News: Battle of Y-2ANO – CFC and N3 Clash Head On

Y-2ANO system, Fountain region. On the 25th of November, N3 and CFC forces butted heads over the first Infrastructure Hub reinforcement timer, resulting in a massive hour long slugfest.

The battle started with N3 forces arrayed around the LBGI-2 gate in the system, with Northern Coalition. [NC] in a full Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, staying ten kilometers from the gate itself, and forces of The Kadeshi [THOR] and DARKNESS. [DARK.] in a Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet, stationed seventy kilometers away. Altogether N3 forces had around four hundred pilots on grid, including three Chimera Carriers for triage support.

CFC forces were split between two full Tengu fleets and a large support wing of Celestis Cruisers. One of the Tengu fleets bridged into the system in a safe, and warped to the LGBI-2 gate at close range while the other jumped into system a few minutes after. All told, at the thick of the fighting, the CFC had six hundred pilots on grid.

The usual picture of Tengu fleets keeping range and exchanging fire from afar did not emerge in Y-2ANO as the battle erupted. Instead, a close range, brutal brawl ensued, as one of the CFC Tengu fleets found itself between the Northern Coalition. Tengu fleet and N3 Legion fleet, and being hammered from both sides. Reinforcements quickly jumped in and started to anchor, but it was too late, the first CFC Tengu fleet was losing ships fast.

Both sides focused on Logistics ships at first, and while the first CFC fleet attempted to pull range, Northern Coalition. forces did not allow it, spreading interdiction probes all around and keeping up with it in speed. At the same time, to make up for their lower numbers, Northern Coalition. had sixty Motherships at a safe tower in the system assign their fighter wings to their main fleet, spreading damage across multiple ships in order to inflict further casualties, or at least add to the pressure on the Logistics wing.

As the battle wore on, the first CFC Tengu fleet was in tatters, a decision was made to switch to the second fleet which was pursuing the Northern Coalition. Tengu fleet, while the N3 Legion fleet kept damage on the first CFC Tengu fleet. At the same time, CFC bombers cleared a few of the fighter drones and attempted to disrupt the tank of the Northern Coalition.’s Tengus with void bomb runs, with mixed success. All the while the CFC Celestis wing kept maximum range of the fight and spread their damps on the Northern Coalition. Tengus, with no apparent success.

With the first CFC Tengu fleet decimated, and the second CFC Tengu fleet being targeted now, it seems an attempt by CFC forces was made to stop an N3 Dreadnaught squadron which was working during the fight on pushing the Infrastructure Hub into its second reinforcement timer. The CFC Tengu fleets warped in range of the Infrastructure Hub, only to find they were to late, and being pursued by the N3 fleets.

Bloodied and having lost the strategic objective, the CFC fleets decided to quickly extract from the system, jumping into the LBGI-2 system. N3 forces attempted to give chase, jumping into the system as well, only to find CFC reinforcements ready for them. Instead of fighting further, N3 forces quickly crashed to gate and jumped back to Y-2ANO system.

At this point, both sides decided to stand down.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/oKV4ggDrsVY&source=uds

Footage of the fight from Northern Coalition.’s point of view

Battle report for the Y-2ANO system can be found here.

At the height of the battle, the Y-2ANO system hosted more than one thousand and one hundred players. Time Dilation was fixed at ten percent throughout the fight, and clearly effected the battle.

The system saw four hundred ships destroyed in a period of ninety minutes, for a total of seventy-two billion ISK. CFC forces lost a third of their pilots, and received two thirds of the damage, while N3 lost only a quarter of their forces, for a third of the ISK damages.

With this and the battle of LBGI-2, it seems the current Fountain war started with a big opening act. The only question is, whether it will have a grad final climax, or will it show a marked decline as the sovereignty grind takes its toll on both sides.

Special thanks to Minas93, of 0utLaw., Northern Coalition. for granting an interview and Sparith Jeda, of HAX., Northern Coalition. for supplying footage of the fight.

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.

