Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Dropbears Skill Plan 2015

Hi Dropbears, and also hi to the poors or whatever. It's finally time for an update to our skill plan. You may have already sensed the direction, as we have been pushing ham legions and ishtars for quite some time.


As with all my skill plans, they are designed around the principle of leapfrogging ship to ship, always training what will give you the best return for the time invested. This particular plan is designed to take new players from 0 to flying our main doctrines as quickly as possible. For most (hopefully all...) of you, Stage 0 (minimum reqs) should have been completed a long time ago. If you're missing skills out of there, then, stop, you're shit, stop it.


From then, the plan is laid out sort of like this.


Stage 1 - Basics


The Basics stage will give you a firm all around footing, including solid support skills, and the ability to competently pilot several choices from our various doctrines, including prominently: the Prophecy and Armageddon (Grizzly Doctrine), and Vexor Navy Issue (Ishtar Doctrine).


Stage 2 - Any of: Interceptor, Electronic Attack Frigate, Interdictor


Without Tackle, most fights just won't happen. This isn't your average BNI yolo tackle atron though. In fact, often some of the most experienced pilots will be providing tackle for a Dropbears fleet - flying an interceptor or dictor *well* is a tough skill, and something that every Dropbear is required to develop and hone.


Stage 3 - HAM Legion


The HAM Legion, which has been our unofficial Grizzly main boat for some time now, is finally taking its rightful place as our primary Grizzly DPS ship. With selectable damage, near perfect application, and great mobility, HAM Legion OP.


Stage 4 - Shield Boat:


A - Ishtar > Proteus, B Tengu > Cerberus, C Guardian > Scimitar > Loki, D Huginn > Loki > Scimitar


For Stage 3, we have a variety of branches to choose from, all designed to get you into another powerful ship as quickly as possible. The main choice is Ishtar into Proteus. Ishtar first, to get you into our shield doctrine, and Proteus afterwards, because after a short 2 week train into t2 blasters/rails, the training is pretty much done.


Next option is Tengu > Cerberus. The Tengu in this case is actually an armor jamgu, not something to be fit into the shield doctrine. The reasoning here is that you'll be able to get into and fly the jamgu much faster than the Cerb, so it goes first.


Third is Guardian > Scimitar. Guardian first, because you already have Amarr Cruiser V from the HAM Legion training, and a quick hop to Logi IV lets you pilot a fair Guardian. Minmatar Cruiser V next gives you the Scimitar, and then finishing off Logi V will let you provide logi for our kitey bullshit shield fleets. Finally, since you already have all the requirements trained, 3 more weeks puts you into an excellent Loki.


Last choice is to go straight for the primary Ishtar support ship, the Huginn, providing webs and paints at range to great effect when combined with Ishtar DPS. Min Cruiser V then sets you up for Loki and Scimitar.


Stage 5 - Any covops/bomber


Lolwtf why did it take us so long to put you in a covops and bomber? Well I'll tell you. Astero. Bob, through CCP, blessed the young wormhole newbie by granting the ability to get into an Astero without training the Covops skill, and thereby bestowed upon you a ship that can warp cloak, fight solo, and take blops bridges, without any skill reqs to speak of. Praise unto Bob. I'd rather have you in our main doctrine ships 30 days earlier.


Stage 6 (Optional) - Any of: Recon, Hictor, Command Ship


Finally, before you plunge into the train for Caps, you may realize that you are close to or really want to train into a specialized ship. Go for it.


Stage 7 - Any of: Archon, Nidhoggur, Moros, Naglfar, Phoenix


Here it is. Many pilots spend years without training caps, whether because they can't see themselves affording them, can't see a use for them, or it just seems like a monumental caps. Dropbears use caps constantly, and Bob provides the isk to fly them recklessly. The Archon is our main triage support carrier, followed closely by the Nidhoggur. The Moros provides unrivalled DPS, the Naglfar offers selectable damage types, and ironically the Phoenix, horrible in kspace, offers insane capabilities in wormholes.


So there it is, here is the skill plan folder link. Currently available are Stages 0, 1, 3, and 4. The rest will be available shortly, along with shiny infographic.



Monday, December 22, 2014

Join Dropbears 2015

Yes, like a luxury car, or... any car, this latest Dropbears recruitment post is branded 2015 even though it's still 2014, so that you can feel like your product is up to date for up to a whole year after it's expired. So, if you're interested in learning about Dropbears and what we do, and exploring the depths of our hole and many others, read on. If not, what are you doing here, go mine something or whatever.
 

