Providence Fight Club: 9-F0B2 8.5.2015

9-F0B2 system, Providence region. On the 8th of May, at 18:40 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Providence Bloc and StainWagon Coalition clashed in the system, in an honor brawl.

Providence Bloc brought a 159 pilot strong Proteus\Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet, while StaingWagon Coalition brought a 119 pilot large Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet. Both fleets arrived at the G-5EN2 system, in order to repel an imminent Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] attack on the station, which was coming out of armor reinforcement mode.

To their surprise, [NC] did not show up, instead taking down the Sovereignty Blockade Units some time earlier, allowing the station to safely exit reinforced mode. With the station no longer in danger and no enemy fleet to fight, the two entities decided to hold instead a honor brawl.

However, the presence of [NC] Stealth Bombers in the G-5EN2 system caused the two sides to relocate to the neighboring 9-F0B2 system. StainWagon Coalition was allowed to go in first, situating themselves off the G-5EN2 gate, when Providence Bloc forces jumped into them and anchored up, starting the fight.

The brawl saw a quick fire exchange, with Providence Bloc losing Logistics ships and StainWagon losing a few mainline ships, as the two sides anchored up. After a while, the StainWagon Ishtars managed to kite out of the effective range of the Providence Bloc Strategic Cruisers, negating much of the damage. Providence Bloc for its part kept losing Logistics ships.

Thus, after a few minutes, the call was made for Providence Bloc ships to de-aggress and warp to the station and dock up, effectively finishing the fight.

With the fight over, StainWagon Coalition made its way home, safely extracting from the region.

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

During the fighting the system hosted 325 pilots, with Time Dilation being noticeable, reaching upwards of 60 and even 40%. The fight itself lasted merely 10 minutes.

Providence Bloc lost 38 ships, for a total of 5 Bil ISK. StainWagon Coalition lost 15 ships, for a total of 1 Bil ISK.

Special thanks to Jin’taan, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance and Elazar Keon, of The Black Company G.C. Soviet-Union, for granting interviews

Providence Fight Club: K1I1-J 29.4.2015

K1I1-J system, Providence region. On the 29th of April, 21:00 EVE Standard Time, Spectre Fleet and Pandemic Legion met with Providence Bloc in the system, to what would become a one sided battle.

The battle began after Providence Bloc forces were en route back to their staging system, having just destroyed Sovereignty Blockade Units that were deployed by Northern Coalition(dot) in the G-5EN2 system. as they moving, a report came of a Spectre Fleet Omen Navy Issue gang making its way up the pipe from Catch.

Providence Bloc had a Goku Stealth Bomber fleet, 40 members strong, and a Protues\Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet, 100 pilots big.

Spectre Fleet had a 50 pilot Omen Navy Issue gang. However, it also had the help of a Pandemic Legion Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, 40 pilots strong and a Pandemic Horde Caracal Cruiser fleet, some 20 pilots in total who were roaming the region as well.

The two forces met head first on the 2-TEGJ gate in the K1I1-J system. The Gokus were the first to arrive in system and proceeded to engage the enemy, jumping between K1I1-J and 2-TEGJ systems, causing the enemy fleets to split. This gave enough time for the main Providence Bloc fleet to arrive on the scene and engage the disorganized hostiles.

A short and brutal skirmish developed on the 2-TEGJ gate, with Pandemic Legion Ishtars getting caught and melted by the Providence Bloc Strategic Cruiser fleet. A few of the Spectre Fleet ships were caught as well, but the two hostile fleets quickly disengaged, burning out of the interdiction probes and warping off the field as they realized they could not hope to contend with the force brought in by Providence Bloc.

Claiming victory, Providence Bloc decided not to camp the hostiles in, preferring instead to continue on their way home, thus allowing the battered enemy fleets to withdraw from the system.

Battle report for the K1I1-J system can be found here.

The fight saw the system reach a peak of no more than 300 pilots, with Time Dilation being negligible and having no serious effect on the fighting.

