Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Gamescom 2025 schedule
  • Gamescom
  • Battlefield 6
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
Third Person Shooters "We actually won": Helldivers 2 players pull off a miracle at the 11th hour, killing 47 million enemies of Democracy in a week and earning 3 cities that sound like terrible places to live
Dune: Awakening
Survival Games Dune: Awakening can't have it all, as MMO players praise the "incredibly fast" turnaround time on its latest update while some question its PvE changes: "What's the point of all this?"
The sandworm in Dune: Awakening
MMO Games "Y'all are pathetic": Dune: Awakening players are using sandworms to kill their rivals in PvE-only areas, proving once more that nowhere on Arrakis is safe
Dune: Awakening
Survival Games Dune: Awakening devs promise "a bunch of changes" as the survival MMO's PvP and endgame content come under fire over loot, balance concerns, and more: "Total mess"
Dune Awakening
Survival Games Dune: Awakening creative director reduces PvP for Deep Desert endgame and makes some of it PvE-only since his "wish" for players to "embrace" its loop turned to "s***": "One of my hands is overflowing right now"
Dune: Awakening
MMO Games Dune: Awakening players are really getting into the spirit of things by hoarding water and blocking critical routes, but some have had a change of heart
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 players, rejoice: Super Earth is in ruins and millions of NPCs died, but hey, we just got a sweet cape
A Helldiver waves a flag while looking down at a battlefield in a screenshot from Helldivers 2's Masters of Ceremony trailer.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 players overwhelmingly vote to rename a city "GUN," Arrowhead CEO says he hoped for "something else" but "the people have spoken"
Dune Awakening
MMO Games Dune: Awakening will finally reward your personal contributions in Landsraad thanks to a "game changer" update
Dune Awakening
MMO Games Dune: Awakening is a bit more “like a Dune survival RPG” than a full MMO, with multiplayer driving "that feeling of the universe being alive”
Dune: Awakening - two soldiers looking at the mouth of a sandworm during the new game.
Survival Games Dune: Awakening's endgame "unfairly favors large guilds," so the survival MMO's community is asking developer Funcom to "fix the Landsraad" and not leave solo players and small guilds behind
Helldivers 2 soldier watches a nuclear explosion in the distance with his arms stretched wide
Third Person Shooters The "tactical enthusiasm" of Helldivers 2 players, by which Arrowhead means catapulting Hellbombs at Leviathan ships, is now canon: "Innovative Leviathan hunting techniques have had a particularly outsized effect"
Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST armor
Third Person Shooters Arrowhead CEO humbly asks Helldivers 2 fans to "stop s****ing your pants" as servers wobble under the weight of 500,000 concurrent divers following Xbox recruits joining the fight and a new Halo ODST Warbond
Dune: Awakening
MMO Games Dune: Awakening players' wishes have been granted as the MMO's Deep Desert PvP endgame is now almost half PvE thanks to a new test patch
the gorgeous review bomb cape with red streaks going down and small blue blocks at the top
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 finally gets its review bomb cape to celebrate your "unquestioning commitment to the defense of Managed Democracy"
  1. Games
  2. FPS
  3. Dust 514

Dust 514's players find fun by staging a bloody revolution

Features
By Addie Burke published 25 October 2013

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The Revolution will not be livestreamed

The Revolution will not be livestreamed

The Revolution began on August 19, 2013. The casus belli? Well, one could point to the expected antagonisms stirred up between factions vying for limited resources, but in actuality the cause of the war was simple boredom. DUST 514 players get antsy when they dont have anything to shoot, and the utter dominance of DUSTs relatively young Planetary Conquest mode by one faction meant that so-called goodfights were hard to come by.

That faction, EoN, found itself in possession of nearly half of the territory up for grabs in DUST 514s Planetary Conquest mode. Being the biggest fish in the DUST, EoN was able to brush off attacks from other alliances and corporations--until the little fish started working together. Driven by frustration at EoNs dominance of Molden Heath--the sole location of Planetary Conquest in the EVE/DUST universe--the smaller alliances and corporations unified under the banner of the Fuck Eon Coalition (FEC). More of a loose entente or confederation than a true coalition, the FEC tried to use its greater numbers to overwhelm EoNs ability to defend its territory.

