Which Pirate Faction Will Players Pick In Havoc?

The patch notes for EVE Online's next expansion, Havoc, dropped on Friday. I took a quick read though and came up with a conclusion for which pirate faction, Angel Cartel or Guristas, will receive the most interest from players. Sorry Gurista loyalists, but I believe the Angel Cartel will prove more popular until the launch of the first expansion in 2024.

The first reason involves the news ships coming to New Eden in the expansion, particularly the new Angel Cartel Azariel-class titan. I don't know much about titans, but the Azariel titan, as expected from a Angel ship, can either fit an armor or shield tank. I know when I started playing EVE back in 2009, the armor-tanking Avatar-class titan was the dominant titan in the game. After 10 years or so, shield titans became, if not popular, an option. With the Azariel, one doesn't need two titans in order to fit into a particular doctrine.

But the main reason is one that affects the Caldari-Gallente war zone: access to Jita. One of the disadvantages of joining Gallente factional warfare is losing access to the game's major trade hub. Each NPC empire has a faction police force that chases after player enemies of that empire. Player members of the factional warfare militias can pass through enemy territory if they are fast enough. Cargo ships and large combatants like battlecruisers and battleships most likely will explode. 

The problem will be twice as bad for those joining either the Angel Cartel or Guristas. The patch notes explain the issue.

The Angel Cartel are at war with the Amarr Empire and the Minmatar Republic, while the Guristas Pirates are at war with the Caldari State and the Gallente Federation.

• Capsuleers enlisted in the Pirate Militias can freely engage capsuleers enlisted with their rival empire militias, and vice versa.
  
  
• Capsuleers enlisted with the Angel Cartel will be attacked by Factional Warfare (FW) empire police in Amarr and Minmatar empire space, if there is not an active insurgency present.
  
  
• Capsuleers enlisted with the Guristas Pirates will be attacked by FW empire police in Caldari and Gallente empire space, if there is not an active insurgency present.

The big deal involves access to Jita. While I have been to Jita three times in 14 years on my two main characters, I am in the minority of players. A lot of players will look at the access issue and just pick the other side. Oh, did I mention the economic benefits of Deathless Circle's base in Zarzakh, The Fulcrum.

The Fulcrum will allow unaligned (Neutral) players to use most of the facilities in the station, including: repair, fitting, market, insurance and industry facilities. Some additional facilities and powerful industry bonuses are available exclusively to players who are enlisted with the Angel Cartel or Guristas Pirates.

• The station Industry facilities include full manufacturing, research, copying and invention capabilities.
  
  
• The Fulcrum has a 6% Material Efficiency bonus and a 70% Time Efficiency Bonus when manufacturing any sub-capital Angel Cartel or Guristas Pirate ship. These ME and TE bonuses are available to both pirate enlisted and neutral players.
  
  
• Players who are enlisted with the Angel Cartel or Guristas Pirates will enjoy an additional bonus that reduces the industry job SCC surcharge by 90%
  
  
• The Jump Clone bay can only be used by players enlisted with the Angel Cartel and the Guristas Pirates.
  
  
• The Offices present in the Fulcrum can only be rented by corporations or alliances which are enlisted with the Angel Cartel or the Guristas Pirates.

If a player wants to take full advantage of The Fulcrum, having access to Jita would make life easier. I think those players will choose the Angel Cartel over Guristas. I know the story of Fatal and The Rabbit is more romantic, but we all know New Eden runs on ISK. Never underestimate the ability of EVE players to min/max any situation.