The February Monthly Economic Report for EVE Online landed last week, a little later than usual, but everybody is busy.
EVE Online nerds harder
As usual, I am going to focus mostly on destruction. You can find things about the general New Eden economy here:
- CCP – February 2024 Monthly Economic Report
- CCP – February 2024 MER Forum Thread
- Reddit – February 2024 MER Thread
- TNG – February 2024 Activity In EVE Online
- TNG – A Look At The February 2024 Active ISK Delta
Overall Summary
February is the shortest month of the year, though it is leap year so it gets an extra day this time around. Still, we have to allow for the month still falling a day or two short of the rest of the year.
For the opening number for February, CCP recorded 446,701 losses, down from the 495,657 losses recorded in January. To square that up, February had 15,403 losses per day compared to 15,989 in January, so destruction was down some, but not a lot.
On the cost front, February saw 40.52 trillion ISK in losses, down from the 46.8 trillion ISK recorded lost in January, a dip that is, again, beyond being explained by February having two fewer days as the daily average losses were about 1 billion less than the month before.
What is happening? Yeah, less people were playing in February… which is not an entirely unexpected phenomena looking at the recent history of the game. From Jester’s charts, we can see that three out of the last five years saw downward trend in the second month of the year.
Average daily users 2020-2024
The exceptions were 2021, where we were on a second round of Covid bounce (and still in the active stage of World War Bee) and 2023 when CCP was trying to dig itself out of its “starvation economy” hole that drove players from the game.
As for how the month flowed for destruction, the weekends were naturally the peaks.
February 2024 – Losses per day
February 24th was the peak day of the month and the only day where ISK losses rose about the 2 trillion mark and hull losses rose above 20K.
Top 20 Most Frequent Losses by Class and Hull
Once more, the top 20 classes and hulls are made up of mostly the usual suspects.
| Class | Count | % of Feb | Hull | Count | % of Feb |
| Capsule | 123,760 | 27.71% | Capsule | 122,177 | 27.35% |
| Frigate | 62,332 | 13.95% | Caldari Shuttle | 17,588 | 3.94% |
| Shuttle | 43,464 | 9.73% | Amarr Shuttle | 12,647 | 2.83% |
| Cruiser | 37,961 | 8.50% | Venture | 11,394 | 2.55% |
| Destroyer | 31,801 | 7.12% | Mobile Tractor Unit | 11,342 | 2.54% |
| Corvette | 15,575 | 3.49% | Gallente Shuttle | 8,586 | 1.92% |
| Combat Battlecruiser | 12,514 | 2.80% | Ibis | 7,588 | 1.70% |
| Mobile Tractor Unit | 11,882 | 2.66% | Heron | 7,174 | 1.61% |
| Interdictor | 10,324 | 2.31% | Vexor | 5,550 | 1.24% |
| Assault Frigate | 8,575 | 1.92% | Exequror Navy Issue | 5,405 | 1.21% |
| Hauler | 8,352 | 1.87% | Ishtar | 5,129 | 1.15% |
| Heavy Assault Cruiser | 7,955 | 1.78% | Thrasher | 5,032 | 1.13% |
| Interceptor | 7,342 | 1.64% | Sabre | 4,867 | 1.09% |
| Battleship | 7,117 | 1.59% | Algos | 4,730 | 1.06% |
| Mobile Warp Disruptor | 4,327 | 0.97% | Caracal | 4,629 | 1.04% |
| Stealth Bomber | 4,236 | 0.95% | Minmatar Shuttle | 4,011 | 0.90% |
| Tactical Destroyer | 4,189 | 0.94% | Catalyst | 3,564 | 0.80% |
| Strategic Cruiser | 4,011 | 0.90% | Kikimora | 3,332 | 0.75% |
| Mining Barge | 3,961 | 0.89% | Velator | 3,181 | 0.71% |
| Covert Ops | 3,882 | 0.87% | Cormorant | 2,841 | 0.64% |
Shuttle destruction continues to be high, representing nearly 10% of all hulls destroyed in February. That is up as a percentage of the month over January, largely due to the number of shuttles destroyed being close to last month while the overall destruction was down a bit, as noted above. But we’ll get to more about shuttles in a bit.
I do also wonder it mobile tractor unit destruction over time represents a potential bellwether stat, as it implies people ratting and people hunting people ratting. I’ll go make a chart about that at some point.
