Archive:Wartime Standard Operating Procedures

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During war-time, EVE University and Ivy League uses a set of guidelines known as 'Standard Operating Procedures' (SOP), typically referred to as "the War SOP".

These are part of a carefully crafted war doctrine based on years of experience, which is intended to keep members safe and impart the knowledge neccecary to survive, while bringing the war to a quick close by denying the war's entertainment or profit value to the enemy, frustrating or even boring the enemy at every chance we get. To that end, the SOP is intended to:

  • Deny the enemy easy kills of helpless non-combat ships.
  • Deny the enemy easy kills of poorly-fitted ships.
  • Deny the enemy any kills of high-value ships.
  • Deny the enemy any chance to banter or smack talk with us.
  • Deny the enemy any enjoyment from the conflict.

Below are the guidelines and individual details, however you may simply read the contents if you do not require detailed information. References[x] link to the bottom of this page where, if you wish, you can find the reasoning behind each of them.


During War

The SOP applies to all members when the DEFCON level listed in the Chat.E-UNI channel is set as DEFCON 2 or higher. While this is typically during wartime, it may also be applied during peacetime under extreme circumstances.

The below rules are as clear as they can be made, but if you require clarification, then please speak to a Director. There are no hidden meanings, and anything not listed here is not part of the SOP.

In the event you make a mistake, then you should admit it and accept the consequences, rather than attempting to avoid the repercussions, as you will typically find leniency. At most, issues tend to result in the person involved being temporarily removed from E-UNI for their own safety.


You must not be undocked unless you are...

...in a fleet

Fleets are counted as one or more people. If alone, you must still create your own fleet [1], which allows other Ivy League members to join you at your location rapidly in the event of a problem.

...logged into Mumble

You don't have to be able to speak, just to listen. If something happens, you need to be able to communicate it quickly, or at least receive instruction quickly.[2]


Experienced Pilots may fly...

The following ships are strongly recommended for use only by experienced pilots as they require a significant amount of skill and practice to fly effectively. If you are not confident in what you're doing, then do not fly them!

...'Covert Ops' combat ships

These are ships which can fit a Covert Ops Cloak, such as:

...Navy faction frigates

...Tech 2 BattleCruisers

...Capital ships

These require authorization from a director, should always have a sizable fleet to back them up, and be properly fitted.

...ships with cheap faction modules

'Cheap Faction' means Faction, Storyline, Deadspace, or Officer modules, but only when the market value of the modules is less than the ship hull it is fitted on.


Pilots who accept the risks may fly...

The following ships are to be used understanding the risk that if you lose one to a war target, you face the possibility of consequences up to and including an immediate kick and ban.

...Tech 2 Battleships

...Tech 3 ships

...Mining Ships

This includes the specialized mining ships, such as:

...Haulers

This is any ship which is designed to move large amounts of cargo around[14], such as:


If you need to move items, you should use an 'out-of-corp' Alt Hauler or issue a public courier contract.

...Faction ships

  • Any ship with 'Issue'[19] in the Name.[20]
  • Any 'Pirate' faction ship.[21]
  • Any other ship listed in the 'Faction' subsection on the Market, barring 'Navy' frigates.[22]

...ships with expensive modules or rigs

'Expensive modules or rigs' is defined as Faction, Storyline, Deadspace, or Officer modules[23] or rigs (usually Tech 2[24]) where the total market value of faction mods or rigs is greater than the ship hull it is fitted on.


You must never fly any...

The following ships are NOT to be used at all. If you are in space with one during war, you face an immediate kick/ban and likely Departure.

...rare or unique ships

This is any ship which has been seeded by CCP[25]for which the blueprints are not publicly available for, such as:

...SuperCapitals


You should fit...

...your ship for PvP

This depends greatly on the ship and what you plan to do, but usually means no Mining lasers, cargo expanders or exploration (Codebreaker, Analyser, etc) modules, along with a Buffer tank where appropriate. For relevant fittings, see the forum.[28]

...your guns and launchers efficiently

This means using faction ammo where you can[29]. Remember you don't need to fill your cargo, no matter what the ammo - you need only take one or two reloads on most fleets.