News: Providence Bloc Repels HERO Coalition Attempt to Caputre ZQ-Z3Y System

ZQ-Z3Y System, Catch region. On the 10th of September, Providence Bloc forces met HERO Coalition forces head on in the system in order to stop HERO Coalition’s attempt to reinforce it, resulting in one of the largest sub capital fights in recent memory.

Providence Bloc forces numbered three hundred and thirty pilots organized in four fleets, with the main fleet comprising of two hundred and fifty-six pilots in Battleships, two bomber wings and a sniping fleet comprised mostly of Battlecruisers. HERO Coalition, supported by The Unthinkables Alliance, had approximately two hundred pilots organized in two fleets, a one hundred and twenty pilot Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet and a sixty pilot Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet.

The two forces clashed on the G-AOTH gate in the ZQ-Z3Y system, with Providence Bloc forces already sat up on the gate at close range, twenty kilometer off, to catch the incoming enemy fleet. As it turns out, HERO Coalition forces with their N3 allies entered the system as predicted and were immediately caught off by the battleships, with most of their Tech II Logistic ships being effected by the Providence Bloc’s Heavy Neutralizers fitted on their Battleships, unable to apply their remote repairers or even pull range in time.

In quick succession, most of the HERO Coalition and Unthinkables’ logistic wing was decimated, though Providence Bloc lost many Logistic ships as well, due to the sheer firepower of the two combined fleets. However, to add to the blow suffered by HERO Coalition and its allies in losing much of their logistics wing, a successful bombing run carried by Providence Bloc bomber wing managed to decimate The Unthinkables’ fleet, destroying most of their Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruisers and forcing them to retreat from the battle permanently.

At this point, HERO Coalition forces attempted to carry on fighting, but with little to no logistics wing and mounting casualties, were forced to safe up, warping between celestial bodies in the system and safe spots, much to the chagrin of Providence Bloc which made half hearted attempts to give chase. Though catching a few stragglers, HERO Coalition managed to preserve the core of its fleet, giving time for them to gather reinforcement and attempt a second engagement along with a fifty-five Test Alliance Please Ignore Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet.

Yet in a repeat of the earlier engagement, the Test Alliance Please Ignore Tech II Logistics ships were easily destroyed, followed by several Ishtars. Unlike The Unthinkables though, Test Alliance Please Ignore managed to retreat with approximately half their fleet intact, though Providence Bloc did lose a few ships in the scrape. At this point HERO Coalition forces retreated from the system, allowing Providence Bloc forces to remove one of the Sovereignty Blockade Units.

Reports quickly came of a Pandemic Legion Tempest Fleet Issue class Battleship fleet, some seventy pilots large, bridging into the nearby system of 9UY4-H in the Providence region. Providence Bloc forces were already situated on the 9UY4-H gate in the system, about to remove the last HERO Coalition Sovereignty Blockade Unit. As the Pandemic Legion force jumped into the system, Providence Bloc forces held their fire, mainly due to confusion as in previous engagements Pandemic Legion has intervened on Providence Bloc’s side.

However, when it became clear that the Pandemic Legion force was hostile, as it opened fire on Providence Bloc forces, retaliation was swift. Providence Bloc Battleships were unable to break the Tempest Fleet Issue tank, but were able to decimate the Machariel class Battleships mixed in the fleet, when one of the Providence Bloc bomber wings executed a flawless bombing run, destroying fifty-seven Tempest Fleet Issue ships in one fell swoop. With the bulk of their fleet destroyed, Pandemic Legion forces retreated.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/zVMljKt5iVU&source=uds

Pandemic Legion fleet getting bombed (Courtesy of Judiciary Pag, of W.A.S.P Corporation, Curatores Veritatis Alliance)

This did not mark the last engagement, as reports came of a combined Northern Coalition(dot) and HERO Coalition force making its way to the ZQ-Z3Y system. This time, though, the hostile force did not make it into the system, as Providence Bloc forces removed the last of the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units and were making their way home, intercepting the N3\HERO Coalition fleet in the 9UY4-H system in Providence.

