War-hungry capsuleers,
The face of war in New Eden has changed since the launch of Uprising, EVE’s latest narrative-driven expansion. The conflict between the four main empires has seen noticeable escalation over the last several months. They are beginning to directly intervene in the warzones, and the diplomatic ties they once shared seem to be increasingly ignored. The Uprising expansion ushered in a suite of new navy ships, corporation and alliance emblems for ships, new immersive Upwell hangars, and major changes to Factional Warfare (FW), signaling the future of war arriving to New Eden.
Now that the expansion has been live for several weeks, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the changes to Factional Warfare and give you a sneak peek into what’s coming up next in the warzone.
FACTIONAL WARFARE- PAST AND PRESENT
Before the Uprising expansion, one of the key desires of players was to make Factional Warfare easier to navigate and easier to locate the action. With the new Frontline system, more topology has been added to these systems, creating an all-new dynamic and giving players clearer direction. Systems closest to the action – Frontline systems – have the greatest rewards. Meanwhile, the Rearguard systems are significantly safer and have comparatively lower rewards. This dynamic system is easily understandable, so when you undock you know the amount of risk you are taking. These design elements can be applied to other areas of space as well, so when we say the future of warfare is changing, this is what we have in mind.
It’s been a thrill to watch all the activity and skirmishes over territory and resources on the Frontlines following the Uprising expansion and we hope this shift in the warzone has resonated with all of you participating.
Another goal of ours was to address the one-sided swings in the Warzone. Since Uprising, we have seen a great impact in this vein with a noticeably more equal playing field for all four empires, allowing capsuleers to fight for the empire that they want to support, rather than the empire that can net them the most profit.
In the spirit of fighting for your chosen empire, we’re offering new themed banners that allow you to proudly fly the colors of your chosen empire. You can access them here.
NEW SHIPS IN THE WARZONE
The Uprising expansion has completely shaken up Factional Warfare in more ways than one! The new line of Navy ships introduced in Uprising are already leaving their mark, with the Navy Destroyers being some of the most utilized ships in the warzone.
We've also seen plenty of older ships - rebalanced during Uprising - making their presence known. Ships like the Exequror Navy Issue are dominating the killboards.
The Uprising expansion also improved several Navy faction ships as well as adding balance updates to Heavy Assault Cruisers which has shifted warfare strategies across New Eden.
Uprising brings more variety to larger scale PvP engagements, so no longer are heavy assault cruisers crowding the field. With the latest changes, these ships are now forced to fight in closer quarters, making room for more ships and a wider variety of tactics. Like with the FW warzone, ship diversity is at an all-time high!
The tactics and action surrounding Factional Warfare are still evolving post-expansion, and we can't wait to see where you take it.
The left shows ships used before Uprising, and the right is just after
UPDATED COMPLEXES AND EXCITING NEW BATTLEFIELDS
Unique to the Frontlines are new Battlefield sites - aimed at organized groups of 25+ players and offering significant rewards for both individual capsuleers and their represented empire factions. These sites offer new objectives for player groups, and we've been enjoying the stories and tactics that you all have been coming up with - from Thrasher Fleet spam to brick-tanked Navy Scorps!
We've been closely monitoring the Battlefields and have put together a list of ongoing areas of focus:
- Adjusting payout mechanics to reward more active participation and discourage "seagulling"
- Balancing the individual and empire rewards (Loyalty points for capsuleers, Advantage Points and Victory Points for empires)
- Adjusting the "Defender LP penalty" that is applied, which currently makes it less optimal to contest the Battlefields that spawn in your own Frontlines, compared to those in enemy Frontlines
- Focusing Battlefields primarily on Advantage rather than victory points so they augment plex running, but do not replace it
- Adjusting Battlefield spawn rate and capture speed. We like how these are focal points for conflict, but we're aware that their rewards - both LP and VP - potentially overshadow the other complexes. We want to ensure these still feel like rare and exciting sites, but we also want to make sure they're not the only sites worth running.
The ship eligibilities across the Factional Warfare Complexes have also been rebalanced, creating new and cost effective PvP metas and making for wider accessibility and a fairer fight within them. Since this change, capsuleers are now more eager to engage in battle, leading to a significant increase in activity in these complexes.
THE FUTURE OF FACTIONAL WARFARE
The future of war has begun, and this is just the beginning of Factional Warfare improvements for EVE. We welcome your feedback in (this dedicated forum post) on how we can make FW even better moving forward. As we continue to improve and iterate, addressing some pain points and making various improvements, from NPC interaction with supply depots to Advantage System balance, we're excited to see many more of you join in Q1 of next year with the launch of an exciting new feature, that will allow individuals to join the fight without having to leave their existing groups.
Although there’s more on the horizon, Factional Warfare has already become a space that is rife with activity and possibilities. One of the primary goals has already been achieved following Uprising: focusing capsuleer efforts towards emerging key conflicts making the warzone more fun and exciting to participate in. This has already led to a huge increase in capsuleers participating in PvP, with equal growth in the number of kills within FW systems.
There is so much more to come, and we can’t wait to reveal more on the future of war over the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, see you on the battlefield!
Fight with honor, capsuleers.