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
A change of perspective

A change of perspective

When talking about DUST 514 or its cousin EVE Online, one has to resist the urge to fall into the glistening web of intrigues, wars, and betrayal that is New Edens meta-narrative. One has to understand that players log on to EVE and DUST because they enjoy the games. They dont all expect to spark the next Asakai or wage the next 6-VDTH. That said, players enjoy creating narratives just as much as we love reading about them. EVE and DUST operate on two equal yet very different levels. Understanding how those two levels interact is often key to understanding why EVE and DUST have such rabid fans.

A few weeks ago, GamesRadar took a long, hard look at EVE Onines Fountain War. That series focused on the events taking place as though the politicking and battles were real, historical events. Hardly any words were devoted to the experiences and desires of the individual players. In looking at the conflict in Molden Heath, we want to take a different approach, focusing on the intersection of player experience and meta-narrative. So, to go back to an earlier point--determining why the war started--there are actually two equally correct answers. First, it was a conflict between hostile factions over the limited resources available. Second, because everybody just wanted to have fun shooting each other.

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
The story so far

The story so far

Since Planetary Conquest launched in in May, 2013, players have noticed a pattern. One alliance claims more territory than it can defend, and the other players jump on the opportunity to claim their districts. For the first several weeks, the team to beat was Cronos, led by Seraphrim Initiative. As the obvious target for attack, Cronos quickly found itself overwhelmed by EoN in a month-long war. By forcibly annexing much of Cronoss territory and adding it to EoNs own holdings, EoN took a stranglehold of Planetary Conquest. By the first week of August, EoN controlled significantly more than half of all available territory. One of EoNs member corporations, TeamPlayers, controlled 17% of Molden Heaths districts by itself.

EoNs control over Planetary Conquest created a miserable playing experience for almost everybody involved. Not only were EoNs skilled players able to quickly deal with all but the most determined of attacks, but DUSTs mechanics gave an advantage to teams defending their own territory. Players became frustrated with beating their head against EoNs walls. Many simply stopped logging on. Others went to the forums to brainstorm ways to make DUST fun again.

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Revolution of Molden Heath

Revolution of Molden Heath

As August drew on, forum threads addressing EoNs dominance became ever-more popular. In an effort to both ease inter-alliance tensions and to help ensure goodfights for all, EoN continued the tradition of Planet Fightclub. Based around the planet Oddelulf III, Planet FightClub served as a sort of arena, where teams could schedule fights with one another. Admirable as it was, the system had two major flaws. First, with only 24 districts on Planet Fightclub, many corporations were left out in the cold. Second, EoN still controlled everything.

So what did the forum warriors do? They crafted a narrative: Blame EoN! EoNs dominance is oppressing us little folk. Viva la revolucion! You might have scoffed at the title of this slide, but terms like the Revolution of Molden Heath, came from the players themselves. On one level, one could interpret this as a serious attempt to engage with other factions by creating a narrative with a clear villain--EoN--while at the same time evoking the image of the plucky underdog overthrowing the evil empire. Or it could be that the phrase revolution is all part of the joke. In actuality, its both.

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Uprising

Uprising

Growing player frustration over lack of goodfights with the revolution narrative proved to be decisive in the formation of the FEC. Created for the sole purpose of removing EoN from power, the FEC launched more than 100 different attacks on EoN-controlled districts on the first day of the war. For the next two weeks, finding goodfights was as easy as logging on.

Indeed, 300 more battles would be waged over the coming days. Nearly all of them would be attacks against EoN-held districts. EoN won the vast majority of all its battles, successfully defending 8 out of every 10 attacks launched against it. When the FEC pressure slackened, EoN found equal success on the attack. At that pace, its easy to see why the war was only two weeks long--players put nearly 6,000 man-hours into DUST before player exhaustion and burnout ground the war to a halt. All in all, nearly 83,000 players died before it was over--substantially more fictional lives were lost in this fake war than American lives lost in any real war since 1945.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
In the name of fun

In the name of fun

When the DUST settled, surprisingly little had changed. EoN remained a dominant force in Planetary Conquest--even after two weeks of constant attacks, EoN held 42% of the districts in Molden Heath. So what was gained? Fun. The war took the flaccid Planetary Conquest meta and elevated it to new heights by making enjoyable matches easy to find. According to one EoN member GamesRadar spoke with: Really when it boils down to it, that war (The story of it anyways) isn't about land, power changing hands or any of that it was about the community getting off their ass and fighting. Whats an fps if there isn't fighting? That 'war' grew the Planetary Conquest community, and if EoN had to be the 'bad guy' for that to happen then Im good with that.

