[WHC QRF] In which we were baited with a Heron

[Professor Academiac]

Baited with a Heron

Battle Report

Killed: 6 ships @ 1.12b
Lost: 7 ships @ 2.91b

_______________________

Flying a DST and a Pontifex back from Stacmon, I hopped on comms as I got close to the Alpha chain. I heard fleet members rolling Bravo, but someone said they tackled a Heron in .2 A2H where I was coming from, and asked if anyone wanted to join. I docked the DST and went for the bait. Comms were a little hectic between rolling and people asking to join in on the kill.

Round 1:

A hostile Sabre bubbled us and a Hurricane Fleet Issue landed. No FC, it wasn't clear how many we had, or in what ships. We fought a little free for all without an FC. I got in structure so I MJF'd out, and Tris asked why was everyone scattering. I don't know if people scattered from the surprise HFI drop or when they saw a friendly ship MJF out. By the time everyone came back and others trickled in, it was too late for Tris's Loki. As I went back in my pod to reship, I decided to take command and organize the fleet, asked everyone in Cake to bring AAFs and form at .Alpha and drop to DD1. From the report, it looks like we killed the HFI by then, but they brought a Rapier and a Drake Navy and killed our Omen Navy. At the time, intel and info were not clear.

Round 2:

I realized that my ships aren't assembled yet as I'm still moving, and that I only have a loaner Sabre. So I went to .Alpha and announced that I can't FC, and dropped from squad command. This caused issues later. Mathais stepped up and announced he'll FC. We learned that there are 2 ships on *Alpha so I bubbled and there were activations. Turns out they were friendly but waiting their polarization timer, and that 2 hostile ships came to hunt them at *Alpha, but didn't jump. Again comms was hectic and it wasn't clear what's friendly and who's jumping. Hoping to clarify things, I started asking for intel and giving commands like an FC, forgetting that Mathais now is FC and I stepped down. Amidst the discussions, Mathais mentioned that he's been engaging the Drake Navy for a while. I think he mentioned this earlier and asked the fleet to join, but I was talking over him when I was clarifying the intel. So we jumped and warped, I bubbled and we fought them, they brought 2 HFIs as well. Mathais and the scouts had already killed the DNI but unfortunately we were too late and he lost his Proteus. I took control again and called primary/secondary and asked to spread tackle, and we killed them both. We looted the field until we got intel that they're coming back, so we docked up. People got their loot, I asked the fleet to give the rest to Tris and Mathais for listing the T3s (I also sent them a few ISKies because I felt bad), and we debriefed.

What went well:

• WHC is bloodthirsty and everyone wants to commit to fights
• Everyone is stepping up for roles like scouting, picketing, etc.
• I stepped up to organize the chaos a bit and FC. I'm typically hesitant to FC, so that was personal progress. I think I'm comfortable with AAFs, and maybe SBCs. Hoping to FC more so expect a lot of SRPs Morra
• Mathais stepped up to FC when I stepped down
• We won the second fight but lost the ISK efficiency

Areas of improvement:

• When I formed for Round 2, I said "bring an AAF to .Alpha". What I should have said instead is "X up with AAFs" so I can get a sense of our comp and maybe ask people to switch if necessary.
• For example, I asked for a deacon, but it wasn't clear if someone brought one, and apparently no one did.
• Comms were a bit hectic. Everyone, including me, was referring to themselves as "I" instead of the third-person. So it wasn't clear who was doing what, even with overlay I was a bit confused.
• Also, a lot of people were talking and sometimes over each other so important info was missed in the noise. Comms can be better.
• Information from scouts could be more specific. Like instead of "2 ships on *Alpha", scouts can say "2 hostiles on *Alpha, HNI and DNI".
• I took over after explicitly saying I'm stepping down. I felt confused from the intel and wanted clarity, but I shouldn't have overstepped because everything from thereon should have been following Mathais commands and requests for intel, not my personal curiosity. That was a terrible mistake that might have been what cost us the Proteus.

I want to become a better FC, so please feel free to critique and provide constructive feedback even if it's harsh. I have thick skin.

[JR Morgan]

Good write up. Sorry we lost the Tc3's. I agree there was a lot of confusion but I know I just got back from incursions between Round 1 and 2 so I did not even know about Round 1. That was probably my fault for jumping into the middle of things without understanding what exactly was going on.

To me the most confusing thing was I thought based on what I heard the fight was happening on * Alpha when it really was not.

[Boran Lordsworth]

Also after those fights there were a couple of DSTs still stuck out in highsec. We reformed in KSG and to my surprise we got a veritable 7-8 pilots in actual KSG doctrine ships to undock.

