCing.  They all can fit good tanks, they have excellent dps output, and can fit Warfare Links to provided added utility.  Almost all of the T1 BCs make good choices.  The handful of exceptions would be the new Tier 3 BCs and the Brutix.  The former have paper tanks and extreme dps output. The are best used as snipers or alpha ships, and thus will find themselves warping off of the field alot if chased. The Brutix's reputation as an extreme dps ship usually gets it primaried first( I know as it is one of my favorite ships :P).

Command Ships- The T2 BCs are the creme de la creme of FC boats.  Massive tanks and boosts on the Fleet variants, and good tanks and high dps on the Field variants.  Other than their price, you cannot really go wrong here.

Battleships

The Battleship is an iffy subject.  They are only optimal in a fleet of BS or higher(capitals and what not).  I do not recommend them for any smaller gang comp, as you will probably be the first to go down.

So.......

In closing it really comes down to flying what you are comfortable  in, sizing the ship appropriately to the fleet type (don't bring a BS or BC to an all frig gang for example), and survivability(yeah other people can pick up when you go down, but it helps to try and have as much staying power as possible).  So go out and have some fun.  Do not be afraid to experiment to find out what works best for you. Above all else, I reiterate, fly what you are most comfortable in, and only what you can afford to lose!

Until next time have fun, fly dangerously, and see you out in New Eden!

The end of an era....

DISCLAIMER:My thoughts are firing faster then my typing so some of this may bounce around and may seem jumbled and cryptic...for this I apologize. And yes I know this has nothing to do with Eve.

So I am kind of in this place bordering depression and curiosity.  Recent and possible future events have me wondering what it is I want to do with life and what I would like to accomplish in it.

Now here comes the part with the scoffs, eye rolls and ridicule :).  I have been a fan of the Harry Potter movies since 2002 and have looked forward to every release since.  I haven't read the books and had been waiting to see Deathly Hallows Pt 2 to start, not wanting to ruin the story and magic of the big screen.  Well, I watched Pt 2 on Sunday and needless to say it was bittersweet.  No new releases.  No wondering what happens next (well there is plenty of wondering, but doubtful anything will come of it).  It made me stop and think.  We have watched the actors grow up before our very eyes. To some of as as children, to others as peers.  My own daughter is 9, born the year The Chamber of Secrets released.  Since the 1920's movies have shaped generations. Will we ever see another series of movies that capture a generation the way the HP movies did?

I am going on 31.  My dad will probably not make it through next year. My mom passed away in 2004.  I feel confronted by my own mortality, and not sure how I like it.  I have many regrets in life, far to many to list.  My life was a fucked up mess from 13-28.  I made more mistakes in that time frame then 10 people do in their lifetime.  I now feel confronted with figuring out what I want to do with myself.  I have worked for a major company in one of their foundries since 2004.  It is honorable enough work, but it is not something I see myself doing for 30+ years.  I have a degree in Microbiology, but since I never pursued it as a career(due to a mistake made in life) I am far to rusty on the knowledge to apply it.

I am now in the process of reevaluating my life and where I want to be.  I do not want to look back on a life full of regrets.  I need to figure what is important, really important, to me and pursue it.  Life is only so long and the decisions and actions you make shape generations.

SO where does that leave me?  I am going to go back to school.  For what yet I am unsure, but I am going anyway.  I am sure I will eventually figure it out.

 I am going to take care of my family.  I have a wonderful wife and two beautiful children that I want to do right by. 

I am going to quit smoking, change my diet, ad start working out again.  We have one body, one life.  I no longer intend on shortening it by damaging it.  I have partied like a musician(which I also am) for the last 17 years and it is taking its toll.

Stop looking and worrying about the past and future. One we can no longer control, the other we can shape.  We shape our futures in the present.  If I always worry about what is to come, I will miss what is already here.

So with that I will leave you with this philosophical tirade lol.  Remember that life is short and it is NEVER too late to make changes and go after the stars.

Funny that a movie series makes you realize that and opens your eyes to your potential, eh?

In life
Rylia

So You Want To FC, Eh? Part 2 - Fight on YOUR terms!

One of the most difficult things for a budding FC to learn, at least in my mind as it is something I struggle with, is understanding different ways that you can force a fight onto you terms.  Oddly enough, this isn't as difficult as one would think.  The hardest part, in my opinion, is being able to do it quickly and under pressure.  I am going to provide just a few of the myriad of ways you go about doing this.  Keep in mind though that tactics are being used against someone who may not play the way you want them too!

There a about as many ways to bait and goad your opponent as you can imagine but we are only going to go over a handful of them here.  Some of the more popular tactics include Psyops, pincher, turn and burn, bubbles, and using dictors.

