The 5% increase has unlocked something primal in the miner community.
REYKJAVIK – In the wake of Fenris Creations’ July 9th patch increasing the Orca’s Drone HP bonus from 10% to 15% per level, a growing coalition of highsec mining corporations has issued a formal petition demanding that Industrial Command Ships be granted entry into the Alliance Tournament.
The buff, which was applied to ‘match the actual damage per level bonus it has,’ has reportedly triggered a mass identity crisis among New Eden’s mining community. What began as a modest correction to ship traits has spiraled into something far more unsettling.
‘I have spent twelve years pressing F1 on asteroids,’ said Goron_Thump, CEO of the Perimeter-based mining collective Ore Some, Bitch. ‘Then I read the patch notes and realized my Orca drones are now 50% tougher. I put them on a Venture in our anomaly. The Venture died. But the drones? The drones lived. We are not miners anymore. We are a warclan.’
The petition, which has already gathered over 4,200 signatures from players who have never participated in PvP, outlines several demands:
- Industrial Command Ships granted a new ‘Siege Warfare’ mode that paints rocks as hostile
- Alliance Tournament brackets expanded to include a ‘Miners vs. The World’ exhibition round
- A formal apology from Fenris Creations for ‘awakening something we cannot put back to sleep’
Fenris Creations has not issued a formal response, though a representative speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the studio is ‘monitoring the situation and also Googling what a warclan is.’
Meanwhile, nullsec alliances have expressed concern. TEST Alliance Please Ignore fleet commander Vily_Spaceperson posted on GalNet that ‘if these people figure out their drones can also shoot ships, the strategic map changes forever.’ Goonswarm Federation diplomats have reportedly offered the miners free participation in a Burn Jita event in exchange for them returning to belts and ‘never talking about the tournament again.’
At press time, sources confirmed that a Procurer with tech II drone damage amplifiers had been spotted camping the Niarja gate. CONCORD was not called. Nobody knew what protocol to follow.
Fenris Creations did not respond to requests for comment, though a community manager was seen updating the Orca traits page for the third time this week.
