News: Hostilities Re-Ignite in the Northern Catch Pocket

S25C-K system, Catch region. On the 12th of October, Providence Bloc and HERO Coalition forces clashed once more in the system, re-igniting the conflict over the control of the Northern Catch pocket. This came after more than a week of a forced truce due to a Sansha incursion in the NNLX-K constellation, which effectively ground operations to a halt.

The system was previously held by Providence Bloc but lost in the early stages of the war, though almost reclaimed at one point. It remained highly contested in the last couple of weeks, with the Infrastructure Hub coming out of its final reinforcement timer in the early hours of the 12th of October.

Both parties geared up for the fight, with Providence Bloc bringing a Zealot Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, with a few Augoror Navy Issue Cruisers mixed in, in total – A hundred pilots. HERO Coalition brought a Cerberus Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, with many Caracal Cruisers mixed in, a break from their traditional Eagle Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, numbering a hundred and twenty pilots, with a secondary Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet. thirty pilots in size.

Though outnumbered, Providence Bloc did have the advantage of choosing the place of engagement, and waited for HERO Coalition on the BR-N97 gate. HERO Coalition forces entered the system only to find themselves at the optimal range of the Zealot fleet. In rapid succession, Cereberus, Caracals and Scythes were destroyed, while Providence Bloc forces managed to hold well, losing one ship for every five or six their enemies lost. Quickly realizing they cannot hold the field, HERO Coalition chose to retreat to a Tower in the system and await reinforcements.

This allowed Providence Bloc to go and work on removing the Infrastructure Hub. A squadron of Dreadnoughts was called in, who quickly entered siege and destroyed the Infrastructure Hub within one cycle of their guns, and quickly extracted without incident.

With the Infrastructure Hub gone, the Territorial Claim Unit in the system became vulnerable, with its removal, the system could be again claimed by Providence Bloc.

An attempt was made to pin down HERO Coalition’s reinforcements, with little success, but in the end a second engagement flared up between the two fleets once more on the BR-N97 gate. This time Providence Bloc took more casualties, but it was the HERO Coalition’s fleet that was forced to concede the field again.

At this point Providence Bloc forces decided to focus on the Territorial Claim Unit, leaving HERO Coalition to focus on the Sovereignty Blockade Unit. A race was on to see who can basically win the system, with both sides calling in Capital ships. However, it was Providence Bloc which emerged as the clear winner, while HERO Coalition had the added misfortune of attracting Pandemic Legion’s attention, who brought a whole Mothership squadron to the system, managing to destroy a Moros Dreadnought while the rest of the HERO Coalition Capital group hastily extracted.

With the hostile Territorial Claim Unit removed, Providence Bloc planted its own unit and left the system after the rest of the hostiles cleared. In total Providence Bloc inflicted more than a hundred and sixty losses to HERO Coalition, with damages amounting to twelve billion ISK, and suffering fifty losses and six billion ISK in damages in return.

Fixed Battle Report for the morning engagement in S25C-K system can be found here.

This would have proved a turning point in the war for Providence Bloc had Pandemic Legion not interfered once more. With only an hour left for the Providence Bloc Territorial Claim Unit to online, Pandemic Legion brought in an entire Mothership wing, and quickly removed all Territorial Claim Units in the system. Not content to simply remove them, they planted three of their own before finally leaving.

This forced Providence Bloc to remove said units while hauling and anchoring their own once more. This was done by amassing a large Stealth Bomber fleet, more than a hundred pilot strong, which worked a better part of an hour in removing said Territorial Claim Units, and interrupted briefly by another incursion of Pandemic Legion, this time in a fifty pilot Muninn Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet.

Providence Bloc shooting one of the Pandemic Legion Territorial Claim Units

With Pandemic Legion getting only a few kills and the Territorial Claim Units down and new ones set up in their place by Providence Bloc, HERO Coalition saw an opportunity to re-take the system. A ping was sent to all pilots of an emergency fleet scheduled for 18:00 EVE Standard Time. Providence Bloc, however, intercepted the transmission as well, and prepared to meet the HERO Coalition fleet head on. Thus, the two coalitions were poised to once more fight to determine who will have control of the system.

