Wow, it's been three months since my last post, and it's been a crazy three months. Very, very busy, but very, very productive.
Still, things are easing off a bit. Not enough that I can actually play any EVE, but enough that I can think about playing EVE. And CCP is doing all it can to lure me back. Have you seen the sexy new missile effects? Of course you have! And did you know that UK subscriptions can now be paid in GBP? Which, with the current state of the Euro, that means I'd be getting my subscription at 25% off over the old price.
Soooooo, I've, ahem, resubscribed.
No, I won't be playing EVE, but I will be skill training. I'm maxing out my last Nav skill first (they were mostly maxed out for the Vengeance, but my MWD skills languished), and then I'm going to be doing some more ship training.
And that's where I've got some decisions to make.
You see, I feel like I've "done" the small ship thing. I've had dozens and dozens of kills in T1 frigates, Assault Ships, and Interceptors. I've messed about with Bombers. I've flown Covert Ops to scan down ships. The only thing I haven't really done with frigates is Electronic Warfare, and everyone largely agrees that these ships are a waste of time. So, when I start playing again, I'd like to use a slightly larger hull.
Now, in my ideal world, I'd be flying Khanid ships like the Sacrilege or the Heretic. Sadly, my wallet does not allow me to lose such ships, so I'm going to be flying something T1. I'm no big fan of turrets, though (and I'd have to invest loads of time in just getting my gunnery skills up to par), so I'm left with a few obvious choices: Drake, Caracal, Arbitrator.
I'm going to put the Drake aside for now. I can actually fly one already, and I have one in my hangar for those times that the corp needs to form a BC fleet. But I want to focus on a roaming ship, and the pilots I know that focus on BCs generally roam a very small area, because BCs don't travel well on their own (they get camped fairly easily). I'm not yet ready to give up the 30+ jump roams that I've been used to as a frigate pilot.
And if I'm honest, I like flying a non-standard ship in pvp. Drakes, along with the Hurricane, are about as standard as you get.
That pushes me towards a cruiser hull, and neither the Caracal nor the Arbitrator are turret ships. The Arbitrator is beautiful ship, and the Amarr Cruiser skills would translate VERY well into a Sacrilege or Pilgrim at some point. Being armor tanked, however, it's not got the best ability to navigate gate camps, nor a particularly strong tank. Ewar would be something completely new to me, though, which might make things interesting.
The Caracal, on the other hand, moves in a completely different direction. Accepting that it's purely a frigate hunting ship, it can actually engage on gates and stations because of it's hefty tank and missiles (drones don't do so well under station guns!). That tank also helps me burn back to gates, and those shield skills help boost my Drake.
I'm going to have a think over the next few days, but my Nav skill finishes on Sunday, so I need to make a decision by then. Comments regarding the pros and cons of these cruisers as solo low sec roamers are welcomed.
By the way, it feels good to be back, if only in a small way.
