This is part two of a series of articles looking at the numerous mistakes made by NCPL.
Provi Citadel Campaign
When CCP announced that the original nullsec stations were going to be converted into faction citadels every group speculated about how to get their hands on as many of them as possible. NCPL’s strategy was to take over the region of Providence with its many stations and cash out. Unfortunately PL’s Doom had becoming increasingly “talkative” toward TEST leadership which in turn prompted ProGodLegend and Vily into supporting Provi Bloc. Never ones to miss an opportunity to hamper NCPL, the re-emerging Imperium also sent fleets to Provi. In the end NCPL’s Provi campaign ended in a complete debacle and TEST ended up with Provi’s stations.
Fall of Fountain
In the summer of 2015, Black Legion followed Brave Collective after their expulsion from Catch. After Brave was once again ground into dust, Black Legion was unsure what to do. Long story short is that the US TZ went on to join TISHU and take part in the Black Ops Fade Campaign against SMA, and the EU TZ settled in Fountain under a new alliance named The Culture. TC did a great job taking control of the region and spent the next few years farming the land. When Goons settled in Delve, they were a natural barrier for the Imperium to move further north. Despite being much smaller, TC acted as a bit of a buffer and had a warm relationship with NCPL. Too much shouldn’t have been expected either from TC or Raknor, however NCPL should have noted the strategic importance of having an active bulwark against any Delve intrusions. Fountain should have been used as a launching platform for attacks against Delve keeping it unstable. NCPL could have organized itself and many of its other WWB time allies into having assets in Fountain that could be activated if the Imperium ever tried to push north. Instead TC folded due in part to poor leadership management and Initiative more or less walked in. This would have lasting consequences which I will address later on.
Drone Region Federation Woes
The DRF was a collection of Russian alliances that had formed a coalition in the “drone regions” of nullsec. For better or for worse they provided a “safe border” for NCPL and a working partner. What came to follow cannot really be blamed solely on NCPL but instead a blunder on both sides. In order to communicate with NCPL, UAXdeath had appointed Jay Maricadie as its alliance’s diplomat. The sheer magnitude of this man’s incompetence cannot be covered in a single article but here are a couple that attempt shed some light.
https://imperium.news/the-rise-and-fall-of-7th-estate/
For my part I was “the other individual” in Johann’s article distracting Jay with false intel that “Goon spies were conspiring against him from within NCPL.” In the process we exposed his incompetence, got him to pay money for said false intel, and eventually UAXdeath came back long enough to can him. Unfortunately the damage had already been done and tensions between GOTG, DRF, Legacy and NCPL were heightened. The mistake NCPL made was to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Instead of stepping in to stabilize the situation, they threw DRF under the bus completely and lost some very capable people in the process. These same DRF Russians would later emerge in the south as allies of the Imperium and Legacy, another issue that will arise down the line.
Polaris
Having a proper intelligence apparatus for your alliance seems like an obvious necessity with obvious benefits. Perhaps more than any other game, Eve provides an environment where this isn’t just beneficial but essential for success. Polaris was the organization that provided NCdot and by extension Pandemic Legion pings on any and all relevant alliances. Not only that but they carried out both clandestine and covert tasks for NCPL’s benefit. One example is the aforementioned operation to oust Jay by exposing his incompetence. Another would be the infiltration of Init leadership regarding NCPL’s seizure of their assets in Syndicate. While many of these things went on, NCPL leadership treated Polaris with distrust and contempt. The organization was often hamstrung and its members even berated for carrying out their work. In the end Polaris leadership resigned, and NCPL replaced it with someone incompetent enough to crash the whole organization soon after. This more than anything signaled a “point of no return” in NCPL’s strategic ineptitude. Not only were the powers that be unable to formulate a long term strategic plan, they would also undermine anyone else who tried.
This concludes part 2. Expect part 3.