Hulls Lost only Once This Month
| Hull | Count |
| Boobook | 1 |
| Caldari Listening Outpost | 1 |
| Civilian Amarr Shuttle | 1 |
| Hubris | 1 |
| Loggerhead | 1 |
| Nyx | 1 |
| Sotiyo | 1 |
| Valravn | 1 |
| Wyvern | 1 |
Of note on that list is the Boobook, a special shuttle from Capsuleer Day XIX that has an unscannable cargo hold. That didn’t help it when it landed in a smart bomb trap. (Same fate for the Civilian Amarr Shuttle.) The Hubris, the Valravn, and the Loggerhead are lancer dreadnoughts, so rare only in that they a niche role. The Nyx and the Wyvern are just super carriers, and somebody lost a Sotiyo in Provi.
I left the Caldari Listening Outpost on the list by mistake, then when I looked it up, I found there were four of those destroyed in February according to zKillboard, so what do I say?
Top 20 Total ISK Lost by Hull Type
| Hull | Count | Sum of ISK lost | ISK per Loss |
| Capsule | 122,177 | 3,361.72 billion | 27.52 million |
| Vargur | 775 | 1,931.43 billion | 2,492.17 million |
| Ishtar | 5,129 | 1,438.53 billion | 280.47 million |
| Loki | 1,667 | 1,358.12 billion | 814.71 million |
| Paladin | 639 | 1,300.87 billion | 2,035.79 million |
| Tengu | 1,256 | 1,040.14 billion | 828.13 million |
| Golem | 400 | 883.41 billion | 2,208.53 million |
| Gila | 1,481 | 788.32 billion | 532.29 million |
| Nestor | 290 | 756.80 billion | 2,609.66 million |
| Praxis | 2,396 | 699.75 billion | 292.05 million |
| Athanor | 324 | 671.53 billion | 2,072.62 million |
| Kronos | 283 | 570.14 billion | 2,014.63 million |
| Exequror Navy Issue | 5,405 | 508.80 billion | 94.13 million |
| Proteus | 638 | 503.90 billion | 789.82 million |
| Leshak | 726 | 376.70 billion | 518.87 million |
| Sabre | 4,867 | 367.63 billion | 75.53 million |
| Orca | 220 | 360.61 billion | 1,639.12 million |
| Machariel | 187 | 359.59 billion | 1,922.96 million |
| Legion | 450 | 345.30 billion | 767.33 million |
| Occator | 504 | 341.43 billion | 677.43 million |
Top 20 Most ISK per Hull Lost
What is expensive to lose?
| Hull | Count | Sum of ISK lost | ISK per Loss |
| Sotiyo | 1 | 51.32 billion | 51.32 billion |
| Wyvern | 1 | 32.79 billion | 32.79 billion |
| Hel | 4 | 99.99 billion | 25.00 billion |
| Nyx | 1 | 24.54 billion | 24.54 billion |
| Loggerhead | 1 | 19.57 billion | 19.57 billion |
| Ark | 14 | 175.26 billion | 12.52 billion |
| Nomad | 7 | 86.00 billion | 12.29 billion |
| Tatara | 9 | 98.30 billion | 10.92 billion |
| Fortizar | 31 | 319.05 billion | 10.29 billion |
| Anshar | 10 | 95.68 billion | 9.57 billion |
| Rhea | 16 | 151.05 billion | 9.44 billion |
| Azbel | 16 | 115.26 billion | 7.20 billion |
| Marshal | 22 | 155.11 billion | 7.05 billion |
| Rorqual | 30 | 186.55 billion | 6.22 billion |
| Moros | 20 | 109.67 billion | 5.48 billion |
| Lif | 9 | 49.28 billion | 5.48 billion |
| Obelisk | 51 | 268.42 billion | 5.26 billion |
| Revelation | 58 | 292.38 billion | 5.04 billion |
| Minokawa | 4 | 19.73 billion | 4.93 billion |
| Ninazu | 6 | 28.35 billion | 4.73 billion |
You can see a few of the onesies from the table up a ways. That Sotiyo in Provi was pricey. Also, I am told there is a story about some of those Marshal losses as some drop/counter drop went awry in Delve. I was not there for that, but it got at least a passing reference in the weekly fireside.
