Update: Catch Region 8/4/2014 - 21/4/2014

Continuing their previous momentum, H.E.R.O Coalition has kept taking more systems in the Catch region. With Against ALL Authorities Alliance seemingly offering no resistance, the only set backs to plague the operation have been the Black Pearl Alliance incident, and the controversial intervention of Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition(dot) Alliances.

Provi-Bloc

The Volition Cult - 1 system, 1 station  
Apocalypse Now. - 1 system, 1 station  
Curatores Veritatis Alliance - 4 systems, 1 station

Total: 6 systems (6%), 3 stations (7%)

RUS Coalition

Against ALL Authorities - 43 systems, 17 stations  
AAA Citizens - 8 systems

Total: 51 systems (47%), 17 stations (41%)

H.E.R.O Coalition

Brave Collective - 16 systems, 4 station
Spaceship Samurai - 19 systems, 8 station
 
Total: 35 systems (32%), 12 stations (29%) 

N3 Coalition

Pandemic Legion - 1 system, 1 station
Northern Coalition. - 4 systems, 1 station

Total: 5 systems (5%), 2 stations (5%)

Unaligned

P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S - 1 system, 1 station
Black Pearl Alliance - 6 systems, 4 stations
The Initiative. - 1 system
 
Total: 8 systems (7%), 5 stations (12%)

Unclaimed

F4R2-Q, V-3YG7, J-ODE7

Total: 3 systems (3%), 2 stations (5%)

8/4/2014 - Spaceship Samurai Alliance claims sovereignty over the A-VILQ system, with Against ALL Authorities Alliance losing sovereignty over the CB4-Q2 system.

9/4/2014 - The CB4-Q2 system is gained by Spaceship Samurai Alliance. Against ALL Authorities Alliance loses sovereignty over three systems: 3-OKDA, 36N-HZ and J6QB-P, with the P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S Alliance claiming the 3-OKDA system later that day.

10/4/2014 - Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance gains sovereignty over the 36N-HZ system. Brave Collective Alliance claims sovereignty over the J6QB-P system.

12/10/2014 - Against ALL Authorities Alliance loses sovereignty over the KW-I6T and G-7WUF systems.

13/4/2014 - Spaceship Samurai Alliance takes sovereignty over the KW-I6T and G-7WUF systems. Against ALL Authorities loses sovereignty over the 3-SFWG and CNC-4V systems, with the 3-SFWG system later claimed by Spaceship Samurai Alliance. AAA Citizens Alliance loses its sovereignty over the N-8BZ6 system.

14/4/2014 - Black Pearl Alliance claims its first system in the Catch region, CNC-4V. AAA Citizens Alliance loses its sovereignty over the 6-MM99 and FZ-6A5 systems, with the FZ-6A5 system later gained by Spaceship Samurai Alliance, which claims the N-8BZ6 system as well. Agaisnt ALL Authorities Alliance loses sovereignty over the 25S-6P and Y-PNRL systems.

15/4/2014 - Black Pearl Alliance claims sovereignty over the 25S-6P and Y-PNRL systems. Spaceship Samurai Alliance gains sovereignty over the 6-MM99 system, but loses later that day sovereignty over the 3-SFWG system. Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers Alliance loses its sovereignty over the JW22-V system, later claimed by Brave Collective Alliance. Against ALL Authorities Alliance loses sovereignty over three systems: S-U2VD, W9-DID and WQH-4K, with AAA Citizens Alliance losing its sovereignty over the JBY6-F system as well.

16/4/2014 - Spaceship Samurai Alliance claims the S-U2VD, W9-DID and JBY6-F systems, with Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance claiming the 3-SFWG system and Brave Collective Alliance taking sovereignty over the WQH-4K system. Rookie Empire Alliance loses its sovereignty over the R-K4QY system. Against ALL Authorities manage to lose five systems in one day: GE-94X, I-8D0G, 2J-WJY, A-803L and GMLH-K.

17/4/2014 - Brave Collective Alliance claims four systems in one day: A-803L, R-K4QY, 2J-WJY and I-8D0G. Spaceship Samurai Alliance takes two sovereignty over two more systems: GMLH-K and GE-94X. Against ALL Authorities loses its sovereignty over the 6BPS-T system.

