Rolling Large – A Corporate Strategy
Different corps and pilots have varying ideas about when to upgrade to a bigger ship class. Some believe that you need to wait until you can fully T2 fit the ship in question. Others believe that you should upgrade as soon as you possibly can, fittings be damned. And still others fall somewhere between those extremes.
WTE believes in putting our pilots into the biggest ships they can fly, as early as they can fly them. That means cruisers and battlecruisers even for those pilots days or weeks old. Yes, there is a certain amount of risk involved in doing so, but we believe that the benefits outweigh the consequences.
- By flying in bigger ships, you have more DPS. More DPS means the opposing ships die faster. The faster they die, the less damage we receive. The less damage we receive, the less we die.
- By flying in bigger ships, you have more effective hit points (EHP). The more EHP you have, the longer you live. The longer you live, the more damage the enemy takes. The more damage they take, the faster they die. The faster they die, the less damage we receive. The less damage we receive, the less we die.
- By flying in bigger ships, you have more engageable targets. A fleet of 10 frigates (T1) will get killed by almost anything. A fleet of 10 cruisers can engage more than 10 frigates. A fleet of 10 battlecruisers can engage more than 10 cruisers or 10 frigates. A fleet of 10 battleships can engage more than 10 battlecruisers, or 10 cruisers, or 10 frigates.
- By flying in bigger ships, you win the psychological war. An enemy fleet of 10 battlecruisers will scoff at a fleet of 10 frigates. They will laugh at a fleet of 10 cruisers. They will be concerned with a fleet of 10 battlecruisers. They will fear a fleet of 10 battleships.
Let's use some actual examples here:
A few nights ago, OUCH had a gang of 8 T1 frigates roaming around in 0.0. Now, referring back to Assertion #3, we can guess that there would not be many, if any, targets in 0.0 that they could successfully engage. Indeed, they likely would only be able to engage haulers, or a solo T1 cruiser or two. Is this because OUCH pilots are poor at PvP? Heavens no. As will be shown shortly, pilot skill is only one part of the equation. No, they had few targets they could successfully engage because their ship selection was limited to T1 frigs. The end result when they encountered a smaller gang of larger ships? All 8 OUCH frigates were destroyed, 6 OUCH pilots woke up in new clones, and every hostile ship remained intact.
Now, let us put a typical WTE gang of the same size into that same engagement. Eight of our pilots, six flying battlecruisers, and two in cruisers (as is typical). The WTE gang would have steamrolled that particular Outbreak fleet. Why? Because WTE pilots are better at PvP than OUCH pilots? Heavens no. Indeed, a sizable portion of the WTE Security Division is made up of former OUCH members at the same general experience and SP level as those still in their old corp.
No, the difference is the ship selection. Battlecruisers (and cruisers) hit harder and last longer than T1 frigs. By hitting harder, we could actually deal enough damage fast enough to kill the enemy. By lasting longer (more EHP), we are better able to sustain that high level of DPS. Thus we avoid a massacre that teaches very little, and instead win a victory that teaches much.
The biggest concern when you're wanting "young" and "old" alike to roll large is ISK for the newer pilots. After all, a well fit frigate might cost around 4M ISK, and a cruiser might cost 12-15M ISK. A well fit battlecruiser can run the gamut of 45-75M ISK, quite a leap up from the previous two ship classes.
This is where White Talon's ship provisioning program comes in. We give you fully fitted ships for free, eliminating the ISK concern for organized PvP or PvE ops. Essentially, all WTE pilots can "roll large" at the corporation's expense. You lose a corporate ship while on an organized op? No biggie, they're all corporately insured, which lets us turn right around and purchase another. By provisioning these ships, you ensure that we are always able to field the maximum amount of firepower, with the maximum amount of sustainability, that our pilots possibly can. Sure we could eke out some more DPS and EHP by provisioning battleships. And you know what? That is in the plans. But that's for the future while we continue to operate successfully in the present.
