OUCH Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks to our Training Director, we have a Frequently Asked Questions post about the student requirements within OUCH, which currently sits on our forums in the student area.  I just wanted to add a few notes for you to be aware of while you're reading the FAQ:

1) The FAQ applies to students within OUCH, and is from the perspective of "Now that I'm in OUCH I have some questions..."  From reading this, you'll understand a lot about what is expected of our students.

2) The Student Folders mentioned in the FAQ are a requirement for all students to create on our forum. This is where a record is kept of their training, achievements, and any relevant discussions they might want to engage in with trainers or mentors.

3) If you're intrigued by the training concepts described in the FAQ and feel like you'd like to be a part of it, then join us so you can be. :)

4) If you're reading this and you've been playing for a few years and now you're looking for a challenge in your Eve career and you think that helping OUCH with our student training, PVE or PVP in some way just might be it, then contact me to discuss this.

And now, on to the Frequently Asked Questions!

The graduation requirements say I have to graduate within 90 days of joining OUCH. Real life might make this impossible. Can I get an extension? 

Yes. We strictly adhere to a real-life-comes-first policy. If more time is needed, post a reply to your student folder letting us know. At some point, however, your ingame title will be changed to Trial and if your absence is prolonged, you might be removed from the corp. If this happens, when you become active again simply re-apply to OUCH and we'll re-activate your student folder.

I'm a six-year-old character and can fly every ship in the game. Do I have to fly the student-fit frigate? 

Yes. We will train you to competently pilot a no-frills frigate. The skills you learn while a student can be applied after you graduate to other ships and fittings, but will serve as a solid foundation. Your student time in OUCH will focus on a very particular small-gang role, that of secondary tackler.

Are there any exceptions to the student-fit frigate requirement? 

Yes.

1) You may travel-fit a frigate for navigating through null. Typical travel fits include a cloaking device, microwarpdrive and warp core stabilizers. You may put your combat modules in the cargo hold and re-fit when desired in nullsec. You may also use the travel-fit frigate for the nullsec run graduation requirement, though an empty cargo hold is advised.

2) If you wish to participate in PVE activities, consult the folks in Logistics about what ship and fitting you should bring.

Do I have to set up on the Singularity server? 

No, you don't have to, but it is highly recommended. Some things will be taught and practiced on SISI that won't be available to you on Tranquility, such as how to place the mobile small warp disruption bubble.

The training module sessions conflict with my real life schedule. Is there a workaround? 

Depends. Our trainers have real lives too. We do sometimes hold module sessions outside of the times scheduled to accomodate groups of students who have similar time constraints, and in some cases will hold one-on-one sessions depending on a trainer's availability. However, please do your best to make the scheduled sessions.

Will OUCH help me make ISK to support my PvP habit? 

No. However, we do have a Logistics Department that is involved in ISK-making activities and you are welcome to participate.

How then do PvPers support their habit? 

Varies by pilot. Some buy PLEX, some engage in PVE, some in industry or trading, some have other accounts they use for making ISK. You'll need to figure out what works for you.

How do I become a permanent member of OUCH? 

Within 30 days of graduation, apply to one of our Departments: Operations (PvP), Training, or Logistics (essentially PVE). If accepted, you then become a permanent OUCH member, though pilots in the Operations Department must maintain a monthly combat record of at least four fights to remain permanent members. Failure of an Operations Department member to meet this requirement will result in that member being removed from Operations and placed in 30-day post-graduation status

What if I graduate and don't apply to one of the Departments? 

If you haven't applied to a department within 30 days of graduating, you will be removed from OUCH.  You're either a student or a permanent member - there's no inbetween.

Do you have a ship replacement program? 

No. However, some modules can be made available to you in our nullsec HQ and we do offer a number of ships at a discount to the market via corporate contracts.

Does OUCH have a POS or sovereignty? 

No and no.

Does OUCH have corporate hangars? 

Yes. However, as a student you will have read-only access to a couple of the hangar divisions.

Does OUCH have a loot policy? 

Yes. What that policy is differs between Operations and Logistics. Ask your op leader.

