Providence Fight Club: 9-F0B2 20.11.2014

9-F0B2 system, Providence region. On the 20th of November, Providence Bloc clashed head on with Spectre Fleet in a fight that saw more than a hundred ships destroyed, including an Archon Carrier.

The fight began when Providence Bloc and Spectre Fleet each formed for their respective scheduled operations. Providence Bloc had an eighty pilots Phantasm Cruiser fleet, while Spectre Fleet gathered a seventy pilots Gnosis Battlecruiser gang, with a triage Archon on standby.

Spectre Fleet was the first to be ready, and as its habit, traveled down to Providence to pick a fight. Coming from the Mendori system, it entered the Providence region through the Assah system.

WAFFLES(dot) [N0MAD] had information on the fleet’s movements and decided to shadow it, forming a twenty pilots Vexor Cruiser gang in turn. [N0MAD]’s fleet maintained a distance of a system between it and Spectre Fleet, attempting to keep up and waiting for a possible clash between it and another fleet.

Providence Bloc, it seems, decided to oblige [N0MAD]’s espectations, as it was given information of the Spectre Fleet’s existence when it entered the G-5EN2 system. Quickly, Providence Bloc moved its fleet in order to intercept the incoming hostiles.

However, the three fleets became aware of each other as Spectre Fleet arrived to the 4B-NQN gate in the 9-F0B2 system, learning of the awaiting Providence Bloc fleet in front of it, and the [N0MAD] gang sitting at its back.

For a while, all three fleets stood immobile, Spectre Fleet pulling range off the 4B-NQN gate, Providence Bloc doing the same for the 9-F0B2 Gate in the 4B-NQN system, and [N0MAD] waiting on the 9-F0B2 gate in the G-5EN2 system.

In the end, Spectre Fleet broke the stalemate first by warping to the top belt in the 9-F0B2 system, being Planet II Belt 1, at range, with Providence Bloc jumping in and immediately giving pursuit, warping to it and landing twenty kilometers from the Spectre Fleet force. With both parties on grid, an all out battle quickly erupted, as the two fleets slugged it out in close range.

A view from one of the Spectre Fleet members, showing the savagery of the battle

At this point, the [N0MAD] fleet jumped into the system and skirted around the battlefield, picking targets of opportunity. The two major forces meanwhile kept volleying Phantasms and Gnosis’ alike, exchanging ship for ship. As mainline ships were destroyed, Providence Bloc’s Logistics wing, which was far better equipped, managed to finally withstand the assault and stabilize the fleet’s ships. This left Spectre Fleet’s forces at a huge disadvantage, as they kept hemorrhaging ships, unable to sustain the damage.

A call was quickly made to lit a Cynosural beacon and land the triage Archon on field. With the Archon joining the decimated Logistics wing of Spectre Fleet, the loss of mainline ships finally stopped. Yet by now, most of Spectre Fleet’s force was in tatters, lacking the necessary damage output to break the tank of the Providence Bloc fleet. Furthermore, Providence Bloc had a continuous string of re-ships and reinforcements, which did not help the Spectre Fleet situation at all.

Saved by the Nick of Time: The difference created by the triage Archon for the Spectre Fleet

The only choices left for Spectre Fleet at this point, were to either attempt a withdrawal, or stay and be destroyed to the last. Choosing the former, an attempt was made to allow the Carrier to escape, destroying the tackle and Interdictors that were present near it on the field. However, a lone Providence Bloc Sabre Interdictor managed to get on top of the Archon and launch its interdiction probes, sealing its fate.

With his fleet decimated and Providence Bloc’s reinforcements continuing to arrive on field, the Spectre Fleet commander had no choice but to withdraw and leave the Carrier behind, extracting what remained of his fleet.

With the Carrier stranded in system, Providence Bloc managed to slowly but surely overcome its tank, and finally destroy it. At this point, [N0MAD]’s fleet decided to disengage as well, fearing that the Providence Bloc fleet would turn its attention to it now, as it was severely outnumbered and outgunned, choosing to retreat from the system while it still could.

The event ended with Providence Bloc claiming the field, as Spectre Fleet’s remaining forces limped out of the system, and [N0MAD]’s gang hastily returning to its staging system, after sustaining only light damage.

In the end, Providence Bloc lost fifty ships, for a total of five billion ISK in damages, while Spectre Fleet’s losses stand at sixty-three ships, and six billion ISK damages respectively. [N0MAD] lost only two ships, for approximately fifty million ISK in damages.

Battle report for the 9-F0B2 system can be found here.

All told the system hosted almost two hundred pilots at its peak, with Providence Bloc continuously re-shipping, and Time Dilation being a non-issue.

All Fleet Commanders agreed that 9-F0B2 was an enjoyable event, and hoped to see many more of its caliber in the future, as Providence Bloc continues to prove its importance as a major content generator in EVE Online

Special Thanks to Apex Aubaris, of Hoover Inc(dot), Pandemic Legion and Jin’taan, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult for granting interviews.