By thistime their home (2 A2 was EOL) but they brought out a Trig fleet consisting of 2xLeshak, 2xDrekevac, 2x?Hurricane Fleet? and a Rapier. We tangled with the Leshaks for a while on .Alpha for a while, but didn't have DPS to break them and no boosher to get them off the hole. Nobody died which shows me that everyone mostly knew how to fly their KSG ships. They eventually pulled back to their home.

We went about making tactical bookmarks on the various wormholes in Alpha while people were moving their DSTs closer. I believe there was a Rapier in system with us, but he also eventually retreated back to their home in 2 A2. We kept an eye on .2 A2 while people were moving their DSTs in and stood down shortly after everyone got in.

Very encouraged by the amount of KSG we were able to form and everyone seemed to know their stuff. Way to go WHC!!!

Cheers,
Boran

[Zeros Mu]

Notes:

Brawly BCs will defeat most T3Cs in close. T3Cs should strive to hold range as best as possible or only engage when they have initial tackle (this seems to be the t3c deaths).

The rapier seems to be why the OmenNI died. Rapiers/Recon's have a respectable buffer usually but can easily be burned down by a few AAF. When he showed everyone should have changed primary. The isk trade of leaving a ship behind and getting that rapier is almost always worth it.

Sabre's/Dictors are worth 100m ISK. Totally worth primarying (second sabre if someone could have scrammed).

Ewar. Had we replaced the INS/Bombers/Caracal not primary doctrine ships with one a FD Malus and Crucifier I think you could have damped off the Tengu and missile range'd the rapier/DNI out while kiting 80+ from the canes.

[Biwako Acami]

Forming doctrine is something that needs to be drilled. We were lucky in having composition guides provided in our revised doctrines that stated minimum comp and scaling options. FC should ensure that they have minimum and have a plan for stragglers responding to pings. Generally, minimum composition does enough to cover logi and necessary utility, nice to have utility and DPS scaling comes after, then stragglers sit in mainline DD ships unless you're lacking something.

When we started with new doctrines the form up took very long but I was told it is better to field a strong fleet rather than rushing to whelp one that is crippled without necessary utility like webs/neuts.

FC controls comms and senior members should help enforce it. Combat Comms needs to be called and respected. Taking over happens but either party needed to recognize the situation and clear ambiguity on Comms. People responding to pings won't know who is the FC aside from the one giving orders. Update MOTD of standing fleet if needed.

A scout needs to be on the field and not a combatant unless they're initial tackle. Without precise information you're flying blind as an FC. A good scout will tell you where they're coming from, how many in their structure, what is in space at their home, etc. As with any fleet, very little takes priority over scout/FC communication during an active QRF situation.

[Biwako Acami]

We looted the field until we got intel that they're coming back, so we docked up. People got their loot, I asked the fleet to give the rest to Tris and Mathais for listing the T3s (I also sent them a few ISKies because I felt bad), and we debriefed.

This needs to be stated better. Docked up because we didn't have enough to form again? Docked up because we couldn't match what they brought? To avoid leaving a bad aftertaste after dealing with E-UNI the FC should ideally communicate with the opposing side about the state of engagements. I can think of two times where after a good fight we have debriefed with the opposing side on E-UNI public Comms.

[Professor Academiac]

Thanks everyone for your valuable feedback. I read it a couple of days ago and wanted to reflect. I agree 100% with Boran, and thanks Zeros for the input. It's great to know what to primary and when to switch and this is something that is holding me back from FCing confidently, so thanks for that info.

FC controls comms and senior members should help enforce it. Combat Comms needs to be called and respected. Taking over happens but either party needed to recognize the situation and clear ambiguity on Comms. People responding to pings won't know who is the FC aside from the one giving orders.

This is excellent advice. FC must shut people up if necessary. So unless he didn't feel I was overstepping or asking for useless info, Mathias should have asked me to shut up 100% no joke. FC and combat comms trumps all. I also should have been more mindful of that myself, and not overstep.

This needs to be stated better. Docked up because we didn't have enough to form again? Docked up because we couldn't match what they brought? To avoid leaving a bad aftertaste after dealing with E-UNI the FC should ideally communicate with the opposing side about the state of engagements. I can think of two times where after a good fight we have debriefed with the opposing side on E-UNI public Comms.

I don't remember now what they brought but it wasn't so bad that we couldn't outmatch. They gave us good fights to be completely honest. And in hindsight, I should have communicated with the opposing force better than just saying GF in local. I think it was a matter of low morale from losing the T3Cs and trying to get out with the loot so we could cover the losses and debrief. As a JFC who's only used to whelping Magic Merlins in the worst-case scenario, WHC fights and whelping WHC doctrines are a little too expensive for my comfort. I didn't ask for the T3Cs and I didn't even know they existed until it was too late, but I still feel responsible.