PSYOPS

Psyops is the art of using psychological warfare against your opponent.  Methods of doing this are: Making the enemy believe you have less numbers then you do, making them believe you are scared (by running away to a predetermined trap point), making them think you have different shiptypes, and just all around making them believe they have the upper hand.

There are several ways to instigate most of this methods.
1. Numbers.
Lets say you are taking your fleet back home from a prolonged roam. Your scout, who is +2, J's into a gate camp.  Your fleet comp is 8 shield BC's, a falcon, 2 Skirmish inties, 1 jag(chaser tackle), a sabre, 2 scimis and 2 vagas.  The recon report comes in: Gizz in XX-XXX on XX gate. 13 in local and I have 13 on grid. 6 Canes, a sabre, 2 vagas, 2 scimis, a dram, and a Stiletto.  The idea is to bait them into thinking they outmatch you and to therefore get them to come to you and engage.
The Execute: you can tell you skirmish to either get safe in local or burn back to gate. You would then have only half of your force go into the next system, thus allowing their scout(assuming they are smart and have one, most do) to see your numbers.  Hopefully you can get them in position on the next gate and they will take the bait, J into your system and engage not knowing that the other half of your force is incoming. When they do it will be too late(hopefully...shit happens :) )

2. Running scared.
Same situation as above..but lets they have the numbers this time.  You can still get a good fight this way, it just takes a little patience.  The idea is to have them think you don't want to fight because you think or "know" you will lose.  How do we do this? Running!
The Execute: Your scout gives his report and you send the fleet into system -1 from scout. Warp everyone to gate at about 20km and as soon as you exit warp realign the ingate you entered in. Give it about 30 secs so they think you are discussing it and then burn back to other gate.  If it works a couple of them(or hell the whole force) should come in and give chase.  Now there are a few things you can do here.  I am only going to cover two, as some of the others will be covered in their own section.  What you do here is up to you..as I am not going to reveal the actual methods you can use(so you can use them against me lol)

PINCER

The purpose of this is having two forces to trap your opponent with, one being the one engaged the other the back up.

This section is going to be pretty short, as I am not going to be putting in actual tactics used, just giving the idea.  The idea is to either split your force, know you have back up somewhere, or know backup can respond if needed.  Then you just engage on a gate, and when back up arrives it cuts off their escape.

TURN AND BURN

I already went into this in some detail.

The tactic: To make look like your running or to split up faster ships from slower ships

The execute: It is what it is.  Just turn and align to a gate or celestial and burn for a bit til they give chase. You then warp off and pick off the ones who come after you.

Bubbles, Interdictors, and Gate camping  

I am also not going to go into too many details on these subjects even though they are viable tactics to giving you the higher ground.

Bubbles: Bubbles are anchorable objects that, like dictor spheres, disrupt warp off all ships it is aligned to(meaning celestials it is aligned to but ships taking the aligned path) and drops them in your lap.

Interdictors:  Two classes, standard and Heavy.  Standard, or light, Interdictors are destroyer class vessels that equip an Interdiction Sphere Launcher to drop Interdiction probes in space. Heavy interdictors are even more unique as they equip a Warp Disruption Field Generator. This allows HICs to quite literally be the center of their bubble and move around with it.

Gate Camping:  We all know this one.  Sitting at a gate for hours on end in a busy pipe and waiting for unsuspecting travelers and gangs to come through.

In closing I hope you all received a little more insight into ways to turn the hand.  Veterans know most of this stuff, however, I hope that maybe they were refreshed or have a new perspective on the subject.  Sorry to all my readers for this one being two weeks late. I have had some shit dropped on me in life lately and it has been hard to get a handle on my writing.

Until next fly dangerously! o7

So You Want To FC, Eh? Part 1-The Basics

In a similar light to Azual's Know Your Enemy Series(starting here with T1 Frigates), I am going to attempt to break down FCing.  I know what is being thought, "FCing is dependent on each person and differs as such." True. "This subject has been beaten into the ground." Also True.  However, There are still basic principles and guidelines that are universal to FCing, that and it doesn't hurt to revisit the basics.

The basics to FCing, or Fleet Command for newer people to Eve, are fairly straight forward.   You have your fleet composition and knowing its strengths and weaknesses, situational awareness, willingness to act, communication, tactical assessment ability, and the ability to learn from you mistakes.