The fight flared up on the ZQ-Z3Y gate in that system, with Northern Coalition(dot) bringing a seventy pilot Tengu class Strategic Cruiser fleet and HERO Coalition contributing around a hundred pilots in a mix of Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruisers and Moa class Cruisers. It seems that the Northern Coalition(dot) warped to close to the Providence Bloc forces and thus was unable to pull range in time, which allowed Providence Bloc to annihilate its Logistics wing. Without their Tech II Logistics ships, and starting to lose Tengus, Northern Coalition(dot) decided to retreat. HERO Coalition attempted to help their allies, but suffered loses as well and this time retreated for good.

During and between the engagements HERO Coalition bombers proved a continued nuisance to Providence Bloc forces, but unlike previous engagements, were unable to deal any severe blow to Providence Bloc’s fleets.

According to killboards, more than four hundred and fifty-nine ships were destroyed in the five hour long engagement, representing a loss of more than seventy-two billion ISK. The ZQ-Z3Y system saw more than five hundred pilots occupy it at the height of the battle, with noticeable Time Dilation reaching upwards of sixty percent.

Fixed Battle Report can be found here (Courtesy of TheMittani.com).

Though the ZQ-Z3Y system has been saved, the question remains, whether this battle represents a second turning point in this war in favor of Providence Bloc, or will only a one-off success?

News: N3 Coalition Destroys a Providence Bloc Capital Ship Assembly Array in H-GKI6

In the early hours of the seventeenth of April, an N3 Coalition force destroyed a Tower belonging to Silent Infinity Alliance, a sovereignty holder in the Providence Bloc, which held a Capital Ship Assembly Array in the H-GKI6 system, Providence region.

The attacking force, some hundred and fifty pilots strong, mainly in Armor Strategic Cruisers, bridged into the system and proceeded to attack the Tower. They were accompanied by ten Capital ships, mainly Dreadnaughts and one Archon class Carrier. The Dreadnaughts quickly entered Siege mode and annihilated the Tower and its modules, including the Capital Ship Assembly Array. Only token resistance was offered, mainly by Silent Infinity Alliance Stealth Bombers, who did little to no damage to the attacking force. Once the Tower and all its modules were destroyed, the N3 Coalition force safely extracted from the system.

A screenshot of the attacking force on the Tower in the H-GKI6 system

According to Nero Draconian, of Forging Industries, Silent Infinity Alliance, the Capital Ship Assembly Array was empty at the time of its destruction.

The response given by the N3 Coalition to this event by Travis Musgrat, of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance, was that the aim of the attack was to provoke a fight from the Providence Bloc.

However, contrary to these official responses, a claim was raised that the Capital Ship Assembly Array in question was not, in fact, lying idle until the moment of its destruction, but was actually in the process of producing an unknown ship, either a Mothership or Titan class ship. An information leak allowed the owners of the Tower to empty the Capital Ship Assembly Array well before the time of the attack, thus saving the materials from being lost.

Further more, it has been speculated that the ship in production was not intended for a pilot who is a part of the Providence Bloc, but a client outside the coalition, possibly either from the CFC or a former member alliance of the RUS Coalition. This theory can be given credence by the fact that there is little to no use for this class of ships by members of the Providence Bloc, nor readily available capital to purchase one easily.

If so, the operation may have been a warning shot aimed at the Providence Bloc, cautioning its members not to trade with the CFC or any of its allies. It may even be considered a prologue of the anticipated war between the N3 Coalition and the CFC, with the N3 Coalition attempting to limit any source of Capital ships for the CFC, including neutral entities such as the Providence Bloc.

Regardless, there has been little to no confirmation of such claims, and both sides maintain this was done mainly for the sake of a good fight, which did not appear to have materialized.

Complete Battle Report.

Special thanks to Nero Draconian, of Forging Industries, Silent Infinity Alliance and Travis Musgrat, of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance for granting interviews, as well as Dragoshi, of Asturm Fidelis, Apocalypse Now(dot) Alliance, for supplying screenshots of the battle.

