Hello fellow pilots, I am Cinnamon Rage. I am a new contributor for EN24 and most of my experience in this game has been in Low Sec Space. Seeing as the new sovereignty changes that CCP have planned have come to light I decided to see what the views of the community that I reside in are on the potential implications for both Null and Low Sec. I thought that it would make a nice change from the inevitable articles from the vested interests across sovereign Null Sec trying to push one agenda or another. As myself and the people who have kindly contributed to this piece by and large do not/have not/ or no longer live in Sov Null it would be interesting to get a view from a part of the community that has an arguably less biased view towards the status quo.
I approached pilots who are in a position of leadership among their respective groups, either being CEO’s, Alliance Executives or authorized Diplomats. The theory being that whilst it is unlikely that these individuals can ‘speak for all Low Sec’ they are in a position to influence policy of the groups that the Low Sec community belongs to and have been privy to any discussions at a high level about what their groups policy towards the changes will be – if any.
In all I had quotable feedback from 7 pirate groups of varying sizes and a response from a representative from each of the empire militias, I also received feedback from an additional pirate group that wished to remain anonymous. All told the 11 command representatives who provided quotable feedback are from groups that have a combined membership of 3158 pilots and still by no means include all of the major groups in Low Sec. It is worth noting that most of the quotes I have used have had slight alterations for spelling and grammar corrections.
So I can hear the cries of those already in Sov Null Sec of “What has it got to do with them?” or “Who cares what those guys think?” Well as CCP appear to be aiming to reduce the threshold required to be able to take and hold sovereignty if the current plans are implemented then these very Low Sec dwellers could be among your next competitors so I would read on and see what they may be thinking…
The first area that I decided to explore was whether or not there was a general agreement that CCP’s proposed changes to the sovereignty system in Null Sec would generate smaller gang content in those regions and whether or not Null Sec pilots had the skills to handle small gang warfare. General consensus seems to believe that things will improve for small group content, whether from inter Null conflict or from outside agencies.
“It will necessarily encourage more small gang warfare in null. Small corps/alliances or even big alliances will try to take systems with as little risk as possible. This means fleets of small ships unless the defender steps up and defends with much larger ships that can tank the bulk of the small ship fleets while still running the majority of the nodes. In the hinterlands or backwater areas, fights will mostly be interceptor fleets because those ships will be the most mobile and can support multiple nodes more quickly than any other ship type. Ship sizes will increase as you get close to large alliance home systems.”
X Gallentius, Spaceship Beebop, Gallente Militia
However the ability of Null Sec pilots to react to these changes is called into question on multiple fronts. Some respondents pointed out that even though Null alliances will be able to choose the times that their sovereignty is vulnerable, fast reactions to small threats are not a known strength of the current Null Sec coalitions:
“…considering you could react maybe fast enough by going with a small nano gang (here comes the Ishtar probably again) to chase of the attackers, but again that’s assuming they react fast. That’s kinda the issue nullsec entity’s have.”
Additionally the question is raised by some about whether or not the Null Alliances have the culture and enough trained pilots necessary to have anything less than a ‘medium sized’ fleet react to threats from experienced small attack groups? The implication being that Null Sec Alliances would answer a small threat with a proverbial sledgehammer – which certainly could be effective at stopping an individual attack; however it would be resource intensive in pilot time and could have an impact on player burnout.
Low Sec space is regarded by many to be the home of small gang warfare in EVE, most groups that survive in this area of space are certainly experienced in this aspect of PVP and the region frequently sees Null Sec ‘tourists’ come passing through looking for a break from sitting on titans. I asked our representatives how they would rate the dwellers of Null Sec’s abilities at small gang warfare to get an indication as to how well they may initially take to the proposed new ways of sov warfare.
A quote that sums up the majority of opinion expressed is from a anonymous member of one of the largest low-sec alliances;
“Depends which nullsec dweller. Most of the sov holders are utterly terrible with a few exceptions that actually know what they are doing. On the other hand you have a lot of NPC space based corps that actually know what to do when their anchor dies :)”
See also Souiginto of Easily Excited;
“Aside the natural differences in skill between individual pilots that exist in all entities we feel that most of the groups down in null are not used to/experienced in gang warfare. A difference has to be pointed out though between sov-null dwellers and npc-null pilots. Those living in npc-space usually have less people to fleet-up with and therefore are more used to flying in smaller groups.”
