Anti-Gank: Josameto 8/2/2015

In addition to the typical freighter ganking, some gankers occasionally attempt to gank freighters in smaller groups with what is called "hyperdunking".  This is where typically as few as 1 ganker can bump a freighter off to a quiet grid, then use a ship like a Bowhead to repeatedly reship and attack the freighter until it is destroyed.

On August 2nd, ganker Rachel Ironhand was doing this to a Fenrir in Josameto using Hounds as the ganking ship.  The bumper Machariel was piloted by Baby Gal.  The Bowhead pilot and looter was Leah Azizora.  They were also using Mobile Scan Inhibitors. 

A few of us within the High-Sec Militia and the AG community responded.  The freighter was almost gone when we got there, but we halted the Hound attack.  In order to destroy the freighter, they had to bring in an expensive group of Talos ships despite the freighter being into low structure.

Afterwards, we prevented looting of the freighter and destroyed the Occactor loot ship.  It ended when the ganker rage-killed the freighter wreck and left the area. 

My thanks goes out to all who helped in preventing the gankers from completing this hyperdunk.  Always keep an eye out for hyperdunking.  Hopefully actions like these will discourage gankers from attempting future huperdunks.

A few of the relevant killmails --

Hound Gank Ships:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245337/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245371/

Talos Gank Ships:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245517/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245522/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245525/

Loot Ship:
https://zkillboard.com/kill/48245654/

Anti-Gank: Uedama 6/16/2015

Wolf Soprano has repeatedly indicated that he really enjoys reading my blog and asked me to write a new Anti-Gank (AG) report for June 16, 2015.  It's late, so I'll be keeping this short, but I don't want to let down one of my fans, so here is a quick report.

CODE. was ganking freighters again in Uedama.  Greatly outnumbered tonight, High-Sec Militia (HSM) forces had to rely largely on slowing the criminals of CODE. and damaging their will to continue such criminal activities in the future.  CODE. forces were forced to use more expensive ships, dozens of their pilots were jammed into irrelevance, and on at least one occasion, CODE. was forced to retry their gank despite having what should have been overwhelming numbers.

In defense of their egos, CODE. once again had to rely on claiming success even when there was none to be found.  But in the back of their minds, a truth is growing.  A truth that the honorable forces of the HSM are helping the misguided pilots of CODE. to see.  Crime doesn't pay.  In time, with the help of the HSM, future former CODE. pilots will realize the error of their ways and find the path to enlightenment and salvation.  They will leave behind their primitive animal instincts that hold them in servitude.  The will find a higher intellect and finally be free of the torment they inflict on themselves.

Pilots of CODE:  The HSM isn't just here to save innocent capsuleers from the tyranny of CODE.  The HSM is here to save you too.  We will help you see the light.  You need only reach for it, and all the riches of righteousness will be yours.

Return of the Bacon

I've been somewhat inactive lately. Not entirely so, I have actually investigated a few bumpers and and gone on a couple of patrols in the last couple of months, but on those few occasions I did not see any action. But I'm not gone.

Ganker activity has changed. More sporadic. Less focused. And it's time for me to work some new angles. To that end, I have been more heavily augmented than usual as I finish up new skills intended for the service of the High-Sec Militia (HSM) and the Anti-Ganking (AG) Community at large.

Come June, I will be refreshed, trained, and ready to step up my activity within the HSM to serve and protect the good citizens of Eve. It's a new day. My HSM and AG brethren -- grab some eggs and pancakes, because I'm bringing back the Bacon.

Anti-Gank: Uedama 1/31/2015

A few folks within Brave teamed up with CODE tonight to gank freighters in Uedama.  The High-Sec Militia and AG supporters were successful in stopping multiple ganks throughout the evening.  Several bumper ships were destroyed as well.

A big thanks goes out to those who worked hard to coordinate AG efforts throughout the evening.  It was a solid night.

CODE. Fails Again

Last night CODE. was attempting to gank in Uedama.  They failed to gank a freighter and were reduced to only attacking Orcas.  By the time I got there, they had already given up for the night.  The only killmails of interest were the ones someone posted showing CODE. pilots killing each other.