...a Tech 2 tank on BattleCruisers and Battleships

This means your tanking modules are mainly Tech 2, such as Hardeners, Extenders, and so on.[30]

...your ship for its role

This should go without saying, but it means the modules on your ship should not typically cost massively more than the value of the hull. Tackle frigates are fit cheaply and disposably[31], and module cost scales with the cost of the hull[32].

...appropriate rigs


You should always...

...check the Local channel for War-Targets

Check it before you undock, and keep checking it whenever you are in space. Hostiles may appear at any moment.[35]

...dock up if there are War-Targets

If not in a combat fleet[36] and you see a War-Target in space or the local channel, then dock immediately, no waiting.

...avoid Trade Hubs when travelling

You should avoid Trade hubs when travelling[37], and go around them when you can. Remember, you can use Trade skills for station trading remotely without having to be docked in the station.


You must never...

...use the Autopilot to fly your ship

Apart from using it to plot a course and highlight gates, it must never be used to actually fly your ship. All manoeuvres[38] must be done manually.[39]

...go AFK in space

Never leave your ship unattended for long periods when in space[40]. Always dock up if you have to leave. If you are a scout or picket and need to take a short break, warp to a safe-spot and cloak up until you get back.


Combat Fleets...

...should have a covert scout if possible

At least one scout in a Covert Ops frigate is encouraged but is not a requirement[41]. If a scout isn't available, then you can use Picket frigates instead[42]. Remember that the scout does not have to be in E-UNI.[43]

...must be on Mumble with the FC able to talk

Fleets must use the University Mumble server for voice communications, and the Fleet Commander must be able to talk.[44]

...must consist only of Ivy League members

Any character of neutral or higher standing is allowed in an Ivy fleet. However, only Ivy characters or characters of +10 or higher can be used in combat roles (tackle, ewar, repairing, or dps) against other players or their assets. Alts may be used for non-combat roles.

...members must not be impaired

This means in PvP, you should not have additional accounts engaging in other things than the current combat operation. That means, no PvE, Mining, Chatting, Mailing, granting Titles etc. while you are on a combat operation. Using out of corp alts for fleet related tasks is fine.[45]

...must hand all loot from war-targets over to the Uni

Loot from E-UNI wrecks should be collected and given back to the owner where possible. All loot and salvage from war targets is considered property of the Logistics Department. The closest pilot to the wreck has permission to loot and salvage at the Fleet Commanders discretion, and members must not rush to the wreck hoping to get the loot. This loot should be passed to a tanked ship to return to HQ at the end of the fleet op. At HQ, the FC may divert some of the loot to help cover losses or fuel use in his own fleet. Any left over spoils are to be deposited into the WarLoot container in the Alpha Hangar. Fleet and Wing Commanders will keep track of this, if you are found to be stealing you will be punished.

1. Required: Try to return any objects looted from Uni losses to their original owner

2. Optional: May be done by you or a designated fleet member. Look at the ships lost on your fleet. Using killboard values, split up loot so that people who lost a ship get at least some loot to help cover their loss (up to the price of the ship). Be fair. You may show preference to ship types, but not to individual pilots.

3. Required: Any remaining loot (or all loot if you skipped step 2) is to be placed in the WarLoot container in the Alpha Hangar at HQ. If you feel it is not safe to return the loot to aldrat, create an item exchange contract to "reimbursement manager" from where you are.

You can...

There are a number of things which you can do during wars apart from hunting War Targets. These are some of them.

...travel around EVE

Travelling is defined as moving with no cargo (opposed to hauling) and should be done in a 'Fast Frigate'[46], Shuttle or Starter Frigate[47]. You should avoid hauling cargo on your Uni character, especially into and out of trade hubs, into and out of Aldrat, and along common trade routes. It is strongly encouraged that you create an OOC (out-of-corp) Alt Hauler. Many a new player's "fortune" of stuff has found itself destoyed or floating in space to be scooped up and sold by the enemy.

...set-up and spar at the E-UNI POS

Setting up overviews, practising scanning and sparring[48] should be done at the POS, as it will engage any hostile targets on grid with you[49].

...run fleets in LoSec and NullSec

Just because there are no war targets around doesn't mean there is nobody to fight. Take a fleet out to losec or nullsec, and see what you find[50]. Remember to follow the normal E-UNI Rules of Engagement.

