CSM 8: New Eden Politics

     The CSM8 elections are right around the corner. For those that do not know CSM is the player counsil that reports feedback to CCP about events in New Eden. They are the "reps" of the people. I have read a couple different on the candidates and what they are running for and such. Forum threads such as Jita Corner which remain empty until around election time flare up. New websites hit the internet, and every writer in New Eden begins posting about it. For some great insight to the CSM process you can read The CSM 8 Election: An Early Analysis. A former Chairman of the CSM The Mittani knows what it takes to win one of these elections. But a quote that stuck out to me in his article was:

"Organization wins election. Nullsec blocs are the most organized entities in EVE, because the disorganized one get destroyed. STV(Single Transferable Vote) gives the voters a rosters of candidates to rank  your average unaligned voter in highsec will put in maybe one or two candidate names. Your average Nullsec voter, motivated by his bloc and their incentives/whipping methods, will fill out the entire ballot based on a voting guide provided to him by his leadership." ~ The Mittani. 

     To put it simply the Nullsec Blocs are the teamsters and unions of New Eden. Goonswarm is the Nation Education Association (educating the masses), the CFC/HBC/N3 as whole are members National Rifle Ascension (we love the fights), TEST the Dramatists Guild of America (cause TEST drama, BEST drama), and N3 Coalition is Independent Pilots Association (basically saying we are not CFC or HBC). All of these groups have their own ideas and plans of what should happen.  Sometimes they line up sometimes they don't.  Much like real life.
     This is yet again how New Eden reflects the real world. In my opinion its very close. As said in the by The Mittani, just because you have a good idea or a bunch of people like what you say when you talked to them doesn't mean that you'll get the votes. People from these Nullsec blocs are going to vote for their candidate or the one that leadership wants to, because leadership will show them why it is in there best interest to. And while most player in New Eden still live in High Sec mostly mission runners and miners (carebears) they are never organized enough to get a vote together. Or they simply don't know that the CSM is there. This leave the Nullsec blocs with greatest power to get members on to CSM.
    What is all for? Basically a chance to voice your opinion of how the game is going to CCP in person.  And give them ideas of what the players want to see for the future of the game. I read all the CSM7 minutes and there was a large push from them that CCP needed to work on Player owned Stations (POSes). They were talking about how this system has been broken for to long. And while CSM8 will be in before the release, of Odyssey, it was CSM7 that put a lot of work into making it happen.
     In terms of game play and changes to the game, this new group of candidates could make the focus more and more on Nullsec than High Sec and Low Sec. Most of the major players running are from the Nullsec blocs. While I will say that this is normal, it does make me a little worried that there is really not serious candidate for Faction Warfare, Low Sec, worm holes, and High Sec. I will say that Null is prolly the most broken system in EVE, but I fear that without a few members to counter what Nullsec blocs wants., the gains in Low Sec and Faction Warfare this past year will simply fade back.
   Either way, just like in the real world, election time is an exciting time in New Eden. I look forward to seeing who the final candidates are, and the changes they will help bring to New Eden.
     

Reclaiming of Heyd...

Back in Gallente Hands

            After more than two months in the hands of the Caldari, the star system Heydieles was reclaimed by Gallente Militia forces today. In a joint operation including, Villore Accord, Monkeys with Guns., Justified Chaos, Aideron Robotics, Sircarius Draconis, and other Gallente Faction Militia corps and Members, it was plexed and conquered.  While there was not much of a battle for the iHub as in some systems, the reclaiming of Heyd is very significant for a couple reasons. 

First and most importantly is  how close it is High Sec.  While for most Gal Mil members this does not mean much. For those just joining and scared to take the full plunge into Low, Heydieles is a system to use as a stepping stone. Only two jumps out of Villore, it can be a second staging home for Faction Warfare missions and ships for plexing and PVP. In truth Old Man Star would be the better claim for this but Heydieles is just as good. 

Second it gives the Gallente a great staging ares for the southern half of the map. With Vlillirier and Nennamaila on the Northern half of the map we were missing a southern home.  With Heyd we now have greater access to the south and are in a better position to take systems like Ladistier and Old Man Star which offer gateways in to High Sec. 

