How the Jackdaw is Doing, Proposed Fleet Warp Changes, Idea for HAC's, Confessor Fight, Battle Exeqt, Snuff Dunkage

How is the Jackdaw doing:

It is been two weeks today that the Jackdaw has been released, people have been messing around with fits and we have seen some cool fights. Around about now people are getting a good idea of how the ship works best. The question is though, how does it fair in PvP and does it match up to the other T3D's?

The Jackdaw's main strength is its ridiculous amount of med slots, meaning it can work as almost any role in almost any type of PvP. This also means there are lots of very different fits for the Jackdaw, which does include an extremely cancerous ECM fit, so I will not be taking a single fit and talking about it, but rather take a more general approach.

So first off, as predicted, we have seen that the Jackdaw has great tank. This is simply because it can fit dual or tri ASB but then not have this tank disabled by neuts, which is a problem the dual rep confessor often faces. Even without active rep, you can pull some pretty decent buffer with shield extenders and adaptive invun fields. I havnt yet seen any passive shield recharge fits, but that's probably due to the lack of low slots, so I guess if you, for whatever reason, really want to go passive shield recharge, the Svipul is better. In my opinion the sig reduction on defensive mode is slightly lost on the Jackdaw because it's a shield ship, so it will have a bloated sig from rigs and modules, meaning defensive mode will bring it down to just a normal dessie size. Still better than no sig reduction but you still wont be in a better position to try and take on larger gun boats than armor T3D's. Even so, we have seen so far that the Svipul can be just as annoying as a hawk, just repin' and repin'.

Damage on the Jackdaw is somewhat lacking. In eft, out of all T3D's the Jackdaw gets the lowest dps assuming all of them have one dps mod, by a decent amount too. This is no surprise as the Jackdaw uses rockets which normally have slightly lower base dps than turrets anyway. However, this is not actually too much of a problem, because the Jackdaw is shield it allows you to fit two damage mods, bringing your dps above the other T3D's in exchange for no hull resistance, but really if you get to hull in a Jackdaw, there are probably 50 other guys on field as well. As well as this, rockets means you can choose your damage types to apply maximum dps. This is further utilize by the reload time reduction trait. So, I would say Jackdaw is just fine on damage as well as tank.

No matter how strong T3D's are
 the Hawk will always be OP

Coming on to the Jackdaw's main weakness, speed. The Jackdaw is the slowest of all the T3D's and slower than kite cruisers only pushing 2k ms with an MWD in prop mode. This poses some serious problems for the Jackdaw as we have seen already. It means, unlike my prediction, it has hardly any ability to kite as almost anything can catch up to it. It also makes burning away from scrams, trying to catch up to slingshot kiters and burning towards ewar when soloing frig gangs a lot harder. However, in general brawling this does not seem to be much of a problem due to rockets, and the fact that the Jackdaw can fit two webs most of the time. However, it does mean if you go with one web, most things you try to take may be able to burn away from you. As you do not have a bonus to missile or rocket flight range, this means Jackdaws can be scram kited on the very edge of scram, or at the very least forced to load lower dps faction ammo. If not, it means targets can just burn out of scram and leave. This makes the Jackdaw a lot weaker in certain areas, however it really is necessary  for the Jackdaw to be slow, as otherwise it would end up being as OP as the pre nerf Svipul and Confessor were, having all dps tank and speed at their disposal.

Being Caldari, the Jackdaw has immense potential for utility. Honestly if I could I would armor tank mine and fit every type of ewar module (bar ECM ofc) but that fit is for another time. Anyway, the amount of med slots means going dual web isnt really much if a problem, allowing you to keep strong range control while brawling. Dual prop is also popular, making up for the Jackdaw's lack of speed. Basically I think that the utility helps to make up for the speed of the Jackdaw, making it so it's not quite so easy to simple burn away from it.

In small gang fleets the Jackdaw is actually very strong due to the support it can offer. It's own weaknesses can be made up for by other fleet members easily, and as well as extra ewar or tackle a Jackdaw can provide a lot of of dps for a fleet. I would say that the Jackdaw fits into a gang better than the other T3D's because of this. It's no surprise then that most of the times I have seen a Jackdaw, it has been accompanied by several other T1 frigs/dessies.

I know this gif has been posted everywhere already but

 you cant talk about the Jackdaw without using it.

For solo PvP the Jackdaw struggles a bit more. The dps and tank serves it well, however a lot of the time in solo PvP, speed is life. You need it to get in range of high priority targets like ewar boats or high dps ships. Normally being webbed down makes this difficult but in the Confessor and Svipul it is still possible to gain on ships if you have a web. The Jackdaw however does not have this luxury as it is again much slower, meaning it has to rely on other things such as having two webs, which you may not always have because lets face it, having three ASB's feels pretty cool.

In terms actually 1v1'ing other T3Ds, it's quite simple. You could easily fit a TD and dual web, then either get under guns or pull range, depending on the turret type, meaning both T3D turret boats would not be able to hit you. The real question though, is if the Jackdaw could then break their tank. Like all the other T3D 1v1's we see, it kind of comes down to cap boosters.