...run Wormhole Operations

You may run combat sites in wormholes during wartime[51]. All the other guidelines still apply however, so fleets should be combat fitted. A cloaked scout (either covert ops or picket) should stay at the exit to known-space[52].

If you have a significant sized fleet (eight or more members), a salvage Destroyer, BattleCruiser or Noctis may be used in wormhole fleets, complete with Salvaging Rigs[53]. These ships MUST fit a cloaking device and full tank, and sit cloaked at a safe spot until time to salvage and then be guarded while salvaging.

...run Incursions

Incursions are allowed, but any fleets should have a few Ivy League members, and anyone outside of the alliance who is providing remote repair, shield transfer or similar should be made aware immediately when joining the fleet.[54]. Joining a 'public' Incursion fleet[55] is prohibited in wartime, as it risks our status with the Incursion fleet organizers, and failure to follow this will likely see you Departed[56].

...run Security missions

As these tend to involve high-value ships, so you should ensure you are some distance away from HQ in either a quiet (or very busy) system. You may run missions solo, but is strongly advised that you mission in a fleet of at least three students. Remember to review the list of allowed ships and modules.

...mine, ideally in a group

This is best done with four or more members, with at least one of them in a combat-fitted ship - remember that mining ships are considered "risk" ships. Ideally, all mining should be done in an exploration pocket located in a quiet system or wormhole as far away from HQ and known operating areas of any war-targets as possible. Ensure that all fleet members keep a lookout in local for any hostiles, and nobody goes AFK without docking first. Don't forget to use an out of corp hauler to pick up any minerals. Solo mining is strongly discouraged and should only be undertaken if you can manage to mitigate the risks involved and you should definitely avoid popular Uni systems such as Aldrat where you would be easy prey and dangers are difficult to spot.

...station trade

Remember that moving cargo (items not for your current ship) is a bad idea while using an E-UNI character, and the Daytrading, Marketing and Procurement skills allow you to trade remotely. 'Shopping trips' (i.e. hauling items you bought) are still a bad idea, and mustn't be done in an industrial.

...use an out of corp character

You can use an out-of-corp character or alt for Missions, Mining and Hauling alone. Many missions may be accepted on your E-UNI character but performed with an alt.

...leave E-UNI until the war ends

If you want to, you may leave the Uni until the war ends without any penalties. You will retain access to the vast majority of forum content, channels, classes, the Wiki and even Mumble, and will be fast-tracked through recruitment when returning.


Travel Advisories

Travel Advisories are now handled in two categories, Standing Travel Advisories and Lockdowns. These are in place for your safety and help to prevent you from becoming an easy target.

Standing Travel Advisories

Standing Travel Advisories are normally posted as part of the Alliance chat channel MOTD (Message of the Day) as well as in the Bulletins section of the Alliances tab of the Corporation NeoCom. These are subject to change on occasion as the wartime and/or strategic situation. It's very important that you check both of these once you've logged on to appraise yourself of the systems, areas, regions, and routes that have a large risk to those not involved in dedicated PvP fleets.

Systems, areas, regions, or routes under the Standing Travel Advisory need your utmost precaution prior to undocking in or travelling into. You must ensure that your Overview is properly set up and that you check Local for war targets prior to undocking or by use of a scout prior to jumping into a system. Should war targets be present it is very detrimental to your safety and highly inadvisable that you undock or travel into a system under advisory with your Uni character. If you plan on missioning or mining, or other PvE activities, you want to avoid the systems, areas, regions, or routes indicated. Pay attention to the channel LiveIntel.ILN for recent war target presence. LiveIntel is not universal nor is it omnipotent for war target intel. The intel posted is only as good as the moment before someone posts it. Naturally you need to be compliant with Section 1.1.2 above. Pick a relevant Mumble channel to be listening in on.

Solo activity in systems, areas, regions, or routes under the Standing Travel Advisory is extremely dangerous not to mention rather foolish.

Should you suffer a loss to war targets in a system, area, region, or route under the Standing Travel Advisory and you weren't part of a proper PvP fleet you may face harsher consequences that otherwise would notmally be considered.

