Alliance Tournament XXII Rules and Regulations
Tournament enjoying capsuleers, It's official, the rules and format post is here, planning can start, and Thunderdome is open for action! Signups for Alliance Tournament XXII (ATXXII) are now open. Below is the full list of rules and signup instructions. All hopeful competitors, please take your time and review everything carefully. As usual, there have been some alterations to the overall ruleset, so pay close attention. For any questions or clarifications, you may post in the tournaments section of the EVE Discord server. Note that the format and match rules are subject to change at Fenris Creations’ discretion. Participants are strongly advised to regularly check the Tournament forums and Discord for the most up-to-date information. Highlights of changes from ATXXI (2025) The Cenotaph, Odysseus, Pioneer, Pioneer Consortium Issue, Venture Consortium Issue, and Outrider will not be allowed in this tournament. The Talwar Fleet Issue, Dragoon Navy Issue, Corax Navy Issue, and Algos Navy Issue will be allowed in this tournament. The “Hybrid Drones” that featured in the Rampant Drone Fabrication sites will not be allowed. As the Amarr are this year's sponsor, a selection of Amarr ships will receive an additional point discount. The Amarr love inflation! The points inflation rule has been reintroduced with a twist: duplicate hulls that match specifically receive variable point increases depending on hull size. (Between 0 and +4) The maximum number of ships of a given hull size that a team can field will remain as 3, with the exception of Battleships, which have been reduced to 2. (Flagships are exempt and can be used to push this to 3) Battleships now also have a limitation of 1 Armor Plate OR 2 Shield extenders of any size. All uniques previously eligible as flagships have been removed from flagship status and are now subject to regular fit limitations and limited to once per round in the best-of series. For example, if you use a unique in round 1 of a best-of-3, then you cant use it again in round 2 or 3. If you didn't use it in rounds 1 and 2 you can bring it in round 3. A potential additional round of bans has been added specifically for the use of “uniques” in the final best-of series. (More on that in the best of series below) The Amarr Empire hast decreed that the Bhaalgorn shalt be added to the list of prohibited flagships. No notes, no further explanation. Format The Alliance Tournament XXII is a 16-team, best-of-series tournament hosted on the Tranquility server. The Tournament will culminate in a best-of-five finale, with the matches prior being a best-of-three series. The 16 entry slots will be from the preliminary tournament (see “Preliminary Tournament” below). For ATXXII, the following alliances have received direct invitations to the prelims tournament based on their final positions of the previous tournament and will be invited back with no entry fee: The Tuskers Co. Meta Reloaded Evasive Maneuvering. Psychokids. Teams that have been awarded an entry slot must still register for Alliance Tournament XXII. Unused slots will be reallocated to the preliminary tournament. The seeding for ATXXII, which determines which teams will play against each other, will be based on finishing positions in the preliminary tournament. Alliance Lock And Team Registration Alliances wishing to participate in the tournament must be created by 23:59 UTC on 29 July and remain active for the duration of the tournament - remember to pay those alliance bills! The registration cost for Alliance Tournament XXII is 4,000 PLEX, contracted to “C C P” corporation with the ticker -CCP- (For the final year!). Entries contracted to any other variations, Engineering Corp or otherwise, will NOT be accepted. PLEX must be contracted from the alliance executor. To register a team, the alliance executor must fill out the following form, nominate a team captain (and co-captain if they wish), and set a passphrase. The team captain may also be the alliance executor. When a captain/co-captain submits the team roster, they will be prompted for the passphrase to ensure they are a valid alliance representative. Registration closes at 11:00 UTC on 30 July. Team Participation & Registration Players may only compete for a single alliance and team, regardless of how many accounts they have. Likewise, there shall be no sharing of in-game assets, information, or services with the intent to participate in or assist multiple teams. As a reminder, the regular rules and restrictions still apply, so account sharing, for example, is not permitted. More on this in the “Collusion Rules” section. Teams: Each team can field up to 10 pilots at any time, from a maximum roster of 40. All registered team members are eligible to compete in any match in which their team is taking part; team lineups do not have to remain the same between games. A maximum of 10 of the 40 allowable team members can be mercenaries. More on mercenary rules below. If a team wants to forego mercenaries