Capitals in Highsec

Rules for highsec capitals

EVE pilots owning capital ships in high security space are required to adhere to the following set of rules:
Reasons for this set of rules may be found further down in this article.

Warning:

1. A player may not activate any hostile or assisting module or effect, nor make use of any kind of drone or fighter drone, against any kind of structure (player or NPC owned), ship (player or NPC owned), or other asset (player or NPC owned) in high-security space with a capital ship normally restricted (under normal game mechanics) to 0.4 space or lower.
   
   
2. If at war, with a war pending, or allied with another corporation or alliance at war, a player may not undock with a capital ship normally restricted (under normal game mechanics) to 0.4 space or lower. This is also applicable to undocking with or wilfully obtaining any sort of flag under the Crimewatch system to permit another player to attack them or vice versa.
   
   
3. A capital ship restricted (under normal game mechanics) to 0.4 space or lower may not be used to gain any sort of advantage over other players while in high security space.
   • This includes, but is not limited to using the capabilities of a carrier to operate more than 5 drones or fighter drones at a time.
     
     
4. A capital ship restricted (under normal game mechanics) to 0.4 space or lower may never change ownership under any circumstance, wilfully or not, while in high-security space (0.5 security systems and above).
   • This includes, but is not restricted to: Using the EVE market system, using the EVE contract system, using station direct trades, abandoning it in space.
     
     
5. Breach any of the above will cause the capital ship involved to be moved to a nearby low security system. Should the ship have changed ownership, all transactions involved will be reversed and the previous owner given an official warning in addition to having the ship moved.

Known legal activities

Following is a list of activities that are widely regarded as fair use of these ships. This may change, so do not rely solely on this information here.

1. Showing off
2. Mining

Links

1. Rules statement by GM Grimmi
2. Updated rules by GM Grimmi on Tuesday, November 30, 2010
3. Clarified rules by GM Spiral on Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Current version was reviewed after GM Spiral's clarification and the entire article updated in conjunction with GM Grimmi.

Please note: If you are unsure about the legality of what you plan to do, submit a support ticket before doing it and ask. It will save you hassle afterwards. You may always request a review of your case by a senior game master should you believe an action against you being unwarranted.

What are highsec capitals?

A "hichsec capital" is any ship in EVE Online that is restricted to 0.4 security space or lower through normal game play, but has found itself in high security space through some means. Majority of existing highsec capitals are a result of a legacy issue where for a period of time from 2005 to 2007 they could be built in high security space. Some vessels have found their way there through game issue or mistakes. More on this later.

Which capitals are permitted?

• Dreadnoughts
  • Moros
  • Naglfar
  • Revelation
  • Phoenix
• Carriers
  • Thanatos
  • Nidhoggur
  • Chimera
  • Archon

Capital ships not permitted

• ORE Industrial Capital Ship
  • Rorqual
• Supercarriers
  • Nyx
  • Hel
  • Wyvern
  • Aeon
  • Revenant
• Titans
  • Erebus
  • Ragnarok
  • Leviathan
  • Avatar

Where do they come from?

A bit of history.

2005

When capital ships were first introduced in EVE Online (2005), they could be produced in any station with manufacturing assembly lines and the corresponding POS assembly array could be anchored solely under the normal fitting restrictions.
Dev blog by TomB, June 28, 2005

2006

A later game mechanic change introduced in the Revelations expansion (November 29, 2006) limited the production of them to station assembly lines in low or null sec space. Similarly the Large Ship Assembly Arrays were restricted from anchoring in high security space. Already anchored arrays in high sec were however not unanchored and production continued to be possible there until 2007.

Supercapital ship (supercarriers and Titans) introduction was uneventful from the capitals in highsec point of view, since their production requires a sovereignty claim that is only achievable in null sec space.

2007

The ORE Industrial Capital Ship "Rorqual" is introduced with Revelations 2.2 expansion August 28, 2007. The Rorqual could be built by existing Large Ship Assembly Arrays in high sec space, but before any Rorqual production job could finish, all still anchored Large Ship Assembly Arrays were unanchored by CCP during downtime September 4. 2007. Thus no Rorqual was ever produced in high security space. This also ended the era of Carrier and Dreadnought production in high sec space completely.

Please note: The Large Ship Assembly Array has since been renamed the X-Large Ship Assembly Array.

2008

In 2008 the famous Veldnought owned by the player Chribba was removed to low security space by a game master. Community concerns later caused this decision to be reversed and made implementing a set of clear rules to govern the use of such ships in high security space.
Ancient forum threadnought from August 27th, 2008.

Effects of the changes and introduction of the high sec capital rules

Capital ships were never fully intended to be used within high security space. The remnants of those ships that were built there are for all intents and purposes considered to be there against intended and practical game mechanics. They are not balanced with use in high security space in mind and can not be legitimately obtained by any player. Due to this CCP Games issued the rules currently governing the use of capital ships in high security space. Existing capitals in high security space were given an explicit permission to remain there granted they followed the rules.

Carriers and Dreadnoughts that were produced in high security space prior to the general rules change, or afterwards in a still anchored Large Ship Assembly Array and since then did not leave the system are still there. These make up what capsuleers now know as highsec capitals.