News: Two The Kadeshi Motherships Destroyed in Delve

7-K6UE system, Delve region. On the morning of the 19th of November, two The Kadeshi [THOR] Motherships were destroyed by a combined Pandemic Legion [-10.0] and Lazerhawks [LZHX] fleet.

The incident started when a Lazerhawks gang found a wormhole exit in the N8D9-Z system. Roaming around for targets, they noticed an Aeon Mothership near a tower in the 7-K6UE system warping to the UEXO-Z gate and jumping out. An attempt was made to de-cloak the ship, but had no success.

Disheartened, the Lazerhawks fleet made its way back towards their wormhole when a straggler reported sighting three Archon Carriers on the same gate as before. At this point the Lazerhawks fleet suspected a trap, as several Motherships and a Titan were spotted in a tower in [THOR] staging system. Another problem was the low number of pilots Lazerhawks had online at the time, only twenty-six in total.

Thus it was decided to call for reinforcements. A Pandemic Legion Fleet Commander, Apothne, was reached through mutual channels and given the information. After a short discussion within the Pandemic Legion, the decision was made to burn towards the system. An Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet was hastily formed, initially thirty pilots large, and burned towards the target system.

Lazerhawks for their part kept the Archons engaged while Pandemic Legion’s fleet made its way, unable to break the tank of the Carriers but keeping them tackled. Several times the Archons jumped back and forth between the 7-K6UE and UEXO-Z systems, only to find themselves held down by the Lazerhawks’ Interdictors. Finally, one of the Archons lit a Cynosural beacon in the UEXO-Z system on the 7-K6UE gate, and onto the field jumped ten Motherships, accompanied by an escort fleet of assorted ships bridged in alongside them.

By this point though, Pandemic Legion’s forces had arrived to the system and warped to grid, quickly joining Lazerhawks in clearing away the [THOR] escort ships before switching damage to the Archons, who were by now sitting alongside the Motherships on the 7-K6UE gate.

With the increased damage, the Archons began to break. As the first Archon was destroyed, the rest of the fleet quickly jumped through the gate with the Motherships in tow in order to escape. However, they were caught once more by the interdiction probes deployed by Lazerhawks, who anticipated this attempt at flight.

Both Pandemic Legion and Lazerhawks forces pursued the fleeing [THOR] fleet into the 7-K6UE system, disposing of what had remained of the initial escort fleet before changing targets and returning once more to the Archons. The two remaining Archons were continuously bumped away from each other, to prevent their usage of Remote Repairers, thus severely reducing their ability to tank the incoming damage. All the while the Motherships were kept under a thick blanket of interdiction probes, in order to prevent any attempt to escape.

With the two Archons dispatched, the fleet turned its full attention to the Motherships, however, [THOR] reinforcements finally arrived to the system in the form of a thirty pilot Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet. By this point Pandemic Legion’s numbers were swelling, as news of the tackled Motherships made way and the Tengu fleet was quickly de-fanged, losing half of its force in the first few minutes. Then, a decision was made to switch damage to the tackled Motherships and their Fighter Bomber wings, who were chewing through the Interdictors and Heavy Interdictors that were brought to the field in order to escape.

The Aeon was targeted first and quickly succumbed to the Pandemic Legion\Lazerhawks volleys. With the destruction of the rescue fleet and the Aeon, it seems that panic spread amongst the [THOR] Mothership pilots, who quickly tried to burn away from the interdiction probes and re-fit their ships to boost their energy in order to jump out of the system. The result though, was reduced tank, which made them extremely easy to destroy, as the Nyx Mothership which followed can attest to.

All the while [THOR] and Pandemic Legion reinforcements continued to pour into the system, increasing the death toll significantly. By now, Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] managed to organize a relief force. As the Pandemic Legion\Lazerhawks fleet put a second Nyx into deep armor, ten [NC] Archons jumped to a perch above the UEXO-Z gate. They then proceeded to warp down and quickly remove the Cynosural Inhibitors deployed by Pandemic Legion and Lazerhawks, which then allowed them to jump in an even larger Archon fleet to the middle of the battlefield.

Faced with these overwhelming odds, both Pandemic Legion and Lazerhawks chose to withdraw from the system, conceding the field to [NC] as they cleared tackle and burnt home. This allowed the remaining eight [THOR] Motherships to extract safely.

Battle report for the UEXO-Z system can be found here.

Battle report for the 7-K6UE system can be found here.

The butcher’s bill stands at a hundred and thirteen ships destroyed for ninety-four billion ISK in damages. [THOR] lost seventy-five ships, represented in ninety billion ISK damages. Pandemic Legion and Lazerhawks lost thirty-three ships altogether, mostly Interdictors and Heavy Interdictors, for only four billion ISK in comparison.