18/4/2014 - Black Pearl Alliance claims sovereignty over the 6BPS-T system, while Against ALL Authorities Alliance loses sovereignty over the GJ0-OJ system.

19/4/2014 - The GJ0-OJ system is claimed by Brave Collective Alliance. Against ALL Authorities and AAA Citizens alliances lose sovereignty over the RR-D05 and M8-NKE systems respectively.

20/4/2014 - The RR-D05 and M8-NKE systems are picked by Brave Collective and Spaceship Samurai alliances respectively. Rookie Empire Alliance loses its sovereignty over the OGL8-Q system, while Against ALL Authorities Alliance loses its sovereignty over the QBQ-RF and 4-07MU systems.

21/4/2014 - The Initiative(dot) Alliance loses its sovereignty over the QSM-LM system, later claimed by Brave Collective Alliance alongside the OGL8-Q and QBQ-RF systems. Black Pearl Alliance gains sovereignty over the 4-07MU system. Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance claims sovereignty over the FAT-6P and HP-64T systems, which were lost earlier the same day by Against ALL Authorites and AAA Citizens alliances respectively. Rookie Empire Alliance loses sovereignty over the J-ODE7 system, with Against ALL Authorities losing two more systems that day: F4R2-Q and V-3YG7.

Update: Tenerifis Region 10-17/3/2014

With Darkness of Despair disbanding, the Tenerifis region has lately seen the bulk of the fighting between N3 and the RUS Coalition, in what is now the fourth month of the war termed the Halloween War. The EVE Scribe is here to give you a brief summary of past week's activities:

N3

Nulli Secunda - 19 systems, 2 stations
Echoes of Nowhere - 12 systems, 1 station
DARKNESS. - 7 systems, 4 stations
The Kadeshi - 7 systems, 3 stations
Northern Coalition. - 3 systems, 2 stations
Mildly Intoxicated - 2 systems, 2 stations
Northern Associates. - 3 systems

Total: 53 systems (65%), 14 stations (83%)

RUS Coalition

SOLAR FLEET - 13 systems, 3 stations
Hand of Despair - 6 systems
Against ALL Authorities - 1 system
Solar Citizens - 3 systems

Total: 23 systems (28%), 3 stations (17%)

Unknown

Rookie Empire - 1 system

Total: 1 system (1%)

Unclaimed

W-16DY, L2GN-K, 9-MJVQ, H-HWQR

Total: 4 system (6%)

10/3/2014 - Darkness of Despair disbands, dropping sovereignty for twenty-four systems in the Tenerifis region

11/3/2014 - Initial scramble for unclaimed systems ends with Nulli Secunda gaining sixteen systems, Echoes of Nowhere taking five systems, The Kadeshi gaining two systems, Rookie Empire claiming one system and Against ALL Authorities securing one system.

12/3/2014 - Solar Citizens and SOLAR FLEET lose M-4KDB and FE-6YQ systems respectively, which are later gained by Nulli Secunda the same day. Later in the day, Hand of Despair loses the 7M4C-F system.

13/3/2014 - 0P-U0Q and 7M4C-F systems are gained by The Kadeshi and Echoes of Nowhere respectively. DARKNESS(dot) losses DZ6-I5 system.

14/3/2014 - DZ6-I5 system gained by The Kadeshi, L2GN-K system is lost by SOLAR FLEET. DARKNESS(dot) Alliance decides to switch sides in the war, joining the N3 Coalition.

15/3/2014 - A SOLAR FLEET Nyx class Mothership and four systems are lost in one day by said alliance.

16/3/2014 - ZD1-Z2 and QCDG-H systems are lost by SOLAR FLEET and Hand of Despair respectively. PDF-3Z system gained by The Kadeshi, while the QCDG-H system is taken by Echoes of Nowhere.

17/3/2014 - ZD1-Z2 system gained by Nulli Secunda.

Breaking News: SOLAR FLEET Nyx Class Mothership Destroyed in PDF-3Z

Yesterday, the fifteenth of March, saw a continuation in the fighting over the Tenerifis region between RUS Coalition and N3. SOLAR FLEET Alliance organized a one hundred pilot Tengu fleet in order to take down a Sovereignty Blockade Unit (SBU) planted by Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance in the 4-IT9G system. 

To Northern Coalition(dot)'s Fleet Commander, Travis Musgrat's surprise, a large number of SOLAR FLEET super-capital pilots logged into the game around the same time as the assault on the 4-IT9G Sovereignty Blockade Unit. This prompted Northern Coalition(dot) to hastily form up a Navy Issue Apocalypse fleet numbering close to a hundred pilots as well, while sending forward tacklers in order to catch the super-capitals and light a cynosural beacon for the fleet to bridge into.

However, there wasn't enough time for the Northern Coalition(dot) pilots to arrive to the system before the Sovereignty Blockade Unit was destroyed. This allowed SOLAR FLEET's super-capital force, numbering fifteen assorted Motherships, to jump into the PDF-3Z system, unto a safe tower, while the SOLAR FLEET Tengu fleet moved back and took positions on the entrance gates to the system, effectively blocking the path for Northern Coalition(dot) forces.

It was at that moment, that a SOLAR FLEET Nyx class Mothership was bumped off from the tower, an occurrence that Travis Musgrat explained is not uncommon when many super-capital ships jump into a single cynosural beacon. The pilot, instead of warping off the field to a celestial and back to the tower, or simply cloaking, chose to approach the tower, in what is called "Slowboating", allowing Northern Coalition(dot) the time they needed to bypass the SOLAR FLEET Tengu gate camp.

glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot), had an account in a corporation that was part of Against ALL Authorities' renter alliance, AAA Citizens. The account was inserted in order to snag a carrier kill or two, as the corporation itself had its lease with Against ALL Authorities Alliance expire in a week, and decided to join Northern Coalition(dot)'s renter alliance instead. Spotting a chance to get a Mothership kill, glitterbomb had this account enter the system, in a cynosural generator fitted ship. Since the character in question was in a friendly alliance of SOLAR FLEET, the Tengu fleet allowed the ship to pass through their gate camp, effectively sealing the Nyx pilot's fate.

It wasn't smooth sailing from there on, as glitterbomb had his character warp to the wrong side of the tower, necessitating a few more nail biting minutes before he was close enough to the Nyx, unaware of its approaching doom. Then he lit a cynosural beacon.

Northern Coalition(dot) tackle ships bridged in immediately and bubbled the helpless Nyx, followed by the rest of the fleet along with twenty-two Motherships and two carriers to serve as logistic support. With all that fire power on grid, the Nyx had no chance and was quickly destroyed. 

Yet, the battle was far from over, as the SOLAR FLEET Tengus engaged the Norther Coalition(dot) support fleet, prompting a battle that raged for two hours, without any side getting the upper hand. However, as reinforcements for both sides arrived on the field, including a large Nulli Secunda Alliance Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, it was clear the N3 forces were outnumbering the RUS Coalition's. Thus, the RUS Coalition ceded the field to N3, allowing its forces to destroy four Territorial Claim Units, adding a loss of four systems to that of the Nyx.

Battle Report

The remainder of SOLAR FLEET's, as well as all of Northern Coalition(dot) Motherships safely extracted from the system without further losses.

Special thanks are in order to Travis Musgrat and glitterbomb of BURN EDEN, Northern Coalition(dot) Alliance for giving me an interview, and to Hendrick Tallardar and rcmst of TheMittani(dot)com and EVENews24(dot)com respectively, for their initial reports on the subject.

Update: Tenerifis Region Heavily Contested

In the wake of Darkness of Despair's disband, the entire Tenerifis region lost sovereignty. As of the time of writing, N3 and RUS Coalition have scrambled to claim as many systems as possible. The result of the this race are as follows:

N3 Coalition:

Nulli Secunda - 16 systems, 1 station
Echoes of Nowhere - 10 systems, 1 station
Northern Associates - 3 systems
Northern CoalitionDot - 3 systems, 2 stations
Mildly Intoxicated - 2 systems, 2 stations
The Kadeshi - 4 systems, 1 station

Total: 38 systems (46%), 7 stations (41%)

RUS Coalition:

Against ALL Authorities - 1 system
Hand of Despair - 8 systems
Solar Fleet - 20 systems, 4 stations
Solar Citizens - 4 systems
Darkness - 8 systems, 5 stations

Total: 41 systems (50%), 9 stations (52%)

Unknown

Rookie Empire - 1 system

Total: 1 system (2%)

Unclaimed

0P-U0Q system, station in the hands of former Darkness of Despair Corporation.

