Who are Pandemic Horde?
Pandemic Horde is a member of the PanFam coalition, along with Pandemic Legion and NCdot. They are a large alliance, boasting ~12,460 members and are extremely newbie (or in their terminology, newbean) friendly. They live in sections of Fade, Pure Blind and Cloud Ring. Its leader is Gobbins.
One thing to note is that whilst they are not formally allied with their neighbours Guardians of the Galaxy (a major northern coalition), they occupy what might best be described as a ‘bluetral’ status. For example, GOTG and Horde allied with each other last week in order to defend against an Imperium threat. More obviously, they’ve previously allied to defend against TEST, and later the Imperium, in their northern adventures over the summer of 2017.
Where do they come from?
Pandemic Legion founded Pandemic Horde in 2015. After the incredible success of BRAVE in attracting and weaponizing enthusiastic new players, major power blocs wanted in on the action. Goonswarm created Karmafleet, NCdot created Northern Army and Pandemic Legion created Pandemic Horde.
However, it would be wrong to paint Pandemic Horde purely as a source of disposable manpower for Pandemic Legion. It does serve an educative function, and due to limited requirements for entry, it can serve as a stepping stone for new players (or, indeed, older players) to enter nullsec and get their bearings. Moreover, they deploy and work independently of Pandemic Legion at points – most notably, taking a mercenary contract to help the DRF in their war with TRI, despite tepid Pandemic Legion support for TRI.
What are the positives of joining?
There are a number of positives to joining Pandemic Horde:
- Pandemic Horde is very easy to get into. You apply, and you are accepted. That is it – there are no API checks or interviews. This means that if you want to dive into nullsec life without a lot of bureaucracy and entry requirements, they’re an excellent way to go.
- Pandemic Horde offers all the advantages of being a large nullsec alliance – Bean Interest Groups allow for a wide range of activities across New Eden, whilst jump freighter services allow for quick transport of goods.
- Pandemic Horde always has good small gang PvP opportunities due to being right next to GOTG and Initiative, and within reach of Black Rise/Placid.
What are the negatives of joining?
There are certainly some downsides to Pandemic Horde, which should be borne in mind:
- Pandemic Horde is very easy to get into. This means that awoxing is more common there than in other alliances – whilst expensive assets are safe, a line member might get attacked.
- Some would argue that Pandemic Horde, through its character as a massively newbie friendly alliance, impedes options for growth and end-game levels of play.
What are they up to at the moment?
At the moment, Horde is not doing anything special and simply getting on with having fun. It has recently anchored a Keepstar, and there are concerns over harassment from the Imperium – but for now, life is good in Pandemic Horde.
If you would like to join Pandemic Horde, this video is a good guide to doing so.