Providence Bloc lost only 5 ships during the fight, for 210 Mil ISK damages. Spectre Fleet lost only 1 ship before bailing, valued at 70 Mil ISK. Pandemic Legion and its allies lost the bulk of ships, no less than 19 for 2.44 Bil ISK damages in total.

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.

Providence Fight Club: 9UY4-H 21.3.2015

9UY4-H system, Providence region. On the night of the 21st of March, 3 fleets clashed violently in the system, leading to a prolonged battle which saw Providence Bloc’s defeat at the hands of the NPSI community.

The battle started when a combined force of Spectre Fleet and RvB Ganked, some 190 pilots strong entered Providence region in 2 fleets. The first was a Heavy Interdictor fleet with robust Logistics wing and Triage Carrier support, some 115 pilots strong, while the second fleet was mainly Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruisers and Vexor Navy Issue Cruisers fleet, encompassing the rest of the pilots

The NPSI Fleet Anchoring Before the Battle

The force made its way down the pipe from the Assah system, Derelik region, when it ran head first to a Providence Bloc Apocalypse Navy Issue Battleship fleet, some 80 pilots strong, which sat on the 4B-NQN gate at zero. The NPSI fleets immediately anchored up and engaged Providence Bloc.

The fighting was fierce, with the NPSI fleet targeting Providence Bloc’s Logistics wing, while the latter was focusing damage on mainline ships. The exchange saw both forces lose ships, when at last Providence Bloc brought in Triage Carriers to supplement their Logistics wing. At this point the NPSI fleet was unable to break the tank of the mainline ships and was forced to call Triage Carriers of its own.

The two forces continued to brawl, but with so many Triage Carriers on field, no side was able to break the tank of the other. Instead, the NPSI fleet decided to focus fire on the Triage Carriers themselves. When the first one was destroyed, the rest of the Carriers were forced to exit their Triage mode in order to catch remote repairs and tank the incoming damage, managing to survive.

However, this proved to be fatal for the rest of the Providence Bloc fleet. Without the power of the Triage Carriers’ remote repairs, the Navy Issue Apocalypses were destroyed one after the other.

With their damage dwindling and their losses mounting, Providence Bloc decided to concede the field, with its Battleships using their Micro Jump Drives to create distance before warping off. However, this left the Triage Carriers behind. Two of them were unable to jump out and were destroyed by the NPSI fleet.

The 9UY4-H Fight from the Perspective of Providence Bloc (Provided by Mangraa Dementia)

At this point, the NPSI fleet evacuated its own Triage Carriers, as reports came of a Pandemic Legion fleet closing in on their location. The Pandemic Legion fleet was around 70 pilots strong, mainly in Proteus Strategic Cruisers. It arrived into system just as the last NPSI Carrier managed to jump out of system.

The 9UY4-H Fight from the Perspective of the NPSI Fleet’s Triage Carrier

With the Carriers safely extracted, the NPSI fleet decided to retreat to the 4B-NQN system, and re-organize on the other side, resolved to keep on fighting, but in a more favorable position. Pandemic Legion pursued it, after nabbing stragglers in the 9UY4-H system, and jumped into the 4B-NQN system. An intense battle soon erupted on the 9UY4-H gate between the two fleets.

Yet, this engagement proved to be a short and one sided affair. The NPSI fleet tried to concentrate fire on the Logistics wing of Pandemic Legion, managing to destroy two of them before remote repairs could hold. At this point Pandemic Legion had their own Triage Carrier on the field, and were quickly decimating the remnants of the Heavy Interdictor fleet, whose Logistics wing was half spent from its previous battle.

The Ishtar fleet, which was anchored further away from the main fighting, decided to disengage and withdraw, exiting the region to the marginal safety of Low Security space without incurring further losses.

With the Heavy Interdictor fleet destroyed, and no more hostiles to challenge it, the Pandemic Legion fleet made its way home, safely extracting its own Triage Carrier and arriving safely to its staging system without any more losses.

