Despite the fact that Eve is a virtual war zone 23/7 - especially in 0.0 - times of peace should be looked forward to, planned if possible and taken advantage of when they happen.

Pilots need to remember why they fight to hold such vast territory. It is to follow their own ambitions and to train in an environment that won’t cost them hundreds of millions of ISK.

All war and no peace eventually leads to death. In EVE terms, that death is the death of your corporation, your alliance and your coalition. Constant war without reprieve, without a chance to catch one’s breath, without the chance to rebuild what is lost, can only lead to loss. The ultimate loss.

During peace times, which won’t happen very often, you should concentrate on the following:

1) Peaceful expansion.

Just because you’re not at war doesn’t mean you can’t expand your Empire. You just need to do it through peaceful means. This is the perfect time to establish alliances to expand your territory or even NAP (Non-Aggression Pact) treaties with those alliances that cross your boundaries.

2) Rebuild.

Wars cost hundreds and thousands of ships. While a good economic base can keep up with these losses in wartime, new recruits and such may need to replace ships of their own. These types of pressures can be very daunting. So along with rebuilding what was lost (this includes POS’s as well) you will want to…

3) Store up.

Get ready during peace time to store up on more ships, more supplies, etc. The more you can store up in times of peace, the more you will have in reserve when the next war starts – and indeed there will always be a next war in the universe of EVE.

4) Train!

While it is arguable that nothing beats on-the-job training when it comes to PvP in EVE, there is always room for improvement. During peace times, your militia pilots should be fine-tuning strategies to use against a future enemy: doing the basics such as establishing gate camps, patrols, etc.

If there was something or some strategy that gave you fits during the last war, peace time is an opportunity to work on that weakness and be better prepared for next time.

5) Make friends with your enemies or crush them?

When you win a war that means you have defeated another corporation, another alliance – perhaps even a coalition of alliances. They are still that though: a corporation, an alliance, a coalition. Understand the wisdom here: an allied nation will always be stronger than a defeated one.

Yes, you can take that two different ways and both would be right. Decide now, which and how you will lean. Do you make friends with your former enemies, strengthen your Empire, but allow for future reprisal? Or do you crush your former enemies into dust, so they can never become a threat to you again?

6) Establish Peace Zones.

Your central systems should at all times be in Peace. This comes at sacrificing your outer systems to be used as primary defense areas, but by keeping your central systems in Peace, you allow other “rules” we’ve discussed to flourish.

7) Encourage peace times.

They won’t happen very often, but if you can somehow position yourself to have at least a third of your Empire live in peace at least once a quarter for a minimum of a couple of weeks, you should be able to maintain a very easy war-to-peace ratio that keeps your Empire secure, constantly expanding, and yet also have their times of peace or relative peace.

Project your territory in 2D and divide it into thirds. Choose one direction to expand into every quarter and have at least one third to take on a primarily defensive posture if anything. Be careful though. To build an empire, one can never be too predictable. Change things up from time to time.

In our next article we will discuss the Rule of War. Stay tuned!