When Rixx Javix joined The Tuskers, he had finally fulfilled one of his biggest dreams within EVE. Nestled into the low security system of Hevrice, The Tuskers were one of the biggest players in EVE's expansive world of pirates. But unlike much of EVE, which to many remains just a game, The Tuskers take themselves seriously. Very seriously. They are the best of the best, and they make sure that everyone knows it.
"They were the torchbearers for the small gang pirate organizations that became very well known," Rixx Javix told me.
The Tuskers had forged a reputation as one of the most tenacious organizations in EVE, and they were ardent to protect that reputation. Tusker members were nothing short of elite combatants, the most skilled pirates who enjoyed manipulating the odds to be always in their favor. And finally, after so much time spent pirating, Rixx Javix was able to join their ranks.
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Rixx Javix isn't just your average EVE player. He brings a passion to EVE that transcends the way that most players engage with video games. For Rixx, EVE is a culture of which he is a participant. He channels his years spent in advertising to create wonderful works of art, as well as operating one of the more popular blogs in EVE Online known as Eveoganda. As a Tusker, Rixx brought that passion to their brand, hosting popular events like "Death Race", where pilots would race each other through gauntlets of hostile players, chasing billions of ISK worth of prizes.
But after a year and a half of flying with the best of the best, Rixx Javix woke up one morning to find himself sitting in the default NPC corporations that every new player finds themselves belonging to. Rixx Javix had been kicked from his corporation.
"We'd had some run-ins—me and the CEO," Rixx told me. During Rixx time with The Tuskers, a drastic change in leadership resulted in a swelling tension between him and the new CEO. The Tuskers operate under a strict code known as The Tusker Code, one that was now being brought forth to convict Rixx for infringements he claims he never committed.
For Rixx, it was evident that the new leadership cared little for The Tusker Code, wielding it as a weapon to enforce his own prejudices. When senior Tusker members insulted Rixx's family, the new CEO refused to involve himself. When Rixx Javix was baited into a one-on-one duel with an enemy pilot and then made to look as if he had wrongly aggressed him, the new CEO sided with the enemy. When Rixx engaged an enemy in a ship that didn't adhere to the Tusker doctrine, he was berated. The list goes on, eventually leading to a heated battle on the Tusker forums that resulted in Rixx being evicted from the corporation altogether.
"It became this huge incident on the forums," Rixx said. "I decided to fight that."
Rixx was, understandably, baffled and disillusioned. The corporation he had spent almost two years with, and countless others wanting to join, was nothing like what he had expected. Where Tuskers were strict, protecting their darling reputation like a mother bear would protect her cubs, Rixx played EVE to enjoy his time, eagerly trading his ships and money if it meant drawing a great story out of it.
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"It's so important and so serious," Rixx said regarding the way Tusker's view EVE.
So, what's a pirate to do when his circle turns their back on him? Start his own, of course. Moving his assets from the Tusker station in Hevrice to a different station within the same system, Rixx formed Stay Frosty: A pirate corporation with a different kind of attitude. Leveraging the popularity of his blog, Stay Frosty grew rapidly. Within weeks Rixx had already attracted dozens of members, a number that continued to rise daily. Even The Tuskers couldn't prevent their own pilots from leaving for the allure of a corporation that existed as the antithesis to what they had built.
"The idea was we were going to be exactly what I thought a pirate corporation should be," Rixx said, adding that he also intended to stick to the true Tusker code before the new CEO bent it to suit his purposes. "We would just do whatever we felt like. You didn't have to be on comms. You could fly whatever you wanted to fly, risk whatever you wanted to risk."
"We just wanted to have a great time."
Stay Frosty operated in a way that was almost exactly opposite to the way The Tuskers worked. Where The Tuskers had a rigorous recruitment system, Stay Frosty offered open recruitment to pilots of all persuasions. Where Tusker's would frequently kick members for not meeting their strict standards of excellence, Stay Frosty allowed players to enjoy EVE on their schedule and their terms. But as Stay Frosty continued to blossom and grow, The Tuskers couldn't silently watch as one of their former members built an army in their front yard. And so they took action.
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The Tuskers began multiple campaigns to eliminate Stay Frosty and push them out of their territory in Hevrice. Utilizing Stay Frosty's open recruitment initiatives, they planted spies within the corporation while others joined with the intent of defecting when the betrayal would be the most brutal. One of Stay Frosty's directors managed to do just that. Working with two other Tuskers, she managed to take over Stay Frosty's communication channels, even seizing the Stay Frosty forums and spilling the leadership intel channels into the open for anyone to read.
"That was pretty funny," Rixx said.
That attitude is, as Rixx told me, what kept Stay Frosty alive. Where The Tuskers were looking for any and all opportunities to bleed them, Stay Frosty just wanted to have an interesting time within EVE. Through multiple separate wars, they persevered against the pirate faction, slipping through their blockades, engaging them in fights, and just doing what they could to have a good time.
Since that time, Stay Frosty has flourished into one of the biggest pirate corporations in the game. Though their conflict with The Tuskers never ended with a dramatic bang, Stay Frosty has been stirring up hornet nests wherever they go.
"We have no desire to become a huge power player in EVE, in the end our role is causing trouble."
Propaganda photos created by Rixx Javix
