Yesterday Wensley ticked through a landmark. He now has over 20 million skillpoints. My training has been pretty much completely focussed on Minmatar PvP. I’ve spent a lot of time training support skills. This means that while I don’t fly lots of flashy ships I am very good in the ships that I do pilot. To give you an idea of how my skills stack up here’s a break down:
Corporation Management
Anchoring
Total Skillpoints in Group: 4,243
Drones
Combat Drone Operation
Drone Durability
Drone Interfacing
Drone Navigation
Drone Sharpshooting
Drones
Electronic Warfare Drone Interfacing
Gallente Drone Specialization
Minmatar Drone Specialization
Scout Drone Operation
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,476,315
Electronics
Cloaking
Electronic Warfare
Electronics
Electronics Upgrades
Long Range Targeting
Propulsion Jamming
Sensor Linking
Signature Analysis
Survey
Target Painting
Targeting
Weapon Disruption
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,769,073
Engineering
Energy Emission Systems
Energy Grid Upgrades
Energy Management
Energy Systems Operation
Engineering
Shield Compensation
Shield Emission Systems
Shield Management
Shield Operation
Shield Upgrades
Tactical Shield Manipulation
Total Skillpoints in Group: 2,636,815
Gunnery
Advanced Weapon Upgrades
Controlled Bursts
Gunnery
Medium Autocannon Specialization
Medium Projectile Turret
Motion Prediction
Rapid Firing
Sharpshooter
Small Artillery Specialization
Small Autocannon Specialization
Small Projectile Turret
Surgical Strike
Trajectory Analysis
Weapon Upgrades
Total Skillpoints in Group: 4,591,685
Industry
Industry
Mining
Refining
Total Skillpoints in Group: 3,080
Leadership
Armored Warfare
Information Warfare
Leadership
Siege Warfare
Skirmish Warfare
Total Skillpoints in Group: 618,040
Learning
Analytical Mind
Clarity
Eidetic Memory
Empathy
Focus
Instant Recall
Iron Will
Learning
Logic
Presence
Spatial Awareness
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,049,335
Mechanic
EM Armor Compensation
Explosive Armor Compensation
Hull Upgrades
Jury Rigging
Kinetic Armor Compensation
Mechanic
Projectile Weapon Rigging
Remote Armor Repair Systems
Repair Systems
Salvaging
Shield Rigging
Thermic Armor Compensation
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,318,667
Missile Launcher Operation
Cruise Missiles
Defender Missiles
FoF Missiles
Heavy Assault Missiles
Heavy Missiles
Missile Bombardment
Missile Launcher Operation
Missile Projection
Rapid Launch
Rocket Specialization
Rockets
Standard Missiles
Target Navigation Prediction
Torpedoes
Warhead Upgrades
Total Skillpoints in Group: 2,237,691
Navigation
Acceleration Control
Afterburner
Evasive Maneuvering
Fuel Conservation
High Speed Maneuvering
Navigation
Warp Drive Operation
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,231,381
Science
Astrometric Acquisition
Astrometric Pinpointing
Astrometric Rangefinding
Astrometrics
Cybernetics
Infomorph Psychology
Laboratory Operation
Science
Thermodynamics
Total Skillpoints in Group: 598,215
Social
Connections
Social
Total Skillpoints in Group: 8,750
Spaceship Command
Assault Ships
Battlecruisers
Covert Ops
Destroyers
Electronic Attack Ships
Gallente Frigate
Interceptors
Minmatar Cruiser
Minmatar Frigate
Minmatar Industrial
Spaceship Command
Total Skillpoints in Group: 2,647,249
Trade
Trade
Total Skillpoints in Group: 1,415
Total Skillpoints: 20,191,954
Total Number of Skills: 127
Skills at Level 1: 8
Skills at Level 2: 11
Skills at Level 3: 22
Skills at Level 4: 53
Skills at Level 5: 29
So where next for Wensley? At the moment I’m finishing off training for T2 heavy assault missiles. After that I’ve got a decision to make. I can either train for T2 cruisers such as the Broadsword, Rapier, Scimitar, and Vagabond or continue along the T1 route and begin training for battleships. I know the Minmatar battleships aren’t the most highly thought of in game but with dedicated training the Typhoon can be a beast.
I am genuinely torn about this decision. While training for the advanced cruisers would allow me to bring a large range of new ships to bear and would fit our guerilla lifestyle the expense puts me off. The skills alone cost 32 million ISK for each advanced cruiser class. Then there are uninsurable ships that cost in excess of 100 million for the hull without even considering fittings.
Battleships on the other hand are great lumbering beasts that I probably have little use for. However I do love watching Kil2′s videos and the idea of roaming in a Typhoon and jumping into nullsec gatecamps looking for good fights is my idea of the Eve endgame. I would really like to try my hand in remote repair battleship gangs and get a real feel for an aspect of Eve I’ve never tried. While this is a long time in the future the training for a Typhoon will take me in excess of three months anyway.
I will probably opt to go for the advanced cruisers. I think the Vagabond and Rapier will open up vast avenues of roaming fun and before I invest in the hulls I am spending time practising in Stabbers and Bellicoses. When the rig changes come in the next few weeks ambit-rigged nano cruisers will be a very cost effective option and something I’d really like to play with.
August 11th, 2009 at 11:41 am
T2 cruisers! o/
Force Recons are excellent because if you're careful enough, they tend to live longer! Which helps on the budget side of things, i guess.
I've always thought of the Bellicose and Rapier to be completely different in how they are flown, so practising in a Bellicose isn't all that productive – but i may be wrong. I'm no Minnie expert like you
August 11th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Congratulations on hitting the 20 million skill point mark!! Training is always a conundrum.
