Intro
I’m continuing my community spotlight series from EVE Galaxy Conquest — this interview continues my look into the people shaping the community. Today’s feature is about a long-standing member of ReForged — Director and Co-CEO Fenix.
He might not be the loudest voice on the official Discord, unlike someone like Gumi Aihaken (you can read my interview with her here), but his influence is hard to miss. Fenix operates mostly in the shadows — diplomacy, coordination, quiet decision-making — the kind of work that doesn’t show up in screenshots but shapes half the map. Even if you’ve never fought him directly, there’s a solid chance you’ve dealt with the aftereffects of his diplomacy through someone else’s agreement.
My connection with Fenix goes all the way back to launch, on Server #21: Adia. We started out in the same corporation, but later I jumped ship to a rival group for a couple of seasons. Let’s be honest — I wasn’t there out of curiosity. I was basically running reconnaissance, a full-on embedded spy. It wasn’t malicious, more of a hands-on way to understand how things worked behind enemy lines (and, okay, maybe to stir a little chaos hehe).
We stayed in touch the whole time, though things got awkward once he got access to enemy chats after the merge and saw some of my “creative” roleplay messages. That probably planted a few seeds of distrust — rightfully so. I felt guilty about it, and that’s partly why I stepped back from the competitive side — trading personal performance for something I felt was more important: staying objective and fair to the community as a content creator. Being both a player and a community voice can get messy fast, and I didn’t want to blur those lines.
Still, through all of that, Fenix remained one of my longest-standing comrades in EGC. He’s the kind of player who sticks around for the right reasons — loyalty, respect, and the personality behind the screens.
So, let’s dive in and meet the man behind the command deck of Fenix’s fleet.
Table of Contents
Editor’s note:
All artwork below was provided by Fenix, featuring some of his favorite posters created by the ReForged team. These pieces were generated in a humorous retro-propaganda style to commemorate key moments and inside jokes from past EGC seasons. Look on them not as real propaganda — more like a creative recap of the community’s shared history.
Captain on Deck: Meet Fenix
Imagine you’ve got 10 seconds to introduce yourself — who’s Fenix outside the game?”
I’m a former Marine from Chicago who decided to become a physician. I currently live in the American West and care for a large, underserved region of the country.
I’m in my early 40s, a husband, and a father.
Woah, that’s a lot of responsibility! How do you balance work, life, and gaming without blending into escapism?
It’s true, I used to play games as a way to escape. These days, I play more for the community. The Eve community is unique and tends to attract a certain kind of person. My corporation is full of great people from all over the world, many of whom I’ve come to genuinely enjoy. Some I even hope to meet in real life. That sense of connection has changed the reason I log in. The game might sometimes feel stale, but I stay for the people. I consider many of them friends.
My job is intense and takes up a lot of time, but I do get generous vacation. Some seasons, like the last one, were so challenging that I found myself putting in extra time just to keep up. Those “sweaty” seasons are harder to balance.
My kids actually think it’s cool that I help lead a big corporation. They love hearing about what’s happening and seeing our propaganda posters on Discord. My wife just gives me a look and says something like, “What, Donkeyface needs help again?”
Ha, I hope DonkeyTeeth doesn’t mind that lovely name. So — does your professional background influence how you lead in-game?
Since I started the game about six to eight seasons ago, I’ve held leadership roles. I spent several seasons as CEO, Imperium (server 21), Adia, and more recently I’ve been a director in Reforged.
I haven’t put much thought into my leadership style, but loyalty and respect are at the core. There have been many times I wanted to quit or give in, but I couldn’t because of the loyalty I felt to my people.
I also lead with an awareness of how valuable people’s time is. This is supposed to be fun, not a second job. That mindset has pushed me and other officers to create efficient strategies, especially early on when we were fighting stronger opponents.
I’m pretty stubborn, both in-game and in life. I hate giving up. I hate seeing people around me lose morale. That mindset has attracted like-minded people who have stuck around, many since Season 1.
After my Season 2 battle against Reforged (as CEO of Adia), we were able to put differences aside and eventually join forces. The leadership team we have now is immensely strong. I often joke that if I were building a real-world company, I’d want these people on my team. Our ability to divide responsibilities and help each other has made the game much more enjoyable.
Editor’s note:
I’ve seen this trust phenomenon many times myself. The bonds formed through MMOs often run deeper and feel more genuine than many real-world ones. I once handed my actual house key to someone I’d only met through gaming — five years of fleets and raids made that trust feel natural. It’s something I’ve been thinking about exploring separately in the future — what I call the “Friendship Machine Effect.”