Providence Bloc brought its signature Sentry fleet, mainly Dominix and Armageddon Battleships with Prophecy and Myrmidon Battlecruisers as well, reaching a hundred and sixty pilots, and a thirty pilot Stealth Bomber wing. HERO Coalition brought their signature Eagle Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, a hundred and seventy pilot strong, with a thirty Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser wing giving support. The two sides were quite evenly matched in terms of numbers.

Providence Bloc ships awaiting the arrival of HERO Coalition forces

Providence Bloc was set up on the Tower where their Territorial Claim Units were set up, sitting at the edge of the shields and in a position that would make it impossible for HERO Coalition to get a good warp in. A few short skirmishes between the two sides yielded little in terms of damage and losses, until once more Pandemic Legion, for the third time that day, intervened.

Pandemic Legion fielded a one hundred pilot mixed Legion\Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet. Taking the side of HERO Coalition this time, Pandemic Legion targeted the Providence Bloc Logistics wing, which was quickly overwhelmed. They then turned their attention to the Battleships and Battlecruisers who promptly retreated into the shields of the Tower.

If Providence Bloc forces thought they were safe in their Tower, they were in for a nasty shock, as Pandemic Legion apparently managed to acquire the passwords for the Tower’s shield. This allowed them to jump an Erebus Titan into the system and warp it to the Tower at zero. The sudden appearance of the Titan caused quite a few ships to scatter, thrown out by its sheer mass, with several bumped out of the Tower’s shield, easy prey for Pandemic Legion and HERO Coalition. After a while a Machariel Battleship was used as a substitute to bump a few more ships out, while the Titan jumped out of the system.

Once more, Pandemic Legion extracted from the system, and the fight between HERO Coalition and Providence Bloc resumed in earnest. However, it was heavily one sided in favor of HERO Coalition, and could not be continued much longer as Pandemic Legion returned to the field once more, driving Providence Bloc back to the confines of their Tower.

The two sides used the time of the forced truce by Pandemic Legion’s presence to bring their reinforcements into the system, and after Pandemic Legion seemed to extract for the final time, confronted each other again. Though both fleets exchanged losses, it became quite obvious the the bruised and battered Providence forces were no match to HERO Coalition’s fleet, and had to concede the field.

HERO Coalition used this opportunity to destroy two of the Providence Territorial Claim Units, while setting their own. With only one Territorial Claim Unit hours away from reaching online status for Providence Bloc and under the threat of HERO Coalition’s fleet, the battle for the system seemed lost, and yet, Providence Bloc did not seem to despair, but returned with force to the system, bringing a hundred and sixty pilot Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet.

This exchange between HERO Coalition and Providence Bloc took a different course than before, as HERO Coalition started losing Logistics and mainline ships one after the other. Though Providence Bloc sustained losses, most of them were Tech I ships, such as Ferox Battlecruisers. As the fighting continued, both fleets quickly exhausted each others’ Logistics wing, and Providence Bloc retreated to the BR-N97 gate, allowing HERO Coalition to take down the last Territorial Claim Unit.

And yet, Providence Bloc were not done, and a battle erupted on the exit gate, as Providence Bloc effectively cut HERO Coalition’s path of retreat, and forced a battle on the gate. The battle itself went badly for HERO Coalition, until the intervention of Pandemic Legion, who were down to only seventy pilots. The battle unfolded both in the S25C-K and in BR-N97 systems, as Providence Bloc attempted to disengage, inflicting a few losses on Pandemic Legion but suffering quite a few in return.

During this commotion, a HERO Coalition Thanatos Carrier was destroyed by Pandemic Legion. The Carrier was sitting in a Tower with its shield down, in order to give fighter support to the HERO Coalition fleet. Providence Bloc attempted in previous fights to destroy it, but each time it raised the Tower’s shields, making it invulnerable. This time, though, it was not so lucky, as an Avatar Titan was brought into the system. With one cycle of its Doomsday weapon, it obliterated the Carrier, which seemed oblivious to its impending doom.

Fixed Battle Report for the first two engagements in S25C-K system can be found here.

Fixed Battle Report for the last engagement in S25C-K system can be found here.