All told, this engagement can certainly be viewed as a bait attempt gone horribly wrong, with [THOR] leaving the fight with a noticeable black eye, while Pandemic Legion and Lazerhawks walked home maybe with bruised knuckled, but a lot of satisfaction as well.

Special thanks to Taylor Swiift, of Taylor Swift Inc(dot), Taylor Swift Empire, Michael1995 of Lazerhawks and Apothne, of Sniggerdly, Pandemic Legion

News: HERO Coalition Saves F4R2-Q Station

F4R2-Q system, Catch region. On the 16th of November, Pandemic Legion [-10.0] and HERO Coalition clashed for a second time over the system, at the final reinforcement timer of the station, which would determine who would control it.

Pandemic Legion brought a hundred and seventy pilot Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, supported by a thirty pilot WAFFLES(dot) [N0MAD] bomber wing. Being the first into the system again, Pandemic Legion set up on the ZXIC-7 gate at optimal with its Tengus, the same route HERO Coalition used before to enter the system. Meanwhile the [N0MAD] bombers spread around the gate, ready to deliver their payload at a moment’s notice.

HERO Coalition for its part, fielded a two hundred pilot strong Dominix Battleship fleet, with a robust Electronic Warfare wing, mainly Maulus Frigates. It was supported by a Test Alliance Please Ignore [TEST] Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, fifty pilot large. The two fleets then made their way to the F4R2-Q system, entering ZXIC-7 system and warping to the F4R2-Q gate.

At 23:05 EVE Standard Time, HERO Coalition forces jumped into the F4R2-Q system, and the two sides collided violently once more.

At first, the fight seemed to be merely a re-tread of the previous engagement, with minor variations. [N0MAD]’s bomber wing launched a bombing run as the HERO Coalition’s fleet uncloaked and anchored on the gate with the ensuing explosion destroying much of HERO Coalition’s Electronic Warfare wing.

Pandemic Legion’s fleet kept kiting and engaging the Dominix fleet at ease, while the HERO Coalition Battleships struggled in vain to break the Tengus’ tank. The [TEST] Ishtars attempted to engage the Pandemic Legion Scimitars with little success, while fresh reinforcements for HERO Coalition kept trickling in, with a Caracal Cruiser and a Harpy Assault Frigate gang entering the field, attempting to put more pressure on the Logistics wing of Pandemic Legion, as more Electronic Warfare Frigates and Cruisers were brought to the field.

However, Pandemic Legion continued to persevere, inflicting casualties upon the HERO Coalition forces while its [N0MAD] bomber wing dove for a second bombing run, this time on the [TEST] Ishtars who lost several support ships and drones, forcing them to warp off.

However, during the commotion, the Sovereignty Blockade Unit situated on the WLAR-J gate was destroyed by a HERO Coalition Capital squadron. As information from scouts was recieved, it soon became apparent that the HERO Coalition Dominix fleet was merely a distraction meant to occupy the Pandemic Legion force while the Capital fleet removed the Sovereignty Blockade Units in the system, thus removing the threat to HERO Coalition’s sovereignty.

Yet, it seems the mounting losses of the HERO Coalition Dominix fleet reached a critical point, as the Battleships used their Micro Jump Drives to clear away from the remaining interdiction probes deployed around the ZXIC-7 gate and warp off the field. This freed the Pandemic Legion fleet to pursue the Capital ships, who were in the process of removing another Sovereignty Blockade Unit on the VA6-DR gate.

The tackled HERO Coalition Aeon with its now dead escort fleet

The HERO Coalition Capital fleet was quickly tackled on the VA6-DR gate, with interdiction probes making sure none of the Capital ships could warp out, including an Aeon Mothership which accompanied the Capital fleet. Pandemic Legion quickly lit a cynosural beacon to allow its Titans to jump in, followed by supporting Motherships, while the Tengu fleet kept watch. One after the other, the newly brought Titans focused their Doomsday devices on the tackled Capitals and volleyed them. The Motherships, at the same time, let loose their Fighter Bomber wings on the tackled Aeon.

HERO Coalition’s Archon Carrier hit by a Doomsday device during the initial fighting on the VA6-DR gate

At this point, HERO Coalition managed to remove the Sovereignty Blockade Unit on the VA6-DR gate, effectively securing the system for their side, yet the tackled Aeon presented a problem. Deciding to sacrifice their Dominix fleet to apply pressure on the Pandemic Legion forces, they warped it on top of the Pandemic Legion Titan fleet and started engaging. At the same time, they lit a cynosural beacon of their own, jumping in more Dreadnaughts.

HERO Coalition’s Dominix fleet warping in to save the tackled Aeon

The HERO Coalition Dreadnaught fleet turned its entire attention to the nearest Ragnarok titan, managing to bring it down to half armor before the Motherships’ Remote Repairer cycles caught up. At the same time, the Pandemic Legion Titans cycled their Doomsday devices again on the newly arrived Capitals, adding to the slaughter.

