The New CCP

I'm liking this new CCP. After literally getting the snot bitch-slapped out of their heads by the player-base, this new, freshly flogged CCP is certainly winning the hearts and minds of the players. The list of new & cool stuff coming is quite impressive. I, for one, am excited. CCP Soundwave just asked players for more ideas to implement... orly? Just "asking" is filled with WIN. +1 CCP...keep it up.

Ninja Resources to make isk

When new Ninjas come into my Corp...I find myself spending alot of time teaching them how to make isk in the game. Here's a small summary on how to make money as a ninja.

Ninja Resources:

Market Orders. Everyone in game can sell things from day one. I think everyone gets 5 market orders to start.(?) A ninja that doesn't understand the market is a dumb ninja. (I was one...then I taught myself how to use it) If you have a market order slot that is being un-used...(buying or selling), it's an isk-making resource going to waste. Learn how to buy/sell things. Ninjas end up with stuff...from stealing, salvaging, scamming etc. Learn to sell smart. If you blindly just sell stuff, you just got ninja'd yourself...maybe from me. Learn how the market works. I trade in my region. All my trades get 100%+ return/margin. Minimum! Yes...minimum. (I'm not station trading...I do have to haul) I basically steal/ninja from the lazy or dumb sellers in my region.

Security Status. Your security status is a pile of isk waiting to be unlocked. You can build/replenish your security status by...wait for it..."stealing" security status. I steal security status every time I'm in my ninja vigil. The vigil has a drone bay...which can hold the best security status maker devised: The Warrior I drone. I use the drone to do damage to nice juicy NPC pirates my MR targets are attacking. Score a few hits on the NPC BS, and when the MR kills said BS, you get security status. Now, that you have it, how do you make isk? Suicide Ganking! How much can you make? This much.

Contracts. Same as market orders...I think you get a few as a new character. If you have un-used contracts that aren't up...wasted resource. However, this money making requires capital. Contract scamming is pretty painless and free money from the lazy/dumb in the game. I always have contracts up. Whether they are for selling faction gear or scams...always have a bunch up.

PI. PI was horrendous...now it's better. Couple of clicks a day, harvest your P2 product once a month. Profit. ROI from the couple of days of training those skills pays off in the 1st month. .5 systems or less only. Requires "selling" on the market.

R&D Agents: Basically free money. Get RPs, Trade for Datacores. Sell. If you don't have an R&D agent, get one. Requires "selling"...see a pattern here? The market is your friend.

What's the result of all of the above?...I play for free. I trade isk for a Plex every month. And that makes me happy.

Ping Pong

Had a carebear shoot me in a Maelstrom. Instead of warping to safety in a station to wait out the inevitable 2 hour long extentions (I never tire), the brilliant player thought he could evade the ninjas of Sect Or by warping between two safe spots. This didn't work too well. I called for reinforcements from the local ninjas...everyone jumped into their Cheetahs to lock this guy down. Well, he evaded for about 40 minutes...until Urkal got a 100% hit and warped cloaked to see what was going on. Sure enough, here he came. Warped in - and then warped out. Just to check...Urkal stayed cloaked and watched him come back. Urkal called me in when he left. I showed up at his safe and waited. Sure enough...Dscan lit up with a Maelstrom. He landed right on my head. You can guess what happened. Scratch one Mael...yeah! for shipbuilders everywhere. No tears from said carebear, even tough that was a tears worthy event for him.

Back for the Summer

Well, I'm back for the summer. Took a detour for a couple of months on a competing MMORPG. What better way to get back into the game by depriving someone of their hard earned isk.

So I start scanning for fun people to play with...I find a mission with a Rattlesnake, a Hurricane, A Maelstrom, and a Noctis. The Noctis is the alt of the Rattlesnake Pilot...I know this because the stoopie named his Character's: MIBMatrix and MIB...something or other. The Mael and the Hurricane were in another corp. Lots of friends to play with. So I scoot around "borrowing" material that was strewn around the place. Plus I have to compete against the Noctis...which is pretty tough to do.

I follow these chumps into the last room...which is locked. (Always carry Angel Diamond tags in your cargo!) I scoot in there also. Over an hour of them not shooting and me filling my small cargo hold will their loot/unload/return. Finally, the mission is pretty much over. Then the Rattlesnake shoots. Lovely.

OK...7 Gates, they are in the last room, all rats are dead. This will be a bust.

I go get Ganka-saurus (put a Angel Diamond tag in the cargo) and return. A quick D-scan reveals...uh...they are still there. What the?

Now the slow crawl through the gates...each gate...I D-scan. Um...they are still there? Gate 5. Still there. Gate 6...Still there.

Is this a trap? I check local. Negative contacts. What the heck is going on? Surely this guy sees me coming...

Ok...last gate. D-Scan...um...really. This guy is gutsy.

Warp!

As I enter the last room, there they are. 120Km AWAY!. Gah. I hit the afterburner and head for the Rattlesnake. This will be painful.

Sure enough...the rattlesnake targets me and starts lobbing missiles at me.

Do you realize how amazing slow a PVP Typhoon is? Luckily...the guys is heading towards me...what is he doing?

Slowly my shields melt away and I dip into armor. The Rattlesnake pilot launches Ogre Is at me from 60km...they are slow too. This is the slow-mo battle from hell...[add JAWs Music Here]

I launch my Ogre IIs when his are close and...no more enemy drones. (But they do take out some armor of mine. The Mael and the Hurricane...target me, but they just can watch.