Question for the People:
Where do you and your corp fall in the spectrum of when a pilot should upgrade his/her ship to the next size larger? Right away? When they can properly fit one? Is it an ISK concern? A SP concern?
WTE Update and Ship Provisioning
With recruits still pouring in from OUCH in the wake of certain leadership decisions there, WTE is sitting nice at around 43 active pilots at this point. No megacorp to be sure, but we're getting up to the numbers where critical mass can be achieved for corporate operations across all timezones. Our goal is still to house 75 active pilots by the end of February, and it appears that we're well on our way to achieving that number.
With the influx of new pilots, we've been running scheduled ops every night this week. Mining op on Monday night. Standings op on Tuesday night. PvP roam on Wednesday night. The next two nights are "off nights" where everyone can just hunker down and do whatever they want to do. Maybe get another 2-3 ships into the area from way down in Berta. Maybe fill their wallet a little more to handle the upcoming weeks and months. And maybe roaming around looking for targets to kill.
Last night we debuted our "Ship Provisioning Program" to the new recruits. The basic gist of the idea is that, for corporate ops, corp members can "check out" ships from the corp hangar and use them for whatever is going on. Valid ops aren't just PvP (security roams), but PvE as well (security grinds and mining). These ships are corporately insured so that, if destroyed for whatever reason, the corp recoups the ISK investment and is able to restock that ship type.
Unlike some other SPP's, though, our ships come complete with mods as well. We have a couple of corporate fittings that we work from for each ship type, and when a person is requesting a ship they specify whether they're taking the Mk1 (Tech 1) or Mk2 (Tech 2) variants of the fitting. By providing these ships plus fits, we're really allowing pilots to get in and learn PvP or PvE at no cost to themselves. The knowledge that they receive in return more than supplements the ISK expenditure on behalf of the corp.
To put this into practical context, let's use our next Standings Grind night as an example. We have 16 people online, and 12 are going to be able to participate. Those 12 are provisioned Mk1 or Mk2 Drakes, Caracals, Moas, Hurricanes, and Ruptures. We split up into 3-4 groups of mission runners (just two squads, though), and blow through the L3's and L4's rapidly...ensuring that everyone is making a lot of ISK while simultaneously raising everyone's standings with the NPC corp. Salvage, in turn, gets donated to the Logistics Division. At the end of the night, the ships are returned to the corp hangar and are "checked in."
What did that op do for everyone?
1) Padded their wallets
2) Padded the corp wallet
3) Raised their standings with the NPC corp to get them closer to jump clones
4) Raised their Loyalty Point level for purchases from the LP Store
5) Supplied the Logistics Division with a ton of salvage for rig manufacturing and sales
For the pilots it was completely free. They got to use ships they didn't have to purchase, with mods readily supplied to them. If they lost their mission-running ship for whatever reason, no biggie...it happens, and the corp simply purchases another with the insurance payout.
But, let's be honest...this program was really designed with PvP in mind. One of the chief rules in PvP is: "Fly what you can afford to lose." On corporate roams (read: roams with a Senior FC leading them), our pilots don't have to worry about that rule. They are provisioned ships per their skills for use on those ops. Thus the people that may normally only be able to affordably lose a Caracal, for example, can instead be flying a Mk2 Drake. A Mk2 Hurricane instead of a Stabber. A Mk2 Blackbird instead of a Griffon.
A fleet of 15 Battlecruisers has many more realistic engagement opportunities than a fleet of 15 mixed Cruisers and Frigates. By allowing people to check out ships for PvP ops, we're ensuring that we can always field the very best that the pilots can fly, rather than whatever their individual wallet would normally allow them.
So, let's recap, shall we? Corp members can use corp ships for money-making ops, ensuring that they can make money for "free". They can then turn around and use corp ships for combat ops, ensuring that they can PvP for "free". All the while, their individual wallets are getting bigger, and thus they are better able to supply themselves with ships and fittings for non-official corp ops. Sure, the corp is taking a loss through providing these ships, fittings, and ammo...but it is ok for the corp to be "red" in one area as long as it is balanced out with income from others. Luckily for WTE, we have an absolutely stellar Logistics crew that makes that happen.
