Providence Fight Club: 9-F0B2 8.5.2015

9-F0B2 system, Providence region. On the 8th of May, at 18:40 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Providence Bloc and StainWagon Coalition clashed in the system, in an honor brawl.

Providence Bloc brought a 159 pilot strong Proteus\Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet, while StaingWagon Coalition brought a 119 pilot large Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet. Both fleets arrived at the G-5EN2 system, in order to repel an imminent Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] attack on the station, which was coming out of armor reinforcement mode.

To their surprise, [NC] did not show up, instead taking down the Sovereignty Blockade Units some time earlier, allowing the station to safely exit reinforced mode. With the station no longer in danger and no enemy fleet to fight, the two entities decided to hold instead a honor brawl.

However, the presence of [NC] Stealth Bombers in the G-5EN2 system caused the two sides to relocate to the neighboring 9-F0B2 system. StainWagon Coalition was allowed to go in first, situating themselves off the G-5EN2 gate, when Providence Bloc forces jumped into them and anchored up, starting the fight.

The brawl saw a quick fire exchange, with Providence Bloc losing Logistics ships and StainWagon losing a few mainline ships, as the two sides anchored up. After a while, the StainWagon Ishtars managed to kite out of the effective range of the Providence Bloc Strategic Cruisers, negating much of the damage. Providence Bloc for its part kept losing Logistics ships.

Thus, after a few minutes, the call was made for Providence Bloc ships to de-aggress and warp to the station and dock up, effectively finishing the fight.

With the fight over, StainWagon Coalition made its way home, safely extracting from the region.

Battle report for the 9-F0B2 system can be found here.
Alternate report can be found here.

During the fighting the system hosted 325 pilots, with Time Dilation being noticeable, reaching upwards of 60 and even 40%. The fight itself lasted merely 10 minutes.

Providence Bloc lost 38 ships, for a total of 5 Bil ISK. StainWagon Coalition lost 15 ships, for a total of 1 Bil ISK.

Special thanks to Jin'taan, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance and Elazar Keon, of The Black Company G.C. Soviet-Union, for granting interviews

News: Pandemic Legion Clashes Head On With Providence Bloc in G-5EN2

G-5EN2 system, Providence region. On the 7th of May, 20:00 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Pandemic Legion and Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] clashed head on with Providence Bloc who were defending the Infrastructure Hub in the system, resulting in a massive fight.

In the previous reinforcement timer, Providence Bloc brought an overwhelming force to the field, prompting [NC] to abstain from the fight. This time, taking note of the numbers brought previously, Pandemic Legion was contacted and brought along to reinforce the attackers.

Pandemic Legion brought a 160 pilot Tempest Fleet Issue Battleship fleet, with 5 Triage Archon Carriers. [NC] brought a Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet, 110 pilots strong with Triage Carrier support as well.

Providence Bloc brought a 200 pilot strong Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet with Goku Bomber support, around 70 pilots big and a regular Stealth Bomber wing. All told Providence Bloc had close to 300 pilots in the system.

Providence Bloc was further reinforced by forces belonging to the Curse Russians, also known as the Red Menace Coalition, who brought an approximately 70 pilot large Ishtar fleet as well.

The fighting began when [NC] forces skirmished the Red Menace Ishtar fleet over the 9-F0B2 gate in the G-5EN2 system. While no significant exchanges were made, Providence Bloc forces entered the system soon after, just as Pandemic Legion arrived on the 9-F0B2 gate as well, at a perch. This forced Providence Bloc to anchor up immediately and start the main event.

At this point the two sides started to exchange blows, with Providence Bloc focusing fire on the Pandemic Legion ships, while the Red Menace fleet warped out. The sheer amount of damage output from the two sides was overwhelming. Battleships and Ishtars melted before Logistics pilots could even lock them, which was not helped by the high amount of Time Dilation present.

As the two forces continued to battle, [NC] forces joined Pandemic Legion and contributed their fire as well. With split damage across the Providence Bloc fleet, Providence Bloc was hemorrhaging ships. The Goku Bomber fleet in particular suffered heavy losses and was forced to leave the system for a while.

At one point, one of the Triage Archons belonging to Pandemic Legion was almost destroyed, as the Ishtars rained punishment on it, managing to survive with only a sliver of hull remaining as it exited Triage mode in the nick of time, allowing it to receive remote repaires from its sister Carriers.