OK...the Rattlesnake pilot figures out I'm not leaving and turns away...prolonging this little disagreement. I figure he's aligned and just toying with me.

I creep ever so much closer...just a little more. And then it happens.

I get a point on him. Now I'm flabbergasted. Really...this guy had every possible opportunity to leave. I have no words here.

I crawl the final few KMs to get the torps in range...loose the Ogres on him and Neut the crap out of him. I'm still thinking to myself...Wow...I'm at 1/4 armor left and I'm gonna kill this dope...crazy.

Sure enough...boof. Scratch 800 million for him.

Thank you for the warm welcome back to EVE. Nothing like depriving the dumb of their isk.

Null Sec

Went on an Alliance Op into Null Sec. A gate camp. Now I know...I know...I've read they are boring. I wasn't bored. Nope...not even close. Before I knew it...2.5 hours evaporated just like that. It was very exciting...for me. Really-I tried to kill stuff in my Rapier...honestly...either they were too far away or cloaky or too fast...

Even though I felt as useless as a football bat, I learned a metric crap ton of information:

- Like how bubbles work...as opposed to how I thought they worked

- What a "rolling Safe" was and how it works...

- The value of scouts...

- How to set up my overview to avoid mis-clicks...great tips from Arden and crew.

- How to step-up relevant safes in the target system...and what the "it's gone to shit" plan was...

Hope we can do more of that.

The Mega and the Smartbomb

We Ninjas in the Heimatar region fleet up for our nightly shennanigans...it's good to have friends to come and help out.

One intrepid ninja has been toying around with a Looting Ruppy. (Made popular by Aiden Mourn) It has advantages...like grabbing a point and pew-pewing without having to leave the mission. Unfortunately...it will eventually need some RR to stay alive.

So last night in the top secret local Ninja channel...

Apoc > Boxed!

I align my Oneiros and my RR Battle Phoon toward the sun...every second matters when you are in a cruiser and you have an angry bear shooting you.

Same goes for other Ninjas in system...Orcas align, Exequerors align, Ospreys align, etc. 5-6 ships in all.

Apoc > WARP!

The ruppy is in trouble! Party Time!

Upon exiting warp....WTF! I'm getting attacked?!?! I just got here. The Mega is red to me? huh?

Then Concord shows up to melt the offending criminal...

Somehow...we all showed up at the same time...and got hit by the Mega's Large Smartbomb! Of course, Concord didn't like that so much and ended the engagement quite quickly. The MR thought this was going to be a good thing...it did kill the ruppy's drones. He just didn't count on a Ninja fleet warping in at the same time. Smartbombs ain't so smart in highsec...mkay.

End result...one dead Mega AND a whole bunch of negative numbers in the Security Status panel!!

He emoragequit 5 secs later.

I R bad at maths...but 5 x criminal acts in a .8 system equals a one way trip to pain.

Scamming

OK...I am enamored by the sandbox. I find that this is one of the main reasons I play this game. A pretty novel concept: I get to decide how to play the game I purchased. And the developers..."let" me play it that way.

RL isn't fair...MMORPG games shouldn't be either. I get it. Most don't get it.

One thing that makes this game so amazing is the brutality that is EVE. Part of the brutality is scamming.

I am fascinated by scamming...for two reasons. First and foremost: self preservation. I have to be up-to-speed on the latest scams so I don't become a victim. (My corp has an award called the "Special Kinda Stupid" award. You receive this if you do something really stupid. I hope to never get it...) The second reason is the mechanics of a scam. I find this soooo interesting. Whether is be social engineering, creative use of game mechanics, etc., this makes scamming such an unique way to play the game.

I have been 'collecting' scams on my corps' forums...a running list of scams and how they work. (Kinda like magic tricks and their secrets) Some of them are very ingenious and seem like they would work well. The list is quite long.

This weekend...I moved from pure fascination to actually putting a few into action.

And the results were nothing short of amazing! 1 Billion isk over the two days.

Crazy easy money...plus, extremely entertaining! (Shout out to my Sensei...Herr Wilkus!)

And the really amazing thing...two of my marks KNEW I was scamming them! That's right! They knew beforehand and still went through with it! I'm at a lose for words here...

well done
From: Red Ozy
To: Sarkor Nafaar

too fast :(

This guy^ was told in local that my spam was a scam. He bit anyways. -275m isk for you.

quick clicker
From: Texas Bamf

To: Sarkor Nafaar

i thought i could beat ya to it but ya got me quick clicker

This guy^ knew it was a scam also!?! and thought he could somehow reverse the scam and win. -350m isk for you.

Somehow folks think that the scam I used was about how fast you "click". They are...mistaken. And poorer for it.

The next guy I scammed immediately EMORAGE logged...no e-mail, convo, or anything. -250m isk for you. However, he miraculously showed up in my home system the next day. (I put my "marks" on the watch list for a few days. <-Notice scammer lingo...lol..."marks"...love it. I feel like a real grifter)

Local:

Sarkor> Hi

Elephantosis> o/

Sarkor> u my new best friend?

Elephantosis> Yes

Sarkor> Cool...well...back to buying Officer mods with your isk. Cyas

Gonna do a Ninja vanish for awhile and pop up somewhere else...with another scheme. Good times ahead.