I started my EVE career as a Caldari newbro a little over four years ago and dabbled a tiny bit in several aspects of the game. I’ve spent a few weeks out in null sec, almost a month in wormhole space, but the majority of my time has been living in High Sec. Following my departure from wormholes, I decided that I needed a vacation and thus took a five-month break to recharge. The last time I had seen a Triglavian ship was when I ventured into dead space with a filament and a Gila. So when a friend and I went on a short mining trip a week after I returned to the game recently, I was surprised to find a plethora of new content: the conduit sites, the Guardians Gala, and Triglavian invasions.
Over Valentine’s weekend, February 14th – 17th, the Lonetrek region of Caldari space fell under siege from the newest threat to New Eden: The Triglavian Collective. Thanks in part to the capsuleers concerted effort to both investigate and stem the tide of this new faction, a great deal has been learned about our current adversary, including strengths, weaknesses, fleet comps and staging areas to name a few. However, despite having been a year since the first invasion took place, many capsuleers continue to find themselves caught off guard when the Triglavians strike, myself included.
In the 0.5 Lonetrek system of Litiura this was clearly illustrated by several wrecks spotted around NPC stations, stargates, and other locations over the four days of the offensive. These wrecks, consisting of everything from tech one industrials to naval issue battleships, were all prey to the roaming Triglavian fleets. Litiura alone saw the loss of 22 ships starting on February 17th. The first loss was an Orca near one of the system’s moons.
According to the Orca’s owner, Tita, “It happened due to the aforementioned, in situations of apparent calm the pilots take a more distracted attitude.” In short, the pilot was not paying close enough attention, an issue that is unfortunately the cause of many deaths throughout New Eden. But Tita added that the loss had virtually no effect on her or her corporation.
“The lost ships in my corporation were replenished the same day and the activity resumed the same day as soon as possible.” When asked about the impact these invasions have on systems like Litiura, she explained that Litiura is geared heavily towards mining. This is supported by the 33 player stations, 29 of which are Athanors, but Tita explained that during the invasion “the mining activity in Litiura was paralyzed almost entirely.”
Despite the onslaught lasting only four days, the loss of income meant that the fuel consumed by the mining platforms was “wasted entirely” and, due to the severity of the threat, much of the ore pulled from the moons “ended up spoiling in space.” Based off of current Jita prices, the consumed fuel would equate to a roughly 20.7 million ISK loss per station, totaling a hefty 601.3 million ISK loss over the four-day siege. While there were miners observed working throughout the system, Tita said that under normal conditions mining fleets are significantly more active. Even though Tita’s corporation at the time, Non Plus Ultra ESP, lost a total of 1.75 billion isk to the Triglavian menace, this was not by far the greatest loss in the region.
This Rattlesnake was one of if not the greatest loss to the Triglavians during the entire offensive. It is currently unclear exactly what happened as the pilot was reached out to but has yet to comment. Another unlucky soul lost this Bestower to the Triglavian menace, however like the rattlesnake, was unavailable for comment.
Despite this, a wealth of information was located from none other than the most well known treasure trove of knowledge in all of New Eden: Eve University’s wiki page. The Uni has arguably the most concise information on the Triglavians collected by capsuleers thus far, delving into each of the combat sites, the effects placed on invaded systems, and each of the ships that comprise the roaming fleets. It’s clear the Uni has done their homework, and those who’ve spent time with the pilots there can confidently assure that any new capsuleers will be taught how to properly navigate and/or engage the Triglavians when they come knocking.
The Triglavian threat is clearly not one to be taken lightly, both from an economic and military standpoint. The fleets that accompany the invasions are clearly not to be trifled with when lacking sufficient planning and support. However, the threat can be relatively throttled, which was echoed by Tita who asserted that “with the right equipment, the mining ships are absolutely capable of dealing with the Triglavian scouts”, a point verified while investigating on the ground. A fleet of Orca’s supported by a Caldari battleship were seen fending off an entire Triglavian raiding party with ease near one of the Athanors in Litirua. The capsuleers seemed to sustain no observable damage to any of the five or so ships in the mining fleet. It was unclear if no damage was incurred, however if there was, it would have likely been a few drones that were lost at most. These invasions, both the victories and defeats, demonstrate clearly the resilience and tenacity of the New Eden capsuleers. Despite our newfound foe being ruthless and savage, they can be killed and possibly even beaten into submission with persistence and time.
