Battle of B-R5RB
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| Bloodbath of B-R5RB | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Halloween War | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Clusterfuck Coalition[1]
Halloween Coalition[2]
Stainwagon
|
N3
| ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
The Mittani
Lazarus Telraven |
Manfred Sideous
Vince Draken | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
~3670 ships ~143 Titans ~273 Supercarriers ~817 Dreadnoughts ~233 Carriers thousands of smaller ships |
~1616 ships ~72 Titans ~172 Supercarriers ~355 Dreadnoughts ~414 Carriers thousands of smaller ships[3] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
16 Titans 2 Supercarriers 106 Dreadnoughts 5 Carriers ~1900 smaller ships |
59 Titans 11 Supercarriers 259 Dreadnoughts 112 Carriers ~1250 smaller ships[4] | ||||||||
| Total forces involved 7,548 participants. Damages amounted to an approximate real-life $300,000-330,000 USD. | |||||||||
The Bloodbath of B-R5RB was a massive-scale virtual battle fought in the MMORPG space game EVE Online, and was the largest and most destructive engagement so far in the game's 10 year history since it's official launch in 2003. Occurring on the one-year anniversary of the massive Battle of Asakai, the Bloodbath pitted the coalition of CFC and Drone Russian Federation against the N3 and Pandemic Legion coalition. The 21 hour-long conflict involved over 7,548 player characters overall and a maximum of 2,670 players in the B-R5RB system at one time, with the ensuing losses totaling 576 Capital class ships including 75 Titans (the largest ships available to players), along with thousands of smaller vessels. The in-game cost of these losses total over 11 trillion ISK, a theoretical real-world value of $300,000 to $330,000 USD. Part of a larger conflict known as the Halloween War, the fight started after a single player controlling a space station in the star system B-R5RB accidentally failed to make a scheduled in-game routine maintenance payment which in turn signaled players that the system (controlled by Nulli Secunda and a key staging area used by N3/PL in their war against the CFC and Russian coalitions) was up for grabs. The CFC and Russian coalitions began pouring players into the system in a swift offensive, and N3/Pandemic Legion moved in a large fleet of players as a response as well. A massive battle erupted in the system and numerous smaller engagements occurred throughout the game universe as players attempted to block reinforcements from joining the battle. CFC/Rus gained a clear win by inflicting heavy losses on N3/PL and successfully captured B-R5RB.
To commemorate the sheer size and cost of the battle, the game's creators, CCP Games, erected a permanent monument in the system B-R5RB named "The Titanomachy", consisting of non-salvageable Titan wrecks.
Background
The Halloween War is an ongoing conflict in the EVE Online universe which started around Halloween in late October 2013 and pits the CFC and Drone Russian Federation and their allies against the N3 and Pandemic Legion coalitions and their allies.[4][5][6] B-R5RB, located in the Immensea region, served as the staging ground for all Pandemic Legion fleets.[4][6] A few days before the fighting in B-R5RB, the CFC and Russian Coalition suffered a decisive loss to N3 and Pandemic Legion forces in the Battle of HED-GP, due to the N3/PL's "Wrecking Ball" formation.[4][7]
Outbreak of conflict
On January 27, 2014 (YC 116 in-game), the one-year anniversary of the immense Battle of Asakai, player corporation H A V O C, a member of Nulli Secunda, which in turn is a part of the N3/Pandemic Legion coalition, mistakenly failed to make a scheduled payment to the in-game security force CONCORD. This resulted in the star system B-R5RB losing its sovereign status.[4][5][8] A scout went to investigate the failed payment and discovered Nulli Secunda quietly attempting to regain control with their Territorial Control Units.[9] At around 14:00 UTC, with an hour remaining on the clock before Nulli Secunda could regain control, the CFC and Drone Russian Federation sent a capital fleet to the station. RAZOR Alliance took the station,[10] and the Russians destroyed the N3/PL Territorial Control Unit and set up its own TCU in order to establish control.[9] As capturing this system would enable them to trap Pandemic Legion assets, including hundreds of capital and sub-capital ships, inside and prevent them from joining the war, CFC Alliance and Russian-heavy coalition forces scrambled to gain control of the system, with thousands of players logging on and preparing their fleets.[4] Manfred Sideous of Pandemic Legion claimed that the missed payment resulted from a bug, as he had enough ISK in his holding corporation wallet and had autopay checked.[10]
Battle for B-R5RB
Pandemic Legion and N3 moved to retake the system, but the Russians destroyed all Territorial Control Units anchored in the system.[4] N3/PL then deployed their super-carrier and carrier fleet in the "Wrecking Ball" formation just off the system's space station, a formation which had previously defeated the CFC and Russian alliance.[4][7] As the conflict was a surprise and occurred on a Monday workday, CFC and Rus decided to take advantage and gain field superiority before N3 and PL could respond and so deployed their entire Capital Fleet to the system. Meanwhile, they deployed their sub-capital fleets to N3 staging systems, including I-NGI8 and GXK-7F, to delay any reinforcements.[4][11]
