The Safe Spot — Episode 4: "FF4A & Beyond"

In this episode, Rixx and I catch up after a bit of a break, announce some exciting podcast distribution news, then dive deep into Stay Frosty's legendary Frigate Free For All (FF4A) event. 

I also share the story of my first real hauling adventure in low sec — complete with the sweaty palms and the adrenaline rush — and Rixx drops some hard-earned wisdom on surviving gate camps, dealing with AFK mistakes, and not panicking when things go sideways. 

We wrap up by talking about Rixx's new weekly show, Pirate's Corner, and the importance of opening up and sharing stories with the community.

Let's dive in!

Clipped wings, new teeth: Refitting the Sunesis after the Catalyst nerf

Three days. That's how long my "Learning to Fly" post lasted before CCP clipped my wings.

I'd just finished writing about the Sunesis — my fast-align small hauler, Athena's Wings — and how she could haul almost 1,200 m³ of cargo while warping in 1.75 seconds. Sub-two. Practically uncatchable. The whole point of the ship.

Then the Catalyst major update dropped on March 18th, and CCP decided the Sunesis had been having too much fun.

Star Wars would be better off without the Force

==> [Join the conversation on Bluesky once you've read the full post!] <==

Star Wars doesn't need the Force

Let me put it another way... Star Wars doesn't need the Force to hook us in, to make that universe captivating.

The Force has become a deus ex machina for a lot of the Star Wars content these days.

Hear me out...

The best Star Wars project ever made — and I mean ever — had no Jedi. No lightsabers. No Force pushes, mind tricks, or mystical prophecies. No chosen ones. No ancient Sith knowledge. No midichlorians. No glowing blue ghosts dispensing wisdom from beyond the grave.

Andor's second season hit a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest-rated live-action Star Wars anything — beating both its own first season and The Empire Strikes Back. It became the first TV series in history to land five consecutive episodes with IMDb scores of 9.5 or above. It won five Emmys from fourteen nominations, including Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Its finale topped Nielsen's streaming charts with 931 million minutes watched in a single week, beating everything else on every platform.

No Force required.

So maybe it's time to ask the question that Lucasfilm clearly doesn't want to hear: does Star Wars actually need the Force at all?