The Crayon Wars: Strategies and Analysis

                Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for that past two weeks, you may have noticed that the North has heated up a bit. The residents of Venal, primarily Black Legion. , Scrap Iron Flotilla, and Confederation of xXPIZZAXx, have started taking CFC moons, mostly belonging to Fidelas Constans (FCON) and SpaceMonkey’s Alliance (SMA).  Having grown bored of the peace and quiet after the conquest of Tribute, The Mittani officially mobilized the CFC forces[1] and began to march to the defense of their allies. And thus, the Crayon Wars have begun.[2]

                

                Rather than give a blow by blow recap of the skirmishes to date, I’d like to focus on the overall strategies each side should adopt were I calling the shots.

Black Legion and Friends

                The BL and friends have stirred up one mother of a hornets nest. Were this a real life campaign that the BL were undertaking, I would call the whole thing foolhardy.  But as we’re talking about internet spaceships, the odds that the BL face only make things more exciting.

On paper, the Venal residents are bringing around 1500 members to this space war. The CFC, on the other hand, is a bit less than 30,000 strong. Sure, there are probably a fair number of alts and multiple accounts on both sides, but any way you cut it the BL guys are a bit in over their heads. Given these numbers, our David in this scenario would have to be suicidal to take Goliath head on. If BL is going to have any shot at even putting a dent in the CFC, they need to focus on guerilla tactics. As a rule they would need to never engage the CFC on their terms; always initiate the battle, always strike fast and hard, and always leg it before the CFers can mobilize. Sniper boats will be key to this strategy. With their relative speed and long range capabilities, Tier 3 battlecruisers will be (and have been) the primary ship in BL fleets.

As for the specifics of strategy, I would suggest a two prong focus. First would be to decimate the CFC’s infrastructure, namely POS’s. The key would be doing it repeatedly and over a large area for maximum effect. I would even suggest not even anchoring much of anything in its place, perhaps just a single tower armed with neuts, warp jammers, E-War mods, anything that would make it more difficult for the CFC to take the moon back. The first goal of this tactic would be to cut off the CFC’s substantial moon goo income. The second, and the next prong of the strategy, would be to demoralize them. The BL. needs make this war so expensive, so frustrating that the larger alliances of the CFC will leave the like of FCON, SMA, and Lawn to fend for themselves. It’s a very tall order, but honestly it’s the Legion’s only chance. Blueballing and demoralizing the CFC is the light that will guide the BL. to victory.

The CFC

                The goal for the CFC is the same as that of the Black Legion: demoralize the enemy. The difference is that the CFC can bring greater numbers to bear, thus different tactics are open to them.

                The first tactic the CFC needs to employ is infiltration and sabotage. They’ve presumably managed to do this in one of the Legion’s alt corps[3] but the efforts will need to continue. After all, there’s nothing that will fracture an alliance better than when you don’t know which of your friends is holding a knife behind their back.

                The next two tactics are straight forward number games. The first is locking down the Legion’s home systems. Gates need to camped, station undocks need to be traps, the Legion needs to not be able to move unless the CFC allows it. And when they do allow it, the CFC needs to bring such a large force to bear that the only sensible thing the BL. can do is not engage them.

                There are a few disadvantages to this plan, however. First off, this will require an ungodly amount of time. Rome wasn’t won in a day and neither will you crack Venal in a night. Compounding this, the CFC is going to need all hands on deck for this to work. The greatest advantage the Goons and friends have is their numbers. Having more warm bodies will be the difference between the CFC curb-stomping the BL and having to wade through a long and protracted conflict.

***

                Only time will tell who will come out on top in this battle between Goon pets and pirate squatters. Both sides bring a lot to the table. I wait with batted breath for the killmails to roll in.

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[1] http://themittani.com/news/poking-bear-venal-hostilities-underway

[2] http://www.kugutsumen.com/showthread.php?41714-The-Northern-Thread-Concentrated-Autism-And-Technetium

[3] http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=15851623

The Unholy Trinity: What Drives Eve Pilots

           Eve is the grand spaceships sandbox. If you can think of it, odds are you can do it. It’s a place to live out your dreams and express your darkest desires. With its unique mechanics regarding loss, victories are made all the sweeter and defeats all the more bitter. On my last trip on the Pod Express I was pondering what drives us Eve players. What is it that keeps us going in this pitiless and play-for-keeps universe we spend so much time in? After some thought, I came up with three categories. These are hardly all inclusive but I think they cover a vast majority of capsuleers.

