Gigantic Space Battle Breaks Out in EVE Online, Thanks to Unpaid Bill

One week after this monstrous galactic throwdown in EVE Online, the sci-fi MMO is the scene of another humongous space battle—and it’s all because of a missed bill payment. https://kotaku.com/eve-onlines-two-biggest-factions-had-an-enormous-battl-1504584086(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Because this is EVE, the intrigue leading up to one of these rumbles is often more entertaining than the huc fight itself—especially when it gets so large that time itself has to slow down to account for all the ships in the area of operation. According to an email EVE Online sent out today, more than eight Titans—these are the real bad mofos of the EVE fleet, capable of equipping a superlaser—have already been destroyed in the Battle of System B-R5RB. The belligerents are, once again, the N3 Coalition and the Clusterfuck Coalition (CFC), with other alliances assisting both sides. What touched off this battle? A missed bill payment, basically. “Earlier today an alliance in the N3 coalition missed a bill payment HUC99 for the system where Pandemic Legion is staging and storing their fleets,” writes EVE. “This missed bill caused sovereignty to drop across the system leaving the station vulnerable to capture. Seizing the opportunity, the CFC (Goonswarm Federation, Razor Alliance, Black Legion and the Initiative) and Russian Coalition (Solar Fleet, Darkness of Despair and Against ALL Authorities) captured the station.” You might remember that CFC got its collective ass handed to it back on Jan. 18, when it decided to tangle with Pandemic Legion’s “Wrecking Ball” fleet down yonder in System HED-GP. N3/Pandemic sent aforesaid Wrecking Ball into n98 B-R5RB to retake the station, although at a smaller strength. CFC brought in “a large contingent of Dominixes, Dreadnaughts and Titans,” and decided it was time to play the Feud! Here is my favorite part of the email: “The fight is ongoing with both sides banking on their European, and soon North American, players returning from work to bolster their forces.” You can follow it all in this Twitch livestream but I warn you, those who say EVE is like playing a spreadsheet won’t be proven wrong here. With time dilation in high gear, this is not so visually arresting—except for the hilarious news crawl. (Noting, as of press time, more than 2 trillion ISK in materiel loss). It’ll be left to the victors to write history and when they do, we hope they do it with style. Top image via r/EVE