This marked the end of Providence Bloc’s attempts to re-capture S25C-K. Pandemic Legion lingered around and engaged HERO Coalition this time, with mixed success in the BR-N97 system.

Fixed Battle Report for the battle in BR-N97 system can be found here.

In total, Providence Bloc lost forty-four billion ISK, suffering three hundred and seventy ship losses. HERO Coalition did not escape unscathed, with twenty-two billion ISK in damages and two hundred and fifty ships lost. Pandemic Legion suffered the least amount of damage, only losing ten ships throughout the fighting, for two billion ISK in damages.

What should have been a victory and a turning point in the war for Providence Bloc turned quickly into defeat due to the continued interference of Pandemic Legion. However, it was the same Pandemic Legion which previously saved the BR-N97 system for Providence Bloc.

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems Pandemic Legion’s involvement so far is an attempt to maintain the status quo in the war, possibly in order to create more opportunities to intervene and thus force more battles.

Absent though throughout the day, were Northern Coalition(dot) who have been until recently heavily invested in the conflict, on HERO Coalition’s side. This may be attributed to their recent relocation to the Khanid region.

With the impending changes in the Phoebe patch, the EVE universe will grow larger as systems will become more distant due to changes in jump drive ranges and mechanics. The question of whether this will cause the Northern Catch conflict to escalate further, as HERO Coalition and Providence Bloc are allowed a breathing space due to their newly acquired remoteness and thus commit their entire arsenal without fear of third party involvement, or will the rumors of an imminent invasion to the region by an unknown party turn true and shuffle all the cards? Only time will tell.

Special thanks to Draken Forlorn, of Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk Amarr branch(dot) Corporation, Sev3rance Alliance for granting an interview.

News: Pandemic Legion Secures BR-N97 Station for Providence Bloc

BR-N97 System, Catch region. On the 24th of September, 16:00 EVE Standard Time, HERO Coalition and Providence Bloc clashed once more over the final reinforcement timer of the station, in a battle that saw several surprising turns during the fighting, right until the very end of it.

Providence Bloc brought their usual Sentry Battleship\Battlecuriser fleet, around a hundred and ten pilots large, though numbers increased during the fighting. They were supported by a Stealth Bomber wing and Stain Wagon Coalition, who brought a hundred and ten pilot fleet as well, in Cerberus class Heavy Assault Cruisers.

Against them were arrayed HERO Coalition and several N3 Coalition entities, mostly Northern Coalition(dot) and The Unthinkables alliances. HERO Coalition was in their signature Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, supported by Ferox class Battlecruisers and Harpy class Assault Frigates mixed in, all total a hundred and fifty pilots. Northern Coalition(dot) and The Unthinkables each came in a Tengu class Strategic Cruiser fleet, seventy and fifty pilots respectively.

Pandemic Legion Alliance came in their Proteus\Legion mixed fleet, a hundred pilot strong, hoping to act as an honorable third party, much like in previous fights.

However, things did not go their usual way.

The fighting that broke up was truly chaotic, with Providence Bloc forces sitting around the station’s undock and engaging all hostiles, who warped in and out at ranges, as both Stain Wagon and Pandemic Legion forces proved to be the most mobile in the system, specifically the Cerberus who managed to kite the other fleets while spamming their missiles.

HERO Coalition attempted to stay on grid longer than in their previous assault on the station, but both Pandemic Legion and Stain Wagon seemed to have focused their attention on their Eagles, causing many losses and forcing the fleet to leave the field for most of the fighting. The Unthinkables themselves also seemed to have left the field early in the fighting, chased by both Pandemic Legion and Stain Wagon.

At some point the only opposing fleet left on the station grid were Providence Bloc and Northern Coalition(dot) who slugged it out, until Stain Wagon forces warped back to the station and started to focus their deadly missile payload on the Northern Coalition(dot) Logistic ships.

Before they could drive the Northern Coalition fleet off the field, the Pandemic Legion fleet managed to warp on top of the Cerberus, Within seconds much of the Cerberus fleet was bubbled, with many ships being pointed by the Pandemic Legion ships. Northern Coalition(dot) then joined the Pandemic Legion and together the two fleets closed in on the Stain Wagon Cerberus’, who were forced to retreat after losing roughly a third of their numbers.

