Just over a week ago, we ran a story on Ten Ton Hammer giving a
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/62818" target="_blank">brief
account of the disbanding of the "Band of Brothers"
corporation and
uber alliance in
target="_blank">EVE
Online at the hands of
href="http://www.somethingawful.com/" target="_blank">Something
Awful's Goonfleet. While I'm not an
style="font-style: italic;">EVE Online veteran
or an expert on all things EVE in any way, shape, or form, I've had the
opportunity on numerous occasions to discuss the conflict between BoB
and Goonfleet with
target="_blank">representatives from the Goons and
from the CCP
developers themselves. One quick look at the thread outlining BoB's
destruction only helps to
href="http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=990381"
target="_blank"> display the polarized attitudes
people had
toward the BoB / Goonfleet conflict. It was an epic saga that I never
thought would end, and yet last week it all came to a screeching halt
for the upper levels of BoB.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/34655">
src="/image/view/34655/preview"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 200px;">
The
Goonfleet finally did it. They killed BoB.
To be honest, I was floored by the news. From an outsider's
perspective, I thought BoB simply couldn't be touched by any of the
other corporations. Whether it was because of their lumps of cash, the
stringent hierarchy, or some other unseen piece of the puzzle, the Band
of Brothers looked like they couldn't be stopped.
Boy was I wrong.
Like the fall of Rome, the Band of Brothers was taken down by a group
of barbarians (aka - Goons) that had become disgruntled with the
reigning empire. Although the Goons weren't starving, nor did they
march into a city and kill its denizens, the comparison still rings
true. This goes to show what a few very dedicated individuals can do
when driven to frustration, revenge, and competition.
It seems incredibly appropriate that the biggest alliance in all of
href="https://secure.eve-online.com/ft/?aid=104134&bid=8"
target="_blank">EVE
Online would be taken down by a single
individual. If any guild wants to learn something from the story of
BoB's downfall, it's to never allow your leadership to be spread thin
enough that something like this could occur. Although it may not be the
most popular strategy, the use of a single-man leadership
hierarchy (like the Syndicate's) would have avoided this sort of
problem altogether. Rather than be taken down from the inside by one
individual, a guild would only disband if that single guild leader was
swayed one way or another.
This brings up one of the most intriguing elements of
style="font-style: italic;">EVE Online.
Although many games rely on leaderboards and statistics to determine
who can claim the title of "best player," the
style="font-style: italic;">EVE Online
developers have crafted a game where another set of priorities are
tossed into the equation: the social element. It can't be judged by
numbers or people on a friends list, but the importance of being a
charismatic and compelling individual in
style="font-style: italic;">EVE Online
obviously has some very palpable power.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/34650">
src="/image/view/34650/preview"
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The social
portion of EVE Online is incredibly important.
Without the charm of the single Goon that swayed the BoB
director, this event would have never occurred. This was some sort of
coup or a direct confrontation. No, this was probably a long and
painstaking process for the members of Goonfleet. I could be wrong, but
I have a guess that Goonfleet was courting this individual in BoB for
weeks, if not months or years, and finally their temptations won out.
It's incredibly compelling material, so much that if it occurred in
real life we'd see a movie and book deal made within months of the
situation happening. What was happening behind the scenes that made
this BoB director go AWOL?
While we may never find out the answer to this question, the
competitive nature of
href="https://secure.eve-online.com/ft/?aid=104134&bid=8"
target="_blank">EVE Online is in
full war mode. As corporations try to push into the vacuum left behind
by BoB, it means that thousands of conflicts are going on every week.
Are you a part of a corporation that's trying to scoop up territory in
BoB's absence? If so,
target="_blank">feel free to email me or post on
our forums. I'd love to hear from you.
If you aren't thinking about it already, you may want to
href="https://secure.eve-online.com/ft/?aid=104134&bid=8">try
your hand at EVE Online
just to see what sort of enemies or allies you can gather around you.
Maybe your charm will make you the leader of the next "BoB" alliance.
Even I may try my hand at it one more time. If I do, you can rest
assured that I'll talk about it here on
style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/features/in-the-trenches"
target="_blank">In the Trenches.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EVE Online Game Page.
