AIR Academy Ships

Stations throughout Exordium now offer the new AIR Academy Ships service!


AIR Academy Ships are free, pre-fitted ships designed to help new capsuleers experiment with different ships, weapons, and activities without needing to master the ship fitting system first.

Academy Ship Selection

The initial AIR Academy Ships selection contains 13 ships. Each ship's fitting is designed to introduce the weapons, defenses, ranges, and playstyle associated with its faction and role. AIR Academy ships are designed exclusively for Exordium. Academy Ships from every faction can be claimed regardless of the character's faction.


Combat

• Academy Merlin

• Academy Kestrel

• Academy Incursus

• Academy Tristan

• Academy Punisher

• Academy Tormentor

• Academy Rifter

• Academy Breacher

Exploration

• Academy Heron

• Academy Imicus

• Academy Magnate

• Academy Probe

Mining

• Academy Venture

Claiming and Switching Ships

• Players can have one Academy Ship at a time.

• Players must accept the conditions of use before claiming a ship.

• Claiming a new Academy Ship removes the previous ship and its supplied Academy equipment.

• Player-added cargo and standard equipment are returned to the player's inventory.

• The first claim of each ship type plays a special introduction animation.

Fitting Academy Ships

• Academy Ships can use both Academy and standard equipment.

• Academy modules can only be fitted to Academy Ships.

• Academy ammunition can only be loaded into Academy modules.

• Academy drones can only be used by Academy Ships.

• Skills that improve standard ships and equipment also improve their Academy versions.

Operation Restrictions

• Academy Ships can only operate in Exordium and the Abyss.

• Academy Ships cannot leave Exordium through the Yulai stargate or the Shipcaster routes to Mondaekus, Ichorah, Dettisolin or Tatrys.

• Outside Exordium and the Abyss, Academy Ships cannot undock or warp.

• Players cannot eject from Academy Ships.

• When travel is blocked, an explanation is displayed along with an option to purchase the equivalent standard ship and fitting.

Economy Restrictions

• Academy Ships, modules, and charges cannot be traded or reprocessed.

• Academy Ships and modules cannot be repackaged.

• Academy Ships cannot be stored in ship maintenance bays, ship cargo holds, or containers.

• Academy Ship wrecks do not provide salvage.

Buying the Standard Version

• "Buy Standard Version" opens Multibuy with the standard versions of the selected ship, fitting, ammunition, and drones.

• Standard market prices, availability, and purchase rules apply.

• Buying the standard version does not remove the player's Academy Ship.

AIR Academy Ship Tree

• Ships with an AIR Academy version are highlighted in the Ship Tree.

• The Academy Ships interface includes a shortcut to the relevant Ship Tree view.

• Players can compare Academy Ships with their standard counterparts.

• Hovering over a ship displays additional information in the standard tooltip.

Level 1 Mission Modernization

We have updated the visuals and improved the clarity of the overview across 37 Level 1 combat mission sites.

• Scenery objects are now non-interactable, reducing overview clutter and the number of brackets displayed in space.

• Mission completion objects are now in the Overseer Structure group, so they appear on the overview by default and are easier to identify.

• Mission triggers and site data are cleaned up in the updated sites.

These improvements cover selected sites for the following missions:

New UI

New HUD (Feature Preview)

The new HUD is now available through Feature Previews in the client settings. This is an opt-in beta that lets capsuleers enable the new HUD and provide feedback.

The initial update focuses on the command board, the area at the bottom center of the screen that contains capacitor, module, shield, and armor information. Our aims with this update are:

• Clearer communication of module states and ship status.

• More recognizable danger indicators and information requiring immediate attention.

• Improved discoverability of features such as overheating and precise speed controls.

• Better clarity for new players and precision for experienced pilots.

Read more: EVE Evolved: A New Horizon for the HUD and check out the hands-on interview with FC Fozzie and FC Hotpepper

New Achievements

AIR Career Program

The AIR Career Program finds a new home inside Paragon's Achievement System. Paragon Services has partnered with AIR to bring its groundbreaking Career Program to the Achievement System, introducing a total of 78 new achievements for capsuleers to collect in varying difficulty levels.

All capsuleers can take part in and complete the Career Program, including those who have previously completed it. Completing it again grants all its rewards.

Achievements in the NEOCOM

Achievements are now easier to find in their new home in the NEOCOM, taking over the spot previously reserved for the AIR Career Program.

Discoverable Achievements

New evergreen achievements are added, along with the new Discoverable style of achievement.

Discoverable Achievements don't tell you exactly what is needed to complete them, but can provide hints through their name, their rewards, and any flavor text. They are easy to tell apart from other achievements, as their icon is always a "?". Four Discoverable Achievements launch with this expansion for achievement-hunting capsuleers to work towards.

Early Game Achievements

A new collection of achievements recognizes the accomplishments of new capsuleers and encourages exploration. The new achievements are:

• Academy Pilot: Board an AIR Academy ship.

• Stellar Explorations: Enter 30 different solar systems.

• Home of High-Sec: Enter the Yulai system.

• Tour the Embassy: Visit any system within the four Empire constellations in Exordium.