If you’ve ever experienced that same kind of trust with someone you first met online, share your story in the comments — I’d love to hear it and maybe include it in my future research.
Your wife’s “Donkeyface” comment cracked me up, but it also makes me curious: how does your family see your role in gaming and running an EGC corporation? Have they ever been part of your gaming world?
My boys, who are in their early teens, have been gaming with me their whole lives. We’ve played games like Battlefield, Elden Ring, Minecraft, and Terraria.
Not long ago, we all got into our first mobile game together, Diablo Immortal. My son created a guild called “Elden Chads” as a fun family guild, but it quickly attracted hundreds of players. I eventually had to take over leadership due to the growing responsibilities.
The guild became one of the strongest in the game for several seasons. My wife and kids weren’t involved in running it, but they were part of the experience. We even had a “Chad Convention” in Las Vegas one year.
Eventually, the stakes got too high, and the pressure, combined with my medical training, forced me to step down. That was a tough moment. I told myself I’d never let a game get that serious again. Still working on that.
Yeah, we all struggle with that at some point — games can be punishing on time. But when you finally log off, what helps you recharge? Any favorite hobbies or activities?
I have a great relationship with my wife. She’s my best friend. Just hanging out with her, walking through the neighborhood, or sitting on the porch with a beer is what recharges me.
Gaming has taken time from some of my other hobbies, but PC gaming in general remains my main interest. This game has definitely taken up most of that time lately.
From Rookie CEO to ReForged Leader
Now let’s talk about your journey inside EGC. Do you remember how you first got into the game — and what your earliest impressions or challenges were when starting out?
I found the game through a Reddit ad and thought it looked fun. I jumped in as CEO of “Elden Chads” in Season 1 but had no idea how the game worked.
We moved into Imperium, led by Kaer (also known as Mewer of Majesty). One of the other corps, led by Seldon, apparently betrayed us. Turns out it was mostly poor communication on both sides. My leadership team at the time burned out and stepped down.
Just as I was thinking of quitting, Kaer handed me CEO which made me feel obligated to stay. We held our ground against three other corps and eventually joined forces to create Adia. That led to an intense war against RF and No Mercy.
My first impression of the game was really positive. I liked the mechanics, but more than that, I loved the diplomacy. Social strategy—alliances and mind games—hooked me from the start.
You mentioned loyalty and respect as core to your leadership earlier — and I can imagine both the military and medicine shape that mindset quite a bit. How do those experiences influence the way you lead in EGC?
Leadership, to me, means setting the example. My time in the military and in medicine has shown me both good and bad leadership styles. I’ve tried to learn from both.
I never ask people to do what I wouldn’t do myself. I work hard to respect people’s time and show appreciation.
People want to feel valued. A little encouragement or a simple thank you can go a long way. That culture of respect and consistency has helped us build something people want to stick with.
That line — “hooked me from the start” — hits hard. And funny enough, as we’re talking, the game’s about to celebrate its first anniversary, and we’re both still here. So let’s do a bit of retro: how has EGC changed over the seasons — and how have those ups and downs shaped the way ReForged approaches teamwork and unity?
The first three seasons were amazing. There was enough change and unpredictability to keep things interesting.
Even though my early season corps lost their respective seasons, the experience helped us grow, finding like minds with the original RF crew. That resilience has helped turn RF into one of the strongest corps in the game.
People sometimes claim our success is due to whales, but in truth, we have fewer high spenders than many others. A lot of our best players are free-to-play and are strong because they have been with us since the beginning. We’re very focused on maximizing Nova rewards so we can help everyone progress.
Unfortunately, the game has become stale. Seasons feel repetitive. There aren’t enough new ships or commanders, and events are short-lived and lacking.
The only thing keeping the game alive now is the community. Last season was likely the game’s peak—RF and friends versus the Barcode Alliance. It was intense and was the culmination of multiple seasons of preparation. But now that it’s done, what’s the next big fight? There are so few new servers to merge. We will be fighting the same people every season.
On the more human side: EGC drama is often part of corp life. What’s your stance on it — avoid it, confront it, or sometimes let it play out?
Honestly, there’s very little internal drama in our corp. Our leadership and core players have stayed consistent across many seasons, and we’ve built a strong foundation of mutual respect and trust. There have been a few people that have left due to personal differences, but most have grown accustomed to our leadership style and stick around.
