Of the myriad things that make New Eden wonderful, one of the greatest is also a primary driving force behind me every time I get into my pod: the knowledge that, when I dock for the evening, there will be another story to tell.
As a new Caldari player, the spacecraft to which I am exposed most often are Caldari craft. This initially created a problem for me: it turns out I’m not really a fan of “mixed” systems. Aside from the interminable wait between missile launches and the “function over form” hull designs, none of the Caldari frigates I’ve piloted really rang my bell.
I did some research on different combat styles and loadouts, but I kept wanting to deviate so far from the norm to the point of feeling like I was taking an unnecessary risk, both with my funds and my spacecraft (finding out too late that a loadout doesn’t work well is never a pleasant discovery).
Enter the Amarr Punisher. Fast, sleek, sexy, and practically designed for close range blaster combat. Her powergrid alone is enough to turn heads. If that’s not enough, her big sisters are not only more mature, but have better assets, and the last time we chatted, they hinted about having the hots for me, too.
But enough about my fantasies. The moment I mentioned blasters on a Punisher, someone’s Amarr/Lasers alarm started blaring. I’ve heard it many times over: “If you fly Amarr, use energy weapons.” While many (including myself) would tend to agree, listen hard: the Punisher is not your typical Amarrian spacecraft.
Lasers of any kind, no matter how high you train them, almost always cost more to fire than blasters trained to the equivalent, even with the Punisher’s bonus to laser capacitor use. They also tend to require higher MW from your power grid. Sure, pulse lasers have a longer optimum range than blasters, but why give your enemy’s tracking capabilities the benefit of the doubt at 5k when you can close to 1.5k and unleash Thorium hell? Some complain about having to worry about ammunition, but if you can’t take care of business in 80 rounds, you’ve got bigger problems than having to reload and losing a tiny bit of cargo space to your reserves.
Blasters free up enough MW on the grid and GJ draw on the capacitor to be able to constantly run an afterburner and a webifier (note, if you bother to click on the loadout link below, that I’m using generic T1 everything). My armor boasts better-than-most resistances to every damage type, thanks to the ship’s per-skill-level armor bonus.
An unexpected side effect of piloting an Amarrian craft is the freedom of not having to worry about damage to my shields. As I’m taking damage, I use shield rate of damage to gauge the level of danger I’ll be in if I don’t take out a certain type of craft first. In a Caldari friagate, if they get through your shields, it’s practically over, because that means your shield booster and resists can’t hold out against your enemies. In a Punisher, taking hits on your armor is like standing in the calmest part of a storm. Sure, you might get a few sprinkles in your face, but you’ve got plenty of time to get out that umbrella/armor repairer.
One of my goals when outfitting this craft was keepingcost of all of the modules I use to a minimum. I think I was pretty successful in that endeavor: if I ever lose this craft, it will cost me less than 150,000 ISK to replace the gear.
I don’t have concrete stats, but if anyone is interested, they can always plug the loadout into EFT (a program I have yet to use).
My current loadout has yet to fail me while running missions, and I’m only trained to Frigates III. It’s rare that a standard level 1 mission enemy lasts more than 2 volleys. Most of the time they’re space dust after the first one. The blasters seem to do anywhere from 90-145 damage per volley when grouped, and their rate of fire sits at a pretty 2.5 seconds or so (Rapid Firing and Controlled Bursts skills helped here).
Now that I’ve settled in to a combat style and a frigate I’m comfortable with, I’ll be able to relax and play at the game while I work on training up for my primary goal in EVE Online (more on that later).
In New Eden, when someone offers you something with no strings attached, take it.
This would be my first post! For those interested in details, I’m in my mid 20s and I live in North Carolina. I have a BA in Psychology (that I don’t use for my current occupation), I love my job, and I love EVE. So, without further ado, I leave you with my first contribution to podlogs!
No one knows what exactly to expect when first setting foot into EVE. Some choose to take that step because of their skepticism, others because of optimism, and still others because of what they have seen in the eyes of those truly immersed in New Eden. Of those reasons, mine are a mixture of the first and last on that list. I was drawn here because of the look that flashes over someone’s face when they recount their life as a Capsuleer. It’s a look that I haven’t seen in years, not since I played a game called Freelancer.
See, I recognize that look not on sight, but because I know how it feels when it crosses one’s face. Total fantastic immersion creates a feeling of passion within us that few experience, and even fewer show outwardly. The sensation of hundreds of cherished memories of your faux life coursing through your mind as you tell some (probably disinterested) acquaintance about your latest experience, the euphoria of losing yourself in an imaginary yet so tangibly real world, the feelings of joy and loss generated by a place where love, rage, danger, and adventure is never far from your fingertips cause this passion to boil over into the real world and make that look appear, if only for a fraction of a second, and anyone who shares that passion will instantly recognize it.
I saw that look and decided to take the plunge, skeptical of New Eden, the internet learning-curve punchine, the “game that is like a job only you pay someone to do it,” the “most terrifyingly complex MMOG on the planet.”
So here I am. I’ve been playing for approximately 3 weeks, I have the Capsuleer App for my iPhone, and I can’t imagine my real world life without EVE being a part of it. At first, I thought it was “new game infatuation.” Then I realized what was driving me to continue playing: I could do anything I wanted to. My success or failure to enjoy EVE depends entirely upon myself and what I choose to do. I can freelance, haul cargo, hunt pirates, or fight in a war. I can do nothing while my brain is trained to do everything. I can sit in Rookie Chat and absorb the FAQs while populating my block list with ISK seller names. I can go to my real life work knowing that, when I get home, my capsule will be warmed up, and I’ll be able to fly a cruiser for the first time.
When I power her up, you all know damn well that Aura says “Welcome home.”
Categories 
Kurzik