By this time, it was expected that Providence Bloc will be forced to brawl once more with Northern Coalition(dot) alone, when Pandemic Legion warped on top of the Providence Bloc forces and started to engage them. Again, Northern Coalition(dot) joined Pandemic Legion in the task, and soon after both The Unthinkables and HERO Coalition fleets were seen on grid again, assisting in the destruction of Providence Bloc’s ships. Providence Bloc forces were unable to bear the punishment poured down on them by the four combined fleets and attempted to dock up what remained of their fleet in the station.

After this unexpected turn of events, Northern Coalition(dot) chose to lit a cynosural beacon on the station. At this point, both HERO Coalition, The Unthinkables and Pandemic Legion’s fleets left the grid, and Northern Coalition(dot) jumped in no less than twenty Aeon\Nyx class Motherships and ten Dreadnaughts, mainly Moros and Revelation class. This fleet quickly setup on the station and started grinding it down.

Northern Coalition(dot) fleet grinding the station

Seemingly unhappy with Northern Coalition(dot)’s actions, Pandemic Legion decided to jump into the system its own Mothership group, including the rare Revenant class. This force quickly attempted to remove the HERO Coalition Sovereignty Blockade Units in the system, managing to destroy the last one as the station had only one percent structure remaining. This caused the station, as well as the system, to become invulnerable again, effectively securing it for Providence Bloc.

With the station once more invulnerable, Northern Coalition(dot) forces seemed to have no choice but to retreat, along side HERO Coalition’s fleet, who did use Northern Coalition(dot)’s presence in the system to bring in new Sovereignty Blockade Units, and later anchor and online them before leaving. With most hostiles gone from the system, Pandemic Legion forces elected to extract as well, leaving Providence Bloc to lick its wounds.

Once it became apparent that no other threats to Providence Bloc’s fleet remained in the system, the fleet quickly left the system, re-shipped and came back in force, bringing a fresh batch of its Sentry Battleship\Battlecruisers, now reaching one hundred and forty pilots. They also brought two Capital squadrons, mainly Archon\Thanatos class Carriers who were quickly put to work repairing the station’s armor.

With the work progressing smoothly, Providence Bloc’s sub-Capital fleet set to work on removing the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units in the system. Yet, as the Providence sub-Capital fleet was pre-occupied on the system’s gates, another strange turn of events occurred, with HERO Coalition jumping in no less than nine Capital ships, eight Dreadnaughts and one Carrier. The Capital group landed on the station, possibly in an attempt to interrupt the repair operations and maybe snag one of the Providence Bloc Carriers if they managed to bump it off the undock.

Regardless of their intention, the HERO Coalition Capital group was unsupported and vulnerable. Within seconds they were tackled, with Providence Bloc deploying interdiction probes to prevent them from jumping out. With the Providence Capital group safely docked in station, the sub-Capital fleet landed on top of the stranded Dreadnaughts and started to apply damage. In a few minutes, seven Capital wrecks were left on the field, with only two HERO Coalition Capitals managing to escape, an Archon class Carrier and a Revelation class Dreadnaught.

With that taken care of, Providence Bloc returned to the task at hand – removing the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units and repairing the station. Managing to restore its armor to full, thus securing another reinforcement timer, they also managed to destroy the last Sovereignty Blockade Unit in the system unmolested. Then, they anchored their own, which at the time of writing are still there and online, effectively securing the system and delaying any attempts to contest it once more.

Fixed battle report for the BR-N97 System can be found here.

During the peak of the fighting, the system hosted more than eight hundred pilots, with Time Dilation being noticeable at its peak at forty percent, but not impacting the battle in any meaningful way. Though some random disconnects were observed, server performances seemed to be stable, unlike in previous fights. Some complains have been made about the grid itself, with many commenting its comparatively small size for a station grid. This seemed to concern mainly the Stain Wagon fleet, who relied on speed and distance as its main defense. Stealth Bomber activity during the fighting proved to be quite minimal compared to previous fights.

The final tally of the battle seems to be three hundred and eleven ships lost, with the total damage amounting to fifty seven billion ISK. This time, HERO Coalition suffered the lion’s share of the damage, though most of it is attributed to its failed Capital squadron drop.

