Competitive Capsuleers,

Take up your flags, the 10 v 10 battle for alliance supremacy returns to EVE Online this November! Alliances will once again be sending their champions to battle it out in the arena for glory and epic prizes, while a desk of experienced casters will break down the action for you as you cheer your team on to victory. There will even be some exciting new prizes for viewers to earn while rooting for their teams!
Signups will open on 19 July at 11:00 UTC, so expect a follow up article with full rules and signup instructions on that day. Until then, rally your alliance mates, get your propaganda artists working on a new video advertisement, and blow the dust off your alliance executor (so they can register your team on time!)

This year we’re flying our EVE_NT partners out to Reykjavik to help us put on the professional tournament broadcast you’ve come to expect from the Alliance Tournament in our new studio. And of course, to contrast the polished streaming experience, we hope to see lots of new video advertisements for your corporations, alliances, or in-game businesses – details on how to submit these will be provided in the Alliance Tournament XVII official discord. Your video advertisements (if approved) will be shown to thousands of other players live on stream during the tournament, so be sure to get started on your ad right away!

As for prizes, this year’s tournament is going to be pancake themed; Mordu’s Legion is sponsoring this event, so you can expect discounted points for the Garmur, Orthrus, and Barghest, plus some rather flat Alliance Tournament prize ships to be fought over.


This yearly tournament was placed on hiatus in 2019 as a re-evaluation of how-to best support tournament events such as the Alliance Tournament as well as community run tournaments was needed. We are now in a position to support the competitive community year-round. This past year has seen excellent player run tournaments such as the EVE_NT Alliance Open last fall and Anger Games: Rebirth this past Spring, and it’s about time the Alliance Tournament rejoined the fray!
To ensure that high quality tournament support can be provided all year-round, a few changes are being made to how tournament support is handled. Some of these are minor tweaks, such as re-using tournament prize SKINs for supported events through a full year instead of only for a single event. This was done throughout the past year for the Alliance Open, Anger Games, and an upcoming Chinese / Australian time zone tournament which will be taking place this summer (or winter, in the case of those Australians). Expect this to continue with the new prize SKINs given for ATXVII this year, as it allows for better support of community events without adding additional development work for development teams.

Another such change is the policy on Alliance Tournament prize ships. While these will remain as prizes just for the Alliance Tournament, the idea is to begin bringing back prize ships which were introduced over a decade ago. There are new Mordu’s Legion prize ships for this year’s event, so no ships are being brought back just yet – the first ships brought back would be next year, starting with the Freki and Mimir. Only ships from Alliance Tournament VII and onward will be included in this rotating cycle (no Gold Magnates or Raven State Issues). This policy change allows exciting prize ships to always be available for the yearly Alliance Tournament even when development time is at a premium, and creates a set pool of ships which can be kept up to date with balance passes, as well as keeping some of these rare and exciting ships in the ecosystem from completely disappearing. These ships will remain quite rare, as once a ship is reintroduced it will move to the back of the list and won’t be added to the game again for at least another decade. We are also considering ways in which we can preserve the uniqueness of past prize ships, such as having new names, item descriptions and/or colors for the ships which are being re-released in the future. This change doesn’t preclude the development team from producing new tournament ships for future events, it simply allows for a steady baseline to work from, so new tournament ships may still be introduced in the future!


The format of the Alliance Tournament you know and love is much the same; double elimination 10 v 10 team battles with ships having certain point values. However, many balance changes to the game -- as well as changes to the tournament meta - have happened since the last Alliance Tournament in 2018, so the rules for the event are being updated to keep the tournament fresh, diverse, and fun to watch, with an emphasis on pilot skill.

Some of the changes since the last Alliance Tournament you can look forward to are:

• More granular point values for individual ships with the goal of creating more diverse team compositions. A point calculator to help your team with theorycrafting will be provided!
  
• A new ‘cascading blind ban’ system as was seen in last year’s Alliance Open.
  