I used a clone jump to get there.  With CODE. having already dissolved by the time I got in the system, I instead spent my time setting up more jump clones and getting more AG ships in place.  Though I am starting to wonder whether or not I will really need them.

CODE. is closer to irrelevance than they would like to have you think.  Just the threat of a fair fight causes them to chicken out, tuck their tails between their legs, and go into full coward mode.  We only need look at their lack of appearance in the last Alliance Tournament for proof of that.

Anti-Gank: Uedama, 12/18/2014

CODE. was active again in Uedama, and there were a lot of cases this time where the battle took place somewhere other than next to a gate.  I believe there were a lot of cases where freighter pilots logged off and had their ship warp off to a random location in the system.  For cases like this, you need someone in the Anti-Gank (AG) fleet equipped with combat scanners and some scanning skill.

You will have an idea that the freighter warped off when the pilot logged if you see a freighter warp away from a bumper with a heading that appears somewhat random.  You may also notice Wolf, if he is there, just sit there and do nothing.  You may also notice some combat scanners show up on DScan.  You might also see a CODE. member say something in local that will tip you off, like claiming the AG forces are about to fail.  When it is suspected this has happened, someone in the fleet needs to immediately begin scanning for a freighter in the system.  Once found, they need to fly there and then have the rest of the AG fleet fly to them once there.

AG forces were light this day and no one in my group was equipped with combat scanners.  I did have a combat scanner equipped ship in the system, and I switched to it a couple of times when this situation appeared to arise, but unfortunately I was too slow to find the freighters in time.  I will be working on improving my response time on this in the future.

Regardless of it being a difficult night for my particular AG group, and flying remote repair for awhile as well, I still have a few of KMs to share:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/43188403/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/43188399/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/43187878/

Anti-Gank: Madirmilire/Niarja, 11/1/2014

A particular group within RvB decided they wanted to host an event for freighter ganking in and around Madirmilire.  A post about it can be found on their forum:

http://rvbeve.com/forums/index.php/topic/8593-ganked-140-freighters-must-die/

The Anti-Gank (AG) High-Sec Militia responded.  I am happy to report that multiple freighters were saved.  I was personally there to repair and see a Rhea, one of the more expensive freighters, survive a gank and get away clean.  I also heard good reports from others throughout the day.

I was only there for a few freighters due to some RL interruptions and due to being off on a special operation.  A few of us in the High-Sec Militia teamed up to remove Apex Aubaris' bumper Machariel from operation.

https://zkillboard.com/kill/42149167/

I have a side job within the AG community I refer to as AG Special Ops.  My participation in the Machariel kill was in service to the mission of AG Special Ops -- to undertake higher risk anti-gank operations to test new tactics, increase the effectiveness overall of AG activities, and further boost the morale of the AG community.  While the others involved were not members of this particular group, they certainly had a similar spirit.

Well done AG community, and thanks to all of you who made an effort to help and made this day a success for AG.

This wasn't the typical CODE. orchestrated gank night.  It was triggered by one or more members of RvB.  I hope our activities helped to send a message to the RvB organization that freighter ganking is not an honorable activity, will not be tolerated by the Eve community at large, and is not something the RvB organization wants to be associated with or condone. 

Anti-Gank: Uedama 10/26/2014

Gankers were at it again, and Loyalanon would say in local something along the lines of "Anti-gankers fail again" after each ganked freighter.  However, the real failure was Loyalanon thinking he knows what our objectives are.

One of my objectives for the evening was to come up with a good ship capable of taking out ganker ships before CONCORD arrives that would also stand up to ganker secondary fire.  After flying straight into the ganker pack on one occasion and coming out with plenty of armor left on an armor tanked ship, with some small fitting tweaks it is an achieved objective.  Furthermore, it was able to take out ganker ships before CONCORD arrives as intended.  Success again.  Here are just a few kills from the night:

• https://zkillboard.com/kill/42016675/
• https://zkillboard.com/kill/42017263/
• https://zkillboard.com/kill/42017871/
• https://zkillboard.com/kill/42018545/

Another objective was to meet some new AG pilots and strengthen our ability to operate and coordinate AG activities in the future.  I am happy to say this is yet another achieved objective.  I networked with a number of pilots who were very capable and who I have not met before.  I look forward to teaming up with them again in the future.

