Overview:
I hope it is obvious, but if not… This deployment is going very, very well for us. We have had some really fun fights, including good capital combat experience for our members along with some very nice capital kills. Honestly I am a little surprised at how well the fights in the North have been going.In this campaign, our group (GCLUB/Nulli/BL) has been the Vanguard force. Our position is grill to grill with the primary CFC forces, and they have made no secret of the fact that they can freely waive their Epeens with Titans, Supers, and massive blobs. We came here expecting to fight difficult (even overwhelming) odds, and we expected to take heavy losses. That is our role in this campaign, and arguably ours is the most fun (especially when SRP’d :)). However, on a more “objective oriented” note, there is also much more going on strategically, than can be seen from the rank and file on the front lines.
I am sure it is apparent by now that the N3 coalition intentionally divided into multiple groups, and we are attacking the CFC on multiple fronts. Our presence (and our constant offensive) in the north has been forcing the CFC to choose what they defend and where; ultimately betraying the level of value placed on each of their allies. As the CFC is forced to choose, and protect only those things (and allies) that they REALLY care about, a very powerful point is made to those who are not so lucky.
For the CFC this is like a really nice ass whoopin. When you are getting hit and kicked from all directions you have to make choices. You have only two hands. You can use them to cover your face, you can cover your ass, or you can cover your balls. However, you can’t cover everything from a standing position. You have to lay on the ground, curl up into a ball, and take your beating on the floor, fetal position, hands cupped around your nut sack!
So… up here in the north… well we are here to kick balls! It isn’t all that surprising that we are getting the bulk of their attention. The only thing that surprises me so far is how many shots we have delivered to those tiny tender testicles!
Even outnumbered and outgunned, we are pulling even draws and sometimes decisive wins. Though not necessary to complete our objective, this is icing on the cake. Our fights have gone far better than I expected, and all of this is made possible with 3 basic ingredients: Good numbers, good choices, and excellent FC’ing. Those are the ingredients for what I like to call “pussy tear soup”. So let’s keep cooking it up, and serving it to the CFC!
Specifically for GCLUB, I am very proud of what we have accomplished in such a short period of time. We are getting bigger, stronger, and gaining in experience and pilot skill. Our development has been phenomenal, and believe me… it has been noticed! So great job all, keep up the good work, and keep pushing numbers, training queues, and proper priorities. At our current rate of growth and development, imagine where we will be in another year…
Mandatory Doctrines:
Doctrines are never easy to coordinate at the coalition level. Each alliance has their own member base, average skill level, preferences, prejudices, and history (i.e. inertia). Doctrine synching is a very delicate subject, and does require compromise. This is a reality that I am sure you are all used to by now, and sometimes it is one of the most frustrating things I have to deal with. There have been a lot of things mentioned, or half announced in TS by various FC’s and individuals. I have recently made clear that all GCLUB doctrine changes will come from myself and Rhaeghar. Period!We have managed to sit down and hammer out a more cohesive and coordinated approach to doctrines. We have already adopted a lot of changes since the start of this deployment, and for now… THAT IS ENOUGH. So to re-iterate, after CBwT, our current doctrines are:
Bombers
Ishtars (now shield)
Cerberus/Scimi (with both RML & HML fit options), and a temp preference for Basilisk Logi
Zealot/Guardian
Loki/Scimitar
Those are still the official GCLUB doctrines, and those are the ONLY ships that are mandatory for our members. Recent changes include some fit tweaking, and a temporary preference for Basilisk with Cerbs (which is a direct counter to CFC Tengus). That is enough for now, and we are going to give you guys some time (at least several weeks) to solidify those before we consider anything else.
Nulli Doctrines:
It is no surprise that we will continue to work very closely with Nulli and will try to stay largely synch’d in terms of doctrines. Nulli is considering a number of doctrine changes that are likely to be announced in the coming days. Largely their doctrine changes will be much more in line with ours, but they will likely have another ship or two on their doctrine list that will NOT officially be on our mandatory list. GCLUB currently has a large span of pilot skill:We have some pilots who are frantically trying to get settled into our doctrines. Believe me I get that. If you think I don’t, I can sit down some time and tell you horror stories of being in Nulli with <5m skill points (and less than half combat). I feel your pain, and I work very hard to make our environment a thousand times more forgiving than that which I experienced. At the same time I gotta push us toward excellence, and ultimately we have to have good fleets. So to our lower skills pilots, I can’t promise it will be easy, but I can promise that it will be realistic, and as long as you do your part, you will have the time and patience to get where you need to be.
We also have pilots who have very high SP, who can easily shift to new doctrines (with little or no training). So for the other doctrines Nulli may roll out, I will tell you for now that you will likely be encouraged to Train, buy, and field them once you have our primary doctrines covered. You will be encouraged to field them in coalition fleets, and they will be SRP’d (provided they fit within our SRP parameters in terms of risk/reward). This will fall into the “strongly encouraged, but not mandatory” category. It is my hope that we have a good number of pilots who do this, and we will be working out alternative solutions for those who can’t (i.e. what GCLUB will field if the coalition is fielding X doctrine). This process will never be perfect or easy, but we are working hard to improve it.