entirely and draft all 40 team members from their alliance, they can do so. Team captains must submit a roster for their team. The form here will open on 31 July at 11:00 UTC and remain open until the first roster lock deadline at 23:59 UTC on 17 August. Players are free to change alliances until the roster lock date, at which point they will be considered ‘locked in’ to their team. Joining a participating alliance (other than the one the player represents) will prevent the player from participating in the tournament. Moving to different corps within the same alliance after this date is allowed. Team captains will be advised by 18 August if there are any issues with their team members that need adjustment. On 19 August, the full team rosters will be made public and locked. The form will re-open after the preliminary tournament on 16 September and close again on 2 October at 23:59 UTC. The final Team rosters will be made public by 5 October. When the form reopens, new team members may be added to the team roster, as long as they were already in the alliance on the first roster lock date (17 August) or, in the case of mercenaries, have not been in a participating alliance. No more than three additional mercenaries, or 10 regular alliance members, can be added during the second roster lock, and the total team size must still not exceed 40. For the duration of the Tournament, the captain or co-captain will serve as the point of contact for their alliance's participation. Players who require a tournament account and access to Thunderdome can request them here. Mercenary Rules Sponsors of Alliance Tournament XVII and one of New Eden’s most notorious mercenary outfits, Mordu’s Legion, persuaded the Interstellar Gaming Commission to allow each alliance the option of employing the services of mercenaries, unaffiliated pilots who exhibit a keen propensity for competitive play. The IGC has offered the following guidelines as it pertains to the use of Mercenaries. Mercenaries must not be Team Captains Mercenaries may only compete with the team that registered the use of their services. Teams may not leverage the mercenary rules to create B-teams. The Collusion Rules (see below) still apply. Teams may not register more than 10 mercenaries on their roster. The mercenary must submit their name to the IGC via this form (opens 31 July) to formally register their services. Team captains employing mercenaries must also inform the IGC of the arrangement via this form (opens 31 July). The mercenary will not be complete unless both steps are completed. Mercenary submissions will remain open until the first roster lock deadline of 17 August at 23:59 UTC. The form will re-open after the conclusion of the preliminary tournament on 16 September and close again on 2 October at 23:59 UTC. Mercenaries found intentionally sabotaging their teams will be permanently banned from all future tournaments. Fenris Creations has final adjudication in such matters. Members of alliances competing in Alliance Tournament XXII may not offer their services as mercenaries. Mercenaries are free to change corporations or alliances at any time during the tournament, provided they do not join another alliance registered in the ATXXII. They are, however, allowed to join the alliance they’ve enlisted with at any time. Once the roster lock is lifted following the preliminary tournament, mercenaries may not enlist with a new team if they have played for or been enrolled in an alliance that participated (or is still participating) in ATXXII. Teams may, however, enlist the services of mercenaries who have not been signed up with any other team, or been a part of any participating alliance, since 17 August. Anyone interested in enlisting as a mercenary should check the full list of teams participating in this year's tournament on Discord after the registrations close, to ensure that their alliance hasn't submitted a team. Alliance tournament captains may petition the IGC (Via an EVEMail to the character "IGC Alliance Tournament") to alter their team’s name to more aptly reflect the new identity their mercenaries may have imparted. The IGC is a strict arbiter and requests that all names be identifiable and representative of the group; not all names may be accepted. Consider the following example scenarios: NPSI community wishes to have their team’s name reflect their community name: Deathless Net. The IGC is amenable to this. A nullsec PvP alliance expands its ranks with a mercenary from a lowsec alliance, requesting a name change to Strange Pilots Exude Reactive Gas. The IGC would not consider this a valid name. Preliminary Tournament The preliminary tournament will occur on 29 & 30 August, and 5, 6, 12 & 13 September. The full details of the preliminary tournament will be announced on 31 July alongside the live match draw. As shared in the recent announcement article the exact format will be based on the number of entrants, and ideally reflect a “Swiss” format and ending with a top 16 that will progress into the finals. (A