¶ Faction Warfare Complexes
Faction warfare Complexes, or "plexes" for short, are key elements of Minmatar territory control. By capturing complexes, pilots gain loyalty points and contribute to the capture of systems for the Minmatar Republic. This gains us more territory, and increases our benefits from participating in faction warfare.
- To capture a complex, we need an understanding of basic ships and the faction warfare map. This guide will focus on the Minmatar v Amarr Faction Warfare space, as that is primarily where we operate; however, all of this information is applicable to the Galente v Caldari warzone also.
¶ Faction Warfare Map
The Minmatar Republic is in a constant struggle against Amarr Empire. By capturing complexes, we are eventually able to siege systems, and subsequently bring them under the control of the Minmatar Republic. Furthermore, pilots gain loyalty points for every complex that they capture; this LP is the primary income source of many Faction Warfare pilots.
- The first step to understanding Faction Warfare is understanding the map. While dotlan may be daunting to look at, it is super useful to gain information about the Eve Online map.
Systems controlled by the Amarr and Caldari are offensive Minmatar systems. We can offensively capture complexes in these systems, leading to higher loyalty point gains and adding victory points to the system (0.7% per complex). After the bar reaches 100%, we can siege the system.
¶ Faction Warfare Complexes
Below is a table of the faction warfare complexes, and the ship class they can be captured by. The most balancing factor of faction warfare is that complexes only allow certain types of ships; each complex has an upper limit on what class of ship can enter, however ships of any size under the limit can also enter.
| Complex Name | Capture Time | Maximum Ship Class | Recommended Solo Ship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scout Outpost | 10 Minutes | Frigates | Tristan, Breacher, Rifter |
| Small Outpost | 10 Minutes | Destroyers | Thrasher, Algos |
| Medium Outpost | 15 Minutes | Cruisers | Vexor, Stabber |
| Large Outpost | 15 Minutes | Battleships | Cyclone, Hurricane |
| Open Outpost | 15 Minutes | Anything | Cyclone, Hurricane |
Aside from Open and Scout Complexes, each of these complex sizes can be either "Navy" or "Advanced"; these are denoted in the name of the site, along with the maximum amount of ships that can be paid out from the site.
- Navy complexes allow Navy-class ships and below to enter; Stabber Fleet Issues, Thrasher Fleet Issues and Republic Fleet Firetails are examples of ships that are allowed in Navy complexes.
- Advanced complexes allow Tech-2, Tech-3, and Pirate class ships to enter. Vagabonds, Stilettos, even Marauder-class ships such as the Vargur can enter an Advanced complex of sufficient size.
¶ Some Examples of Complexes:
| Complex Type | What can Enter and recieve full LP |
|---|---|
| Small NVY-5 | Up to 5 Navy Destroyers or below |
| Medium ADV-5 | Up to 5 Tech-2 Cruisers or below |
| Large NVY-1 | Up to one Navy Battleship or below |
Remember: You can take ships of smaller sizes into larger plexes. For example, a fleet of 5 Thrashers could capture a Large [ADV-5].
- Note: The number of ships allowed inside a complex isn't a hard cap on what can enter; alternatively, it's a cap on how many ships can recieve the full payout of LP from the site.
- Note: Tech-3 ships (Tactical Destroyers and Strategic Cruisers) counts as one size larger than their hull size. A T3 Destroyer can enter Medium and above Complexes. A T3 Cruiser can only enter Large and Open complexes.
¶ Offensive Plexes vs Defensive Plexes
Running complexes can be done in two ways; either offensively or defensively, and doing both is necessary for the Minmatar War Effort.
- Offensive Plexing (O-Plexing) is done in Amarr-controlled systems
- When plexing in Amarr systems, you need to kill the NPC guarding the site for the timer to tick down. These generally respawn up to 5 times during the plex timer; Amarr NPCs will have "Imperial" in their name. The NPC guardian does a low amount of DPS to you but requires a minimum level of DPS in order to break the tank.
| Complex Type | Minimum DPS |
|---|---|
| Scout | 50 |
| Small | 100 |
| Medium | 200 |
| Large | 400 |
| Open | 400 |
- Defensive Plexing (D-Plexing) is done in Minmatar-Controlled systems
- When plexing in Minmatar systems, you don't need to kill the NPC guarding the site, as it's a Minmatar NPC. Minmatar NPCs will have "Republic" in their name.
- Because the NPC doesn't need to be killed in a defensive plex, it is common to D-plex in smaller ship classes as the DPS is not required. However, these plexes are Offensive for the Amarr, and you'll likely get a fight out of D-Plexing!
¶ So, Where do I Plex?
Faction Warfare systems are broken out into three types; Frontline, Command Operations, and Rearguard. 
- Frontline systems directly border hostile territory; You will always see Minmatar Frontlines next to Amarr Frontlines.
- Command Operations systems directly border friendly frontline systems
- Rearguard systems only border Command Operations and other Rearguards
Plexing in Frontlines generates the most LP and Victory Points, and as such, Frontlines are the most common place to plex. Plexing in Command Operations and Rearguard systems yields a much lower percentage of each, however on some occasions it is beneficial to take complexes there; Sneakily building advantage and contest in enemy Rearguards can sometimes result in a suprise system capture!
¶ Important Plex mechanics
Complex mechanics are quite simple (at least relative to other mechanics in EVE) but understanding them will greatly increase your rate of success when engaging other players inside or around one.
¶ Outside the plex
When warping to any Plex first cause you to land near an acceleration gate. There are a few important things to keep in mind to avoid dying on the gate itself.
