Breaking news!

TEST and many members of the Clusterfuck Coalition are re-setting the NC. This should be great fun, most pilots agree there was too much NAP in 0.0 lately.

I think having the NC leave us blueballed with no communication over and over again when we tried to help them out in defense played a HUGE role in this decision. Having a huge fleet sit on a Titan ready to bridge for hours on multiple days without ever coordinating an attack is a lame way to treat your friends.

We will now get to shoot (ex-)Blues!

The Eye Strengthens

With the Goons' new station in B-DBYQ, the Eye of Terror grows even stronger. Placing a Gallente outpost was a smart move, as it allows many corps to set up offices there, easing the logistics of major war. Making it easy for pilots to gather on the edge of Fountain is the obvious culmination of the infamous Eye of Terror. Can a strengthening hold on western Fountain translate into further gains by Dek Co?

Fountain remains contested space, this weekend will show which way the locus of control is shifting. This war has now lasted months and time will show who wants Fountain more.

Null sec overdrive

Dominion has brought serious changes to Null sec that are just beginning to be felt.  Fiddler's Edge has a great overview of the change in 0.0 and the rise of mega wealth derived from Care-Bears.

 

Most traditional 0.0 Alliances have a love-hate relationship with Industrial activity.  PVPers depend on income from ratting or trade, and benefit from well-stocked markets.  On the other hand, having a defense CTA fizzle because only 10% of pilots are willing to fight is a great way to lose morale and sovereignty.  I have seen that sort of failcascade from the inside out in my brief 9 months in 0.0.  This experience brings some insights into maximizing null-sec resources.

 

Renting Sovereignty is inefficient and chaotic.  There is drama, corp/Alliance failure and constant turnover that saps the administering Alliance's time and energy.  The "landlord" has to constantly mediate the whiners and obnoxious individuals that sneak through even the best screening processes.  For the subject Alliances, the constant payments sap their strength and this drain makes it very difficult to transition from renter to a position of strength.  The landlord Alliance also will usually prefer that the renter not become too powerful, as that can be a threat to the dominating power.

 

PVP oriented organizations rightly need to avoid diluting their focus with a cadre of non-aggressive spreadsheet fetishists.  However, the PVP Alliances will hugely benefit from the income and convenience a care bear dominated market and region can bring.  In the past, some organizations have explored splitting their focus with divisions between -A- and AAA Citizens for example.  However, I feel that this approach "dilutes the brand" of the liege Alliance without providing real benefit beyond the lead Alliance not having to maintain the sov space that is rented out in this manner.

 

Based on my observations in nullsec, I would propose a more efficient organizational structure to maximize Sov space profitability.   In this set-up, all station systems are held by the main Alliance in the region/constellation.  Industrial Corps are recruited into an Industrial-focused Alliance affiliated with the landlord who can negotiate NAP status with major allies.  The mindblowing innovation I am proposing is that NO RENT be charged to the members of the Industrial Alliance.  Instead, the landlord will make their money from Station taxes and fees with very little drama/oversight required.  Office rentals in the stations will alone provide a huge source of constant steady income.  By not charging rent, you alleviate the need to micro-manage while also boosting the perceived value of occupying your space.  I have seen the ISK numbers involved in managing multiple stations, and they are huge.

 

By setting this system up, huge numbers of "carebears" can be enticed to the depths of nullsec to shoot rats, mine, and run complexes.  These Industrial/PVE focused pilots will spend huge amounts of money in the local markets, which will boom as the population increases.  This market activity along with a cut of refinery activity will make serious ISK for the Military Alliance.  Having huge reserves of PVE fodder is also good for the small gang PVP lovers in the main Alliance, as it will attract pirates and roaming small gangs that need to be fought off.  Controlling shares in the Industrial Alliance would be distributed to alts of the controllers of the main Alliance to minimize risk of betrayal/sabotage. 

 

In addition, a certain not-insignificant percentage of nullsec "carebear" pilots will develop an interest in PVP activity and eventually be a potential recruitment source for the main Alliance.  Having cross-Alliance ops such as the NC runs can give pilots in the Industrial corps a chance to explore PVP and contribute to the cause without bringing the main PVP focused Alliance down.  Ops that require security can exclude the Bear-squad to minimize spies, who would likely have an easier time infiltrating Industrial corps.

 

I think this organization would allow huge numbers of pilots to maximize resource extraction without the security risks and "dead-weight" syndrome that can cause "corp-rot" from too much PVE activity in nullsec.  The Administering Alliance would likely reserve a few of the most "choice" low true-sec systems for their pilots to exploit to regenerate needed ISK.  It would be easy to reserve access to certain systems for the Alliance's pilots while radically increasing overall constellation density.  There are very few negatives to filling up your un-used nullsec with carebear hordes.

 

In summary, Goonfleet Federation needs a Goonbear Federation; IT Alliance needs BoBears; Red.Overlord needs the Red.BearMasters.  I predict that the Alliances that master carebear synergy while maintaining a PVP elite capable of holding onto Sov space will flourish in the near future.  As the ISK flows, supercaps will follow!

 

 

Don't count your eggs before they hatch!