After its first chaotic week, EVE Online's Havoc expansion is living up to its name. From pirate insurgencies to seeing more players since Uprising released, Havoc is proving to be a jolt of adrenaline for New Eden.
While Havoc launched with an unexpected bang thanks to one of the largest heists - if not the largest heist - in EVE Online history, Havoc truly kicked off as players started to enlist with either the Angel Cartel or Guristas pirates, ready to sow chaos and corruption among the systems of New Eden.
While the Insurgency was still 48 hours away after the launch of EVE's expansion, that didn't stop the Empire Militias and Pirate Militias from staging and firing off opening salvos at each other. Those early days saw battles in systems like Turner, Floseswin and even in Zarzakh itself, while GalMil and the Caldari fought off the Guristas across the galaxy.
Angel Cartel seems to have been the more popular destination, given that it still allows easy access into the largest trading hub of EVE Online , Jita 4-4, but both sides bolstered their numbers in the coming days ahead of the planned pirate insurgencies.
For me, it was an interesting time. As someone who has seen my career and playstyle change over the years, from a humble miner in high-security space to an explorer in my trusty Astero, and now living in lowsec space as part of a player pirate corp, I've spent much of my time in EVE solo. Yet Angel Cartel's call was strong - helped tremendously by the fact that my favorite ship, The Machariel, is of Angel Cartel origin. It felt like I was destined to make my pilgrimage to Zarzakh and pledge loyalty to the Angels.
That didn't mean it would be easy - and given how far away these warzones were from Jita 4-4 and my other staging area, Ouelletta - getting a number of ships into an area where I can be effective was key. All while knowing that roving bands of pirates would want to pod me, and Amarr and Minmatar players would have carte-blanche to attack, regardless of a system's security status.
One harrowing moment came on Wednesday night, the day after the expansion launched. Determined to add a few more ships to my growing Zarzakh hangar (I'd already moved an Exequror Navy Issue, a couple of Thrasher Fleet Issues, a Stratios and a few frigates), I undocked with my Machariel - which I never do because usually I lose them. Knowing that Jita would likely be camped, I fitted it for a closer-quarters fight than I normally do, determined to fight my way out of the station.
Yet when the loading screen went away, and I watched that beautiful silhouette against the docking perimeter of Jita 4-4, no war targets were in sight. I audibly whooped at my PC, alone in the room I was playing, mind you, and set myself to navigate the next thirteen jumps, using a shorter route through low and nulllsec instead of a safer, but longer, highsec route.
And yet, as I neared the gate to the last system I would need to pass through before taking te Jovian gate to Zarzakh, I had yet to see an enemy fleet. However, the blink of militia chat going off let me know that my luck would change. A fleet was blockading the jump into Alsavoinen, a fleet thirty-strong.
I steeled myself to at least take some of these ships down with me, not expecting a battleship fight myself but not quite sure what was waiting for me. I didn't expect to make it through - yet when I warped in at the gate, I realized I had a small window I could jump through.
It was one of the more nerve-wracking moments in my EVE career. This was a multi-billion ISK ship I had bought and kept stored away because I was too afraid to lose it for years. Now I was rushing it down the barrel of an enemy fleet, daring them to take me on.
However, I was more determined just to escape unscathed, worried that while the fleet ahead of me was made up of frigates mostly, they had stronger allies nearby that they could call. So my Machariel, this powerful and incredibly nimble battleship, became a blockade runner.
I narrowly escaped as I started to see every war target on my overview start to target me. The flash of warping into Alsavoinen and knowing I could likely get away before the bulk of their fleet made it through had me throw my fist in the air in triumph.
Seeing the Zarzakh gate materialize in front of me, shrouded in its volumetric mists, was such a welcome sight. And then getting through Zarzakh and docking at The Fulcrum was a mini-victory in of itself as Guristas pirates were camping some of the gates in the system that day, mostly the Shipcaster itself. Just because we're all pirates, doesn't mean we're allies, I guess.
Insurgency Zone
Yet while that moment was one of the more thrilling, I couldn't fathom that it would rise to even higher levels in the coming days. I have now been in more fleets this week than I have in all my years playing EVE Online combined, and every single one of them has been more chaotic and more impactful than the last.
The first fleet, a small gang roam around the Angel Cartel invaded space and saw my Rifter destroyed in Kamela by a combined Talwar/Wolf fleet of Minmatar militia members also on the prowl. Yet it wasn't discouraging, knowing I had a cache of ships to pull from, and nearby markets in Turner and Dodixie I could replenish from if need be.
My Caracal Navy Issue fell two days later in the same system of Kamela, but I was learning more about how to fly in one of these larger organized fleets. Which was key to helping fight for the Insurgency when it went live Thursday evening my time.
