I’m the rocks of the everlasting shore. Crash upon me, and be BROKEN!
–Apocalypse, X-Males animated collection
There had been a ping on Saturday about Winter Coalition declaring that they had been going to go large on defending the armor timer of TEST’s Keepstar within the Atioth system in Geminate.
The Keepstar besieged – screenshot from Imgur
Why does TEST have a Keepstar in Geminate, simply 14 gates from our staging system in C-J6MT (and simply six gates for those who embrace leap bridges) in 2026?
I don’t know. You would need to ask TEST. However within the midst of the collapse of Pandemic Horde, whereas The Initiative and Winter Coalition had been absorbing refugees and re-allocating their area, TEST determined to maneuver from the additional potential location from the Imperium to proper subsequent door.
After which, once we began to assault them, had the whole lack of self-awareness to ask, “Why?” on Reddit. I imply, I do know “some man on Reddit” isn’t all of TEST, but it surely isn’t only one man. It retains arising.
If there’s one factor the Imperium tends vigorously, it’s the historical past of the sport. The continuing tales of participant led empires is de facto essentially the most sustainable hook for null sec. Management and outdated line members alike keep in mind our ups and downs, our victories and defeats, which teams had been nearly as good as their phrase, and which teams declared a warfare of extermination towards us.
So yeah, TEST transferring into the neighborhood was at all times going to be like waving a purple flag to us. We clearly can’t spell out “TEST is subsequent door” with out stopping at “TEST is subsequent.” They requested for this example and in the event that they don’t just like the outcomes they should complain to their management, who selected the placement.
Additionally, once more, the collapse of Pandemic Horde has left us with out a lot in the best way of native foes, which has been a little bit of a pisser after spending 18 months taking area, transferring to Tenerifis, taking more room, then transferring to Insmother solely to have our meant foe determine to divest and run away as a result of any individual gave them a tough look.
Understandably, all of this hasn’t made WinterCo too completely happy. They’d simply gotten themselves invested in a warfare with The Initiative when instantly the apathy of Gobbins meant that their southern flank was instantly open to the Imperium. The neutrality of the Drone Areas was good for them, however we’re nonetheless six gates from Geminate.
Anyway, sufficient background. Should you want extra then I’m positive there’s any individual over on r/eve able to capsuleer-splain it to you. Or, you understand, choose the “null sec” class right here on the weblog. There are virtually a thousand tales recorded simply right here.
Again to a Keepstar in Atioth. We set the time sooner or later and the armor timer was set to return out Sunday in later Chinese language time, which is when their buildings are set. That’s their greatest protection, that we have now to battle with them once we’re purported to be asleep.
So once I noticed the ping Saturday afternoon about us forming large as effectively at 14:30 UTC, I shortly did the calculation and declared that I might be asleep at the moment and that I might get right into a reinforcement fleet once I did rise up.
I then utterly forgot about that, however once I bought up round 7am on Sunday morning… which constitutes “sleeping in” for me as I’ve turn out to be my grandfather and now rise with the solar whether or not I wish to or now… I bought myself just a little breakfast collectively, began up the pc, opened up all the same old apps, and managed to get Jabber up simply in time to see a ping for a reinforcement fleet.
Oh yeah, that! So I bought EVE On-line up and operating and bought myself logged in. Then I contemplated the ping for a second, because it stated the next:
REINFORCMENT FLEET
Test contract for ships
FC Title: Executor Apophis
Formup Location: C-J6MT
PAP Kind: Strategic
Comms: Op 9
Doctrine: Typhoons > else
Certain, reinforcement fleet, as anticipated and simply on time. However… Typhoons?
We don’t have a Storm doctrine.
I imply, we have now had them up to now. The Storm is a kind of hulls for which Asher has an affinity and we have now been down the highway with them various instances. I keep in mind flying them again within the Hakonen marketing campaign, at varied instances in Reavers, and at intervals earlier than and since, however it’s by no means a doctrine that sticks. There may be at all times one thing a bit higher.
I requested the “Critically, Typhoons?” query in fleet, however the FC was busy in command coms, so I checked contracts. And there have been a bunch below alliance contracts named “storm riders.”
As I later discovered, this was a late plan by Asher to indicate up in some very tanky battleships as a way to get on grid with the hostiles and brawl. So it was time for Typhoons once more. Armor tanked Typhoons.
As well as, there was additionally a fleet of Abaddons out for us as effectively. Armor tanks, pule laser match Abaddons. We had been bringing out the classics.
Abaddon Fleet pointed up
You possibly can see the purple tint in that image above as a result of, amongst different issues, the was a plasma metalinimal storm within the space which, amongst different issues, boosts armor hit factors. So whereas there have been additionally different fleets, together with Maelstroms, Raven Navy Points, and Ferox Navy Points within the combine, it was the Abaddons and the Typhoons that had been up shut and fascinating the defender.
And the Typhoons had been taking essentially the most harm, so that they wanted essentially the most reinforcements. As soon as I discovered that Typhoons had been a factor, I purchased one off contracts, fitted the rigs, and was able to go.
