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Nobunaga’s Ambition

August 26, 2015

Ten years before EVE was born I played a real-time strategy game on a lark, called, Nobunaga’s Ambition. It was set in the chaotic faction wars of feudal Japan where Shogun warlords were divided and toiling for power. I played casually, but methodically trying to consolidate lands, build armies, and form political bonds.

ambition

Many lost hours later I was nearly done conquering and unifying the map. My inner self confidence in stewarding the masses was high and with only a few battles to go I noticed something was off. One of my territories in the north had flipped from my flag to a one with a lightning bolt in it. The next turn three more flags flipped, then five more in the following turn. Every passing turn more territory flipped. It was an invasion from the north by Mongols. The game was telling me I had run out of time and I was being exterminated.

A few days ago, with the Galatea expansion, New Eden saw the assassination of the legendary Amarrian Empress at the hands of a Drifter swarm.

Days later, a Drifter  Incursion opened in the Homroon constellation of the Khanid Region. Amarr declared war on Drifters, but the emperial navy were being being slaughtered, so the empire turned to capsuleers to help them defend their territories. Few capsuleers have taken up the cause and those that do are vanquished easily.

Unlike the Sansha Nations Incursions, there are no known boundries to Drifter Incursions. CCP has confirmed that each day a new system will be infested to an unknown limit, if any. Drifters may spill into high-sec or null-sec from its low-sec origin. It is a mystery.

While the Empires remain entangled in faction wars, and the capsuleers fight each other for fame, the Drifters will continue to seep into known space, eventually spreading over New Eden like the Mongols of the past.
 

Stealth Features

CCP has withheld announcing some new features in favor of the surprise element. A few months ago, players discovered they could jump into Drifter wormholes and in doing so discovered there were complexes (combat sites) inside. Drifter Complexes come in five varieties: Barbican, Conflux, Redoubt, Sentinel, Vidette. They cannot be defeated solo and strong cloaky ships are recommended. (More information at EVE Travel)

There have also been new behaviors from NPC’s (Amarr Navy and Drifters) fighting each other without any player involvement. This is new for EVE because in the past all NPC actions were scripted and limited, but with new AI being programmed into the NPC’s they appear to act within certain “good choices” parameters: They are essentially becoming intelligent players, like computer chess. Burner missions also exemplify the new AI with a high-difficulty level fights for players running missions.

CCP is on course to convert all NPC AI by the end of the year or soon after. This will make NPC caravans possible as NPC’s learn how to move through gates to destinations.
 

Drifter Incursion

A few days ago, another new feature was released in the form of a special Incursion that is full of Drifters. The aesthetics are different, there are no green overlays on systems, but the sounds are roughly the same. The entry gates and scenarios are also different, as are the objectives and rewards.

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This new incursion is insanely difficult and CCP seems to enjoy watching the players sputter and scream as they are routinely getting wiped out when attacked by the infiltrating Drifter battleships.

“Fuck your reps, I’m broadcasting for lube” – BaneFlare, Bombers Bar

There is still no consensus on how to successfully fight back, even though players have been theory crafting for over a month on the test server. Heavily tanked missile battleships like the Rattlesnake or Navy Scorpion seem to have the most luck. Amarrian rewards for killing them is ISK and there is no word on loot or salvage drops.

As for the Incursion “mothership,” there have been no sightings or hints as to whether one exists. The Drifter’s source is still a mystery aside from the reveal at Fan Fest’s trailer Emergent Threats, which showed the Drifters being created.

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Although Drifters have standings now, they appear to be neutral to all empires, even Amarrians. Their invasion of Amarr may have something to do with the Amarrian’s discovery of the Entosis link which used technology stolen from the Drifters.

As for players, the Drifters have openly attacked some players but not others. Standings don’t seem to matter, yet.

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How to get involved

The Drifter Incursion can be found in the same Journal, under Incursions tab, same as the Sansha’s. Fleets are forming in the area. When you arrive a channel for all involved with the Incursion will open for you, automatically. Talk to other players there and ask to participate.

Conclusion

There may only be one Drifter incursion at a time, spreading like the plague over NPC and sov space. Their nature is still unknown. It is too early to tell how frequent this will appear, but some indications are that it will become a fixture like regular incursions.

One thing is clear, CCP have made some very high end content and players will need to bring their A-game in groups to beat it. The PVE versus PVP pecking order may have just flipped. Players may not be the only high-end content generators anymore, and like other MMO’s, the top level of game play may be the careful orchestration of roles fulfilled by players as they fight over powered Bosses.

Whatever CCP has planned, it clearly cannot rely solely on players for high-end content anymore. There’s a new threat now and it thinks as well as we do and has numbers in all timezones. It never tires, docks up, or whelps. And while we capsuleers, with our ambitions for wealth and fame continue to fight each other, the lightning comes from above.