Sweet Victory: The Good Fight Feeling

            Having been involved mostly in PVP and null sec warfare as of late, this motivation was the first to come to me. Of the many MMO’s I’ve played, Eve by far has the best, most intense PVP out there. The rush I get when I’m a solo dogfight or a massive fleet battle is unlike anything I’ve experienced, in a game or otherwise.

            This high after a good fight is what I would consider the most basic of the motivations. It’s emotional, visceral, and intense. So intense, in fact, newer PVPers often experience what I call “the shakes”. Once you overcome the initial anxiety, this rush can be quite addictive. Whether in the thick of battle or in all out market PVP, this is an ever present aspect of New Eden.

            There are two essential aspects of emotional high. The first of these is the element of risk. Eve is fairly unique in that there is no guarantee that your possessions today will be yours tomorrow. Ships get popped, POS’s get bashed, ISK is lost and tears are shed. This fact is ingrained in new players almost from day one, often quite spectacularly. Whether it’s being ganked in low sec, scammed by the denizens of Jita local, or having your corp stolen, you don’t soon forget the first time you got burned. Frankly this sort of thing sucks, often royally. However, the distressing lows make the victories all the sweeter.

            That’s what many pilots live for: winning that fight that would have broken the bank otherwise, where you averted the loss of hundred of million, even billions of ISK. It’s the difference between coming to the rescue of an Atron and saving a freighter full of Sleeper salvage. It’s the difference between saving your high sec POS and defending your null sec home from invaders. The more you have to lose, the more satisfying the eventual victory.

            The other aspect of the “good fight feeling” is uncertainty. The unexpected triumph is almost always more entertaining, more satisfying for the victor. Take a look at killmails for example. I will guarantee you that a majority of the most popular mails are an example someone overcoming extreme odds. They’re the sorts of situations that, on paper, you would never expect to go the way they actually did.  What’s more interesting, a lone frigate getting alphaed by a battleship or this? I’m gonna guess the second one.

Greed: I want it all

            The want of more, more ISK, more ships, more moons, more corpies, anything. Many of us come from increasingly materialistic cultures and I believe it shows in Eve. Whether it’s the lowly miner wanting more ore or the mighty HBC and CFC wanting more tech moons, there is a value associated with having more. It’s debatable as why this value is placed on collecting more and more stuff, and frankly it’s a subject best left for another day. Suffice it to say it’s there.

            The main requirement for this goal to spur people forward is not possessing the object in question. This is hardly ever a problem in a game as expansive as Eve. There’s always one more system to conquer, one more asteroid to mine, one more ship to pop. The more likely scenario is that you end up losing those objects you managed to gain.

            Once again, we come back to risk. Risk is a funny thing for our average hoarder. On the one hand, risk is the single greatest threat to parting you with your stuff. You can’t lose that officer fit battleship if it never leaves the station, right? However, in New Eden nothing is gained without some amount of risk. Risk is the gateway to greater riches and ultimately more stuff. Ultimately, every packrat, indeed every capsuleer, must come to a balance of accepting risk and taking on the amount they’re comfortable with. As the Eve mantra goes, “Don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose.”

Influence: Becoming Space Famous

            The last motivator I will touch on is the desire to be space famous. Those who have achieved this position are often showered with praise and derision just as often. Simply put, this is the desire for attention.

            The natural question when looking upon these celebrities of New Eden is what makes them famous in the first place. Of the myriad of reasons one can come up with, I believe there’s a common thread. These are the people that provide content to the rest of Eve. To use the sandbox analogy, the space famous are the kids that came up with the cool games when you were young. They’re the ones that are doing things and getting things done. People are going to naturally gravitate to them because, frankly, making things happen in New Eden is hard work.

            The downside to this motivation is that your time in the spotlight may come to an end. There may come a time when someone better and new comes along and takes your place. Even worse, you may lose that special something that drew people to you in the first place. There aren’t many things more demoralizing than finding out you’re replaceable.