Lockdowns

Lockdowns can be issued by Management and senior ILN Officers (normally Captains/Commanding Officers and above). These will only be issued for extreme circumstances to identify unusual threats outside of what is covered by the Standing Travel Advisory. They will last for 1 hour maximum unless rescinded by the issuing Manager/Officer. Should a Lockdown be issued for the system, area, region, or route it is essential for your own safety that you dock up immediately until the Lockdown expires or is recinded. Those who are in properly and purposely formed dedicated PvP fleets (solo in a PvP fit ship does not qualify) are not subject to the restrictions of a Lockdown and are under orders of their FC. Those members with losses in Lockdown affected areas who were not part of a proper and dedicated PvP fleet will find themselves subject to expulsion from the Uni.

Lockdowns will contain precise information such as the system(s), area, routes, or site(s) affected along with a specific time (1 hour or less) that the Lockdown will expire by. Again these are issued very rarely and are meant for your own safety as well as preventing you from becoming an easy target to our enemies.

These may also be issued during normal peacetime operations as warnings regarding specific systems or areas of space for information purposes only.


Practice and Patrols

All EVE University members are encouraged to practice the SOP during wars, even when there are no war-targets immediately available.

This can include (but is not limited to) sparring in space, patrolling high-traffic areas for other E-UNI members, as well as practising fleet command and movement skills.

Members are also encouraged to keep a look-out for any other members who may not be following the SOP, and are authorised to tackle any they encounter travelling alone, as safe travel procedures will make this very difficult for both an E-UNI member or a war-target to tackle someone.

ILN Staff Officers are authorised to order a single shot to be fired to 'wake up' a member who appears to be AFK or inattentive, followed by the potential destruction of their ship rather than have it fall to an enemy.

Appropriate time must be given before any actions are taken, however in the event an inattentive members ship is destroyed, the wreck should be looted and salvaged if possible, and the remains contracted back to them.


Why?

For new players, its not immediately obvious why the rules are as they are. Below are answers to some of the more common questions.