Battle report for the 9UY4-H system can be found here.
Battle report for the 4B-NQN system can be found here.

Time Dilation proved to be a factor in the fighting, peaking at 60% and remaining around that region for a part of the fight. The system did not host more than 300 pilots at the peak of fighting. The battle on its two parts lasted 1 hour in total.

Providence Bloc lost 56 ships, including 3 Archon Carriers for a total sum of 17 Bil ISK damages. The NPSI fleet lost 38 ships in the first engagement, for 7 Bil ISK damages, and 26 ships and 8 Bil ISK damages in the second. Pandemic Legion lost only 3 ships, for a total ISK damage of half a Bil.

All told, the battle proved to be a fascinating game of rock-paper-scissors, as the NPSI fleet managed to destroy the Providence Bloc fleet, only in turn being destroyed by the Pandemic Legion fleet.

Regardless, this fight continues to prove that the Providence region is still one of the most violent, and active regions in Null Security space.

Special thanks to Apex Aubaris, of Hoover Inc(dot), Pandemic Legion for granting an interview, and Mangraa Dementia, of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance for the video of the fight.

Providence Fight Club: The Spectre of Ivy League H6-CX8 15.3.2015

H6-CX8 system, Providence region. On the night of the 15th of March, Providence Bloc forces clashed violently with forces of both Ivy League and Spectre Fleet, in a destructive three-way battle that left many wrecks on the 9UY4-H gate.

The battle began when an Ivy League fleet of mixed Armor Cruisers, some 60 pilots large entered the Providence region and made its way towards the 9UY4-H system. It was quickly intercepted by a 140 pilot strong Providence Bloc Drone Battleship\Battlecruiser fleet, which caught them on the 9UY4-H gate in the H6-CX8 system.

The two forces started brawling on the gate when a third fleet, belonging to the NPSI community Spectre Fleet entered the system as well. The Spectre Fleet force was mainly Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruisers, almost 60 pilots big.

The Isthars entered the system through the 9UY4-H system, straight into the brawl, and quickly burned away from the gate, anchoring at range from the two groups and dropping sentry drones of their own.

While Providence Bloc focused their attention on the Ivy League force, Spectre Fleet focused their attention on the Providence Bloc fleet. Quickly, Providence Bloc found itself unable to sustain the incoming Ishtars’ damage, losing Battleship after Battleship.

After a few bruising minutes, and with the Ivy League force completely decimated, Providence Bloc turned its full attention on the Spectre Fleet Ishtars. By this time, Spectre Fleet suffered only minor losses, but chose to disengage, as Providence Bloc kept re-shipping and reinforcing, thus choosing instead to momentarily retreat.

An attempt was made later in the 9UY4-H system to continue the fighting, but after a short exchange on the station, Spectre Fleet decided to completely withdraw, signaling the end of large scale

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hostilities in the region for that day.

Battle report of the H6-CX8 system can be found here.

View of the Battle from Spectre Fleet’s Perspective

All in all, 113 ships were destroyed in the fighting, with a total of 18 Bil ISK of damages suffered by the three parties. Time Dilation seemed to not factor at all in the fighting, with the system’s local hosting no more than 300 pilots at the peak of fighting. The entire course of the battle took only 30 minutes from start to finish.

If anything, the battle proved once more how effective the Ishtar doctrine is, and how overpowered it still is, compared to the other fleet compositions of EVE Online.

Special thanks for Apex Aubaris, of Hoover Inc(dot), Pandemic Legion, for granting an interview.

Providence Fight Club: Nightmare in V-3YG7 13.3.2015

V-3YG7 system, Catch region. On the night of the 13th of March, Providence Bloc forces met Pandemic Legion and HERO Coalition in a decisive battle on the GE-8JV gate, which proved disastrous.

Providence Bloc rolled its Nightmare Battleship fleet, 100 pilots strong, and made its way to GE-8JV system, HERO Coalition’s staging system, in order to provoke a fight. HERO Coalition had a 60 pilot Caracal Cruiser fleet roaming at the time, but it declined to engage the Providence fleet on the 3-OKDA gate, jumping into the system instead, followed closely by Providence Bloc.

