Welcome to “Browncoat Chronicles” where the universe of EVE Online meets the spirit of Firefly. I’m Capt Malcolm Reynoldz, a solo player and devoted Browncoat. Join me as I navigate the vast expanse of New Eden, living the life of an Independent.
In each episode, I’ll share tales of my latest in-game adventures, including daring escapades, thrilling space battles, and cunning ISK-making strategies. Whether exploring uncharted regions, engaging in high-stakes piracy, or trading on bustling markets, these stories are always full of excitement and intrigue.
Stay up-to-date with the latest game expansions and in-game news as I break down new features, updates, and events that shape the ever-evolving universe of EVE, specifically for solo players. As a fan of EVE and Firefly, I’ll occasionally draw parallels between the game and the series, bringing you unique insights and entertaining discussions that blend the best of both worlds.
Tune in to “Browncoat Chronicles” for an engaging mix of space adventure, tactical gameplay, and a touch of Firefly nostalgia. Whether you’re a seasoned capsuleer or new to the verse, Mal’s chronicles are your ticket to the ultimate EVE Online experience. So, strap in, grab a Quafe or Mudder’s Milk, and enjoy the journey. Shepherd Book always said that’s the worthier part.
As the challenge progresses, Marq Aideron and I have had discussions around exactly what constitutes “$1bil ISK”. Is it earning the isk overall or is it having that amount liquid in your wallet? Sure, it would be easier to just say “Earning $1bil ISK overall because you have to cover the inevitable losses, lost drones, repairs, etc.”. But then looking back over the reason for this challenge is that Mal has always been a poor Capsuleer. I want to learn how to become efficient in earning ISK and being able to sustain whatever activities I choose without having to credit-card warrior my way into bigger and better ships.
And there in lies the rub of the challenge.
In order to earn a higher amount of ISK per activity (like Missions or higher Abyssal Filaments) I have to get into bigger ships that can handle those activities comfortably. Ideally I’d love to get into a GILA, but the hull alone is incredibly expensive and Mal barely had $20mil ISK last night when I logged in. L2 missions are easy in an Algos but the ISK you earn per mission is weak tea. I need to get up to L3 and then L4 missions, but at the rate I’m going it feels like it will be months before I can afford the ships and fittings to do that properly.
In a fit of frustration last night after evaluating my situation I sold my Tristan and Algos, all the fittings and everything I had in salvage/loot and squeezed out enough ISK to pay $28million for a decently fit VEXOR. That left my wallet at roughly a whopping $350,000isk.
I undocked anyway, ran a few missions and as of writing this I have this in my wallet.
This challenge has become more of a “challenge” than I had originally thought. And what’s worse is that it is starting to feel more like work than fun. The whole point of the challenge was to learn to earn ISK and keep me interested. I wanted to feel excited to login and work on this, but I’d be lying if I said that. Instead I’m finding it has been having exactly the opposite effect.
So much so that I took a break from thinking about it and resurrected “TAZ” with the final slot on my OMEGA account that Mal is on. I know the original TAZ is still out there, but I can’t find the files with her login info yet and I’m not in the mood to go on that sort of data expedition at the moment. I recreated her image as best I could and decided to go shoot some people to vent my frustrations.
In researching RIFTER fits I saw one of the leaders of Black Rebel Rifter Club was the number one RIFTER pilot and so I borrowed their fit, sent them an EVEmail on how to best fly it and any advice they may have for a returning PVP’er from 2014’ish. They responded with a lengthy explanation of how to handle the ship and what it can do and also sent an Arty fit with details as well. I joined the public chat for BRRC and headed down to their home system and started hunting. Within a day I started the application process to join them, which is still under review today. Being a new character I had to prove myself.
Honestly, I don’t know. But I have been having one helluva time flying solo in Low Sec hunting for my next target, relearning PVP and getting to talk to a really great bunch of pilots who are becoming quick friends. Or at least I hope they think so too. But at the very least – I have been having FUN for the past three or four days. And I still like running Missions too. I just wish it made better ISK. Truth be told I have made MORE ISK over the past few days looting the wrecks of my kills than I have on Mal running Abbysal sights. I haven’t really done the math on that but I did loot something like $5mil ISK of one kill and that’s definitely more than any mission agent rewards even with time bonus!
