Between wars, trillion-ISK brawls and event complaints, the thing that stayed on r/Eve the longest this week was not a battle. Twice in four days, capsuleers from rival blocs lit cynos in memory of a fellow player. Here is what happened, based on the posts of the people who organised and attended.
Estria Del, one year on: the vigil in RD-G2R
On 8 October TEST Alliance held a vigil for Estria Del on the first anniversary of his death. One TEST member announced it on r/Eve: the vigil ran from 18:00 to 23:00 EVE time in RD-G2R, TEST's staging system, open to anyone who wanted to honour him.
The thread started as a rant, not as a tribute. The author said Goonswarm pilots had killed the solo ship carrying the vigil cyno three times, and that some of them mocked the vigil in local after being told what it was. He linked three killmails (1, 2, 3). He also thanked Honor Point and The Initiative, who recognised the vigil, said kind words and, he writes, sent over a cyno to burn with TEST.
Goonswarm's side was not one-sided. In the comments, Goonswarm members said the alliance has a firm policy against shooting cyno vigils, that shooting one counts as "Goonfucking", and that the case had been passed to their internal investigators. Other commenters said the first killmail was not a knowing attack, because nobody outside TEST knew what the ship was, and that the real problem was the two pilots who mocked the vigil afterwards. Nothing was settled in the thread, and we cannot verify the outcome. What the thread did produce was a lot of "o7" and an offer: a Goonswarm member asked whether "non-dickhead Goons" could bring a cyno, and TEST answered that everyone was welcome.
The vigil itself went well. In a follow-up post, a TEST member who describes herself as a mentee of Estria and 2IC of Dreddit thanked pilots from TEST, Goonswarm, The Initiative, WOMP, Slyce and many smaller groups who "took a moment to say a nice word" and lit a cyno. A separate post, For Estria, shows a pilot lighting a hard cyno in Imperium staging by himself, and later holding a private vigil with all his alts.
Badad: 4-HWWF fills with cynos
The second vigil was bigger. On 6 October a player posted on r/Eve that Badad, husband of the player Saragossa, had passed away on 4 October. A vigil was called for Sunday 11 October at 20:00 EVE time in 4-HWWF, at the WinterCo Central Station Keepstar.
The request was clear: everyone welcome, whatever the alliance, corporation or coalition, and no fighting, trolling or disruption in the system during the vigil. Alliance and coalition banners were to stay at the door.
Afterwards, a thank-you post written on behalf of Saragossa and the organisers said more than 700 capsuleers had shown up, lighting more than 200 cynos. Those figures come from the organisers, and we have not checked them against killmail or local counts. The post ends with: "The cynos will fade, the fleets will dock, and the wars will continue."
A cyno that does nothing but shine
The Estria thread also produced a small design idea that is worth a mention. Several players suggested that Fenris Creations add a "vigil cyno": a module or visual effect that can be fitted to a ship, has no strategic use and cannot be used as a beacon, so that a vigil is instantly recognisable and nobody shoots it by mistake. Others pointed out that part of the meaning is that each cyno is a pilot who decided to show up. It is only a community suggestion, and there has been no official reply that we know of.
Why it matters
New Eden is at its loudest when it is at war, and last week it was: our own report on the Obe fight and Hy Wanto Destroyer stepping back covers more than 11 trillion ISK in wrecks. The vigils sit at the other end of the same weekend. They also show how much of the game's culture is unwritten rules, such as not shooting a vigil, which hold only as long as people choose to keep them.
Sources
r/Eve: Thank You, New Eden — 700+ Pilots, 200+ Cynos, One Community. o7
r/Eve: Goons shooting Cyno Vigils for Estria in RD-G2R Test staging
r/Eve: A Thank You From TEST
r/Eve: For Estria · image
Killmails linked in the thread: 138991487, 138970599, 138986932