Alek on Federation Frontline!

Posted on October 22, 2022 by Alekseyev Karrde

Noir. joins Gallente Faction Warfare

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1625938700

Declaration of Ballots

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Alekseyev Karrde

Morb on over to the polls

Before you head on over to cast your vote be sure to check out our CSM17 candidate roundtables featuring 7 very worthy candidates engaging with each other on the hot issues of this election year.

For over 10 years now DoW has put out a ballot for our listeners to highlight who we think are the top candidates worthy of your vote. Even if you don’t agree with our #1 pick, consider adding some of these worthy players to your ballot (use all 10 spots!)

#1 Stitch Kaneland: Stitch is a very unique player in that he only plays on one character. No multiboxing, no alts. With multiboxing so prevalent amongst EVE’s high level players, it can obscure what the game actually is for many players and small groups, a growing number of which can no longer afford multiple subscriptions if they ever wanted them. That along with his stellar PVP experience put him #2 on our ballot last year, but it’s his performance on candidate roundtables this year that gives Stitch the nod for our top spot. He is an experienced, well rounded small gang player and FC with the ability to engage with players and ideas from other backgrounds and interests in a thoughtful, intelligent way. This is the guy.

#2 Arsia Elkin: Competency is its own punishment, so we should make sure Arsia is condemned to a full term this year. Arsia was the major driver of the frankly very good looking FW and Arc updates which CCP wound up hanging their hopes and dreams on at FanFest was inspired, if not directly contributed, by her after being promoted from CSM alternate. At FanFest, CCP Aurora called her “the most successful CSM in history” in terms of her ability to influence devs and make tangible positive change. That’s a ringing endorsement and given the focus of development over the next 18 months Arsia is the expert we want seeing this through to a good end.

#3 Pando: Pando is a rare bird that can bridge the gap between massive fleet FCs, medium fleet FCs, and small gang FCs. And as much as we need a small gang warfare rep, we need an *FC* rep that knows not just small gang warfare but how changes to mechanics and balance will scale all the way up and down. Plus Pando is a very active streamer with not only his own engaged community but a network of contacts throughout the game he can draw on for information or use to communicate out information out to the community at large.

#4 Brisc Rubal: Make no mistake, CSM17 is going to be a “wartime” CSM as EVE enters an absolute make-or-break period for many players weighing if they will continue to subscribe and play the game. Any good wartime CSM needs its firebrand, someone who can forge the collective outrage and frustration of the community into passionate but coherent oratory. Brisc Rubal, for whatever else you may think of him or his coalition, is such a man. And I will repost from last year something that remains true to this day: “You are hard pressed to find CSM members past or present that are as engaged, articulate, hard working, and inclusive as Brisc. He consistently makes himself available to players publicly and privately while working hard to advocate for multiple playstyles and perspectives”

#5 Angry Mustache: Much CSM communication is done in writing so in addition to your verbal firebrand, it really helps the CSM to have a top tier poster. So why not elect one of the best posters on reddit who also just happens to be one of the most knowledgeable industrialists and EVE economists in the game? Angry is all that and more, just check out his campaign thread to get a taste of what he’s been doing for years.

#6 Ithica Hawk: A key member of EVE NT’s leadership and production staff, Ithica has done incredible work driving player run events and competitions in EVE. He’s created communities, organized events, raised money for charity, called some of the most exciting EVE PVP ever broadcast, and through it all has developed some excellent communication and organization skills which will serve us well if we elect him to CSM. He’s deserving, he’s worthy, and I think he’d be good at it.

#7 keacte: NPSI has evolved from a fun, novel concept to an absolute mainstay of keeping EVE interesting and fun in spite of itself. At this point a significant amount of players see NPSI PVP as their primary playstyle, and that community needs a voice because when NPSI is supported it benefits literally everyone. Keacte’s role running not just his own community but the NPSI Calendar puts him in a great position to represent those players and ways to enhance the experience for NPSI organizers, participants, and those who fight them.

#8 Gideon Zendikar: He might lack the name recognition of some on this list but if you listened to our candidate roundtables you know his name. On that episode Gideon proved that he can hang with the heaviest hitters running for CSM this year, and he did so with confidence and clear arguments. A passionate and experienced small gang warfare pilot, Gideon may never see eye to eye with those working to build space empires but his perspective and the healthy debate it can foster is invaluable to getting at the essence of what EVE is, what it could be, and what it should be.

#9 Mark Resurrectus: Wormholers need representation on the CSM. I say we make sure they get the representative they deserve ;p Seriously, Mark came so close last year and he has the broad support of the WH community. Let’s help get this lovable, bathrobe clad man into the chair.

#10 A list of honorable people who deserve a spot on your ballot but alas we only have so much voting power: Torvald Uruz (FW), Baldin Tarmain (small/med industry), Steve Ronuken (seasoned CSM vet, 3rd party developers), Redline XIII (ship balance and content drivers), Kazanir (taxation and economics), Jinx De’Caire (new players), Drake Iddon (Pochven)

CSM16 VOTING OPEN! BALLOT ENCLOSED!

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Alekseyev Karrde

The interviews are done, the campaigning is over, and the voting begins…

VOTE HERE! Election ends June 15th, don’t wait!

