“When you take a fight in someone’s home, of course you expect the big toys to come out…” – HKRAB pilot
THE STAGE & FLEETS
On January 24 at about 1800 EVE time, an arranged brawl between Hard Knocks Citizens and Lazerhawks resulted in over 38B ISK destroyed. The arranged fight took place in HKRAB’s home wormhole system of J115405, also known as ‘Rage’.
The attackers, LZHX, fielded twenty T3 strategic cruisers (consisting of remote repair Legions and HAM Legions) with support from four Bhaalgorns, a Machariel, and an Eos command ship, while the defenders brought twenty seven T3 strategic cruisers with Guardian logistics and six Bhaalgorns.
THE FIGHT
The engagement began as LZHX rolled their wormhole’s static. This opened a new wormhole into HKRAB’s home system. Once Rage was scouted, LZHX contacted their neighbours and asked about setting up a brawl. TMC reached out to a member of the Lazerhawk fleet, Teh Replika, who was happy to comment on the details of the fight.
TMC: Thank you, Teh Replika, for agreeing to comment on the fight. This began as an arranged brawl once you found a way into their system?
Teh Replika: Yes. It all began when we rolled the static and realized the next one was HK’s home ‘Rage’. We poked HK about it and asked if they wanted to brawl. Once both sides came to the conclusion that we had the numbers to make a decent brawl, pings went out on both sides.
TMC: What made you take the fight in their home system? That gave HZRAB a significant advantage.
TR: Well, in a matter of 10-15 minutes both sides formed and it was decided to take the fight to them, as they’re still struggling to get a shield doctrine. LZHX live in a C5 Pulsar, and ‘Rage’ has no effects.
Note: A C5 Pulsar has +86% to Shield HP, -43% Armor Resists, -43% Capacitor Recharge, +86% Signature, and +86% to NOS/Neut Drain.
TR: So we both formed heavy armor fleets. Our doctrine did change literally the day of the fight, so it was a real field test for our fleet. Not all of our ships were refit accordingly.
TMC: So you’ve agreed to take the fight to them. What happens next?
TR: We warped to the wormhole and jumped in. Their fleet was set 250k off the wormhole to ensure there is no ‘wormhole tanking’, which is the normal practice of jumping back through the wormhole when the fleet starts to break. If it is a home connection, triage carriers are normally on the other side to help with reps.
TR: We warped in to 50km of their fleet and began cycling through targets to see what we could break. On both sides, Bhaalgorns were working hard on counterneuts. We killed one of their Legions and he immediately reshipped into a Bhaalgorn. When he came back, our Eos got neuted to oblivion and then Hoodle, who was in a Stork, managed to MJD some of our logistics away. Then we lost our first Bhaal and after that it snowballed, as we started to lose ships left and right.
TMC: This must have been the point when you all decided to disengage.
TR: Right. There were bubbles all over the place to keep us from escaping, but some folks got away. We went against the odds to make sure the fight happened for content.
TMC: What do you think about your new doctrine? How did it field for you?
TR: I think the doctrine did well! Pilots on both sides did great, we just couldn’t beat the odds. Our mistakes were analyzed and lessons were learned.
TMC: Awesome. Thanks for your time!
A few members from Hard Knocks commented on a reddit post regarding the engagement:
Jaiimez of Hard Knocks Inc said:
“When you take a fight in someone’s home, of course you expect the big toys to come out. Often you can’t field all the bhaals and vindis you want because the hole can’t take the mass. When you agree to fight in their home you know all the guys who never get to bring out the shiny battleships won’t miss the opportunity.”
By all accounts, the fight was a success. Both sides achieved what they set out to do, which was to enjoy a good fight as the wormhole connections aligned, and TMC readers get to enjoy a look at w-space life. TMC thanks Hard Knocks Citizens and Lazerhawks for their story.
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by Lemba.
