The following is a submission from a freelance writer that wishes to remain anonymous. It concerns the current war in Tribue, where PanFam and NC. forces have invaded Co2 territory. As the war got underway, most people predicted that it would be a steamroll by the considerable forces of the invaders, however, things turned out to everything but straightforward as Co2 and TEST put up a determined defence and one hell of a propaganda campaign…

There are many things in EVE that can be considered barometers for how any conflict is going, but among the most important (in this author’s opinion) is enthusiasm. The current war in Tribute between PanFam and CO2/TEST speaks volumes on the effect enthusiasm has on the outcome of a war. In this conflict, it is no different.

One only need look to WWB to see what happens when one side is motivated, prepared to sign on and fill the numbers in a fleet. During the war with the CFC, the strategy of weaponized boredom wasn’t as effective against the MBC because there was a large contingent that didn’t care about the fight, but cared more about giving the metaphorical middle finger to the enemy. This allowed entire regions of sovereignty to be flipped via boring and stale entosis operations by willing members of the MBC. The enthusiasm of “grr Goons” was enough to keep members signing on and joining fleets.

the same strategy lambasted by the MBC, which failed, is being used again by PanFam

Here, in the current war for tribute, the same strategy that PanFam used against the CFC is now being used against them. TEST/CO2, arguably, have the stronger narrative to encourage their members to sign on for fleets. Combined with the excellent artwork put out by TEST, it will be nigh impossible to attempt to wait them out by forcing timers without content. This is the same strategy was used by the CFC against the MBC and it is clear how that strategy worked out.

It is of some interest to note that the largest alliance of PanFam, Pandemic Horde, made the argument to its players that EVE is about explosions, yours and your enemies. Recently, however, the strategy against TEST/CO2 has been to force timers in an effort to blue ball the opposing side. This is ironic, as the same strategy lambasted by the MBC, which failed, is being used again by PanFam.

Enthusiasm is key to filling out the numbers for fleets. During WWB Pandemic Horde could easily harness 200-300 able pilots for some of the most important timers in the war. Now, Horde has been rarely able to achieve half of that as evidenced here, here, and here. More striking is that alone, CO2 or TEST have been able to match or overshadow Pandemic Horde’s numbers. This can be attributed to number of things, like the timers and most of the form ups for Horde being in the late EU Timezone. This author believes, however, that much of it can be explained by the lack of enthusiasm on the side of PanFam during this war.

The recent drama between NC. and Pandemic Horde does not help encourage members of Pandemic Horde to set alarm clocks to help fill the sub-capital fleets against TEST/CO2. The actuality of the event between NC. and Horde is fairly un-interesting, but the perception of the issue should be of concern to leaders in Horde and more widely to PanFam. In the end, the war over Tribute won’t be won by the amount of ISK lost in a fight or the amount of capitals and super-capitals killed, but by which side the wave of enthusiasm is strongest.



The featured image was posted by user Cymek on the r/eve subreddit. The image above by tgl3.

Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting Crossing Zebras.