• Report for Duty: Visit Factional Warfare HQ. This replaces the previous “One Way Ticket” achievement.

Audio

• The music in the tutorial has been updated and re-synchronized and now adapts appropriately to recent narrative changes. The timing of some NPC conversations has been adjusted to improve dramatic flow in the tutorial experience.

• Safeguards have been added to jumping and docking to prevent cases where sounds would repeat indefinitely. When you jump through a stargate or dock in any hangar, the audio system now cleans up any sounds that may have gotten stuck on your camera.

New Ships

Navy Attack Battlecruisers

Fractured Skies introduces 4 new Navy Attack Battlecruisers!

Amarr Navy Battlecruiser: Oracle Navy Issue

Traits

Amarr Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):

• 10% reduction in Large Energy Turret activation cost

• 15% bonus to Large Energy Turret damage

• 7.5% bonus to Large Energy Turret optimal range

Role Bonus:

• 95% reduction in Large Energy Turret powergrid requirement

• 50% reduction in Large Energy Turret CPU requirement

• 50% reduction in Large Energy Turret activation cost

Blueprint copies for the Oracle Navy Issue can be purchased from the 24th Imperial Crusade Loyalty Point Store for 52,000 LP and 13 million ISK.

Caldari Navy Battlecruiser: Naga Navy Issue

Traits

Caldari Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):

• 10% bonus to kinetic Cruise Missile and Torpedo damage

• 5% bonus to EM, thermal, explosive Cruise Missile and Torpedo damage

• 10% bonus to Cruise Missile and Torpedo max velocity

Role Bonus:

• 95% reduction in Cruise Missile and Torpedo Launcher powergrid requirement

• 50% reduction in Cruise Missile and Torpedo Launcher cpu requirement

Blueprint copies for the Naga Navy Issue can be purchased from the State Protectorate Loyalty Point Store for 52,000 LP and 13 million ISK.

Gallente Navy Battlecruiser: Talos Navy Issue

Traits

Gallente Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):

• 15% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage

• 7.5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret falloff

• 15% reduction in Armor Plate mass penalty

Role Bonus:

• 95% reduction in Large Hybrid Turret powergrid requirement

• 50% reduction in Large Hybrid Turret CPU requirement

• 50% reduction in Large Hybrid Turret activation cost

Blueprint copies for the Talos Navy Issue can be purchased from the Federal Defense Union Loyalty Point Store for 52,000 LP and 13 million ISK.

Minmatar Navy Battlecruiser: Tornado Fleet Issue

Traits

Minmatar Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):

• 10% bonus to Large Projectile Turret rate of fire

• 7.5% bonus to Large Projectile Turret falloff

• 15% reduction in Microwarpdrive signature radius penalty

Role Bonus:

• 95% reduction in Large Projectile Turret powergrid requirement

• 50% reduction in Large Projectile Turret CPU requirement

Blueprint copies for the Tornado Fleet Issue can be purchased from the Tribal Liberation Force Loyalty Point Store for 52,000 LP and 13 million ISK.

New Rigs

Synchronizer Rigs

Synchronizer Rigs are a new type of rig arriving with the Fractured Skies expansion. Each Synchronizer Rig provides a small set of bonuses, often at a slightly inefficient rate, and has a drawback that also reduces the ships total CPU. However, all of its bonuses increase when you fit matching modules, causing the rig to scale in power with each subsequent module of the same name. I.e the Caldari Navy Synchronizer Rig will get stronger for each Caldari Navy faction module fitted to the ship.

Only one Synchronizer Rig can be fitted to a ship at a time.

Synchronizer Rigs come in three sizes: small, medium, and large.

Empire Synchronizers

Imperial Navy Synchronizer

• 5% bonus to Energy Turret damage

• 5% reduction in Energy Turret capacitor use

• 5% bonus to Armor Hitpoints

• 5% bonus to Capacitor amount

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Imperial Navy module fitted to the ship.

Caldari Navy Synchronizer

• 5% bonus to Missile damage

• 5% bonus to Missile velocity

• 5% bonus to Shield Hitpoints

• 5% bonus to ship maximum Targeting Range

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Caldari Navy module fitted to the ship.

Federation Navy Synchronizer

• 5% bonus to Hybrid Turret damage

• 5% bonus to Hybrid Turret tracking

• 5% bonus to Armor Repairer repair amount

• 5% bonus to Structure Hitpoints

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Federation Navy module fitted to the ship.

Republic Fleet Synchronizer

• 5% bonus to Projectile Turret damage

• 5% bonus to Projectile Turret tracking

• 5% reduction in Shield Booster cycle time

• 5% bonus to ship Maximum Velocity

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Republic Fleet module fitted to the ship.

Pirate Synchronizers

Pirate Synchronizers are a little bit different. These rigs offer unique bonuses not available on existing rigs, but they also carry a significant penalty.

Dark Blood Synchronizer

• 200% penalty to ship capacitor recharge time

• 10% bonus to Energy Nosferatu and Energy Neutralizer drain amount

• 10% bonus to the benefits of overloading Energy Nosferatu and Energy Neutralizer modules

• 5% bonus to Energy Nosferatu and Energy Neutralizer optimal range and falloff effectiveness

• 5% bonus to Energy Turret damage

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Dark Blood module fitted to the ship.