Total: 1 system (2%), 1 station (7%)

With the initial systems grab done, the next phase will see N3 and RUS Coalition forces either clashing over stations and Territorial Claim Units, or relinquishing territory and evacuating assets to Empire and NPC Null Security space. Only the coming days will tell.

The EVE Scribe will keep you posted.

Breaking News: Darkness of Despair Disbands

Without warning or explanation, Darkness of Despair, formed from former Against ALL Authorities corporations, had disbanded. Sharped eyed observers noticed the fact that the Alliance has zero members count and a closing date on Dotlan.com. While speculation is running wild, many entities in the area are burning towards Tenerifis Region in order to grab sovereignty in the region. 

Rumor has it that the Alliance closed due to internal strife caused by the political situation between Russia and the Ukraine, as many players in the Alliance were effected by the events that transpired between the two countries. The next few hours will be telling for the future of the Halloween war and the RUS Coalition.

Breaking News: RUS Coalition Staging System Under Attack

This just in, a large fleet battle is under way in the Y-FZ5N system, Immensea. The fight is over a final I-Hub timer between N3 and RUS Coalitions. There are eight-hundred and fifty pilots in the system, though exact numbers for each fleet are unavailable. RUS forces were reported in Dominix, -A- in Tengu and NCdot in Proteus fleets. The Cyno Jammer remains active, though sources say SOLAR super-capitals were logged in the system beforehand. 

Battle Report

Should -A- lose the I-Hub, it will make the system vulnerable, which may spell disaster for the RUS Coalition, as Y-FZ5N was designated as their new staging system. 

Update: -A- have, indeed, lost the I-Hub and had their station enter reinforced mode. The station is expected to exit reinforced mode at Wednesday, the twelfth of March, 15:00 EVE time. If they don't manage to save it, the RUS Coalition will lose their staging system, which will gravely impact their campaign against the N3 Coalition.

Update: WLAR-J System Lost and Recaptured by -A-

Yesterday, at 8:01 EVE time, AAA Citizens, an Against ALL Authorities renter Alliance, lost sovereignty over WLAR-J system in Catch. What followed was a protracted battle as H.E.R.O Coalition forces tried to capture the system, and were repelled by a combined RUS and CFC Coalitions fleet. From EVE-Kill reports, it seems more than three hundred pilots took part in a pure sub-capital fight. CFC and RUS forces managed to destroy approximately one hundred and seventy-four ships, mainly cruisers, and lost only twenty-nine ships in the process. Total ISK loss for both sides is estimated at nine point fifty-seven billion ISK.

No official response was given by any of the participants of the battle.

Update: ERVK-P Station Reinforced

ERVK-P Station in Catch has been reinforced by H.E.R.O Coalition. This is the station's first reinforcement timer. The station is expected to exit reinforced mode at the eleventh of March, approximately 20:00 EVE time, which is considered Russian prime time. While H.E.R.O Coalition is expected to show up, many wonder whether or not Against ALL Authorities or the RUS coalition will show up to defend the timer. The EVE Scribe will keep you posted as the situation develops.

*screenshot provided by Dragoshi Drambuie of Apocalypse Now.

Breaking News: TEST Alliance Please Ignore Deploys SBUs in Catch

In the last twenty-four hours, Sovereignty Blockade Units have been deployed by H.E.R.O Coalition throughout the Catch region. Sharp eyed observers quickly found out that the majority of said SBUs belonged to TEST Alliance Please Ignore, which piqued many’s curiosity, as rumors stated that the CFC presented TEST an ultimatum: Do not take any sovereignty, or the CFC will immediately intervene.

TEST SBU deployed in G-ATOH

TEST SBU deployed in TA3T-3

Another surprise was the fact Northern CoalitionDot seemed to want in on the fun, and has deployed its own SBUs in Catch.