(I promise we'll try to avoid losing too many, Schwigg) 
WTE officially joins New Bastion
I'd previously announced that White Talon Enterprises would be joining the New Bastion alliance, of which OUCH is also a member. Tonight the 24 hour stasis period for the corp ended, and our new alliance tab popped up next to "Corp".
Open recruitment is set to begin on Monday, but we already have 20 members that are either already in corp, or are waiting for their roles to expire in their current place of employment. This is great news, as if I've learned anything about recruiting over the years (and trust me, I haven't learned much), it is that a certain critical mass needs to be reached before recruitment becomes "easier." Everyone wants to join something that is already active...but for that corp to be active it needs to have people in the first place. Thus a sort of "chicken and the egg" syndrome easily develop, killing recruitment before it ever begins.
I'd like to thank the very friendly pilots over at Intrasella Productions Ltd. for agreeing to merge their activities into the WTE Logistics Division. I know people usually don't like to give up their "sovereignty", but in this case both groups profited more than either would have individually. And to think, recruiting Logistics Division members were what I was really worried about. Looks like they're already ahead of the curve...while my own Security Division is lagging behind with only 8 committed pilots so far (again, we haven't begun openly recruiting).
Here's hoping the next couple of weeks pay dividends with quality pilots. Our goal by the end of February is 50 active pilots in corp, though I'd honestly like to see that somewhere closer to 75. If you know anyone that is interested in a growing corp with a real purpose, real organization, and real direction, send them my way.
What’s in a name?
I've always found the hardest part of founding a new corporation or alliance to be coming up with the name. Sometimes they're so obvious that they leap into being...while other times trying to come up with one that fits the ideals and principles that you're shooting for is like pulling teeth. Without the Novocain.
Unfortunately, that's the case this time around. Schwigg and I have put a lot of time into brainstorming and fleshing out what we want to do with this corp, and how we're going to do it, so we're covered there. Getting a name to fit those ideas, though, is proving to be challenging.
So that's where, hopefully, you all come in. We'd love to get some good name suggestions. Of course, in order to get those, I'll have to tell you a bit about what the corp is, and its backstory.
- The CEO of the corporation is Caldari.
- The CEO, while Caldari, is sympathetic to the Matari cause and ideals.
- As a result, while the corporation is distinctly a Caldari corporation, a lot of what it does (or how it does it) is different from the "norm" inside the State.
- Caldari corporations as a general rule are all about the companies needs ahead of the individual. If the individual doesn't fit in, they're left behind right away without a second glance. They are cutthroat and ruthless.
- In the case of the Ishukone corporation, as a great example, when things became unprofitable in Fade, they pulled back corporate assets, stranding millions of current/former employees on the planets to fend for themselves.
- This corporation is out for profit and power, but not at the expense of the employee. Instead, those needs are carefully balanced.
- However, part of being Caldari is being a military antagonist. They're more military-minded than the Amarr are, and they are always desiring the very best systems, software, weapons, and ships.
- So while it can't get completely away from the corporate mindset, the corporation integrate some of the Matari thinking into the equation.
What you get is a corporation that cares more about the individual than traditional Caldari corporations. It encourages and fosters teamwork, not just for the betterment of the corporation, but for the individuals as well. And, at a time when Caldari and Minmatar find themselves embroiled in conflict (on opposite sides of the Factional Warfare system), this corporation seeks to aid the Minmatar people as well, and not just always when they can pay top dollar for the goods and services that this corporation provides.
In-game, the corporation is divided into three primary divisions: Security, Logistics, and Special Operations. Security is geared to provide support to the Logistics members of the corporation, and to the New Bastion alliance as a whole. The Logistics division is responsible for maintaining a healthy corporate (and individual) financial backbone. The Special Operations division marries some of the responsibilities of the previous two, while doing it in a covert way. Read: black ops, recons, stealth bombers, cov ops, and blockade runners are the name of the game there, conducting warfare and resupply in a manner unique to the capabilities of those ships.
