Malediction v Various

The fit:

3 Rocket Launcher II
Salvager I (offline)

Catalysed Cold-Gas Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

Small Rocket Fuel Cache Partition I
Small Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I

Not quite as fast as my last Malediction fit, but with about 5k ehp and 12 hps peak regen.


The hunt:

I've engaged in some more Malediction goodness over the last week or two; all part of practicing my kiting skills. This time I was trying out a shield tanked Malediction, to see how the extra buffer felt.


Malediction v Hurricane

I started by trying to solo bojangles in his Hurricane. An experienced pvper, I knew that bojangles would be a real test of my Malediction, and my skills. I warped in on him and got into a kiting orbit without a response; I don't think he thought I'd actually engage him.

He woke up when I pointed him, though, and he opened fire. To my surprise, he was hitting me consistently, so I burned out of his point range and warped off in 50% structure. I'm calling it a draw.


Malediciton v Arbitrator

A few days later, I decided to try my luck again, and jumped in on an Arbitrator at a belt. I kited beyond neut range, and so all I had to worry about was his drones. I prepared to destroy them, but to my delight, I simply outran them.

Turning my attention back to the Arbitrator, I decided against loading the Javelin rockets I would have needed to hit him at this range; I did not want the drones to catch me. It was an unnecessary risk, as Kaal had jumped in with his Cyclone. Unable to run, the Arbitrator went down quickly.

2011.09.22 19:38:00

Victim: Lyranni
Corp: Winterdawn
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Unknown
Destroyed: Arbitrator
System: Costolle
Security: 0.2
Damage Taken: 9502

Involved parties:

Name: Kaal Redrum (laid the final blow)
Security: -9.9
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Cyclone
Weapon: 220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 9502

Name: Taurean Eltanin
Security: -10.0
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Malediction
Weapon: Rocket Launcher II
Damage Done: 0

Destroyed items:

Microwave S, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Imperial Navy Gamma S (Cargo)
10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Acolyte I, Qty: 5 (Drone Bay)
Tracking Disruptor I
Tracking Speed Disruption (Cargo)
Warp Scrambler I
Hammerhead I (Drone Bay)

Dropped items:

Tracking Disruptor I (Cargo)
Small Nosferatu I
Warp Disruptor I (Cargo)
Damage Control I
Small Energy Neutralizer I
Imperial Navy Gamma S (Cargo)
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane I, Qty: 2
Tracking Speed Disruption, Qty: 2
Optimal Range Disruption, Qty: 3 (Cargo)
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Dual Light Pulse Laser I, Qty: 2
Infiltrator I, Qty: 5 (Drone Bay)
Gamma S, Qty: 2 (Cargo)
Tracking Disruptor I
Imperial Navy Gamma S, Qty: 2
Hammerhead I, Qty: 4 (Drone Bay)


Malediction v Celestis

On another occasion I jumped in on a Celestis, pointing him and then opening fire with Javelin rockets. For about 10 seconds I thought I'd managed to solo him, but it turned out that Kirith had simply landed nearby and alpha'd the guy.

2011.09.25 09:24:00

Victim: Mitridat Evpator
Corp: Center for Advanced Studies
Alliance: Unknown
Faction: Unknown
Destroyed: Celestis
System: Hevrice
Security: 0.4
Damage Taken: 8421

Involved parties:

Name: Kirith Darkblade (laid the final blow)
Security: -10.0
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Hurricane
Weapon: 425mm AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 5056
Name: Serpentis Soldier / Serpentis Corporation
Damage Done: 3044

Name: Taurean Eltanin

Security: -10.0
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Ship: Malediction
Weapon: Foxfire Javelin Rocket
Damage Done: 321

Destroyed items:

Inertia Stabilizers I
Medium Shield Extender II, Qty: 4
Antimatter Charge S, Qty: 160 (Cargo)
Overdrive Injector System I
125mm Railgun I, Qty: 2
Battlecruisers (Cargo)

Dropped items:

Auto Targeting System I
Signal Amplifier I
Medium Shield Extender II
Antimatter Charge S, Qty: 2600 (Cargo)
Antimatter Charge S, Qty: 190
125mm Railgun I


Malediction v Vagabond

I was acting as fast tackle for a small fleet; I had the Vaga pointed, and I was taking fire. I tried to hold on until the fleet landed, but the Vaga's speed had taken us 60km from the warp in. By the time it was clear that they would not reach us, it was too late to bail. Scratch one Malediction.

2011.09.25 15:14:00

Victim: Taurean Eltanin
Corp: The Tuskers
Alliance: NONE
Faction: NONE
Destroyed: Malediction
System: Jovainnon
Security: 0.3
Damage Taken: 2583

Involved parties:

Name: Madbuster73 (laid the final blow)
Security: -10.0
Corp: Shadows Of The Federation
Alliance: NONE
Faction: Gallente Federation
Ship: Vagabond
Weapon: 220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
Damage Done: 2583

Destroyed items:

Damage Control II
Rocket Launcher II, Qty: 2
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Small Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 50
Small Rocket Fuel Cache Partition I

Dropped items:

Rocket Launcher II
Salvager I
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II
Co-Processor II
Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 100
Foxfire Javelin Rocket, Qty: 588 (Cargo)
Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket, Qty: 381 (Cargo)
Gremlin Javelin Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)
Thorn Javelin Rocket, Qty: 600 (Cargo)


Afterthoughts:

Another great set of lessons, here. In particular, I gained more experience in fighting larger ships, and it's clear I have a lot to learn.

Interceptors evade damage; it's just what they do. However, how they evade that damage changes. Against smaller ships they hold point beyond the effective range of the enemy; I seem to have a reasonable handle on this one.

However, that does not work against larger ships, where interceptors have to maximise their angular velocity to avoid fire. Against the Hurricane and the Vagabond I was so wary of scrams and neuts I held a range at which my angular velocity was quite low, despite my high transversal. If I had moved in close from the very beginning, I probably would have done much better.

I've really been enjoying flying the Malediction, and it's something I'm going to try doing more of. Other than some mwd skills, there's nothing about the ship that does not cross over to my Vengeance, so there is no wasted training here. In fact, it gives me an excuse to finaly prioritise my range skills.

Interceptors work well with backup nearby, however. In the past, I've had various pilots in interceptors thanking me for jumping in to assist with my Vengeance because they simply couldn't break the tank on whatever they had caught. Now, I'm seeing that from the other side; I'm not sure I could have broken the passive regen on that Celestis - 5 Medium Shield Extenders!

Next, I'm going to try an armor tanked, cap boosted fit. Shield tanking was fun, but I hate wasting the armor resists, and resistance tanking is what I love. The cap booster should allow me to hold point within neut range for a while, and run the repair system if I need to. I may even consider a nos over the salvager if I can find the spare grid and CPU.