Frost Ees OP and her War Updates have become mandatory watching for all those involved in World War Bee. The Youtuber has combined a stylish presentation style with thorough and in-depth analysis. INN interviewed EVE Online’s most relevant commentator and find out the secrets behind her success.
INN: First, hello and thank you for joining us. Would you like to introduce yourself? Who are you in EVE? What is your experience so far? When did you get started producing these videos on nullsec politics?
Frost Ees OP: Hello and thanks for having me. I have been playing EVE since very late 2013; I spent a couple of years mission running in highsec, a bit of faction warfare, nullsec exploration before I joined a Provi Bloc alliance. My corp then switched to Stainwagon in Catch, where I fought TEST as a line member. As that war was lost, we retreated to Querious and joined an alliance called Badfellas in the Dronelands. There, I started to FC home defense fleets, then got pulled into the war with DARKNESS where I became a coalition FC for DCU and the military leader of my alliance. That war then led to a war with Triumvirate and then Skill Urself. After 18 months of non-stop FCing, I burnt out and left the game for a year or so.
After a few breaks, I fully returned in October 2019, at which time my old corp had now become part of RECON. This is the time when I started producing videos on WWB2.
INN: You’ve been widely praised for your coverage and content. What was the idea behind it and what was your aim for the videos?
Frost Ees OP: The first video came as a consequence of the fourth attempt at PAPI anchoring a Keepstar in NPC Delve. I became aware that many people were not totally clear on how and why it happened and so I produced a video discussing both its tactical and strategic elements. From there, I was asked to do more by my first viewers and six months later, we are here.
INN: But this isn’t your first outing into YouTube content. You still create content for other games, right?
Frost Ees OP: Yes. I started the channel back in mid-2019 and its focus was on sci-fi based gaming and there was a lot of emphasis on a turn-based strategy game called Planetfall, but I covered other games such as X4 Foundations, No Man’s Sky, etc. As this is not currently my full-time job, I have limited time with which to produce, so it does look like I will be focusing solely on EVE Online in the future.
INN: So, the war has been a big opportunity for you. But there are other streamers and news channels out there. To what do you attribute your success? Also, do you think you’ve found a corner in the market?
Frost Ees OP: Yes, there are many streamers and news channels. Each has an area in which they excel. I feel that my strength is understanding and appreciating the human element of the game, most notably how alliances operate and the strategies they call upon in sovereignty conflicts.
Also, many EVE creators focus on streaming, whilst I lean much more heavily towards produced content and this usually attracts a different audience.
INN: In your videos you manage to cover the grand strategic moves, but you also like to focus on the smaller alliances as well. Is this something you enjoy: highlighting the actions of the little guys in this big war?
Frost Ees OP: The grand strategic moves can so easily go sideways because one did not consider the smaller events that may eventually snowball into a disaster. In large conflicts, many smaller alliances can influence strategic outcomes if left unchecked and understanding their motivations for being involved in the conflict is something I consider crucial.
INN: I know that the Initiative. always looks out for your comments on their “latest fashion” as the Ship Divas of EVE! Are there other details that you enjoy highlighting?
Frost Ees OP: Whilst my role in the war updates is to report, it does not mean that I cannot throw in a little humor now and then and this does reinforce what I said about focusing on the human element of the game! I am still waiting to see the Initiative’s Spring Collection!
INN: You stated above that you fly for RECON in PamFam but your videos are completely unbiased. Was this always your aim and how did you achieve it?
Frost Ees OP: If one is to make the best possible strategic decisions, it requires that one does not underestimate or ignore an opponent’s abilities and so bias is the worst enemy. Furthermore, my aim is to report, not sway opinion and the way that I achieve this is by placing the highest value on demonstrable facts, diligent analysis, and validating the source of all information to the best of my abilities.
INN: Looking at the current war, do you think we have reached a point where players on both sides have become toxic, with an inability to listen to other points of view? Or is it still in the realm of friendly tribalism?
Frost Ees OP: One cannot paint every player of each alliance/coalition with the same brush. There will always be some players who are toxic and play to win in local. There will be some for whom their alliance/coalition culture is deeply personal to them, which makes them highly tribal, and then there are all of the other players who each have their own take on what EVE means to them. That is EVE and this is what makes it so unique.
INN: Do you think this war is a clash of cultures?
Frost Ees OP: No, I do not. I speak to players from all sides and from many different alliances and I see as many similarities as differences in opposing alliances. This is why I started the Alliance Spotlight series to highlight the variety in culture amongst EVE’s alliances.
INN: What are your thoughts of the echo chambers where players find themselves in? Imperium players will reiterate that PAPI will leave, but PAPI players think that the Imperium will abandon 1DQ.
Frost Ees OP: Morale is one of the most important aspects of fighting wars in EVE Online, as wars can only be won if the pilots log on. It is not like they are stuck in a trench with no way to get home except to fight. Therefore, good propaganda helps to maintain a high morale, which keeps players logging in and this allows for strategic operations to become achievable.
INN: As a strategic commentator, do you have any patterns you are seeing or predictions for the next few months?
Frost Ees OP: As the title of one of my recent videos states, we have entered a period of grinding structures on both sides and I expect this will last until either there are no structures left and/or PAPI make an assault on the constellation that includes 1DQ1-A to move the war forward. For the Imperium, it is now a waiting game, with a few harassment skirmishes along the way. Their play appears to maintain all their warfare resources, both in terms of ships and player time in the defense of said constellation.
INN: Frost, thank you very much for your time and I’m sure our readers are eagerly awaiting the next War Update video!
Frost Ees OP: OK, thank you for the opportunity of an interview and catch up soon!