Friday night saw battles intensify. Operating from Angel Cartel's forward operating base in Floseswin, Angel Cartel members started to spread across the affected systems, quickly gaining points of corruption. It felt like a swarm of pirates, with pilots of all levels of experience fighting for Angel Cartel. Guristas seemed to make just as much progress that first day, though it felt the sheer number of Angel Cartel players was helping gain more ground overall.
Yet it wasn't till Saturday that I quite understood what CCP Games meant by sowing chaos in high and lowsec systems.
As the Corruption levels increase in each affected system, the space itself is altered with it. Highsec systems start to see more lowsec characteristics, such as the removal of criminal timers when attacking another capsuleer in the space (though CONCORD will still come calling when you pod someone). Empire Militias can fight back by suppressing the spread of corruption, which will result in more law enforcement in a system, or even upgraded sentry guns at gates.
Lowsec feeling like nullsec is something you have to experience for yourself, though - which my fleet on Saturday did with full force. While fighting in nearby Eytangard, we got a call that a Phoenix Navy dreadnought was in Floseswin and tackled, ripe for the killing. My fleet immediately abandoned the mining hostage site we were working on and warped over quickly, eager to be part of the kill (and to see the incredible Loyalty Point payout it would provide should it actually succeed). However, warping in, the battlefield was, simply put, utter chaos.
Warping in, we were met by the Phoenix Navy and a Minmatar fleet with the same goal as us - to get a meaty killmail. Angel Cartel players not in our fleet were already there, tackling and taking out the war targets, with turrets still turned to the Phoenix Navy, command bursts, and bombs sending shockwaves throughout the battlefield. While my fleet started to line up Minmatar ships to shoot, content that we had all inscribed our names on the upcoming Dread killmail, the battlefield became a quasi-turkey shoot.
Downing Coecers, Vigils and Punishers, our fleet was staying afloat thanks to the incredible work of our logis. However, a Cyclone fleet arrived on the scene, making things more difficult for the Angels on the grid.
I had read - even written - about these large battles before in EVE - and while a hundred pilots or so pales in comparison to the great nullsec battles that have taken place over the years, this was the largest engagement I'd ever been involved in.
This was chaos on my screen - a nullsec-style battle playing out in a system where it would have been impossible just four days before. Yet thanks to the fact that, within a day, Floseswin had already been pushed to Corruption 5, this was effectively nullsec now.
And while my screen was filled with lasers, beams, rockets, projectiles, warp scrambling, and much more - in addition to the bubble-like ordinance filling the overview every so often, the calm of the pilots I flew with that day kept me from panicking.
The Dust Settles
While my experience was certainly both educational and chaotic, it was far from the only chaotic moment over the course of the Insurgency over the weekend. While Angel Cartel won its Insurgency first, the Guristas were the first to fully corrupt a highsec system, making it a much more dangerous place for those pilots who live there and travel through it.
The chaos wasn't limited to what was happening on the frontlines, but also back in Zarzakh itself. Over the weekend, a fleet of about 250 pilots was trapped by capsuleer-deployed bubbles in Zarzakh's Gravity Hazard, slowly being crushed without any possible recourse - all thanks to a group of 69 (nice) highly coordinated players. 100b ISK lost thanks to this ingenious use of the game mechanics - and proof that it won't be overwhelming numbers in the end that will fully decide these battles, but coordination and strategy as well.
As the weekend went on, the Empire Militia's started to organize a bit more, with Minmatar and Gallente militaries helping each other out in a battle in Floseswin. That initial burst of chaos was sown - but it didn't completely overwhelm everyone entirely. Some systems saw suppression, with one Guristas system being fully corrupted and fully suppressed during the opening Insurgency.
Image via Katalya Myst
The chaos isn't simply limited to the Insurgency system, but rather the fleets themselves. While sitting at a mining hostage site, two of my Angel Cartel militia mates began shooting at one another - a Goonswarm and Pandemic Legion pilot coming into contact. Old rivalries die hard, and it'll be interesting to see if those old animosities are put aside while in a fleet or in an insurgency system, or if we'll have more fleets interrupted by the rivalries of the various power blocs in EVE Online.
Hell, there is still the major question if Guristas and Angel Cartel should shoot each other, or work together. If my Thrasher Navy Issue is any indication - Guristas are quite okay with destroying Cartel members, even in the heart of Zarzakh.
As we move forward with EVE Online's Havoc era, I'm incredibly interested in what's next. With the First Strike test of EVE Vanguard looming, how will the battle spill out into the FPS module? Will we see coordinated strike groups there, or will corruption reign over everything? Time will tell.
All I know is this is the most fun I've had in EVE Online since the Triglavian Invasion - and I don't want to get off this ride.