• Removal of Alliance Tournament prize ships from the competition to level the playing field for newer groups who want to test their mettle against the entrenched winners of years past.
  
• A new ‘Mercenary’ rule to provide a bit more flexibility for group membership and to create a clear path of entry for established groups which fly under a non-alliance banner.
  
• New hull limitations to provide for more diverse team compositions will be introduced.
  
• Flagships will be back but with new twists with the goal of keeping the flagship meta fresh (so it’s not all Bhaalghorns or Leshaks).

As this is the first year of the Alliance Tournament’s return, this year’s tournament will be for 32 teams. However, as it is likely that many more applications will be received, a feeder event will be held for those teams that don’t make it into the initial bracket to fight it out and win a spot in the tournament. Don’t hesitate to sign up your alliance before the deadline, as the feeders will have room for everyone! The format of the feeder will be determined based on the number of applications that are received by the time signups are closed. As with past events, there will be a number of slots which will go to the highest bidders via silent auction. Due to the long period of time since the previous Alliance Tournament, seed positions from ATXVI will not be used. Instead, there will be a few slots reserved for those top teams from this past year’s Alliance Open and Anger Games. Instructions on how to sign up for the event will come next week!

If you are interested in enrolling your alliance, finding a team to fly with, or just generally chatting about the Alliance Tournament, please join us in the Official ATXVII Alliance Tournament Discord. This new discord server will be the best place to stay up to date on all things Alliance Tournament!


19 July – Signups open

16 August – Signups close

23 August – Roster lock / Thunderdome access

4/5 September – Feeder event
Saturdays in September / October – CCPTV Broadcast Open Practices to be held on Thunderdome

6/7 November – Alliance Tournament XVII Weekend 1

13/14 November – Alliance Tournament XVII Weekend 2


Gather your friends, Capsuleers, we look forward to seeing you in the arena!

Tribal Capsuleers,

The Minmatar Liberation Games are soon coming to a close at 11:00 UTC on 20 July where the winning tribe will take control of a new station in Pator. Make sure you log into EVE soon and take part in the celebrations and events to support your chosen tribe and enrich yourself in the culture of the Matari people.

This is your chance to claim any remaining daily gifts or upgrade to Omega and pick up that second tier of rewards. Get Omega before 20 July and you’ll also receive a free In Rust We Trust SKIN for one of four popular Minmatar ships.

[url]PLAY EVE[/url]

Dazzling Capsuleers,

The huge visual update to EVE Online – Bring Out EVE’s Colors – is now live as part of the Foundation Quadrant! This update represents another step in the ongoing commitment to investing in exciting technology, setting EVE up strongly for its third decade, and ensuring that New Eden continues to set the standard as a visually stunning universe. Thank you to all Capsuleers who helped test these new graphical features on the Singularity test server and for providing valuable feedback.

At a high level of graphical performance, every activity in space and every visual interaction will be affected by this graphical update, as well as all ships, citadels, planetary bodies, and more. You will now see more of how the colors of EVE Online and New Eden were intended to look than ever before.

The visual update includes:
- Shader adjustments
- New lighting changes
- The colors of New Eden becoming brighter and deeper
- Gradients smoothing out and highlights being better represented



There is now more realistic representation of the interaction of light with objects and how it is perceived. This has led to more accurate display of roughness and reflectivity on object surfaces such as ships and asteroids, for example, making differences in texture stand out. The darkness of space and the brightness of your ship or nearby celestial bodies will regularly appear more distinct.

With visual changes of this magnitude, you won’t be able to resist undocking and seeking out the stunning wonders of New Eden, or even just re-visiting your favourite spots in space and comparing current screenshots to your older images! Due to that scope, there will still be elements that require adjustment and change in future updates, so your feedback is still valued and welcomed!