At this point the Red Menace fleet warped back on field, but was dragged by the interdiction fields active, landing on top of the Pandemic Legion Battleships. It lost several ships as it tried to burn out. However, they did not contribute much to the fighting altogether.

Screenshot of the Battle Taken by Yulai Federation Network

The battle raged on for a while, but as Providence Bloc was losing more and more mainline ships, its damage output reduced, it was unable to break either the Battleships nor the Strategic Cruisers' tank. 

As a last gambit, Providence Bloc sent their Logistics to the Infrastructure Hub, in order to repair it enough to reach 26%, so the shield reinforcement timer will reset. At the same time, the Ishtar fleet remained on field, distracting the enemy forces.

This however, turned out to be futile, as [NC] brought in their Super Capital fleet to reinforce the Infrastructure Hub, pushing it into its second reinforcement timer while the two sides kept battling.

With the Infrastructure Hub once again reinforced and half the fleet destroyed, Providence Bloc forces sounded the retreat. Red Menace Coalition also took the opportunity to withdraw, leaving the field to [NC] and Pandemic Legion to hold.

Having won the battle, Pandemic Legion and [NC] extracted from the system without further incident.

Battle report for the G-5EN2 system can be found here.
Alternative battle report can be found here.

During the peak of the fighting, the system hosted 713 pilots, with Time Dilation being a constant factor, effecting the battle, capping around 20% and remaining that high for the majority of the fight. The battle took approximately a full hour before dying down.

As killboards are still synchronizing, it is impossible to tell the exact number of losses. However, so far it seems that Providence Bloc lost the majority of the ships, with 88 ships lost for a total of 18 Bil ISK of damages. Red Menace Coalition suffered light losses, only 6 ships for approximately 600 Mil ISK damages. As for [NC] and Pandemic Legion, they lost 26 ships, for a total of 8 Bil ISK in damages, the majority of which was inflicted to Pandemic Legion.

With the conflict escalating further, as more allies and neutral coalitions are sucked into the fray, it becomes very clear that G-5EN2 will see many more pilots lose their lives fighting over it. While losing the battle, it seems morale in Providence is still high, as many see the fact [NC] had to call upon Pandemic Legion for support a clear sign of the former's inability to take them head on. Thus, they are still confident in their ability to win the war.

Propaganda Poster Calling Providence Bloc to the Flag, Courtesy of Yulai Federation Network

 

As Providence Bloc continues to resist the jackboot of [NC], further fighting is expected, as both the Station and the Infrastructure Hub come out of reinforced mode in the next few days. The EVE Scribe will keep you posted on the events as they unfurl.

Special thanks to, Jin'taan, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance for granting an interview and Yulai Federation Network for supplying the screenshots.

News: G-5EN2 Infrastructure Hub Saved, Northern Coalition(dot) Absents from the Fight

G-5EN2 system, Providence region. On the 5th of May, 19:00 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc rallied to save the system's Infrastructure Hub, resulting in a huge show of force.

Providence Bloc brought no less than 500 pilots to the system, divided into 4 fleets: A full Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet (256 pilots), a secondary Ishtar fleet, some 60 pilots strong. A 150 pilot Goku Bomber fleet and a regular Stealth Bomber wing.

These forces were further bolstered by Spectre Fleet and the Curse Russians, who brought more Ishtars into the mix.

Local peaked at 700 pilots in the G-5EN2 system, all on Providence Bloc's side, prompting Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] to absent from the fight, as they could not hope to contend with such a huge force, short of dropping their Super Capital fleet. This allowed Providence Bloc and their allies to quickly dismantle the Sovereignty Blockade Units stationed at the gates, effectively securing the system once more.

After repairing the Infrastructure Hub, Providence Bloc and their allies returned to their staging systems, having accomplished their main goal.

The only incidents registered were: 

A [NC] Stealth Bomber wing which harassed the Providence Bloc fleet as they were removing Sovereignty Blockade Units. The bombing run cost Providence 33 Ishtars and 47 Stealth Bombers, as well as assorted Frigates, for a total for 10 Bil ISK of damages.

Battle report can be found here.

An attempt to pipe bomb the Providence Bloc fleet as it made its way back to staging, which ultimately failed twice, with Providence Bloc sustaining minor losses only and dispatching a few of the Battleships before continuing on.

Battle report for the first attempt can be found here.
Battle report for the second attempt can be found here.