A short battle ensued in 3-OKDA system, with Providence Bloc melting away the Caracals, who were forced to quickly disengage and warp away, abandoning the field. By this time, Pandemic Legion gathered reports of the fighting, and organized its own fleet, a 90 pilot Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet.

Providence Bloc made its way to the V-3YG7 system, waiting near the GE-8JV gate, possibly for HERO Coalition to form a larger response fleet, when Pandemic Legion bridged into the system and warped on top of Providence Bloc. Fighting erupted immediately, with Providence Bloc managing to annihilate the Logistics wing of the Pandemic Legion fleet, who melted away under the laser fire of the Nightmares.

However, at the same time, the Proteus fleet managed to cling to the Nightmares, spreading points and effectively barring any attempt to escape. The Proteus fleet was able to overcome the Logistics of Providence Bloc, destroying 2 Nightmares before losing its last remaining Logistics. This quickly forced Pandemic Legion to jump in Triage Carriers to replace its Logistics wing.

Providence Bloc and Pandemic Legion Tangle on the GE-8JV Gate

With the Triage on field, Pandemic Legion was able to tank the incoming damage, and set to the task of destroying Providence Bloc’s remaining Nightmares. Providence Bloc, for its part, tried to destroy the Triage Carrier, but was losing ships fast. With a second Triage Carrier on the field and not enough damage, the order to retreat was given. The remnants of the Nightmare fleet made their escape to the B-3QPD system, and then the long track home.

HERO Coalition only showed briefly during the second fight, quickly shooting Providence Bloc’s Nightmares before retreating again in a Caracal fleet, estimated at 90 pilots strong.

Battle report for the 3-OKDA system can be found here.
Battle report for the V-3YG7 system can be found here.

Time Dilation was not a noticeable factor in the fight, with local staying at the range of 300 pilots at the peak of fighting in the V-3YG7 system. No complaints were registered by pilots regarding server performances.

All told, Pandemic Legion lost 17 ships, mostly Logistics, While Providence Bloc lost 41 ships, almost half of their fleet. HERO Coalition lost 53 ships, mostly to Providence Bloc, but also some to Pandemic Legion. The death toll summed reaches 111 ships, but for a total ISK damage of 28 Bil ISK, most of it caused to Providence Bloc.

Providence Fight Club: V-3YG7 8.3.2015

V-3YG7 system, Catch region. On the the evening of the 8th of March, Providence Bloc forces engaged a Pandemic Legion‘s fleet, in what quickly became a bloody exchange between the two entities.

The fighting started after Pandemic Legion’s forces, who were roaming the Catch region, received reports of Providence Bloc’s fleet making its way towards HERO Coalition’s staging system of GE-8JV. The force was reported at a 100 pilots strong, mainly in Naga Battlecruisers.

The Pandemic Legion fleet at the time was a small Machariel Battleship gang. Realizing it could not take on Providence Bloc with its current numbers, a call was made for reinforcements, and in a few minutes, the fleet’s size swelled to 50 pilots.

With their forces bolstered, Pandemic Legion made its way to intercept the incoming Providence Bloc force, finally catching up to it in the V-3YG7 system, on the GE-8JV gate. Providence Bloc’s fleet was positioned above the gate, while Pandemic Legion’s forces remained close to it.

The fight started when the Naga fleet warped down to the GE-8JV gate. Hesitating, thinking the Providence Bloc fleet was attempting to retreat, Pandemic Legion’s ships maintained their position around the gate, which turned to be a mistake. Quickly, the Naga fleet opened fire on the dis-organized Pandemic Legion’s fleet.

As the first Machariel was volleyed off, Pandemic Legion’s force quickly regained its composure and anchored up, burning away from the gate and the Naga fleet while returning fire. After a few harrowing minutes of intense volleys, with both sides exchanging losses, it seems Pandemic Legion came out on top, as its fleet finally managed to hold repairs, preventing any more losses.

