Greeting The 0rphanage

        Two weeks ago, TEST decided it was fed up with constant wardecs by The 0rphanage. In true newbie-loving fashion, we stormed Jita 4-4 with one hundred Rifters. This was the result. We exploded our ships hilariously and did 200 million in damage compared to 30 million in losses. 0rphanage retracted their wardec a few days later.

        Three days ago, they declared war again. We decided to pay them another visit, and this time we were upping the ante. I had to join in the hilarity.

        We assembled a fleet of Stabbers and Thoraxes. Able to fly both, I chose a Thorax for its greater DPS. Our scout surveyed the field and out of 12 or so hostiles, we decided the Legion was the juiciest target. We sent in bait. The Legion aggressed. Within seconds we pounced and decimated it. This time the damage was 460 million.

        The ambush scared the rest of 0rphanage into the station. We regrouped at our launching station. They came out and camped it. We decided to engage them anyway. This time the juicy targets were gone but we still took out a Harbinger, another Harbinger, and a Drake. We lost most of our ships in the second engagement, but  totaling up the encounter shows we did a total of 650 million in damage with a 463 million loss. This included our scout and bait ships. The cruisers were provided to us by the FC, cheaply fit, and fully insured. By blowing them up, we were paid to participate. It was a pleasure.

What's New?

        Skill Training: I've completed Minmatar Frigate V and can now fly Assault Ships, Interceptors, Cov Ops, and EWar vessels ... though who would want to fly a Hyena anyway? The WoW Rogue player in me loves Cov Ops. I have a lot of missile skills to train before I can fly a Stealth Bomber effectively, so right now I'm just having fun scouting around in a Cheetah.

        The next step is the long, arduous, but necessary path to Tech II guns. Projectiles are the flavor of the month and my Gunnery has been neglected for far too long.

        Please support the relief efforts in Japan. So far I have donated 12 PLEX to CCP's campaign for good. I encourage everyone else to participate if they can.

        I should have an interesting Op to talk about tomorrow.

Neural Remap

        Everything was prepared ahead of time. It was just a matter of throwing the switch.

        For the past seven months, Knee's learning plan had been focused entirely in support and infrastructure. All the non-combat tools that he would need to be a better combat pilot. Sounds contradictory, but take into consideration that a fighter pilot needs more than guns. He needs engines, shields, armor, and even a few tricks up his sleeve. Some of those tricks include overheating modules, jury rigging, electronic warfare, and astrometrics. Knee knew them all. He was ready.

        He sat calmly in Medical while the doctor's aides busied themselves around him. Some were taking scans, others were hooking up equipment, and still others were running calculations. Neural remaps were not everyday procedures. Official regulations limited their use to once a standard year, though occasional grants by special request were possible. Knee was well-trained in Science but still did not understand the technology behind changing the brain to influence a person's mental capacity. Something about optimizing neural pathways. The scientists explained it best as "flashing" the brain the same way a data storage chip is written. Both are electrical systems, after all. When you abstract it to that level, it simply becomes a matter of circuit design. Knee was comfortable enough with the concept of implants supporting the brain's functions, but rewiring the brain itself was beyond his comprehension. He trusted the people around him.

        When the aides confirmed everything was ready, the attention turned to Knee. He was focused, almost trancelike, on completing the final skill in his set, drawing in data from the invisible voice in his head. Finally he opened his eyes and Aura, connected to his implants, proudly announced "Skill training completed." He looked at the head doctor and nodded. One of the nurses applied a quick sedative and the experts went to work.

        Within moments, it was finished. They removed the sedation and Knee regained consciousness. As he regained his bearings he could feel the eerie effects of the procedure. His willpower was higher than ever before - he knew no fear. His perception was nearly off the charts. He was able to predict the aides' actions and movements almost to the point of seeing into the future. He reveled in the feeling. He felt superhuman. He felt like a Capsuleer.

