Article: Sitting Duck

Some losses deserve an explanation

We all have seen some awful loss mails during our time in EVE. Whether its a titan mining in a belt, an officer fitted Raven class battleship, a rookie ship filled to the brim with PLEXs or any Phoenix class dreadnaught, these losses travel around to astound old and new players alike. They are talked about, have articles published on and become the stuff of legends, earning their pilots an entry into EVE's hall of fame.

However, some losses don't make it to the news. Some losses are just not expensive enough or defy common sense to be reported with a straight face. They are the kind of losses where you have to double check, look carefully for any sign of forgery, make sure that it is API verified, and then ask yourself why, just why?

This is the story of one such loss

It all started with HateMeMore, a member of The Warped Corpe, The Volition Cult Alliance, going on a solo roam. Since the Rubicon expansion, interceptor class ships have recieved an extensive upgrade, enabling them to bypass gate camps and easily escape purseurs, for HateMeMore it was love at first sight. With his trusty Crusader class intercptor, HateMeMore started making forays into deep Null Security space, roaming days at a time in search of prey. His killboard speaks volumes of his exploits.

Kitting a new Crusader for a roam, HateMeMore decided to make his way north from Y-MPWL system, setting his sights on the Spire region for new hunting grounds. Finding little prey there, HateMeMore continued with his travels, finally reaching the Cobalt Edge region, which marks the north eastern border of the New Eden sector. Warping at random to an ice belt in the YVSL-2 system, HateMeMore might have hoped to nab an unsuspecting Mackinaw pilot oblivious to intel. Instead, he found a freighter sitting contently in the middle of the belt, surrounded by cargo containers.

The Fenrir class freighter pilot didn't make any attempts to align or move at all in the face of HateMeMore's intrusion. In fact, it seemed completely oblivious to HateMeMore's existence. Without a second thought, HateMeMore had the freighter tackled and started to apply damage. He was certain that it must have been a trap, a ploy to keep him busy while his friends formed up, as there were twelve more hostiles in system. And yet, as the minutes passed by, and the Fenrir entered deep into structure, nothing happened. 

For fifteen minutes the Fenrir resisted the blows of the tiny Crusader, until, at last, it succumbed to its onslaught. Once freed of her ship, the pilot of the Fenrir made no attempt to save her pod, and like a good captain, went down with her ship, with the help of HateMeMore.

There are many possible explanations for said loss, from a player going AFK, to a failure to initiate fleet warp or even a weary resignation at the face of facts. However, it is safe to say that over-confidence, for once, is the most obvious contributing factor in this loss. Regardless, this makes for one impressive, if comical, kill, and a good story to boot.

Special thanks are in oder for corebloodbrothers of The Volition Cult Alliance and Fardendur of Curatores Veritatis Alliance for bringing my attention to the story, and HateMeMore of The Volition Cult Alliance for granting me the interview.