In conclusion, the Jackdaw is strong like any other T3D and it will continue to be used as much as the others, though it is strong in different ways to its counterparts, meaning it is used in different ways. I dont think without any changes we are very going to see solo Jackdaws more popular than solo Svipuls, but a T3D is a T3D, so it can still work by all means. Overall, its speed is very weak but it serves to balance it. The rest is just fine.

Think my analysis of the Jackdaw is just plain retarded? Tell me why in the comments.

Proposed Fleet Warp Changes:

This week CCP announced changes to how fleet warping works. The changes have caused an outcry from players, at least on Reddit. The changes are that fleet commands will no longer be able to fleet warp members to scan results and personal bookmarks. These changes are being proposed "to enourage more individual fleet member participation and reduce the speed at which fleets can get on top of targets"

CCPls

Now, like most people, I do not think these changes are very wise at all for several reasons. 

CCP is effectively making people's lives harder by putting another barrier up to get past in order to get the same result as before. This wont even change game play, as people will not redefine how fleet structures work but instead come up with new ways to bypass it and continue as normal. FC's will now either require alts for a fleet to warp to instead, or some poor newbie is going to be dedicated to be the warp and not have as much fun.

This makes small gang and hunting harder as well. Personal bookmarks are extremely useful in fleets for things like perches off of gates, which allow gangs to out maneuver larger fleets. Fleet warping is an important part of this as it is vital that a gang warps together, rather than separately, as otherwise they will be easily picked off.

Also, CCP say they want to move more responsibility over to fleet members. I'm not sure if CCP know this, but fleet members are fucking retarded. I'm retarded when I'm in a fleet, because I dont give a shit about what's going on. If someone turned around to me mid fight and said 'Vestion quick start FCing' I probably wouldnt even know where the fuck we are or what's on field because I simply am not paying attention. I am pressing F1 when I need to and that's about it. FC's exist to lead a fleet and CCP are making it harder for them to do that. Any fleet fight comes down to which FC is better, not who's members can smash F1 harder on their keyboard. 

What confuses me most about all of this though, is that why is CCP going after things like this? Not once have I ever heard a complaint about fleets being able to warp to personal bookmarks or combat scan results. There are many, many more important problems in EVE right now that are dying for some attention yet CCP comes out with something like this? Priorities are not right here.

Lastly, as has been said on Reddit, it is disappointing that CCP are trying to tackle its problems through making the game less enjoyable and using the easiest route, which in this case is just stopping people from doing things. There are many of other ways to fix the problems that CCP has described, though honestly I wouldn't even consider some of them problems, and this seems like a really lazy and un-fun way to go about it. 

I am aware of how salty I come off from this.

An Idea for HAC's:

Recently I have started to get into BS solo PvP and I have never appreciated the Micro Jump Drive more than I do now. It makes the life of a solo PvPer infinitely easier as you don't have to worry about some pesky condor or slicer pointing you and then kiting you for 20 mins while his friends come to kill you. It gives you an out option in the face of almost certain death, provided you can get the scrams off you. As well as that, it allows for the coolest of close escapes, where you just about manage to MJD out in 5% hull. All in all, I love the MJD and think it's a godsend for solo PvPers. This is why I think that extending medium MJD's to HAC's could be an interesting idea.

HAC's such as the Deimos and the Vagabond are much loved among solo PvPers due to their dps, repping power and speed compared to BC alternatives. However, the main problem they face is their vulnerability to be blobbed while brawling, like any other brawler. The only difference is that, HAC's are not as fast as frig brawlers, leaving them very open to be caught on gates or plexes very easily, and dont have the MJD to help them like BC's and BS's do. This leaves them in a very awkward place where they fall into the main problem with brawling. Of course, the Deimos and Vagabond are examples, this applies to all HAC's.

Because of this, I feel that if we ever hope to see serious solo PvP potential from HAC's we need to give them some kind of edge. Giving them something unique however could prove unintended problems. Trying to buff them for solo PvP could make them even more powerful than they already are in fleet PvP. MJD's however are only really useful in solo PvP. You can argue they can be used in fleet PvP but I cant see any real doctrines being made that revolve around that, otherwise we would of already seen it from BS's. This means allowing HAC's to use MJD's will give them a buff purely in solo PvP while keeping them where they are in other aspects of the game.

I dont feel this would make HAC's too strong either. It would have no effect on their actual combat abilities. If anything, fitting a MJD would make them weaker in combat as it has to take up a med slot. As well as this, the MJD, in my opinion, is an extremely balanced module. At the very least, I have never heard anyone complain about it.

Honestly I just felt like toying with the idea, I don't expect it to ever happen, it's just nice to think about. I can say for sure though, if I could fit a MJD to my Deimos I would be a very happy man.