I would take a look at other ships that you may want to fly. Being a pirate, having some variety in what you can use is always helpful.
I made the decision long ago to train to fly the Ishkur and I have been very happy with it. Since you have worked up gun support skills, cross training for say an Ishkur would not be that hard. Get light combat drones to T2 level, get T2 blasters and get AF to level 5, get that 50 m3 drone bay on the Ishkur. It's a tough ship and brings a nice amount of damage to bear with being as wiley as your favorite rifter.
Just a thought.
As for battleships, they are nice to have, but it's ultimately about your play style. Of course, getting battleship 5 trained up and getting into that carrier does help to move those fleets of rifters around between hunting grounds.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Oh yes, they are very different. With the nano cruisers I was thinking more of the Vagabond and trying to emulate Ronan. Arty thrasher is probably the best approximation to how a Rapier is flown.
August 11th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Congratulations! A milestone for sure! if you're thinking of sticking to minnie ships: rapier is a nice ship but for sheer fun I would go for the pesky, ever-so-useful, ishkur. Yup – stick to the frigate class for a bit longer. Whatever you choose, am sure that you will dedicate time and effort to be the best. I look forward to it.
August 11th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Arggggh! Stop it! If I go for the Ishkur I'll end up with the Taranis and then my beloved little Rifters will be left to gather dust.
Thanks, though, mate.
PS – Just nailed a deadspace-fitted 'Ranis in my Thrasher. Booyah!
August 11th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I'm halfway behind you (recently crossed 10mil). I was in the same boat as you, trying to decide between BS and T2 cruisers. Ultimately, I went the T2 route. I really like the small and nimble ships. Sure a BS can bring the hurt, but if things go south you're pretty much gonna go down with the ship. I haven't flown a Rapier much yet, but it's a lot of fun sneaking up on people.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Gotta agree that training's a conundrum. I've been looking at various directions to go just this morning, and….. arg! I wanna do it all now, not do "this part takes 43 days, then that part will take another 30" and so on. On the bright side, in another year all the stuff I wanna do will largely be done, though, so..it's not that big a deal. It's just fun to complain about it, I suppose.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I think I've pretty much decided now that what I'm going to do is train for the Rapier and Vagabond next. They're both pretty short trains and will give me very useful ships for both lowsec and nullsec. At the end of the day I fly and fight very much in a guerilla style so they'll suit me far better than a battleship for the time being.
Gallente T2 frigates do sound very appealing but I think I'll resist for now. I need to get to know the Minmatar ones better first.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Another option wensley would be to train battleship to V. You've got very good shield skills, and the slepiner command ship is very nice. And so is the hurricane and the cyclone
August 11th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
I'm guessing you mean battlecruiser rather than battleship. I do want to get that up to V at some point. I was going to do T2 to IV and then BC to V. Unless I fall utterly in love with the Hurricane in the meantime.
August 12th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Are the graphics gone or is it just my browser?
August 12th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
The graphics are on the Eve server so will have disappeared during the
downtime today.
August 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
You might just fall utterly in love with the cane. It's a super ship. I'm also a big vagabond fan myself, and yes it does support the gurreila style of combat. A well flown vaga pretty much always dictates it's engagements.
August 14th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I am rapidly falling in love with battlecruisers, I have to admit.
I think I've decided that for now I'm going to round off all my
current skills (including Battlecruiser V) and make sure I have the
requirements for T2 cruisers. When I have a decent enough ISK stream
to be able to afford them I'll do the quick train to get the skills
themselves. Until then I have plenty of time to get used to cruisers,
battlecruisers, and even assault frigates. With the rig changes coming
soon there's plenty to learn.
August 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
BC V is one of the best skills in the game, and Claymore/Sleipnir are wonderful ships, but T2 ships are really quite boring because they can make you timid.
Go for battleships. You won't regret it. Tempest is cool and can be used very well in pvp (as seen by the likes of kil2 and gneeznow), Typhoon is a beast and I'd not recommend heading for it first instead of the Tempest as for the Tempest you just need T2 guns; for the Typhoon you need torpedoes and drones (and guns, if you use them).
August 20th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I just finished BC5 and I think it´s a nice skill to have. Atm I´ll stick to the Myrmidon, but I think I´ll buy a few Hurricanes as well. The best part about them is the insurance thingy. The actual loss in isk between a Myrmidon and an Ishkur is not that big. (I do love AF´s as well. AF-gangs are so fun!) Eve is a complex game and sp alone won´t help much for a pirate, but I still feel more at ease when I have the ship-skill at 5, before undocking for pvp.
August 31st, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Going down with your ship is the only way to go
Only Sissies and Girls run away
September 1st, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I am very much a sissy and a girl in that case
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:59 am
Congrats on the milestone.
If you use afterburners, I suggest getting Fuel Conservation up a couple of more levels. 10% reduction in afterburner capacitor needs per skill level, and level 4 takes only a day.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 am
That's not a bad idea. I'd honestly never even considered it but those precious little drips of cap could mean the difference between life and death. Thanks.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I'd train BC to 5 as well I love both hurricanes…a close in pound your face varient and the sniper vairent for interceptors…not too expensive to lose…take decent t punishment as well and survive. Of course I like almost all the larger Miniie ships above the cruiser line..but then again im probably biased. I have to echo a comment from someone else, when you do cross train Gallente is probably a wise choice…I went Amarr/Minny/Caladri…so people never know what I'll show up with although I am crossing the 29m SP mark now.
Good hunting wherever you go mate !