At approximately 19:00 on August 29, an almost 400-billion-ISK battle broke out in Geminate when the Imperium dropped dreads on a Rorqual fleet in the system of 04-LQM.
As with most large battles there are elaborate plans behind the carnage. INN sat down with Dabigredboat and he told us the entire story. It all started when he sat down with Vertiso to come up with a plan to kill a horde Rorqual fleet.
The battle was setup over multiple weeks, using the Horde “accept everyone” policy ,the Imperium placed over 20 interdictor pilots within Pandemic Horde, along with two tackle-fit Rorqual pilots. After the set-up was complete, the Imperium used two dictor pilots to prevent sub-capital backup from arriving, while the others waited to catch unsuspecting miners.
Once everyone was ready, the Rorquals and dictors captured a Rorqual fleet of 11, not including the two friendly ships. The Rorquals not only had tackle but were also fitted with a panic module, which effectively tackled the entire fleet in the click of a button. Snuffed Out landed dreads on grid, while Dabigredboat had 180 dreads on standby. Once Horde dropped their dreads to counter the initial Snuffed Out fleet, Dabigredboat dropped about half of of his reserved dread forces. Multiple sub-cap fleets came in to assist both sides. The battle then unfolded into a bloodbath in the ore belt.
The Horde dreadnoughts were outnumbered two to one, and were also attacked by sub-cap fleets. Horde and allies quickly lost the battle and decided not to counter drop.
Horde lost a total of 51 dreadnoughts and 122 battlecruisers. Along with the Rorqual fleet and other ships, the loss comes to a total of 326 billion ISK. The Imperium lost 23 dreadnoughts, coming at a total loss of 64 billion ISK, making for a victory strategically and financially.
This battle shows Hordes weakness when it comes to their “open door” policy. They not only let in any character that applies, but the 2 Rorqual pilots were previously Goons. The policy allows for easy infiltration leading into traps like this. Hordes massive amount of players and the large amounts they are bringing in every day are a huge boost to the alliance, but putting a little bit more time in looking into players will go a long way to prevent massive losses like this.