Fleet Composition

One of the things I personally think about when running a fleet is "What ship types do I want to utilize?"  Now nothing can be as fun as just grabbing a group of people, forming a gang, and saying bring what you want to bring. The thing to remember is knowing what they DO bring.  More on that scenario in a bit.  Different gang comps have different strengths and weaknesses, as do most ships.  For example: Nanoshag gangs, which utilize speed and agility over pure firepower, are excellent kiters but not the best brawlers due to their more fragile nature.  Not knowing this, and say taking a Nanoshag gang into a brawl with Battleships or Battlecruisers can be deadly.  This not to say it is not doable, again I get ahead of myself lol. 

So whether you are taking out a Themed gang(like say Toads and Lizards, which if you want to know what that is come on out to Syndicate and we will show ya :D) or just the flavor of everyones hour, knowing what you have and how it can perform against possible opposition is detrimental to increasing the odds of bringing everyone back safely with stories of the kills verses dying in a ball of flame and cursing incompetence.

Situational Awareness

All of these topics are very important pieces of the FC puzzle, but probably none are as important as Situational Awareness.

I don't believe there is anything that has gotten more gangs decimated then a FC not knowing everything that is going on during the fight and missing that critical piece of information. Know who is on grid, what reinforcements are on their way, who has been killed and what ships you still have at your disposal(ie do you still have tacklers or heavy dps?), what ewar or logi the enemy has at their disposal. All of these things and more constitute SA.  I am probably going to do a more dedicated post on this subject in the future, as there is a host of information out there on SA and ways to ease the burden.

The Willingness to Act


This is another one of those things that can make or break a FC. I probably wont go into depth on this subject as it is fairly self explanatory.  Basically it comes down to finding a balance between timid and suicidal, also known as cautious and aggressive lol.  It basically boils down to this: Do not be to timid and bore your fleet to death, but also do not throw them into fire and death.  I am not afraid to suicide a fleet, but only if i know that we will win the isk war in the end. For example, I would not take a 9 person Hornet Fleet and throw them at a 20 man Nanoshag fleet with logi and T3/command support. I would however throw them at a 10 man Nanoshag hoping to take out 2-3 of their ships first...so long as a ton of canes and curses are not on the field lol. 2 vagas in my mind make up for 3-4 AFs, and it really pisses the opposition off :) .

Communication


By and far tied with SA on most important aspect to a fleet.  If you cant communicate properly then you might as well afk the fleet on a gate in a busy pipe.  Know when to make battlecomms and always enforce them.  Know what pieces of information are immediately vital and what info you can tuck away til later.   Make sure your fleet communicates as well.  One of Agony's best FC's (imho), Glepp, said it best. If you are going to do an action say so. If not, also say so, so as not to provide confusion.  Make sure Recon reports are kept short and to the point, it speeds up reaction time.  If you ask for a fleet member to do an action make sure you get a confirmation, do not assume that they heard you and are doing it.  REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT.  Always repeat orders, as often as necessary. Always repeat orders, as often as necessary.  Always repeat orders, as often as necessary. You know by doing so that the order has been heard by enough people to make it worthwhile to proceed.  Broadcast actions.  A lot of people forget that this is a valid form of communication.  It clears comms up for more critical information verses having 10 people calling out for reps and trying to figure out who said what.  It is also good for setting destinations for those too busy to read fleet chat.  Anger on comms.  We all get frustrated.  The drake that we should have tackled and killed somehow gets away, that one person who doesn't listen and constantly needs prodded, lack of targets or even lack of sleep.  It happens to all for all of us.  The most important thing to remember is try not to yell.  It is best to approach the situation with a calm, yet stern voice, not

Tactical Assessment


This is a tricky subject, one that I have issues with because of lack of experience.  That is exactly how this is learned as well, experience.  Every fight is different.  Do you opt to kill the Falcon that is 80km away yet jamming everyone, or do you try and kill some of the dps that is slowly wheedling down your fleet.  It all depends and I can't tell you what s best.  AT least not yet.  I will provide a reference link to a blog post by Azual on this subject that is far more in depth then I can provide atm.

Learn From Your Mistakes


Mistake.  We all make them.  The best FC in the game makes them.  The only thing we can do is own up to the mistakes we make, and learn from them.  Hold Verbal AARs after every gang.  Make sure to go over anything that could be improved upon.  Make thorough written AARs for the same reason, so other people in your corp or alliance can learn from your mistakes.  Understand what is was that went wrong.  The number one thing is do not get discouraged.  Just know that shit happens, pick yourself up dust off, and move on!

That pretty much wraps up my first installment on FCing.  Part two will cover a subject that I think is important(others might disagree). What ship should I fly when I FC?  So stay tuned!

References for Tactical Assessment
Azual's personal Threat Assessments
Threat Assessment-What Makes a Good Primary

Article on FCing, written by Agony CEO, Christina Bamar
FCing-The Softer SIde