[Poetic] The War in Fountain - Blueballing
The War in Fountain - Blueballing
If you're at a numbers disadvantage, for instance. Why whelp a fleet, if you don't have too? Why give the enemy a reason to crow, especially if you know your chances of success are limited?
This sort of blueballing has been going on for some time, from both sides of the war. The most prominent example from Test & Pals was last week when they had a third Gentleman's Agreement CSAA into reinforced. Over 1000 people travelled nearly 20 jumps through 10% TiDi to defend the starbase, only to find that the aggressors, mainly Black Legion and The Retirement Club, had decided not to undock. Whether it was because their intent was to frustrate us, or because we simply had superior numbers that they couldn't match, the outcome remained the same. A very frustrated and annoyed CFC fleet who had to eventually return those nearly 20 jumps back to B-DBYQ through 10% TiDi.
The CFC did very much the same thing to Test & Pals yesterday. We had put the infrastructure hub in EI-O0O into reinforced. If we took the system, it would put an end to one of Test Alliance's more valuable jump bridges. Twenty minutes before the iHub was to become vulnerable, the CFC put out the call for troops over Jabber. Within five minutes the Tengu fleet was entirely full, in ten more minutes two more fleets were full. By the time everybody was down and ready, there were 1000 people in B-D. And then we were told to dock. "No fun for Test," we were told. They could sit there, frustrated and annoyed for the next hour, and then make the trip back home through TiDi. Again, whether the move was purely to annoy them, or whether they outnumbered us two to one, the effect was the same. An angry and frustrated Test Alliance.
As The Mittani pointed out in his last CEO Update: "Our foremost goal is always the denial of the enjoyment of the enemy: no fun allowed." There are times when your side might have the advantage, but you still choose to deny a fight. It's demoralizing for the enemy. They're pumped up, chomping at the bit, for a battle, while you're docked up mocking them. It's frustrating and it's not fun.
Some care has to be taken when denying your enemies fun. EVE Online is a game. When you're denying your enemies fun, you're also denying your own troops fun. It's certainly not a tactic that can be used too often. While the intent may be to demoralize your enemy to the point that they don't log in as often when pinged, you also run the risk that your own troops stop logging in as well.
Take the EI-O incident above. If Test did actually outnumber us two to one, then it's a fine move. Why whelp, why give them something chestbeat about? If the fight was even, it is still tactically sound, especially if they have to sit around for an hour defending a structure with no possibility to engage. But it is only tactically sound if used occasionally. If the tactic is relied upon too frequently, you risk pissing off your own front-line pilots.
I'm not personally a fan of blueballing. I'm not a fan of whelping either. I've no problem not engaging if the probability of getting wiped across the pavement is high. Screw your enemy at that point. No fun for you. But if the odds are even, or if you have the advantage, then I'd rather fight. Screw the whole "crush the morale of the enemy" thing. I want my enemy to be logging in, and as anxious to fight, as myself. This isn't real war. EVE isn't actually real. It's a game.
It's kinda easy for someone like The Mittani to want to blueball, in any circumstance, and to do it frequently. He doesn't really play that often. It's easy to order blueball after blueball if you're sitting at home, watching Sex and the City with the wife, while brushing your Alaskan Malamute.
That said, we don't really seem to blueball all that much. And Test hasn't been blueballing us much either. Except under circumstances where one side is grossly outnumbered, the will to fight from the FCs on both sides has been pretty high. I just wouldn't encourage any more blueballing than we have already, and to remind those that decide these things that EVE is a game. EVE is not real.
Source: The War in Fountain - Blueballing