CCP Gargant released a new dev blog earlier today which announced the pilots for the upcoming Chinese Serenity server championship winning alliance, City of Angels vs The Camel Empire, ATXII Champions and representatives of the Tranquility server.
The Dev Blog includes interviews with all 10 combatants and is well worth a read;
Worlds Collide at Fanfest 2015. Champions from both Tranquility and Serenity arrive on the scene and take up honorable, albeit rule-bound, spaceship combat that can only end with one victorious team. That victorious team will win reputation, bragging rights, physical prizes from Razer, and a special ship for their whole server: the Victorieux Luxury Yacht will be given to every player with an active subscribtion to the game at the time of the event. With the event imminent, we decided to have a bit of a chat with the two teams that will be fighting it out live on stage at Fanfest for the glory of their server.
Serenity
The City of Angels team representing Serenity at Worlds Collide is comprised of Stepnick (the team captain), Bitter, Tanis, Jed and ASK.
StepnickCCP: So what has been one of the biggest successes for City of Angels in EVE so far?
COA: We consider our biggest success so far to have been our transformation from our origin as a roaming pirate alliance to that of a sovereignity holding empire in Null sec, holding Providence and Catch. We’ve also been able to maintain the growth of our alliance. It’s not easy to break into a territory holding group, and we’re really proud of that achievement.
BitterCCP: What has been the greatest upset for City of Angels?
COA: Our greatest upset would have to be the battle in 49-U6U in March 2014. Our coalition (ROCOA/FDK) lost a large number of super capital ships including titans. We lost a lot, but we’re not out yet.
TanisCCP: So focusing on the team, who would you call your wild card?
COA: We’re all pretty consistent. If we had to name a “wild card”, it would be Jed. He’s one of COA’s combat squad commanders. His perspective on the game is a little different from most people, and he can pull out amazing maneuvers with his ships at times. It really makes a difference at crucial moments for us.
JedCCP: How much time do you estimate will go into practicing for Worlds Collide?
COA: We’ve been preparing for this event for the past 2 months. There’s a lot of effort that goes into theory crafting ship fittings and then practicing with those ships. It really is a lot of effort.
ASKCCP: So when you’re in the zone and you’re ready to go, what are your fighting words?
COA: Here we come and none shall stand.
CCP: So tell us a bit more about yourselves
Stepnick: I’m 26 years old and I work as a HR manager in Beijing. I’ve been playing EVE for nearly 9 years.
Bitter: I’m 28 years old and I work as a data analyst. I first started playing EVE around Red Moon Rising about 7 years ago.
Tanis: I’m 31 years old and I’m a director in the informationization department for an electric company. I’ve been playing EVE since Serenity was in closed beta.
Jed: I’m 29 years old, and I’ve been playing EVE for 9 years, all the way from university life and beyond.
ASK: I’m a 23 year old university student, interning at a bank. I haven’t been playing EVE for quite as long as the others on the team, only since I started studying at university a few years ago.
CCP: How has your EVE career been so far?
Bitter: Previously I was part of D3 until their defeat in 1V-LI2, at which point I branched out solo and roamed the constellations. Some friends introduced me to MLGB, which was one of the forerunners to GOW and COA.
Tanis: I’ve been in either one of the predecessor groups of COA or in COA my entire EVE career. Always found my calling in PvP.
Jed: I was previously a part of Jupiter Alliance, but after it collapsed I followed some of my old corporation members to COA. I specialize more in covert ops and I’ve got a group of 20-30 pilots that I lead.
ASK: I originally started playing EVE after seeing some cool screenshots from the game. The person that posted them was in COA, so I followed them to it. I’ve been here ever since.
Stepnick: I’ve previously been a chief scout for MLGB, Squad commander for Gear of War and Axis Alliance, Battle Commander for COA and South United and a Fleet Commander for The Coalition of South and North. I was also the commander for GOD of War when they helped found COA.
CCP: What’s your favorite ship?
Tanis: Vindicator is my favorite because it bring so much raw power to a fight. That power brings Sovereignty.