As the conflict continues to escalate further, many questions arise. How far is Northern Coalition(dot) willing to go to secure HERO Coalition’s victory in this war? Why has HERO Coalition been relegated a secondary role in its own campaign? Why did Pandemic Legion decide to prevent the station’s take over? Can Providence Bloc stand up to the combined might of HERO Coalition and N3? Only the next few weeks will give us answers.

News: Providence Bloc Manages to Defend BR-N97 Station, Halts HERO Coalition in IS-R7P

BR-N97 system, Catch region. On the 21st of September, 16:00 EVE time, a battle unfolded on the BR-N97 station between forces belonging to Providence Bloc, HERO Coalition, N3 and Stain Wagon Coalition, with Pandemic Legion present as well and engaging choice targets. The intense fighting later spilled into the neighboring IS-R7P system as well.

The fight began with Providence Bloc forces defending the armor reinforcement timer of the BR-N97 station. A mixed sentry Batttleship\Battlecruiser fleet, comprising of two hundred pilots and supported by a full wing of Stealth Bombers was staged around the station itself, with a Carrier class Capital ship squadron ready to undock as well. Stain Wagon Coalition, which has been aiding Providence Bloc throughout the campaign, brought a seventy pilot fleet, mainly of Tengu class Strategic Cruisers, to help the defense of the system.

Against them, HERO Coalition and Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance brought a one hundred and seventy pilot fleet comprising mostly of Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruisers and a two hundred pilot fleet, mostly in Tengu class Strategic Cruisers respectively. These fleets were supported by Stealth Bombers wings, supplied by members of HERO Coalition and N3 entities such as Nulli Secunda and The Unthinkables.

Pandemic Legion Alliance was present on the field as well, with a hundred pilot fleet, a mix of Legion and Proteus class Strategic Cruisers.

At this point the system hosted one thousand and one hundred seventy-five pilots, when the fighting actually began.

At first it seemed as though Providence Bloc might hold the field, as both HERO Coalition and Northern Coalition(dot) forces were unable to stay on the station grid for long, before being forced off again and again by bomber wings and Pandemic Legion’s presence. The HERO Coalition fleet was only seen twice on field, as it was chased by both Pandemic Legion and Stain Wagon fleets, whose attempts to warp in on the elusive Eagle fleet brought them into a direct confrontation. In the meanwhile, Northern Coalition(dot)’s Tengu fleet seized the initiative and engaged the Providence Bloc forces head on, fighting on the station while suffering a few bombing runs, though they seemed to cause it little to no actual harm.

Time Dilation became a noticeable factor as grid strained under the weight of the fighting, reaching nineteen percent before the server buckled, causing many pilots to disconnect. In a moment the system’s population was halved, dropping to six hundred and thirty-eight pilots, with Time Dilation, lag and random disconnects reported throughout the game. At this point it seems that both Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition(dot) fleets remained mostly intact, while both Stain Wagon and Providence Bloc forces were in disarray. Reports of ships destroyed while pilots were offline have become a common complaint as result.

Providence Bloc attempted to rally in the aftermath of the event only to see ships volleyed off the field one after the other, including an Archon class Carrier, while most of their pilots had problems re-connecting or logged in to find themselves in pods. Stain Wagon forces decided to wait thirty minutes before logging back in, in order to avoid such losses. HERO Coalition forces suffered as well from the disconnect, but since they were not present on grid at the time, were spared any losses from the incident.

Before the fight could turn into a complete and utter slaughter, a second disconnect occurred only a few minutes after the first one, dropping the system’s local count from the seven hundred pilots it managed to climb to, and down to only a hundred and twenty three in total, effectively putting a halt to hostilities. This time the disconnect encompassed most of the EVE Online player base.

Before anyone could recover a third disconnect followed suit, and the server was left completely empty. As people logged back in, it became apparent that the server conditions were not conducive to further fighting, and Northern Coalition(dot)’s Tengu fleet departed system, allowing Providence Bloc’s Carrier squadron to repair the station’s armor past the fifty-one percent mark, which would allow the reinforcement timer to reset, thus giving another invulnerability cycle for the station.