Most of the drama comes from other corps. When you’re one of the stronger groups, the spotlight is always on you. At one point, an alliance across three or four servers formed just to oppose us. I definitely understand why that came to be. It adds a lot of complexity to the game when you have to think about politics across multiple servers. Some seasons I’ve spent more time on alts, than my main account, just to develop relationships and potential alliances in the future.
As for our general approach to drama, we usually let it unfold. We prefer to settle things on the battlefield. With the game itself getting a bit stale, the social politics and rivalries have become one of the few remaining things that keep people engaged.
Current Frontlines: The State of the Game
You’ve mentioned how rivalries and politics keep things interesting — and Season 5 really proved that. It felt like the big collision everyone had been waiting for. Looking back, how did that season land for you personally? And now that it’s behind us, what worries you most about where the game’s heading next?
I answered some of this above. I think Veteran Season Five was the high point of the game. All the top corps finally collided for the showdown we’d been anticipating for a long time.
Now that it’s over, I worry that the game may start to lose momentum. What is left to keep people engaged? The same corps are going to be fighting each other again and again, with only a few newly promoted veterans joining the mix.
My biggest concern is that the developers aren’t doing enough to retain engagement or prepare newer players to face seasoned, battle-hardened opponents.
Fair enough — but do you take any proactive steps to close that gap? ReForged is known for keeping things fun and even supporting smaller corps or former rivals. Can you share a bit about that philosophy and why it matters to you?
We’re very aware that the game’s population is shrinking and that we’ll keep encountering the same players across seasons. Because of that, we try to support a healthy community.
Once Jita is captured, we tend to shift gears. We often hand over territory to smaller corps and create PvP zones for people to have fun. Sometimes those zones are popular and successful, other times not so much. We also let other corp members rotate through us for season rewards at the very end.
We put a lot of thought into how we play each season. It may not always be visible from the outside, but we have intentionally pulled back or held back during multiple seasons to maintain competition. There have even been seasons where we split the corp and fought against ourselves just to keep the experience fresh.
The Ghosts of Ansilla Are Calling
To wrap up on a lighter note — do you have a favorite story from corp life? Maybe a memorable siege, a notorious troublemaker, or just a moment that made everyone laugh?
Season Three stands out. Our enemies weren’t very strong, and we wanted to spice things up a bit and create more action.
So I staged a rebellion within Reforged. I’m not really a roleplayer, but I leaned into it this time. It began with a few days of strange, cryptic corp messages about disturbances in Ansilla, one of our most historic null systems (long story). I used alts to spread messages undermining our CEO, Steamdog.
Donkeyteeth and I moved an alt corp called Chads into null and quickly recruited about 45 players. We took the system and started expanding into Reforged space. The PvP was great, but the propaganda war was even better.
There were anti-RF and anti-Chad posters all over Discord. Some people were genuinely upset about the civil war, and we had to keep reassuring them it was all for fun. Overall, we all had some great laughs.
Oh yeah, that was a fun time — I think some of my alts are still parked in that corp! A side question: what’s your favorite fleet comp these days?
Drake with Haatakan and Otro, using Encircled. It’s a tough comp that draws people out and gives a lot of other builds a hard time.
I like using Encircled, especially against other Drakes. I actually prefer it over my Tornado build.
Editor’s note: I have this fleet listed in Veteran Season’s recommended fleets.
Finally, any message you’d like to share with the EVE Galaxy Conquest community?
The biggest wins in this game come from the community you build, not just the battles you win. That includes both inside your corp and with your rivals. Don’t lose sight of those connections. They are what makes the game worth coming back to.
Returning to Outpost
Once again, I’ve found proof that games are often just frameworks — it’s the people who fill them that make them come alive. The best games don’t just entertain; they reinforce the kind of trust and respect that grow into long-lasting relationships, often carried across years and even between games.
Trust and respect attract the right people, and that’s what builds stability — not fear. I’ve seen corps run on control and anxiety over losing rewards, and most of them are gone now. You can’t build a sustainable community on pressure and paranoia.
I only hope the developers start listening more closely to the players who keep this galaxy alive — and tackle design flaws before the loyal, core community drifts away. Fenix and his crew are a reminder of what makes this game worth playing: not the ships, but the people aboard them.
If you’d like to share your own experience from EVE: Galaxy Conquest — the victories, the diplomacy, or the drama — reach out. I’m always looking for the next story to tell, especially if you are on the ‘other side’ of conflict!
o7
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