Every time there is a war against Goonswarm, and by extension the Imperium as a whole, a propaganda myth emerges. Since the time of Band of Brothers the claim that “Goons are bad for EVE” has been heard. Even the current war that, once again, pitted The-Rest-Of-Eve against the Imperium, started in part with claims by Legacy leadership that Goons are somehow bad for the game. But if we analyze the evidence, do history and reality support this claim? Do Goons stagnate content and kill the game? First let’s look at what our respective rivals are doing.
Legacy Coalition currently holds Catch, Impass, Esoteria, Paragon Soul, Feythabolis, Omist, Tenerifis and Immensea. In turn they have friendly relations with the coalition to their east, FI.RE, and recently appear to be working with PanFam and Winterco. Legacy alone has some eight regions which are blue “no-content” zones full of blues and renters.
PanFam and their various allies control space between Vale of the Silent, Cache and Cobalt Edge forming a triangle of roughly eight to 10 regions. Everyone there is blue while many are just renters and simply farm the region for its resources. Furthermore Branch and Tenal are both under full PanFam and Winterco control. Despite this Fraternity carries out a war of conquest against smaller alliances in Vale of the Silent to further expand their holdings.
Compare this with the Imperium, which only holds Delve, Period Basis, Querious and Fountain. Goonswarm and their coalition hold half as many regions as either rival coalition. Not only that, but the Imperium promotes smaller entities on its borders. In Querious, a long established “fight club” is there, where under the protection of the coalition, smaller entities can hold space and fight each other without the fear of being taken over. To the north in Cloud Ring, we have allowed entities like Pen Is Out and Villore Accords to settle, and have left them undisturbed despite our many campaigns that take us through their space.
Even in Tribute and Vale of the Silent, two historically PanFam owned regions that we destroyed in our punitive campaign, with the likes of Northern Coalition and Pandemic Legion, smaller alliances have sprouted up. Trigger Happy, Forsaken Asylum, Freight Train Diplomacy, and Toilet Paper are but a few of the many alliances that now have a content area to grow and develop where once simply stood PanFam’s rental fields. Wherever the Imperium goes, we do not stifle content, but instead give birth to it.
We have also acted as a refuge for the blobbed and downtrodden. When Brave Newbies Alliance was bullied into submission, many left and created Karma Fleet which to this day continues to flourish. Some forget that the Brave members struck with Stockholm Syndrome that formed the basis of Pandemic Horde were, for years, simply used as meat shields by the very same people who nearly destroyed their alliance. Even our enemies, who amass themselves against us, have benefited from Goonswarm’s innovations. Test and Pandemic Horde have both copied and utilized our “special interest group” structure to organize. Who has done more to innovate, create content, and publicize EVE? Even The Imperium News Network, in its current and previous form as TheMittani.com, created a dialogue between EVE’s player populace and other games, breathing life into our community and establishing links.
Goonswarm and by extension the Imperium are the most prolific organizations in EVE recognizable even to non-EVE players. We have always been an avenue for new players to join and participate in EVE, a game that’s generally considered complicated and difficult to learn. When other groups, be they Band of Brothers, Pandemic Legion, or Northern Coalition, made an attempt to stamp out newer players, or at best, use them as meat shields, the Imperium has been a better option. This is due to our leadership’s understanding that our player base’s success translates to our overall coalition’s success. The claim that “Goons are bad for EVE,” often taken for granted by our enemies, falls flat on its face when pressed under the slightest bit of scrutiny.