Third are the stations in Heyd. Yes I know that there are stations in Vlillirier and Nennamaila the two major home systems of the Gallente Militia,but those stations are lacking one very very important service. Clone Bays. In Faction Warfare access to a station is a great thing, but access to a station with cloning is even greater. Having a system with cloning means that if you are podded, then you arrive in your home system with your ships and gear ready to start the fight again.  This system also has access to industry  meaning that if one had access to the materials then the manufacturing of ships for the Federation is achievable, turning LP Blue Prints into Comets and Vexor Navy Issues . 

The last reason taking this system was important was it showed that the Federation Militia was making a come back. Though that had been said many times, taking Heyd which was a Federation stronghold for many months, showed that we had reached a turning point in the war. No longer are we simply holding on to the systems that we still have, but we are pushing the Caldari out of key systems and re-establishing ourselves there.  This new vigor that we are bringing to fights is wearing down the Caldari Militia as they struggle to push systems as there were doing. 

While the taking of Heyd is good victory. The war is far from over. Deep Void Merc Syndicate will still continue to fight and gather strength. And we will push the squids back and destroy them one ship at a time. 

Fly Safe #16

Make sure that you insure your ship before undocking. A fully insured ship will replace some of the Hull cost should you lose the ship. 

"New Eden Superstar" March~ X Gallentius

Pilot Note

In New Eden there are many many different pilots and many different ways to play. It is the greatest sandbox, where your dreams come true as well have you watch as they are crushed into thousand pieces. New Eden superstar is a look at a different capsuleer that Phox has encountered in New Eden and their take on EVE Online. I do not fully support them, but I feel that their views of the game are important to get a greater grasp of the New Eden Universe. New Eden Superstar are those chosen players that play EVE their way 

New Eden Superstar

X Gallentius

If you ever undock in Placid and Black Rise and hit up a few of the Faction Warfare sites, it will not be long before you site is visited by X Gallentius, XG for you new guys. If you are in the Militia no need to worry he will throw you wave and be on his way. If you are a pirate or Caldari Militia member though, beware. His Federation Navy Comet has some teeth and he enjoys using in as much as possible. So for the month of March "New Eden Superstar" X Gallentius.

 How long have you been playing EVE? What go you playing?
    Since 2008, right when FW started up. What kept me playing? A large fleet battle for a POS in Villasen as a noob pilot when FW first started up. I had no idea where Villasen was, but I died, went back to Orvolle and reshipped. Died again, etc... Our main fleet was in RR Domi's. The WTs kept coming. It was all very confusing, chaotic, and really cool! I was hooked.

   What role do you play in EVE, Pirate, Grifer, Education officer, Ect...What job did you start out with?
   "Militia Privateer" - I have pretty much always used FW and low sec to make isk.

  What makes you keep playing EVE?
The competition, fights, interacting with many different characters and corporations to keep the Gallente Militia strong.

 As a Faction warfare pilot why do you fight and  what is the best fight you have been in?
    We're all in Eve to pvp aren't we? As FW pilots, we fight so we don't get locked out of our stations! :D
I've been in way too many great fights, but one that stands out the best was a fight for a medium plex in Vlillirier. We crashed the plex and they were set up really well inside, but I was flying an Exeqeror Navy Issue ( a ship thought to be one of the worst faction cruisers in the game). It can go well over 2k m/s and can put out 800 dps, which was good at the time before the T1 cruiser buff.
   While everybody was fighting on the warp in, I burned out and killed their blackbird, then worked my way back killing cruiser after cruiser until finally my ENI went down in a glorious ball of fire. 
Here's Super Chair's perspective:
http://eve-search.com/thread/109241-1/page/all#111
Battle Report
http://state.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_related&kll_id=13202023

 Favorite kill you have had in EVE? 
   Way too many really cool kills to have a single favorite, but one really cool one was in Western Placid...
http://forums.qcats.com/blogs/x-gallentius/2011/03/06/tails-mew-6-mar-2011

   Everyone has a favorite time in EVE eithe a roam, opp, or just a certian place in the game, what was yours?
    The most fun I've had in Eve is right now in JUSTK. The improvements to low sec with FW and with Crimewatch have been great. Gallente FW is currently getting its teeth kicked in and we're not backing down. Fights every day, pretty much all day.

