The Imperium war machine rumbles, and Tribute is on fire. Reports of activity on the war front are coming in to the INN News Desk quickly with interesting stories happening every day. So much action has happened already, it’s hard to believe that this deployment is really only a week old. We’ll do a roundup of some of the news that has been covered here, as well as some smaller reports that have come in from the front lines.
Didn’t Need That Sotiyo – NCPL Abandons Vulnerable Structure
Our first story, a pair of NCPL Sotiyos in Tribute were reinforced by the Imperium this past weekend. Tactical maneuvers by The Imperium lead to successful attacks on not one, but two major targets.
Shortly after The Mittani’s State of the Goonion address, Imperium scouts spotted the first Sotiyo in PBD-0G and knew that it would make for an ideal target. The Sotiyo became vulnerable and was reinforced by the Imperium on August 4th, causing PL to scramble up defense forces to stand by at the Sotiyo in preparation for the next attack. In the meantime, Imperium scouts had spotted another Sotiyo in MJI3-8. The next day, reports came in that the NCPL defense fleet were strongly fortified at the PBD-0G Sotiyo, and had been for hours. The Imperium assault fleet decided instead to reinforce the undefended Sotiyo in MJI3-8 while the NCPL defense fleet waited for a fight in PBD-0G.
With the attack complete, and the defense fleet robbed of any kind of good fights, the PBD-0G Sotiyo came out of reinforcement. It’s worth noting, however, that Extra Large Engineering Complexes actually have a bit of a longer vulnerability window than a Keepstar. Though the reinforcement timer in PBD-0G had reset, the vulnerability timer on a Sotiyo lasts 26 hours and still had another 90 minutes left when the NCPL defense fleet packed it in and moved on. We’re unsure at this point if it was that they were needed elsewhere, or if they simply just thought that the Imperium wouldn’t strike again. Unfortunately for NCPL that seems to be a running theme in this war, because the Imperium did indeed strike, rage forming a fleet to once again reinforce the PBD-0G Sotiyo.
This may have just been a rough start for Panfam though, as they begin to settle in to this war and score some victories of their own.
Imperium Ratting Supers and Rorquals Get A Reality Check
No alliance should ever give in to complacency, and a war every now and then is a good way to make sure that it doesn’t happen. With the ratting and mining numbers in Delve being relatively public knowledge, it should come as no surprise that there will be those who can’t be bothered with any of that PvP stuff, and would rather keep mining or shooting rats. It didn’t even take very long for things to go awry, as even during the SotG there were Rorquals and Supers falling like wheat to the scythe, covered by Johnny Crowe. INN’s Jack Mellish did a round up of a few more of the Rorqual and super losses that have occurred over the last week. You’ll want to have a look at those to see what not to do during a deployment.
Stirring The Pot – War Propaganda
Every powerful war machine benefits from effective propaganda. It can serve to both strike fear into the enemy, and bolster the spirits of the ally. It could be argued that few do it better than The Imperium. INN’s Moomin Amatin is largely considered one of the best at raising the ire of the enemy, and didn’t waste any time with a piece that nicely sets the stage for war.
We like to see things from all sides here at INN. With many of our staff being from NC. or Panfam, it should come as no surprise that we’ll get to see things from their perspective as well. INN’s Vulxanis Viceroy came in with a piece viewing the current conflict through the eyes of a Pandemic Horde line member.
Battle Report Central
As can be expected, battle reports come in at a prodigious rate during a deployment such as this one. The Imperium didn’t travel all that distance to dock up, so plenty of action has been reported up to this point! It turns out that the first battle report was submitted by myself, a tricky affair involving NCdot supers and a missing cyno, resulting in 436b ISK lost by NC.
A couple of days later things were flaring up back in Delve, as The Mittani himself issued a call out for those with alts in Delve to form up and defend the I-Hub in 1-SMEB. INN’s Johnny Crowe reported on the ensuing battle and victory by The Imperium.
The Imperium has made no bones about getting comfy in Hakonen. Citadels continue to anchor as the space around the system becomes more full. Of course it’s not a piece of home without a Fortizar, and NCPL brought out the big guns to prevent the Imperium from anchoring one. INN’s Moomin Amatin reported on the battle which was a losing effort for The Imperium, but one that served to actually strengthen the Goons’ resolve.
Johnny Crowe once again brings us to the front lines with his tale of moving up to staging and immediately getting into some fights. We hope to hear more from Johnny as he continues to dodge antimatter out on the front lines and bring in those entertaining reports!
INN’s FroggyStorm came to us live from the front lines for his report on the anchoring of a second Fortizar in Hakonen by The Imperium. Though the Imperium defense fleet put up a valiant effort, it was not enough to withstand NCPL. Knowing the legendary Goon persistence there are likely many more Fortizars on the way.
A Week at War – What Else?
It was an interesting week behind the lines, as well. The re-positioning of NCdot and Mercenary Coalition from Syndicate has only accelerated the advance of Sister Bliss and the Initiative. In the last week, they took 37 valuable R64 money moons across the region, and show no signs of having had their fill of blood. At the same time, Imperium Astrahus-class citadels, dubbed ‘Roach Motels’ have been springing up across Tribute. In a ping, the Mittani promised more to come, in each weekday’s USTZ for at least another week. These citadels are being armed and set freeport for the benefit of anyone interested in roaming around Tribute to harass the residents.
That’s a wrap on our roundup for this week! If you have any of your own stories from the war, or any other EVE Online stories, hit that submission button up at the top! We want to hear from you!