And if you're looking for more, check out our DUST 514 review and our series on EVE's Fountain war.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Platforms
Addie Burke
See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
"We actually won": Helldivers 2 players pull off a miracle at the 11th hour, killing 47 million enemies of Democracy in a week and earning 3 cities that sound like terrible places to live
Dune: Awakening
Dune: Awakening can't have it all, as MMO players praise the "incredibly fast" turnaround time on its latest update while some question its PvE changes: "What's the point of all this?"
The sandworm in Dune: Awakening
"Y'all are pathetic": Dune: Awakening players are using sandworms to kill their rivals in PvE-only areas, proving once more that nowhere on Arrakis is safe
Dune: Awakening
Dune: Awakening devs promise "a bunch of changes" as the survival MMO's PvP and endgame content come under fire over loot, balance concerns, and more: "Total mess"
Dune Awakening
Dune: Awakening creative director reduces PvP for Deep Desert endgame and makes some of it PvE-only since his "wish" for players to "embrace" its loop turned to "s***": "One of my hands is overflowing right now"
Dune: Awakening
Dune: Awakening players are really getting into the spirit of things by hoarding water and blocking critical routes, but some have had a change of heart
Latest in FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Call of Duty drops a whopping 100 GB on PS5, and fans think it's due to Battlefield 6: "Competition is always good for gaming"
Battlefield 6
Battlefield 6 won't have ray tracing at launch and devs "don't have any plans in the near future for it either" because "our effort was focused on making the game as [optimized] as possible"
Battlefield 6 art showing a team of four soldiers overlooking a burning city
Battlefield 6's battle royale mode is looking very promising if these alleged leaks are anything to go by, and FPS fans are already excited: "This made me uninstall Warzone"
Escape from Tarkov
After announcing Escape From Tarkov is finally leaving early access, the extraction shooter dev has confirmed a "page on Steam will be available soon"
Battlefield 6 multiplayer screenshot
After Battlefield 6 beta players spent a week roasting the Netflix-style menus, dev says "we're not going to rebuild our menu from scratch" in time for launch, but "we are looking to improve"
Battlefield 6 multiplayer screenshot showing soldiers running away from a collapsing building
EA says "a substantial number" of Battlefield 6 beta players were running the FPS on PCs that didn't meet the minimum specs
Latest in Features
Borderlands 4 screenshot shows someone holding a weapon forward towards the camera.
"We tend to commit to the bit": Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talks Borderlands 4, the evolution of looter-shooters, and $80 game discourse
Valor Mortis
Ghostrunner devs abandon parkour for Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike that might explain why the rest of the genre follows Dark Souls' lead
A mech firing a machine gun in the desert in Menace
Menace is an XCOM-Warhammer hybrid that makes turn-based strategy feel like an immersive sim, and for the first time in my life I'm playing a game that seems made for me
Metal Gear Solid 5 showing Snake and Ocelot looking to the horizon in front of more soldiers
10 years later, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains a masterpiece that was never going to live up to its own hype
Dogtooth
The new Yorgos Lanthimos movie is getting rave first reactions out of Venice Film Festival, but I think it's worth revisiting his breakout feature Dogtooth before Bugonia hits theaters this fall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Legacy of the Forge DLC showing Henry and two allies standing looking down
I built a home and ran a business in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, and the added role-playing guarantees I'll spend another 70 hours in my current game of the year
  1. Kaser clad in black and Victor in white clash swords in Lost Soul Aside
    1
    Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
  2. 2
    Hell is Us review: "The lack of waypoints and explicit objectives is a double-edged magical sword that pulls me deep into its harsh world"
  3. 3
    Shuten Order review: "The Danganronpa creator's new multi-genre mystery feels like a forgotten DS cult classic I would have been obsessed with"
  4. 4
    The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out"
  5. 5
    Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
  1. Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
    1
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  2. 2
    Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian"
  3. 3
    The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range"
  4. 4
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  1. John Cena as Peacemaker holds a gun to the head of a different John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 2.
    1
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  3. 3
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"
  4. 4
    King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person"
  5. 5
    Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...