The Path To War
Urgent news, capsuleers!
The face of warfare in New Eden continues to evolve as long-held alliances between empires have fractured, and the heat has just been turned up again. Empire and capsuleer research efforts into Triglavian technology have provided an opportunity to build brand-new interstellar shipcasters, allowing for the long-distance transport of ships across star systems directly into the warzone. This development alone has plunged the empires into fierce competition and conflict.
Additionally, Direct Enlistment now affords capsuleers the choice of entering Factional Warfare (FW) without leaving their player corporation or alliance. The new Shadow War event has also begun and your continued participation in the narrative arc unfolding in New Eden will directly influence who gets their hands on coveted interstellar shipcaster technology first! Also, corp and alliance emblems on all remaining EVE ships have been released, so you can fly your colors no matter what you take to battle.
FACTIONAL FREEDOM - DIRECT ENLISTMENT
Freedom is the right of all warriors, and the new feature allows you to participate in FW activities without having to leave your current player corporation or alliance! Within the feature, Personal Enlistment allows you to enroll via this new pathway, enabling FW participation without leaving a currently unaligned player corp. You can still join FW via the currently existing pathway (joining a militia corp), and this comes under Group Enlistment.
It is possible that within any player corp there may be members siding with any of the four main empires, but for those who want to avoid diplomatic incidents, corp directors can select which of the four they will permit their members to personally enlist with.
CASTING THE FIRST SHIP – SHADOW WAR EVENT
Following the event last year, the big 4 of New Eden find themselves at different stages of advancement in the race to take advantage of Triglavian technology, and that race continues now with your support! Stellar transmuter and transport relay technology can now be used to create interstellar shipcasters, with success in this endeavor granting an empire the ability to project ships from their HQ system directly into Factional Warfare conflict hotspots!
Research Data Node, Waylaid Courier, and Besieged Laboratory sites present opportunities to hack, fight, and salvage for secret research fragments that can be used to manufacture completed datacores that can then be delivered back to your empire for rewards and progress points.
Each of the sites are aimed at different classes of ship, with Research Data Nodes allowing entry for Tech I and navy frigates, Waylaid Courier sites allowing up to Tech I and navy destroyers plus Tech II frigates, and Besieged Laboratories allowing entry for ships up to battlecruiser and navy battlecruiser classes plus Tech II cruisers. Be wary, though, as all of the sites contain hostile NPCs to defend against. In addition, those who are out to steal the best loot from under your nose will be putting themselves in harm’s way, as these sites will give suspect flags to anyone entering them. This will allow other players to engage them (and you) in combat without fear of CONCORD intervention in highsec!
To support the Caldari cause, you can steal stellar transmuter tech from the Amarr and/or Minmatar by targeting sites in the Factional Warfare (FW) warzone systems controlled by the Amarr and Minmatar, as well as within the highsec systems in the Kisana, Ryra, Tiat, and Ani constellations.
To lend your weight to either the Amarr or Minmatar cause, you must steal transport relay tech from the Caldari by targeting sites in the Aokinen and Minnen constellations as well as Caldari-controlled FW space.
Finally, to bring the Gallente up to speed, you will need to steal both types of technology from all the sites mentioned above. If those loyal to the Gallente manage to acquire any of the above tech, capsuleers aligned with the other empires can expect Gallente sites to eventually spawn in the Intaki system, as well as within the Kiartanne constellation, and within Gallente-controlled FW space.
Once your empire has obtained both the stellar transmuter and transport relay tech by any means necessary, the next step will be to construct the interstellar shipcaster. This will involve the harvesting of materials from Pochven and moons, carrying out industry jobs, and then delivering the output to your empire.
Participating capsuleers who serve their chosen empire well can also get personal progression rewards throughout the Shadow War event, linked to points gained for achieving various empire objectives. These rewards include new combat boosters tailored to specific empire ship characteristics, and 11 fresh ship SKINs for each empire, including the all-new Penumbral Shadows SKINs as well as Versus Redforce and Blueforce SKINs available on some hulls for the first time.
WAR PAINT – EMBLEMS ON ALL SHIPS
With Direct Enlistment giving you the ability to stay in your current corporation or alliance and still fight on behalf of your chosen empire in FW, the arrival of corp and alliance emblems on all remaining EVE ships means the chance to display your allegiance no matter what you fly!
Player corp and alliance emblems on all battleships, carriers, supercarriers, titans, and all remaining dreadnoughts, battlecruisers, and freighters are now available in Paragon Stores! Get busy completing mission objectives at your nearest Paragon Fulfilment Center and collect those EverMarks, because you can now spend them on corp and alliance emblems for any ship you desire.
BECOME IMMORTALIZED – 20th ANNIVERSARY MOSAIC
At a time when history is being made in empire space and capsuleers are making their mark in FW, you still have time to get your character on EVE’s incredible 20th anniversary mosaic and become part of the fabric of New Eden! To get on the mosaic, just log into EVE Online and complete a daily challenge on three occasions between now and 22 March. These challenges will alternate between the Skilling Spree, Mining Blitz, and Skillers in the Abyss.
In addition, there is a sale on select character apparel in EVE Online’s in-game New Eden Store, so if you want to look your best for the mosaic, now’s the time to grab some fresh threads to display on your character avatar!
Those of you that successfully complete the challenges and qualify for the mosaic will receive an email confirmation within a few days, but if you do not regularly receive emails from EVE Online, you will need to subscribe to the email list to see it. If you wish to be added to the email list, please file a support ticket stating the name and corresponding email address of the character you would like emails to be sent to.
As the face of war and established empire alliances in New Eden change, the pirate factions are also making moves in the shadows and focusing on other priorities. As mentioned in the on changes to EVE’s established calendar, some of the events you have come to expect at certain times of year will be replaced by factional campaigns such as the Shadow War. As a result, the Guristas have shifted their focus onto other pressing matters instead of The Hunt this year, so keep your eyes open for what’s coming soon!