  1. ^ Right click yourself, select 'Form Fleet with...', then create a fleet advert with only the 'My Alliance', 'Application Requires Approval' and 'Hide Details In Advert' boxes checked.
  2. ^ The few seconds it can take to type something and someone to read it back is often the difference between saving your ship and losing it.
  3. ^ These should only be flown once you have had some fleet experience and practice moving cloaked.
  4. ^ These are expensive, require high skills, and are only effective with a well coordinated team.
  5. ^ Like the Stealth Bomber, these are expensive and need practice to use well.
  6. ^ These are useful when you have very high or even maxed Leadership skills, but are not worth the Risk to ISK ratio without a fleet to back them up.
  7. ^ Even though they can't enter hisec and use a jump-drive, they are listed here for completeness.
  8. ^ These are PvE rather than PvP ships, built to take damage over a long period and loot missions.
  9. ^ These are useful in losec and nullsec, but expensive and require covert support and significant experience to fly well.
  10. ^ Like many others, these tend to be very expensive and not worth the Risk to ISK ratio.
  11. ^ This should go without saying, but they have little to no offensive capability if the target is not an asteroid.
  12. ^ While they can fit a half-decent PvE tank, they are simply not suited to any PvP.
  13. ^ Big, slow, expensive and no means of defence? Not a PvP ship!
  14. ^ In short, if there's something worth moving, its worth money to someone, and is better not put in harms way at all.
  15. ^ While they can have a decent buffer tank to avoid some suicide ganks, they are slow and do not survive long in PvP.
  16. ^ These can warp cloaked, are fast and maneuverable, which is nice, but they are expensive and still don't last long, which is not nice.
  17. ^ These tend to have a half-decent tank, and built-in warp stabilisers, but are very slow, expensive and an easy target.
  18. ^ This should go without saying, but while freighters have a decent amount of HP, they huge, slow, can be outrun by a capsule and are incredibly expensive if/when they are lost, even without any cargo.
  19. ^ Raven Navy Issue, Stabber Fleet Issue, etc.
  20. ^ While some of these may be good, they aren't worth the Risk to ISK for use in combat.
  21. ^ Like any 'Issue' ships, they tend to be good, but very expensive, even against the T2 versions.
  22. ^ This should be self-evident, but if a ship is not listed as 'Standard' or 'Advanced', they probably aren't allowed.
  23. ^ The majority of these are massively expensive compared to Meta 0-5 modules, and we don't want to leave anything valuable behind if you get killed.
  24. ^ These are horrendously expensive and never provide bonuses worth the extra ISK for PvP.
  25. ^ While they may not have cost you anything originally, they are still worth something to someone, and therefore tend to make good prizes on a killboard.
  26. ^ Far too many to list here, including rewards from CCP for things like the Alliance Tournaments. If you aren't certain if they are allowed check the ships description and availability on the market.
  27. ^ This should go without saying really, but there is always one...
  28. ^ Hopefully this should be fairly self evident after playing a little EVE, but PvP fits tend to focus on 'buffer' tanks and are significantly different to PvE fits which focus on repairing over time.
  29. ^ The extra damage is usually worth the money, but if you cant afford it, thats ok.
  30. ^ There are some exceptions to this where the Meta 4 module has better statistics, and is cheaper or easier to fit, but in all cases you must still have the skills to fit the modules individually.
  31. ^ Use Meta 0, 1 or 2 modules where you can as they are very cheap.
  32. ^ The bigger the ship, the less likely it is to die quickly in a fight, therefore it is worth fitting it well.
  33. ^ These ships abilities are greatly improved by fitting appropriate rigs.
  34. ^ For the extra ISK involved in the hull, it would be silly not to.
  35. ^ The Local channel is the best tool any player has as to what is going on, and during war it should be made as tall as possible so you can see as many people as possible without scrolling.
  36. ^ Hopefully that should go without saying, but if you are in a combat fleet you should be killing them.
  37. ^ These are prime hunting grounds for most wartargets, and will often have hostiles or their alts present.
  38. ^ This includes setting the next system as a waypoint, and enabling autopilot while in warp, as it leaves a crucial few seconds before jumping.
  39. ^ The Autopilot is dangerous even in peacetime as it drops you around 15km from the gate, meaning that you need to either align and enter warp to escape or burn those 15km to the stargate to jump through. Not to mention that Autopilot promotes being AFK.
  40. ^ Being AFK, for an extended time, even cloaked at a safe-spot or sitting at the POS, simply isn't worth the risk.
  41. ^ Knowing what is on the other side of a gate without letting the hostile know you are coming will always give you an advantage.
  42. ^ Even jumping through the gate then immediately cloaking is preferable to not knowing what is there.
  43. ^ The use of use out of corp scouts in EVE is commonplace, so there is no reason E-UNI members should not do so as well.
  44. ^ The few seconds needed to type out or otherwise pass a command are often the difference between a success and the loss of the whole fleet.
  45. ^ You really don't want to be known as the fleet commander who fell asleep in the middle of a warp.
  46. ^ These are small, fast and can typically get through a camped gate if you encounter any hostiles. On top of this, they are also cheap, and will not typically make a significant ISK dent on the killboard.
  47. ^ Travelling in a Capsule, while possible, is generally a bad idea as they are so fragile. If flying a shuttle at least, you can survive at least one volley.
  48. ^ This does not have to be inside the shield, but for safety reasons you should stay within 50km of the tower where possible.
  49. ^ It will tend to take a few seconds for the POS to lock and kill a wartarget, so you should still be careful
  50. ^ This is a good way to practice, and there is usually someone to shoot and practice with, and you may run into wartargets.
  51. ^ Wormhole combat sites require fits very close to normal PvP, and are a good way to practice fleet command.
  52. ^ This is simply to watch for any one entering the system, to give you advance warning.
  53. ^ With appropriate precautions and support, they can be kept relatively safe
  54. ^ Anyone assisting will flag themselves to the hostiles, which will allow them to be killed by them.
  55. ^ This means a fleet run by any open Incursion-running community, such as the "BTL Pub" or "The Ditanian Fleet" channels.
  56. ^ The membership has worked hard to build trust with these groups, so if you risk this, you will be treated as a hostile target.


Requests for Clarification

All requests for clarification must be made directly to the Directors. If in doubt, avoid the element which is unclear until clarified. You may also post questions in the thread "WSOP questions go here." Please don't initiate forum posts questioning the WSOP as this often leads to misinformation, arguments and confusion for all.

Consequences can be reviewed in the Student Guidance Department wiki under point 7 "I screwed up with the WSOP. What can I expect?"


Further Reading

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