When the battle is in full tilt and the yellow boxes start flashing, Imperium pilots can take comfort knowing that logistics pilots are there for them. Repswarm, the Imperium’s coalition-wide logistics SIG, wants to make sure that’s always the case, in every fleet. While for many pilots a fleet is an opportunity to listen to simple instructions, press F1, and receive killmails and PAPs, for a logistics pilot the experience can be very different. Logi requires the same battlefield awareness that all pilots rely on, but couples this with a need for rapid decision making and quick reflexes to deal with the ever-changing tactical landscape.
Whether you’re an experienced and dedicated logi pilot looking to step up into the logi anchor role or a little bee with an Alpha Clone who’s looking for an easy way to become a beloved and integral member of every fleet, Repswarm is for you. Repswarm offers training for new logistics pilots as well as those interested in being fleet logi anchors – a specialized leadership role for a fleet’s logi group.
The Advantage of Training
EVE is a complicated game with special considerations for many different roles, and logistics are no different. A pilot who has never flown logistics can easily become overwhelmed or confused when bombs start going off and half the fleet starts spamming broadcasts for armor or shield. Whereas on most fleets the standard watchlist needs only the fleet commander and specified hunters or other persons of interest, logistics watchlists need to include the FC, logi anchor, and other members of logistics. Especially when managing cap chains, it’s easy to become confused about who should be chained to whom. “Our goal is to help FCs by making sure that the pilots they have flying logistics know what they’re doing,” says Arrendis, the Imperium Director responsible for Repswarm.
Before any fleet leaves, Imperium fleet commanders are hard at work ensuring they have the resources necessary to complete the objectives, even when those objectives are just to get some kills and have a good time. Nevertheless, many skirmish and fleet commanders specialize in how to manage a fight, but some only have limited experience with the special considerations of logistics.
With the ever-shifting situations we find in most fights, it’s often impossible for the FC to also manage the logi group. Repswarm’s goal is “providing a pool of a pool of trained, experienced anchors and logistics leads who can step up when needed to get the logi sorted and keep an eye on things during the fight,” adds Arrendis.
While Repswarm recruitment focuses on future anchors, it’s important to consider that every logistics pilot is a potential anchor. Many of today’s regular logi anchors got their starts when the logi group was forming up and nobody stepped up to anchor. By training ahead of time and having an idea of what goes into it, even novice logi pilots can develop the skills necessary to step up and lead when the chips are down.
Supporting the Support: Repswarm Industries
One enduring trend of the market is that when things get dicey and losses start to mount up on the strategic level, importers and industrialists focus on manufacturing and importing damage dealing front-line combat ships. As a result, logistics, frequently the primary target in fleet fights, start to lose ships and can’t find replacements on the market. To secure against this, and to make sure those ships are always available and affordable, Repswarm Industries was born.
Repswarm Industries, or ‘Repsi,” fills orders and focuses on production and ensuring availability of logistics ships. “We have a small fixed profit margin which helps to keep our prices stable, helps ensure other people can contribute to the supply, and protects us against market fluctuations” says Riever Geist, one of the Imperium’s most experienced logistics leaders.
Repsi doesn’t aim to compete with market prices, and pilots are encouraged to get the best deal they can. Still, Repsi’s efforts serve to stabilize logi ship prices even when hard times fall on the markets, they serve as a bulwark against rising prices to make sure that logi ships are available. In turn, fewer ships are lost, and prices can stabilize. “REPSI’s not intended to replace the importers and private producers. We’re not looking to push people out of the market if that’s how they’re making their money. We’re just looking to backstop their efforts” adds Arrendis. Repsi’s profits are put back into expansion of its industrial capacity, ensuring that more expensive and more quantities of logi ships can be made available. It also aims to put new logi pilots in the seat of logi ships, which for new players can prove more expensive than standard FYF frigates, for example.
Because it is so focused, Repsi doesn’t always profit as much as other importers or producers. As a result, it always welcomes contributions and help from others. Pilots who would like to become regular suppliers can contact Repsi to help. When Imperium pilots deploy, those ships also need to make it to the front line, and Repsi is always appreciative of logistical help in relocating ships for logi pilots deployed abroad.
Logi is its own reward
For many pilots, fleets are an opportunity to get on a killmail and strike a blow against the Imperium’s enemies. When the red boxes are flashing and the enemy is fighting hard, everyone is thankful for logistics, but when the battle ends it’s the ships of the line that get the credit for completing the objective. For logistics pilots, the reward is different. Says Arrendis, “Logi pilots are some of the best people in the game. They don’t get killmarks, they don’t get killmails. If they’ve done their jobs well enough, they never even show up on zkill. They do what they do because it’s needed, and because they want to help out. If that’s a mindset that appeals to someone… Repswarm’s always recruiting.”
Repswarm is open to logistics pilots of any level of experience, from veteran anchors to aspiring newbees. If you’re interested in joining, or in supporting Repswarm Industries, look them up on the forums. In logistics, perhaps more than in any other role, every ship matters!