It seems in all the commotion the Aeon managed to clear the interdiction probes around it, as Pandemic Legion tackle was pre-occupied with the Dominix and Dreadnaught fleets, and able to warp out to the station. From there it safely extract from the system. The remaining Capitals though, did not share its luck, and were destroyed to the last, alongside many Dominix Battleships.

Pandemic Legion’s fleet close to the end of the battle

With the Aeon safely out of system, and the system itself secured, HERO Coalition forces disengaged, leaving Pandemic Legion forces to loot the field and clear the wrecks.

Battle report for the F4R2-Q system can be found here.

During the height of the battle the system hosted almost a thousand pilots, with Time Dilation being a noticeble factor, peaking to twenty-two percent during most of the fighting. Bomber activity was strong at the start of the battle, with [N0MAD] bombers in particular, but dropped severely as the fight moved to the VA6-DR gate. More than one hundred and forty-five billion ISK of damages were incurred during the fighting, with three hundred and forty-eight ships destroyed. The fight was over in ninety minutes from its start.

Pandemic Legion lost the strategic objective, but won the field, suffering twenty-three losses for two billion ISK in damages, most of them either tackle or bombers, with one Tengu destroyed due to the pilot disconnecting.

HERO Coalition won both a strategic and a moral victory, but at a great cost. Managing to save the system and the Aeon, HERO Coalition sacrificed no less than twenty-seven Dreadnaughts and ten Carriers and fifty-one Battleships. Including all the losses incurred during the fighting, HERO Coalition lost two hundred and ninety-seven ships, for a total of one hundred and thirty-six billion ISK.

According to sources within HERO Coalition, the second Dreadnaught fleet was supposed to jump on top an Erebus titan that was bumped away from the main Pandemic Legion fleet, allowing HERO Coalition to snag a Titan kill to offset their losses. It is however, unclear as to what exactly went wrong.

Further more, the Aeon was apparently a bait for the Pandemic Legion fleet, with the plan to jump the Dreadnaughts on top the Motherships and Titans brought to the field. However, Pandemic Legion’s Titan fleet exceeded expectations (Reaching to almost a hundred Titans and Motherships).

With the F4R2-Q secured once again by HERO Coalition, one must wonder whether by winning the system, HERO Coalition lost the war, or whether this will represent a turning point in its struggle against Pandemic Legion.

News: Pandemic Legion and HERO Coalition Clash in F4R2-Q

F4R2-Q system, Catch region. In the early hours of the 14th of November, HERO Coalition and Pandemic Legion [-10.0] clashed in the system, as HERO Coalition attempted to defend its sovereignty from Pandemic Legion’s continued aggression.

Pandemic Legion brought to the system a hundred and ten pilot Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, supported by a WAFFLES(dot) [NOMAD] Harpy Assault Frigate fleet, numbering up to thirty pilots.

HERO Coalition, for its part, brought a full fleet, two hundred and forty pilots strong, mainly in Dominix Battleships, with a robust Electronic Warfare wing comprised of Celestis and Maulus ships.

Pandemic Legion had the advantage of arriving to the system before HERO Coalition forces, and thus were given time to set up on the ZXIC-7 gate at optimal range for its Tengus, the most likely entry point of HERO Coalition.

Pandemic Legion forces didn’t have to wait long before news of the HERO Coalition fleet making its way arrived. At 0:41 EVE Standard Time, the HERO Coalition fleet jumped into the F4R2-Q system, and the two forces collided.

For their part, HERO Coalition remained anchored around the gate, with its Battleships deploying sentry drones and its Maulus and Celestis ships attempting to spread their Sensor Dampeners across the Pandemic Legion fleet. Pandemic Legion fleet, in return continued to kite at optimal range from the gate, focusing fire mainly on the Electronic Warfare ships and the HERO Coalition Logistics wing.

The WAFFLES(dot) fleet mainly darted around the fight, clearing tackle, Electronic Warfare and Logistics ships for the Pandemic Legion fleet. However, it was forced off the field at the height of the battle due to a bad warp in on the HERO Coalition Logistics wing, which put it in the firing range of their entire fleet, thus inflicting several casualties.

As both the Electronic Warfare and Logistics ships were annihilated, and their sentry drones unable to break the tank of the Pandemic Legion Tengus, it became apparent for HERO Coalition that they could not win the fight. With no interdiction probes deployed on the field, the HERO Coalition fleet quickly warped to the station and docked, effectively withdrawing from the fight.

With HERO Coalition conceding defeat, Pandemic Legion forces focused their attention on the Infrastructure Hub, jumping in Titans and Motherships to quickly dispatch it, then proceeding to incapacitate F4R2-Q’s station services.

Pandemic Legion’s fleet incapacitating the station services in F4R2-Q

With their work done, Pandemic Legion forces extracted safely from the system.

Battle Report of the F4R2-Q system can be found here.

