A Little History
My name is ToshioMagic.
If you recognize me it’s probably because you saw me do something with combat probes. I’ve been a fleet commander in Fidelas Constans (FCON), Circle of Two (CO2), the Northern Coalition (The old one), and the Imperium since 2011. I FC’d during the Great War in the North, the Fountain War, The Casino War, and a lot in between. I was a pretty bad FC at the beginning, not due to a lack of skill in the game, but due to a lack of patience and courtesy. I think a lot of newer FCs have one or the other. Its rare to find both in someone like Asher Elias or Thomas Lear. When I came back to the game after a long break in early 2014, I joined back up with my favorite corp, INEXTREMIS (ITAI). The CEO, industrial obliterator, indi, saw a lot of raw FC’ing talent in me, and he helped mentor me into a more patient, self-reflective, and fun FC to fly under.
A Bad Experience in CO2
As soon as I could, after I returned to the game in 2014, I FC’d a fleet for CO2. I baited with a combat probing, scramming, repping, mwd, cap stable Scimitar, a personal favorite of mine, and we were able to kill a handful of kitey pirate ships. The fleet was happy, but someone wasn’t: GigX. He wanted to know why someone he wasn’t familiar with was FC’ing in his alliance. I was immediately put under suspicion and banned from leading fleets until I “went through the proper channels.” Over many months, I was added and removed from the CO2 FC group. The removals were for petty reasons. Once, I got removed for offering to help consolidate a fleet in Venal after gigX got headshot, a common occurence. Eventually, I learned that being in the FC group was less about skill and more about bowing down to gigX and his ego. If gigX thought that alliance members saw you as a better FC than him, he felt threatened. If you took out a fleet and did a really good job, gigX always had something negative to say about it. And if you politely disagreed with him or tried to explain it you were removed from the FC group. This is how skilled FCs like Lucian James remained in CO2; they deferred to gigX and let him know that they were subservient to him. Anyone who did not kiss the ring was ostracized. After flying in gigX fleets for many months, I can tell you that gigX is a terrible FC.
It was during my time in CO2 when Asher Elias formed the reavers, who no longer exist. I started FC’ing there since FC’ing for CO2 was so frustrating. GigX did not like the idea of FCs in “his” alliance FC’ing for the greater coalition. One day, gigX gave me an ultimatum; I could either FC for CO2, or I could FC for the CFC. I would not be allowed to do both. What he really meant by “You can FC for CO2” was that I could get thrown in and out of the FC group on the whim of GigX or Da Winci, all the while never actually FC’ing anything but corporation fleets. I could either FC in another alliance with pilots I didn’t know, or I could stay with the corporation I loved.
GigX made me choose between playing with people I loved and playing a role that I loved; no pilot should ever have to decide between the two. I thought about quitting Eve for a while during this time.
Eventually, I made my decision. I left.
After saving Tiberizzle’s X-Type fit Chimera from a wormhole in Deklein, I received a vouch from both him and Asher Elias to join Amok. I’ve been FC’ing from here ever since, even though I don’t feel like I fit in with my lack of any alts or supers. When CO2 betrayed the Imperium during the Casino War, I was not surprised. After my move from CO2 to GSF, I found out that pretty much no one else liked gigX or his overinflated ego.
I celebrated when I first heard the news of The Judge’s betrayal. And again when I found out gigX was permabanned. The one person in EVE I had ever come to truly despise had been trampled.
In my opinion, gigX’s removal is a good thing for the game. I was aware of his personal threats to other players even back in 2014, a charactertrait that does not belong in the EVE community. FCs and diplomats no longer have to dance around his ego. The members do not have to be victims of his poor leadership.
Buh…Buh…But What About the Content?
The “gigX= content” narrative needs to die. GigX did not create content. He burned bridges. You want content? Stop blaming The Judge for gigX’s real life threats and subsequent ban. Put your ISK where your mouth is and go shoot stuff. EVE needs content creators, sure, but we don’t need alliance leaders backstabbing everyone and driving talent out of the game. If you think that you are unable to create content just because gigX is gone, you were never worthy of creating content to begin with.
Although, I still believe that there are pilots more worthy of the description “content creator” than gigX in the remains of CO2. Lucian James, Quentin Decker, and plenty of others with the charisma to lead. There are great pilots in CO2 that I once enjoyed flying with: veocine, atings, I7eveNl, enterion, Galendil, and many others who have recently left or joined after I left. I am sure their fighting spirit will endure through this season. Perhaps now these pilots will be free to find new ways of creating content unrestrained by the fragile ego of gigX.
The dissolution of CO2 is bad for EVE only if you believe that CO2 was gigX. CO2 was way more than gigX. We await the final word on the remnants of the alliance, but as long as the players and corporations, the true CO2, stay and move on to new experiences, EVE will not have lost much.
Now we just need CCP to fix structures.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the author was in NCdot, he was in the older version of Northern Coalition. This has now been corrected.
