I began playing Eternal Crusade when Olipsis was the only map in the rotation, with four capture points, and both flavors of space marines were your options. At the time, with preset loadouts, I went back and forth between options, trying each at times. Soon enough, I grew intimately familiar with the map, enough that I started favoring the Stalker Bolter and claimed my kills by getting good angles on unaware or otherwise occupied foes. Even then, the seeds of my discontent were sown, as my maneuvering often left me behind enemy lines with little to no support. Unattended Rhinos and Predators were such an annoyance, as I clearly had sights on an enemy unit and there was little chance of getting any assistance in destroying it. The best I could do was wait for someone to disembark and try to get in a kill, but then the next time they returned they’d either drive away the vehicle or get in the stormbolter and lay down enough fire I’d have to move again. For a while, the Meltabomb class held me over. Meltabomb was its own class back then, you see, and you could get rid of a vehicle pretty easily and still have your bolter for killing stuff. I wasn’t too much a fan of the bolter, but being more versatile than the stalker loadout, I took to it alright. Still wasn’t that good at the game, but every time I found myself behind enemy lines, I’d always have the tools to cause a little havoc. Of course, it didn’t help that somewhere around this time, the stormbolter became the king of infantry weapons, if you didn’t outrange it, it would kill you faster than a Commorite could say “Yes please” to another dose of combat drugs. Of course, when Eldar came out, I switched right away. The chance to play something other than Imperial would-be heroes or the pawns of the Dark Gods was exhilarating, even if at the time we were still filled with glitches and bugs. I tried out Dark Reaper for a while there, and had a few good games with it back when Starshot Missiles were new. There are some who might wonder why I didn’t go with a Striking Scorpion as a primary class, considering my predilections, and for a while I did try it out. I truly have no one complaint that I can hold against them, but at the same time, something just didn’t click. Perhaps I missed all the carnage that could be caused with higher tier weaponry. Fusion pistols were a consolation prize, not nearly good enough against infantry or tanks for me to consider; even when playing a Dire Avenger who could take one. I didn’t properly play a Fire Dragon until after the official release date. Up until then, I’d considered the class something that simply wasn’t meant to be, a Dire Avenger that traded away their ability to capture points in order to suicide-rush a vehicle that was threatening a Wave Serpent. So, my expectations of the class had very low goals to achieve. I watched the XP build up. Destroying vehicles like I wanted, yes! Never again would I be helpless before the armored might of the rear side of a rhino with naught but a plasma grenade. But wait, surely the enemies would have some rearguard, some tacticals that remain behind, or dare I even think of it, an assault marine who could disembark and turn me into so much orange and yellow confetti? They do, and yet, I survive. Sometimes through dirty tricks, dropping a plasma grenade and maneuvering the fight into it, sometimes through skill in the melee system, sometimes through sheer luck and lag, am not merely a Melta suicide delivery system. And, so long as need is not pressing, I execute when I can, as often as the battle and the other player allows me. This claim is not that I am a perfect player, none truly can be. From time to time, their skill will outmatch mine, or there will be more enemies than I anticipated who know their companion can take a stray bolt round or two while I cannot. Most of all, I fear Apothecaries and Wolf Priests, the poison effects and burning effects they leave can turn what would be a tight and prolonged combat into a mere waiting game on their part. Truly, such pointless defeat helps ground me in the grim darkness. For me, there will be no stealth system to aid my flanking, nor high-speed roadkills to pave a path to rank five. I stride forth clad in brazen colors and show myself on the minimap every time I begin the process of turning their ungainly metal contraptions into slag. I cannot carry multiple plasma grenades as my Dire Avenger does to help clear capture point rooms. But I still persist, and at times, should I not be disconnected at the end of a match, receive Executioner for my efforts. My one complaint is that my farseer’s honor knife looks much better than the master-crafted ceremonial knife I now use. Other than that, I’ll figure out a way to overcome whatever new toy the marines have. I’ll melt every unattended transport, stab every devastator or havoc that’s busy peering through their scope, and enjoy being the clearly superior race to any primitive on Arkhona.