Whats going on with me:

This week I have finally started some small gang PvP with my corp. It has been a lot of fun and we have been messing around in Black Rise a bit. The other day I got home from school and decided to take a look around the pipe in my Brutix. A couple jumps down I had met a frig gang on a gate. They pointed me as soon as I decloaked and I proceeded to have some fun. Here are the km's:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47174682/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47174673/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47174659/
Now I could of docked up there and been satisfied, but no, I then had to go fuck with Vox Populi., who proceeded to quickly deflate my ego:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/47174755/
A couple corpies lost ships trying to help me. Overall was fun.

As well as that, after a small confessor roam with my corp mates I decided I wanted to play league, so I told them I was gonna head off at our next dock, as it looked to me we wouldnt be catching anything any time soon. A couple mins after I start the league game, I get a poke on ts saying I had just missed out on a 900m Svipul kill. Of course...

Fight of the week:

Got a really fun fight this week, I and the stream really enjoyed how tense it was. Admittedly I got a little hyped. Tried to take a frig/dessie gang in a confessor, was tanking amazingly until more support came in.

Jams are strong, but my reps are stronger.

When I saw the gang on d-scan I knew it wouldnt be a problem taking them on, though seeing the Griffin made it clear it was going to be harder than I thought. I knew though that I might get a bit more luck on my side if I switched into sharpshooter mode when needed. It was only half way through the fight though I figured out I only needed to be out of defensive mode just as the cycle was about to end, rather than for the whole duration. 

I wanted to go straight for the thrasher at the start however he was arty fit and was too far off to apply dps to. It was pointed out after the fight that I could of used scorch to have better reach and possibly kill the thrasher, which is probably true, though that hadnt crossed my mind in the moment. Instead, I picked off as many frigs as I could as they have very little tank but can still apply decent dps, as I am a bigger hull so it allows them to load higher dps ammo. The tristan should of been the top priority when taking out frigs as it was also neuting me, which is very problematic for the confessor.

Overall though there is not much more I could of done due to the jams that seemed to just keep getting through. You would think a T1 frig wouldnt be able to jam out a ship with about 30 sensor strength for that long. Yes I do have the skill trained. Also, on the kill mail it showed up as an off spec jammer. Such a fun mechanic. Still though, I cant complain too much. I said it myself in the video, I'm op. The fact I could tank all that dps with not too much strain is stupid. If there were no jams at all I would of been able to take out all the frigs before the other dessies arrived and then kill them when they did. 

Still though, was a fun fight, will be flying the Confessor more from now on.

Fit of the week:

This week I am going with something a little different, but I took it for a spin last night and remembered how strong it is. It is of course, the battle Exequror. 

This fit does not look much, although I find it is extremely effective. The main reason why is because of its insane tank. This fit can tank for days, as you can see in this fight: 

Tank so good I bored them to death.

As well as that, it's also unexpected. No one thinks you are going to be able to tank that much dps so, combined with a bit of bait tanking, stay around long enough for your dps to break them. The nos really helps to keep you from getting capped out when you are waiting for your cap booster to reload.

One of the reasons your tank is so good is due to the exeqt's low sig radius and your AB, giving you speed against other cruisers, making it really good for cruiser 1v1's as seen against the Caracal. It would also work well to get under guns.

The dps admittedly is low, but it is applied dps, as you have light guns and Valkyries. You can use Hammerheads for an extra punch, but I prefer Valkyries as they can reach far away targets faster to apply dps quicker and give you more utility. This ship is a pretty decent frig killer.

Problems with this fit is mainly the dps, if you cant break something for example, and the fact your main source of dps can be killed as you are a drone boat. This causes problems, as seen, as make sure to keep an eye on your drone hp.

The fit is actually quite easy to make as well, with some spare powergrid left over for all of you non-AWU V scrubs.

Exile booster is highly recommended.

Battle report of the week:

So this is the first Snuffed Out fleet I have gone on, to celebrate I thought I would make it the br of the week. My corp were pretty amazed as well:

acalhuri > i need to do screen shot of vestion in fleet

Anyway, I was actually pretty proud of the fight I had participated in until I had a look at the br. We had mega navies with support bhaals, as well as many dreads and even a Triage carrier for reps to take T1 BS's. We outnumbered them as well until PL joined in the fun, bringing an armour T3 fleet. Still though, it was a fun fight, and I was actually there, so it means I can talk about it without making shit up about what happened. 

At the start of the fight, we had landed on the pos with the WAFFLES. fleet already there in baddons and geddons. We landed relatively close them, so it didnt take long for our devastating mega navies to get in optimal range and deal some serious damage. The webbing bhaals helped to speed that up of course. 

After a while of taking out the WAFFLES. BS's, PL came to try and help in T3's. The Legions were providing neut pressure, so we made sure to take them out first, followed by the prots. We had many support prot's, including me, so when they bailed not many of them managed to warp to safety. After that, we blew up the pos and then proceeded to shit post on Reddit. Op success. 

I want to say, as easy as it is just to choose whatever snuff fight I had in a week for this part of the blog, I will try my best to avoid that and see what the few other entities in Placid/Black Rise and doing as well, so dont worry, I wont become a Snuffed Out propaganda machine just yet. 

https://zkillboard.com/br/41826/