In my last post I was once again faced with the question of “what to do?” this time in EVE. It’s a question that I constantly found myself thinking about in the past. EVE is a place where anything can happen but if you don’t have a goal to work towards then that “anything” pretty much turns into ship-spinning in station. I know that if I am going to make an honest go in 2024 that I have to have a goal. Otherwise the one-year subscription for OMEGA that I already paid for will be a waste!
Listening to the Declarations of War podcast I heard a story about a bootstrap challenge being done by Tabarnouche Interplanetary called “The Corvette to Cynabal Bootstrap Challenge“. Though I have no desire to build a Cynabal I did like the idea of doing a bootstrap challenge of some kind. I just wasn’t sure what that would be in order to keep me interested. And I knew it had to be something PVE related because I’m just not motivated by SOV NULL living anymore like I was before.
After reconnecting with Marq Aideron and Stavblest in game and on DISCORD I spent a night or two trying out different PVE activities to see which ones I liked the most and had decent profits. I ended up doing mostly Abyssal sites trying different fits, mission running for SOE, and running cosmic anomalies of the “Hideaway” and “Refuge” flavor looking for DED 3/10 or 4/10 escalations. Come to find out I really like missions and DED sites. I was surprised too!
A few nights ago while talking in-game with Marq and Stavblest I remembered that I have a gorgeous skin for the Hyperion that is the SERENITY skin. The skin alone made me decide I would work L3 missions in my ISHTAR until I am able to buy and fit a proper L4 fit Hyperion to use the skin. But over the past two days of reading up on fits for L4 missions I came to discover that though Hybrid weapons will ultimately get the job done, they are not the most efficient or effective way to run L4’s. So that got me to thinking about other options.
Reviewing the PVE activities I enjoy doing currently I realized that essentially I like the career path of an ENFORCER. So with that in mind and my love for drone-centric ships I came up with the following “Challenge” for me.
Mal has always been an ISK poor Capsuleer ever since he was born in 2014. His adventures have always been funded by my credit card and not his work. So this challenge is designed to force me to use the OMEGA clone status I have already paid for the year and EARN his spending money for new ships, fits, upgrades, or whatever he wants or needs by doing PVE activities of an ENFORCER. Fortunately for me there are plenty of different activities I can do to keep my interest so that boredom doesn’t set in and discourage me.
Plus – I just like the sound of being an ENFORCER. It’s a bad-ass title for someone who aims to misbehave . . . within reason.
I first started playing EVE Online in February of 2014. I had been following the game for about a year when The Battle of B-R5RB took place which was the event that made me finally create an account and login. Ever since then, EVE Online has been in my life in some form or fashion even if I didn’t login to the game for years at a time.
My first character, Marcus Eldridge, was a hot mess. Getting ganked a few times drove me to want to learn PVP so that I could do the killing instead of being the killed. That led me to creating Tatiana Tyushnyakov – or “TAZ” as she came to be known in Stay Frosty. I will always fondly remember my time in Stay Frosty with Rixx Javix and everything they taught me and the friends I made who I’ve long since lost touch with, unfortunately. Looking back I can honestly say the best times I ever had in New Eden were with Stay Frosty learning how to PVP in a Rifter. I was always so poor that it was a necessity to kill Faction Warfare targets just so I could loot their wrecks in order to fit another Rifter.
So sometime in 2017’ish I won EVE and quit the game.
In the summer of 2023 I found myself with the desire to return to New Eden as evident by my previous exploits written about here in these pages. I was really enjoying the challenge I made for myself until CCP went and messed it all up killing my motivation to even try to finish because of all the free PLEX I had laying around that amounted to far more than 1bil ISK. Again I had no reason or motivation to login. So I didn’t.
I won EVE twice!