Many of the opinions I gathered made this distinction between the skill set of sovereign null groups and NPC null groups, with a poorer opinion of the former. Several respondents declared that when they do see Sov Null pilots roaming in Low Sec they either roam in large enough numbers that they are not engaged or they fly very ‘shiny’ doctrines, when they are not in overwhelming numbers and/or flying a very powerful doctrine consensus leans towards them being killed more often than not.
| Response | |||
| Good | Poor | Average | |
| General Views on Sov Null Sec Small Gang Skill | 0 | 10 | 1 |
Other comments expose a general opinion that the culture of sov holders in Null Sec will need to change if they are to survive CCP’s changes:
“Depends on what you mean by “gang warfare.” They do better at 15-20+ pilots in fleet. For them that might be small gang. For us it’s a bit of effort to get more than 15-20 guys. In 5 or less they don’t generally do so well. If you think of “gang warfare” as pilots who can think on their own and react quickly without direct instructions from the FC, then they usually don’t do so well.”
X Gallentius, Spaceship Beebop, Gallente Militia
“…Those who survive may very well be the ones who learn to operate as a smaller unit. We’ll most likely see a rise in FCs as time goes on, if things go the way that CCP wants, and people resort to splitting their fleets to protect multiple assets. People will have to use their brains. Spooky Times Ahead.”
Mystical Might of The Periphery (Note – this comment was a observation from Mystical Might in an unofficial capacity reflecting his personal opinion)
If fears of trollceptors become reality then individual initiative will become vital if established sov holders empires are not going to collapse in an almost comical fashion in their poorly populated areas!
As we have established that most of the Low sec groups who provided feedback believe Sov Null Sec groups in general to be so poor at small scale combat and as most Low Sec groups are very capable of this style of game play I asked if any of those groups were currently planning on trying to capture some Sov Null Space for themselves? If the existing powers of Null Sec are worried about an exodus of hardened Low Sec dwellers migrating in an effort to rob them of sovereignty then they can perhaps sleep a little easier; at least for now. None of the eleven groups’ representatives have declared any interest in trying to gain sovereignty for themselves with most citing the fact that they still believe Low Sec to still be the best place in EVE for PVP game play. Several groups cited the fact that many of their members are ex-null sec pilots who are perfectly happy never to go back. In time these views may change among these Low Sec groups but for now the existing Low Sec powers look like they are staying put.
“No, we will not “move” low sec home is an advantage to us. Example, Molden Heath is surrounded with regions within 15 jumps. Good overwatch scouts means a large intel picture of those regions. This being said, it might very well encourage us to have a “FOB” (Forward Operating Base) if our economics and numbers support this at the time. This of course could be a POS, but the draw of planting a flag for some people is a “thing” so never know.”
Before the current occupiers of Null Sec breathe too big a sigh of relief; when asked if the these groups would be willing to ‘third party’ or act as mercenaries in any future Null Sov conflict, opinions varied wildly with most acknowledging a willingness to be hired to assist others to gain sovereignty in 0.0 space. Only two of the representatives stated that their groups would have almost no interest at all in engaging Null Sec entities on their home turf on someone else’s behalf. ISK considerations for mercenary work not-withstanding the lower threshold for threatening sov many of the groups believe can be used to generate content for their members. Ominously some groups that have a history in Null Sec maintain long memories and old grudges it seems and are considering how these new sov mechanics can be used to get some payback.
“…We have a lot of history with a number of nullsec entities from our times in Providence, Curse, Catch – our long-term enemies still reside in these areas. We have plans”
DeT Resprox, Ushra’Khan, Minmatar Militia.
Based on UK’s history in Providence it may not be a stretch to consider CVA (Curatores Veritatis Alliance) being put on notice with that comment! It certainly looks like any Sov Null Space within easy reach of Low Sec could be less then secure real estate…
| Response | |||
| Not Likely | Possibility | Almost Certainly | |
| Potential willingness to engage in sov warfare for content/contract | 2 | 5 | 4 |
Now we move more towards simple opinion rather than intentions as I asked about whether the existing Null Sec coalitions would likely survive Phase 2 of CCP’s sovereignty re-working. The change in culture that may be required in most entities to adapt to the new threats they face may de-emphasise the ‘wrecking ball’ doctrine and a constant struggle on a local level may mean that requiring all coalition forces to be in one region at any one time will be very rare let alone a fight for a single system. Would this new focus on many local sov engagements remove the need for coalition politics?