All told not much action was had, but instead a message sent, that Providence Bloc can and will field large numbers to defend its sovereignty. So long as the conflict was limited to deploying Sovereignty Blockade Units, Providence Bloc was happy to oblige [NC] and provide limited engagements. However, when it came to its own sovereignty, Providence Bloc made it very clear it will not tolerate any threat.

One interesting fact is the show of force made by the Curse Russians in aid of Providence Bloc. The Curse Russians have a long score to settle with [NC], and in coming to reinforce Providence Bloc, are sending a message to [NC] that old grudges have not been forgotten. This can potentioally prove detrimental to [NC]'s continued deployment in the region, especially if the Curse Russians decide to pursue their grudge even further.

Providence Bloc made its move, now its up to [NC] to answer it. Will it escalate the conflict further, or will it attempt a return to the previous dynamic? Only time will tell.

Special thanks to Yulai Federation Networks for the screenshot.

News: Providence Bloc Suffers Defeat in G-5EN2, Station Reinforced

G-5EN2 system, Providence region. On the 3rd of May, at 19:00 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc and Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] clashed once more in the system, in a bloody fight that continued the escalation in the conflict fought between the two.

As what has become a routine, [NC] forces deployed Sovereignty Blockade Units in the G-5EN2 system, prompting Providence Bloc to form up and take them down.

Providence Bloc brought 170 pilots in 2 fleets, a Proteus\Legion Strategic Cruiser fleet, estimated at a 100 pilots, and a Goku bomber fleet, around 50 ships strong. Added to that was a regular Stealth Bomber wing.

The fleet raced its way to the G-5EN2 system, where forces belonging to [NC] were already situated on the station, reinforcing it. [NC] brought a 100 pilot fleet, of Tempest Fleet Issue Battleships, with 5 Triage Archon Carriers.

Providence Bloc's forces decided not to engage the [NC] fleet at its own terms, and instead focused their attention on the Sovereignty Blockade Unit deployed on the 9-F0B2 gate. This prompted the [NC] fleet to warp to the gate, getting caught in the interdiction field deployed by Providence Bloc and starting the fight.

The beginning of the battle saw a savage exchange, as Tempest Fleet Issues and Strategic Cruisers were volleyed off one by one. After a while though, things started to go badly for Providence Bloc. A bad call caused both the Goku and the Strategic Cruiser fleet to enter the thick of the [NC] fleet. Though this made tracking hard for the Tempest Fleet Issues, it also made things considerably worse for Providence Bloc, as they were hit by their own bomber wing.

Receiving a full hit from Void bombs, many of the Strategic Cruisers lost their capacitor entirely. Unable to turn on modules or tank, they were mercilessly cut down by the Tempest Fleet Issues, who could still cycle guns as they were not dependent on energy.

Smartbombing Tempest Fleet Issues, specifically fitted to counter Providence Bloc's usage of Stealth Bombers, did a great job of clearing many of Providence Bloc's Goku bombers, effectively cutting down Providence E-war and damage output, as well as removing a serious threat to the [NC] fleet.

Faced with heavy losses and inability to sustain further fighting, Providence Bloc retreated back to their staging, allowing [NC] to continue and reinforce the station, signaling another escalation in the war between the two entities.

Once done, [NC] extracted from the system without further incident.

Video of the Fight from Providence Bloc's Perspective, Courtesy of Mangraa Dementia.

Battle report for the G-5EN2 system can be found here.

Local peaked at 320 pilots at the thick of the fighting, with Time Dilation making an appearance, spiking to 60% at one point, but otherwise having no large noticeable effect. The fight lasted 17 minutes.

Providence Bloc forces suffered the brunt of the losses in this battle, losing 85 ships, for a total damage of 13.6 Bil ISK. [NC] fared much better compared to previous fights, losing 18 ships only, for a total of 5.8 Bil ISK in damages.

Up until this point, Providence Bloc have been handling the conflict quite well, able to stand up against [NC] when it came to sub-capital fleet engagements. Though possibly a temporary setback, the fight did show that [NC] were willing to escalate further, considering what an expensive and powerful doctrine Tempest Fleet Issue is. 

The question is, what can Providence Bloc do to counter this new threat, considering the Super Capital umbrella [NC] enjoys and their willingness to use it. I guess once the station exits reinforced mode we shall see their answer.