 Last one, what advice do you have new players or new pvpers?
   To new pvpers: Join FW. It's the quickest way to get a stable source of income in the game (while doing something fun). Get into as many fleets as you can. Get on comms, and then get into a good corp (one that is connected with the rest of your faction's militia) that lives in low sec. You will have more fun and learn more about pvp doing this than in almost any other part of the game.


XG is a supporter of the Gallente Millitia. Beside PVP he is a very active poster on the EVE Forums in the War and Tactics subsection. He is good on the spot FC and in the three months have been in the Militia I have never seen him docked up. According to battleclinic.net his favorite ship is the Federation Navy Comet and he as turned me to this ship as well with its deadly speed and great solo ablities. I'd like to thank XG for answering my questions. For the Federation, March EVE Superstar X Gallentius.

The Devil that Dared the Comet...

We all have that moment. That time when we look into the stars and see the Void in all its wonder. We begin to lose track of time and forget the Fly Safe rules, always check D-Scan. And such it happen to me. I was in the Void. My Grooveshark playing in the background as I chatted on voice comms and in chat windows, when a suddenly a ship pulls out of warp drive. A lone Daredevil, I quickly tried to align out of my orbit and warp away, but it was two late. An overheated warp distributor caught me and I began to take damage. With nothing left to do and submitting that my ship was lost I locked the target and opened fire, I released my Warrior II scout drones and turned on my MWD.  I was going to fight...

When asked about Daredevils EVEwiki says that the Guardian Angel Frigate is a tough nut to crack. It carries with it a 200% bonus to Hybrid Turret damage, a 10% bonus to Falloff range, and lastly a 10% bonus to the Velocity factor of Stasis Webifiers. The ship, like my Comet, can be used as both a brawler or Solo Kite as it has good speed and great damage. With a faction stasis web it will also slow ships down to a point where it can easily pick them off.

Normally this is not a fight that I want to engage in. In most cases Pirate faction ships are better than that Navy Faction as they are more like a Tech 2 ship requiring two sets of skills to train. Also there were two other pilots in the system I was in and I was unsure who was all flying together. But never the less I was put into a corner and forced to swap blows. 

He chewed through my shield rather fast which was to be expected as my Comet's shield are low and my ship is designed to speed tank. With only a Warp Disruptor he is unable to turn off my MWD though and I am able to pull some range and gain speed on him, giving me a chance to start my speed tank.

Here is where I noticed something odd. First he was only moving at 1087km/s this told mt that he was not MWD fitted but he had an Afterburner. Second my drones were not taking damage, meaning that, he could not track the fast Warrior IIs to shoot them down. Knowing this I saw that I could win this fight as long as a stay out of his Web's range. Unable to shoot my drones meant that I could apply DPS with them and my 125mm rail guns were not as an important factor for dealing damage. So I change my orbital plan and set a course to keep him in a  24km range, the range of my Warp Disputor II. I also over heated it giving it an added 3km range. Then I found what he was aligning too and did the same. Watching his ship and making corrections to my flight path to keep my transversal velocity closer to 0 allowed for my guns to hit after a change in ammo.

It was only a matter of time before he died. After the fight I swooped in and scooped the loot, interested to see what he had. The Killmail showed a faction web and Dread Guristas Ammo some of the most expensive in the game. Over all I felt that it was a good fight, it is always fun to kill a ship that is 100 million more ISK than your own. But looking at the fit I was not as impressed as I was during the fight. But still it was "GF" and you know what, that 80 mill ISK faction web will sell and looks nice in the wallet.

Kill linked below
Killmail

The New Fight....

