An in-depth breakdown for advantage in faction warfare.
By: A'SongalaFaction Warfare Advantage
Faction Warfare · Mechanics
Introduction
Advantage is a faction warfare mechanism that increases the victory points you gain from each complex capture. Without it, hundreds of extra complexes are needed to capture a system, so advantage is critical—especially when both sides are actively contesting the same system.
Both sides can build advantage in a system. Net advantage is calculated by subtracting one side's total from the other's. If Minmatar have 58% advantage and Amarr have 36%, the result is 22% net advantage for Minmatar.
Advantage is calculated from actions in the system itself and in neighbouring systems, and it has a maximum value.
| Source | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rendezvous Points | Increase friendly advantage |
| Propaganda Beacons | Increase friendly advantage |
| Listening Outposts | Decrease enemy advantage |
| Supply Caches / Depots | Decrease enemy advantage when destroyed |
| Battlefields | Significant friendly advantage |
The typical pattern is that groups run propaganda beacons, rendezvous points, and battlefields to achieve 100% advantage. Then, after both sides stall at 100%, supply depots and listening outposts become a priority.
For contested %, system types, and the Factional Warfare panel, see Faction Warfare Basics.
Rendezvous Points
These are combat cosmic signatures that reward loyalty points and advantage when completed. They spawn every 30 minutes.
They must be scanned with scanner probes, but are extremely easy to probe. They always spawn within 8AU of a celestial, and can be scanned to 100% with a simple 8AU scan.
To complete a site, destroy five waves of NPCs. The final wave includes an officer battleship—killing it finishes the site, and remaining rats leave. Each site provides 10,000 loyalty points and roughly 2% advantage, and can be completed in about ten minutes.
Vexor
With the Vexor, warp into the site, launch drones, set them to aggressive, and orbit the warp-in while letting the drones kill the rats. Once the officer battleship is dead, warp out.
[Vexor, Amarr Rendezvous]
Medium Armor Repairer II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Large Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
10MN Afterburner II
Core Probe Launcher I, Core Scanner Probe I
Drone Link Augmentor I
Drone Link Augmentor I
Prototype Cloaking Device I
Medium EM Armor Reinforcer I
Medium Thermal Armor Reinforcer I
Medium Thermal Armor Reinforcer I
Hammerhead II x5
Core Scanner Probe I x8
Autocannon Wolf
For a more active approach, some pilots use a Wolf.
[Wolf, RV AC Wolf]
Small Armor Repairer II
Centii A-Type Thermal Coating
Multispectrum Energized Membrane II
Tracking Enhancer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Republic Fleet Small Cap Battery
Republic Fleet 5MN Microwarpdrive
200mm AutoCannon II
200mm AutoCannon II
Core Probe Launcher I
200mm AutoCannon II
200mm AutoCannon II
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator II
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S x5000
Other ships
| Ship | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pilgrim | Has a cyno for baiting |
| Huginn / Curse / Rook | Does not appear on directional scan |
| T3C cruisers, pirate cruisers | Great for hunting enemy rendezvous runners at the same time |
| Marauder | Can bait fights if you're running in a fleet |
| Myrmidon / Ishtar / Dominix | Same concept as Vexor |
Propaganda Beacons
Propaganda Broadcast Structures are obtained from the loyalty point store. They increase friendly advantage by 2% and reward 10,000 loyalty points on completion. The same ships that can run a rendezvous point can run a propaganda beacon—the only difference is that the site appears on the overview and there is no officer spawn.
To obtain them, you must convert an Encoder Splice and 100 loyalty points. Splices drop from Operation Centers—level 3 data sites that spawn in enemy rearguard systems. Probe them down, then hack with a data analyzer. NPCs spawn and attack as soon as you finish the first hack. The best approach is to use a cargo scanner to identify which can to hack and align out before looting it, or to bring a ship that can fight.
Up to three propaganda beacons can be deployed in a system at a time. Deploying requires Anchoring III. Once deployed, the structure appears as a warpable beacon on the overview and waves of NPCs spawn for 10 minutes—the timer is paused while NPCs are active.
Listening Outposts
Listening outposts are the only controlled way of reducing enemy advantage. They are critical to the war effort.
Listening Outposts are obtained from the loyalty point store. They destroy 2% enemy advantage and reward 10,000 loyalty points on completion. The same ships that can run a rendezvous point can run a listening outpost—the only difference is that the site appears on the overview and there is no officer spawn.
To obtain them, you must convert a Decoder Package and 100 loyalty points. Packages drop from Operation Centers—level 3 data sites that spawn in enemy rearguard systems. Probe them down, then hack with a data analyzer. NPCs spawn and attack as soon as you finish the first hack. The best approach is to use a cargo scanner to identify which can to hack and align out before looting it, or to bring a ship that can fight.
Up to three listening outposts can be deployed in a system at a time. Deploying requires Anchoring III. Once deployed, the structure appears as a warpable beacon on the overview and waves of NPCs spawn for 10 minutes—the timer is paused while NPCs are active.
Supply Caches and Depots
These sites spawn randomly and provide a 2% advantage bonus for the relevant faction while they exist. They are defended by NPCs and have a reasonable amount of HP. When a cache or depot is destroyed, all characters that damaged it receive 15,000 LP.
To avoid being killed or driven away by the NPCs, either kill them before shooting the cache or depot, or bring enough active tank (EM/Therm) to ignore them.
NOTE: Tech III destroyers (like the Hecate) are surprisingly good for hunting enemy advantage runners and running supply depots.
Battlefields
Battlefields are 30-man sites in frontline systems. Winning one gives significant LP, 2,000 victory points, and about 15% advantage—equivalent to seven and a half rendezvous points.
They have three capture points on one grid. Enemy rats or pilots within 30 km of a point pause progress. The acceleration gate only allows Tech I and Navy hulls.
Because they are lucrative, they are highly contested, and you will often see fleets clashing in battleships and battlecruisers over them. They respawn several times a day for each faction.
