Random Posts from Auga

So, I just happened to get in pod just to access the systems that not only allow pod pilots to run that complex machine of death that is a capsuleer ship, but also operate vast factories and mines on planets remotely.

Only, there began to be notifications all over militia chatter about war targets attacking Republic Fleet installations in the war zone.  None of these were Late Nite pilots—these were all people new to the zone.

Four years ago (has it been that long) whenever I fleeted up with people, I expected them to know next to nothing about Capsuleer vs. Capsuleer combat.  HUANG had been fighting capsuleer pirates for years already, so we took all these greenhorns under our wings.

Those green horns are now the hard bitten veterans of Late Nite.  But I still remember when I used some of them as bait, and had to show them every single rope.

Dusting off my noob manual I took over a fleet of newcomers, and went to see if we could own some Amarr ass over in Lamaa.

Oddly, once I was active in comms various Late Niters also began to join.  By the time we were trying to engage the Amarr in one of their own systems, the Late Niters outnumbered the new comers.

At one point we grew frustrated with the Amarr dropping battleships on our gang of frigs, so we shipped up.  The Amarr, being Amarr, immediately began station hugging.  Now we wondered if they had carriers ready to rep their shiny ships—only one way to find out.

Galdnorae and some others, including one of the newcomers, engaged three Amarr battleships on station in a Stabber Fleet Issue and a Rifter.  Naturally, the Amarr undocked an Archon, and we called off the op, but Galdornae was neuted flat and tackled.

Suddenly one of the newcomers lands in a falcon, but he’s well over 100km off the fight.  He announces he’s got all the Amarr jammed.

He doesn’t.  Gald goes down as I’m landing and trying to launch a flight of ECM drones.

Gald being Gald, begins to tear the Falcon noob a new shit hole in only the way Gald or Sneaky can.  The guy gets defensive.  Manos calmly interjects and attempts to politely ask the guy if he knows how ECM works.  Although again, this pilot clearly doesn’t.  He doesn’t know how to tell if jams are working, he doesn’t understand fall off, he claims he’s a Falcon pilot and knows what he’s doing, but we all know clearly that he hasn’t a real clue.

I looked at this as a teaching moment.  Good Falcon pilots are nearly as valuable as good Logistic pilots.  If he was willing to fly one, let’s tell him nicely how he could do better.

Gald continues to lay into him, and the guy leaves comms in a righteous huff after complaining he’s being criticized just for trying to help.

Now, I’m all for capping on veterans for messing up.  They should know better.  But to totally alienate the new guy… well, we were all once that lame-ass.  We just needed someone to show us how it was done, or to lose enough ships to finally get it right. 

So, was Gald right to troll that guy?  Granted, in many senses he deserved it, claiming to now how to fly a ship he didn’t understand.  If he hadn’t been so clearly and obstinately ignorant, I might have leapt to his defense more than the half-hearted effort I made.  Still, that guy will never fleet with Late Niters (although I think most Late Niters are 100% fine with that). 

But with attrition some of the best Late Niters are now AWOL:  Dagren, LP, Bald Beaver… I did see TeaEarlGrey on comms briefly the other night, but he’s been largely absent as well.   Who are we going to replace these guys with?

I guess that guy was lucky Sneaky wasn’t on comms, or he might have been driven to rage quit militia.