Domination Synchronizer

• 30% penalty to shield, armor and structure hitpoints

• 10% reduction in ship signature radius

• 10% bonus to Projectile Turret falloff

• 5% bonus to Projectile Turret damage

• 5% bonus to warp speed

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Domination module fitted to the ship.

Dread Guristas Synchronizer

• 60% penalty to maximum drone control range

• 10% bonus to drone hitpoints

• 10% bonus to drone damage

• 5% bonus to shield resistances

• 5% bonus to ECM strength and optimal range

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Dread Guristas module fitted to the ship.

Shadow Serpentis Synchronizer

• 60% penalty to maximum targeting range

• 10% bonus to web resistance

• 10% bonus to Hybrid Turret falloff

• 5% bonus to Hybrid Turret damage

• 5% bonus to ship maximum velocity

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every Shadow Serpentis module fitted to the ship

True Sansha Synchronizer

• 400% penalty to Afterburner module activation cost

• 10% bonus to Afterburner velocity bonus

• 10% bonus to the benefits of overloading Afterburner modules

• 5% bonus to Energy Turret tracking

• 5% bonus to Energy Turret damage

• The bonuses provided by this rig increase by a flat 1% for every True Sansha module fitted to the ship.

Synchronization Rigging Skill

A new rigging skill, Synchronization Rigging, has been added and will be available in the respective empire schools at 25 million ISK.

• Each level of the skill grants a 10% reduction in synchronizer rig CPU penalty.

• Level I of the skill is required for Synchronizer Rig production.

Where to Find Them

Blueprint copies for the rigs are found exclusively in the following Loyalty Point Stores:

• Amarr, Caldari, Gallente, and Minmatar Synchronizers are in the Factional Warfare LP stores.

• Angel and Guristas Synchronizers are in the Insurgency LP store.

• Blood Raiders, Sansha's Nation, and Serpentis Synchronizers are in the regular pirate LP stores.

Manufacturing

• Synchronizer Rigs require a combination of Tech I salvage materials used by the similar rigs whose effects they bonus, plus additional components.

• For the Amarr, Caldari, and Minmatar rigs, the additional components come primarily from Class 1 to Class 3 wormhole content, such as Sleeper salvage and reactions from low-class gas.

• The Gallente rigs instead use rogue drone components dropped from sentient commander NPCs, along with low-class wormhole gas reactions.

• Pirate Synchronizer Rigs are built from a combination of empire Synchronizer Rigs, based on the skills needed to fly that pirate faction's ships, plus some additional low-class wormhole gas reaction components.

New Modules

Collapsed Drifter Cache and Fabricated Rogue Cache sites also have a rare chance to drop new "Aberrant" meta modules. These are modified versions of existing passive modules that now feature a new active effect. Their passive effects are weaker than their equivalent Tech I modules, but when activated, they have a much more powerful active effect that lasts for a short duration before going on cooldown.

While all of these sites have a rare chance to drop these modules, the highest chance is in Omega Logging and Rogue Stockpile containers, which are found exclusively in Class 1 to Class 3 wormhole space.

Other possible loot drops include Penumbral Shadows SKINs, new hardwirings that reduce rig drawbacks, and more.

Vigilant ‘Vital’ Overdrive Injector System

• Rare loot drop in the Communications section of the Collapsed Drifter Cache site

• 8% passive speed boost

• 15% active speed boost, 20 second duration, 2 minute cooldown

Vigilant ‘Vital’ Shield Boost Amplifier

• Rare loot drop in the Logistics section of the Collapsed Drifter Cache site

• 24% passive shield booster bonus

• 43.2% active shield booster bonus, 20 second duration, 2 minute cooldown

Vigilant ‘Vital’ Drone Navigation Computer

• Rare loot drop in the Fabricated Rogue Cache site

• 20% passive Drone & Fighter speed bonus

• 36% active Drone & Fighter speed bonus, 20 second duration, 2 minute cooldown

Vigilant ‘Vital’ Cap Recharger

• Rare loot drop in the Engineering section of the Collapsed Drifter Cache site

• 12% passive capacitor recharge bonus

• 25% active capacitor recharge bonus, 20 second duration, 2 minute cooldown

Ship and Module Balance

Our goals with the balance changes in Fractured Skies are:

• Restore some of the Carrier's lost damage application, in exchange for committing to the field.

• Make Navy Fighters a valid option in more scenarios, especially where survivability and longevity matter.

• Improve the least-used Strategic Cruisers and subsystems without boosting an already dominant Loki.

• Give small improvements to low-usage hulls such as the Myrmidon Navy Issue, Catalyst, Maulus Navy Issue, and Vengeance.

• Rein in or correct recent changes to the Sacrilege and Hawk.

• Add more counterplay to bombs without directly reducing their power.

Carriers and Fighters

Heavy Fighters

• Tech II Heavy Fighters now require the Fighter Specialization skills, added in the Catalyst Major Update, to use.

• This means they gain between 2% and 10% more damage, depending on the skill level trained.

