Life on the Test Server

Over the past few weeks, this blog has been innundated with rapid fire updates on all things Burners.  I tried my best to keep a live feed rolling of things I was seeing on SISI as the new content was revealed and tested.

But I have a confession to make ... in general I'm not much of a test server kind of guy.  New content only gets added so often; I'd rather experience it on the live server, and savor it, and make it last.

One thing that helped kill my WoW experience was all the datamining that goes on.  New content is sliced and diced, deconstructed, debated ad nauseam.  By the time the content goes live, it's "old news" and the data miners are on to the next.

The term "spoilers" is overused, but it applies here, and is still a somewhat inadequate descriptor.  New content to me is like an expensive steak dinner - I want to sit down in my fancy duds, order a glass of wine, get an appetizer, and take the time to make a memorable experience of it all.  The entire process of consumption is part of the enjoyment.  The temptation is to snort down the new content like it's a trip through the Hardee's drive through for a greasy burger and overcooked fries.

And then there's the really annoying habit of devs to change stuff as soon as you get it figured out.  Test servers are a volatile place; while you're trying to get a sense of how to tackle the new bad guys, the bad guys are also learning how to tackle you.  That means a lot of starting over from scratch, resets, wipes, and the need to question every result (good or bad) with the question "okay, what just happened, and was X the same as yesterday?"

And for those two reasons, I generally don't beta test games that I'm actively playing.

In the case of the BC burner content, I felt a sense of responsibility to get in and understand the new challenges so that I can help all y'all complete the missions.  I also felt like I could help CCP flesh out the content and maybe therefore get better content down the road.  I don't fancy myself an expert, but I do feel like one of the champions of CCP investment in the lvl4 system - I'd whined and ranted about this stuff for awhile, the least I could do was show up and test it.

So, I did the testing on my own terms, threw away a lot of badly fit hulls, and something surprising happened - I had a good time.

The sense of duty became a sense of fun.  How unexpected.

Tweaking fits real time (for free) while sitting in a station is far better than using Pyfa.  Jumping into the pocket to test the results real time instead of theorycrafting was pretty powerful.  I tried ships I'd never flown, and fits I'd only read about, and came away (I think) smarter about EVE and mid-sized ships. And the quick turnaround from the first appearance on SISI to Mosaic launch meant that I'm not tired of the new content before it goes live.

Anyway, I doubt I'll become a permanent resident of SISI, but it's been fun to visit there the past few weeks.  Now it's time to make some isk.

Anomic Base

Mosaic launches tomorrow!  (golf clap).  Time to get in for some last minute testing on SISI.

Short version:  I've run both of the new missions using the previous fits and think I'm about as ready as I can get for these to hit the live server.

I could milk this and make it into two separate posts, but meh -- I'll just make you click through to get the rest.

Sunday, Quiet Sunday

It's Sunday.  The inlaws have left, three acres are now mowed, and I even got the Corvette out for a Sunday drive.  I'm pretty beat.

I was on travel (again!) through late Thursday.  Against my better judgement I went to work on Friday instead of calling off dead, and then we played host to the inlaws beginning yesterday.  Visit with them was fun, but tiring, and I've had near zero PC time since this time a week ago.

I should login to SISI and kick the doors in on some BC Burners, but instead I'm sitting here stretched out on the couch with the laptop across my legs and a 17 year old cat laying across my belly and arms, happily purring.

Interstellar just started on blue-ray.  I think we'll be movie buddies for the remainder of my Sunday evening.

Serp and Blood BC Burners Live Next Tuesday

The first two BC-sized burner missions are slated for the April 28th release (Mosaic) according to the new updates page.

Burner Missions: Serpentis and Blood Raiders 

Put your cruiser skills to the test as you face off against some of the most powerful pirates in New Eden. One faction famed for their extensive connections and the other for their thirst for blood. Dominate and destroy, or end up another "donor" to their illicit cause.

Based on the picture, the Blood Raider Proph got some much needed background flair for the mission.  I've been away from the keyboard the past few days, so haven't run him lately to know if this is relfected on SISI or not.

Nerd Fall

Item #1 - As faithful readers know, I'm going to EVE Vegas this year, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Item #2 - We're now also going to attend Blizzcon. I'm excited about that too.

Item #3 - These two events are separated by barely 10 days.  My wallet is not excited about this, but the rest of me is ok with it.