This commitment to setting up EVE for its third decade has seen new foundations to the core visual technology of EVE being laid over the past few years in preparation for both the deprecation of DirectX 9, as well as an eventual move to DirectX 12. As part of this journey, this update delivers further developments that will make the overall transition to DirectX 12 smoother.

[url]PLAY EVE[/url]

Outspoken Capsuleers,

The Hunter’s Boon update, inspired by your feedback to the EVE development team, is now live in EVE Online! As a result, several feature changes have been implemented, following up on previous updates such as Enter the Portal. The changes are as follows:
- Mobile covert cyno beacons
- Buffs to the Pacifier and Enforcer
- Bonuses to reduce nullifier penalties for Interceptors
- Hardened cloak booster extension
- Tech 3 cruiser skill loss removal

Thank you once more for your fantastic feedback. Please continue to test the new features in-game, and by all means keep up the great communication via forums and bug reporting!

[url]Launch EVE[/url]

Republic-revering capsuleers,

After the heady celebrations of Federation Day, all eyes in the cluster are now on the Minmatar Republic as they commemorate Liberation Day.

The Minmatar now seek contributions of capsuleer propaganda that venerate the tribes or the Republic as a whole! To be in the running to win some cool prizes, you must submit a piece of propaganda for review. Some of the topics it could address are:

• celebrate the rich history of the Minmatar people
  
• denigrate the the enemies of the Republic - i.e. the Amarr, Caldari, Angel Cartel or Triglavians
  
• highlight a famous location in Minmatar space
  
• recognize a notable Minmatar citizen and their accomplishments (this includes both player and non-player characters)

Or something else not listed here - as long as it's bigging up the Minmatar we want to see it! You can find some examples of the excellent work produced by capsuleers for the previous contest in this thread on the official forums.

Valid propaganda could take many different forms: memes, vintage propaganda posters, videos, songs, poetry, short stories - whatever you like as long as it bigs up the Minmatar Republic.


Submissions will be pored over by a crack team of CCP developers with impeccable taste and the chosen winners will receive the following:

1st place

• Your choice of any Minmatar ship model (Rifter, Tornado or Typhoon) offered by our friends at Mixed Dimensions
  
• A set of brand new apparel: the Republic Commander's Dress Jacket and Pants (men's and women's)
  
• Muninn Freedom's Revolution SKIN

2nd place

• 1100 PLEX
  
• Republic Commander's Dress Jacket and Pants (men's and women's)
  
• Svipul Freedom's Revolution SKIN

3rd place

• 500 PLEX
  
• Republic Commander's Dress Jacket and Pants (men's and women's)
  
• Republic Fleet Firetail Freedom's Revolution SKIN

All winners and any distinguished entries chosen as honorable mentions by the jury will also receive a medal from the Minmatar Republic to display with pride on your character sheets.


Please note that there has been a minor change in the entry process from the previous contest in order to streamline the submission, collation and judging of the entries.

• In order for your work to be considered it must be submitted in this thread on the EVE Online forums.
  
• The contest starts now and the cutoff for submissions is Thursday, 22 July at 11:00 UTC. Winners will be notified soon after!
  
• All entries must abide by the EVE Online Terms of Service
  
• Although no longer required for entry, please do continue to share your propaganda on EVE-related social media, such as Twitter with the #tweetfleet hashtag.

Good luck!


Join us later today, Saturday 10 July at 15:30 UTC on CCP TV for a Liberation Day livestream with Minmatar-flavoured discussion and quizzes (including MORE chances at cool prizes!) before we head over to join the community-run in-game celebrations in Pator at 17:30 UTC!

Freedom-fighting Capsuleers,

Minmatar Liberation Day is on 10 July and to commemorate the event, celebrations will kick off today, running through to 20 July! This historic event marks the day that freedom was secured for billions during the Great Rebellion. The celebrations represent the tenacity and strength of the Minmatar people while also marking remembrance of those Matari who still languish as slaves.

The centerpiece of the Liberation Day celebrations this year takes the form of a friendly tribal tournament open to Capsuleers of all races – The Liberation Games.

