Venerable space sandbox MMO Eve Online continues to grow. This week saw the launch of Lifeblood, its latest expansion, adding a slew of new features to both the PvP and PvE sides of the game.
Lifeblood throws new fuel onto the fire by expanding on both the efficiency and scale of player-run mining operations, the backbone of the fleet-building economy in both player-run fringe regions and the NPC-heavy central zones. Check out the patch notes here for the full details, or our highlights within.
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The focus of the Lifeblood expansion is – as usual for Eve – geared towards expanding the economic and PvP facets of the game, giving players more resources to gather and (ideally) fight over. Player factions can now construct mega-scale mining operations, cracking open moons to get at the juicy ores within. Individual miners can also track their fortunes easier via the new ledger system, letting you know when you’re letting profit slip through your fingers.
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While moon-smashing mining sounds like a great way for enormous player-run corporations to get even bigger, smaller player groups, possibly unaffiliated with major corps are not being neglected. Empire space (the less PvP-focused core regions of the galaxy) has seen a major upgrade to its NPC pirate factions.
The greatest addition to PvE is the introduction of Resource War missions. A squad of players escort NPC mining ships through pirate-infested space, giving players a taste of conflicts in the more lawless fringes of space. Mining-focused players can also get involved with these missions, claiming their own share of the loot while the NPC mining ships draw some fire, but only if you’ve got the friends to cover you.
All of this is available through the heavily revised Agency screen, which has become the official hub for all scripted PvE content, now offering players a list of recommended missions to help get players into the ‘fun stuff’ quicker and easier than before. For larger PvE groups, you can now practice our siege tactics against NPC targets. Pirate forward bases and shipyards now spawn in some areas, requiring some large-scale organisation to knock down, but paying out some handsome rewards.
Lifeblood for Eve Online is out now. The game is free-to-play with an optional subscription, although free players are the moment are significantly limited in what they can do;Something planned to change this December.