I was going to just add my interview with HypnoToad to the previous article written, but I felt a followup was better after reading through everything I was sent. My interview with HypnoToad came in the days following through forum PM’s, so it has been edited for formatting, not content. In case you missed the article we put up previously, the first ever Goon Hero award was given to a man named HypnoToad for his ‘Safe Cyno’ fleet. The fleet allows all ships with jump drives, the ability to jump safely to various Keepstars in our beloved home, Delve. I finally was able to catch up with him and get his side of the story, along with a little history on the fleet.
Johnny Crowe: Why did you start the Safe Cyno fleet?
HypnoToad: The short answer is that I saw that there was an issue with jump beacons and capital safety while jumping and gating around the universe. The longer version is that there was a series of events which escalated and eventually ended up creating the cyno fleet. Very late one night (morning) I was logging off and remembered I needed to do something minor in another system. I’d logged my alts off and only had one character still on, who had a Jump Freighter. Being so tired, and with my mind on a ship loss I’d experienced earlier in the night from flying tired, I cut a corner and jumped to the D-W beacon. To my dismay, there was a small ship sitting there waiting for someone to jump in. Normally this wouldn’t be a major problem, however CCP had just released a patch to increase jump range.
HT: So, of course, I get tackled, a cyno gets lit, and a dread jumps in. By the time support arrived, I had lost my Jump Freighter. I thought about what had happened for a while, and what could be done better. For quite some time, there had been someone operating a stationary cyno in a safe jump location, but it wasn’t available 100% of the time (especially in my time zone). Given the loss, people started baiting the beacon and killing incoming dreads. Once this became predictable, people started counterbaiting the baiters. Mastering the baiting meta, essentially becoming masterbaiters.
HT: Which led to: https://www.reddit.c…_revenant_died/ I thought someone should do something. Soon afterwards, I realised that I was someone, and the safe cyno fleet was born. At the time, I thought it would be a good idea to help pilots safely move jump-capable ships around Delve between the 3 Keepstars that the Imperium was going to build. It created a nice hub of 3 central sites which would link some key systems.
JC: How long have you been running it for?
HT: The safe cyno fleet has now been running for just over one year.
HT: In this time, the Imperium has shattered my furthest concept of their capability to mine, produce, anchor and keep infrastructure, with over a dozen Keepstars built and operational. As the Keepstar count has increased, so has the cyno fleet count.
JC: Are you surprised you were chosen to receive the Goon Hero award?
HT: Surprised? I was very surprised to even be nominated for the award, I was speechless. I feel honoured and humbled to be considered as there are so many members who do so many amazing things to keep the Imperium running the way it does. I think the initiative of a Goon Hero award is brilliant and I look forward to hearing the stories of future recipients.
JC: Which Titan did you choose?
HT: Which Titan? I’ve been a member of Karmafleet for around two years now, coming from Hisec with almost nothing. In that time I’ve been able to work my way to building my own Titan. In the last couple of months I aimed to build a second Titan of a different race. I had just put it into build before the award, so I chose the Isk, because Isk keeps the fleet going better than another Titan. And already having access to a Titan to assist the Imperium’s efforts, I didn’t feel that another one would help more.
JC: Anything you’d like to tell the little bees about to come into carriers about your service?
HT: The forum has an information thread on the cyno fleet, and I encourage little bees to read it to see how it works. They’re always welcome to use the fleet, and they don’t need to ask for a cyno to be lit, it will already be burning.
I’ve done my best to share with you all a bit about HypnoToad, his service, his history, and I’ve done my best not to cover anything he would like to keep off the record. HypnoToad chose the ISK to keep the cynos constantly lit. Even in choosing a reward, he had Goonswarm’s best interests at heart. You heard it here; HypnoToad, a true goon hero.