Are We Going to Remain Deployed Through the Patch?
I can’t say for sure, however for sub caps I will say it is extremely likely, and it is possible that our deployment position will be shifted before the patch. The truth is that we have made huge progress, and the advantages of our current strategies are going to be amplified by the November 4th changes. I don’t expect that we will wipe the CFC off the map, but we have an excellent opportunity to cut them down to size, and bring the pain.We have to remember something: These mother fuckers attacked us last year. They tried to wipe us out, and despite their best “heart stabbing” efforts, we quickly re-claimed everything that was lost (and more), and here we are six month later, right back in their faces, and on the attack. So on some level:
“Revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold… in space.”
~Khan (Stardate 8130.3)
What About Caps before November 4th?
The big question on everyone’s mind. Unfortunately it is also one that I am not going to answer at this time, but will have an announcement on very soon. What I can tell you is this: There is a plan; it is a good plan; and we will (as always) leverage our assets toward the maximum benefit of our alliance and coalition.Just in case you are concerned: Make no mistake! I am quite well aware of the coming changes; I am quite well aware of the implications of those changes; and I am quite well aware of the date. So relax!
One thing to keep in mind (whether it be now, or in the future), we will have times that part or all of our cap force will be forward deployed. Even post patch, our caps will travel, our caps will fight in distant locations, and our caps will die in glorious, Titan melting fires! We have been building up to this for some time, and we are at the cusp of an entirely new level of combat in Eve. So trust your leadership, enjoy the process, and pay close attention to announcements!
Immediate Changes To Our Deployment:
Ok, so I am going to go ahead and announce the following, and ask you to sort it out over the next week or so.We are moving our Zealots home, and we are moving our Lokis & Chimeras to Tartoken. Here is a list of what you should have and where:
In Tartoken:
· Bomber (at least 2)
· Ishtar (shield fit)
· Cerberus/Basilisk
· Loki/AB Scimitar (Ready to re-fit MWD for Cerb Fleet if no Basi)
· Dreads
· Carriers (Archon and Chimera)
· Roam & Fun Shit (Talwars, Recons, BLOPs, etc..)
In CKX:
· Bomber (at least 2)
· Cerberus/Scimitar
· Zealot/Guardian
· Supers and Titans
· HD Shit (Ferox, Brutix, etc..)
Note: You will notice that we want our Cerberus fleet in both locations. This is NOT a typo. This is the first step toward a new paradigm, so get used to this idea. Some doctrines will be duplicated and staged in multiple locations. At present you should have the Cerb doctrine BOTH in deployment AND in home space.
Also very much worth noting, I really want people to get used to the “Isk Deployment” concept (details posted HERE). So if you have a Zealot at home already, and bought one for deployment, you can liquidate it (or keep in the area). However, be sure you have a Zealot/Guardian and a Cerb/Scimi at home. We need to be combat ready from home at all times!
Asset Review:
If your like me, you have a fuck ton of extra ships laying around. I have Geddons, Maelstroms, Scorpions, and shit in various locations throughout the universe. In CKX I have 3 extra Domis, a couple Mega’s, several Brutix, a few extra Scorpions, and a fuck ton of misc. small shit I don’t sue. I strongly encourage members to re-evaluate what they have where, and what they still need and don’t. There are three reasons for this:#1 – If you do have a bunch of extra, useless ships laying around in CKX (or anywhere else for that matter), that you just haven’t gotten around to moving out and liquidating… remember it is going to be FAR more difficult to do this in 2 weeks. So you might as well take advantage of the long carrier jump ranges, and get that shit moved now if you don’t need it in CKX.
#2 – One of the realities of coming changes is that we will need members to maintain multiple “weapons caches” in various places. We will try to keep this as reasonable as possible, but it does mean that you will possibly need to own 2 or 3 of some doctrines, and if you are short on isk for this, converting that old Mega or Domi or whatever (useless to us atm) into an extra cerb or zealot (or two) would be a far more useful form. Remember all ships are just isk in another form.
#3 – I am very confident in our sov position in Immensea post patch. That said, we are entering a time of change in the Eve Universe. I have ALWAYS encouraged people to be intelligent about unnecessary and excessive isk accumulations in conquerable stations. In the coming months anything can happen. Honestly, I see way more opportunities than threats for us, but we are moving into a more dynamic universe, and being intelligent about asset positioning is always a good move.
Summary:
I am probably going to be releasing a LOT more information on a number of subjects in the coming week or two. I strongly encourage taking the time to read it.In the meantime, please keep doing what you are doing. Keep pushing numbers to fleets, and get your ships positioned in the appropriate locations ASAP!
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