The usual suspects

Points of interest

Shift

Realm of chaos

Of all the regions of New Eden, the lowsec areas of Black Rise and The Citadel combined embody the infamous ‘meatgrinder’ reputation of low security space like no other. Building upon its bloody history and the many great battles that have taken place there, it has become the prime destination for those looking for a good fight. Systems like Nennamalia, Kinakka, Innia, Okkamon, Tama and Asakai, amongst others, attract players from all walks of life and have all made the wider EVE press at some point. Step on the Lowlife sightseeing bus as we take a tour of this devil’s cauldron and talk to some of the locals.The main ingredients that make up this potent brew are established pirate corporations and the Caldari and Gallente militias. Outlaws have hunted in the area for years and know it like the back of their hand. Meanwhile the militia wage endless war, the pendulum grinding ships into dust ever since the inception of Factional Warfare. Their paths cross in bloody conflict, igniting shiny red blobs that attract the attentions of nullsec entities like moths to a flame. On the western borders of Caldari highsec resides Kinakka, known far and wide to be SniggWaffe (Waffles alliance) territory. SniggWaffe are experienced pirates with plenty of resources, relatively high-SP pilots and a convenient PL batphone – used liberally of course (in before Hendrick tells you otherwise). As such they form a natural lid of hostile territory on the north-west of the FW war zone after a Gallente campaign to the area in early 2014. The systems between Kinakka and Cloud Ring see a lot of small gang fighting, especially Martoh, but anyone hoping to engage SniggWaffe better come prepared. Just south of Kinakka lies Innia, the former fortress system of the Caldari militia, having fallen to the Gallente on April 1st of 2014 and steeped in history. It’s neighbour Eha, on the other hand, is the undefeated Gallente fortress and gate to Placid. Below Innia we find Pavanakka, a system that has risen to the limelight of late as dyed-in-the-wool Caldari militia hold on to it tooth and nail. Further to the south-east resides Akidagi, starting point for both the pipe to the north-east and an important entry from Ichoriya, Caldari highsec. The gate here was and is camped so often that CalMil have it under Twitch surveillance using a cloaked camera. Still the Gallente militia often try their luck on the gate and do highsec raids. Smack in the middle of Black Rise resides Nennamalia, a Gallentean stronghold since 2011. Nennamalia is a major staging system for the militia, supported by a healthy market and well established logistics. Its location is strategically vital with Placid within one jump, highsec within two, and The Citadel within five. Nennamalia itself, along with the surrounding area, is often visited by pirates and null entities, as well as roams launched out of highsec (occasionally NPSI), looking for trouble with the locals or each other – often getting what they came for. If you’re hoping to whore on some capital kills, Nennamalia is a good place to put your ear to the ground. Between Nennamalia and Okkamon to the east lies the proverbial highway connecting the center of Black Rise to the north-east – a Factional Warfare front that saw a lot of fighting recently, with Okkamon eventually falling into Gallente hands. The key system on this pipe being Pynekastoh – a bottleneck between central and eastern Black Rise, having no shortage of fights as a result. Further south, and dominating the south-east of Black Rise are the systems of Tama and Sujarento, both synonymous with pirates and outlaws. Here the carnage never stops and the area has developed an unrivaled infamy over the years. It is certainly a landmark area of Black Rise and worthy of extra attention. To that end I spoke with, a diplomat of Snuff Box, about their home of Sujarento and nearby hunting grounds.– We live in Sujarento because it’s within range of plenty of active systems, particularly important FW systems.– Probably the organised contingent of GalMil. And even then, we have to force a fight – like bring a quarter of what they have, etc.-The most significant couple of entities are almost certainly UCF Alliance and BALEX, the latter of which are really great guys who we’ve even been blue with in the recent past. We don’t really cross paths with BALEX very often which is a shame – we both are up for fighting each other.– For us as a mainly european corporation, their major battles seem to have mostly taken place “covertly” during the tiny hours of the morning, which is a shame – we’d love to have barged in and had all sides turn on us. It’s our speciality. Of the seemingly weaker (sic) happenings during our prime, we’ve always been eager to crash the party. The biggest clash in recent memory was the battle in Hallanen ( click here for the battle report ). You can generally expect a slowcat fleet if Waffles are on grid. Thankfully we got to have a lot of fun for quite a while before they showed up and ended the party. Overall my impression is that the Cal-Gal war is one of the best content makers in EVE right now. But it seems to lag massively behind the Minmatar-Amarr war, which looks fantastic. Wish we were in range of it.– We prefer our targets to outnumber us. It’s the only way that most players in EVE can feel any flicker of confidence. As for who do we look for? Absolutely anybody. Obviously there comes a hard limit on what we can actually take on. Most of the lack of confidence to fight Snuff Box comes from exaggerated stories passed on and on, and myths that have always existed in EVE against the perceived bogeyman.– I do have something to say to the other residents – chill out, guys. you outnumber us and we don’t have ten triage carriers on standby and most likely what you see of us is all we’ve got. Check Sujarento out for yourselves – when we’re out and about, you’ll genuinely find that we haven’t left seventy extra guys on the titan. We don’t have that many active in corp! (FYI some days later Snuff Box downed a Goonswarm Federation Erebus in Deven, gf. Read Sugar Kyle’s POV here Ever since the Gallente for all intents and purposes ‘won’ the war in Placid, Essence, Black Rise and The Citadel, the PvP meta has changed. Whereas fights between the militias – with a liberal helping of pirates or neutrals thrown in the mix – used to be the standard, it has gravitated towards a new blend. Although it looked like the Caldari in Black Rise would be reinforced by former Nulli Secunda members, now Bohica Empire, in a recent development the alliance deserted CalMil to join the Gallente. While accusations of opportunism and greed have been leveled at the turncoats from both sides of the fence (with the Gallente currently enjoying tier 4), Bohica themselves state that they intended to join the Gallente initially, but chose the Caldari for practical reasons. After proving their mettle in the battle of Huola during a series of key fights, a schism between Bohica and the wider Caldari Militia became the catalyst for them to leave, purge disruptive elements, and join the Gallente. While some welcome them with open arms, they will not win the hearts of all ‘ frogs ‘ until they bleed for the Federation. Besides GalMil, the fights of late are more often headlined by the likes of Snuff Box, Overload Everything, Shadow Cartel, SniggWaffe and Pandemic Legion. The remnants of the Caldari play a much diminished role as only the hardest core of the militia trudge through dire straits with gritted teeth and a sliver of hope for the future. Although it is Gallente territory and not for any lack of trying, the frogs often find themselves outgunned when the heavyweights field larger fleets and capitals. In many ways it represents a clash between null and Faction Warfare PvP meta, for which the Gallente do not have a complete answer to yet. There is an urge within some elements of the militia to step things up and truly claim the territory, but the lack of any command hierarchy, as seen in the alliances and coalitions of null, may put a stop to such aspirations. The constitution of Federation forces resembles free states with similar goals, but no ruling body with executive powers.However the chips may fall with the current state of affairs, some things never change. Black Rise and The Citadel are the essence of the lowsec ‘Thunderdome’, and will continue to live up to that legacy for the foreseeable future.