Summary: Large Fleet Battle in HJ-BCH 30.3.2014

In the early hours of the thirtieth of March, a large fleet fight erupted in the HJ-BCH system, Scalding Pass region, between CFC and N3 Coalition forces over a tackled Titan on a station.

Almost Awesome(dot) Alliance is a small, unaffiliated organization in New Eden, who has taken possession of the HJ-BCH system and outpost in order to illicit a fight from any of the sides involved in the Halloween War.

However, on two previous sovereignty timers, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance opted to field a small, unsupported Capital fleet to quickly burn through the reinforcement process, leaving Almost Awesome(dot) unable to respond. During the second timer, though, qicia, of Mercurialis Inc, Razor Alliance, one of the Fleet Commander of Razor Alliance, was present and witnessed the Northern Coalition(dot) Capital deployment in the system.

Contacting the locals, an agreement was reached to set a trap for the Northern Coalition(dot) Capital force in the next timer, with Almost Awesome(dot) supplying initial tackle and cynosural beacon, and Razor Alliance bringing the damage to the field.

However, when the timer was reached, Northern Coalition(dot) forces did not seem to commit. A decision was made to use a bait to lure them, an Archon class Carrier to sit on the un-dock and enter Triage mode, repairing the station. qicia hypothesized that once seeing that, Northern Coalition(dot) will jump a Titan in, but he had no illusions that his fleet was even capable of destroying the Titan itself.

His hypothesis was confirmed when a cynosural beacon went up in the system, and an Erebus class Titan, with fifteen assorted Mothership escorts jumped into the system. The Titan immediately fired its doomsday device, destroying the Archon class Carrier. However, the Northern Coalition(dot) fleet was severely lacking in support, and was quickly bubbled down by the Almost Awesome(dot) Interdictor class Destroyers, effectively preventing it from jumping out. Almost Awesome(dot) lit their own cynosural beacon and allowed the Razor Alliance Tempest class Battleship fleet to bridge in.

At this point, both forces were pinging their allies for reinforcements. Northern Coalition(dot) itself quickly formed a Tempest Fleet Issue class Battleship fleet and bridged it into system thanks to one of the tackled Motherships refitting cynosural generator. The fight seems at this point to have gone Razor Alliance’s way, however, with reinforcements entering the field from both coalitions, reaching over six hundred pilots in the system, and Time Dilation kicking in, the tide of the battle was uncertain to stay this way.

qicia, believing he didn’t have enough support to deploy a Capital fleet, and with mounting reinforcements coming from the N3 Coalition side, decided to withdraw. At this point in time there were seven fleets in the system fighting. For the most part the CFC forces managed to extract with minimal losses, with only a Harpy class Assault Frigate fleet lost to the last pilot, with opinions divided for the reason, as some claim it remained on the field to cover the other CFC entities’ retreat, or that it may have not realized the other fleets were withdrawing.

The N3 Coalition itself managed to save the tackled Titan and its Mothership class escorts, who safely jumped out of the system.

The fixed Battle Report.

Both sides have since claimed victory in this battle, with Almost Awesome(dot) achieving the fight they have been looking for, the CFC causing more damage in ISK to the N3 Coalition, and the N3 Coalition holding the field and taking over the system.

Alexander Jabez, of Burning Napalm, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance, who was the Fleet Commander in charge on N3 Coalition’s side, has admitted that lack of resistance from the locals, coupled with confidence in the US Time Zone of the Alliance, has led to the use of Capitals and Super Capital ships unsupported.

qicia, of Mercurialis Inc, Razor Alliance, has only lamented the lack of numbers from the CFC side, and the miscommunication with the Harpy class Assault Frigate fleet. However, for the most part, he is satisfied with the result and wished to commend the N3 Coalition for committing to it.

Roweena Azur, of Hit Squad 420, Almost Awesome(dot) Alliance, wished to express his gratitude to qicia for organizing the trap, and claims that Almost Awesome(dot) will continue to cause mayhem, however in a different region of New Eden.