full explainer on what a Swiss format is can be found here). The rules in the Preliminary Tournament mirror those of the finals tournament, with the following exceptions: The preliminary tournament will take place on the Thunderdome tournament server instead of the Tranquility live server. Pilot names on Thunderdome should correspond to their character on Tranquility and the name the captain registers in the roster. Flagships are not allowed in the preliminary tournament. Each team in the preliminary tournament will have three bans per match instead of four. Match Rules Teams may field up to 10 pilots in the arena. Each ship is given a point value (listed below), and teams must not exceed 200 points in total. Fights are limited to ten minutes. If the time runs out, the team that has earned the highest total points will be declared the winner. See “Victory Conditions” below. Intentional pod killing is NOT allowed. All pod kills will be reimbursed (except those where the pilot opted to self-destruct). The match simulation is taken as-is. Teams are advised to use their preparation time to verify that ships and modules are fully operational. There will be no replays. Teams may not forfeit or ask a referee to end the match early. If a team wishes to end the match early, the boundary calls for your sacrifice! Referees will make every effort to prevent rule violations before matches, but the final responsibility for any violations lies with the participating team. Due to the damage-over-time aspect of Deathless Breacher Pods, upon completion of a match, all ships will be repaired. All match participants are required to cease combat. If a ship is destroyed after the match, logs will be reviewed, and if it shows repeated aggression after the conclusion of the match, a penalty may be applied to the offending player and/or team. Penalties Any player found to be in violation of the Alliance Tournament rules may be penalized to various degrees, depending on the severity of the offense. All penalties are imposed at the referee's discretion during the tournament, and all decisions are final. Penalties may include, but are not limited to: Points deduction Reducing ship HP and capacitor Moving the ship to a different warp-in Complete removal from the fight Match forfeit Ban from competing in one or more matches Referees and tournament administrators may nullify a match or void a team's win if they believe the team is not competing sincerely or is attempting to manipulate the match outcome. Repeat offenses may incur escalating penalties (Likely multiple comments of varying severity from the casters and analyst desk too!) Ship Rules Each team may have up to 10 ships on the battlefield, for a maximum total of 200 points. Teams are limited to a maximum of three ships of a given hull size in the arena, with the exception of those categorized as a Battleship, whereby they are limited to a maximum of two. For example, no more than three battlecruisers are allowed (two Nighthawks and one Claymore is permitted, but two Sleipnirs and two Hurricanes are not). All logistics ships, including both T1 and T2 variants of cruiser and frigate sizes, are exempt from this rule. Therefore, three Orthrus and one Scimitar would be allowed, as would two Vengeances and two Inquisitors. Teams may field a maximum of one logistics cruiser, one T1 support cruiser, or two T1/T2 logistics/support frigates per match. With the exception of the Praxis, Gnosis, Sunesis and Metamorphosis, special edition ships are banned. The current list is as follows: Apocalypse Imperial Issue Armageddon Imperial Issue Megathron Federate Issue Raven State Issue Tempest Tribal Issue Guardian-Vexor Mimir Adrestia Vangel Etana Moracha Chameleon Fiend Rabisu Stratios Emergency Responder Gold Magnate Freki Silver Magnate Utu Malice Cambion Chremoas Whiptail Imp Caedes Victor Virtuoso Hydra Tiamat Python Raiju Laelaps Nestor, Odysseus, Marshal, Enforcer, Pacifier, and Monitor are NOT allowed All ORE ships and ships categorized as larger than a battleship are NOT allowed. The use of the frigate escape bay is NOT allowed. Ship Point Values As the number of uniquely pointed ships has grown this year, rather than listing all uniquely pointed ships, we recommend reviewing the points within the Quick Comp Creator under the "New Static Values" tab. If a ship has both a class point value and an individual point value, the more specific value applies. Ships without a point value, by omission, are not allowed. A new Inflation rule is in effect. Every additional copy of a ship adds points, depending on the ship's size, to the specific hull's point cost. For Frigates, it’s +0 (with the exception of Logistics and T1 Support Frigates which get a +1) for Destroyers +1 for Cruisers and Industrials +2 for Battlecruisers +3 for Battleships +4 Place & Tactics Captains (and/or co-captains) must be online and available 45 minutes prior to the match to make their ban choices. Alliance Tournament XXI will feature a new alternating ban system. Further details on bans can be found in the subsection Ships Bans. Participants should be prepared, in their chosen ships, and in a fleet, 20 minutes before their scheduled fight time. If you are not ready within this time allocation, you will be disqualified from the match and the opposing team will be given an automatic win. All pilots must be docked in a station, not in an Upwell structure or undocked in space. Teams will be brought into a solar system in uncharted space by a Referee. Once they’ve arrived, referees will continue to communicate in local; teams are required to monitor that channel at all times. You will be given approximately one minute to check over your modules to ensure everything is correct. Eight entry locations in the system serve as starting locations. Four of these are marked for the Red Team, and four are marked for the Blue Team. Teams will be moved to the entry location of their captain's choosing, A, B, C, D (The referee will ask while the match is being set up). A celestial beacon in the overview will mark the arena center where teams will be able to warp between 0-50km. Here's a short clip from the previous Alliance Tournament about this process: Info Arena 1 (1) Once the word is given, teams warp to the specified arena beacon, at a range of their choosing, up to a maximum of 50 km. Team members are allowed to warp in at different ranges. Point formation is the only allowed fleet formation type. Once instructed to warp by the Referee, all team members must warp promptly to the arena. Shortly after allowing teams to warp, the referee will lock the warp functions again. Any team members who have not initiated warp by that time will be subject to penalties at the referee’s discretion. The arena will have a radius of 125 km centered on the central celestial beacon. The arena contains nine Mobile Micro Jump Unit structures: one at the center and eight positioned 87 km from the center, aligned with each of the eight team beacons. These outer structures form a cube around the arena's center, with each side approximately 100 km long. The Mobile Micro Jump Units are indestructible and usable by all. The referee will begin a countdown. When the countdown ends, the host will break the target locks of all ships in the arena. If a player warps out or leaves the arena, their ship will be destroyed. This includes disconnection emergency warps. This rule is in effect before and during the match. Deploying cargo containers, anchorable items, Upwell structures or mobile structures into space is NOT allowed. Ships cannot contain deployable cargo containers. Dropping regular jettison containers is allowed. Drones should not be deployed until match start, dropping drones earlier than this will result in them being unrecoverable. The use of combat probes in tournament systems is NOT allowed. Upon conclusion of the match, the team will be returned back to the station they were docked in. Arenas Players are likely to experience unique arena designs during the Tournament. These will be positioned to minimize the impact on tournament play and will be adjusted if required. The following restrictions are in place after teams have warped to the arena beacon until the match begins: Warping within the arena is NOT allowed. Locking on to players before the match starts is NOT allowed. Boarding a ship during the match is NOT allowed. Activating aggressive or targeted modules before the match starts is NOT allowed. Launching drones before the match starts is NOT allowed. Moving before the match starts is NOT allowed. Beginning the activation cycle of a Micro Jump Drive or Mobile Micro Jump Unit before the match starts is NOT allowed. Activating command bursts before the match starts is allowed. Activating any targeting computers or hardeners is allowed. Fitting Restrictions All T1 and T2 modules are allowed, with the following exceptions: All Remote Armor Repair modules and Remote Shield Transfer modules are prohibited, except on ONE of the following: a Logistics Ship, a Tech I Support Cruiser, or up to TWO Tech II Logistics Frigates or Tech I Support Frigates. A combination of T1 and T2 repair frigates is allowed. For example, one T2 logistics frigate and one T1 support frigate may be fielded together. The Zarmazd is limited to ONLY having the mutadaptive remote repairer in the high slot Strategic cruisers are NOT allowed to fit remote repair modules. Only ONE Remote Capacitor Transmitter module is allowed per ship. The Ancillary Shield Boost module is restricted to a maximum of one per ship. Using both an Ancillary Shield Booster and a regular Shield Booster is permitted. ECM modules, including ECM Bursts and Meta 1-4, may only be fitted to ships with an ECM bonus. These ships include the Ibis, Griffin, Kitsune, Blackbird, Rook, Falcon, Tengu (with Obfuscation Manifold), Scorpion, and Widow. The Griffin Navy Issue is not permitted to fit ECM. No ships without these hull bonuses may equip these modules. Sensor Dampeners, Tracking Disruptors, and Guidance Disruptors may only be fitted to ships with a hull bonus for these modules, up to a maximum Meta level of 4. For Sensor Dampeners, this includes the Maulus, Keres, Velator, Celestis, Lachesis, and Arazu. For Weapon Disruption, this includes the Pilgrim, Arbitrator, Impairor, Sentinel, Curse, Crucifier, and Crucifier Navy Issue. No ships without these hull bonuses may equip these modules. Warp Disruption Field Generators are restricted to a maximum of one per ship and Warp Disruption Field Generator scripts are allowed. Micro-jump field generators are NOT allowed. The Bastion Module is NOT allowed. Cloaking devices are NOT allowed. Faction, COSMOS, dead space, and officer modules are NOT allowed (except within specified groups on a flagship). Abyssal (Mutated) modules are NOT allowed (including Mutated Drones). ML-EKP "Polybolos” Ballistic Control System is not allowed. "Atonement" Remote Shield Boosters are not allowed. T1 rigs are allowed. T2 rigs are NOT allowed. Stasis Webification Probes (Wubbles) are allowed. Navy Cap Boosters are allowed. Micro-jump drives are allowed. Polarized weapons are allowed. Stasis Grapplers are allowed. Command bursts are allowed. Signature radius suppressors are allowed. Target painters may be up to (and including) Meta 5 and can be fitted to any ship. All T1 and T2 ammunition, missiles, and charges are allowed, with the following exceptions: Remote Sensor Dampener and Weapon Disruptor Scripts are (still) allowed. Navy faction ammunition, missiles, and capacitor boosters are allowed. Pirate faction ammunition is NOT allowed. T1 and Navy Faction combat and sentry drones are allowed. Hybrid drones are NOT allowed. Hybrid drones are defined as electronic warfare drones with damage capabilities. T2, augmented and integrated combat, mutated, and sentry drones are NOT allowed. The Gecko and Aralez are NOT allowed. Only T1 logistics drones are allowed. T2 logistics drones are NOT allowed. Electronic warfare drones are allowed (Including “EV-300/600/900” Drones), their “Faction” hybrid variants are NOT allowed. Attribute enhancers that give bonuses to anything other than perception, intelligence, willpower, memory, and charisma are NOT allowed. Genolution "CA-" implants are NOT allowed. ONLY Hardwiring with names ending in "01", "02", or "03" are allowed (e.g., EG-603 is legal, but EG-605 is not). All Leadership mindlinks (including navy and Guri Malakim mindlinks) are allowed. Boosters (drugs) are NOT allowed, with the exception of: Cerebral Accelerators that impact only attributes. ("Standard Cerebral Accelerator" is NOT allowed) Expert Cerebral Accelerator Basic 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Standard 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Advanced 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Specialist 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Expert 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Master-at-Arms Cerebral Accelerator Genius 'Boost' Cerebral Accelerator Advanced Cerebral Accelerator Prototype Cerebral Accelerator Basic 'Radiance' Cerebral Accelerator Potent 'Radiance' Cerebral Accelerator Extended 'Radiance' Cerebral Accelerator Basic Glamourex Booster AIR Mining Range Booster I AIR Mining Range Booster II AIR Mining Yield Booster I AIR Mining Yield Booster II AIR Mining Yield Booster III AIR Astro-Rangefinding II Booster AIR Astro-Pinpointing II Booster AIR Astro-Acquisition II Booster Any prohibited boosters pending claim in your redeeming queue will prevent you from entering the arena, and you will be asked to remove them. Use them before the tournament! Expert Systems are Legal Note on changes to ship and module balance Changes to ship and module balance for EVE follow their own schedule, independent of the tournament schedule, and will not be delayed to accommodate the tournament. This means that major changes and new releases can occur between the release of the tournament rules and the tournament itself, or even during the tournament. All teams are impacted equally by such changes, and the ability to quickly adjust to them is part of what separates the best tournament teams from the rest. Where appropriate, ship point values may be updated/changed, and new modules banned, and will be communicated via the tournament-announcements channel on the EVE Online Discord and in the versioning of the comp-creator spreadsheet. Teams should keep this in mind when making their plans and keep a close eye on Fenris Creations' communications for the earliest look at potential changes that may impact their teams during the tournament. Flagships Any pointed T1 battleship, T2 battleship, or faction battleship may be designated as a flagship, with the exception of the Bhaalgorn, which is prohibited. Team captains must inform the host managing their match if they intend to use their flagship in any given match, and who will be piloting it. Flagships may ignore meta-level restrictions for certain module types, allowing them to fit faction, officer, COSMOS, and deadspace versions (Abyssal modules are prohibited). These module types include: Turrets and missile launchers Stasis webifiers Smartbombs Afterburners, Microwarpdrives and Micro Jump Drives Warp scramblers, warp disruptors, and stasis grapplers Target painters Sensor boosters and signal amplifiers Overdrives, nanofiber internal structures, and inertial stabilizers Weapon and drone upgrade modules Armor plates and shield extenders Damage controls (Including Breach Control) ONE shield booster (Ancil or otherwise) or up to TWO armor repairers (e.g., if your flagship has XLASB + LSB + LSB, one of the three can ignore meta restrictions). Flagship ship types must be decided in advance and Team Captains must submit their selection via the Flagship submission form no later than 23:59 UTC on 9 October. The fittings for a flagship do not have to be disclosed. The names of flagships do not have to be disclosed or remain consistent. Fittings may also be changed from match to match. All flagship hull types will be published in Discord and on the EVE Online Alliance Tournament section of the EVE Online website following the flagship submission deadline. A flagship may be fielded in any match, even if its ship type has been banned, and counts as a normal ship in every way other than the ones defined above. Flagships must still adhere to all non-meta level-based fitting restrictions, including any bans on module types or limits on the number of certain modules that can be fitted. A flagship costs the same point value as a regular ship of its type and is still considered a regular hull in all other considerations. Flagships may be used to bypass the restriction on limited battleship hulls, allowing them to used alongside 2 additional Battleships. You are not required to field your flagship in any given match. If your flagship is destroyed, it may not be fielded again during the tournament. Flagships can only be fielded during the main tournament, and are prohibited from the preliminary tournament. When a flagship is fielded, it must be announced before the match starts and declared by the team during match preparation. The procedure is as follows: During the pre-match conversation with the referee, declare your intention to field the flagship and provide the intended fit for final checks. The flagship check is part of the regular ship-check cycle and must be ready at the scheduled ship-check time outlined in the schedule. The flagship status (ship type and pilot ONLY) will be shared with the players on the field (in local chat and with the commentary/analyst team) once warping has been locked, prior to the final 30 second match countdown. Victory Conditions During a match, a team scores points for each enemy ship it kills, equal to the tournament points value of that ship. The team that destroys the entire opposing team, or has the most points at the conclusion of the match, is declared the winner. If a team chooses to field fewer than 200 points, non-fielded points count toward the opponent's score. If a fight is tied after 10 minutes, time dilation will be used to progressively speed up the tournament solar system and encourage a prompt end to the match. In the unlikely event of a tie after 15 minutes, victory will be awarded to the team with the higher collective potential team DPS at the beginning of the match, as measured by the tournament's automated “attack bar.” Ships Bans Each captain will have four total bans. A tournament referee will contact the competing team captains in-game 15 to 60 minutes before their scheduled match time. During the match draw/seeding, teams will be allocated a side of Red or Blue. When the ban window opens, the team captain will be provided with a unique URL for their match, which will take them to a new ban selection screen. Once each captain confirms via the tool that they’re connected ban selection will begin. For the main tournament the ban sequence will proceed as follows: Red will pick a single ban first Blue will follow by selecting 2 bans Red will follow by selecting 2 bans Blue will follow with a single ban Red will follow by a single ban Blue will finish with a single ban Each "round" lasts 1 minute and during the preliminary tournament, the last round of each side is excluded. Each ban targets a specific ship type and not a ship class or other hull. For example, banning the Harpy would not exclude the Hawk or frigates in general. All bans apply to both teams equally. During the best-of series, teams will alternate starting sides and subsequently, bans. Round 3 of the best-of-3 series is being decided via a coin flip. During the best-of-5, round 5 will also be decided via a coin flip. Teams should aim to have multiple ship setups available, as bans may affect their primary team composition. No additional time will be given if eligible ships are not available. Only three of the same hull type can be banned by each side. Once three of the same hull type have been banned, no more of that group will be bannable. Ships in the logistics category remain at a cap of two. As a point of clarity, ships flagged as "Logistics" are in a category of their own. Therefore, only two of the following may be banned: Deacon Kirin Thalia Scalpel Augoror Osprey Exequror Scythe Guardian Basilisk Oneiros Scimitar Rodiva Zarmazd Inquisitor Bantam Navitas Burst Additional Rule Variation For The Best of Series As many Alliance Tournament XXII matches are built around the best-of series, there will be an additional rule adjustment for the best-of-three bracket final series and the best-of-five grand final. Best-of series: Uniques: Use of previous Alliance Tournament unique ships: Geri, Bestla, Cybele, Shapash, Cobra, Sidewinder, Skua, and Anhinga will be available for use during the main tournament weekends' best-of series, with the following conditions in mind: Their points have been adjusted to be in line with ships at the top of their respective ship size categories They observe the same fitting restrictions as regular ships, as outlined in the section above. A maximum of one of the ships listed above can be fielded at any one time. They may be used once per round of best-of-three matches, and twice during the best-of-five matches. Their usage will be prompted by a question from the referees after the regular ban sequence completes. If a team declares that they desire to bring a unique when prompted by the referee, it will provide the opposing team the option of two additional bans. One that follows the regular ban restrictions/applicable to the regular ship pool and a second that has just the uniques available in the tournament. It should be noted that declaring the desire to field a unique is not conditional; if you initially declare the desire to field a unique and then decide after the two additional bans not to field one, there are no further repercussions. Bans: Traditionally, in the best-of-series, a ban system was used, whereby all ships fielded by the winning team were prohibited from the next match, in addition to the regular bans. With the format change this year and the potential for additional bans on uniques, the banning system for the best-of series has been changed to an “Avalanche” system. The avalanche system works as follows: Upon conclusion of the first match in the best-of-series: The loser of each match has to ban 2 ships of their opponent's previous fleet composition. The Winner has to ban 1 ship of their opponent's fleet composition These bans: Take place before the regular ban phase. Apply to both teams. Teams are subject to their own selected bans as well as the opposing team’s bans. Are mandatory. Both teams in the series must meet the required number of bans based on the result of the previous match. If the team does not submit their required ban(s) in a timely manner, the referees will provide bans in that team’s place at random. Are blind bans: The losing team will not know which fielded ship the winning team has banned until all mandatory bans are submitted, and vice versa. Do not reset - the bans remain in place for the entire series. Once these blind bans are submitted, the referees will communicate the updated mandatory ban list to each team ahead of the normal ban phase. There are no additional bans for duplicates. This means in the case of Bo3 matches, there can be up to an additional 6 bans from fielded ships going into the third and last match. In the case of the Grand Finals (Bo5), there may be as many as 12 bans from fielded ships going into the fifth and last match. Flagships are immune to bans still and may continue to be flown in each match until destroyed. Collusion Rules Each team must be working towards its own victory in each match and in the tournament overall, not the victory of any other team. Two teams may not act as one team, and B-teams are NOT allowed. The Fenris Creations tournament staff is the final authority on all issues of potential collusion. We strongly advise teams not to try to push to the boundaries of what may be considered appropriate. Tournament impropriety will result in swift and severe disciplinary action. Teams may scrimmage against each other in order to practice for the tournament if they wish. Setting up “house rules” for matches in the Alliance Tournament will be considered collusion and is NOT allowed. Shared leadership, shared theory crafting, shared planning, shared logistics, and free sharing of resources between teams are all prohibited. Once a team is disqualified from the tournament, its members are considered neutral parties. They may assist other teams during practice but may not enlist to compete with them. Making deals with other teams to split prizes if either team wins is NOT allowed. Using a mercenary to sabotage a team or throw a match is NOT allowed. Providing ISK/PLEX to multiple teams for signups is not considered collusion. However, any further financial support or transactions after the signup will be regarded as collusion and is prohibited. And that concludes today’s update! We look forward to seeing what you cook up this year! o7
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