So, let’s say that you’re not in one of the major nullsec power blocs. Maybe you work for PC Gamer. Or live in wormholes. Wormholes are cool. Let’s go with that.
You’ve poked your head out of the wormhole onto /r/Eve, and there’s all this talk about a massive fight about to happen in Pure Blind. You’re totally out of the loop on it, and can’t be bothered to follow months of space drama to understand. Fair enough. That’s kinda normal, honestly. So, I’ve decided to track it down and present the background to this fight for you. Because I’m nice like that.
Also, I get paid. Let’s not forget that!
On one side, we have the Imperium coalition. This is principally composed of Goonswarm Federation and the Initiative. They live in Delve, Querious and Fountain. They are ludicrously rich, and have a possibly unhealthy number of supercapital ships. TEST Alliance Please Ignore, a core member of Legacy Coalition, might also get involved.
On the other side, we have ‘the North’. This is a large group of alliances, split between two coalitions. Firstly, there is Panfam. This is comprised of Pandemic Horde, Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition.. Horde brings numbers, Legion & Coalition. bring experienced pilots in supercapitals. Secondly, there is Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG). They have a large number of alliances, but are lead by DARKNESS.. They have a good mix of elite and line members.
The two sides have not liked each other for a long time. The forerunners of the Imperium (called the CFC) have clashed with the forerunners of Panfam for years. The CFC scored a victory in 2014 in BR-5RB, when they allied with the Russians to destroy much of Panfam’s supercapital fleet. Panfam returned the favour in 2016, leading a massive coalition which dislodged the Imperium from their home in the north. Ever since, they’ve been fighting proxy wars and skirmishing with each other.
This battle seems to have been engineered by Imperium leadership from the get-go. In August, they deployed their entire coalition to Tribute (a region in the north of EVE) to fight the combined northern forces. This was panned as a costly failure.
But it did serve a purpose. It let their commanders test doctrines and ideas. Learn how to fight under pressure from the northern supercapital umbrella.
From there, the Imperium stepped up their efforts. They shied away from direct confrontation, instead sending small gangs into northern space. They would hunt and raid soft targets. This gave them more information on northern weaknesses and made the north commit ever more resources.
By the end of this year, they were waiting for the moment to strike. And then Pandemic Horde gave them one. Horde changed all the timers so that their structures would be vulnerable in EU timezones, instead of previous Australian timezones.
The Imperium is very strong in EU TZ. So, they struck fast, moving a flotilla of supercapital ships numbering in the hundreds to 9-4RP2 on the 15th of January. There, in a series of not really contested battles, they destroyed the shields and armour of a Pandemic Horde Keepstar.
Now, only the structure is left. If that is destroyed, then the Keepstar goes down in flames.
The North refuse to let this happen. They have rallied all forces in a nearby staging system, and are ready to fight.
The stage is set for the most massive fleet battle since the Bloodbath of B-R5RB. I would encourage all of you to be there, no matter who you are flying with. I am quite sure that it will be something to remember.
