[AAR] [WHC] Willuw FC'd something sort of....? Maybe.

[Willuw Everquest]

I debated writing this AAR for about 37 seconds and then told myself that I probably should. As an introduction; I am not an FC, nor do my desires include wanting to FC. However, I always attempt to learn from mistakes, to include those of FCs ... and in the last week or so we have lost several opportunities in WHC to engage a target due to inaction and/or a slow response time (this becomes important in the many mistakes made here by myself … later).

So when I jumped into a lowsec system, while scouting the chain, I saw a Stratios on DSCAN. I realized that I could get on grid with it quickly and instead of calling for another FC, I took matters into my own hands (due to the aforementioned perceived lesson learned). Sitting 32K off the ratting Stratios, I called frantically for Small Ships to form and to sit on the other side of the hole (2 jumps from Innu). The fleet composition ended up looking something like this:

Che Galtor enyo
Tyera Azrael enyo
Hobaito Tom firetail
Amoni Panala inquisitor
Willuw Everquest Stratios
Rainton Rainz Jaaaaaaag
Loron Garns Enyo
Gergoron Moussou Retri
Ana'ander Lamora Reti

The fleet assembled quickly (within a minute) on the adjacent hole while I slowboated cloaked towards the ratting Stratios. When I was 23k off the Stratios I asked the Jag to enter the system and tackle the Stratios, which went surprisingly well. I then asked everyone else (or Ana may have) to warp to Rainton and we quickly killed the Stratios with no losses.

However while that sounds great, I'd like to draw some pretty substantial lessons from this relatively minor engagement.

1) The fleet comp was completely wrong - where is the Logi? I didn't take the fleet comp into consideration at all, as I was so focused on getting the kill quickly instead of diddly-daddling around. Had I taken another 10 seconds I could have called for Logi. I didn't. Also, I didn't consider asking for a retri or slicer to kill drones, I was just lucky that in the end that is what ended up showing up on grid.

2) Sloooow dooooown, just a little. The only coherent thing … that I think I asked the fleet to do was to assemble on .2B1L (the other side of the wormhole), and maybe telling Rainton to grab the Stratios (in the jag), after that it was pretty much a free for all. We got lucky. Had anything gone sideways, I may have gotten a "scatter" out of myself, but I didn't think through the engagement at all prior to it happening.

3) I have no clue where to find the tools necessary to write up an AAR (it would be cheating at this point of me typing this if I was to look it up)

The Good: Speed - from 1st-DSCAN to Engagement maybe 3 minutes.

Isk Efficiency: 100%
https://zkillboard.com/kill/79198049/

[Marcus Arilia]

Willuw, I’m really glad to see you running a gank. I think a little bit of practice and you’d make a good FC.

I agree with you completely that we’ve had some slow formups as of late, that has been frustrating me as well. If you don’t take what’s in front of you, or be willing to form up before it’s a sure thing there’s a decent chance you’ll miss out completely, so props on getting people moving.

One thing I’ve started doing, and connects to your other point, I don’t do a generic “x up small ships” anymore. I do an “x up logi” then an “x up DD”. No one gets to think about their DD till we have committed logi.

I also completely understand getting caught up in the speed of a quick form. I sometimes have to do a double take and think “do I have the roles I need filled” and “If they have a counter at I rounded enough to hold grid”.

More than anything though, I’m proud you took the initiative to FC it. One of our biggest challenges is a limited number of people willing to take the jump and FC something. Small ships are cheap for a reason, ships are just another type of ammo, and the only way to get better is practice.

[Ana'ander Lamora]

I think in this particular case, since the target was in a low, and no one else appeared on local for awhile, and the number of DPS we brought, not calling for logi wasn't a serious error. Tho I understand why you call yourself out on building that mental checklist, I imagine it's a great habit to build.

But I appreciated your quick and decisive calling for this gank - clearly called for SS, told us where to wait, while feeding us relevant intel on what the target was doing and if they had drones out so we knew what we were warping in to. Also good job on asking for updates on who was your Jag, and who else was ready on the hole, and in what.

Thanks for being willing to FC!