Guardian Incursion Guide - Let me in damn it! (Part 4)

Previously:  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

So, you've got your skills, your ship and your implants. Time to get into a fleet!

First I’d recommend joining the channel “The Ditanian Fleet” aka “TDF”. It’s an armour incursion channel with lots of competent FCs. It’s a great place to find fleets, and they’re happy to teach new logi pilots. Once you’re in the channel, you have two options, usually dependent on the time zone. During busy times, Fleet Commanders will be listing ship types they need, so if you see an FC asking for a logistics ship, just “X” up with your ship fit linked and Logistics Skill level. So for example:

Fleet Commander > VG fleet in Amarr Incursion needs 2 x T3s, 1 x DPS BS and 1 x Logi

You > X Logi V - Guardian [Link fit]

Bam, fleet invite! It’s that simple. (Oh, and quick note for the shorthand people use. VG is Vanguard, AS is Assault and HQ is obviously Headquarters).

Now if you’re on at a quieter time, there may not be FCs actively looking for ships, in which case you’ll want to leave your fit in the channel so that FCs occasionally scanning the chat can pick you out, either as a replacement or a potential replacement. This is also pretty simple. You just put the same info as before, plus something that might help you get picked first. For example:

You: Guardian [Link fit] Logi V pilot LFF in Amarr incursion, willing to waitlist.

Basically you’ve just told the FC that you’re a Logi V pilot (good start), you’re close to the incursion focus (which will be in the channel MOTD) and you’re willing to sit on waitlist for a while if you have to. Waitlisting isn’t too bad, often you’ll join a fleet and be either first or second on the list. If the waitlist grows too big, often a newer FC will split off with the guys on waitlist to form a new fleet, so you’ll get to run sites either way. The main hurdle is just getting your ass into a fleet, after that it’s pretty simple.

The making money bit

So you’re in a fleet, you’re on grid with your new buddies and you’re feeling a little nervous before you warp into the site. But wait! You’ve got stuff to do first! Namely, you need to set up your watchlist. This is pretty easy if the FC keeps the fleet tab organised, and most do purely because it’s easier to keep track of everyone that way. In Vanguard sites, the fleet will likely be organised into two groups, with two ‘subgroups’ in each.

Group 1 is those who are “On-grid”, i.e the ones actually running the sites. This group is further split into DPS and Logistics. Your average Vanguard fleet is between 10 - 11 pilots, three of which will be logi. It’s possible to run with two, but most fleets use three in-case of disconnects or other such problems. These are the people you want on your watchlist. Make sure you don’t accidentally add the OGB (off-grid booster) to your watchlist, since it’ll never need repping. Ask the FC if you’re unsure who the OGB is so you don’t needlessly add them. Group 2 are the ones currently “Off-grid”, either because they’re AFK or they’re on waitlist (which are the two “subgroups”). Either way, you don’t have to worry about them too much, but keep an eye out in-case somebody who’s ongrid is being replaced and you need to update your watchlist with the new pilot.

Here's a good example, Wing 1 is "On-grid", DPS and Logi/T3.
Wing 2, which is empty, is our waitlist

In Vanguards, the watchlist is pretty simple. Just add everyone who’s on grid and you’re set. I like to organise my watchlist with the anchor at the top, followed by my two logi bros and the FC. Everyone else is randomly ordered below these four, unless I’ve noticed someone’s tank is a little thin in earlier sites. Armageddon Navy Issues for example, tend to have a comparatively light tank compared to other battleships. 

In Assaults, your watchlist is pretty much the same, except after the initial four (anchor, cap chain, FC), I put the other logi ships instead. Keeping your fellow logis alive is extremely important, if it’s a choice between losing a logi or losing a T1 BS in a tough site, I'd recommend you always save the logi, since he’ll be able to help keep other ships alive. If you’ve still got room on your watchlist after adding the other logi (which you should), add anything with a weaker tank, such as T1 Battleships or other thin-skinned hulls. Since you can’t fit your whole fleet on your watchlist, stick with the important guys and those with lighter tanks.

Now you’re ready to enter site. First, make sure you’re aligned down the gate so you’re ready to warp. To do this, centre your camera on the gate using the little eye button on your selected items window and align your camera straight down the gate. Double click in space in the direction the gate is pointing and you’ll align in the right direction. Your FC will either ask for a “hot” align or a “cold” align. Hot simply means you’re moving at max speed (without prop mods on) and ready to warp instantly, while cold means you’re facing the right direction but aren’t actually moving yet. Cold aligns are usually done when the fleet is waiting for something or someone, but it’s simply to prevent ships overshooting the end of the gate.

Just before you enter the site after aligning, your FC will likely ask the logi squad to “L” up, which simply means sending an “L” in fleet chat. This is simple but effective, it makes sure the logistics ships are awake and paying attention before the fleet warps into a site. Warping into a site without logi is tantamount to throwing your fleet away, so this is an important step. Once the FC sees his required number of “L”s, he’ll order the anchor to head in. Your anchor is the ship with the biggest tank in fleet, and should be your point of orbit unless you’re providing another ship with a tracking link or ReSebo, in which case you should orbit them.

A few seconds after the anchor has warped, the FC will order the rest of you to follow, and this is where your job really begins.