Special thanks to Mangraa Dementia, of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance, for supplying the video footage.

News: Conlict Pours Into The 9-F0B2 System

9-F0B2 system, Providence region. On 2nd of May, 21:00 EVE Standard Time, Providence Bloc and Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] clashed again over Sovereignty Blockade Units in the system, in a continuation of hostilities between the two factions.

[NC] brought 80 pilots in a Tengu Strategic Cruiser fleet, who promptly sat on the 9-F0B2 gate in the neighboring G-5EN2 system, waiting for Providence Bloc to form and engage them.

Providence Bloc, for its part, brought more than 200 pilots, divided into a main Ishtar Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, around a 130 pilots strong, supported by a Goku wing and a regular Stealth Bomber wing.

Providence Bloc forces bridged into the 9-F0B2 system, in order to avoid possible confrontation with [NC] on route, and situated themselves on the G-5EN2 gate, deploying a Mobile Cyno Inhibitor and targeting the [NC] Sovereignty Blockade Unit. Once [NC] saw Providence Bloc had no intention of jumping into them, they took the imitative and jumped into the system, thus starting the fight.

A short battle ensued, with Providence Bloc and [NC] exchanging blows, [NC] targeting the Goku bombers, while Providence Bloc went straight for the Tengus. As the battle raged, Providence Bloc bombers made their impact, dropping round after round of Void bombs, effectively destroying the capacitor of the Tengus and their Logistics, enabling Providence Bloc to easily overpower the [NC] fleet.

This forced [NC] to retreat temporarily, allowing Providence Bloc to once again focus on the Sovereignty Blockade Unit. However, after a while [NC] returned to the field, and the battle resumed in earnest.

Just as before, the fight saw an exchange of bombers for Tengus, as more waves of Void bombs kept the [NC] disorganized, unable to maintain their tank or activate shield transfers in time. Once more, [NC] was forced off the field.

This proved to be the last attempt at a fight, as shortly after, [NC] forces attempted to leave the system back to Low Security space, with Providence Bloc hot on their heels. Once [NC] had left the system, Providence Bloc finished removing the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units, thus securing the system once more before returning to their staging system.

The Battle from Providence Bloc's Perspective, Courtesy of Mangraa Dementia (Warning; Strong Language)

Battle report for the 9-F0B2 system can be found here.

The system saw more than 340 pilots at the peak of the fighting, with Time Dilation being a constant factor, reaching around 60% and slowly going down as time went by. The fight itself lasted only 15 minutes.

Providence Bloc lost 30 ships, the vast majority Stealth Bombers, for 1.5 Bil ISK damages. [NC] lost 19 ships, for a total of 6 Bil ISK of damages.

Rumors abound over [NC] Fleet Commander's response over the usage of Stealth Bombers, threatening to use Carrier fleets in the future. However, while [NC] views this war as a fun excursion, for Providence Bloc, its a fight for their home, and all means are legitimate when protecting it.

As one Providence Bloc Fleet Commander commented "Let him bring his Carriers, I will bring 200 bombers in response".

Clearly, things are heating up in the Providence region, for better and for worse.

Special thanks to Jin'taan, of Pentag Blade, Curatores Veritatis Alliance for granting an interview and Mangraa Dementia, of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance, for supplying the video footage.

News: Northern Coalition(dot) Reinforces Towers in Providence, Pays a Toll for Its Actions

N-RMSH system, Providence region. On the 1st of May, 20:30 EVE Standard Time, Northern Coalition(dot) [NC] reinforced towers in the system. However, when extracting, an Aeon Mothership and an Archon Carrier were left behind and immediately got tackled, resulting in a fight.

[NC] had deployed a large Super Capital fleet to the N-RMSH system, reinforcing towers belonging to Yulai Federation [YF]. The force included no less than 15 Aeon, 11 Nyx and 1 Hel Motherships, 7 Naglfar and 3 Moros Dreadnoughts and 12 Archon Carriers. After finishing their show of unstoppable force, the [NC] Super Capital fleet extracted from the system, save for a single Aeon and a single Archon who were caught by an interdiction probe deployed by a Providence Bloc pilot, just as the fleet was jumping out of the system.

Quickly, Providence Bloc pilots used the opportunity to keep the Carrier and Mothership tackled in one of the asteroid belts in the system. In the meantime, pings were sent, fleets diverted and reinforcements started pouring into the system. While the Aeon did manage to break itself free, clearing the interdiction probes around it and jumping out to safety, the Archon wasn't so lucky.