Now in 2024 I still have that itch to play “Space Cowboy” as my moniker suggests. The problem is I can’t seem to settle on exactly what I want to do or how to go about it. I’ve really enjoyed seeing players I remember still around like Ashterothi and even some streamers coming back like Raff About It who just recently started her stream again. I have also really enjoyed some new content such as the Bill Dingha Cynabal Bootstrap Challenge and catching up on episodes of Declarations of War and the newly re-launched The Drone Bay Podcast to get myself back immersed in New Eden. And Suitonia and Bjorn Bee now work for CCP?!?!!??? Man, time sure does fly and life goes on I suppose. But I love seeing so many players returning and the game thriving still after all these years!
This week I have once again logged in under Mal, cleaned up my hangars, sorted my stuff out and find myself faced with that age old question. What now? Do I give away all my ISK and start a Bootstrap Challenge of my own and if so – what would that challenge be? Do I rejoin Faction Warfare and try to relive the glory days of years gone by (hint: that didn’t go so well!). Do I go the PvE route and run Abyssal sites, hacking of data and relic anoms, DED Sites, and Mission Running? Or do I return to my favorite memories of New Eden and scream “YARRR!!!” and go back to being a lowly lowsec pirate who will kill you just for your T2 Damage Control module and the hopes you drop a T2 drone or two?
To be honest I have yet to figure any of that out. But it has been occupying my mind for days now much more than I would like to admit. So I login almost every day for a little while, spin in station, tinker around with old fits and try to update them, and read up on what has been going on since I left the game and all the new content there is out there.
The good news is that I’m loving every minute of my time back in EVE Online. So much so that I’m even tinkering with the idea of making a podcast to document my adventures moving forward since podcasting is my thing these days. So keep a weather eye on the horizon for that which will likely live on The 57th Overlanders Brigade blog once I pull the trigger on it.
Oh, and keep an eye out for me in Local. You never know. I might just go for the YARRR!!! after all.
As I sat in DODIXIE station clearing out hangars and station containers a question was rattling around inside my head. It’s the age-old question that anyone who has spent enough time in New Eden find that they ask them selves. And the answer is never an easy one.
What am I going to do?
Returning to New Eden after all this time I honestly don’t even know what all of the options might be. I started thinking about what I used to do that made me good ISK and that I enjoyed. Factional Warfare immediately came to mind. After all, it’s where the 57th really got it’s start and I met Capsuleers who would eventually become Browncoats.
As quickly as the thought entered my mind I pulled up the Factional Warfare menu and enlisted the 57th back in Faction Warfare fighting once again for the Gallente Federation. I was excited and started looking at old fits, searching for new fits, and then started creating my own version of a few cheap T1 Frigates – mostly the Tristan. Drone boats are flashy! I then started looking at all the changes they have made over the years to Faction Warfare so I’d be ready when I undocked the next evening.
The next evening I logged in and made my way over to Old Man Star and then Heydieles in a newly fit Tristan. It didn’t take long for two war targets to warp to the Scout site I was attempting to run. Ah, just like old days. Good thing my habit of tapping the “V” key to d-scan naturally came back to me. But while “warping out, back in, out, back in, out, back in – WTF – OUT AGAIN!” I remembered why I started recruiting pilots to the 57th early on in my Faction Warfare career. Because you NEED other pilots to fly with you! Otherwise you can’t plex in systems that you want to flip to get higher LP payouts.
After about an hour of that nonsense I flew back to Dodixie and docked up disgusted and annoyed with my impulsive decision. I know I don’t have the time to dedicate to growing the 57th back to it’s glory days – nor do I want too. Don’t get me wrong. I like chatting it up on local just as much as the next guy, but I know I’m not going to have hours on end on weekends and regular days/times on weekdays like before. I want to undock when I have time and when I don’t, I don’t want to feel guilty about it. So I know I’m looking for solo-content.
So last night I retired the 57th from Faction Warfare and will be fully withdrawn by tonight. So I’m now spending time thinking of solo-activities that I can do that will keep me entertained and also earn a decent amount of ISK. Off the top of my head so far I have:
Data / Relic Sites (exploration)
Mission Running
Planetary Interaction (passive)
Combat Anomalies / DED Sites
Abyssal Sites
Wormhole Day Tripping running anoms & data / relic sites
My question to my fellow Capsuleers is – am I missing anything? Are there any new activities that have been added since I left that can be done 100% solo that can make decent to very good ISK?