Pick one of the Seven Tribes that best represents what you stand for and get involved in exciting new events happening all across Minmatar space. For your efforts, you will be rewarded with boosters, SKINs unique to your tribe, and in true Minmatar style, a special tribal tattoo. Additionally, every event that you take part in will add points to your tribe’s point pool. The winning tribe will take ownership of a newly constructed station in Pator alongside a monument to their victory.



You can choose your allegiance using The Agency in-game from the following Seven Tribes of Matar:

• Brutor - A disciplined yet strong-willed people that consider themselves the defenders of all Minmatar.
  
• Sebiestor - Emphasizing practical skills, the Sebiestor are known far and wide as engineers and inventors.
  
• Vherokior - Mystics of this tribe are the guardians of the Voluval Ritual and travel immense distances.
  
• Thukker - Nomadic and fiercely independent, the Thukker travel the stars in Great Caravans of spaceships.
  
• Krusual - The only tribe that was not totally conquered by the Amarr, their pride is infamous among the Minmatar.
  
• Nefantar - A tribe split between those who remain loyal to the Amarr and those who returned to their homelands.
  
• Starkmanir - Few in number and once thought lost forever, the Starkmanir are a symbol of survival for all.

Get inspired for the Liberation Games by watching this address by Minmatar Sanmatar, Maleatu Shakor and learn more about their 700-year struggle.




As a part of the Liberation Day celebrations, you will be rewarded with gifts every day that you log in. Gifts are available for both Alpha and Omega Capsuleers, and upgrading to Omega at any point during the events will unlock all previous rewards that you might have missed!

Rewards include Capsuleer clothing, Skill Points, Minmatar SKINs, and a useful 4-day Minmatar Expert System. This Expert System will open up access to all the skills you need to excel as a Minmatar pilot in the new combat sites or in fiery Rifter combat in the Proving Grounds!

In addition to login bonuses, the Republic Fleet will also be on parade around Minmatar space. You can get bonus Skill Points by visiting them and launching fireworks at their mighty vessels. You’ll find the fleets in Rens, Hek, Eram, Teonusude, Pator, Altrinur, and Hjoramold.




The Liberation Games bring new combat sites to get stuck into. Join your Matari brothers and sisters and live out historical re-enactments of famous battles in the Minmatar struggle for independence. These sites make use of drone technology to represent Amarr ships, keeping the re-enactments from igniting a diplomatic incident. The combat sites are tuned for T2 frigates and T1 cruisers with completion rewarding points towards your tribe.

For pilots not as interested in combat, there will be hacking sites available for completion as well as a Minmatar Mining Blitz! Warp over to the Republic Mining Expedition sites to earn Republic Fleet Ordnance Spike SKINs for the Vigil, Talwar, and Cyclone. As with combat sites, everything you take part in grants points to your chosen tribe!


Uncover the rich history of the Matari people with a new set of lore landmarks across Minmatar space. From the Great Rebellion, through to the formation of the Republic and the reunion of all seven tribes, you can follow the progress of history across New Eden.

Completing the lore route will reward you with additional points towards your tribe’s total shown in The Agency, so why not use this opportunity to learn more about who you are fighting for? There will also be a 2AU/s warp speed bonus in Minmatar space, allowing you to visit the monuments quickly in addition to any other activities you take part in.

Finally, there are two new monument sites now erected in memorial of key Minmatar figures. You can visit the statue of the late leader of the Defiants, Karishal Muritor in the Auga system or pay your respects to late Prime Minister, Karin Midular in the Pator system at the gathering location of the Tribal Council.




Heat up the Abyssal Proving Grounds from 16 to 20 July with the four-player free-for-all Rifter Glorification Proving Ground. This event will feature the Minmatar Rifter-class frigate only and is limited to meta level 5 modules and implants.

