EVE: Havoc Patch Notes: Pirate Insurgencies

EVE Online's Havoc expansion, set to launch on 14 November 2023, is the game's third full expansion since the return of the content format in November 2022. The patch notes are fairly extensive. I find reading lengthy patch notes rather boring, so I also like to go to other sources for information. The format worked so well for the Viridian expansion I thought I'd try for Havoc as well. The second post in the series will cover the basic flow of pirate insurgencies.

CCP gave a high level description of Pirate Insurgencies back in October.

Pirate Insurgencies are a discrete warfare system where there is a winner and a loser, a beginning and an end. The Insurgency conflict between pirates and empire militia can be seen as a race, compared to Factional Warfare which more closely resembles an ongoing tug of war. 

The patch notes are detailed so I will intersperse information into them where appropriate.

With aid from The Deathless, the completed Zarzakh shipcaster and the rejuvenated Fulcrum station, the Angel Cartel and Guristas Pirates are now launching daring raids into empire factional warfare zones, called Insurgencies.

• Insurgencies are brand new gameplay that take part in Factional Warfare systems, however, it is possible for them to spread to include additional solar systems which are above 0.0 security and below 0.8 security.
  
  
• Insurgencies have multiple phases and are centered around a hub system, which has the pirate FOB in.
  
  
• The FOB can spawn at any temperate planet in the FW warzone, which will start an insurgency from that system and include 4 nearby solar systems to start the insurgency with.

For those unfamiliar with the warzones, Dotlan Maps has two special maps that should come in handy. The Caldari/Gallente warzone map in which the Guristas operate and the Amarr/Minmatar warzone map for Angel Cartel members. Hopefully for all involved, the shipcasters work and no one needs to fly 30 jumps to get into a fight.

• The Insurgency will start in the FORECASTING phase. This phase will last approximately 48 hours and will tell all players where the pirate FOB will be placed, and which solar systems are included with it in the upcoming insurgency. During this phase no content will be present, and the FOB is invulnerable, however it will be dockable. This gives players from both sides the opportunity to move assets and get ready to deploy in the theatre, or players the opportunity to get out of harm's way!
  
  
• The Insurgency will then move to the ACTIVE phase, and insurgency gameplay content will start spawning. During this phase, players can increase corruption or suppression by completing gameplay content for either the pirate or empire militias.

Next comes the victory conditions for the factions and individual rewards for the players.

• The FOB is usually invulnerable, however, if the anti-pirates can fully suppress enough systems, it will become vulnerable and they will be able to attack it, it will then enter a 24 hour reinforcement timer (with some jitter) and if they destroy it, they will end the insurgency as a win for the anti-pirates.
  
  
• If the Pirates are able to fully corrupt enough systems however, they’ll be able to plunder everything that isn’t nailed down, take temporary control of the factional warfare occupancy of the solar system where the FOB was placed and win the insurgency for the Pirate side.
  
  
• This can cause havoc in Factional Warfare with several new frontlines being created around the FOB system.
  
  
• When pirates win and take temporary control of the FW occupancy of the system, they’ll eventually give it back when they’ve ransacked everything, however, it’ll be given back in the vulnerable state and the IHUB will be vulnerable right away.
  
  
• Players who contribute to corruption for the pirates, and suppression for the anti-pirates will get a large reward of ISK and Loyalty Points (LP) at the end of the insurgency when one side wins. The side which wins will have a bigger bonus payout!

And finally a bit about how an insurgency can make high sec systems more like low sec.

• High security systems which are affected by an Insurgency will not spawn empire FW police and criminal police NPCs, so pirates and players with low security status can freely enter as they wish!

For those who reached the end and want more, CCP Aurora put together the video below.