For those that don't follow WoW/Diablo/Blizzard nerd lore, Blizzcon is Blizzard's version of Fanfest.  It takes place in Anaheim CA and is attended by 25,000 folks.  It sells out almost instantly, despite annual price increases that bring a tear to your eye.

I'm not really playing any Blizzard games.  I dabble in D3 a week or two every few months.  I didn't buy the latest WoW expansion.  I'm approaching the age when I'll be slow and old to be any good at Overwatch (the new shooter / Team Fortress clone).

So here's the backstory:  Mrs. Durden expressed some interest in going to Blizzcon this year.  It was a passing thing that kept popping up, like "hey can you take out the trash, and by the way wouldn't it be cool to go to Blizzcon?"

Interest perked up after I bought tickets for EVE Vegas.  If EVE Vegas would be "my" trip, then "her" trip would be Blizzcon.    We're not doing any big trips this year, so a couple of west coast weekend trips fit our budget.

We went to Blizzcon in 2007 and 2008 and then bought virtual tickets via DirecTV the next few years.  In 2007, getting tickets was easy and we kind of blundered into it.  In 2008, there were server meltdowns and lots of drama, but somehow one of my orders managed to go through and we went to Anaheim.  After that, we were kind of "over" the fuss of getting tickets ... we tried (not very hard) to get tickets in some of the intervening years, but staying home and inviting friends over to munch popcorn and watch nerdTV from the virtual ticket was kind of fun in its own way.

Anyway, the first batch of Blizzcon tickets went on sale at 10pm last Wednesday.  We had decided that we were serious about going.  We were both woodpeckering F5 in our browsers as the clock wound down.  As 10pm struck, I managed to click through first and thought I got stomped by a laggy javascript checkout button, but somehow landed in the full legit checkout while Mrs. Durden got sent to the waiting room.

Still not believing I was "really buying" tickets, I skeptically walked through the checkout.  "Can't be happening," I kept thinking.  But it was.  A few minutes later I got the email from eventbrite to prove it.

So, in late October we'll be heading west to Vegas for EVE stuff.  We'll come home on a Monday, maybe Tuesday.  About 1.5 weeks later, we'll get back on a jet and fly to Anaheim for Blizzcon, a day at Disneyland, and maybe a road trip somewhere outside the LA basin.  I'm perhaps more excited for EVE Vegas, but Blizzcon is familiar territory and I'm excited to go there in a different kind of way.

I hope there are good shirts for sale at EVE Vegas.  In 2007, I went to Blizzcon attired in a swanky Guristas logo shirt, and drew comments from Blizzard staffers about CCP and EVE during the first day.  Good times.

Random Bits of Burner

I posted my "official" feedback yesterday to the feedback thread.  If you saw my earlier post here, you saw the bulk of it.

I did notice that the Prophecy now pays out 15M isk bounty instead of 5M.  The Talos was 3x5M so it makes sense that the Prophecy should pay 1x15M.

The Prophecy has evolved a little bit since my earlier posts.  He now seems to orbit at 8500m or so instead of 12-14km.  This puts you more at risk for his Nos (although whether he uses it is still hit or miss) but as a trade he is also in range of non-faction webs.   This could make for some more interesting fits and perhaps better application of dps.

I will be tied up for the next few days, so won't have a chance to poke around on SISI.

Another Prophecy Killer

Funny enough, I've not successfully used a BC to kill any of the new BC burners.

Here's another option I came up with.  It's maybe a little bit slower than the Gila, but if you're more into missiles than drones, it seems to work just as well.

I've got two runs in it - first I used HMLs and for the second I switched to HAMs.  I finished the fight at about 50% shields both times.  It's a little hard to gauge because in the first fight the Proph went after my drones and killed 3, meaning I took less damage (had a short amount of time for shields to recharge while the drone sacrificed himself honorably for me) but my overall dps was lower at the end.

Fight is very similar to the Gila, though for HAMs I set my orbit distance to 29km instead of 35km (I have 30km overall HAM range with this fit).  Like the Gila, he will run you down and web/scram/nos, so the orbit setting is just a way of keeping yourself moving.

No Fleet/links involved, though I did overheat launchers to ~60% damage both times.

[Orthrus, Abavus Durden's Prophecy Killer]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Shield Power Relay II 

Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
EM Ward Amplifier II
EM Ward Amplifier II
Thermic Dissipation Amplifier II 

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II 

Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Warhead Calefaction Catalyst I

Hobgoblin II x5
Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Assault Missile

The Gila and the Orthrus are relatively slow fights; I'll keep looking for other options.