There will also be a 100% bonus to the benefits of overheating in this Proving Ground so you can push your rusty frigates to their limits in true Minmatar fashion. This is the perfect opportunity to get use out of the free Minmatar Expert System handed out on day 2 of the Liberation Day celebrations.




Returning only during the Liberation Games, the holographic Freedom’s Revolution SKINs will be available in the New Eden Store until 11:00 UTC on 20 July. Previous years’ SKINs are returning for a variety of powerful Minmatar hulls alongside four new SKINs for the Republic Fleet Firetail, Svipul, Muninn, and Naglfar.



Frigate, destroyer, cruiser, and battlecruiser SKINs are only 250 PLEX, with battleships and capitals higher at 390 and 695 PLEX respectively. If you’re looking to make some savings while this offer is on, the Power of Freedom and Power of Revolution bundles are available, bringing discounts to these SKINs for popular Minmatar ships.

For pilots looking to pick up some Omega time during the Games, you will be receiving a free SKIN alongside it! One month Omega time comes with the In Rust We Trust Jaguar SKIN, or you can get SKINs for the Sabre, Loki, or Vargur at 3, 6, and 12 months respectively.



With all these exciting events going on in the coming days, make sure you get logged into EVE so you can experience the rich culture of the Minmatar people. See you in space, Capsuleers!

It can be challenging for a freshly minted capsuleer to know exactly which way to turn. The sheer open-endedness of EVE Online means that the paths available to you are essentially limitless – this world is what you make it. To help you get started, the first test phase of Opportunities is going live as part of our ongoing efforts to embrace new capsuleers into the fold: a feature intended to suggest activities to pursue and give ideas on what you need to strive towards your chosen path.

This is an initial test phase for now and will only be available to new characters. The results of this phase will be used to further develop the feature with the aim of improving the new player experience and helping newcomers find relevant content tailored to their interests and aptitudes. Want to be a humble miner in a core system? Want to seek out the criminals of the universe and put them to justice? Want to build your own industrial or military empire? Or would you rather be an explorer on the outer fringes of the cluster?



Whatever your aim, the interactive Opportunities interface will guide you and provide suggestions based on your choices and actions, in whatever direction you might want to go. Set clear goals and find your best role in the swirling sandbox of this gigantic universe.

Outspoken Capsuleers,

You’ve been as diligent as ever with providing feedback to EVE Online’s development team, and as a result there are several feature changes and updates in the pipeline, following up on previous updates such as Enter the Portal. The upcoming changes are as follows:

• Mobile covert cyno beacons
  
• Buffs to the Pacifier and Enforcer
  
• Bonuses to reduce nullifier penalties for Interceptors
  
• Hardened cloak booster extension
  
• Tech 3 cruiser skill loss removal

Thanks to your fantastic feedback, all this (and more) will be coming to EVE Online in the very near future. Please log on to the Singularity test server to test the new features and changes, and continue to provide great feedback via the EVE Online forums and bug reporting!

Aspirant Capsuleers!

A new round of competition is coming to the Proving Grounds from 2-6 July as we welcome the return of T1 Destroyers to the fight.

The venerable hulls being called to combat this time are: Coercer, Dragoon, Cormorant, Corax, Catalyst, Algos, Thrasher, Talwar, and Sunesis. Teams of two will go head to head and compete for glory, leaderboard positions and the adoration of the cluster.

As usual, limitations for this round are:

• Modules limited to meta level 5 and below
  
• No pirate implants

See you in the cluster!

Starline Majestic will once again be offering their exclusive line of SKINs in the New Eden Store, this time from Jul 1 – Jul 7. Known for their characteristic star-and-lines designs, this shipping giant has found itself thrust into unexpected fame as a top purveyor of luxury starship detailing.

The SKINs will be available for 8 hulls: the Guardian, Abaddon, Revelation, Avatar, Drake, Crane, Phoenix, and Leviathan. Don’t miss this opportunity to set yourself apart as a pilot of rare taste and distinction – grab them before they’re gone!