 In a post that I made You Never Know How Strong You Are, I talked about how the Gallente Militia was digging in and preparing for a long defensive war. As war in the trenches heated up, leaders of the major Militia alliances and corporations saw we if could not win the Kills/Loses war, then we needed to win the ISK war.  So it was decided that we needed a new fleet comp, and one that could attack and defend systems at a short notice and with quick response time. With this in mind our greatest pilots and leader commissioned a new fit, a cheap fit that met of the requirements the Militia needed.  When future Federation pilots talk about this, they will proclaim these ships as Heroes of the Federation. Introducing the XG-N and the XG-C, or as the pilots call them the, Derp Atron and Attrition Catalyst

As the Skies over Black Rise and Placid filled with ships, small gangs that sought out the destruction of each other the Attrition Catalyst and Derp Atron, became part of the fight at a different level.  The Attrition Catalyst is a simple ship by design that seeks out DPS everything on the field around it. The fit for the A-CAT is cheap only 3-4 million ISK a ship and fit. Laying out just under 330 DPS it is truly a monster in large numbers. The Derp Atron is much the same way. It is a simple fitted ships that relays on a fast lock time and its speed to approach a Target and deliver its damage as fast a possible. With fittings and hull this ship only runs about 1.5-1.8 million ISK and while he 119 DPS is nothing great it, in large numbers the ships are able to cause a lot of target confusion and generate high alphas to be effective.

The strategy in the war has changed, with the inclusion of Ev0ke, a large German Null Sec Alliance, in Faction War, the Gallente Militia had to changed. On the weekend when at their strongest Ev0ke is able to put together large T1 Cruiser gangs that number 40-60 people that have full logistical support.  Most alliance in Faction Warfare cant do this. Ev0ke is also able to bring Null Sec FCs that understand need of fleet comps that are standard, and have the ability to get their Pilots into these fleet very quickly. So the changes have been made in the Gallente Militia to recruit hard. We need pilots that are able to fly ships fast and now it many cases.  While other ships like the Incursus, and Federation Navy Comet are good ships the both cost up to 17-20 million ISK if tech 2 fitted and takes a bit of time to train and learn to fly. It is even harder to get new pilots in to cruisers when they are worried about ISK and how to gain income in Faction Warfare. So the first part of the new strategy is to get new pilots into ships that are effective in combat while encouraging PvP engagements and fleet participation.

The second part of the strategy is to make PVP for the Squads expensive and demoralize their ranks. I have a few battle reports to show what I mean. This battles take place in Aldranette Solor System. The first engagement was Derp Atrons versus a nice Squad Frig Fleet, Tristan, Condor, Incursus and Condor. In this first fight we didn't lose a ship but they lost close 40 million ISK while we only put about 7 million on the field. In the Second fight, our Derps versus Incursus, Merlin, Incursus, Tristan, and Hawk, they lost 94 mill total, where we lost three Derps for a grand total 5 mil. In the amount that we gained in ISK and modals drops we were able to quickly buy and refit seven more of the Derps and get them back out there on the field.  It is that kind of turn around that make this new strategy disheartening those that fight against it.

This new fight has only spiced up Faction Warfare, with fleets of the new A-Cats and Derp Atrons ready to be deployed the Gallente Militia is no longer on a Defensive hold, but instead taking the fight the Squads one system at a time.

HATE DETECTED FIRING FRIEND CANNON......

Dust Bunnies dressed in Business Suits

War is what makes the worlds go round in New Eden. And with the expansion of the Universe on DUST 514 it is hitting planet side. While that is all good for those Bunnies that have a PS3, for the common pilot in New Eden we are a left wondering well how can we help and enjoy it. Enter the Orbital Strike or as the Stockholders of Deep Void Merc Syndicate call, The Orbital Friendship Beam.  

Believing that Friendship is Magic is a key part of being in DV-MS, and to celebrate this the corporation has opened a section for the DUST Bunnies. In DV-MS we wish to help our Bunnies in their fight planet did so we have all come prepared with the new "Orbital Bombardment" hybrid weapon charges. We are eager to let show off our new toys and rain down "friendship" on the planet below.

So let "Friendship Reign." If you have a  PS3 and Download the Dust Beta of the PS3, Deep Void Merc Syndicate is accepting applications.