Who are Dropbears?
 
Dropbears Anonymous is a place for chill dudes to be chill, and we’re always looking for more chill dudes to chill with. We are other things, too, but above all, we are a group of friends just hanging out and not taking things too seriously.
 
That being said, we play EVE on hardmode. Wormhole space is the most inhospitable of EVE space, welcoming only to those who embrace the challenge. In short, it sucks. But it can pay off, if you put out. Slut.
 
BAERS was founded out of the dream that if you go hard enough in the paint, even newbies can survive and thrive get dank frags in wormhole space. We started out as a lowly newbie c2 corporation in June 2013, and since then we have learned, fought, and lucked our way into the legendary Class 6 system J105934, aka Nova.
 
We will always remain true to our newbie roots, with skill plans and SP requirements that most high class wormhole corporations would consider obscenely low, and designed specifically so that the newest of newbies possible can participate in wormhole PVP in a meaningful, even powerful way.
 
Even though we are newbie friendly, that doesn’t mean life is easy. Wormhole space means taking initiative, doing your own scouting, and creating your own content. A 2 month old newbie who scans constantly is more valuable than a 3 year vet who only logs on for pings.

...and what do we do? 

Our daily life consists of scanning chains, rage rolling, and blops dropping for content. For the newbies, that means scanning wormhole connections until you find a PVP or PVE fleet out in space, and then forming a fleet to fight or gank them, among other things. Rage rolling is forming a fleet and repeatedly collapsing your static to roll into a carebear operation. Combining blops with wormholes means that you can appear anywhere in nullsec to hunt ratters. On weekends we like to do evictions and/or logoff traps of wormhole corporations that refuse to PvP.
 
We teach and encourage members to be self-reliant when it comes to making ISK as a wormholer, whether it be solo or small gang site running in the chain, PI, or out of hole activities like DED sites, incursioning or market PvP.
 
Above all, we are dedicated to three things: chilling out with space friends, empowering newbies, and turning those newbies into a wormhole PvP powerhouse. We don’t always succeed, but goddamn if we don’t look stylish failing.
 
Who can join?
 
Anyone who isn’t a douche, tool, or sperg. We have a very low minimum SP threshold, but above all, we look for people who are:
1. Chill
2. Creative
3. Intelligent
 
Whether you are a 2 month old newbie or a 6 year bittervet, our standards are the same. Be a fun person to hang out with who doesn’t take the game or himself too seriously. Show initiative, be someone who seeks out content and knowledge. Be eager to learn. Game knowledge is not important, but the ability to understand instructions and learn new things definitely is. If you can’t grasp basic concepts the fifth time they are explained, wormhole space isn’t for you.
 
Minimum SP
 
We’ve gone back to our roots and stripped down our SP requirements, so if you were told to train up and come back later, you may want to try again. We want to focus on who you are, not what your EVE character can do. So, these are the bargain basement skill requirements that are essential to you enjoying and growing in wormholes.
 
To check if you meet these requirements, join our public fleet-up, STAHP, and browse to the newbie doctrines section.
 
1. Fly one ship from each of our two main doctrines, OR ANY DICTOR OR INTERCEPTOR
 

Grizzly doctrine (Armor T3s) (Fly one or more)
 
Newbie boats:
-Augoror
-Exequoror
-Prophecy
-Vigilant
-Brutix
-Armageddon
-Augoror Navy Issue
-Stabber Fleet Issue
 
Mainline boats:
-Legion
-Tengu
-Proteus
-Loki
-Guardian
 
Utility boats:
-Falcon or Curse
-Any interdictor
-Devoter or Phobos
-Eos, Astarte, Damnation, or Absolution
 

Ishtar doctrine (…Ishtars) (Fly one or more)
Newbie boats:
-Scythe
-Vexor Navy Issue
-Caracal
-Stabber Fleet Issue
-Bellicose
 
Mainline boats:
-Ishtar
-Scimitar
-Cerberus
-Vagabond
 
Utility boats
-Falcon, Curse, Lachesis, or Huginn
-Any dictor
-Any interceptor
 
2. Basic Scanning/utility Skills
Astrometrics 4
Astrometric Acquisition 3
Astrometric Pinpointing 3
Astrometric Rangefinding 3
Cloaking 4
Salvaging 3
 