***

            So you may be asking what the take away from all this is. Put simply, I would encourage you to evaluate your own motivations for playing Eve and seriously ask yourself are you getting the most out of it. Try not to be motivated simply by one factor, as that factor can easily be taken away. The last thing we want is you to quit because the reason I play this game is for the story or game mechanics, it’s because of the players.

Bitter Vets vs. New Bros: The Gerontocracy of Eve

Eve, simply put, is a gerontocracy. Now before you race to your dictionary, I’ll explain. In Eve, the older and more experienced a player is, the more capabilities, influence, and credibility they wield. It isn’t too often that you’ll see a less than 10 million SP character FCing a major fleet or controlling a large null sec alliance. On the flip-side, I dare you to show me a veteran capsuleer that doesn’t have a large amount of credibility among the newer pilots they associate with.

When thinking on this social paradigm, I wondered to myself what the cause of this disparity is. There was the obvious answer that the older you are, the more SP you have, and the more things you can do well, but anyone with half a brain and a little Eve experience could figure that out. There had to be something more subtle at play. Eventually I narrowed it down to two additional factors, reputation and interpersonal skills.

It’s often said that Eve is a game that revolves around reputation. There are those in Eve that have become space celebrities, the likes of The Mittani, Chribba, Alekseyev Karrde, just to name a few.  Of the myriad of qualities that space celebrities have in common, one is nearly universal: experience, i.e. how much time they’ve put into this silly internet spaceship game we all love/ hate. You don’t get to be on Mittani level influence without a lot of invested time. New players can’t get around the fact that you have to put in a lot of hours to gain any amount of credibility. As such, they’re often looked over when it comes to responsibility and decision making.

The other thing that most new players lack is the interpersonal skill that Eve requires of those in the upper echelons of power. I don’t know about you, but I don’t come into Eve knowing the ins and outs of decision making that would have an impact on hundreds, if not thousands. Outside the realms of business and politics, people are rarely asked to make choices on that scale in their everyday lives. That’s something one doesn’t develop overnight.

Dispensing with the social philosophy, let’s look more to the practical side of things. The first question any noob will ask themselves is, “How the #@^& do I compete?!” What am I supposed to do outside being relegated to the role of tackler, bait ship, mining grunt, and the other myriad of task we place on the new bro? My answer to you, intrepid new bro, is to focus on the so called “soft skills” of Eve. These are the sorts of skill that aren’t linked to a skill point number. Notable examples are FCing, scouting, spotting the good trade, and my favorite, espionage. The last example is particularly suited to newer players. You would be surprised how much information you can be told about the inner workings of a corp or alliance with seemingly innocent and noobish questions.  Unfortunately for you, new bro, most of these soft skills do take time to become competent in, let alone master. The perk, however, is that you aren’t bound by attributes in how fast you can become competent.

So new bro, you may be thinking to yourself, “Those soft skills are all well and good but I don’t really want to get into such high profile roles this early in the game.” Firstly, I say to you “grow a pair”, but in the meantime the Retribution expansion has come to your rescue. With all the T1 ship rebalancing, it’s easier than ever for a new bro to noticeably contribute. A notable example is the logistics role. No longer the exclusive domain of grizzled vets, you too, timid noob, can try your hand at the subtle art of keeping the rest of us from dying in a fire. If that’s not your cup of Quafe, there’s always the 900 dps Vexor. Aside: I mean, really?! FFS, it’s a T1 crusier! Back on topic, always remember, new bros, that even you can take out a Titan, you just need to bring 2000 of your closest friends.

Now enough with the noob pandering, lets shift our attention to you bitter vets. The average bitter vet, I would say, values the gerontocracy and rightfully so. If you’ve played Eve for any significant length of time, there have been numerous occasions where you’ve had your teeth kicked in by this cruel internet spaceship mistress. But rather than throwing in the towel and calling it quits, you picked yourself up, dusted off your implants and charged back into the thick of it. You’ve earned your position. You made it through the days when the tutorial consisted of you being handed a gun, a mining laser and being unceremoniously thrust into space with the advice “Don’t die.”

The gerontocracy is a fixture on Eve’s social landscape. I can’t imagine it going anywhere anytime soon. There will always be the new bros craving more and the bitter vets having responsibility thrust upon them. So bitter vets, help out your new bros now and then. And new bros, listen to your vets, they probably know what they’re talking about.