Generally views appear to be confident that the existing power blocks will survive IF they are able to re-organize to an appropriate structure that can react effectively to multiple smaller threats on a daily basis. If this is not the case then most believe that the coalitions will still survive however only after shedding a lot of ‘dead weight’ and existing in a streamlined version with highly active alliances holding less territory. There is also a view that the extensive network of diplomacy that criss-cross the coalitions territory will effectively insulate them from falling apart, at least in the short term. What will become interesting is how those treaties work in practise when the going gets tough? Will allied corporations/alliances be willing to de-populate their own contested sov space in order to race to the defence of another group that they have not seen help them recently? Time will tell if the blue donought will survive the pressure.
The Low Sec dwellers were asked as to their opinion on which sovereignty holders are the most vulnerable to the new system in their opinion. That got your attention didn’t it? By far the most vulnerable group to the eyes of Low Sec appear to be the renter empires, which may not be a surprise to many. This is due to the expected difficulty in landlords being able to keep sovereignty secure in space they are not actively living in, which would leave the renters mostly responsible for their sovereignty. It then begs the question of what are the renters paying for? It will be interesting to see whether renter empires turn into extortion rackets and if the renters would be willing to put up with such treatment. Shadow of xXDEATHXx seems expected to take some heavy hits in some of our respondent’s opinions.
Some other entities/areas have been identified as ‘content generators’ however; one such being the CFC. It appears that some of the current dwellers of Low Sec are anticipating some trolling of the notorious coalition of scammers, again not really with an expectation to capture sovereignty but more to harvest precious CFC tears:
“I think the CFC will get hit early on, more from people just hitting things for lols rather than trying to flip the system. After that settles down, I would take a guess at NA (Northern Associates).”
Tristan daCuhna, Dirt ‘n’ Glitter, Amarr Militia
It is very possible that some groups in High Sec or Wormhole space feel similarly, so there may be plenty of action to be had for the CFC and allies in the early days, regardless of their traditional Null enemies!
Some opinion pinpoints the Catch region as an interesting place to observe especially whether or not the changes to sovereignty mechanics provide HERO coalition an advantage against Pandemic Legion in their ongoing struggle; if of course this is still continuing in the summer! There is an additional belief from some in Low Sec that any ‘hollow empires’ will be exposed as they find themselves unable to defend against the probing attacks of other entities.
Finally I queried what the proposed changes may mean for Low Sec? Opinions vary on this topic also. Scylus Black of Templis CALSF points out that introducing more small gang game play into Null Sec may contribute towards an identity problem for Sov Null Sec in general:
“The great thing about Null vs. Low-Sec is they had distinct differences. We started to see that go away with the jump changes. Now they are creating these changes. Very soon those who enjoy going to Null from time to time will see no value in that and those in Null will need to decide if its worth their time when Low-Sec can offer more stability. This is another miss from CCP in my opinion.”
Some responses have raised the prospect that Null Sec alliances currently deployed to Low Sec may well withdraw in order to fortify their existing holdings. Additionally there is a belief that the population of Low Sec may fluctuate in general as some Low Sec groups may make a try for sovereignty thus leaving the area, meanwhile those groups in Null Sec that get exposed and being to weak to hold Sov in the new mechanics may migrate to Low Sec for a break.
There also appears to be a general belief that any Low Sec systems bordering/close to Sovereign Null Sec could become much busier as ‘wannabee sov holders’ deploy to those regions whilst the existing sov holders attempt to barricade the other side.
“I’d hope to see an increase in traffic in areas bordering null-sec. It’ll be interesting to see if low-sec loses any of its largest groups, or gains any nullsec refugees.”
Such systems could well become a magnate for ‘content’…in other words plenty of spaceship violence! It remains to be seen if there is a migration of groups from Sov Null to Low Sec or the other way around as the summer is still a few months away. However it seems likely that the pirates and militias of Low Sec may now start to have an influence on who owns what in Sov Null, especially in regions in close proximity to them.
I hope you have found my little article of interest, if you have any thoughts, queries or article concepts you would like my help with send me an EVE Mail. Obviously special thanks to Altaen of Feign Disorder, Archeras Umangiar of Legion’s., DeT Resprox of Ushra’Khan, Lazy Eagle of Bad Intention, Mystical Might of The Periphery, Predator Elite of Did He Say Jump, Scylus Black of Templis CALSF, Souiginto of Easily Excited, Tristan daCuhna of Dirt ‘n’ Glitter and X Gallentius of Spaceship Beebop for making this article possible.
Happy Hunting o7