Asher later rolled out that quote and video on the prime of the submit to go together with this assertion.
goon storm fleet being shot at by 7 enemy fleets
The Typhoons had been holding the road. Now I simply wanted to get there to hitch in.
We undocked, rolled the 5 gates to Okay-IYNW within the Nice Wildlands, and tethered up on the Keepstar. There we left fleet and joined the fleets we had been slated to bolster. That put me in Asher’s fleet as a result of he was main the Typhoons.
Typhoons on the sting of tether, able to warp and leap the gate
Then we aligned to the Atioth gate till we had been instructed to warp and leap. We hit the gate, began the leap animation… and waited. And waited.
After about quarter-hour I began to load in. The UI nonetheless had me within the earlier system, however I may see greater than 4K folks in native and tidi was down at 10%.
Ready for issues to load
Then, after about 10 minutes of that, I bought the dread disconnect message.
Now you’ve carried out it!
I give up and reloaded the consumer. The character login display… I nonetheless use the category “select which character” display… confirmed I used to be in Atioth nonetheless, undocked and in area. An excellent signal. A minimum of I had made it. So I clicked on Wilhelm to log in and went again to ready. I made some toast, chatted with my spouse, checked out Reddit, all whereas listening to Asher main the fleet. The Typhoons had been engaged with a Zealot fleet and had been slowly whittling them down.
Ultimately the consumer display went black, indicating it was getting critical about logging me in, and finally issues began to occur, the display began to attract, and I may see I used to be in recreation.
The Keepstar awaits
There have been nonetheless almost 4K folks in system. I opened up the window to see the command queue and the server was clearly being slammed because it was taking a number of minutes for the sport to reply to any enter.
Slightly surprisingly I used to be in a position to warp to Asher and get pretty shut. Then it was time to see if I may get a shot or a jam off. It was nonetheless taking minutes for the UI to reply and I might attempt to lock any individual solely to have them blow up lengthy earlier than that command reached the highest of the queue.
Additionally, the UI was enjoying tips. After I logged again in, it regarded like my weapons had been ungrouped.
Six launchers accounted for
Besides, in fact, for those who look carefully, you’ll be able to see a purple highlighted “6” on the primary launcher, which implies that they really had been nonetheless grouped. On my large display it took me some time to note that. I stored making an attempt to activate every launcher independently… and the UI would appear to be I used to be doing it. However then they might by no means mild up as lively… however the numbers would depend down as if they had been launching.
Welcome to tidi insanity. However I used to be catching as much as the fleet. I bought in some pictures as soon as I used to be there.
My Storm falling in with the fleet
The reinforcement fleet had undocked at just a little after 16:00 UTC and I began the tunnel animation on the gate into the system round 16:20 UTC. I disconnected, then reloaded again in at 17:25 UTC, after which the primary kill mail I used to be recorded on within the battle was at 17:44 UTC
Issues take time whenever you’re transferring at 10% pace. (Or much less when the server queue is backed up.)
I bought on the subsequent kill mail at 18:16 UTC.
About then issues had been beginning to loosen up a bit. At round 18:30 UTC the defenders introduced to their members that they had been disengaging and, after getting on a number of kills targets began drying up as aggression timers ran down they usually had been in a position to tether or dock up.
The opposite fleets stored taking pictures the construction. We had been going to win the timer.
We managed to select up a number of extra kills because the tidi relaxed a bit. Then it was quiet for some time, with no targets. After which there have been the post-game snacks as some pilots walked away from their laptop whereas on tether however nonetheless in movement, resulting in them wandering off tether and getting popped. At about 18:45 UTC we began getting some new targets because of that, with the final kill mail I used to be on, a pleasant Zarmazd kill, touchdown at 19:06 UTC.
By that time the hull timer had been set.
The depend right down to destruction begins
That can put the kill at a while early on Wednesday morning my time. I’m not positive I’m going to rise up early to get on that, however we’ll see.
The fleets began pulling out at that time. Asher warped us off to a perch in a large wall formation.
Typhoons hanging in area nostril up
We then had been instructed to warp to the gate and free burn residence. Anyone who was nonetheless on grid with him after a couple of minutes could be assumed to be AFK and could be warped to a POS we had in system.
The journey residence, all six jumps of it, was uneventful. We had been again residence and that was it.
The battle report confirmed that we had not solely gained the target, however had traded fairly effectively towards the defenders, popping out forward within the ISK warfare.
The Battle Report Header
And sure, for some cause it’s sticking INIT in with WinterCo, however 19 ships didn’t make a lot of a distinction in what occurred.
Not a battle of epic scale, however a stable battle with greater than 1 / 4 of a billion ISK destroyed. And a minimum of WinterCo is combating… and profitable at instances. We aren’t having this all our personal approach. At this time labored out for us. Prior to now we had struggled of their time zone.
In all probability essentially the most attention-grabbing bit on our facet was that the Storm and Abaddon doctrines had been rolled up a couple of day earlier than the battle after which the sky staff constructed a pair hundred battleships and bought them on contract in time for them to take partk
We will see if the Keepstar falls tomorrow. I believe that it’ll and that TEST will spend the time transferring stuff out that they wish to save.