Despite all of this, the AG militia does need to start focusing on saving freighters again soon.  And when this day comes, the criminals of Eve will cower at the unstoppable force of justice they themselves had a hand in creating.

CONCORD is on our side.  The Empire is on our side.  Justice is on our side.  The criminal's days are numbered.  They are the darkness.  We are the light.  Shine bright, my brothers and sisters.

- Judge Bacon

Anti-Gank: Uedama, 10/8/2014 01:00

CODE. has apparently had daddy along to help them the last few nights to bolster their wilting alliance and save them from potential irrelevance.  Now reinforced, freighter ganks are once again happening in Uedama, and it requires an equal step up from the anti-gank community if we are to put a stop to it.

Our forces were insufficient.  We need more remote repair if we want to save freighters from these combined criminal forces.  Many millions in blasters, ammo, and other equipment was confiscated from criminal shipwrecks.  Some criminals were destroyed before CONCORD arrived (in particular, I like this kill, where Gorila Vengaza and I took out a ganker together).  But, while I don't know what transpired earlier in the evening, for the time while I was online we were unable to save any freighters.  I would like to make a call out to my AG brothers and sisters to step it up a notch and get more repair forces on the field of battle.

Anti-Gank: Uedama, 9/7/2014 00:00

A good night for anti-gank forces.  Criminal forces were driven out of the Uedama system completely.  I unfortunately didn't get into the action until it was winding down, but then again, it was winding down thanks to the anti-gank forces.  A victorious night for all of high sec.

I leave you with one particularly notable kill worth sharing:  Machariel Bumper Downed By Anti-Gank Forces

Amusingly, CODE. would have ridiculed such as ship -- if it weren't being used as one of their own bumpers -- probably using their favorite term "anti-tanked".

Anti-Gank: Uedama, 9/4/2014 04:00

I joined a small fleet of anti-gank militia in opposition of more CODE. freighter ganking. We had some success, and learned a few things, but there are areas that still need improvement.

One freighter pilot I talked to suggested we place cans with warnings near the system with date/time information. This is something we haven't consistently done, and should probably start doing with more regularity.

Saving freighters from second attempts after a first failed gank also needs improvement. I have now moved repair assets into place to provide more prompt and complete repairs in the future. Repairing structure will remain a problem though. I have the skills and equipment for it, but freighters have a ton of structure hit points and structure repair is slow; probably too slow to be done in a 15 minute timer window. We might need multiple people doing repairs or come up with other strategies like interrupting bumping to save more freighters.

I also tried out a new ship tonight -- an Oracle. This is the Amarr version of a Battlecruiser fitting Battleship weapons (like a Tornado). If you are careful with your fit, this type of ship is a viable anti-gank option. I was able to kill Destroyers before Concord arrival. Be careful with tracking though, as tracking speed is pretty slow. I fitted a tracking computer with tracking script to help. But I think my fit still needs some tweaks.

Fly safe!

Anti-Gank: Aufay 9/1/2014

A few CODE. were active around Aufay causing trouble.  I decided to try out an Interceptor that I only recently finished the skills to fly.  So far I think it is a great ship, and it doubles as a pretty nice shuttle when not using it for it's intended purpose.  It can't do much damage, but then it doesn't have to against opponents flagged as criminal.

A good first run -- I caught loyalanon coming out of the Aufay stargate into Balle.  The Interceptor's speed and scan resolution were instrumental in the engagement:  https://zkillboard.com/kill/41025553/

I sent loyalanon an Eve mail to inform him or her of the reason for the engagement:

Your Moa in Balle on 2014.09.02 03:00 was detained for your being in violation of the Eve Principles of Interstellar Conduct (EPIC). 

Please review and adhere to the EPIC to avoid such consequences in the future.

http://gankerbumpingtoo.blogspot.com/2014/08/eve-principles-of-interstellar-conduct.html

Anti-Gank: Uedama 8/29/2014

CODE. was ganking freighters in Uedama again on 8/29/2014, this time in partnership with a corporation named Systems High Guard.  There were not a ton of white knights out there, but we still managed to impede their progress and confiscate a lot of their equipment from wrecks.