Top 20 Regions by ISK and Hull Losses
The regional distribution of losses.
| Region | Sum of ISK Lost | % of Feb | Region | Count | % of Feb |
| Pochven | 2.24 trillion | 5.53% | The Forge | 45,003 | 10.07% |
| Delve | 1.78 trillion | 4.38% | Pochven | 21,167 | 4.74% |
| The Forge | 1.74 trillion | 4.28% | Essence | 21,086 | 4.72% |
| The Citadel | 1.70 trillion | 4.20% | Vale of the Silent | 15,832 | 3.54% |
| Querious | 1.26 trillion | 3.11% | The Citadel | 15,391 | 3.45% |
| Vale of the Silent | 1.20 trillion | 2.97% | Delve | 14,587 | 3.27% |
| Sinq Laison | 1.14 trillion | 2.82% | Genesis | 14,464 | 3.24% |
| Providence | 1.08 trillion | 2.66% | Querious | 13,665 | 3.06% |
| E-R00024 | .99 trillion | 2.44% | Lonetrek | 13,515 | 3.03% |
| Essence | .94 trillion | 2.33% | Perrigen Falls | 12,961 | 2.90% |
| Catch | .91 trillion | 2.26% | Black Rise | 12,864 | 2.88% |
| Lonetrek | .89 trillion | 2.19% | The Bleak Lands | 12,328 | 2.76% |
| Genesis | .88 trillion | 2.17% | Metropolis | 11,864 | 2.66% |
| Perrigen Falls | .86 trillion | 2.12% | Heimatar | 11,840 | 2.65% |
| E-R00028 | .80 trillion | 1.98% | Catch | 11,687 | 2.62% |
| Fountain | .79 trillion | 1.96% | Sinq Laison | 9,888 | 2.21% |
| Devoid | .72 trillion | 1.78% | Placid | 8,879 | 1.99% |
| Placid | .67 trillion | 1.65% | Fountain | 8,008 | 1.79% |
| Black Rise | .65 trillion | 1.60% | Providence | 7,623 | 1.71% |
| Metropolis | .63 trillion | 1.55% | Syndicate | 5,977 | 1.34% |
Pochven was over 5% of total ISK losses in February, and nearly 5% by count of losses. The Forge, on the other hand, was over 4% of ISK losses but 10% of losses by count. Why is that? Once again, I must asked you to consider shuttles. More when we get to systems.
Top 20 Systems by ISK and Hull Losses
What were the hot systems for losses in February.
| System | Region | Sum of ISK Lost | % of Feb | System | Region | Count | % of Feb |
| Jita | The Forge | 738.84 billion | 1.82% | Uitra | The Forge | 26,778 | 5.99% |
| Ahbazon | Genesis | 539.74 billion | 1.33% | Ahbazon | Genesis | 11,679 | 2.61% |
| Tama | The Citadel | 433.23 billion | 1.07% | Jita | The Forge | 11,134 | 2.49% |
| Gheth | Devoid | 303.69 billion | 0.75% | Tama | The Citadel | 6,443 | 1.44% |
| Kaunokka | Pochven | 276.06 billion | 0.68% | Fliet | Essence | 6,087 | 1.36% |
| Ostingele | Placid | 268.61 billion | 0.66% | 4-HWWF | Vale of the Silent | 4,515 | 1.01% |
| 4-HWWF | Vale of the Silent | 264.70 billion | 0.65% | MJ-5F9 | Perrigen Falls | 4,417 | 0.99% |
| MJ-5F9 | Perrigen Falls | 261.59 billion | 0.65% | Kourmonen | The Bleak Lands | 3,857 | 0.86% |
| J125853 | E-R00024 | 247.84 billion | 0.61% | Abune | Essence | 3,820 | 0.86% |
| Uedama | The Citadel | 244.34 billion | 0.60% | Heydieles | Essence | 3,820 | 0.86% |
| Kourmonen | The Bleak Lands | 238.39 billion | 0.59% | Oinasiken | Black Rise | 3,100 | 0.69% |
| Y-MPWL | Providence | 235.16 billion | 0.58% | K7D-II | Querious | 3,062 | 0.69% |
| Sivala | The Citadel | 234.30 billion | 0.58% | Deven | Essence | 3,031 | 0.68% |
| Fliet | Essence | 222.12 billion | 0.55% | Vard | Heimatar | 2,919 | 0.65% |
| Ichoriya | Pochven | 215.04 billion | 0.53% | Akiainavas | Lonetrek | 2,798 | 0.63% |
| PDE-U3 | Delve | 209.14 billion | 0.52% | Kamela | The Bleak Lands | 2,790 | 0.62% |
| K7D-II | Querious | 208.59 billion | 0.51% | Miroitem | Sinq Laison | 2,581 | 0.58% |
| Heydieles | Essence | 205.73 billion | 0.51% | TDP-T3 | Perrigen Falls | 2,184 | 0.49% |
| Eredan | Devoid | 195.30 billion | 0.48% | Amarr | Domain | 1,978 | 0.44% |
| Dodixie | Sinq Laison | 186.88 billion | 0.46% | EX6-AO | Catch | 1,953 | 0.44% |
When it comes to ISK losses, Jita is on top, where one would expect it, with hot low sec systems taking up the next five slots before we hit the first null sec system. Null sec is in a restless state right now, where the powers can’t commit to an actual war… CCP is threatening to change null sec with the May/June expansion, so there is a lot of “sit and wait” pressure… but need to do something. So there is some slap fighting going on in Catch, but losses in home regions like Delve and Vale of the Silent top that as we hunt each others ratting capitals.
