BRAVE SOTA by lychton

Brave Collective,

This SOTA is going to be a little different than previously conducted. I want to take this brief time to not only get everyone up to speed, but to also address the newest class of newbies that have arrived on our doorstep and into the fold of the Brave Collective. I have divided this SOTA into three parts. Forgive me if the narrative is a little disjointed, but it’s necessary to convey the point.

CURRENT STATE

A little bit less than two weeks ago, CCP released the now iconic video entitled, This is Eve. The video was widely accepted within the Eve community and beyond, creating a tidal wave of new players in numbers not seen since Asakai or B-R5RB. Seeking to capitalize on these new players, Brave leadership took action across the Universe. We subbed trial accounts to help newbies get through the tutorial. We ran fleets through the trade hubs of Amarr, Dodixie, Rens, and Jita. We lifted our anti-spy requirements to accept the hordes of newbies into our loving fold. All in all, the Collective has processed somewhere between 1700-2000 applications. Granted, there are a lot of spies in that number, but whatever, we have never been that good about keeping ppl out.

We currently stand at 12,380 members, and according to evewho, are the largest Alliance in New Eden. And with that booming number, I can say that the current state of the alliance is outstanding.

We run on newbie mojo, as BNI, and subsequently BRAVE was founded in the principles of having fun, learning stuff, and killing things often. Even now as a member of the HERO Coalition, (the best damn coalition in the game), we are still basically the hyperactive kid on the playground hugging everything to death. We have Brave Dojo fleets around the clock, small fun/drunk roams, classes, fleets to rescue newbies out of wormholes, you name it. This new Class of newbies is fantastic, because we as an alliance have found our inherent calling by helping our fellow pilots grow in between major timers and fun fleets. This change in what we do with our downtime is awesome, and it shows.

PREVIOUSLY IN BRAVE COLLECTIVE

Now, the past month or so has been significant, but not in the normal BRAVE way. CCP had announce major changes to the way the denizens of New Eden have traditionally been able to move around, or force project, across the galaxy. This created a ripple effect that made everyone go nuts. Sovereignty fell in certain areas, alliances prestaged in others, loyalties were severed, and new relationships formed. To that end, we said goodbye to our friends at Almost Awesome, and FOX.HOUND, and watched them journey on to follow their content. Brave, along with the rest of the HERO Coalition, remained in place, much to the mockery of armchair quarterbacks, unsubscribed fleet commanders, and biased space journalists.

But we stayed committed to HERO and Catch. And with good reason. Brave was winding down our skirmish with Providence for the northern border systems in Catch. We were not making any real headway, and playing ping pong for systems ends up being more tedious than not. Coupled this back-and-forth, along with the possibility of being exposed at two fronts once PHOEBE released, the Coalition agreed to end the dispute with Provi Bloc and give our fc’s a little bit of breathing room before the release.

But in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. Our friendly third party folks from the previous skirmish also had decided to wait for a bit Post Phoebe and see what everyone else is getting into before making their next move. And found they found a nice supply of content in us. Over the past month or so, we’ve been playing with our new frenemies and somewhat neighbors, as they seized a foothold in the eastern portion of Catch. They’ve headshotted our systems, reinforced poses, destroyed jump bridges, giving us a crash course in “howthefucktowedefendourselves?” But we’ve stayed BRAVE, and we are still here.

MOVING Forward

As our Newbies transition themselves from trial account members to full fledged bravelings, we will always ensure that we take care of them. Just like how we took care of ourselves in Hek, Rahadalon, Barleguet. How we huddled in 9-GYLO, trudged through the Winter War against Usurper, and stayed alive in Sendaya. This is how we accidentally a SOV from darkness, and proved that Burnination is a thing by destroying an infrastructure HUB with 315 Kestrels.

Each wave of newbie that comes in adds a layer of strength to our organization. From ewar/tackle frigs, to cruisers, to t2 cruisers, logi, battleships, t3s, to carriers, dreads and even like 1 titan I think, it’s clearto see that we are a growing force in new eden. We are a big ball of pilots that recognize the true power of the newbie, the newbie that lives in all of us. Make no mistake, we are an alliance of trial and tribulation. But we come out of that fire as steely-eyed bitternewbs, always ready for the next step.

We anticipate to be fighting our friends here in catch for the forseeable future. Brave Military and Diplomacy teams are working on further strengthening our bond with the rest of the coalition and streamlining the way we conduct operations, as members of our alliance, and as a partner to HERO. Our adversaries are getting their kicks, just the same as we are, but I truly believe that we are getting the better end of the deal. We are learning a metric shitton, and are becoming better at stuff, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times.

Our Support Staff, including our IT team, Dojo, Recruiters, Industrialists, Marketeers, Buybackers, Propagandists, I want to also give you a salute for being the purring engine within Brave, keeping everything running smoothly. Keep up the good work by supplying the line members with ships, ammo, services, and knowledge. We are only as strong as what we undock and die with, and I cannot emphasize how important we are to each other. The alliance is colossal and the upkeep required is significant.

Now, the next release is coming on December 9th, and RHEA looks to be unlocking some really cool opportunities. Yes, we will go play in Thera. Yes, we will take out silly roams and form for stratops per usual. But there is one thing that we are also going to do. We are keeping an eye out for January. The release after Rhea is expected to change the fundamental nature of SOV mechanics and how this null-sec game is played. This is the sound of war that we are waiting for.

The next SOTA will not be a SOTA, but a SOTC for HERO Coalition. Once we understand what the hell is coming down the pipe, and we have a plan for it, we will relay this info to everyone. I cannot say whether or not we stay in Catch come 2015, but I can say that whatever BRAVE does, it will be as a coalition level measured response to the coming changes. Awwww yesss.

So, take this time to make your isk. Use your time to train up this beautiful batch of newbies. Let’s use this time to become better pilots in whatever role we assume for fights. Let’s stay classy and cheerfully give our enemies a gf and 70 in local, like the cute, rabid little fuckers we are. And lastly, remember that being Brave is more than being in a spaceship, living in a certain area, shitting up our defense comms.

Brave is about three things unity, bourbon, and marching to the sound of war.

This is Lychton Kondur. 7o, Out

also, hi finonethousand712 (SPAI) and Fletcher Kanewald [TEST]: