Battle of B-R5RB
The Battle of B-R5RB or the Bloodbath of B-R5RB (/ˈbiː tæk ɑːr faɪv ɑːr ˈbiː/ ⓘ) was a massive-scale virtual battle fought in the MMORPG space game EVE Online in January 2014 (YC 116 in-game), possibly the largest player-versus-player battle in gaming history at the time. The 21-hour-long conflict pitted the Clusterfuck Coalition and Russian alliances (CFC/Rus) against the N3 Coalition and Pandemic Legion alliance (N3/PL) and involved over 7,548 player characters with a maximum of 2,670 players in the B-R5RB system at one time. The in-game cost of the losses totaled over 11 trillion Interstellar Kredit (ISK), an estimated theoretical real-world value of US$300,000 to $330,000 (equivalent to between US$365,807 and $402,388 in 2022), as derived from the contemporaneous market value of PLEX, an item purchasable with real currency that can be redeemed either for subscription time or traded for in-game currency.
A screenshot of the battle | |
| Date | January 27–28, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 21 hours |
| Location | EVE Online virtual game universe (centered in the system B-R5RB, smaller battles and skirmishes throughout) |
| Also known as | Boodbath of B-R5RB |
| Type | Virtual battle |
| Cause | Conflict over control of the in-game star system B-R5RB |
| Participants | Two main player coalitions: Clusterfuck Coalition and Russian Alliances against N3 and Pandemic Legion. Involved a total of 7,548 individual players as part of 717 player corporations and 55 alliances. |
| Outcome |
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Part of a larger conflict known as the Halloween War, the fight started after a single player controlling a space station in the N3/PL-controlled star system B-R5RB accidentally failed to make a scheduled in-game routine maintenance payment, which made the star system open to capture. Being a key staging area used by N3/PL in the war, the CFC and Russian coalitions began pouring players into the system in a swift offensive, and N3/PL moved in a large fleet of players as a response. A massive battle erupted in the system, and numerous smaller engagements occurred throughout the game universe as players attempted to block reinforcements from joining the battle. CFC/Rus gained a clear win by inflicting heavy losses on N3/PL and successfully capturing B-R5RB. The losses totaled 576 capital ships, including 75 Titans (the largest ships available to players), along with thousands of smaller vessels.
To commemorate the sheer size and cost of the battle, the game's creators, CCP Games, erected a permanent monument in the system B-R5RB named "The Titanomachy", consisting of non-salvageable capital ship wrecks.