Gila Fit for Burner Prophecy

I've run the Proph a few more times now; this is where my fit currently sits:

[Gila, Gila - Prophecy Kill]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Shield Power Relay II

10MN Afterburner II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Thermic Dissipation Amplifier II
EM Ward Amplifier II
EM Ward Amplifier II 

Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II 

Medium Warhead Calefaction Catalyst II
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

Hammerhead II x10
Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile

There's still maybe some tweaking that can be done by folks that are better at Pyfa than me.  But this version finishes the encounter at 50-60% shields with my skills.

With my skills, I show 812 dps from this setup, 634 of that from drones.

Fight works like this:
- Warp to pocket
- Set yourself to orbit the Proph at 35km or so, activate AB and lock all 3 targets.
- Once all 3 are locked, kick the drones out the door and nuke the two frigates, it won't take long with only drones.
- While the drones work over the frigates, put your HMLs on the Proph.  Move the drones over when the frigs die and go make a sandwich.

The Prophecy will eventually run you down and apply web.  Until he does, you will be semi-kiting him and mitigating a little bit of damage.  I leave the AB running while webbed just to try to keep some speed throughout the fight.

The previous version was an active tank with a medium shield repper, but in one of my runs the Nos stayed with me the entire fight and I almost lost the ship.  I managed to hold out for the victory, but I was very deep in armor and it wasn't pretty.  I immediately flew back and pieced together this passive shield tank version.

Edit:  I should also note that the current version of the Proph seems to be less likely to kill your drones (although he still does) and more inclined to drain you crap to zero with his Nos.  Previously the Nos seemed to be very random; was perhaps bugged or something, I guess.

There are no doubt other ways to kill the Prophecy.  For now, this is how I'm doing it.

Friday Post: Burning, Bikes, and Beer

Lately this place has been Burner grand central, and I've stayed pretty EVE-centric in general over the past few months (other than a rant or two about airline travel...).

Today is Friday, and I'm debating on whether to fire up the EVE client at all.  The weather is outstanding, and it's one of those rare spring days we get around here where it's low-wind, sunny, without bugs, pollen, or other nasties.

Burning:  The RL kind.  I was off work today, and spent the morning on the phone trying to line up a contractor to tackle a new pole barn.  We own 10 acres, and the main project for this year is to expand the outbuildings by one.  The spot we intend to put the barn is presently in the center of a many-acre woods, and that means clearing trees and brush and thorny things so that the contractor can get his equipment in and out and put up the barn.  I could pay him to do it, but I enjoy this kind of work, and it's far cheaper to do it myself.

A few weeks back I cut down 8-10 mediums sized Ash, chunked it into fireplace sized logs, and left the tops where they lay.  Today was a perfect day for burning -- so after I had a PBJ sandwich, I went out and built a monster bonfire.

People talk about bonfires with a party atmosphere.  To me, they're a helluva lot of work.  I spent the early afternoon dragging, hauling, cussing, and tossing branches.  I lit off the fire and prayed it would stay lit (I avoid using nasty accelerants like oil; whatever doesn't burn goes straight in my well water).  Once the fire caught, I spent the next several hours feeding it.  Feed the fire fast enough that it stays going strong but not so fast that it flares up and gets away from me.

Finally, I sat in a lawn chair and watched the fire burn down to nothing so that I could safely douse it and come inside.  But I was pooped, tired, exhausted.

I'd have had a much easier day if I'd gone to work, but getting the brush cleared is satisfying.


Bikes:  I haven't posted much about triathlons or biking.  I am signed up for one race this season in early June.  Last season I suffered a lower back injury and thought maybe I'd never ride again.  I got back on the bike by Fall but was nowhere near where I wanted to be in terms of stamina or speed.  I stumbled through the rest of the season and then took many weeks off this winter.

After the first of the year, I started back on the spin bike at the gym.  I downloaded several workout videos to my phone and did interval sprints and hill climbs.  I don't have many real-road miles thanks to the weather, but have been on the bike at the gym 2x per week for the past 4 months (unless I was traveling) and I feel stronger in the bike seat now than I have in a long long time.  I'm really interested to see what I can do on the open road, and have high hopes to knock off some bucket-list achievements this season.

