There is no video game quite likeEVE Online. Even among MMORPGs,EVE Onlinestands out as a rarity where almost everything is player-owned and operated.EVEplayers have done some incredible things,even helping scientists fight the coronavirus.
Some of the greatest acts (though not necessarily friendliest) ofEVE Onlineplayers have been wars. Different clans and alliances have battled each other for territory, resources, or for fun over the game’s lifespan. Four years ago, one of the most significant conflicts inEVE’s history, known as either World War Bee, The Casino War, or The Northern War, came to an end. However, partially as a consequence of that war, and partially from a long simmering resentment of one high-ranking player against another, a new war began not long ago, and it just hit a huge milestone.
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The conflict known as World War Bee 2 is between two alliances. Goonswarm’s Imperium is one of the most important factions in the game’s history and is led by Alex “The Mittani” Gianturco. PAPI is an alliance of powerful groups led by Villy, a former employee of Gianturco and fleet commander. Over the weekend, PAPI breached the Imperium’s homeland of Delve with two keepstars (EVE’s Deathstarequivalent). While one was destroyed in short other, it was only a ruse for the second to establish a hold on the system. The battle to destroy it was the largest PVP battle recorded in any video game up to this point.
The players ofEVE Onlineare no strangers to innovation in warfare. New tactics and underhanded strategies have had to be developed on the fly to deal with overwhelming power many times. This doesn’t mean extra measures like theDDOS attack that hitEve Onlinerecently either. It comes down to in-game tactics. Imperium Fleet Commander Asher Elias had to take down a space fortress and an enemy with greater resources. In the end he was successful, and both keepstars were destroyed.
The battle ran for 14 hours straight. It involved a total of 8,825 players (with a total of 11,258 accounts), with a peak of 6,557 players participating at once. This broke two world records, one for total players in a PVP battle, and one for number of players in a PVP battle at one time. The game had to be slowed by a factor of 10 to accommodate player commands. If the game’s newupdate which toggles off the graphicsgoes live, battles like this may become even faster and larger.
Both sides walked away with bruises and victories. The Imperium beat back its foe, but PAPI drained critical resources while still outnumbering its enemy. The war is not over. There will likely be many new graves atMolea Cemetarybefore World War Bee 2 draws to a close.