As has been tradition for the past decade Declarations of War is putting out a suggested ballot for our listeners and the Noir. extended family. These candidates are worth your time, trust, and support and we hope you’ll give it to them. Even if you change up the order or switch people out entirely, please use all 10 spots of your ballot and consider them for these quality pilots:

tl;dr

Brisc Rubal: Last year we put Brisc at the top spot in our ballot saying “When media or potential players think of the EVE playerbase, I want them to see an image of Brisc in their mind.” And it’s no exaggeration that the support of Declarations of War listeners like you is the main, possibly only, reason he made it on the council last year. And for the entire last year he has proven those votes well earned. You are hard pressed to find CSM members past or present that are as engaged, articulate, hard working, and inclusive as Brisc. He consistently makes himself available to players publicly and privately while working hard to advocate for multiple playstyles and perspectives. Brisc takes representing the entire playerbase seriously and he is phenomenal at it.
Stitch Kaneland: Stitch has the focus on ship balance I think the CSM has really been lacking as well as a who’s who background of lowsec and nullsec which includes his membership in legendary pirate alliance and Alliance Tournament Champions The Tuskers. But EVEN COOLER than all of that is one of his signature characteristics: “playing the game with a single character (no alts).” While many players have several accounts and a good portion run at least 2 at a time, that is a playstyle inaccessible to many and steadily increase the burden on even hardcore players. The CSM needs to have a single-account viewpoint in mind when giving feedback, and Stitch is the voice to make that happen.
Suitonia: Ship balance has either fallen by the wayside (what happened to rapid fire balance tweaks?) or gone off the rails (fleet interceptors losing passive nullification with no stats changes). Suitonia was The Ship Numbers Guy on CSM 12 and 13, and I suspect it was not a coincidence that the tempo and quality of balance changes was on a higher level that it is today. Hopefully by bringing Suitonia back to the Council, we can bring CCP’s focus back to balance as a content generator.
Rixx Javix: A titan of the EVE community, Rixx brings many years of experience working with (and sometimes around) CCP as an artist and member of the EVE media vis his blog EVOGANDA. He also runs A Band Apart./Stay Frosty, which are excellent, fun loving old-school pirate orgs with stellar reputations. If you heard him on our CSM Candidate Panel, you know his passion for EVE and the EVE Community runs high but never so high as to clash regularly with others. In fact, he had great chemistry with the other guests on our show which suggests one of the most anticipated CSM candidates of the year might fit the part quite well.
i Beast: Speaking of anticipated candidates, the hype for i Beast aka Lussy Lou is a train that cannot be stopped (or at least we hope so, voters!). He’s one of the most popular EVE YouTubers and Twitch Streamers where he presents high quality small gang PVP and educational for the EVE masses young and old. I expect he’ll have unique perspectives on both ship balance and new player retention, and EVE video content creation .i Beast is also a loud and proud EVE Russian, bringing some needed cultural diversity to the CSM.
Phantomite: Phantomite was #2 on our ballot last year and by all accounts he has been a tireless advocate for a lot of great ideas this past year. Other CSM reps have spoken extremely highly of him and his effectiveness as a rep, and his views still resonate strongly with myself and the rest of the DoW cast. Frankly, the only reason he’s not higher is because of the exciting new and returning faces that probably need your support more to get their shot at serving on the council.
Kenneth Feld: Every CSM needs an Industry Guy and this year Kenneth Feld is the best choice by a mile. Normally we’d rank this slot lower on the ballot but with the focus on industry, economy, scarcity, and resource distribution this past year that is likely to continue into next year it’s a higher priority. Kenneth has served well on CSM so far and knows the NDA’d context of all of the discussions around those topics so far. He’s classified as a “go-to-guy” from both Artimus and Andy, which is more than enough vouch to make it on this list.
Mike Azariah: Mike is a Lorax that speaks for the newbies. He’s few people’s number 1 but winds up on just about everyone’s ballot because even if you’re not a good hearted empire dweller who spends most of their time running a charity for new players, Mike has proven time and time again to being the best highsec CSM representative anyone else could hope to work with on any given issue. He’s a great guy, a great communicator with the community, and generous with both his time and knowledge to the CSM and new players alike.
Arisa Elkin: Another lowsec and balance candidate? Yeah you bet your ass! While other candidates on this list have deep general experience with ship balancing, Arisa has actually already articulated some damn good, and in some cases innovative, solutions to some of EVE’s balancing painpoints. She is a Faction Warfare expert as well with some unique and exciting takes to spice up that mechanic without CCP having to redesign it from the ground up. Arisa is also something of a lore and RP expert, which while not a priority does add some fun flavor to the game and enables her to advocate for Pochven/Trig/EDENCOM content and players while not confining her to that perspective.
Mark Resurrectus: WH space always used to have a candidate but recently their playerbase has gotten so tribal and fractured that they were unable to mass enough votes behind a single candidate to get them elected. That’s a damn shame because wormholes are one of the most unique mechanics and areas of space in the game. Their perspective should be represented as changes are discussed that could affect WH players differently than in known space, either by type or degree. It sounds like Mark has the best chance of being the one to get that critical mass, so if we have any voting power left over let’s give it to him 🙂

Honorable mentions: Gobbins who as leader of Pandemic Horde will definitely not need anyone’s help getting in but he deserves it anyway if you have a spare spot on your ballot, Jurius Doctor for newbro support and education, Teddy Gbyc for WH, Maldavius for Pochven

CSM16: Brisc Rubal, Rixx Javix, Suitonia, Teddy Gbyc

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Alekseyev Karrde

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Candidate Panel of Candidate Panels as null sov holder faces off against lowsec pirate against small gang elite PVPer against wormholer. The topics are as diverse as the cast as these CSM candidates weigh in on scarcity, citadels, communication, and more! All hype aside this was a terrific show that’s a must-listen before you cast your ballot.

Major shoutouts to Ashterothi for his work interviewing the candidates and to current CSM Rep. Phantomite for standing by as an alternate in case we had a no-show.