Some months ago we moved the Freebooter's base of operations into low security space, seeking opportunity and violence. It sort of worked. Although if the truth be known, our inexperience has largely led us to provide others with the opportunity to inflict violence. But at least we can say that we are no longer inexperienced.
Despite claims in our bios that we were sinister piratey types, we had spent longer than we'd care to admit following the 'carebear' path. Fortunately, Greenbeard had some contacts which allowed us to make use of the security channel used by the friendly locals in the systems surrounding our new HQ. However, during our relocation, I still managed to lose an industrial to a pirate gate-camp I attempted to blockade-run one too many times. Amusingly, their failed attempts to warp-scramble me on three previous cargo runs (due to the four stabilisers I had fitted) prompted one of my killers to refit and rename his ship the Warp Disruptor 9000. It certainly did what it said on the tin.
Once we'd moved in, it was down to us to make ourselves useful to the local friendlies. Given that everyone else was flying around in bigger, scarier ships than us and knew what they were doing, the only contribution we could make was providing information in the security channel when required. Simple in principle, although there were a couple of barriers; the seemingly inpenetrable use of coded language and my inability to gather and convey the required information. Knowing who was 'red' and who wasn't was a prerequisite, and our corp standings were obviously not in line with those of the security channel pilots. On several occasions I was chastised for mis-calling a target and once I spent the time auto-linking the names only to be told the links were wrong. But I think we're pretty up to speed now.
As well as being PvP novices, financially we weren't really in a position to get involved in the active defence of the system. However, immediately after the release of Apocrypha, we hatched a cunning plan. We pooled all our limited resources and threw everything into manufacturing Probe Launchers, which we managed to sell effectively in multiple regions for a ridiculous mark-up for the first few days after Apocrypha's release. This served to get us the financial foot-up we needed to fund our survival in low-sec.
Next on the list was the honing of our PvP skills. Although still very much a work in progress, setting up a stockpile of disposable Tech 1 frigates on the borders of nearby Factional Warfare space gave us the opportunity to engage in frequent death-by-blob activities. At first it was a painful education, but more recently we have managed to successfully wolf-pack around and pick off a few stragglers. The low cost of our lost ships has already been easily offset by the sale of loot acquired from these engagements. Finally PvP was starting to reap rewards. Now we just need to replicate this success in "proper" PvP in low-sec.
Ultimately, moving to null-sec would be interesting I think, but we've still got some 'carebear' habits to shake off. I would imagine that, if all goes to CCP's post-Dominion plan, many more hi-sec dwellers will be having similar experiences in the future as they are lured by the promise of riches and excitement beckon. But so much is dependent on how they are received by the current denizens.Labels: commentary, Dominion, EVE, low-sec, PvP