EVE Vanguard's First Strike Event ended this week, with the team at CCP Games thanking fans for taking part in the first of what will be many play tests on the road to a full FPS launch. We also have an idea as to when the next one should take place: January 2024.
EVE Vanguard is an upcoming FPS module set within the EVE Online universe. The recent test, dubbed "First Strike" saw players go boots on the ground with their Vanguard clone to sow corruption in the battlefields above by completing contracts and extracting credits from the warzone.
CCP Games hasn't released any metrics about player numbers or just how impactful the Vanguard testing was on the Pirate Insurgencies raging across New Eden's star clusters above. Still, they did take to Twitter this week to showcase some player-specific accolades, including the players with the most Vanguard kills, most melee kills, and more.
The EVE Vanguard First Strike playtest is over. A sincere thanks to everyone who participated. We're looking through all the feedback and will let you know when the next playtest is scheduled. In the meantime, here are some player stats! #EVEVanguard #Tweetfleet #EVEOnline pic.twitter.com/78IrbJqZe6
— EVE Online (@EveOnline) December 11, 2023
Personally, I enjoyed my time in Vanguard, both during our preview session the week before and then with the wider pool of Omega players diving in to see what the Dust 514 successor was all about. I got my butt handed to me a few times, but all in all it was some good fun.
The test itself was rather short, only about four days, but it should prove valuable to the CCP Games team, who are eager to develop this module alongside the players themselves. When we talked to CCP Burger and CCP Collins as part of our preview, they mentioned that First Strike was only the first of many tests to come, though they wouldn't get specific as to when the next one would be.
Now, the EVE Online developer is getting a bit more specific. On the Vanguard website, it currently lists its next event as coming in January 2024. So Vanguard players won't have to wait long it seems. No exact details were given, but it's safe to say we'll likely hear more after the upcoming holiday break as the developers crunch the data and, hopefully, take some much needed and deserved time off.
All this is going on as EVE Online's New Eden star cluster feels more alive than ever, thanks to the recent launch of Havoc, its second expansion of 2023.