At the height of the battle, the system hosted four hundred pilots, with Time Dilation unnoticeble at all. A total of one hundred and forty ships were lost during the fighting, for a sum of nine billion ISK in damages, the majority of it HERO Coalition’s.

With the F4R2-Q station coming out of its final reinforcement timer on the 16th of November, 22:00 EVE Standard Time, the question remains whether HERO Coalition will be able to save the station, and the system, or whether Pandemic Legion will gain another foothold into the Catch region.

News: D-GTMI System Captured by Providence Bloc

D-GTMI system, Providence region. On the 12th of November, the system fell into Providence Bloc’s hands without any further fighting.

Providence Bloc formed a forty pilot Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet in anticipation of another skirmish over the contested system. However, for an unknown reason, Northern Coalition(dot) [NC], did not form for the timer.

With no opposition, Providence Bloc quickly reinforced their Ishtar fleet with Stealth Bombers, swelling it up to a hundred pilots, and quickly ground the station, and then the Territorial Claim Unit.

With the station in Providence Bloc’s hands, they anchored their own Territorial Claim Units at a safe tower and took down their Sovereignty Blockade Units. On the 13th of November, 3:09 EVE Standard Time, the system was officially claimed under Curatores Veritatis Alliance banner, effectively returning it to the fold of the coalition.

This marks the last system to be returned to Providence Bloc’s control, with the Northern Catch pocket falling under Providence Bloc’s sway just two weeks before.

Providence Fight Club: Blade Squad Tangles in K-Space

J213642 system, Wormhole space. On the 11th of November, Providence Bloc fought a battle with United System’s Commonwealth [USYSC], resulting in the destruction of two Capital ships, as well as a few Strategic Cruisers.

The engagement began after Blade Squad, a small group within Providence Bloc which mainly specializes in small gang warfare and expensive asset usage, was hunting a wormhole group that had been moving several Orca Industrial Command Ships through the region, and even an Archon Carrier.

Sadly, lack of reliable information allowed that group to slip by. However, Providence Bloc confused a different wormhole group which was roaming the region at the same time with their initial targets, and proceeded to track them down. They managed to find the entrance to their wormhole in the U-HYMT system, and brought a gang of twenty Proteus Strategic Cruisers into the wormhole system, hoping to catch their prey unawares,

This was not the case though, as the wormhole Corporation had eyes both outside the system and within, and was quite aware of Providence Bloc’s gang and its relative size. Though outnumbered, USYSC decided to engage the Providence Bloc fleet regardless, and a fight soon broke out on the entrance to the wormhole system, as Providence Bloc and USYSC fleets engaged each other.

The first round of fighting went well for USYSC’s side. Outnumbered, they brought a triage Archon to provide remote repairs, as well as Legion Strategic Cruisers to put pressure on the Providence Bloc Guardians with their energy neutralizers, forcing them off the field.

Yet, with the appearance of the Archon on field, Providence Bloc quickly pinged for reinforcements, and a steady stream of pilots arrived to the system, swelling Providence Bloc’s ranks. Whats worse, USYSC’s fleet quickly became split between the U-HYMT system and their home system, as they were persuing fleeing Providence Bloc ships.

Though Providence Bloc experienced difficulties at the start, especially with its Logistics, with swelling numbers and a Nidhoggur Carrier brought into the wormhole, it could tank the incoming damage and focus its own on the Archon, which was starting to give way. USYSC at this time was scrambling for a Dreadnaught in order to eliminate the new threat, and was too late in bringing a second Archon to support the first, which finally gave in to the relentless fire of Providence Bloc. Without the Carrier, it became impossible for USYSC’s fleet to sustain fighting, and losses start mounting.

However, the entrance of the Nidhoggur caused the wormhole to collapse, trapping Providence Bloc within the system and cutting all reinforcements. Whats worse, USYSC were not done, and quickly reinforced their fleet. Two Archons were brought unto the field, along with a Naglfar Dreadnaught. and a Bhaalgorn Battleship. With the Bhaalgorn heavy energy neutralizers and the Dreadnaught’s damage output, the Providence Bloc’s Nidhoggur could do little to resist the combined onslaught and was subsequently destroyed.

Without their Carrier, Providence Bloc ships could do little to tank the reinvigorated assault of USYSC’s fleet. After sustaining a few bruising losses, Providence Bloc conceded the field, bouncing between celestials in the system to keep safe. USYSC were gracious enough to offer Providence Bloc an exit wormhole for their capsules, which Providence Bloc accepted. However, the main fleet extracted under its own power, finding an exit to the Fountain region.

Now in Fountain, Providence Bloc forces made the long jounrey home, cutting through Low Security space and the Catch region, before reaching the safety of their staging system.

Battle report for the J213642 system can be found here.

Providence Bloc fielded by the end of the fight a forty-seven pilot fleet, inititally in Proteus Strategic Cruisers but later with an assortment of ships as reinforcements poured in. Losing ninteen ships, for a total of five billion ISK in damages.