Jed: My favorite ship is the Cynabal. It’s fast, powerful, has lots of utility, all at a reasonable price.
ASK: Machariel and Augoror Navy Issue are my favorites. The Machariel brings unmatched speed with its firepower, while the ANI is a moving fortress, with an amazing tank for it’s size.
Bitter: I really like the Nyx. It’s model and symmetrical design is great.
CCP: Do you have any pets?
Stepnick: No
Bitter: Not at the moment, but I like the idea of getting a Samoyed
Tanis: I don’t have a pet right now, but if I got one I think I would get a dog
ASK: Nothing right now, but I’m considering getting a poodle.
Tranquility
The Camel Empire is representing Tranquility at Worlds Collide and is comprised of Niart Gunn (team captain), WaTeR Ubersnol, Sturm Gewehr, F4bske, and Enshnala.
CCP: So what has been one of the biggest successes for The Camel Empire
Camel: Definitely winning Alliance Tournament XII and becoming one of the best small-scale PvP alliances in EVE
CCP: What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve had?
Camel: Not being relevant enough to hold any sovereignty anywhere.
CCP: Who is the team’s wild card?
Camel: There are no wild cards on The Camel Empire. We’re a Full-House.
CCP: How much time do you estimate will go into practicing for this event?
Camel: If you took all the time and energy we put into practice, you could probably buy and maintain a rather large yacht. Maybe even one that has a helicopter.
CCP: So when you’re in the zone and you’re ready to go, what are your fighting words?
Camel: There’s only one right answer to that question: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!
CCP: So tell us a bit more about yourselves
WaTeR Ubersnol: I’m a 30 year old Team Leader in The Netherlands.
F4bske: I’m 23 years old, and I work as an IT apprentice in Germany.
Eshnala: I’m 28 years old and I’m from Germany. I’m currently living in France where I’m working on my Diploma-thesis in Automotive Engineering
Niart Gunn: I’m 25 years old, and I’m doing my Masters in Film Studies in Switzerland.
Sturm Gewehr: I’m 25 years old, and I’m from California, USA.
CCP: How has your EVE career been so far?
F4bske: I started playing in 2009, where I was in Nullsec after just a week. I stayed with that first group of friends for a long time, moving from 0.0 to highsec, wormholes, all over. I got into PvP after watching “Burning EVE 4” by DHB Wildcat, with the end result for me being the loss of a badly fit Bhaalgorn. I moved onto “No Mercy.”, followed by Matari Exodus, who are an awesome bunch of people who taught me a lot. I moved on from them to join Hydra Reloaded, as I wanted a chance to play in the Alliance Tournament. We came 2nd that year. As Hydra went a bit inactive I joined a friend’s corporation, Mining Industry Exile Foundation which later in turn joined with TURN LEFT to form The Came Empire.
Eshnala: I started playing in 2009. After some highsec dwelling and brief stint in Providence during the –A-/CVA war in 2010, I decided to focus on small scale PvP. I’ve been in Cry Havoc, Rote Kapelle and Ninja Unicorns, doing just about everything there is to do in PvP. I decided to form TURN LEFT with some friends in 2011 to focus more on small gang PvP.
Sturm Gewehr: I started out in EVE University, where I first got a taste for PvP. I remember one of my first PvP experiences where I used a remote sensor booster (thinking it was a local) when I had a hostile smartbombing battleship targeted. My Thrasher very quickly got Concordokkened for that. After that I flew and held sov with KIA before taking a bit of a break. On my return, I joined Rote Kapelle with my brother. He flew in Alliance Tournament VIII against Hydra Reloaded, and me sitting next to him during that match was how I discovered my passion for PvP. I eventually got to fly in Alliance Tournament X with Rote Kapelle where we beat Pandemic Legion while 7 points down before losing to Verge of Collapse. After taking another break, I came back after hearing about some former teammates from Rote and “Exodus.” were forming a new Alliance Tournament team. So I joined The Camel Empire, and we won Alliance Tournament XII!