Providence Bloc’s fleet, on the other hand, was in complete shambles, losing ship after ship, with most of its Nagas decimated. While Pandemic Legion was clearing the field of the remaining Providence Bloc ships, A HERO Coalition Harpy Assault Frigate fleet entered the fray, some 80 pilots strong.

The Harpy fleet warped around the battlefield for a while, attempting to land close to the Pandemic Legion Logistics wing, but to no avail. With Providence Bloc’s fleet retreating, Pandemic Legion turned its attention to the Harpy fleet. After a couple of warp ins, it finally managed to land on top of the Harpies. Interdiction probes quickly trapped most of the fleet, allowing the Machariels to use their smartbombs to destroy the helpless Frigates.

With their entire Logistics wing annihilated as well as a fair number of their mainline ships, the HERO Coalition fleet bid a hasty retreat, allowing Pandemic Legion to claim the field.

Battle Report for the V-3YG7 system can be found here.

In total, 163 ships were destroyed in the engagement, for 11 Bil ISK of damages, with Pandemic Legion losing 13 ships, for a total of 5 Bil ISK, Providence Bloc losing 72 ships for an equal value, and HERO Coalition losing 72 ships for 1 Bil ISK of damages. During the fight no Time Dilation was recorded, though local numbers remain unknown, presumed, at the peak of fighting at 300-400 pilots.

Providence Fight Club: GE-8JV 3.3.2015

GE-8JV system, Catch region. On the evening of the 3rd of March, Providence Bloc forces collided violently with HERO Coalition’s, in a bloody engagement that saw many ships destroyed.

The battle started when Providence Bloc’s fleet, a 114 pilot strong Phantasm Cruiser fleet, entered the GE-8JV system through the V-3YG7 gate, where Pandemic Legion and HERO Coalition forces were skirmishing. With the arrival of Providence Bloc, both forces disengaged, while HERO Coalition promised to return with a better fleet.

This proved true, as a few minutes later, while Providence Bloc forces were setting on the V-3YG7 gate, a HERO Coalition Moa Cruiser fleet warped at range, some 120-140 pilots strong.

Providence Bloc’s fleet burned straight into the Moas, and the two fleets started exchanging fire, keeping close range to each other. Quickly, ships on both sides were volleyed off, and the fighting became an intense exchange of ships. However, as the fighting continued, Providence Bloc’s position worsened, as the HERO fleet managed to pull range and kite their enemies, who kept burning in regardless.

After mounting losses, with HERO Coalition continuously re-shipping and applying pressure on them, Providence Bloc decided to concede the field, trying to beat a hasty retreat by warping to the sun, and then hoping to warp back to the V-3YG7 gate. However, the HERO Coalition Moa fleet was not ready to give up, and chased the Providence Bloc fleet there.

Unknown to Providence Bloc, an interdiction probe managed to intersect the warp path of the fleet, allowing the HERO Coalition force to land on top of it. As the remaining ships scrambled to warp back to the V-3YG7 gate, HERO Coalition managed to nab a few more stragglers.

At this point, Providence Bloc’s fleet exited the system, allowed to retreat by HERO Coalition forces, who made no attempt to pursue.

Battle report for the GE-8JV system can be found here.

The Battle from HERO Coalition’s Perspective

The Battle from Providence Bloc’s Perspective

All in all, 176 ships were lost in the exchange, with Providence Bloc taking the burnt of the ISK damage, 11.38 Bil, while HERO Coalition suffered only 1.6 Bil in return. Local reached its peak of 425 pilots, with Time Dilation not being noticeable in the fight, spiking momentarily to the region of 10-20% before quickly subsiding. The entire fight lasted half an hour in total.

Both parties agreed that it was a pleasant exchange, and though Providence Bloc lost, in the end, the fight was enjoyable throughout for both sides.

Special thanks to Jin’taan, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance and Mangraa Dementia, of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance for interview and materials.

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.