Swimming, likewise, has come along.  We swim 1x per week and I've basically been doing the same interval workout for the past 4ish years.  When I started the workout I could barely finish, but over the past year I peaked and started coasting.  It took me awhile to realize it, and about 6 weeks ago I changed up my routine.  The difference is dramatic - I feel stronger during my weekly sessions than I ever have and have increased the distance another 20% for each session (now swim 2000 yards per session).

Beer:  I don't drink much alcohol these days.  Partially because of my diet and trying to keep weight off, and partially because it just generally disagrees with me.  But I do like dark, creamy beers (Guinness, when I can find it), and from time to time I miss having one.  It's Friday and I worked my butt off today.  So I'm opening a bottle of St. Peter's Cream Stout, which I picked up last weekend and have never tried before.

It has a cool bottle, and the St. Peter's stuff I've tried has been good.

<Pause for Effect> The taste is good, but would be better if I had a large steak in front of me.

Anyway, I'm going to stop typing and finish my beer.  And after that, I may take a nap.

Cheers.

BC Burner Thoughts

This will eventually become a post to the official forums.  For now I'll keep it here and maybe edit it as l go.

Thoughts so far:

Serpentis Talos:

1. Overall, I like the Talos encounter.  The matrix of sentry guns is pretty impressive upon warp-in.  I like shooting at the Talos, it is a good looking hull.  Overall the mission feels special/impressive enough to be included with the other existing burner missions.
2. The Guristas Worm is my favorite frigate burner, and I really like a "big" burner that has the same kind of brawling feel.  Any excuse to use blasters and hot antimatter....
3. I don't like the far distances of the Talos mission... the distance, combined with damps, forces you to fly from A to B to C and burn up extra time.  It could be just a little bit smaller and not lose any of its overall feel.
4. I wish the Talos ships flew a bit quicker, or perhaps varied speed. All three are the same in terms of mechanics and could/should act differently or each have its own flavor. The first is the hardest because of overall DMG inbound and the remainders feel more like cleanup.
5. I wish the sentry matrix in the Talos encounter did more.  They look cool but are generally ignorable.

Blood Raider Prophecy:

1. It's an interesting problem to solve - big tank, lots of tracking disruption, web, scram, and nos up close.  However, the initial version I tested didn't have the same "whoa" factor like the Talos sentry matrix.    There needs to be some items in the pocket or something neat to look at.  It doesn't feel as "epic" (forgive the overused term) as the Talos.
2. I like that the Prophecy seems to adjust its speed.  This is new behavior for a highsec mission and helps keep you on your toes.
3. Other than variable speed, the mission isn't that much different than Duo of Death or other existing vanilla lvl4's, except with a restricted ship list.  I'm afraid it won't hold up well as it ages unless some adjustments are made.
4. Increasing the (relatively low) damage could make this much more challenging.
5. Extending the Nos range could make this mission a real, real bastard.
6. If you want it to be interesting, change one of the frigs to a hictor/dictor and put a warp bubble at your land-in.  Something you can navigate out of and still escape, vs. some unfair perma-scram.

That's all I have from the dentist's office. Time to get my gums scraped.

Triple Talos with Links

The Deimos is a mean little ship, and is the only way I've been successful with the Triple Talos as a solo fight.  I pulled the Talos tonight on SISI and decided to grab the link ship and see what might be possible.

Since the BC Burners were announced, I've tried and tried to get a Sacri into the fight.  It's my favorite HAC, and it's a tough little bird.  Thank goodness SISI hulls are cheap, because I've thrown quite a few away over the past week or so.

I tweaked my last fit and got stats as close as I could to the Deimos in terms of armor HP repaired per second, resists, and dps.  All stats were lower, but not horribly lower.

With the link ship running (3x Armor links, 1x AB speed, and 1x sig radius), the fight was surprisingly similar to the Deimos.  I still needed to watch transversal, especially while killing the first target.  DPS was a touch lower, so the killing spree took longer, but the speed under AB was a touch faster so overall the undock to redock time was a bit lower.

Would the fight have been better/easier/faster with Links and a Deimos instead?  Sure.  But that wasn't the point.  The Sacri got to come out to play and I didn't send another hull to a premature scrapping.

Oh, and I've officially jinx'd myself.  Two of the 3 Talos dropped faction mods, which no doubt perpetually curses me to never see Serpentis faction mods once the missions are live.

Btw, the Talosi did target my light drones once, but didn't kill any.  The new AI seems to favor focusing damage on you.