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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.10 09:58:00 -
[1]
Before I move on to the main topic, let me speak about myself for a bit. IFve been a longtime EVE player, and I want to spread some ideas which IFve come to. My ideas are by no means right or wrong, just my personal views. The reason I am posting on this character is I do not wish my allegiance to detract from my message. I plan to post whenever I feel I have something worth posting.
Overwhelming Force
Mercenary Coalition is a very successful alliance; there is no doubt about that. Their success was built upon an early strategy of focusing on capitals and supercaps. They realized early on that instead of a conventional BS fleet, they could accomplish their goals by deploying large numbers of capitals with a small number of support.
Everybody knows of MCFs success of hotdropping, and to many this also created much annoyance. The annoyance was warranted, but the annoyed were at the receiving end of a strategy that everyone soon would be following. As much as I dislike analogies, German Panzer divisions that focused tremendous force on one point of a line epitomize MCFs strategy. The ability to deploy carriers with spider tanking, and also retaining the capability of jumping out was brilliant. Nobody had done it on such a grand and consistent scale before.
The Future in a Void
By focusing on capitals, Mercenary CoalitionFs capital fleet grew by leaps and bounds. However, MCFs small player base would ultimately prove that they would never win an arms race. When a player possesses capitals and supercaps, the player can go no further. The buildtime and capital for a Titan, and also their limited use means the arms race ends with Motherships, at least in capital battles.
With a core of 500 players, it is no surprise that Mercenary Coalition begins to fall behind. Goonswarm, Tau Ceti Federation, Red Alliance, AAA, along with the rest of the Eve community all adapted and grew their own respective capital fleets. With enemies numbering in the thousands, and a capital ceiling, there was simply no way that Mercenary Coalition could maintain its lead. As one seeFs today, Mercenary Coalition is no longer the impressive juggernaut it was. While still formidable, there is no way they can match their success of destroying D2 in the future, or ever at all.
Dissecting a Reputation
Everyone today would admit that Mercenary Coalition has quite a reputation. They have steamrolled many opponents, and fought in the trenches none-stop. However, one needs to break down their opponents to see Mercenary CoalitionFs true effectiveness.
Mercenary CoalitionFs grand claim to fame was the destruction of D2 and many of D2Fs allies. In what would be known as a cleansing of the North, Mercenary Coalition and friends took apart D2 as nobody thought they would. Impressive if one looks at the surface, but beneath the surface is what is interesting.
Dusk till Dawn is an old organization with a great deal of history. They were the powerhouse of the North, and effectively controlled the region through a series of NAPs and overwhelming threats of force. The problem with their approach, however, was their skill on the battlefield was never consistently conditioned. Many of the mistakes of their fleet losses and Titan losses were due to a lack of experience in warfare on the capital scale. With the disintegration of D2, one can also see the scale of their battlefield prowess. Mostly Harmless is an industrial powerhouse, Kraftwerk is more or less similar, and Evoke, a small alliance, remains the only potent pvp force.
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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.10 09:59:00 -
[2]
Edited by: Demosthenes Citium on 10/01/2008 10:00:44
So was Mercenary CoalitionFs success in the North blown out of proportion? No, it was a success, you cannot deny that. It was also against a force that was superior numbers. The difference now, is that everybody has seen Mercenary CoalitionFs strategy and adapted. Mercenary Coalition is held at its player-limit ceiling, and with no more bigger guns to upgrade to, they have remained somewhat stagnant.
A True Test
The true test for Mercenary Coalition came when it found the enemies of Goonswarm, AAA, IAC, and Red Alliance. MC met its match with a force that could field the same firepower it could, on the same time zone and in the same systems. One can easily see the results of the conflict on various killboards. While both sides lost significant assets, Mercenary Coalition ultimately lost more war-time assets than any others. Losing supercaps, but specifically a Titan, was a blow to Mercenary Coalition that had not been accomplished before. Mercenary Coalition continued fighting, but soon after took a break from the conflict.
So the question becomes, what does Mercenary Coalition do next? They met their match, and it was painfully obvious that Mercenary Coalition would lose its momentum sooner rather than later. It is no surprise what their next move was`
Tortugan Surprise
Mercenary Coalition moved and broke apart from Band of Brothers, forming instead a cooperation of alliances/corps which include KIA, Outbreak, Evoke and others. What would Mercenary Coalition gain from this? The time to develop a new strategy.
It was painfully obvious that if MC continued the fight in Catch, they would be on the receiving end more and more as they grew closer to the capital ceiling, while the enemy had no such limits. Pulling back to Period Basis, and incorporating a group of solid pvpers would give MC time and human capital to build momentum again. And so we are at today, where MC and friends have been involved in a bitter contest for Period Basis.
An Hourglass
The ball is now in Mercenary CoalitionFs court. Mercenary Coalition needs a new strategy, something that can stop an enemy with superior numbers and a larger, more developable human capital base. It will be interesting to see if a new development occurs, but if not, I do not see events going well for the new PB cooperation. As a whole, the cooperation has strong pvpers but again, the capital ceiling is fast approaching due to their limited numbers. Unless the coalition of Goonswarm, Red, AAA, TCF, and others falls apart, Mercenary Coalition needs to work quickly and creatively to secure its future.
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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.10 10:48:00 -
[3]
Originally by: ChoppinBrocolli
MC's Titan kill was mainly the work of AAA+RA. GS especially had nothing to do with it.
You are correct.
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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.10 10:51:00 -
[4]
Originally by: Jonny JoJo
Edited by: Jonny JoJo on 10/01/2008 10:30:56
Having a bunch of carriers are good, but against blobs of dreads or smartbomb motherships, even 300 carriers would not win.
I disagree, fighters and lag are better than dreads with the current state of game mechanics. Carriers are also not stuck in space due to siege mode.
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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.11 07:23:00 -
[5]
Originally by: Cyriel Longinus
This is just propaganda.
The MC has always used an edge, whether it has been intel or the latest technology in conjunction with battle tested PvP Play, not to mention the dedication to deliver fun. Hotdropping Motherships on top of fleets in 2007 was a fine example of this. Before this there was surely something else. By doing so the MC has an earned presence in New Eden's history ... such that one forum post from an unknown will not change.
To be frank, your post appears to be more like propaganda than mine.
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Demosthenes Citium
Lyceum Cyrene
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Posted - 2008.01.11 09:43:00 -
[6]
read the first paragraph I wrote, it explains why I am posting on this character. Have a good day.
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