Each side then attempted to dump all available pilots into the system, and the game's time dilation software kicked in, with ten seconds of real-time displaying for each second in-game. The two sides traded Titan kills every hour, when their Doomsday weapons could fire again, and the system became filled with warp disruption bubbles, making extraction difficult.[9] For a while neither side gained any real disadvantage, though CFC/Rus managed to on-line their Territorial Control Units and held a slight lead in the number of enemy Titans destroyed.[4][9] Throughout the engagement, related battles played out across the entire game universe as fleets tried to block reinforcements, destroy fleeing capitals and super-capitals, or trap pilots attempting to enter the fray.[4]
The tide of the battle started to change when Manfred Sideous, the initial N3/PL fleet commander, handed control to Vince Draken, CEO of North Coalition. Vince Draken managed to concentrate fire on and destroy several CFC/Rus Titans, and forced some additional Russian Titans to leave the system with depleted shields and armor.[4] However, N3/PL overestimated their success and focused their attacks on the Titan belonging to Sort Dragon, the commander of all Russian forces left on field.[4] Sort Dragon's Titan had very high damage resistance and drew upon his entire fleet to assist in repairing it, enabling it to hold out much longer than most other Titans up to that point. By the time his Titan fell, the CFC/Rus managed to destroy five N3/PL Titans, putting the alliance well ahead.[4] James Carl, a member of the N3/Pandemic Legion coalition, reported to the Associated Press that "It looks like CFC is winning, but we're hoping now that all of our US players are online, we'll turn the tide."[12] But when the US-timezone reinforcements arrived, PL did not see the numbers they had expected, and the CFC held down potential systems from contributing reinforcements.[9] Eventually, N3/PL could no longer destroy any Titans, and ordered a retreat.[9] They switched their fire onto CFC/Rus's Dreadnoughts in an attempt to take out as many ships as possible during retreat.[11] Due to their spy network, CFC knew that N3/PL ordered a retreat and deployed Interdictors and Heavy Interdictors to pin down N3/PL.[11] N3/PL lost several more Titans, Super Carriers, and Capitals in the extraction, with many trapped by the warp disruption bubbles strewn throughout the battle area.[4]
Aftermath
Over 7,548 unique characters participated in the overall battle, of which 6,058 participated directly in the B-R5RB system with a maximum of 2,670 in system at the same time.[4][5] These numbers included 717 unique player corporations and involved 55 unique player alliances.[4] Joystiq called the battle potentially the largest recorded PvP battle in any game to date.[13] The 21 hour-long conflict resulted in the loss of 75 Titans, 13 Super Carriers, 370 Dreadnoughts, and 123 Carriers, along with thousands of smaller ships and innumerable fighters and drones.[14] N3 and Pandemic Legion lost 59 Titans while CFC and Russia lost only 16.[4][15] An estimated 11 trillion ISK in assets was lost during the battle, and media outlets reported the battle as the biggest and most expensive in EVE Online's history, estimating that the battle cost $300,000–$330,000 in real-world money.[6][7][16][17] This estimate comes from a figure listed in the official report by CCP Games, which the report based off a theoretical conversion of pilot training extensions, or PLEX, into real-world USD.[4] While direct conversion of real currency into ISK, or vice-versa, is strictly prohibited, and PLEX units are purchasable in-game, additional PLEX units can be purchased for $15 USD, and it is from this theoretical real-world value that the estimated dollar amounts lost in the battle are drawn.[18]
Alexander Gianturco, who goes by the in-game character The Mittani, CEO of Goonswarm Federation, reported to Polygon near the end of the battle that "As vengeance for Asakai goes, it's somewhat ironic; our forces lost three Titans and seven supercarriers last year in Asakai, and lost the battle. This year we've killed 40+ hostile Titans and we have seven more hours of killing before downtime."[6] Also near the end of the battle, Ali Aras wrote on TheMittani.com, an Eve Online-devoted website, that "The kills made here decide not only this war, but the next, and the next after that."[9] Aras also noted some of the economic repercussions, stating that "the price of Tritanium has been creeping upwards, anticipating the flurry of industrial production to come."[9]