Integrated Sensor Array and Light Fighters

• Added new bonus to module active effect: 20% bonus to Light Fighter Attack Explosion Velocity

• Added new bonus to module active effect: 10% reduction in Light Fighter Attack Explosion Radius

Note: These bonuses are not penalized when stacking with other modules, such as Omnidirectional Tracking Links and Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancers, so you always benefit from their full effect, even when fitting other tracking modules.

We're rolling back most of the fighter application nerf for Light Fighters from the Spring Balance Update 2019, but tying it to the active effect of the Carrier-specific Integrated Sensor Array module. This makes Carriers more powerful and versatile in PvP and PvE, but in exchange for that power, they need to commit to the field.

Over the last few expansions, we've been trying to expand the role of Carriers by giving them more fleet utility: expanding how many support fighters they can use, giving them the ability to fit Micro Jump Drives and Micro Jump Field Generators, Conduit Jumps, expanded Ship Maintenance Arrays, as well as small tweaks and improvements.

We're now looking at restoring some of their previously lost damage application, and we feel comfortable making this change now because the capital ecosystem has shifted. When Light Fighters were vastly overpowered in 2019, a cynosural field could be fitted to every single ship (including Carriers), Carriers were significantly cheaper, Dreadnoughts were more expensive, and skynets from nearby citadels staying in relative safety were a thing.

Tying the effect to the Carrier-specific ISA module allows us to improve Carrier application against subcapital ships without boosting Supercarrier application against subcapitals, which is where a large amount of ‘punching down’ onto subcapitals with Light Fighters came from previously. We will, of course, monitor the situation and make corrections if they are too oppressive, but we hope this leads to wider use of Carriers throughout the cluster.

Navy Light Fighters

Faction Light Attack Fighters:

Caldari Navy Dragonfly

• Shield HP increased from 5,445 to 7,260

• Blaster Cannon fighter ability damage increased from 113.5 to 118.5

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability damage increased from 208 to 219

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability charge count increased from 20 to 24

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability rearm time reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds per charge

• Maximum Velocity increased from 785m/s to 824m/s

• Gravimetric Sensor Strength increased from 7 to 10

Imperial Navy Templar

• Shield HP increased from 5,445 to 7,260

• Pulse Cannon fighter ability damage increased from 103 to 108

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability damage increased from 187.5 to 196.5

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability charge count increased from 20 to 24

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability rearm time reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds per charge

• Maximum Velocity increased from 867m/s to 910m/s

• Radar Sensor Strength increased from 7 to 10

Republic Fleet Einherji

• Shield HP increased from 5,445 to 7,260

• Autocannon fighter ability damage increased from 97.5 to 102

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability damage increased from 178 to 186

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability charge count increased from 20 to 24

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability rearm time reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds per charge

• Maximum Velocity increased from 908m/s to 953m/s

• Ladar Sensor Strength increased from 7 to 10

Federation Navy Firbolg

• Shield HP increased from 5,445 to 7,260

• Blaster Cannon fighter ability damage increased from 118.5 to 124.5

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability damage increased from 217.5 to 228

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability charge count increased from 20 to 24

• Heavy Rocket Salvo fighter ability rearm time reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds per charge

• Maximum Velocity increased from 743m/s to 780m/s

• Magnetometric Sensor Strength increased from 7 to 10

Faction Light Space Superiority Fighters:

Imperial Navy Equite

• Shield HP increased from 2,640 to 3,520

• Micro Missile Swarm fighter ability damage increased from 40 to 42

• Maximum Velocity increased from 1,040m/s to 1,092m/s

• Radar Sensor Strength increased from 8 to 12

Caldari Navy Locust

• Shield HP increased from 2,640 to 3,520

• Micro Missile Swarm fighter ability damage increased from 42 to 44

• Maximum Velocity increased from 941m/s to 988m/s

• Gravimetric Sensor Strength increased from 8 to 12

Federation Navy Satyr

• Shield HP increased from 2,640 to 3,520

• Micro Missile Swarm fighter ability damage increased from 44 to 46

• Maximum Velocity increased from 892m/s to 937m/s

• Magnetometric Sensor Strength increased from 8 to 12

Republic Fleet Gram

• Shield HP increased from 2,640 to 3,520

• Micro Missile Swarm fighter ability damage increased from 38 to 40

• Maximum Velocity increased from 1,090m/s to 1,145m/s

• Ladar Sensor Strength increased from 8 to 12

When Navy Fighters were added to the game in the Legion Expansion, the Fighter Specialization skill didn't exist, so they were purposely positioned between Tech I and Tech II fighters for damage, and we conservatively only gave them 1.5x the hitpoints of Tech II fighters.

Now that the Specialization skill exists, we are bumping their base damage up to Tech II fighters (Tech II fighters still deal more damage with the skill) and increasing their hitpoints to 2x, matching the same relationship and trade-offs that faction drones have with normal drones, like a Caldari Navy Wasp vs a Wasp II.

We're also increasing their charge count to be 33% higher than the Tech I version, and reducing their charge reload time to be the same as Tech II if they use all their charges, along with a few other small tweaks like extra speed and sensor strength.

This should hopefully make them a more valid option in more scenarios, especially where fighter survivability and longevity is desired, like PvE.

