“35… now 48.. 55 now. They are undocking” – UI Scout
Bugs in EVE Online, whether known or unknown, are a big pain. This time, an old bug fooled an Imperium FC, resulting in the slaughtering of a POS repairing fleet.
The Preamble
On January 14, in the Venal region system of KK-L97, Imperium forces engaged Out of Sight over a GSF-owned Cadmium POS reinforcement timer. The engagement began very simply: A fleet of Jackdaws and shield logistics, under the control of Lemba of DOKDO, left from Imperium staging in D2-HOS to save two reinforcement timers. The first of the two belonged to Amok in Black Rise, while the second, DOKDO-owned POS timer, was in Venal. As Imperium forces headed to KK-L97, there was little sign of OOS and as repping started on the shields, everything seemed to be going as planned. Suddenly, as the shields reached around 38%, intelligence came in over command channels of OOS staging growing in numbers.
Scouts reported, “35… now 48.. 55 now. They are undocking HFIs and Sleipnirs.”
The Imperium fleet was ordered to hug the shields and continue repairing the POS. Scouts then reported that the OOS fleet was two jumps out, after bridging into P-FSQE. OOS scouts came into KK-L97 and shortly after, so did the rest of the OOS fleet. As OOS poured in, the Imperium fleet was ordered to take shelter inside the POS while command channels and Jabber pings went out for reinforcements. OOS began shooting the Cadmium POS and three dreadnoughts were said to be on the way to help with the kill. However, just as the dreadnoughts came up on the Imperium’s radar, they quickly disappeared presumably due to their close proximity to stronger Imperium ‘assets’. Everything was going well… or so thought the Imperium FC.
The Fight
This was where the bug came into play. Reinforcements were on their way from both sides and everyone was ready to fight. From inside the POS, Lemba’s fleet was not afraid, as the POS Management Window was showing an increase of 3% on shields since the hostile gang landed on grid. Up until this point, due to the bug everyone believed that the POS was holding. However, suddenly at 1340 as the window showed the POS at 41% shields, the control tower exploded, leaving the entire shield fleet stranded in OOS’s interdictor and heavy interdictor bubbles. As the Imperium fleet was being slaughtered, command communications channels caught on fire as Lemba yelled for help. Lemba’s fleet would not be saved, but Imperium reinforcements led by Teehee Otomeye made it in time to engage OOS. In the end, Teehee’s fleet of Hurricanes would also be demolished from the artillery volleys of OOS forces.
At one point during the fight, OOS brought in a Phoenix and Naglfar to kill off the Imperium fleet, which was the cue for Imperium supers and capitals to jump in. The two dreadnoughts were destroyed shortly after. OOS had attempted at towering the moon, but it was promptly destroyed by the supercarriers.
The Cost
The Imperium forces took heavy losses and had initially lost the ISK war as well as the strategic objective. The Imperium defended with seventeen supercarriers, nine dreadnoughts, fifteen carriers, two dozen Hurricanes and a Jackdaw fleet for a total of 122 pilots. The eventually outnumbered OOS fleet attacked with two dreadnoughts and a Sleipnir/Hurricane Fleet Issue doctrine. The Imperium took 11.8B ISK in damages in the form of Jackdaw and Hurricane fleets as well as a Naglfar, while OOS took 10.6B in losses. The ISK war, although relatively even after the Imperium escalated, was won by OOS. The strategic objective was finally won by the Imperium, as another tower onlined in place of the recently destroyed POS.
The Bug
The bug that led to all of the confusion during the fight is pretty easy to understand. From within the shields of the tower, a pilot with roles can view the POS Management Window. In this window, one can see the shield resists, shield, armor and hull HPs, as well as many other options for controlling the tower. However, if said POS is being attacked, the HP for the POS is not correctly displayed in this window. Quite the opposite, it actually continues to show that the POS shields are slowing regenerating. The only work around according to a few sources, is to use the pos gunner view to target the POS with a turret. This allows you to view the HP live.
Let us know in the comments if you have seen this same bug/issue!
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by Lemba.