USYSC for its part fielded at the peak of the battle fifteen pilots, mostly in Strategic Cruisers and Capital ships. Losing nine ships, for a total of eight billion ISK in damages.

All told, both sides agreed that it was a close and entertaining fight, with the flow of battle going back and forth. Another fight out of many to be had in busiest region in Null Security Space.

Special thanks to Jin’taan, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult and Jay Joringer, of United System’s Commonwealth, for granting interviews

News: Providence Bloc Loses Another Skirmish Over the D-GTMI System

D-GTMI system, Providence region. On the 9th of November, 22:30 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc clashed with Northern Coalition(dot) to decide the fate of the system, which was lost to Providence earlier in May.

Northern Coalition took the D-GTMI system on the 27th of May, in order to create a vast jump bridge network, a highway to allow rapid fleet movement between Northern Associates holdings and the Delve region, which they have planned to conquer. However, with the Phoebe patch introducing jump fatigue mechanics and reduced jump ranges for most Capital ships, the plan had to be abondened.

Providence Bloc used the patch to finally take the initiative and deployed Sovereignty Blockade Units on the night of the 4th of November, reinforcing both the Infrastructure Hub and the Station, in order to reclaim the lost system. While sources within Northern Coalition(dot) claimed the system held no strategic importance anymore, they did say that the Alliance would form for convenient timers.

One such timer was on the 8th of November, 14:00 EVE Standard Time, when Providence Bloc’s Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, seventy pilot strong, engaged an Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet belonging to Northern Coalition(dot), at sixty pilot large. The fight, mostly carried on the T-RPFU Gate, saw Providence Bloc lose decisively to Northern Coalition.

Battle Report for the 8th of November can be found here.

However, on the night of the 9th, the roles were reversed, as Providence Bloc brought a hundred and seventy pilot Ishtar fleet. Northern Coalition(dot) for its part brought a hundred and fifty Tengu fleet. Northern Coalition(dot)’s fleet was the first to arrive to the system, and positioned itself on the T-RPFU gate, the expected entry point of Providence Bloc.

Providence Bloc for its part, did not oblige and chose not to jump to the awaiting Tengus, positioning itself on the D-GTMI gate in the T-RPFU system and deploying sentry drones. Northern Coalition(dot) decided instead of waiting, to jump into the system and engage Providence Bloc on the gate.

What followed was a short and brutal skirmish on the D-GTMI gate. Providence Bloc managed to score a few early kills as the Tengus and Scimitars uncloaked and were volleyed, but as the Northern Coalition(dot) fleet anchored up, it was able to tank the incoming damage, and started focusing fire. One after the other, Ishtars and Navy Issue Vexors were removed from the field.

Providence Bloc continued to fight for a few minutes, but once Pandemic Legion jumped into the system, in an eighty pilot Tengu fleet of their own, accompanied by a WAFFLES(dot) bomber wing, it was time to concede defeat. The fleet beat a hasty retreat, just as Pandemic Legion forces arrived on the grid. An attempt was made to chase the fleeing Providence Bloc forces, with little success.

With Providence Bloc soundly defeated, Northern Coalition(dot) turned its attention to the Sovereignty Blockade Units deployed in the D-GTMI system and removed them, extracting safely.

Battle Report for the 9th of November can be found here.

The T-RPFU system hosted at the height of the battle four hundred and sixty pilots, with Time Dilation peaking at 72% but playing no major role in the fighting. Providence Bloc lost a quarter of its fleet, forty ships, for five billion ISK in damages, compared to Northern Coalition(dot)’s thirteen and two point six billion respectively.

Though the Infrastructure Hub was destroyed the day after, the fight over the sovereignty of the system is far from over. With the reputation of Providence Bloc and their recent success in the Northern Catch war, it is not so much a question of whether or not the system will be re-claimed, but what the price will be for its eventual return.

News: Providence Bloc Destroys a 10 Bill ISK Wormhole Dreadnaught

J210750 system, E-R00028 region. On the 3rd of November, Providence Bloc forces managed to snag a Naglfar Dreadnaught clearing sites in the system, netting a ten billion ISK kill.

The story begins with Judiciary Pag, of W.A.S.P, Curatores Veritatis Alliance, scanning wormholes, a habit he picked recently due to the constant system camps by HERO Coalition. Exploring one of the wormholes, he saw in the system a Naglfar on his Directional Scanner, along with a gang comprising of six Basilisk Logistics, a Loki and two Tengu Strategic Cruisers.

Usually, Judiciary Pag would just dismiss it and continue on his travels, but encouragement from his fellow pilots made him a bit bolder. Finding the Naglfar and its escort fleet in a site, per-occupied and unaware of his presence, he had the information quickly relayed on coalition coms.

