A couple of days ago something shocked me.
As much as the game and I have been around for a while I am very fresh to null life and what it brings you, from my most recent role as a director I opted for the much quieter line member lifestyle when I joined my most recent corporation.
So for those of you unfamiliar with this sort of life, an @everyone notification is sent out through the ever-practical Discord and numbers gather hoping for a high octane battle vs. whatever enemy is available, in this case, the Imperium. It has been the age-old routine since the Discord revolution and I doubt any time in the future that will change unless something better and more convenient than Discord is invented.
On this occasion however life was slightly different, I read the ping and setup my ship appropriately, the fleet was an external FC outside of the alliance. My attitude in terms of joining fleets is more the prospect of getting a good fight so I have promised myself to not discriminate and attend fleets regardless of whoever is leading. During the fight, the FC said the words “when you die reship” which was the part that shocked me, effectively making the assumption that your fleet is already dead. This approach is in essence bypassing the ability of the group you are leading and focusing on the bullet-shaped pixels coming from whatever ship you are flying at the time.
The most famous reminder of this war of attrition was the astronomical losses broadcast during the fight in FWST. Losses on the Imperium’s side estimated around the 1 trillion mark and the objective was to prevent the deployment of a Keepstar in their precious space (some say it may have been Delve, others suggest not). Those of you keeping up to date with the ongoing battles will be aware that this is not the only example.
It is well documented for example the Imperium’s reputation for capital superiority which relied on recruiting mass numbers. Obviously, a flaw in their strategy was that they bypassed the sub-capital stages entirely in those efforts which is now clearly costing them dearly.
“So where exactly are you going with this?”, I hear you ask. Well, the question I want to ask is where does this meatgrinder strategy come from? In the years I have been in the game I have spent my time avoiding the null life due to its negative reputation, opting more for the smaller groups that rely on quality instead of quantity.
I recall hearing the word meatgrinder on numerous occasions from commentators on twitch. The question I have is where does this “more numbers the better” come from?
Comment below with the answers that you have.