I am finishing up remote hull repair skills over the next day, as once again it would have been helpful but no on site had it available.  An Orca survived a gank attempt, and CODE. continued to bump them.  I was able to repair the armor but not the hull, and most of the Orca hitpoints are in the hull.  The Orca was lost on a 2nd gank attempt due not receiving hull repairs.  Still, the pilot was grateful for our efforts and thanked us.  Nice guy.  Next time I will be ready with hull repair capability on site.

We also had at least one new person come out to help, and I think they learned a lot while there.  And I learned a few things too.  Learning is another good thing that sometimes goes overlooked, so I am making mention of it here.

Fly safe, Captains!  In time, we will clear the systems of scum and villainy.

Anti-Gank: Multiple Systems, 8/24/2014

On 8/24/2014, I joined forces with a few good other good folks in opposition of ganking activity in Uedama and multiple other surrounding systems. Sadly, my first Eve kill mail, which I had hoped to score this day, continues to elude me. I've joined in on multiple anti-gank fleets in the past, but always with a remote repair ship, and you don't get kill mails for successful repair jobs. However, on this night I finally had some guns. Unfortunately, while there were many ganker take downs, I kept getting caught scouting another gate when the action took place, and I arrived just seconds too late on multiple occasions. I've had much better luck in the past.

Still, I have to say it was a good day. I may still be looking for that first kill mail, but I really enjoyed the company of those I was in fleet with. I would like to extend my thanks to those who were in fleet with me this day, and I look forward to joining forces with all of you again in the future. Safe travels to you all!

UPDATE:  I did actually get a kill mail, and just didn't realize it.  It's nothing much, as I was late to the gank and at the limit of my torpedo range, so either the ship was destroyed before my torpedos got there or I fired them off a hair too far away and they didn't make it.  I'm pretty sure I target painted though, so maybe that's why I got some credit.  https://zkillboard.com/kill/40865058/

Anti-Gank: Uedama, 8/8/2014 21:00

CODE. was ganking freighters at gates in Uedama again on 8/8/2014.  A number of capsuleers rallied in opposition.  Due to the timing, I couldn't stay for long, but I was able to stay long enough for what I think was the first gank attempt of the night, against a Fenrir.  I was there providing remote armor repair with one of my Exequrors.  I am happy to report that the gank attempt was a failure.  A tip of the hat to all capsuleers who were there to oppose CODE. throughout the evening.  I wish I could have stayed longer.

I would also like to share a few thoughts on what type of ship to bring.  If you show up with guns only but you can't get a kill before CONCORD joins in, then you are not being very effective at stopping the gank.  However, I recognize that it is still fun to be there in opposition and your support is appreciated.  There is a definite appeal in firing guns at them, getting bounty, and getting kill mails.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you show up like I did in something that only does remote repair, it's always an effective addition to stop the gank, but it can leave you feeling a bit empty.  If you are not part of a fleet with at least someone firing guns, you get no kill mails, no bounty, just the satisfaction of a successful save when the gank fails.

I have a recommendation for people who fall into one of those two categories.  Save a fitting slot for something else.  If you are all guns, make room for at least one or more repair or ECM modules.  If you are all repair, make room for at least one or more guns or ECM modules.  Those who prefer guns can then be assured they were effective towards the end goal, and those who prefer repairs can finally get some bounty and kill mails.  This should help maximize the entertainment value while ensuring everyone is being effective towards stopping the gank.

Fly safe!

Anti-Gank Security Activity in Uedama

It's just a start, but Maximum Q security forces (which really just means me; Maximum Q is my corporation) joined in a fleet with other anti-gank militia to defend industrialists from CODE gank forces in Uedama last night.  This was a good first step for Maximum Q in building the connections, coordination, and capabilities needed to bolster CONCORD's forces and provide the early response defense needed in 0.5 security space to combat the plague of agile quick striking pirate monkeys.

Our forces aided in helping one freighter captain to survive a gank attempt, and we made progress on our communication and coordination.  I look forward to furthering our efforts in the weeks ahead.

While I did not get any kill mails for flying a remote repair Exequror that night, I did get bounty for a few notable pirates, confiscated some of their equipment, and ensured that the profit from their criminal activities was negatively impacted.

Join the anti-gank forces, and help take a bite out of crime!