Luckily, Jin’taan, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult, was in the process of forming for a scheduled brawl with Specter Fleet. Upon hearing the news, he re-formed his fleet, picking Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruisers instead, and made haste to where the wormhole entrance lay, in the 3D-CQU system, only a jump away from Providence Bloc’s main staging system

The intention was to attempt and snag the entire fleet, but a mistake committed by one of its members, who jumped into the wormhole against orders, alerted the gang to their presence. It became a now-or-never situation, and the decision was made to try and salvage the operation, and at least catch the Naglfar if possible. The fleet quickly warped to Judiciary Pag, who was situated near the Naglfar, proceeded to tackle the ship, and whatever of its escorts that could be caught.

The Naglfar was apparently in Siege mode, which made sure it couldn’t leave the site, thus tackle was spread over, managing to snatch a Basilisk and a Loki, while interdiction probes were deployed. However, it seems the rest of the gang managed to escape.

Once the escort fleet was off the field, Providence Bloc turned its attention to the Naglfar, which melted away under the combined damage. Quickly scooping the loot, Providence Bloc extracted from the system, fearing immediate retaliation as the gang belonged to Lazerhawks, a known wormhole PvP corporation. The entire affair took only ten minutes altogether.

Battle report for the J210750 system can be found here.

It seems that the drop mechanics were extremely generous to Providence Bloc, as most of the expensive modules survived the wreckage, netting four billion ISK in profit, which were handed to Judiciary Pag as a reward. Judiciary Pag, though, has said that he intends to donate the loot to the Providence Ship Replacement Program, rather than keep it or sell it for personal gain.

In total, Providence Bloc incurred ten billion ISK in damages, suffering one loss, and walking out with one very expensive kill.

Special thanks to Judiciary Pag, of W.A.S.P, Curatores Veritatis Alliance, for granting an interview.

News: Providence Bloc Captures the UL-7I8 System

UL-7I8 system, Catch region. On the 18th of October, Providence Bloc took the last system that was lost to it in the start of the war, defeating HERO Coalition forces in a frontal confrontation that lasted four long hours.

The battle started at 23:00 EVE Standard Time, when Providence Bloc forces, in a hundred and twenty Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, entered the system and warped to the Infrastructure Hub, which was exiting its final reinforcement timer.

Providence Bloc forces started shooting it when two HERO Coalition fleets entered the system, a twenty pilot Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet fielded by Test Alliance Please Ignore, and a hundred and forty Eagle Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet manned by the rest of the coalition.

The two fleets warped to perches above the Providence Bloc fleet, when for some unexplained reason, the Ishtar fleet warped to zero on the Providence Bloc fleet. This allowed the Providence Bloc force to quickly dispatch of the Ishtars, who were quickly tackled and overwhelmed by the Tengus. The HERO Coalition fleet for its part warped to a sniping position and a fight flared up between the two coalitions, with both forces maintaining a considerable distance from one another.

Providence Bloc, however, seemed to have had the upper hand, and soon HERO Coalition Logistics ships were dropping at a rate of four a minute. With much of its Logistics wing annihilated, the HERO Coalition fleet attempted to maintain its distance, with Providence Bloc closing in each time. However, once it was made obvious the HERO Coalition fleet was merely stalling for time, Providence Bloc switched targets and fired at the Infrastructure Hub which quickly succumbed to the volleys.

With the Infrastructure Hub gone, Providence Bloc decided to go after the Territorial Claim Unit next, instead of attempting to force HERO Coalition into a full confrontation, which they seemed to decline. Once setup on the Territorial Claim Unit, Providence Bloc forces were continuously harassed by both the main HERO Coalition fleet, and by reinforcement fleets. The first was a twenty-five pilot Caracal Cruiser gang which managed to land next to Providence Bloc’s Logistics wing. Losing quite a few Logistic ships, Providence Bloc managed to destroy the gang before returning its attention to the Eagle fleet which kept drawing it away from the Territorial Claim Unit.

After the Caracal gang, a Cormorant Destroyer fleet of thirty-seven pilots came next in an attempt to disrupt Providence Bloc Logistics. They managed to destroy one before once more being overwhelmed, only able to destroy some of the Interceptors and Frigates that accompanied the main fleet.

View from HERO Coalition’s Cormorant gang

By this time the Providence Bloc commanders realized that HERO Coalition was in no position to dispute their control of the battlefield and decided to concentrate their efforts on the Territorial Claim Unit, instead of wasting time on chasing the elusive Eagle fleet. Their focused fire quickly dispatched the Territorial Claim Unit, and allowed them to anchor their own on a Tower that was prepared beforehand.

HERO Coalition forces attempted to destroy the Providence Bloc Territorial Claim Unit a few times but could not contend with the tower and stood down. Providence Bloc forces on their part extracted from the system, and on the 19th of October, 10:18 EVE Standard Time claimed the system as their own.

Fixed Battle Report for the UL-7I8 system can be found here.

