News: Massive Fleet Fight in 9UY4-H

9UY4-H system, Providence region. On the 9th of May, 21:00 EVE Standard Time, Pandemic Legion, Northern Coalition(dot) [NC], Spectre Fleet and Providence Bloc clashed in the system in an enormous fight that saw no less than 1,000 pilots battle each other.

[NC] brought a Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet, 130 pilots strong with Triage Archon Carrier support.

Pandemic Legion brought a Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet as well, 160 pilots strong, with Pandemic Horde [REKTD] also being present in a Maller Cruiser fleet, 60 pilots big, but operating autonomously from its parent alliance.

In a running theme of the battle, Providence Bloc fielded a Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet of their own, 160 pilots strong, with a Goku Bomber fleet, 70 pilots large, and a support Naga Battlecruiser fleet, 30 pilots in total. All in all, Providence Bloc fielded close to 270 pilots.

Last but not least was Spectre Fleet, who brought a full Battleship fleet, nearly 250 pilots, most notably in Tempest Fleet Issue. It also had Triage Archon Carriers and Dreadnoughts on standby, for future escalation.

Providence Bloc formed to protect the Infrastructure Hub in the G-5EN2 system and repair it. However, they soon found out that [NC] bridged their fleet behind them, hoping to cut Providence Bloc’s route of retreat, sitting in the 9UY4-H system, which serves as the major crossroad of the region.

Help came in the form of Spectre Fleet and [REKTD], who promised to aid Providence Bloc against [NC]. This was important for Providence Bloc as reports of a large Pandemic Legion Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet spotted in the Catch region were received at the same time.

Thus, Spectre Fleet and [REKTD] engaged the [NC] fleet on the 4B-NQN gate, where Providence Bloc were waiting on the other side. As the two sides tangled, bringing Triage Archons and exchanging blows, Providence Bloc jumped in and started brawling with the [NC] fleet.

At this point, Pandemic Legion, who returned from their escapades in Wormhole space, re-shipped into their Proteus Strategic Cruisers and bridged to a perch above the gate. Once they loaded grid, Pandemic Legion’s forces warped on top of the Providence Bloc fleet, choosing to focus on them.

Ships were volleyed off, as Time Dilation kicked into high gear, and even noticeable lag was felt. As Providence Bloc were losing ships at an alarming rate, they attempted to de-aggress and jump back to the 4B-NQN system.

However, they soon discovered Pandemic Legion’s Interdictors were waiting for them, launching interdiction probes and trapping most of the fleet on the 9UY4-H gate, as the Pandemic Legion fleet waited its aggression timers and jumped in after them, continuing the fight between the two.

Providence Bloc attempted to fight as best as it could, but it soon became clear that they were losing. To minimize their losses, the fleet warped to the station and docked up, leaving behind many Proteus and Legions who were tackled by Pandemic Legion and promptly destroyed.

Battle report for 4B-NQN can be found here.

With Providence Bloc dealt with, Pandemic Legion came back to the 9UY4-H system in order to tackle the Spectre Fleet head on. However, while Providence Bloc and Pandemic Legion were having their own engagement in 4B-NQN, Spectre Fleet and [NC] disengaged, Spectre Fleet retreating to the D61A-G system, on the Y-MPWL gate, while [NC] seemed to have extracted form the region.

Battle report for 9UY4-H can be found here.

Pandemic Legion entered the D61A-G system and decided to commit to the fight, warping to the gate and hitting the edge of the deployed Interdiction field. Thus, the fight started in earnest, with Pandemic Legion anchoring up and going into the thick of the Battleships.

The fight was not a one sided affair but a bloody struggle, with both sides volleying ships off. Spectre Fleet had no less than 4 Triage Archons present, while Pandemic Legion had to be content with their Tech II Logistics.

