o/ Pilots,
Cinnamon Rage with another little Faction Warfare update encompassing some things for June to keep you all in the know about the best place in EVE to be 🙂
Caldari/Gallente Warzone
I can report on a notable shift in the conflict in the Caldari/Gallente Warzone. With Snuffed Out‘s (B B C) relocation out of Sujarento, things have been heating up as the miltias move to fill the power vacuum created in The Citadel region. With some Gallente Militia forces, most notably Rapid Withdrawal (RDRAW), moving in to base out of the system in order to assault Caldari holdings in the region and generate content. With Snuffed Out away from this front line it is possible that Gallente Militia may try an assault on the Caldari fortress system of Hasmijaala, staging grounds for Templis CALSF (CALSF) or Tama, staging ground for Operation Meatshield (GETUP). With Caldari Militia basing out of Oto, Hasmijaala and Tama the pilots of Rapid Withdrawal have certainly chosen a content-rich environment for themselves, being no more then 2 jumps out from any of these Caldari staging systems; their killboard reflects this, marking them as the Gallente Militia Corporation with the highest kills, even placing them higher than the highest kills of the Gallente Militia alliance.
Will Gallente Militia decide to strike against a major Caldari stronghold like Hasmijaala in revenge for their thwarted assault 6 months ago? Will the triangle of Caldari staging grounds Rapid Withdrawal have based themselves in the middle of be able to co-ordinate a large scale counter attack on one of the Gallente Militia’s deadliest factions? With Tama frequently being the most violent system in Lowsec in the past few weeks, this is certainly a region to watch in the coming weeks and no doubt a place to get fights on a roam!
Short video courtesy of TEMPLIS CALSF of one of their engagements with Rapid Withdrawal:
Amarr/Minmatar Warzone
Things in the Amarr/Minmatar warzone seem to have entered an uneasy stalemate of sorts. With Amarr Militia controling under 20% of their warzone, they find themselves in a precarious territorial position with the remaining Amarr Miltia holding fast in Auga, Kamela, Kourmonnen and Lasleinur. With barely any ‘farmers’ due to their faction’s low tier and the weak willed abandoning the field, things could look bad for the militia as a whole. Things are not all bleak for the Amarr however; as is often the case when the pendulum swings this far against a faction – those who remain are usually the die-hard veteran miltia pilots/groups who are grimly determined to turn the tide.
I caught up with Desiderya, the CEO of Pyre Falcon Defence and Security (PY-RE), as a representative of Multicultural F1 Brigade (MCF1B) for comment:
“MCF1B has seen another quite a few good weeks of defending the motherland, the Evati triangle, which still seems to be the place where MinMil ships mysteriously disappear.
From our vantage point the war is going pretty successfully as we’ve been able to disrupt and stop countless ihub bashes up to a point where every system that has changed hands since months has happened deep out of our timezone, usually after bash fleets have been driven off or outright defeated multiple times. MinMi at large, on the other hand, seems unable to make dents into semi-defended systems, which is mostly all that is left for them to try and push at this point.Now we just have to wait and see until comrade farmer is saturated with TLF LP and will inevitably switch sides again – trying to go against the farmer wave is possible for single systems, as we’ve recently demonstrated with a quick dash for Arnher, but simply not worth any warzone wide efforts. In the meantime, Mother Evati will provide us with kills and goodies like our first “proper” super kill.”
Despite the Minmatar controlling the vast majority of the warzone and boasting a large complement of ‘farmers,’ their progress has been effectively stalled in the Huola system. This system has been a contender with Tama as being the most violent system in Lowsec for the past 2 weeks as the Minmatar Militia have fought a bloody siege against Amarr Miltia with local neutrals The Asylum (BAMBI), who must think that Christmas has come early. In this system, carnage is the best way to describe the battle between Minmatar Militia vs The Asylum vs Amarr Militia, Caldari Militia and neutral allies vs Third (Fourth?) Parties.
Huola has a special significance for both the Amarr and Minmatar Militias. The last time the system was in Minmatar hands it was held for almost a 1000 days of consecutive sovereignty before the Amarr took control, it was notorious as the ultimate Minmatar Fortress system that had withstood everything Amarr Militia could throw at it, headquartering veteran Minmatar PVP groups such as Late Night Alliance (GHEY) and Iron Oxide (FEO) in its heyday. For Amarr Militia, the fall of Huola signaled their total rout by the Minmatar Militia that ultimately led to their complete capture of the warzone. If Huola could fall then nowhere was out of reach and pride is still taken in the systems belonging to the Empire. Its recapture by Minmatar forces could be a significant morale boost for the new generation of Minmatar Militia and its loss would be an ill omen for Amarr Militia…
From the 18th of June to the 28th of June the following losses have been sustained in the system. Please note the political situation becomes tricky when involving allied neutrals. I have done my best to gain a picture of the alliances from conversations with warzone pilots….I have also used the EVE Kill Repair Tool so the figures may have some inaccuracies:
Minmatar Militia & Scope Works – 5.34 Billion ISK
Amarr Militia & Caldari Militia (Mirage Fleet, Old Man Gang) & Allied Neutrals (Flex Point, No Handlebars) -19.42 Billion ISK
The Asylum -11.94 Billion ISK
Other -15.46 Billion ISK
Whilst the Minmatar Militia appear thwarted for now as the system has managed to be kept at a low contestation rate by the Amarr, despite at one point reaching as high as 80% contested, victory has been coming at a high cost to the Amarr Militia and allies. The Minmatars’ low isk guerrilla warfare seems to be draining their opponents’ wallets if nothing else.
On a broader level the warzone is deadlocked. The Minmatar Militia appear to have the numbers to attack Amarr Militia systems in all timezones. However, the remaining Amarr Militia pilots seem to be a more organised and effective team fielding stronger doctrines that prevents systems from being captured. This warzone certainly bears watching, for each militia is not fighting for Loyalty Points at the moment; they are fighting for pride.
In faction warfare, the ability to hold all of the systems in the warzone at the same time is such a difficult prospect that CCP awarded a unique medal to each militia pilot who assisted the first faction to accomplish this epic feat, thus an active member of that faction, and have subsequently awarded a medal for the first time a faction accomplishes this. In the history of the current iteration of faction warfare this has only been accomplished 4 times. Twice by Gallente Militia, once by Caldari Militia and once by Amarr Militia. As this unique medal is only awarded for the first time a warzone is completely conquered by a faction, the only remaining opportunity to gain such a medal lies with the Minmatar Militia. Thus the Minmatar Miltia pilots are fighting towards a goal and to claim a place in faction warfare history to accomplish what their predecessors could not. On the flip side, the Amarr Militia veterans and their allies are determined not to see their nemesis gain such accolades at their expense and are fighting hard to stop them whatever the cost.
This then is a warzone where the vaunted EVE ‘Butterfly Effect’ can quickly come into play. Any pilots/corporations/alliances looking to join faction warfare have the opportunity to tip the balance and make history one way or the other. Either to assist the grimly determined Minmatar Militia making a comeback from 0 systems 7 months ago to destroying their enemies utterly, gaining a unique accolade from CCP, or to participate in helping the Amarr Militia stage their counterstrike and throw the Minmatar Militia back into their home systems, restoring the golden fleet to supremacy…
Thanks to all the pilots in the warzones who have spoken to me, especially Jenifer Achasse (Templis CALSF), Moglarr (Operation Meatshield), BigDaddy Toothbrush (Rapid Withdrawal), Desiderya (Multicultural F1 Brigade). Most of all thanks to all the faction warfare pilots out there fighting, giving me something to report on.
Cinnamon Rage o7
