The biggest update ever to EVE: Valkyrie (2016) is launching today. Called ‘Warzone’, the expansion brings with it a number of big features including support for PC and PS4, new maps, and a whole reworking of ship classes and abilities that essentially makes it feel more like the popular team-based shooter Overwatch (but in space).
Since its initial release in March 2016 on Oculus Rift, EVE: Valkyrie has gone on to support cross-play between Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. Following five major updates that helped flesh-out Valkyrie’s maps and game modes, the Warzone update looks to populate the servers like never before with the healthy glut of PC and PS4 players.
Players looking to pop in immediately may have to wait though, CCP says via the Valkyrie forum page. Servers are scheduled to go down today at 10AM ET (your local time), remaining offline for “a few hours” until the new build is pushed and the Warzone update is in effect.
What’s Different About Warzone?
While CCP calls Warzone an expansion, created in line with updates like Carrier Assault, Groundrush, and Wormholes, the update is more of a refresh as it decisively pivots gameplay with a few key elements common to modern team-based first-person shooters like Overwatch.
The first big feature update: launch tube selection is now long gone, now letting you go straight for any one of the available ship classes without requiring lengthy progression with basic ships like the Wraith. According to CCP, the ‘open hangar’ approach will better allow pilots to experiment and find the ships that best fit their playstyle within only a few matches.
As for ships, Warzone is whittling down the game’s 23 flyable ships to just a few basic loadouts covering roles like sniper, heavy, medium-level assault, etc. Fans of Team Fortress 2 will definitely appreciate the newest addition ‘Covert’, a super secret spy ship that lets you use a temporary cloaking device.
Warzone also includes a new modular progression system, which CCP says gives you more control over how you evolve your ships and choose ultra abilities. I got a chance to demo Warzone at this year’s Gamescom, and although it was on a flatscreen, I found the game’s ultras added an element that helped keep the limited ship classes interesting. To charge these unique ultras, you now use Salvage collected after a kill—an item once used as both currency and mod-crafting supply.
Two new maps are also coming as a part of the update too; ‘Fleet’, a Sisters of EVE space station, and ‘Outpost’, a mysterious Drifter base. A new gamemode is coming called ‘Extraction’, which mixes combat and navigational challenges, forcing pilots to use the environment to their advantage.
The Valkyrie League is taking a brief hiatus for Warzone, as CCP says a “new and vastly improved version” will come in subsequent updates.
Check out CCP’s full list of changes coming alongside Warzone, including some interesting shifts in how Gold, Silver and Implants have been tailored to fit the update’s altered gameplay style.