[NC], realizing the gravity of the situation, attempted to mount a rescue. Due to the Phoebe changes to jump drives, most of its Super Capital fleet was fatigued, unable to jump back to the rescue of the tackled ships. Instead, a makeshift gang of shield Battlecruisers and Cruisers was assembled and bridged into the system, intending to clear tackle and allow the Archon to jump out.

However, by this time Providence Bloc bridged in reinforcements, and more were pouring through the gates. A brief skirmish was fought over the Carrier, in which Providence Bloc completely and utterly annihilated the [NC] rescue fleet. With no hope left and an overwhelming enemy force pouring its fury at it, the Archon had little to do but to surrender to the onslaught.

With the Archon destroyed, Providence Bloc secured the system, content in making the giant bleed for its efforts.

The Last Moments of the Archon from Providence Bloc's Perspective, Courtesy of Mangraa Dementia

Battle report for the N-RMSH system can be found here.

At the peak of the battle, local reached 200 pilots, with no Time Dilation reported.

Providence Bloc lost 28 ships, for a total of 2.5 Bil ISK. [NC] lost an equal number of ships, but triple the cost, receiving nearly 8 Bil ISK in damages.

As the two entities continue to battle each other, and now towers reinforced, it seems a new level of hostility has been reached. With timers slowly ticking down, the next engagement may prove to be far more brutal than those before it, raising concerns of the direction this "Limited War" is taking.

Special thanks to corebloodbrothers, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult, for granting an interview, and for Yulai Federation Networks and Mangraa Dementia of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance, for supplying the screenshots and video footage.

News: Skirmishes Continue in G-5EN2

G-5EN2 system, Providence region. On the 30th of April, at 20:30 EVE Standard Time, another battle was fought over the system between forces of Providence Bloc and Northern Coalition(dot) [NC], becoming another link in a long line of engagements between the two entities.

Sovereignty Blockade Units were once more deployed by [NC] in the system of G-5EN2, forcing Providence Bloc to hastily form up in order to take them down. 4 fleets were formed, with the main being a 130 pilot Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet, supported by a Naga Battlecruiser wing, 40 pilots big, a Goku\E-war Frigate fleet and a regular Stealth Bomber wing. All told Providence Bloc had around 220 pilots, who promptly made their way to the besieged system.

[NC] for its part had a 90 Loki Strategic Cruiser fleet waiting in the system. As Providence Bloc forces entered through the 9-F0B2 system, the Loki fleet warped at its optimal range from their in-gate, starting the fight.

At first, Providence Bloc took a beating, as their fleets were scrambling to anchor up and position themselves. But after the first few minutes, the exchange started to look more equal, with [NC] losing Logistics ships and Lokis to the combined firepower of Providence Bloc.

As the Providence Bloc fleets continued to rain fire on the [NC] fleet, several attempts were made to take the Naga fleet out of commission. But after failed warp ins and losing more Lokis who got tackled by the main Proteus fleet, as well as suffering harassment from the Providence Bloc bombers, [NC] had no choice but to concede the field. Thus the Loki fleet disengaged, retreating back to Low Security space.

This allowed Providence Bloc the opportunity to take down the hostile Sovereignty Blockade Units. Having secured the system once more, Providence Bloc forces returned to their staging system without further incident.

The Battle from Providence Bloc's Perspective, Courtesy of Mangraa Dementia

Battle report for the G-5EN2 system can be found here.

All told the engagement was quite quick and low key compared to previous battles. Lasting less than 20 minutes, with local never exceeding 330 pilots at the peak of fighting. Time Dilation was not reported.

Providence Bloc lost 31 ships in the fighting, mostly support ships, for a total of 3 Bil ISK of damages. [NC] lost 20 ships, for a total of 7 Bil ISK.

Providence Bloc Propaganda Video Regarding G-5EN2, Courtesy of Yulai Federation Networks

As [NC] continues to adjust and re-build its strength after the Fountain-Delve war, many more engagements are expected to be fought in the Providence region, as it proves to still be the most popular place for large fleet action.

Special thanks for corebloodbrothers, of Volition Cult, The Volition Cult for granting an interview and Yulai Federation Networks and Mangraa Dementia, of Blue Tridents, Sev3rance, for supplying the screenshots and video footage.