Strategic Cruisers & Subsystems

Legion

• Maximum Velocity improved from 185m/s to 200m/s

• Base Powergrid improved from 625 to 650

The Legion is currently the least used T3C for both PvE and PvP. We're making some small adjustments to its base stats to improve it for all roles.

Proteus

• Signature Radius reduced from 190 to 165

We're moving the Proteus' signature radius to sit between the Loki (160) and the Legion (170) to help it mitigate some battleship damage.

Tengu & Proteus Core - Electronic Efficiency Gate

• Added new bonus: 3% bonus to Sensor Warfare and Weapon Disruption resistances per level

This is currently the least used subsystem in the entire game, and the least used subsystem for both the Tengu and Proteus. We're adding a new resistance bonus against Remote Sensor Dampeners and Weapon Disruptors to increase its utility.

Tengu Core - Obfuscation Manifold

• ECM Optimal and Strength bonus improved from 10% to 12.5% per level

• Added new misc bonus: +500 Armor Hitpoints

This subsystem sees low usage. We're bringing its range bonus up to the level of the Blackbird and adding some passive armor to help armor tank fits, which can struggle with the small number of low slots.

Legion Defensive - Augmented Plating

• Flat Armor Hitpoint misc bonus increased from +1,000 to +1,500

Proteus Defensive - Augmented Plating

• Armor Plate mass penalty reduction role bonus improved from 25% to 37.5%

Legion Offensive - Liquid Crystal Magnifiers

• Powergrid bonus improved from +400 to +430

Tengu Offensive - Magnetic Infusion Basin

• Damage bonus per level increased from 5% to 7.5%

Loki Offensive - Projectile Scoping Array

• Powergrid bonus improved from +300 to +330

This is a small boost for autocannon and artillery Lokis. The Loki is currently the most used ship in the entire game for PvP, with the highest damage on player ship kills for both solo and killmails with under 15 pilots on them. It also ranks #2 for total damage on ship killmails regardless of pilot count. We are being conservative with the Loki and avoiding boosting an already powerful ship, which is why it receives a relatively small boost compared to the other three T3Cs.

Battlecruisers

Myrmidon Navy Issue

• Maximum Capacitor increased from 2,900 to 3,000

The Myrmidon Navy Issue is still the Navy combat battlecruiser with the lowest usage in both PvP and PvE, despite recent buffs. We're making a small adjustment to its maximum capacitor to make it a slightly more attractive upgrade over the Myrmidon.

Heavy Assault Cruisers

Sacrilege

• Heavy Assault Cruisers bonus to missile launcher rate of fire reduced from 7.5% to 5% per level

• Amarr Cruiser bonus to Heavy Assault Missile and Heavy Missile damage improved from 5% to 7.5% per level

We overshot the Sacrilege buff in the Cradle of War Major Update, and this reins it in a bit. It still sees some improvement to damage compared to before the Cradle of War Major Update, by improving the damage per level instead. Effective launchers are reduced from 10 to 9.17. Still a buff, just not as buffy

Cerberus

• The 2.5% bonus to all missile damage is split:

• Kinetic missile damage bonus increased from 2.5% to 5%

• EM, Thermal, and Explosive missile damage bonus remains at 2.5%

The Caldari do love a good kinetic lock, and the State were unhappy with it being removed. We want to keep the versatility of the newly improved Cerb, but also give it some more damage back when using kinetic missiles.

Destroyers

Catalyst

• Maximum Velocity increased from 265m/s to 275m/s

While the Catalyst sees a lot of use for ganking, it is weak in actual ship versus ship combat, such as Factional Warfare. This is a small boost to help it stay in range and compete with other destroyers, without impacting it for its more nefarious use.

Frigates

Maulus Navy Issue

• Armor Hitpoints increased from 525 to 625

• Structure Hitpoints increased from 550 to 575

We're bumping its base hitpoints up to match the Crucifier Navy Issue and Griffin Navy Issue (1,600 total), since it still needs a small bit of love.

Vengeance

• Base Capacitor recharge time improved from 187.5 seconds to 140.625 seconds

• Removed bonus: 5% bonus to capacitor recharge rate per level of Assault Frigate

• Added new bonus: 3% bonus to Armor Hitpoints per level of Assault Frigate

• Shield Hitpoints reduced from 664 to 464

• Armor Hitpoints improved from 816 to 1,016

We're making some more improvements to the Vengeance. The capacitor recharge time bonus is removed, but its level 5 value is now built into the hull, and a new, smaller bonus to Armor HP is added, similar to the one found on the Damnation and Heretic. We're also shifting some hitpoints from shield to armor, as it had quite a large amount of its base hitpoint pool invested in shields despite being armor focused. If you were shield tanking your Vengance, we're not sorry.

Hawk

• Removed bonus: 7.5% bonus to rocket and light missile damage

• Added new bonus: 10% bonus to kinetic rocket damage and kinetic light missile damage

• Added new bonus: 5% bonus to EM, Thermal, and Explosive rocket and light missile damage

In the Major Update, we made a change to the Hawk that replaced the 10% kinetic missile and rocket damage bonus with a 7.5% bonus to all missiles. However, this ended up lowering the Hawk's damage potential in a lot of areas, like FW PvP where the kinetic lock didn't really matter, and in environments where kinetic missile damage was good (like exotic Abyssal filaments and PvE content against the Guristas and Serpentis factions).