SpiritOne, of Burning Napalm, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance, wished to commend his Corporation’s members for fielding the Archon class Carrier force, which he believes was instrumental in securing the victory for the N3 Coalition.

Special thanks to SpiritOne and Alexander Jabez, of Burning Napalm, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance, qicia, of Mercurialis Inc, Razor Alliance and Roweena Azur, of Hit Squad 420, Almost Awesome(dot) Alliance for granting the interviews.

Breaking News: SOLAR FLEET Avatar Class Titan Destroyed in 9-8GBA [Updated]

A SOLAR FLEET Alliance Avatar class Titan was destroyed today by a combined N3 capital and sub-capital force in the 9-8GBA system, Catch region. An Against ALL Authorities Alliance Tengu fleet was attacking a Territorial Claim Unit belonging to Spaceship Samurai Alliance in the system, however, a Thanatos class Carrier belonging to Hellz Hitman, of No-Mercy, Spaceship Samurai Alliance, kept repairing the Territorial Claim Unit. This prompted the members of SOLAR FLEET Alliance, who were present in the system, to drop a Titan on him, in order to destroy his ship and end his interference. Unknown to SOLAR FLEET, Pandemic Legion Alliance had already set their sights on the dropping on the Against ALL Authorities Fleet. Once the Titan landed on the grid, Pandemic Legion siezed the chance and lit their own cynosural beacon, tackling the Titan, who promptly melted away by the combined firepower of N3’s ships.

Contrary to initial reports, this was an accidental Titan kill, and not an organized affair. The Carrier pilot, Hellz Hitman, reported that this was not the first time SOLAR FLEET dropped super-capitals on the field in the 9-8GBA system. Two nights ago, Spaceship Samurai Alliance scouted the system, discovering it did not have an Infrastructure-Hub installed. Realizing this, they anchored a Tower near the Against ALL Authorities’ Territorial Claim Unit, and used four Carriers to destroyed it. However, afterwards, their operation was interrupted by SOLAR FLEET Alliance, who promptly jumped five super-capitals onto the field. Since the Carriers were not tackled, the Spaceship Samurai force managed to safely extract.

Hellz Hitman reached out for his Pandemic Legion contacts in order to report the ordeal. Today, he was told by a character in an NPC Corporation to leave the Tower’s shields in his Thantos class Carrier, even though the Territorial Claim Unit was under attack by an Against ALL Authorities Tengu force. Having worked with Pandemic Legion before, and assuming something big was in the works, he obeyed. Almost immediately, A Manticore class Stealth Bomber belonging to SOLAR FLEET uncloaked, and lit a cynosural beacon, and the Titan jumped into the system.

Unfortunately for Hellz Hitman, the Titan was in range, and managed to destroy his Carrier, however, the loss was not in vain as a second cynosural beacon lit up, this time by Pandemic Legion. An N3 force comprised of capital ships, a few Motherships and Navy Issue Apocalypses landed on the field, tackling the Titan and promptly destroying it. SOLAR FLEET Alliance did bridge in a Tengu fleet in order to try and save the Titan, but to no avail.

According to James Kordent, the Pandemic Legion Fleet Commander in charge at the time, the initial intent was for SOLAR FLEET Alliance to bridge in their Tengu fleet to engage the Thanatos class Carrier, at that point N3 were supposed to bridge in on top of SOLAR FLEET force, in order to annihilate their Tengus. The Titan’s appearance on the field came as a complete shock to him. However, he decided to go after the Titan, as it did prove to be the better target. While SOLAR FLEET and N3 were engaged, Against ALL Authorities forces decided to extract from the battle, rather than lose ships.

Losing a few Interdictor and Heavy Interdictor class ships, the N3 force safely extracted out of the system, in what was described as Blitz action. The total damage done is estimated at one hundred and forty-one billion ISK for the Titan alone, and promises to grow as more Tengu losses are processed by EVE-Kill(dot)net.