Tales from the front line #2

I proudly bring you another 'tale from the front line'. This is a recent engagement that our OUCH members were involved in.  I want to remind you that these warriors were - only very recently - noobs and carebears, just like you probably are. There's no shame in being new, or being a carebear, because OUCH exists to help you grow.  Just like it helped the below-mentioned members grow.

Please enjoy:

‘Maelstrom's in the Bubble’
I log onto Teamspeak after logging off for a short break from EVE to see nine killers in the PVP OPS 1 channel.  So I  drop down to the channel to see what’s going on. “Maelstrom on D-Scan” is called out, seconds later “Second Maelstrom on D-Scan” is announced.  I immediately begin logging into EVE.
I hear primary being called and pilots calling out points all the time I’m frantically trying to log into game only to find myself in [CENSORED] station instead of the system of the engagement. Jamm’s are announced on both battleships.
“He’s shield boost tanked” is called out. I immediately begin assessing the situation in my head as I wait for session change to be able to change ships. Another pilot announces “We don’t have enough DPS to break the tank!” I select my Sacrilege to bring the pain…
As I undock I call to my fellow capsuleers to hold onto them, I’m on the way with more DPS. As I’m warping to the gate I’m going over the info that has been given out in my head when I realize that comms are eerily silent. I hit the gate and jump on contact calling it out over comms. Once on the other side I warp to a tactical bookmark, and then with gritted teeth into the fray I warp.
As I'm locking the primary still our comms are pretty silent.  My ship acquires a lock and I unleash hell. At this point I go into combat mode and the military trained part of my brain engages and assumes control. I begin asking for reports from out ECM pilots and begin assuring we have points on both BS’s.  The flow of information begins again, I smile.
“+1” is announced over comms.  “Any relation to the Mael’s?” I ask.
“No, we have a rifter on D-scan” is the reply.  The gears in my head begin to spin even faster now. Do I let the Rifter go and keep my focus on the battleship? Or do I feed him to the the blood-frenzied sharks currently swarming the battleships? A few heartbeats later I decide. This is our system - intrusion will not be tolerated by a single rifter.
I call for two of my best tacklers to move to the bubble and greet our new guest when/if he arrives.  A few seconds later “Rifter in the bubble!” is called.
“Grab him” I call, and almost immediately the tacklers respond with their confirmations of tackle. They have been trained well.  I quickly give orders for two of my pilots to hold the battleships and for everyone else to get on the Rifter. “KILL IT” is the order given after I receive the confirmation that all free pilots are on him. He pops almost instantly and his pod is scrammed quickly thereafter. Not wanting to waste time I call for the pod to be killed without waiting for everyone to get on it, and give orders for everyone to get back on the primary Mael.
The Maelstrom's shields begin to very slowly melt way when he engages his shield boosters again. Concern on whether or not we can break his tank is voiced in comms. Seeing how much shield is being boosted I realize that he must be dual boosted, which means he’s running a cap booster. “He’s using a cap booster with charges and they cant last forever.” I assure my pilots over comms.  Sure enough, his boosting amountv soon cuts in half which means he’s dropped down to one booster. His cap charges are running low. His shields begin to dissipate at an increased rate and before long he is in armor.  As his structure begins to quickly bleed out I call for my tacklers to prepare to grab his pod and for the rest of my fleet to switch primary to the second Mael upon the first's destruction. The Maelstrom explodes in a glorious ball of fire, but unfortunately his pod escapes.
Having tasted blood my pilots descend up the second Maelstrom like a pack of rabid piranha. And his tank doesn’t seem to be quite as strong as the first. It begins melting at a much faster rate. When intel reports that a small fleet consisting of interceptors, Dramiels, and a Flycatcher have landed on the gate next door with a Dram jumping into our system. “Stay on target” I call out, “Dram on D-scan” calls out another.
Decision time again, I quickly assess our situation and decide to not and try to get a tackle on the Dramiel unless he attempts to engage us first. We are so close now to bringing down the Maelstrom that I need every bit of DPS we can muster to pop it before this fleet jumps in on us.
“Dram in the bubble” is called. I watch as it quickly turns and begins burning for the gate, “He’s bugging out,” I call out over comms.
“Fleet jumping into system,” reports our scout next door just as the Maelstrom drops into structure.
“Bring him down now, we're about to have company!” I demand over comms, and like the vicious killers they are, they comply. The Maelstrom pops just as the fleet is identified on D-scan. “Warp to tacs” (tactical bookmarks) command is given out and all pilots warp off to safety with zero losses. We decide to give the incoming fleet a free pass while we reload and let the adrenaline run its course out of our system.
While I know this is not a AAR (after action report) in its true form and more of a narrative from my POV, it gives an account of what I saw and my emotions during the engagement.  I am extremely proud of all the pilots involved in these kills. An extraordinary job was done by our ECM pilots who kept our opponents jammed for the majority of the battle. All fleet members followed orders precisely and quickly. While I am aware that my spelling, grammar, and just general use of the English language is frighteningly horrible I hope you enjoy this account as much as I did. I am a proud member of Art of War Alliance and look forward to killing with you all again.

