Improvement items to work on from my last fleet (2017.04.29):
- Preparation - make sure I am prepared ahead of time for the introductory part of the roam.
- Decision Making - be faster on target selection.
- Action - make sure everyone in the fleet knows what is going on and keep up the constant flow of FC talk.
- Keep LEARNING!
Aric Garrett
Auresh Odunen
Baelthorn – 3IC
Barrett Chanlin
Bill Achasse
Birdinator Wyld
Carl Misjekis
Disciple – Skirmish Scout
Jason VanZhandt
Kontxesi Buchanan – Skirmish Scout
Maynard Orlenard
Philbro Kishunuba
Prime Lancelot
Reise Amatin
Rendin NomNoms
Rezda Nardieu – 2IC
Rider Isleman
Rooster Cogburnn – Skirmish Scout
Serah Cadelanne
Sone Eto – Skirmish Scout
Subotai Zenkiller
Tritium Kashuken
Tyler Arnoux
Venator Skarsgard
Vors Voorhorian
Will Musana – Skirmish Scout
Wokum
OBSERVATIONS
The fleet started off, IMO, on a MUCH better note from a preparation and administrative standpoint than my previous fleet on 29 April. I was much more prepared for the Newbro speech, I had (most of) my ducks in a row, and I felt much more comfortable. I found some things here and there that I can tweak and will continue to fine tune as I lead more fleets. My biggest issues now are fine-tuning the intro so it isn't so long and making sure I have an optimal flow for information during the introduction. I also forgot to post a couple of links that would have been helpful (SRP being one of them). Overall I am happy with the way the run up to undock went.
I decided to follow a similar route to what we ran last time. This made it a bit easier on me in terms of "one less thing to think about". I also did more preparatory work than last time and had several branch systems picked out before undocking. It made a HUGE difference. Towards the end of the roam when I was starting to get tired, having a pre-planned "route" that we could pick from kept us from sitting around. At the very end I hit a wall, and actually ran out of ideas of where to go next. Helpful suggestions provided ideas and I ran with it.
Departing Stacmon, we ran up the pipe towards Oicx and into Black Rise. We found a few targets here and there along the way, but no one wanted to play with us. Then we got to Kinakka. Scout reported 2 Harpies in a plex, and we went for it. When scout landed on-grid there was only 1 Harpy present, the other having warped off. I made sure to call "EWAR Only" until everyone joined us, and then we went guns hot. The Faction MSE added a lot of isk value to the kill.
(02:42:28) Kinakka
Harpy +54.76m
We moved down into Nennamaila we were unable to find anyone to engage, and we ended up passing through Ealuri after a short break. We found a dramiel and an Atron in a plex - we're assumed the Atron was providing long point for the Dram, but not from looking at the killmail. Seems an interesting pairing. Our scout managed to get tackle on the Dramiel and held long enough for the rest of the fleet to arrive.
(03:22:00) Enaluri
Atron -0.61m
Atron +0.61m
Dramiel +57.16m
After a few more systems we again found a target, our scout managing to get tackle and the fleet taking it down. Another Faction MSE.
(03:35:31) Hikkoken
Rifter +28.17m
A Maller in a plex in Tama? It will eat us up, won't it? We went for it, the scout finding him sitting on the acceleration gate to a small plex. A fast tackle frigate was with him, who promptly warped off as our fleet landed. The Maller was made short work of, with a clean pod to boot, and we were off moving again.
(03:53:31) Tama
Maller +26.53m
Capsule +0.01m
It was starting to get late and we were getting punchy. A trip to OMS to die in a blaze of glory is what we needed. Our scout found a pod on the gate, but nothing to help us blow up.
(04:15:50) Old Man Star
Capsule +0.01m
Bird managed a solo kill on his way home! Good on ya!
(04:26:17) Ouelletta
Punisher +8.29m
And 1 minute later I made the big mistake. We found a cruiser on the Tama gate in Kedama. Being non-flashy, he baited us. Me being the Newbie FC, I fell for it. All 3 losses to gate guns, which is sad, as Rendin was carrying a good bit of the stuff we had collected on the roam up to this point. Live and learn - if you're going to be a pirate, you're going to get caught sometimes.
(04:27:36) Kedama
Atron -0.61m
Griffin -16.36m
Tristan -9.77m
Stats
ISK Destroyed: 175,525,543.01
ISK Lost: 27,350,730.65
ISK Delta: 148,174,812.36
Efficiency: 86.519%
PERFORMANCE REVIEW
I felt MUCH more comfortable on this run as FC, and I think the pre-fleet planning had a lot to do with it. I was more decisive, I kept us moving, and I made sure to call for EWAR until everyone could get in to participate. Eeveryone had a really good time, which is the whole point.
The scouts were AMAZING. Three of them were first-time scouts, but you'd never have guessed it. I was very hesitant at first to allow never-scouted-before pilots to step into the role, because I assumed that the combination of New FC and New Scout would be disastrous. I'm REALLY glad I didn't prevent them from scouting, and I'll be happy to have Newbros scout again. Looking back on it, the worst that could have happened is we would have all died, but even that would have led to a good learning opportunity.
Mistakes. My biggest was due to, I think, lack of experience. I should have remembered gate mechanics, but I didn't. I also opened up OBS to record the fights, and never turned it on
I also need to work on maintaining communication. I was good in fits and starts, but there were times when I went silent.SUMMARY
Isk positive again, everyone had a good time, and I felt really good about the overall flow of the fleet.
Actionable Goals:
- Preparation - make sure I am prepared ahead of time for the introductory part of the roam - Check.
- Decision Making - be faster on target selection and route choices - Check Minus. There is still room for improvement on this one!
- Action - make sure everyone in the fleet knows what is going on and keep up the constant flow of FC talk - Check Minus. Better at waiting for everyone to get on the same page, not so much with communication.
- Learning - Check!. As long as I learn something new each time I will call this a success.
- Preparation. Continue to tweak preparation items so that things continue to run smoother and smoother.
- Decision Making. Continue refining decision-making ability. This is going to be the process that takes the most amount of time I think.
- Action. Keep working on command chatter. I think eventually it will become a habit, but for now it needs to be conscious action.