Losses by count however are dominated once again by Uitria in The Forge, accounting for nearly 6% of all losses in February. This is where shuttles go to die. So for this month I will return once more to what is going on in Uitra.
Ongoing Suspect Behavior in Uitra
Breaking out some details around Uitra, 26,778 hulls were blown up in that system, the top ten of which were the following.
| Hull | Count | Sum of ISK Lost |
| Caldari Shuttle | 9292 | 216.98 million |
| Amarr Shuttle | 5508 | 125.63 million |
| Capsule | 4542 | 77.46 million |
| Gallente Shuttle | 3695 | 55.96 million |
| Ibis | 2109 | 208.60 million |
| Minmatar Shuttle | 1406 | 24.94 million |
| Merlin | 48 | 17.73 million |
| Badger | 36 | 35.39 million |
| Gnosis | 32 | 1787.06 million |
| Velator | 30 | 3.50 million |
As usual, it is almost all shuttles totaling up to 19,901, or almost half of all shuttles destroyed in February. And who is doing the killing and who is being killed? The top ten for those show… it is the same corp on both sides of kills most of the time.
| Killer Corp | Count | Victim Corp | Count |
| SPKur | 5,729 | SPKur | 5,725 |
| knuckledusting | 4,353 | knuckledusting | 4,353 |
| State War Academy | 1,829 | State Protectorate | 2,325 |
| Injector Collective | 1,798 | State War Academy | 1,805 |
| The-Blazing-Phoenix | 1,492 | Injector Collective | 1,793 |
| State Protectorate | 1,126 | The-Blazing-Phoenix | 1,493 |
| Hijos de la Anarquia | 1,100 | The Paradise | 1,031 |
| The Paradise | 1,031 | EzioSpecterS | 802 |
| EzioSpecterS | 802 | Grinder Inc. | 582 |
| Grinder Inc. | 582 | Vessa Star Trade and Industry | 537 |
| Vessa Star Trade and Industry | 537 | Red Spider Nebula | 482 |
| Red Spider Nebula | 482 | Ave Universe | 451 |
| Ave Universe | 446 | Banana Hammocks | 375 |
| Banana Hammocks | 375 | pzkrnlsvxithabwl Corporation | 375 |
| pzkrnlsvxithabwl Corporation | 375 | One Angry UKR | 318 |
| One Angry UKR | 318 | The Itchy’s | 315 |
| The Itchy’s | 315 | Kifooo | 309 |
| Kifooo | 309 | Further Beyond | 308 |
| Further Beyond | 306 | Valgrind Bootcamp | 287 |
| Valgrind Bootcamp | 299 | Deacon’s Deathloop | 241 |
The whole thing doesn’t line up exactly because they seem to occasionally use characters in NPC corps as targets.
There is clearly some game mechanic being exploited here, but I am not sure exactly what it is or if CCP should be stepping in to investigate. Some of the offenders are clearly trying to hide this. SPKur corporation, for example, has their API connection to zKillboard turned off, so you cannot see their kills show up.
Anyway, that is what February brought us.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 