This change restores its kinetic damage to what it was, and it now has a smaller bonus of 5% per level for other damage types, which is still a strong improvement for damage versatility over the pre-Major Update Hawk. Think Cerberus, but smaller.

Odysseus

• The Expedition Hold of the Odysseus can now store drones.

Defenders and Bombs

Defender Launchers

• Capacitor cost to activate reduced from 50GJ to 5GJ

Defender Missiles

• Maximum flight time increased from 3 seconds to 5 seconds

Void Bomb (no changes to the Focused Void Bomb)

• Explosion delay increased from 7.5 seconds to 12 seconds, matching damage bombs

• Maximum Velocity reduced from 4,000m/s to 2,500m/s, matching damage bombs

Defender Missile Launchers took quite a large amount of capacitor for a Destroyer to activate, and their base flight time was quite low, which could result in them expiring before reaching bombs. Unless the player had max skills, a Stealth Bomber could also out-range a Destroyer with its bombs. Increasing the flight time makes them more consistent and increases their range from 30-45km to 50-75km.

This should also make them more useful for players with fewer skill points, as even new players with Defender Launchers trained to level 1 should now be able to perform the role well.

The intent here is to add a bit more counterplay to bombs without reducing their power directly.

Additionally, we've seen some frustration around Void Bombs specifically. We're increasing the time it takes for a Void Bomb to explode to match damage bombs. This should give more time to react to them, such as moving out of the way, firewalling them or using Defender Launchers to shoot them down, and make them require a bit more skill to land against moving targets.

CONCORD Rogue Analysis Beacon & CONCORD-Carrier Rogue Analysis Beacon

• Minimum deployment distance from starbases increased from 30,000km to 50,000km

Military Campaign Progress

Campaign Consequences

The outcomes of the previous military campaigns now take effect across each empire.

Amarr Empire

• The Deaconry of Economic Oversight is established around Amarr VIII (Oris) - Emperor Family Academy.

• Amarr VIII (Oris) - Emperor Family Academy now has reduced Sales Tax and Broker Fees.

• New module blueprints added to the Amarr FW LP Store

• Imperial Navy Stasis Webifier Blueprint

• Imperial Navy Warp Disruptor Blueprint

• Imperial Navy Warp Scrambler Blueprint

Gallente Federation

• Stargate construction is complete in Renyn and Jufvitte, creating a connection between the two systems.

• New ‘Pluto’ Mining and Ice Mining Drones are added to the Gallente Loyalty Point Stores.

Caldari State

• Stargate construction is complete in Ienakkamon and T-LIWS, creating a connection between the two systems.

• Offers previously only found in the Intaki Syndicate store are added to the Caldari Navy stores:

• Focused Void Bombs

• Syndicate Signal Amplifier

• Syndicate Mobile Medium Warp Disruptor

• Syndicate Mobile Small Warp Disruptor

1. Corporations previously in the Syndicate are renamed and moved to the Caldari State faction:

• Intaki Syndicate renamed to State Syndicate

• Intaki Space Police renamed to Syndicate Space Police

• Intaki Bank renamed to Syndicate Bank

• Intaki Commerce renamed to Syndicate Commerce

1. The Syndicate's faction description is updated to reflect these changes.

2. The mission text of the Syndication Epic Arc is updated to reflect this new political reality.

Minmatar Republic

• Arzad is now called Starkman.

• The planet formerly named Arzad II is now called Starkman Prime.

• The Starkmanir Council Hall of Restoration station is added to Starkman Prime.

• The Starkman Prime Migration Fleet is relocated to the vicinity of the Starkmanir Council Hall of Restoration station.

• Sovereignty of Starkman and Ezzara is changed to Minmatar.

• Stargates in Starkman and Ezzara now use Minmatar models.

• An instance of Phased Fields is added to Minmatar high-sec systems. Its value and ore availability have been adjusted to be more coherent with high-sec content, but it remains the most valuable mining site in that security band by a very large margin.

EDENCOM

• Kasiha Valkanir is no longer Provost Marshal (CEO) of AEGIS. Baldur Chaiya now holds that position.

New Military Campaigns

Four new campaigns launch with the Fractured Skies expansion. Conquest technology is on the horizon, and it's only a matter of time until the embargo is broken. With the destruction of the Drifter gate in Azdaja Redoubt, space-time is being further disrupted, hidden Drifter caches are being revealed, and a rumored Drifter artifact must be found.

All four empires must now race to find a technological edge against their rivals, so that when Conquest technology does arrive on the battlefield, they'll be on top.

Campaign Structure

These campaigns are structured very differently from the four previous military campaigns, taking a similar approach to the previous shipcaster “Shadow War” event.

• There are only four objectives, all of which are available from the launch of Fractured Skies. No new objectives appear over the course of the campaigns.

• The amount a player can personally contribute to an objective is equal to the community's progress. In other words, there is no limit to how much a single character can contribute to an objective until it is complete.