- Activating the gate functions like a normal warp. You can pre-align to the actual deadspace pocket once you've landed, this allows you to activate the gate instantly.
- The gates have a 90km activation distance, warping to 100km usually puts you at roughly 90km from the gate but might put you outside of activation range.
- A warp disruptor or scram will prevent gate activation.
- The gate is a colidable object. Warping to the Plex at 0km means a high chance of getting stuck on the gate when activating it.
- The greater the warp distance the safer you are.You always land at a position between the gate and your starting destination. Someone warping at 100km from another celestial will end up more than 100km from you.
- You are able to warp to items on the grid outside of the Plex.
- Open Plexes do not have an accelaration gate, as such you will directly land inside the Plex at the warp distance chosen.
¶ Inside the Plex - General
After activating the acceleration gate you will be warped to a deadspace pocket. There are a few rules which apply inside the Plex.
- You are unable to warp to anything on the grid, this includes objects and fleet members.
- You will be unable to warp to anything on the grid even if the Plex is finished.
- You are always able to warp out of the Plex (assuming you aren't affected by a warp disruptor or scram), however you will return to the acceleration gate if you warp back.
- The central structure in the plex does not have a collision hitbox.
- The capture zone is 30km but the deadspace pocket is much larger, you can travel several hundred KMs in any direction should you wish.
¶ Inside the Plex - The landing beacon
You will land inside the plex within 3500m from the landing beacon at a random spot. If you are already inside the Plex you can use the landing beacon to position yourself optimally before a fight starts.
- Make sure to turn on all brackets in space to be able to see the beacon.
- The beacon itself is a large collidable object with a small hitbox. You are unlikely to get stuck on it.
- Sitting on the becon at 0m will give you the shortest distance possible to anyone entering the plex.
- Keep the becon at the range you wish to start any potential fight from.
- The NPC will spawn from the central structure at roughly 8000m - 12000m from the landing beacon.
¶ Inside the Plex - Landing mechanics
As mentioned before you will land at a random spot 3500m from the landing becon. There are a few very important mechanics you need to be aware of that relates to landing at the becon.
- Any player inside the Plex will be able to see you before you land, they will be able to approach or start orbiting you before you come to a standstill.
- The landing player will always decelerate to 0 m/s.
- The landing player has 10 seconds of invulnerability after landing. If the player takes any action aside from preheating modules the invulnerability period will instantly end.
- If you are the player punching into the plex, use the invulnerability period to orient yourself and pre-analyse the fight. Where is the enemy ship? Do I want to burn away or towards them?
- If you are controlling the range of the fight consider sticking close to the beacon (if you expect help) or burn away from it (if you expect enemy reinforcements). Allies or enemies will always land on the beacon, they cannot chose to land on a friendly already inside the plex.
¶ Faction Warfare Income
By capturing a complex, you obtain loyalty points based on it's size. These loyalty points can be converted to items which are sold by the Faction Warfare NPC market.
¶ Offensive Plexes vs Defensive Plexes (Part.II)
The LP Payouts are different between Offensive and Defensive plexing; the numbers listed below are for O-plexing in Frontline systems.
| Complex Size | LP per Pilot |
|---|---|
| Scout NVY-1 | 18500 |
| Small ADV-1 | 28150 |
| Medium ADV-1 | 37500 |
| Large ADV-1 | 45000 |
| Open | 45000 |
- LP payouts from running complexes in Defensive Frontlines are determined based on the 'Contested' Percentage of the system; the closer a system is to being taken by the Amarr, the more LP you'll gain from D-Plexing there. D-Plexing in a system that has a very low Contested percentage will yield much lower LP compared to other systems.
- NVY-1 complexes yield ~20% less loyalty points than ADV-1 complexes.
- NVY-5 and ADV-5 complexes yield the same amount of loyalty points, however they can payout the full value to up to 5 pilots inside the complex. For example, if two pilots finished a Small NVY-1 site, the LP payout of 28150 would be split. However, if 5 people finished a Medium ADV-5 complex, all 5 pilots would recieve the 37500 LP payout. Flying with friends really pays off!
¶ Victory Points and 'Contested' Percentage
When you capture a complex, you earn victory points for the system. Victory Points are a hidden total; instead they are displayed by the ‘Contested’ percentage in the system status.
| Size | VP | Capture Percentage | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scout NVY-1 | 25 | 0.03% | 10 |
| Small NVY-1/5 | 50 | 0.07% | 10 |
| Small ADV-1/5 | 75 | 0.10% | 10 |
| Medium NVY-1/5 | 150 | 0.20% | 15 |
| Medium ADV-1/5 | 175 | 0.23% | 15 |
| Large NVY-1/5 | 250 | 0.33% | 15 |
| Large ADV-1/5 | 300 | 0.40% | 15 |
| Open | 350 | 0.47% | 15 |
| Battlefield | 2000 | 2.67% | 30-45 |
- The higher the advantage, the more victory points you earn per capture. Larger complexes count more, therefore they are extremely important to pushing systems.
- A guide to Advantage Mechanics can be found here.
¶ Infrastructure Hub
At 100% contested, the infrastructure hub becomes vulnerable. It’s important to capture a few complexes past the 100% mark before you attack the infrastructure hub, as the enemy will likely attempt to bring the system back down.
After destroying the infrastructure hub, the system flips sides and the victory points reset to 0.
¶ Additional Resources
Academy Main Page
Guides Main Page
Advantage Guide
Battlefield Guide