During the fighting both forces kept reinforcing their fleets, with HERO Coalition attempting to seal the system and yet leaving an opening to the OXIY-V system, which allowed Providence Bloc a steady stream of reinforcements during the fighting.

Time Dilation did not play a noticeable part in the fighting and local peaked at around two-hundred and eighty pilots at the beginning. Two hundred and nineteen ships were destroyed during the battle, for fifteen billion ISK of damages, the lion share HERO Coalition’s. No third parties were present in the system.

With this conquest, Providence Bloc has regained all the systems it lost in the beginning of the war and is now looking to conquer the G-AOTH and ERVK-P systems, completing the occupation of the Northern Catch pocket.

At this point, the war that HERO Coalition started to reclaim the Northern Catch pocket seems to have backfired on it, and yet, the tables may turn once more, as the Phoebe patch looms ever closer.

Special thanks to corebloodbrothers, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult, vyshnegradsky and Hidetoshi Rushd, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance for granting interviews.

News: Providence Bloc Re-Takes 7MD-S1 System

7MD-S1 system, Catch region. On the 17th of October, Providence Bloc forces captured the system, which was conquered by HERO Coalition at the beginning of the conflict, continuing their streak of victories from S25C-K.

At 19:00 EVE Standard time, Providence Bloc formed an Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet and reinforced HERO Coalition infrastructure throughout the Northern Catch region. At 21:30 the fleet re-shipped, to a Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, around a hundred and seventy pilot strong. The plan was to attempt and pin down HERO Coalition forces in the T-RPFU system in Providence, who were en-route to defend the Infrastructure Hub in the 7MD-S1 system, which was coming out of its final reinforcement timer.

HERO Coalition on its part, had a hundred and twenty pilot Eagle Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, and managed to enter the 7MD-S1 system seconds before Providence Bloc forces could intercept it. A chase was on, as the HERO Coalition forces declined to engage the numerically superior Providence Bloc fleet. However, jumping into the ERVK-P system, they found Pandemic Legion forces awaiting them, in a sixty-six pilot mixed Proteus\Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet.

Forced between a rock and a hard place, HERO Coalition chose to engage the Providence Bloc force in 7MD-S1. They managed to warp to a perch on the T-RPFU gate, then to a sniping position on the Providence Bloc force. However, the Tengus were able to cope with the distance and HERO Coalition started losing Logistics ships at a rate of four a minute. With much of their Logistics wing annihilated, and Pandemic Legion entering the system, HERO Coalition chose to disengage, freeing Providence Bloc to attend to the Infrastructure Hub.

While shooting the Infrastructure Hub, reports came of HERO Coalition attempts to leave the system. Providence Bloc decided to chase them, and warped to the ERVK-P gate, at the same time Pandemic Legion did. A few tense seconds passed before the two forces decided to jump and tackle the HERO Coalition fleet. An intense fight ensued on the 7MD-S1 gate as both fleets focused fire on the HERO Coalition Eagles, who died one after the other before the remnants could clear the warp interdiction probe fields and flee.

Fixed Battle Report for the ERVK-P system can be found here.

While this was going on, a Cynosural beacon went up in 7MD-S1 and a Pandemic Legion Mothership squadron jumped into the system. It quickly destroyed both the Infrastructure Hub and the Territorial Claim Unit before leaving as abruptly as it came.

With Pandemic Legion forces extracting, Providence Bloc was free to take possession of the system, yet another intrusion came, in the form of a CFC Hawk Assault Frigate fleet, some sixty pilot large. The fleet curiously decided to engage Providence Bloc on their Tower. A quick one sided battle developed, with the Hawk fleet being obliterated by the Providence Bloc Tengu fleet, with only one Griffin Frigate kill as their sole consolation prize.

After this last disturbance, Providence Bloc forces managed to take down their Sovereignty Blockade Units and online their own Territorial Claim Unit, under the flag of Evictus.

Fixed Battle Report for the 7MD-S1 system can be found here.

In total, one hundred and twenty-four ships were destroyed in both engagements, with HERO Coalition suffering the brunt of the losses, followed closely by CFC. Nearly ten billion ISK in damages was incurred.

This marks the second system to be re-captured by Providence Bloc, as S25C-K was re-taken only a week before, though mostly due to HERO Coalition’s reluctance to form up and defend it, due to continued third party intervention.

In a message to HERO Coalition, corebloodbrothers, one of the lead fleet commanders for Providence Bloc, promises that the war will not end before ERVK-P system returns to Providence Bloc’s hand.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/b0KPsvaQOGs&source=uds

corebloodbrothers’ message to HERO Coalition

With this, the tide of the war is certainly in favor of Providence Bloc, the question is, will it stay this way, or will it once again change?

Special thanks to corebloodbrothers, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult and vyshnegradsky, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance for supplying interviews, as well as Tristan Enkura, of Terra Nanotech, Yulai Federation for the youtube video.