• Unique rewards for completing the personal section of the objectives are now handled by campaign achievements, which progress by completing activities linked to the objectives.

These Campaigns Are a Race!

If the Amarr complete their campaign first, they gain an edge when the Drifter artifact is discovered, as Capital Marshal Sirdan xer Qosh personally attends the battlefield and provides bonuses to all enlisted Amarr capsuleers. If the Minmatar complete their campaign first, however, Hetman General Kanth Filmir is present and provides bonuses to enlisted Minmatar capsuleers himself instead!

The same is true for Executive General Heika Torigo, who attends the battlefield if the Caldari State completes its campaign before the Gallente Federation. If the Gallente are victorious, Vice Admiral Foriana Revelli appears in the fight instead!

Every completed objective results in bonuses being activated at a later date in solar systems under the sovereign control of that faction, and in any territory it occupies through Factional Warfare at that time.

Completing a faction's campaign, regardless of speed, adds new modules from the campaign item traders to the Factional Warfare Loyalty Point Stores.

Campaign Activities

To contribute to a campaign, you need to complete various activities and obtain valuable items to deliver to the empires in their War HQ systems. As a reminder, the War HQs for each faction are:

• Amarr - Mehatoor

• Caldari - Onnamon

• Gallente - Intaki

• Minmatar - Amo

Activities that contribute to the campaigns:

• Complete ambushed expedition PvE sites by destroying enemy NPCs, then salvage the destroyed expedition ships to recover prototypes the empires have been developing from studying space-time distortions. These sites are designed for a well-fit Assault Frigate or Navy Destroyer. While they appear throughout high-sec and low-sec, the highest concentration is in Bulwark systems and FW systems in the warzone.

• Mine ore in Bulwark systems, or richer ore in FW frontline systems, then reprocess the ore and deliver the resulting materials to the item trader in War HQs.

• Hack Collapsed Drifter Caches and Fabricated Rogue Caches in high-sec, low-sec, and low-class wormhole space to recover valuable data for the empires' research projects. The highest concentration of these sites, and the most lucrative, are in Class 1 through Class 3 wormhole space.

• The Collapsed Drifter Cache has three main sections, and you can only restore power to one of them. Activate the Engineering section to loot Drifter data valuable to the Amarr, the Logistics section for data valuable to the Caldari, or the Communications section for data valuable to the Minmatar.

1. Destroy NPCs in regular Factional Warfare capture complexes, recover strategic intel from the NPCs, and deliver it to your empire.

Campaign Rewards

Each campaign has 6 achievements and 6 hidden achievements, which progress as you complete campaign activities.

• Completing all of the regular achievements grants 5 new exclusive Penumbral Shadows SKINs, 6 titles, and 600,000 SP.

• Completing the hidden achievements grants 6 hidden titles and an additional 600,000 SP, for a total of 1.2 million SP per campaign.

In addition to the rewards for each campaign activity, handing in items to the item traders in the War HQs grants ISK and Loyalty Points from the objective rewards, along with a faction loyalty token. These tokens can be traded for various favors, including:

• Glamourex Boosters to help bolster your standings

• SKINR components

• Agency Boosters

• The brand new Navy Salvager faction module and Conquest Salvager officer module

• Returning modules from previous campaigns, such as the Gallente/Amarr drone hybrid magnetic field stabilizers and heat sinks, the Caldari/Minmatar missile guidance computers and enhancers, and more

• Rare faction apparel

• Returning Resource Wars Navy SKINs

EVE Vanguard Connection

EVE Vanguard players completing expeditions and contracts now spawn SARO Black Sites during the new military campaigns.

• These temporary PvE, mining, and exploration sites are available in high-sec and low-sec.

• SARO Black Sites offer more campaign-related drops than regular sites, but are short-lived.

• You can check the number of these sites in the Theaters of War section.

• You can see the location of SARO Black Sites using the map filter in the Activity category.

Rogue Drone Outbreaks

With the desperate push to close the gap in Conquest technology, outbreaks of Rogue Drone Infestation are now common throughout Gallente Federation space.

• Complete infested sites to shut down the outbreak.

• Outbreak Initiation Threads can be looted from infested sites and sold to various corporation buy orders.

• Be warned: Rogue Drone fleets roam systems with active outbreaks!

• Outbreaks can be located in the Interstellar Events section of the Opportunities window.

Factional Warfare Changes

• NPCs in FW complexes are now limited to 5 waves, instead of respawning infinitely in capture complexes.

• The drop rate of NPC tags from FW NPCs is greatly increased.

• FW NPCs once again have a small chance to drop SKINR components.

• All FW NPCs now have a small chance to drop boosters from the current campaign.

• Haulers in FW missions now drop tags when they are destroyed.

• The amount of tags dropped by boss NPCs in FW missions (such as the Field Commander) is increased.

We're limiting the number of times NPCs respawn in FW complexes. This means we don't have to be as conservative with their loot drop values, and can increase the amount of loot they drop. It also means players get incremental value while completing FW complexes.