As the battle dragged on, Pandemic Legion lit a cynosural beacon and ushered in its own Triage Archon. In retaliation, Spectre Fleet brought in 4 Dreadnoughts, who promptly targeted the lone Triage Archon, but by the time they brought it down, many of the Battleships were destroyed, making it impossible for the Spectre Fleet to break the Strategic Cruisers’ tank.

Realizing their situation, the Spectre Fleet made a dash for the safety of Empire, jumping into the Y-MPWL system and running to the kari gate, with Pandemic Legion in hot pursuit. Several more Battleships and 2 Dreadnoughts were caught, while the remainder managed to escape.

Battle report for the D61A-G system can be found here.

Pandemic Legion continued to camp the D61A-G gate for a while, before extracting from the region, with no resistance whatsoever and managing to score a few easy ganks on the way home.

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

This marked the end of hostilities for the region.

Footage of the Fighting from Pandemic Legion’s POV

The main battle saw 1,000 pilots in the 9UY4-H system, with Time Dilation peaking at 10% and lag reported by many pilots. The other engagements saw less than 400 pilots in local, with Time Dilation at more manageable levels. From the start of the fight to the end of hostilities, nearly an hour elapsed.

The butcher’s bill is on a grand scale, considering everything. Spectre Fleet bore the brunt of the losses, 128 ships lost, including 2 Dreadnoughts, for a total of 39 Bil ISK of damages. Close second is Providence Bloc, who lost approximately 117 ships, for a total of 24 Bil ISK in damages. Third place was Pandemic Legion, with 27 ships lost, including 1 Triage Carrier, totaling at 14 Bil ISK damages. [NC] for their part, only lost 9 ships, mounting to 3.5 Bil ISK damages.

All told, this battle is further proof that regardless of Phoebe restrictions, huge scale battles are still fought throughout New Eden, and the devastation they leave in their wake, is still something to be awed by.

Special thanks to Fin1712, of Hoover Inc. Pandemic Legion for supplying footage of the fighting.

Providence Fight Club: HED-GP 28.4.2015

HED-GP system, Catch region. On the 28th of April, at 21:00 EVE Standard Time, Pandemic Legion and Providence Bloc clashed in a minor skirmish in the system, leading to no less than a 120 ship losses.

The battle began when Providence Bloc forces, divided to an Augoror Navy Issue Cruiser fleet, approximately 70 pilots strong, a Cerberus Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, 40 pilots large and a Stealth Bomber wing, came to the HED-GP system with the intent of provoking a response from Pandemic Horde.

Seeing their system camped and their enemies fielding an overwhelming force that they could not help to contend with, Pandemic Horde called their parent alliance, Pandemic Legion, for help. Pandemic Legion answered the call with a 60 pilot Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, which raced to the besieged system.

Entering through the SV5-8N system, the Pandemic Legion fleet waited on their in-gate, when the Providence Bloc fleets landed near them. Quickly, Pandemic Legion’s forces anchored up, dropped drones and started the fight.

One by one, the Providence Bloc ships melted under the drone damage, while unable to return fire, as the Ishtars kitted out of their range. The Cerberus fleet made attempts to close in on the Ishtars only to sustain losses and be driven away.

The exchange continued with Pandemic Horde and WAFFLES(dot) bringing in reinforcements in the form of tackle and e-war Frigates as well as Interdictors.

As the battle raged on Providence Bloc’s bomber wing started to make its presence felt, forcing the Ishtars a couple of times off the field and destroying their drones.

However, re-stocked with drones in the station, the Ishtars returned once more to the grid and continued fighting. Finally, Providence Bloc’s forces were shattered, beating a hasty retreat to the Keberz gate and into the relative safety of High Security Space, ending the fight.

The Battle from Providence Bloc’s Perspective, Courtesy of Mangraa Dementia

Battle report for the HED-GP system can be found here.

The tally stands at 63 losses to Pandemic Legion, mostly Pandemic Horde and WAFFLES(dot) tackle and e-war Frigates, as well as a few Ishtars who were either not anchoring or fell victim to bombing runs. Providence Bloc lost 66 ships, mostly Augoror Navy Issue Cruisers. Total ISK lost is estimated at around 8 Bil ISK for both sides.

