EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

In order to exploit the griefing potential of the Jihad technique as much as possible, an Islamic liberation movement was created, with Karttoon dubbing himself 'The Sheik.'  Terrorist tactics were used to defend 'Allah's Sacred Belts:'  The imposing miners were labeled 'infidels,' the suicide ships were dubbed 'explosive vests,' and Allah's word was spread with cries of 'Allahu Ackbar!' whenever a suicide attack was initiated.  The gimmick caught on, adding insult to the injury of the miners.

Suicide attacks in Empire have existed since the beginning of the game, but they were limited in scope and primarily motivated by profit. Pirates have always been willing to sacrifice a battleship on the approach to a Market Hub to destroy and loot a particularly loaded hauler. Yet the outbreak of the Jihad across Empire caught the galaxy by surprise. With the financial impact of the Hulk losses, the victim's sheer surprise at being assaulted in 'safe' space, and the deliberately incendiary terrorist gimmick of the Jihadis, the appeal of the Jihad is self-evident.  Blowing up an armed, expectant enemy in 0.0 was merely war; the Jihad was raw grief.  For the Swarm, what to do after the Great War ended was obvious: resume the Jihad.

Since the outbreak of the Jihad, the targeted griefing of Hulks in Empire has gone viral and expanded far beyond Goonswarm. Despite the unending cries of protest, the attacks have not stopped. I encourage everyone to give Jihading a try. Here's a brief guide:

• Buy and platinum insure a battleship which you have good damage skills with. Armageddons are the classic mujahidin ship, being cheap and extremely damaging. The most important attribute is volley damage.


• Fit your ship with named but low-quality modules. These tend to be even less expensive on the Empire market than tech one mods.


• Fit for maximum damage (4 damage mods), use short-range weapons, the heaviest Gallente drones and a few rounds of faction ammunition. If you don't use lasers, you will only get a five or six volleys before being destroyed. You need a scrambler, a sensor booster for quick locking, and may want to use a passive targeter. Maximize damage while minimizing cost of loss.


• Don't bother with any sort of survivability mods, as they won't extend your ship's life at all. When Concord spawns, your ship will be instantly destroyed regardless of hitpoints or tanking levels.


• If you have a covops alt, this will make scouting your target and scooping their loot after you blow them up much easier. An alt is required if you hope to recover your victim's loot after the kill, but it doesn't have to cloak. You can also fit a ship scanner on your alt to help select a victim who isn't heavily tanked.


• Choose a target system between .5 and .7 security; higher than .7 and Concord will respond too fast for you to make the kill. Start in .5 when you begin suiciding so that you have the most room for error as a novice.


• Do not engage if Concord has already spawned in the location of your target.


• Overheat your guns, scramble and engage. 


• Use your alt to scoop the loot of your victim.


• Sit back, relax, and troll your mark in local. You have 15 minutes of criminal flag to wait out, so you might as well relish the tears.
  

Empire will never be safe again.