Takedown of a Cynabal

Just recently, some of our guys had a great time taking out a neutral Cynabal in nullsec. Below is the action report from one of the OUCH fleet members. (I've taken the liberty to censor some sensitive information.) This is an example of what our OUCH members are doing out there:

The [CENSORED] gate bubble in [CENSORED] was slow. Very slow. So slow that the FC had asked the fleet if a roam would be more fun. Just as fleet members were considering the roam or logging for the evening, intel comes in from [CENSORED]: Neutral in system.....Cynabal on scan.

I keep open on another computer several webpages, one of them is an eve-wiki page. I quickly look at Cynabal and see this:
Fast. Really fast. Faster than a Vagabond due to # of low slots + base speed.

25% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret rate of fire
10% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret damage per level
10% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret falloff per level

Hmm. As one of the fastest ships in our little camp with a scram (the other being [CENSORED] in his Incursus), I am going to share primary tackle duty. Noting that there is no bonus to tracking speed, I felt that if he came into the bubble, we could hold him and I could stay under his weapons if I kept the afterburner on.

He lands on the [CENSORED] gate in [CENSORED] and enters are system. We wait. "Cynabal on D-scan" is called out. And then he lands 5km from me. The fight is on.

It takes almost 4 seconds for me to get a lock once he became vulnerable. "Scram!"...."Web!".... a few more calls came out. I am about 6-7km or so, well within my scram range and web. Afterburner is on. Drone: out. I start to apply damage. Shield buffered. Going to be a long fight.

FC calls out "Drones. Target drones". I quickly hit my drones tab and target the Hornet EC drones he has. I switch damage over.

During this whole time, our quarry has targeted me and had begun shooting and applying a neut. I watched my capacitor run dry. It didn't take long. Once I slowed, his 425 Auto IIs caught up with me.

"[CENSORED], get out of there", called our FC. I was into structure now. With the neut, I didn't have the ability to warp away. Once I started aligning, my transversal was gone. No warp, no transversal...*poof*.

I was spamming warp already, so my pod zipped out (he didn't have a point, but I didn't want to be an easy target). As I left the field, the FC called out that the Cynabal's shields were gone. The ship didn't last much longer after that, nor did his pod. No one else in our fleet was lost. 17,500+ damage was delivered first class.

In essence, we traded a student-fit Incursus for a 170 Million ISK Cynabal. It was a good deal.


Lessons:
1. Know what you're going up against. It helps to have cheat sheets if you're memory is as alcohol-damaged as mine.
2. Speedy frigs can be effective.
3. Neuts suck.

I do want to thank those in the fleet last night. What a crew! And especially the FC [CENSORED]. I really appreciated [CENSORED]'s precise and calm FC-ing. A real pro.

An OUCH poster for your desktop

I've been very excited to engage the services of Rixx Javix and, as I'd hoped, he's outdone himself with his work for OUCH.  Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a poster for OUCH.  Feel free to save it to your desktop or share it with your friends.

[Click on it for a larger view]