Local did not exceed 300 pilots at the peak of the fighting, with Time Dilation being non-existent

Special thanks to Mangraa Dementia of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance for providing video footage

Providence Fight Club: G-5EN2 23.4.2015

G-5EN2 system, Providence region. On the 23rd of April, at 20:00 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc forces clashed with Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] in a bloody battle that left 7 Archon Carriers dead on the field.

Since their defeat in the Fountain-Delve war, [NC] has withdrawn from Null Security space to the Hasateem system in the Derelik region. From there it has been harassing Providence Bloc, in particular contesting the G-5EN2 system, which serves as one of the major gateways into the region.

This marked the third time in the week that [NC] has deployed Sovereignty Blockade Units in the system. and while previous engagements proved to be small to medium in scale, this time the ante was raised.

An [NC] fleet, comprised of around 114 pilots, mostly in Loki Strategic Cruisers and with no less than 7 Triage Carriers entered the G-5EN2 system through the 9-F0B2 gate as the Sovereignty Blockade Units came online.

Providence Bloc answered the provocation with an overwhelming show of force, bringing almost 500 pilots to the system divided into 5 fleets: The main fleet was a 205 pilots strong Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet, supported by 2 Ishtar Assault Cruiser fleets (one of which fielded by Providence Bloc’s long time enemy, Spectre Fleet), a Goku (Uncloaked Stealth Bombers who remain on grid) wing and an ordinary Stealth Bomber wing.

The two forces met each other on the Assah gate in the G-5EN2 system, as the Loki fleet landed at zero on the Proteus fleet’s Logistics wing. Immediately a brutal exchange took place, as Providence Bloc and [NC] slugged it out in close range. Providence Bloc lost nearly half their Logistics wing in the exchange, but managed to take down a few Lokis for their losses. However, the Triage remote repairs proved to be overwhelming, keeping most of the [NC] fleet alive.

The Two Forces Engaged on the Assah Gate

As the exchange continued, a decision was made to switch to the Triage Archons. This was done in order to get the Lokis to aggress on the fielded Proteus, allowing Providence Bloc to bring in their own Triage Carriers. Yet, the damage output of Providence Bloc proved to be so overwhelming, that the first pair of Triage Archons was destroyed with a couple of minutes, prompting the [NC] force to attempt a retreat, burning back to the Assah gate.

Pandemic Legion forces entered the system around this time, flying a Muninn Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, some 40 pilots strong and an equal sized Maulus Frigate e-war fleet piloted by their newbie friendly alliance, Pandemic Horde.

The force attempted to help the [NC] fleet but was bombed mercilessly by the Providence Bloc bomber wing, and forced off field. At the same time, Providence Bloc managed to destroy another Archon, as well as bubble the rest. Thus the [NC] Loki fleet was forced to jump out to Low Security Space, or risk total annihilation, leaving the rest of the Archons to be destroyed by Providence Bloc, who now had Heavy Interdiction Cruisers to keep them trapped.

Archon Wrecks Drifting Forlornly on the Assah Gate as the Fighting Continues

With the last Archon destroyed and both Pandemic Legion and [NC] on the run, Providence Bloc cleared the field and returned to their staging system.

Battle report for the G-5EN2 system can be found here.

During the peak of the fighting, the G-5EN2 system hosted 700 pilots, with Time Dilation proving to be a factor, as it spiked and subsided throughout the battle.

NCdot and its allies lost 97 ships, totaling 28 Bil ISK in damages, including 7 Triage Carriers. Providence Bloc lost only 81 ships, a total of 8 Bil ISK damage sustained.

As Null Security space adjusts to the recent political upheavals and wait in abated breath to the Sovereignty Warfare changes, the Providence region will probably become ever more busy, as the number one place to get a fight now that BNI had vacated Catch.

Special thanks to ISD for providing the screenshots.