Vengeance v Cyclone

 

The hunt:

I'll say it right now: I got a bit carried away.

My early days in Hevrice had been so successful that I began playing a little fast and loose with my self-imposed rules of engagement, and when I saw the Cyclone at a plex, I simply hit the warp to zero button and only then started trying to arrange backup.

When I landed, I immediately got under the Cyclone's guns and began clearing drones. The Cyclone, of course, started neuting me. So far, so standard.

However, flying a Vengeance under these circumstances means managing a load of different modules and tasks all at once, and I dropped the ball here.

Sure, I was able to give Tsubutai directions to the plex. Sure, I began clearing the drones. And sure, I even managed to get off a few cycles of my repair system through the neuting.

What I did not do, however, was continue to manage my range. At some stage my point dropped and I did not notice. Rather than warp out, though, the Cyclone activated it's mwd and pulled range on me. My afterburner was also out, so I was moving quite slowly, and I did not notice the increasing range as my attention was absorbed by the drones.

Eventually, my transversal dropped sufficiently for the Cyclone to give me a full broadside or two, and my little Vengeance was no more.

2011.07.09 16:59

Victim: Taurean Eltanin
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Destroyed: Vengeance
System: Hevrice
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 2500

Involved parties:

Name: Anni Bonney (laid the final blow)
Security: -2.8
Corp: Negros United
Alliance: None
Faction: NONE
Ship: Cyclone
Weapon: Hobgoblin II
Damage Done: 2500

Destroyed items:

Rocket Launcher II, Qty: 4
Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 42
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Caldari Navy Phalanx Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)
Foxfire Rage Rocket, Qty: 1000 (Cargo)
Gremlin Rage Rocket, Qty: 1000 (Cargo)
Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 516 (Cargo)
Thorn Rage Rocket, Qty: 1000 (Cargo)
Foxfire Javelin Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)
Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket, Qty: 564 (Cargo)
Phalanx Rage Rocket, Qty: 1000 (Cargo)
Small Anti-Thermic Pump I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

Dropped items:

Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 42
1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Phalanx Javelin Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)
Caldari Navy Thorn Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)
Gremlin Javelin Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)

All was not lost, however. The Cyclone stopped to loot my wreck, which meant that Tsubutai landed right on top of her. Very few things survive Tsubutai warping in at zero, and the Cyclone was no exception.

2011.07.09 17:03:00

Victim: Anni Bonney
Corp: Negros United
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Unknown
Destroyed: Cyclone
System: Hevrice
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 20539

Involved parties:

Name: Tsubutai (laid the final blow)
Security: -9.7
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Hurricane
Weapon: 220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 18510

Name: Taurean Eltanin
Security: -9.0
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Capsule
Weapon: X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Damage Done: 2029

Destroyed items:

Invulnerability Field II
1MN Afterburner II (Cargo)
Barrage M, Qty: 375
Large Shield Booster II
Medium Anti-Kinetic Screen Reinforcer I, Qty: 2
Navy Cap Booster 800 (Cargo)
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Qty: 3
Small Armor Repairer II (Cargo)
10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I
Damage Control II (Cargo)
F85 Peripheral Damage System I
Gyrostabilizer II
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M, Qty: 1702 (Cargo)
'Malkuth' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I

Dropped items:

Barrage M, Qty: 745 (Cargo)
Warp Disruptor II
Barrage M, Qty: 250
LADAR Backup Array II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II (Cargo)
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Qty: 2
Medium Energy Neutralizer II
Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile, Qty: 870 (Cargo)
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I
Caldari Navy Terror Assault Missile, Qty: 96
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I (Cargo)
Gyrostabilizer II
'Malkuth' Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I
Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot M, Qty: 800 (Cargo)
Republic Fleet Fusion M, Qty: 850 (Cargo)
Adaptive Nano Plating II (Cargo)
Medium Standard Container (Cargo)
Cap Booster 800, Qty: 11 (In Container)
Navy Cap Booster 800 (In Container)
Nanite Repair Paste, Qty: 100 (In Container)


Afterthoughts:

Managing my various mods under a neut is probably the most difficult thing about piloting a Vengeance. Unlike most other frigates, I actually have the ability to keep most of my mods going, but it requires constant attention, and I'm not very good at it. This fight was perfectly survivable, if I had not dropped the ball.

Keeping my afterburner on would also have made a difference, and I need to wake up to the fact that my armor repper (which I did manage to keep running) is not my only source of tank. Indeed, in many situations it's not even my best source of tank.

Writing as I do, two weeks in arrears, I recognize this as a recurring issue, and one that I am determined to deal with.