Little Things

Little Things tend to have high impact on quality of life and every-day utility. We appreciate everyone who has contributed to our list of Little Things which we're able to evaluate and look at. If you don't see your little thing here yet, have no fear! We continually look to slay these beasts where we can 🤝 Sometimes a thing seems little but isn't, like ACL Hangars, but we still put it on A List™

Pirate Insurgency

• 🤝Pirate Insurgency FOB Assets will now be sent to Zarzakh by default, rather than the closest low sec system.

If Pirate faction win the Insurgency the tax is lowered to 0.5% instead of 15. The assets can also be manually delivered immediately and will auto-redeem after 1 day on victory.

Character and Corporation

• 🤝 ‘Resign as CEO’ and ‘Quit Corp’ are removed from the right-click menu.

Instead, a new Memberships tab under Character Sheet > Character contains information about your corporation, alliance and faction memberships, and lets you remove roles, block role assignment, resign as CEO and quit your corporation.

Fleet and Broadcasts

• 🤝The HUD now shows feedback when jumping or bridging to a cyno. Temporary text above the HUD shows:

• “Preparing jump/bridge to {solarSystemName}” right before the command is issued.

• “Jumping/bridging to {solarSystemName}” after the command is successfully issued, while the jump or bridge is in progress.

1. 🤝The Broadcast radial menu now includes a “Heal Target” option.

2. 🤝The radial menu now opens for entries in the broadcast history. What it shows depends on the broadcast type:

• Enemy Spotted, Need Backup, and In Position: the character who broadcast, if you are in the same system. Otherwise, the system they were in when they broadcast.

• Target, Heal Target, Warp To, Align To, and Jump To: the broadcast target. If the target is no longer accessible, such as no longer being in space or being in a different system, the radial menu is empty.

• Heal Armor, Heal Shield, Heal Capacitor, and Hold Position: the character who broadcast.

• Travel To: the item that was broadcast.

• Location: the nearest location at the time of broadcast, or the system if you are not in the same system.

1. 🤝The “More” menu in the Fleet Watchlist now has an option to stop the watchlist from opening automatically when you join a fleet. The main Fleet window still has an option to open the watchlist, so you can open it and change the setting again at any time.

2. 🤝You can now change the color of multiple Fleet Watchlist entries at once. With several characters selected (using Ctrl+A or Shift), changing the color of one selected entry changes all of them. Changing the color of an unselected entry only affects that entry.

Overview

• 🤝Rally Point beacons in FW Battlefields and Insurgency Ice Heists are moved out of the Large Collidable Object group into a new group called FW Rally Point. Players can now add them to custom overviews without having to add Large Collidable Objects.

• 🤝Item Traders now have their own group, which includes the campaign item traders. Players can add item traders to custom overviews without including other objects such as Large Collidable Objects. The item trader window now also updates after inventory changes.

• 🤝Right-clicking the overview headers now shows a “Header sorting enabled” option, checked by default. When unchecked, clicking the overview headers does not change the sort column or order; a message indicates that header sorting is disabled, and an icon appears on the right side of the header row. The setting applies to all of your overviews, is saved per character, and persists between sessions on the same computer.

Fitting, Industry and Inventory

• 🤝When you import XML fittings with the same name as an existing fitting, the import now appends “_” to the end of the fitting name.

• 🤝Fittings in the clipboard can now be imported into Multibuy. Text in “[shipType, shipName]” is now handled when importing a shopping list, allowing the ship name to be included.

• 🤝The Item Filter window now has a text import button. It imports the items listed in the clipboard without changing the “Match” checkboxes or the “Filter name” field, and existing conditions remain unchanged. You can also drop a fit into the window to add it.

• 🤝You can now search by item ID in item containers (such as cargo holds and hangars), asset search, and Industry. Entering an exact item ID matches the item with that ID, and asset search also has a new advanced search option for item IDs.

• 🤝The preview fields in the Industry window are now wider, so their full values are visible. The preview displays when you double-click in the section.

Skills

• 🤝Skill Plans now show total SP information. When viewing a skill plan, text under the progress circle shows the SP you have trained and the total training time.

• 🤝In the Skill Catalogue, the info icon is removed from the skill description tooltip. It is now on the entry itself and appears when you mouse over it. Entries in the Skill Plan content still show the info icon in their tooltips.

Interface

• 🤝You can now drop any link onto a chat tab to add it to that chat's input field. Nothing is sent automatically. The link is appended to the end of any text already in the input field, and the tab blinks briefly when it is added.

• 🤝Bookmark expiry times can now be edited. Previously, you could only remove a bookmark's expiry time. When editing a bookmark, the “Cancel expiry” checkbox is replaced with an “edit expiry” checkbox that lets you add an expiry time. The expiry time options are only enabled when “edit expiry” is checked. When moving a bookmark between folders, the folder's default expiry time is preselected, but it is only applied if “edit expiry” is checked.

• 🤝A new shortcut called “Reset tag sequences” resets all tag sequences at once.

• 🤝Site pop-ups that only have a Close button and appear when warping to a site now include a “Do not show again” option. The pop-up is suppressed only when you use the Close button in the window, not the X in the upper-right corner, consistent with other windows. Messages with a button to warp to or set destination to a location are not affected.

• 🤝New help pointers are added for:

• Brand management

• Wallet - PLEX

• Wallet - Evermarks

• Corporation Ads