The site

Once you land in site, your first job is to stop the anchor exploding. Start moving towards him and lock him up. Send two counter-cycled reps at him straight away (i.e start one, wait a second or two and send the next). As you’ve done this, start locking your cap partner(s) and get your cap chain going. In Vanguards you may only have one partner; in Assaults and HQs you will likely have two. Once you’ve got this sorted, double check all your modules (e.g activate your tracking link on a nearby BS if you’ve got one), launch and assign your drones to the fleet's "Drone Bunny/Bitch" and evaluate the situation on the anchor. He should be back to around 90% armour by now, if he’s lower than that put another rep on him to help bring him back. If he’s in trouble, like 30 - 40% armour because one of your logis is apparently having a nap, speak up over TS3 or whatever voice server you’re using, say “Check check” loudly and clearly, then say the pilot’s name, ship type and “Needs reps”. You can also give the armour percentage if you feel the need. Overheat your modules for a few cycles if you can too. For example:

This screenshot shows what I'd call a "perfect" entry, cap chain
is up, reps are already applied to anchor, and tracking link is active

You > Check check, Hobbard in the Bhaalgorn needs reps, currently overheating on him

This does two things. Firstly, it may wake up the logi who’s slow on the draw and get his reps applied, and secondly, it gives fleetmates in battleships with utility slots time to supply emergency reps, as some battleships (Marauders for example) fit cap power relays and large remote reps in their spare highs in order to help in emergencies, both as cap chain partners and extra repping power.

Once the anchor is safe, get ready for the aggro to switch. This happens usually after a new spawn, but aggro can also switch halfway through a spawn, so pay attention to your watchlist. As each new target is aggroed by the Sansha, put two counter-cycled reps on him and wait. If he’s stable, keep your other two in reserve. If not, add a third and wait a few seconds more. As much as you can, try to avoid putting more than three reps on one target, as if aggro suddenly switches then you have to wait for your reps to finish their cycle before you can move them over (which could be dangerous if the new target has a thin skin). Be aware that DPS can be split between multiple targets, so keep an eye out for other ships getting nailed besides just one. Of course, the good news is that split DPS means lower DPS on each individual target, so you can get away with only a rep or two on each. Just pay attention and adjust as needed.

As you can see here; at the start of each new spawn turn off
all your reps. Aggro often switches at this point, and this lets
 you get reps reapplied to the new target faster

Also if you’re a Logi V pilot, you’ll probably be expected to deal with fleet cap requests. Typically these are from needy Amarrian BS pilots who are running low on cap from firing their lasers. Simply lock them from the broadcast, send them between 5-10 cycles of cap and stop. You don’t have to keep the cap transfer on them if you don’t need to, but if you’ve only got one cap hungry BS in fleet, you might as well leave it on him if you’re not sending it to another cap partner.

This will then repeat through the site, aggro switching, cap requests etc etc. It’s honestly not too difficult, and after your first few sites you’ll be feeling pretty confident. Vanguards are a great place to start learning Logistics, since DPS is challenging sometimes, but it never feels overwhelming, and there’s always a decent buffer if you make some initial mistakes. At the end of the site, the FC will broadcast the next site. Align to it, turn off your prop mod, pull in your drones and make sure you’re not going to bump into either another ship or random space debris. If you are, turn away from it for a few seconds to gain range before aligning out again. Simple! Now you just rinse and repeat until you've either had enough or the fleet steps down.


On leaving the fleet, it's polite practice to thank the FC, the other Logis and the OGB (if you've got one). You don't have to bother thanking anyone else (cough, DPS squad), though you can if you like ;D Gaining yourself a reputation as a decent person/good logistics pilot can help a lot in securing you a place in other fleets if you fly in Incursions often.

Also it's nice, though not expected, to tip the OGB if you've had one. Boosts make the job of the Logi pilots much easier, so I usually tip the OGB four or five million. It's not loads, but it shows appreciation, and it's hardly cutting into your profits if you've just run 10+ sites with your fleet.

The "Oh shit fuck shit no…" Situations

ERHMAGEEERRDDD!

Of course, you may have the one site where everything starts to go to hell. This is rare but it can happen. Maybe someone shot the wrong spawn, maybe a logi disconnected during a high DPS moment. Hell maybe the FC got popped and your fleet is in disarray. What the hell do you do?

First of all, stay calm. Panicking won't help anyone. Focus on what you can deal with. For example, if comms is full of people screaming in terror, just focus on your broadcasts and make sure nobody else goes down if you can help it. Overheat strategically, try to keep people alive but don't burn out your reps. If it comes down to only being able to save one of two ships, always save the more expensive one. Elitist yes, but it’s also logical. Replacing a T1 Megathron might be aggravating, but replacing a faction fit Marauder is going to be far worse. In that situation, even the Mega pilot would admit you made the right choice, and the Marauder pilot is definitely going to back you up! But what if it’s a choice between a logi and a bling fit marauder? In this situation it’s difficult to make the right choice, but personally I’d try and save the logi, that way more people won’t lose their ships. It’s damage control of sorts, but yes it could be painful for the expensive ship owners. While there are arguments for both sides, I just prefer the idea of keeping as many logi on field as possible in a situation where the organic waste matter has hit the air circulation device.

If you feel differently in this situation, then go with your instincts, but as long as you can give a good reason to angry pilots about why you didn't save them, then people will back you up. Remember, this sort of thing is rare, just be prepared for it.


So that's the end of my guide! I apologise for the wall of text, but some things are best explained in detail, and I didn't want to be too vague about anything. Something I've missed? Something you want me to expand on? Leave it in the comments!

Otherwise, good luck out there guys :D