EVE Blog Banter #25: Subtracting Sovereignty

Welcome to the twenty-fifth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic comes to us from @Tetraetc - "Tetra's EVE Blog" - who asks: "Have Alliances and the sovereignty system limited the amount of PVP and RP potential in Null sec? Imagine a Null Sec where anyone could build outposts wherever. Would the reduction of the alliance game mechanic, and the removal of the sovereignty game mechanics (or the modifcation of it from Alliance level to Corp level for that matter) force more PVP into Null sec, or would giant power blocs like the NC still form themselves?"

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        I believe there is a large hurdle for alliances to leap over in order to get into capturing sovereignty. Namely, playing the reinforcement game. Getting a fleet together is simple. Getting a fleet together that has the firepower and patience to reinforce a tower? Quite a significant commitment. Getting that fleet together three times in a row at different times on different days? A heroic effort.

        For those who are ignorant of the current mechanics, here's a quick explanation. Unclaimed space is claimed with a Territorial Claim Unit (TCU). When that goes online, the system is yours and you can start placing buildings - Infrastructure Hubs (IHUBs) and Stations. All three of these building types are invulnerable as long as you hold uncontested sovereignty.

        To take someone else's sovereignty, you have to plant Sovereignty Blockade Units (SBUs) at over 50% of the system's gates. At that point the IHUB and Station become vulnerable. Taking them down requires shooting them and waiting out the reinforcement timers. When those buildings are down, the enemy TCU is vulnerable. Destroy it and the system returns to a neutral state, ready to be claimed by its conquerors.

        So what happens when you start tearing that system apart, piece by piece? First of all, the reinforcement timers. If reinforcement did not exist, an enemy fleet could storm a system and capture it within half a day. SBU's take 3 hours to come online, and TCU's take 8. In the middle of that is the timeframe for the IHUB to be destroyed and the Station to be conquered. A blob of supercaps would make it easy. This change alone can make a huge upset in sovereignty holdings, as a large alliance that is slow to react can lose systems literally overnight. For working types like myself, I'm away from EVE for 16 hours in a row every day when considering work and sleep. A successful alliance defense would require round-the-clock guard shifts across all timezones.

        If taking down the IHUB and Station was not required, then the attack can be reduced to a single player in an Industrial carrying the necessary SBU's and TCU, plus a small gang to destroy the enemy TCU.

        These changes would force such delicate instability that maintaining any amount of territorial claim would require eyes everywhere at all times and a reactionary force of minutemen available to repel any attack within a matter of hours. The week-long round-the-clock siege of 6VDT-H performed by my own alliance just a few weeks ago would be reduced to a lazy Saturday's activity. That hard work could be undermined the very next day. Establishing a flourishing market and profitable IHUBs would be next to impossible.

        Breaking down sovereignty from alliance level to corp level would surely make things more granular, but it could also splinter the effectiveness of an alliance. Each corp would have its own staging systems and the coordination between corps could easily fall apart.

        So the way I see it, removing some of the sovereignty barriers would definitely cause more PvP simply by making it easier for one group to force another group's hand. But make it too easy and the ability to change sovereignty becomes trivial with a blob force, and impossible to maintain when the opposing blob force shows up, all the while draining all the fun away from building a productive home.

        So what happens when sovereignty disappears or it becomes utterly pointless? Then nullsec simply becomes lowsec without the GCC. Anarchy. A pirate's dream. All PVP all the time. Alliances degenerate into nomadic blobs or bubbly gatecamps. Lowsec becomes the carebears risking a shot at making more money versus the solo PvPers hellbent on stopping them. Meanwhile supercapital ships have nowhere to hide, and the prices of any kind of nullsec equipment skyrocket. Well, at least it wouldn't be safer than highsec.

Other responses to EVE Blog Banter #25:

1. CrazyKinux's Musing: EVE Blog Banter #25: And by Alliance you mean.....?
2. BB25 What sov changes will come? | A Mule In EvE
3. Confessions of a Closet Carebear: Alliances and Sovereignty
4. Blog Banter 25: Nerfing Nulsec « OMG! You're a Chick?!
5. Have Alliances and the sovereignty system limited the amount of PVP and RP potential in Null sec? | Nitpickin's
6. Blog Banter #25: Alliance and Sovereignty Limiting PvP in 0.0? | Sarnel Binora's Blog
7. Blog Banter #25 - Mad Haberdashers
8. Alliances and sovereignty | Eve Online Focus
9. ...Shall we not Revenge?: BB 25: What if the Alliance vanished?
10. Blog Banter: Alliances and Sov
11. EVEOGANDA: BB25: Sov 'n Go!
12. » TBG:EBB#25 – Alliances and Sovereignty To Boldly Go
13. Freebooted: BB25: Leviathans of the Deep
14. Wrong Game Tetra ~ Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah
15. EVE Blog Banter #25 – Human nature what art thou? | Way of the Gun
16. Who cares about Sov? - Hands Off, My Loots!
17. The 25th EVE Blog Banter: Alliances and sovereignty - The Phoenix Diaries
18. Achernar: The space commute
19. Wandering the Void…my EvE musings. – Blog Banter: Alliances and sovereignty
20. (OOC) CK’s Blog Banter #25: How To Break EvE. « Prano's Journey
21. Captain Serenity: Blog Banter #25 - Crappy mechanics
22. Helicity Boson » Blog Banter #25 Nullsec and sov.
23. BB #25 – “With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?”
24. Boom! Hull-Shot?: It's the End of the Eve as We Know It
25. sered's lives: EVE Blog Banter #25 - Size does matter
26. 25th EVE BB – Medieval Solutions to Spaceship Problems | Inventions of a New Eden Industrialist
27. Eve Blog Banter #25: “Have Alliances and Sov Limited PvP and RP in 0.0?” « Align Outbound
28. Banter 25: Sovereignty, Alliances and Power Blocs | TheElitist
29. Blog Banter 25 – But I just left all that! « A Scientist's Life in Eve
30. Nobody likes losing « One capsuleer against all
31. >>>Vigil Ant: Alliances and SOV by Munny's eyes.
32. Latro's Bunker: Blog Banter 25 -Nullsec and Sov
33. A "CareBears" Journey » Blog Banner #25: Alliances and Sovereignty, and their affect on PVP and RP
34. Blog Banter #25 – Unstoppable « Roc's Ramblings
35. Nobody likes losing « One capsuleer against all
36. EVE Blog Banter on PVP in Null Sec « Evehermit's Blog

One Week Till Remap

        EWar is finished. I saw the power of ECM during Alliance Tournament VIII and I had to buy in to it. Should I choose to fly a Caldari ECM ship, I will be evil in it. The alliance loves EWar people too.

        So what's left?

• Nanite Operation IV and Nanite Interfacing IV for heat repairs.
• Anchoring IV for drag bubbles.
• Salvaging IV for looting.

        That's it. Less than a week away. I'm excited!

The First Anniversary

        Today marks my first anniversary of playing EVE - Knee's birthday.

        Coincidentally enough, it also marks a nice skill-training milestone. Cynosural Field Theory IV finished today, putting me at just over 20 million skillpoints. An average of 2280 sp/hour.

        So, the year in review?

        After going through the tutorials, I pack up my free ships (Thrashers and Slashers and Wreathes, oh my!) and haul them 22 jumps from Matari space to my coworkers' home just outside Jita. From there I go up the missioning chain - Level 1's in a Thrasher, Level 2's in a Rupture, Level 3's in a Hurricane, and Level 4's in a Dominix. I get over 8.0 standings with the Caldari Navy, allowing me to keep some jumpclones in highsec for times when I need to go skillbook shopping.

        That's where the blog begins. The general malaise of solo missioning causes me to head to nullsec for some fun. Meanwhile I'm training exclusively Int/Mem skills in anticipation of a Per/Will remap which should last me for a good year or two. Having looked at some character skill profiles who have skillpoint totals over twice what I have, I'm pretty confident in my support backbone, and when I add Tech II ships and guns to that, I should be pretty solid.

Life in Fountain, Day One

        Rigging training is complete. Onward to the final set of Electronics skills - 11½ days. Removed a couple of unnecessary skills from the plan, saving three days. It's now a total of 18½ days until the remap.

        My courier contract is already completed. All of my equipment is now here. Awesome service!

        Researched the market for buying a Maelstrom in the future. The station is well-stocked with the hulls, guns, and faction ammo necessary for the job. Very impressive.