It was beautiful and quiet and the stars where shining bright around our campus in hisec, when comm channels began to buzz with reports of a wild bore in the vineyard. In this case a member of Hog Hitman with whom Eve University was at war was in system. It only took moments to discover the pilot was the infamous Vargur, in this case slowboating toward the gate that would take him into the Jufvitte system. The active QRF had just stood down, so an enterprising UNISTA Nienke Solette took charge quickly forming a QRF calling first for a Caracal/Osprey doctrine. Quickly assessing the available assets, because in Eve time is often of the essence, she decided to go with the previous QRF’s doctrine using Vexors and Augorors as there were unistas still shipped and ready to go. And go it was.
To the Gate!
The QRF was quickly assembled and roles established and within minutes came the call, “undock, undock, undock”. The hunt was on. Now normally an FC might fleet-warp the group to the expected battle sight, but this FC was hampered because they were part of the standing fleet. So she warped the DD (damage dealing) squad and order the logi to warp themselves to the gate.
Now for folks new to Eve it is important to note that fleets large and small can live or die because of logi support. Logi (short for logistics) refers to a special class of ships that provide vital support to the damage dealers. Logi can provide extra power (cap), repair sheild, armor, and even hull repair (depending on the ship and fittings present based on the doctrine employed) when one finds oneself on the receiving end of the enemy’s fire.
While the QRF was in warp to the gate, the Varur jumped through into Jufvitte. But alas for this particular boar, the move was expected and the QRF’s scout as able to jump as well and tackle the Vargur. Now for folks new to Eve this basically means that through the applications of various types of modules a ship can be slowed down and even prevented from warping away, basically holding them in a particular location in space.
The QRF was ordered to jump the gate upon landing and join the scout who was holding point (that is keeping the Vargur from warping away). Upon landing and clearing gate cloak, the QRF engaged the target, only to learn from intel sources in the area that the Hogs were rallying and sending help. The QRF quickly applied Statis Webifiers (slow that ship down), War Scramblers (keep it from running away) and Energy Neutralizers (suck out its power so it can’t shoot back). It was all happening so fast that the logistics group was having trouble some trouble establishing and holding their cap chain. Now logi will cap chain to reinforce one another’s capacitors because if you run out of cap you cannot use modules that require this stored energy. So providing reps (healing sheilds, armor, and hulls) requires good capacitor supply.
Rounds started flying. The stars were lighting up with tracers and drones moving to take their shots as well when suddenly two Hog Guardians landed on grid to provide their own logistic support to the stranded Vargur. But it was happening too quickly and the Unistas far outnumbered the Hogs. The total damage per second (dps) the fleet could employ was so high the Vargur went down and was turned into space junk.
The One that Got Away
Shortly after intel came that the infamous Hog Deimos Barret was in the area, specifically on an NPC station in the neighboring system of Ansalle. Now Deimos is no easy hog to kill. He’s been up against many a hunter and many a prey in his day with an efficiency rating according to zkillboard of 93.1% and at the time of this writing 1,647 kills to 123 losses. But hey, Eve University is a learning fleet and often the best learning comes from doing.
Now Deimos was indeed locked out of the station due to a weapons timer and soon the QRF had him pointed and were applying damage when that pesky timer ran out and he was able to dock up. Good fight Deimos!
Vargur Round 2
This hunting party thought the action was over and was almost ready to stand down when, hello, another Vargur landed on the Amygnon gate in Jufvitte. He jumped and round two it was. This time however the Vargur was able to make it into Garoun Investment Bank station. Not wanting to waste a lot of time sitting and waiting which is no fun for anyone, the FC warped the fleet to the Jufvitte gate to watch for movement of hogs in the bushes so to speak. Just as it appeared the hog had bedded down for the night and the QRF was about to dock up, word came the hog was making a run for the gate. The fleet moved to engage and found itself with a heavier response this time from their valiant foe who was making effective use of his drones. The Armageddon in fleet started taking heavy damage but thanks to the valiant efforts of the logi guys the ship remained stable. Now there had been indicating the presence of a Leshak in the area, and sure enough a Leshak landed on grid. Intel reported this particular player was deadly with this platform so the FC called scatter following up with having the fleet warp to her in a safe position in space.
Vargur Round 3
Once again the QRF prepared to bed down for the night when word came the Vargur was warping back to the gate unaccompanied by the Leshak. The QRF’s scout quickly landed and got point and the fleet soon landed and engaged.
This hog wasn’t going down easy. Not this time. The pilot of the Vargur sent his drones for the Atron scout which was saved only by the diligent effort of the UNI logi. The FC primaried the drones eliminating their threat. But the Vargur had Energy Neutralizers which were being employed to cause disruption to the UNI’s cap chain. Suddenly fellow UNIin a hodgepodge of ships came to assist, a Scorpion Navy issue applying damage and an Osprey and a Scythe joined logi. The battle was becoming a bit chaotic and unpredictable. This hog was putting up a fight!
That Pesky Leshak
Eight minutes into the fight and the Vargur’s drones (Hob IIs) were down and the situation was looking more contained when that Leshak popped back on grid. It burned off 60km from the gate taking optimal position. This time however, the FC felt confident they had enough logi to tank the damage and held position keeping the pressure on. The Leshak dropped EC-0900 Wasps (painful buggers) and Hammerhead IIs and began “hammering” the unistas. Once again the drones were targeted for elimination. One brave unista in a Moa warping to the battle had the misfortune to land too close the Leshak out of logi range and succumbed the fight. You have to really watch out for the tusks on these hogs! In the continuing melee the a UNI Condor was also shredded by the Leshak’s tusks. But the unistas were dug in like a tick and thanks to the superb work of the logi were able to finally get through shields, armor and hull and boom… the Vargur was space wreckage. The Leshak warped away… maybe another day.
Good Fight!
In the discussion that followed among the Unistas several things were commonly held. One proclaiming how he appreciated the fellow eve players for their decency and sportsmanship and even being chill enough to come back for another round after losing the first ship. Good fun and good fights for both sides. “Good job fellas.” Among the Unistas, many of whom are new or newer to the game and PVP and fleet dynamics, this engagement provided a great opportunity for learning what worked well and what could be done better. The importance of logi and dealing with cap neutralizers was not lost on anyone. The value of good intelligence, quick form-up and movement, as well as quick and efficient calls for reps (asking for logistic support when targeted to mitigate damage) were also key lessons learned.
So to the Hogs from Uni: Good Fight!
Video Links
First Engagement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ebs2ez3FT0&feature=youtu.be
Second Engagementhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCldDo9Vg68&feature=youtu.be
Third Engagement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzItTIiF80s&feature=youtu.be