Niart Gunn: My brother originally got me into the game back in 2006, but I’ve only seriously played since 2011. I joined Ninja Unicorns with Huge Horns, grinding Level 5 missions and roaming around for PvP. Eventually I left with a bunch of my corporation members to form TURN LEFT, where we later moved into a more nomadic lifestyle and using wormholes to get around easily.
WaTeR Ubersnol: I’ve been playing for about 5 years, and was part of the group that originally founded TURN LEFT and The Camel Empire. My work in game mostly consists of being a small gang Fleet Commander and organizing roams for everyone. I just wish there were more people willing to put up a good fight so we could roam more!
CCP: So what’s your favorite ship?
Niart Gunn: The Moracha, the Cruiser reward from Alliance Tournament XI. It’s the wonderful bastard child of a Rapier and a Cynabal. And yes, I own one! As far as non-unique ships go, it would have to be the Keres, the golden little ship that doesn’t let you lock or warp. It’s amazing in small skirmishing gangs.
Sturm Gewehr: I find it hard to pick a single favorite ship in EVE. Generally I enjoy hulls with mobility and good damage projection, but in the end I just enjoy variety. In a tournament, I enjoy flying Battleship and Command Ship hulls the most. The micromanagement of all the modules is really challenging and I enjoy that.
Eshnala: Tough Question. I think the Machariel is up there; it looks amazing, and it’s a huge ship. It’s great in some skirmish fights and is excellent at bumping and killing capital ships. A ship I do miss from the past is the old nano-Drake. It’s got a great engagement envelope and was perfect for fooling the enemy into thinking “It’s just a Drake, what could go wrong?” Such nostalgia reminds me of the early days of TURN LEFT.
F4bske: My favorite ship is an Orthrus with a 100MN Afterburner fitted. That combination offers a lot of outplay potential as its faster than everything that is stronger than it is.
WaTeR Ubersnol: I don’t really have a ship I favor over others, as there are a lot of ships that are very usable these days. If I had to pick one, it would be the Confessor. I’ve been having a real blast with it since it was released recently.
CCP: Do you have any pets?
F4bske: I have a cat named Figo, but my favorite is a flounder since it looks like a Barghest.
Eshnala: I have a cat named Charlie, and she’s awesome.
Sturm Gewehr: My “pet” is my roommate’s demon spawn flame tip Siamese that likes to destroy all my stuff. It’s lucky that it’s just too adorable to be made into a rug.
WaTeR Ubersnol: My pet is awesome. He even plays EVE! Besides the German accent, it’s the most sweet, tender and loveable pet you could wish for. I recommend that everyone gets one.
Niart Gunn: I don’t have any pets anymore, but I grew up with a cat that made it to my 21st birthday. She had been with me as long as I could remember. The day she died was one of the saddest days of my life. I’d love to have another cat or two in the future though.
Thanks go to the players on both teams for taking time out of their busy training schedules and answering our questions. The setups for each team have been published so go check them out here. Remember that the team that wins secures an Victorieux Luxury Yacht for all players on that server that are subscribed at the time of the event, so pick a team to favor and cheer them on to victory! When Worlds Collide this Fanfest we will all come away from it changed!
On behalf of the Tournament Team
– CCP Gargant
Looking at The Camel Empire team, you can see a wealth of experience in both normal PVP and also tournament play, this will have to go in the favor of the Tranquility team, as the Chinese server has only had the one tournament whereas we have had 12 Alliance Tournaments, not to mention the NEO tournament. A couple of the Camel pilots were also involved in un-official tournaments held between alliances over the years. So on experience, I believe that the Tranquility server may have the edge.
The setups, which I featured in this article when they were announced, also shows that the Tranquility team may have the edge over their Serenity counterparts due to the use of both command ships and logistical cruiser or frigates in the majority of their setups.
Good luck Camel Empire, we are all rooting for you!
If you have anything that you think should be reported on EN24, please contact me at @mail_lite on Twitter, email at [email protected] or Eve Mail me in game.