The Titan pilot refused to comment, while both SOLAR FLEET and Against ALL Authorities Alliances remain silent on the matter

Special thanks to Hellz Hitman, of No-Mercy, Spaceship Samurai Alliance, and James Kordent, North Eastern Swat, Pandemic Legion Alliance, for granting me this interview.

Update: Tenerifis Region 10-17/3/2014

With Darkness of Despair disbanding, the Tenerifis region has lately seen the bulk of the fighting between N3 and the RUS Coalition, in what is now the fourth month of the war termed the Halloween War. The EVE Scribe is here to give you a brief summary of past week’s activities:

N3

Nulli Secunda – 19 systems, 2 stations
Echoes of Nowhere – 12 systems, 1 station
DARKNESS. – 7 systems, 4 stations
The Kadeshi – 7 systems, 3 stations
Northern Coalition. – 3 systems, 2 stations
Mildly Intoxicated – 2 systems, 2 stations
Northern Associates. – 3 systems

Total: 53 systems (65%), 14 stations (83%)

RUS Coalition

SOLAR FLEET – 13 systems, 3 stations
Hand of Despair – 6 systems
Against ALL Authorities – 1 system
Solar Citizens – 3 systems

Total: 23 systems (28%), 3 stations (17%)

Unknown

Rookie Empire – 1 system

Total: 1 system (1%)

Unclaimed

W-16DY, L2GN-K, 9-MJVQ, H-HWQR

Total: 4 system (6%)

10/3/2014 – Darkness of Despair disbands, dropping sovereignty for twenty-four systems in the Tenerifis region

11/3/2014 – Initial scramble for unclaimed systems ends with Nulli Secunda gaining sixteen systems, Echoes of Nowhere taking five systems, The Kadeshi gaining two systems, Rookie Empire claiming one system and Against ALL Authorities securing one system.

12/3/2014 – Solar Citizens and SOLAR FLEET lose M-4KDB and FE-6YQ systems respectively, which are later gained by Nulli Secunda the same day. Later in the day, Hand of Despair loses the 7M4C-F system.

13/3/2014 – 0P-U0Q and 7M4C-F systems are gained by The Kadeshi and Echoes of Nowhere respectively. DARKNESS(dot) losses DZ6-I5 system.

14/3/2014 – DZ6-I5 system gained by The Kadeshi, L2GN-K system is lost by SOLAR FLEET. DARKNESS(dot) Alliance decides to switch sides in the war, joining the N3 Coalition.

15/3/2014 – A SOLAR FLEET Nyx class Mothership and four systems are lost in one day by said alliance.

16/3/2014 – ZD1-Z2 and QCDG-H systems are lost by SOLAR FLEET and Hand of Despair respectively. PDF-3Z system gained by The Kadeshi, while the QCDG-H system is taken by Echoes of Nowhere.

17/3/2014 – ZD1-Z2 system gained by Nulli Secunda.

Breaking News: SOLAR FLEET Nyx Class Mothership Destroyed in PDF-3Z

Yesterday, the fifteenth of March, saw a continuation in the fighting over the Tenerifis region between RUS Coalition and N3. SOLAR FLEET Alliance organized a one hundred pilot Tengu fleet in order to take down a Sovereignty Blockade Unit (SBU) planted by Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance in the 4-IT9G system.

To Northern Coalition(dot)’s Fleet Commander, Travis Musgrat’s surprise, a large number of SOLAR FLEET super-capital pilots logged into the game around the same time as the assault on the 4-IT9G Sovereignty Blockade Unit. This prompted Northern Coalition(dot) to hastily form up a Navy Issue Apocalypse fleet numbering close to a hundred pilots as well, while sending forward tacklers in order to catch the super-capitals and light a cynosural beacon for the fleet to bridge into.

However, there wasn’t enough time for the Northern Coalition(dot) pilots to arrive to the system before the Sovereignty Blockade Unit was destroyed. This allowed SOLAR FLEET’s super-capital force, numbering fifteen assorted Motherships, to jump into the PDF-3Z system, unto a safe tower, while the SOLAR FLEET Tengu fleet moved back and took positions on the entrance gates to the system, effectively blocking the path for Northern Coalition(dot) forces.