Let's put it all together. A Caldari corp with Matari leanings. Combat, Industry, and Exploration all being focused on within the corp. Pilots predominantly piloting Caldari and Matari ships. Inside an alliance that is dedicated to the teaching and support of new pilots in EVE.
What can you come up with?
About time…
I'll be honest. For the last 3 years or so in EVE, I've been in a rut. I've had the same core group of pilots, and we're bounced from one activity to another. Now, I'm not saying that's a negative. They're great people that I call friends both in-game and out. One of those pilots was a groomsman in my wedding several months ago.
However, as you can imagine, familiarity can breed complacency. Everyone in our little corp, regardless of where we were, in an alliance or out, had their own little role. I was the CEO and FC. Unreal was the best damn combat pilot that I could ask for. Schwigg was the carebear that desperately wanted to pew, but was the financial backbone of our organization. Reza cracked the pirate jokes. Etc...
Lately, however, real life has claimed most of these pilots and friends for good. They've dropped EVE, and while we keep in touch out of game routinely via various means...it does leave a void in the game for me. I considered dropping the game for good right alongside them, but things like OUCH have managed to keep my interest and subscriptions active. With the way that things were going, though, my interest would eventually wane and I'd be doing the people that I am helping train and shepherd along a disservice.
Which brings us to the real meat of this post. For the first time in years, I'm breaking out of my comfort zone of flying with the same clique of pilots day in and day out, and I'm starting anew with a new corp with a true purpose and, *gasp*, outside recruitment. To put it in perspective, I haven't done any outside recruiting since 2006.
Details of this corp will be coming forward soon, but I wanted to answer some preliminaries in closing:
- Yes, this corp will be in the New Bastion alliance.
- Yes, this corp will be assisting and furthering the purpose of OUCH.
- No, we will not be taking just anyone into the new corp. There are a set of principles that the new corp is going to be adhering to. Principals that are an outpouring of my desire to help, assist, and protect others.
- Yes, there will be a mild RP flavor to the corp. No, we will not be speaking in thees or thous...or even "in character". However, there will be a story behind the corp, its purpose, its principals, and its combat doctrine.
For those that have flown with me in the past, consider this a full reboot back to Cal of 2004/5. Arrogance is gone. In its place returns something better...more genuine, open, and true to principals.
For the love of…technology?
It has been a long time since I've posted here...and for good reason. A promotion at my job has kept me on the move throughout the US both before and after the Christmas holiday season. While I thought that hotels across the country had all moved onto the "free wifi" bandwagon, this has proved far from true...thus limiting my EVE time significantly over the past month or so.
But, wonder of wonders, American Airlines has started offering wifi on some of their in-country flights. Yes, dear readers, I'm making this blog post from 30,000 feet. Technology is amazing, isn't it? Oh, and while making this post I'm logging into EVE for some long-overdue alliance maintenance.
Yes, New Bastion has grown significantly since I last posted. It is now home of the "Open University of Celestial Hardship", which Alexia Morgan (a.k.a. Black Claw) is currently heading up. He and I spent weeks in back and forth talks, discussing the best ways to get the university off the ground, where to base it, what to do in it, etc... And while he and I have disagreed on some rather major issues from time to time, I'm happy to say that OUCH has more than 110 members in its ranks at this point...the majority of those being trainees.
The New Bastion killboard is certainly worse for wear due to all of the new pilots, but it is nice logging in to 25+ active pilots online at all hours of the day. It makes getting things done, regardless of what type of Op you're running, much easier.
That being said, one of the battles I've been fighting internally is OUCH's over-reliance on frigates. I understand that pilots have to start somewhere, but a fleet of 10 T1 frigates in 0.0 isn't going to accomplish much. If those same 10 pilots were in 10 T1 cruisers, the range of engagements available to them would be so much greater. Now that OUCH has come into a greater amount of funding, I'm hoping that those frigates provided by the corp transition over to cruisers.
Well, that's about all for now. Fly dangerous!