At this point, HERO Coalition forces attempted to intervene, bringing their signature Eagle fleet back, though undermanned, along with a Ferox class Battlecruiser gang and a Test Alliance Please Ignore mixed Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet. Altogether, the number of hostiles in the system, excluding bombers and Pandemic Legion, was around a hundred and fifty pilots at best.

Pandemic Legion attempted to engage the HERO Coalition fleet, but several bombing runs carried by Nulli Secunda and The Unthinkables discouraged them, forcing Pandemic Legion to depart the system as well. At this point, Stain Wagon’s fleet was the only one committing to the fight, with Providence Bloc’s fleet beating a hasty retreat in order to secure the neighboring IS-R7P station, which was coming out of reinforcement mode as well.

Stain Wagon attempted to hold the field, but continued bombing runs and volleys from the Eagle fleet decimated its Logistics wing (not counting the damage they suffered earlier from the hands of Pandemic Legion during the server disconnect) thus forcing them to retreat as well. HERO Coalition did lose its Ferox support gang to a well placed bombing run, but ultimately, the station was allowed to re-enter its armor reinforcement mode.

Fixed Battle Report for the BR-N97 System can be found here.

By now, Providence Bloc forces were already setup in the IS-R7P system, and repairing the station in full swing when HERO Coalition attempted to once again intervene. However, by now the Eagle fleet numbers were vastly depleted, down to seventy pilots only, and lacking bomber support.

HERO Coalition did manage to score a Nidhoggur class Carrier kill, as the pilot warped from a safe tower to the station in order to help the repair efforts, only to be dragged by the mobile warp disruptors covering the station, thus separating him from the rest of the Providence Bloc fleet and making him an easy prey. Regardless, they were unable to maintain their position due to repeated bombing runs, and were losing ships to Providence Bloc’s volleys, thus necessitating their speedy retreat from the system.

Providence Bloc managed to repair the station umolested and was in the process of removing the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units when Northern Coalition(dot) returned once more to the field, this time bridging to the IS-R7P station with a Nestor class Battleship gang numbering thirty pilots with a single Archon class Carrier as Triage support. This was a roam to celebrate the foruth anniversary of Burning Napalm Corporation‘s foundation, and a throw back to the days of Remote Repairing Battleship fleets (Also known as “Spider Tanking” due to the visual effect).

Unfortunately for the Northern Coalition(dot) fleet, their position close to the station allowed the Providence Bloc fleet to warp on top of them. Another adverse effect of their positioning was the fact the Providence Bloc fleet had many Energy Neutralizing Battleships in its composition, which quickly drained the Capacitors on both the Carrier and the Nestors, thus quickly shutting them down.

Without the ability to operate their Remote Repairers or those of the Carrier, the fleet was quickly overcome by Providence Bloc, who managed to destroy eight Nestors, the Triage Archon and a Bhaalgorn class Battleship that operated as their flagship. The rest of the fleet managed to successfully escape using their Micro Jump Drivers to get away of the mobile warp disruptors and the Providence Bloc fleet.

After this interruption, Providence Bloc forces returned to the task of removing the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units and anchoring their own defensive ones instead. This task proved mostly uneventful, with only a small HERO Coalition Cormorant class Destroyer gang harassing the force, with little to no impact.

Fixed Battle Report for the IS-R7P System can be found here.

All told, Providence Bloc forces managed to defend both systems, and though unable to completely repel the attack on the BR-N97 system, they have managed to gain another opportunity to do so while securing the IS-R7P system at the same time. For HERO Coalition’s part, it seemed as though the brunt of the work was done by Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance, with HERO Coalition engaging very late in the battle and appearing to fill a secondary role in their own campaign. This may have cost them the opportunity to gain both systems. Server performances had a huge impact on the battle, apparently to the detriment of Providence Bloc who seemed to hold the field until the first disconnect occurred.

The final tally is five hundred and forty-five ships destroyed, for a total of ninety-six billion ISK of damages, with Northern Coalition(dot) and Providence Bloc suffering the majority of it.

One may wonder if we have reached the peak of the fighting, or whether this battle will be just another one in a chain of ever escalating engagements.

CCP Games have been reached out for comments over the server performances during the fight. If and when a reply will be received, it shall be posted below.