On May 24, 2016 at about 1900 EVE time, two of the major players in wormhole space, Overload This and Lazerhawks, clashed in Lazerhawks’ home system. The engagement, which lasted only a few minutes, resulted in over fifty billion ISK destroyed and was a lopsided defeat for Lazerhawks.
Jezza McWaffle of Overload This notes that the fight was several weeks in the making, saying
“LZHK had already jumped into our home hole and then demanded we do the same to them next time we connected. It took us a while to theorycraft and test our doctrine out before we were comfortable with it.”
The reason for this is due to the unique nature of certain wormholes. Lazerhawks live in a C5/C5 Pulsar, which means they live in a class five wormhole with the Pulsar effects, which always has at least one connection to another class five wormhole. When in a Pulsar, all ships have increased shield strength, improved capacitor recharge time, and a bonus to energy neutralizer strength, at the cost of greatly reduced armor resistance and increased signature radius.
Additionally, because Overload This were planning to engage Lazerhawks in their home system, they knew they would need a fleet capable of doing very large amounts of damage in a short period of time. While battleships are rarely used in such large numbers in a wormhole due to mass restrictions, the effects of the Pulsar made the Barghests an ideal choice for this situation.
Lazerhawks, on the other hand, were mostly in Tengus, supported by several dreadnoughts. Lazerhawks were not really prepared to deal with the composition Overload This brought, and Ashley Traynor of Lazerhawks notes that
“I don’t think any of us expected to see a battleship doctrine.”
The battle itself began with Overload This jumping into Lazerhawks’ hole. Lazerhawks were prepared, sitting at range from the wormhole with a defensive Heavy Interdictor bubble deployed. Overload This warped to a ping, and then to the Lazerhawks fleet, beginning the fight in earnest.
Both sides initially focused on destroying Huginns, as the webs and target painters provided by these ships greatly increase the damage applied by the dreadnoughts on field. The Barghests easily tanked the damage on field with one exception, as the Overload This fleet was supported by a triage Lif. However, the Basilisks of Lazerhawks simply didn’t have the repairing power to keep up with the DPS they faced, and Overload This were able to alpha most of the subcapitals Lazerhawks brought.
This damage was further enhanced because of the unique location in which the fight occurred. The signature radius increase caused by the Pulsar dramatically increased the damage application from the immense volley of the Barghests. Eventually, most of Lazerhawks’ subcapitals were destroyed at the cost of a single Barghest, though Overload This did also lose a Deep Space Transport and two valuable pods.
Jezza McWaffle paid credit to the skills of Overload This FC Xtrah, saying “If you could, give a shout out to Xtrah in the article, for being the best CEO and best FC ever.” Both sides noted that they look forward to their next encounter. It’s a safe bet that next time, Lazerhawks will not go down so quickly, as they are sure to want revenge for this defeat. The success of this new Barghest fleet composition will undoubtedly have an influence on future tactics in wormholes.
You can view a video of the fight from the perspective of Overload This here:
Special thanks to Ashley Traynor of Lazerhawks and Jezza McWaffle of Overload This for providing insightful commentary on the battle, and to Jezza McWaffle for providing a video of the fight.
