Speculation on the implications of FozzieSov is rampant. Some say the changes are ruining EvE, and some say that FozzieSov will be the boost that the game needs to survive the next decade. I believe that the shakeup caused by the change in mechanics will be the catalyst to many more conflicts through New Eden. Out of the woodwork, they say. The hounds are coming. Or more realistically, the influx of starry-eyed hopefuls.
Looking at the map, we have a few areas that are home to traditional wars. Delve and Querious. The Drone Lands. Providence and Catch. Will these areas continue to be the hot zones, or will traditionally stable locations be the new hotzones? Some areas, in light of the upcoming changes, have been abandoned, or at least left undefended by the owners that held onto the space during HitPoint Sov.
Currently there are a few fights going on; Black Legion. is harassing the Hero Coalition in Fountain, Triumvirate. and Solar Fleet are making a push towards the drone regions against Legion of xXDeathXx and their allies, including GemCo (Geminate Coalition,) and Northern Coalition. is making Providence defend its space. Outside of maybe a real intention of invasion from GemCo and Solar, today’s conflicts are just skirmishes.
New Eden seems to be hovering in stasis for FozzieSov. There have been a couple instances of smaller entities attempting to take Sov early, unsuccessfully, or even with marginal success. One instance of this comes in the form of a small group named Iron Armada. Last week they managed to interrupt a sovereignty transfer from Executive Outcomes to I Whip My Slaves Back And Forth. After holding the system of F7C-H0 just over 4 days, The Imperium, formerly known as the CFC, took it back with overwhelming numbers.
I managed to get some details from the alliances Executor, Tridgit of Iron Armada, and he had this to say on the sovereignty push:
We saw an opportunity to be a thorn in someones side, so we took it. We figured j4lp couldn’t hold their own without CFC help, so we knocked on the door to see who was on the other side when it opened.
He went on to admit the reality of a small group holding sovereignty was fairly minimal, commenting that if the entire N3 Coalition could not “find it’s ass with both hands long enough to capture a single region,” then a small time group such as FLEEP would likely get no farther than creation of timers under the current sov system.
Tridgit continued:
The real trick to it is how the upcoming mechanics work. A coalition full of member alliances glued at the hip are fantastic in a direct push. FozzieSov will not change the overwhelming force that the CFC is on it’s offensive. But as soon as there are fires in every region within the CFC-held territory though, the real stress test will begin.
I asked why he kept talking about The Imperium as the target, instead of other regions/entities.
The game has been in gridlock for years at this point. We have the CFC being masters of the blob, PL being the masters of supercaps, N3 being the driving GrrGoons force and the content clubs like Black Legion. who don’t actually care about Sov. There has not been any real movement.
Obviously I’m only talking about SovNull when I say this, but let’s be honest, the Goons won nullsec EvE when they broke PL in B-R. The practical demonstration of how real that truth is was Fountain 2015. N3 made a last hurrah push, PL declined to participate, and the CFC lynched the intruders. When FozzieSov hits, and the HP requirement of real timer generation is lifted, why not go after the biggest dog on the block?
When questioned on the real expectations of the upcoming sov changes he had to say the following.
I feel that this is an opportunity for a lot of younger players to seize their moment. There are some real opportunities for small groups to be successful. Everyone just needs to keep a realistic view on the situation. An example is if there are 6 or 7 different independent moves on CFC space, the CFC will defend, and where they concentrate their forces they will win. However they cannot be everywhere at the same time, so just because one group is rebuffed, it does not mean that someone else is not making gains against the beast.
Tridgit linked me a video of the fight they lost their flag:
This fight just goes to show what can be done. We had so much fun with our main bros in the area Lethal Intent, fighting outnumbered about 3 to 1. The enemy ended up winning the strategic objectives this time, maybe in the future more groups will start little bush fires and collectively we can have a lot of fun =)
I share the opinion that FozzieSov will be bringing a lot of new conflicts to the game. I think the massive media-attention-grabbing battles like Asakai and B-R will be a relic of EvE’s past, but this may not necessarily be a bad thing.
With a lower and more dynamic entry into ‘The Big Leagues’ it opens up more doors for would-be alliance leaders and groups to try their hand, without having to play exclusively under the rule of entrenched coalitions.