NCdot SBU deployed in J6QB-P

Though I have not been able to get a confirmation for that rumor or for NCdot's SBU deployment, I have been able to get an interview with ZheoTheThird, TEST Alliance diplomat, which had the following to say:

ZheoTheThird: Good evening

Salivan Harddin: Good evening to you too, may I get TEST response for SBUing Catch, and whether it was true that H.E.R.O Coalition was warned by the CFC not to allow TEST to deploy SBUs?

ZheoTheThird: Certainly! HERO Coalition has announced their attack on catch. We'll be assaulting the region and BRAVE have expressed interest in holding sovereignty on their own. To my knowledge, there is no such warning from the CFC. TEST is letting BRAVE decide matters here, and TEST isn't too eager on holding sov at the current point in time.

Salivan Harddin: So you are SBUing for BRAVE's sake? And have no plans to take sov?

ZheoTheThird: Any SBUs put down by TEST at the moment are corp- or individual ones, not an alliance effort.

Salivan Harddin: Does TEST have any future plans, if the Catch deployment succeeds?

ZheoTheThird: Since we've freed ourselves from the shackles of sov, we've gone where content lead us and where we saw opportunities. Right now there are no long term plans, we'd like to see how this works out, and then decided on what to do. We all see HERO as an exciting opportunity to have fun in EVE with our like minded allies from BRAVE, HONOR and Nexus Fleet, and I don't see us breaking up anytime soon.

Salivan Harddin: IIs there any truth to the claim that H.E.R.O coalition was paid by N3 to assault -A- and RUS coalition?

ZheoTheThird: I cannot say about that than what BRAVE said in their alliance update. All I can say is that rumours are rumours, and should be treated as such.

Salivan Harddin: Do you foresee CFC interference?

ZheoTheThird: Well, I'm no fortune teller, but I wouldn't be surprised if the CFC moved some forces to Catch, seeing as -A- are formally their allies.

Salivan Harddin: Do you think you are able to go toe to toe with the RUS Coalition capital and super capital fleet? Or do you expect help from PL\NCdot?

ZheoTheThird: Well, we haven't seen much resistance from -A- yet, so I'm not too worried about that. I can't speak for PL or N3, they are not participating in this offensive of ours as of now. However, should RUSRUS unite and get CFC capital/supercapital support, then it shouldn't strike anyone as a surprise that HERO alone couldn't hold up against that. At least not in capital/supercapital strength.

Salivan Harddin: Last question if you will, do you believe that H.E.R.O Coalition will prevail in this war?

ZheoTheThird: Well, I sure hope so :) I am confident in our abilities, we've got a lot of manpower and enthusiasm and are eager to earn our spot in the universe. Whatever happens though, our goal here is to have fun. As long as we manage to provide fun content for our members and make playing EVE worth their time, that's a win in my books.

Salivan Harddin: Thank you very much for your time

ZheoTheThird: Thank you for this opportunity.

Until the time of publication, Northern CoalitionDot were unavailable for comment. 

Update: GoonSwarm Federation has refused to officially comment about the supposed ultimatum to TEST Alliance Please Ignore.

All Screenshots were provided by Findrahis of Apocalypse Now.

Breaking News: H.E.R.O Coalition Invades Catch

The weeks of speculation are finally over. H.E.R.O Coalition has deployed Sovereignty Blockade Units in ERVK-P. The SBUs were deployed by Nexus Fleet at 19:00 EVE time, and were first reported by members of Sev3rance who promptly dispatched the Transport. Shortly afterward, a Brave Newbies Talwar fleet of around one hundred pilots appeared in the system, to guard the SBUs while they were brought online.

This development makes it clear that H.E.R.O Coalition are here to take sovereignty in Catch, or at least harass Against ALL Authorities and Darkness of Despair, thus validating the rumors that they have been paid by Northern CoalitionDot for said task.

We are yet to see how the RUS coalition, of which -A- and -DD- are members of, responds to this action, that effectively opens a second front in their own back door. This coming after a string of mishaps that included the loss of a staging system and reversal of major sovereignty gains in Immensia.

The stance of GoonSwarm Federation and the CFC is yet to be decided either, considering they just returned from a lengthy campaign in the south, and have been harassed by both Mordus Angels and Black Legion recently.

Will this be the beginning of the end for -A-? Will the CFC re-deploy south to help the RUS coalition? And how will N3 use this diversion for its advantage? I will keep you posted on further developments.