It was at that moment, that a SOLAR FLEET Nyx class Mothership was bumped off from the tower, an occurrence that Travis Musgrat explained is not uncommon when many super-capital ships jump into a single cynosural beacon. The pilot, instead of warping off the field to a celestial and back to the tower, or simply cloaking, chose to approach the tower, in what is called “Slowboating”, allowing Northern Coalition(dot) the time they needed to bypass the SOLAR FLEET Tengu gate camp.

glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot), had an account in a corporation that was part of Against ALL Authorities‘ renter alliance, AAA Citizens. The account was inserted in order to snag a carrier kill or two, as the corporation itself had its lease with Against ALL Authorities Alliance expire in a week, and decided to join Northern Coalition(dot)’s renter alliance instead. Spotting a chance to get a Mothership kill, glitterbomb had this account enter the system, in a cynosural generator fitted ship. Since the character in question was in a friendly alliance of SOLAR FLEET, the Tengu fleet allowed the ship to pass through their gate camp, effectively sealing the Nyx pilot’s fate.

It wasn’t smooth sailing from there on, as glitterbomb had his character warp to the wrong side of the tower, necessitating a few more nail biting minutes before he was close enough to the Nyx, unaware of its approaching doom. Then he lit a cynosural beacon.

Northern Coalition(dot) tackle ships bridged in immediately and bubbled the helpless Nyx, followed by the rest of the fleet along with twenty-two Motherships and two carriers to serve as logistic support. With all that fire power on grid, the Nyx had no chance and was quickly destroyed.

Yet, the battle was far from over, as the SOLAR FLEET Tengus engaged the Norther Coalition(dot) support fleet, prompting a battle that raged for two hours, without any side getting the upper hand. However, as reinforcements for both sides arrived on the field, including a large Nulli Secunda Alliance Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, it was clear the N3 forces were outnumbering the RUS Coalition’s. Thus, the RUS Coalition ceded the field to N3, allowing its forces to destroy four Territorial Claim Units, adding a loss of four systems to that of the Nyx.

Battle Report

The remainder of SOLAR FLEET’s, as well as all of Northern Coalition(dot) Motherships safely extracted from the system without further losses.

Special thanks are in order to Travis Musgrat and glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance for giving me an interview, and to Hendrick Tallardar and rcmst of TheMittani(dot)com and EVENews24(dot)com respectively, for their initial reports on the subject.

Update: Tenerifis Region Heavily Contested

In the wake of Darkness of Despair’s disband, the entire Tenerifis region lost sovereignty. As of the time of writing, N3 and RUS Coalition have scrambled to claim as many systems as possible. The result of the this race are as follows:

N3 Coalition:

Nulli Secunda – 16 systems, 1 station
Echoes of Nowhere – 10 systems, 1 station
Northern Associates – 3 systems
Northern CoalitionDot – 3 systems, 2 stations
Mildly Intoxicated – 2 systems, 2 stations
The Kadeshi – 4 systems, 1 station

Total: 38 systems (46%), 7 stations (41%)

RUS Coalition:

Against ALL Authorities – 1 system
Hand of Despair – 8 systems
Solar Fleet – 20 systems, 4 stations
Solar Citizens – 4 systems
Darkness – 8 systems, 5 stations

Total: 41 systems (50%), 9 stations (52%)

Unknown

Rookie Empire – 1 system

Total: 1 system (2%)

Unclaimed

0P-U0Q system, station in the hands of former Darkness of Despair Corporation.

Total: 1 system (2%), 1 station (7%)

With the initial systems grab done, the next phase will see N3 and RUS Coalition forces either clashing over stations and Territorial Claim Units, or relinquishing territory and evacuating assets to Empire and NPC Null Security space. Only the coming days will tell.

The EVE Scribe will keep you posted.