Following the Battle of B-R5RB, Pandemic Legion withdrew from the Southeast theater and struck a deal with CFC which allowed them to evacuate billions of assets from the B-R5RB system.[19] Soon after PL's withdrawal announcement, Northern Coalition likewise withdrew from the Southeast theater and redeployed to I-1QKL, a system closer to N3's heartland in the Drone Regions.[20] N3 was left in a weaker position to defend against the Russians, and expects to lose several key regions before they can rebuild the Titans they lost in B-R5RB.[20] Nulli Secunda announced that they would re-locate their staging area to 0-W778 in Detorid, an area controlled by N3's Rental Alliance Northern Associates, and that while they would defend Immensea, they expected it to fall.[21] Against ALL Authorities captured six systems on January 31st, and four more the following day. On February 2, CFC alliances managed to capture a total of thirteen systems in the regions Immensea, Catch, Tenerifis, and Feythabolis from N3/Pandemic League alliances.[22] The Insidious Empire on February 1 ordered all assets to regroup at the Drone Regions and called for a seven to ten day minimum stand-down.[23] Four days later, Phreeze, leader of Insidious Empire, announced that the Empire will shut down over the next few weeks.[24] Shortly after retreating to the North, Black Legion took the star system 4-1ECP in the far north of Perrigen Falls from The Kadeshi alliance, but then had to battle their rivals the Pandemic Legion for control of the system. PL emerged victorious after BL fell into a trap laid by the Insidious Empire.[25]
Commemoration
Once the game went into downtime, publisher CCP Games announced that it would create an in-game monument in the B-R5RB star system to commemorate the battle. "Titanomachy" was created using brand new Titan wreck models introduced with EVE Online: Rubicon’s 1.1 release which came out immediately following the battle.[4][14] CCP Games posted on the EVE Online website that they planned to install "Titanomachy" during downtime of January 31, and were "hard at work placing the wrecks in a hauntingly beautiful arrangement."[4] Placed around the seventh planet in the B-R5RB system, the installation is "off grid" from the space-station. CCP Games stated that "Thereafter, any player who plays EVE can make the dangerous pilgrimage there and marvel at the scope of destruction. We expect some of the 'travel' bloggers to do full write-ups on it almost immediately and EVE videographers to make some moving tributes as well."[4]
References
- ^ Moore, Bo (February 8, 2014). "Inside the Epic Online Space Battle That Cost Gamers $300,000". Wired. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ "Dingo's Toolbox". Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ "Solar Fleet Killboard". January 28, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v CCP Dolan (February 1, 2014). "The Bloodbath of B-R5RB, Gaming's Most Destructive Battle Ever". Eve Online.com. CCP Games. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c Pitcher, Jenna (January 30, 2014). "Eve Online's Bloodbath of B-R5RB cost up to $330,000". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Pitcher, Jenna (January 28, 2014). "Eve Online wages largest war in its 10 year history". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c Savage, Phil (January 28, 2014). "EVE Online's biggest ever battle: trillions of ISK in damages and over 70 titans lost". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ O'Neil, Ian (January 31, 2014). "Most Destructive Space Battle Rocks Virtual Universe". Discovery News. Discovery Communications. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Aras, Ali (January 28, 2014). "B-R5RB: The Biggest Battle in All Of EVE". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b The Mittani (January 27, 2014). "Sov Drops in B-R5 Immensea Staging System". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c Alizabeth (January 29, 2014). "The Largest Virtual Battle Ever". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ Lang, Derrik J (January 29, 2014). "Huge online battle destroys $600k of ships". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ Drain, Brian (February 2, 2014). "EVE Evolved: The Bloodbath of B-R5RB". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Stieber, Zachary (January 31, 2014). "EVE Online: The Final Tally of the Bloodbath Battle B-R5RB (+Commemoration Details)". The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ Savage, Phil (January 30, 2014). "CCP issue final battle report on EVE Online's most destructive battle". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ http://themittani.com/features/largest-virtual-battle-ever
- ^ McCormick, Rich (January 29, 2014). "Spaceships worth more than $200,000 destroyed in biggest virtual space battle ever". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Taborek, Travis (February 5, 2014). "The Greatest Battle That Never Was: 'EVE Online' War Most Expensive in History". The Bottom Line. Associated Students of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
- ^ The Mittani (January 30, 2014). "Pandemic Legion To Withdraw From South". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ a b Tubrug1 (February 3, 2014). "Northern Coalition. Withdraw From South". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Tallardar, Hendrick (February 1, 2014). "Nulli Secunda SOTA: Detorid Bound". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ Flatterpillo (February 4, 2014). "Nullsec Update: Week of January 27th". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Angry Mustache (January 31, 2014). "EMP CEO Update: Return to the Dronelands". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
- ^ The Mittani (February 5, 2014). "Insidious Empire Shutting Down". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ^ Marlona Sky (February 3, 2014). "Nyx Lost in Legion War". TheMittani.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014.