3. Basic Core Skills
Power Grid Management 5
CPU Management 5
Hull Upgrades 4
Shield Upgrades 3
Tactical Shield Manipulation 3
Shield Management 3
Shield Operation 3
Weapon Upgrades 4
Capacitor Management 3
Capacitor Systems Operation 4
 

4. An assortment of remaining support skills
 

 
Holy fuck, look at that. No t2 tank of any kind, no covops, no t3, no t2 even. What the fuck are we thinking? Well, we're thinking that a good 'ceptor pilot makes the difference between kills and no kills. A good dictor pilot can win a fight. Hell, a t1 logi can hold reps long enough for us to clear off some DPS and get some kills. We've learned that even in wormhole space, a newbie who will learn, listen, and follow orders, can be a powerful asset.
 
So, how do I apply?
 
Join our public channel in game, Dropbears Anonymous. Read the instructions in the MOTD. You may at some point receive a form (the legendary). Put effort into filling it out. I know that our recruiters would rather invite a newbie who shows effort than a titan pilot who can't be bothered to spell or write more than a sentence.

From there, you're waiting for us to clear off the huge backlog of dudes clamoring to get in. In the mean time, join a STAHP fleet to learn about wormholes while making ISK, and start working on the Dropbears Skill Plan.
 
Good luck.

Friday, December 12, 2014

STAHP DROP AND GET DANK FRAGS



What is STAHP?
STAHP is the Sleeper Tears Appreciation and Harvesting Partnership, a project run by Baers. Our objective is to teach people how to scan and make ISK in wormholes, and run fleets to make sweet sweet ISK for your whelping wallet. We will be running teaching fleets for exploration and scanning, and also clearing out wormholes for delicious blue loot as and when we have good holes from Catch.
Our doctrine ships include the Vexor Navy Issue, the Myrmidon, the Dominix, supported by Guardians, Basiliks or Scythes depending on what we need. Not a Logi 5 pilot? No problem, we have T1 logi ships that are fine too, as well as Remote Repping DPS fits. Can’t afford any of our fittings or ships? We can lend you one until you can afford your own.
If you add a signature to our tracker and we run the sites, you will get a finders fee. So, any time you come across a wormhole in your exploring in Catch, jump in and add it to our tracker. It could make you ISK just for filling out a quick form.
The Signature Tracker. - http://tracker.dropbear.life/[1]
So, you’ve come across a wormhole in your usual exploration and don't know what to do with it. Load up our Wormhole Signature Tool, at http://tracker.dropbear.life/[2] and click Add Wormhole. Open it in an in-game browser if you want it to do the hard work for you.
What system you are currently in goes in the Connecting System Name (So, GE-8JV for example). Add the Signature ID of the wormhole you’re about to jump in. At this point, go ahead and enter that hole.
Once you’re on the other side, Add the Wormhole System Name found in the top left of the screen to the relevent box (EG, J105934), copy and paste the anomalies by making sure Anomalies are viewable on your Probe Scanner, CTRL+A then CTRL+C, and Paste it into that box. This tells us how many combat sites are in the hole.
If you could tell us more information by clicking information on the wormhole at this point, that would be a great help in checking if its worth forming a fleet for. (EG, is it End Of Life? Frigate Only? Has it had its mass critically reduced?). Sounds like a lot of work, but only takes a minute once you get the hang of it.
Once you’ve done all that, feel free to head back through the hole into Catch and resume your normal Exploring if you don’t want to go deeper down the wormhole chain. We’ll take it from here, and remember, you’ll get a cut if we run the hole you find. Remember if you warp OFF the Hole in the Wormhole to bookmark yourself a way back out.
TL;DR
1 - Join STAHPbears channel in game for our public channel and notifications when we're forming.
2 - Add ALL the wormholes you find whilst exploring in Catch to our Tracker. http://tracker.dropbear.life/[3]
3 - Join fleets.
4 - Always be checking D-Scan.
5 - Profit! Use the extra ISK to Whelp ships in fun fleets, or buy that Eagle you've always wanted, or fill a hauler with Space Booze and see how far you can run with it before it getting blown up. Whatever you want to do.

Live from reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bravenewbies/comments/2p09py/introducing_stahp_for_all_your_wormhole_needs/ courtesy of queue arcana (ty bb)