Major Patch Incoming: Big Changes For 'EVE: Valkyrie' Next Week
EVE: Valkyrie, CCP Games’ VR space dogfighting simulator, launched alongside the Oculus Rift in late March. Oculus bundled the game with each Rift pre-order, guaranteeing it would have a significant user base for multiplayer action. The game is currently an Oculus exclusive, but it will launch on other platforms later this year.
EVE: Valkyrie has remained largely unchanged since its launch in March. We tried an early build of the game in January, and the current version is similar. CCP said that will all change next week, though. EVE: Valkyrie is set to receive a large update on Tuesday that should improve the game all around.
What’s New?
Tuesday’s patch will include several new features, including an all new results screen that displays the ship of the top-scoring player at a similar scale as ships in the launch bay; a new rewards screen that combines all the data found on all current rewards pages; and a new ship comparison feature that lets you directly compare your ship any other in the game, including classified vessels.
When we first tested EVE: Valkyrie in January, the “Squads” function wasn’t all tate useful. You were limited to inviting friends only. Next week’s patch will enable you to add session pilots to your squad. This feature could make it easier to make friends within the game.
What’s Changed?
CCP said the patch will include some game progression changes. Currently, to upgrade your ship to the Heavy and Support classes, you have to earn a certain level of Fighter XP, which is to say you have to make a certain number of kills before you can change classes. You also have to collect a certain amount of salvage and silver to unlock the ships.
Next week’s changes will do away with those requirements. You will still have to work your way up from class to class. The ships will unlock based on your rank. The Heavy class Spectre will unlock at Rank 3, and the Support class Banshee will be available at Rank 5.
CCP is also making changes to the Launch Tube system. Launch tubes are used to redeploy into battle, and as you rank up, you have the option of renting launch points that are closer to the action. After the patch is released, rental fees will be done away with. Players will be able to purchase the tubes outright and use them as they desire.
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Better Balance
CCP said the patch will address some gameplay balance issues. The assist system has been changed to make it more “fair.” For every kill that occurs, any player who helped damage the vanquished opponent in the last 10 seconds will get an assist credit. Additionally, if you cause more than 75 percent of the damage dealt, but someone else gets credit for the kill, you will receive 50 points for getting a “near kill.” In the words of CCP, "If you pretty much wrecked someone, but someone else 'stole' the kill – you will still get an assist as normal, but we also give you some bonus points for doing all of the hard work."
CCP said that it made some adjustments that will result in more team battles ending “in a hail of cannon fire.” There will be fewer clone vat resources, which means fewer players will be able to respawn. The respawn timer will also be shorter, so those clones will get used up fast.
The patch will improve the missile lock system, too. You’ll be able to manually cancel a lock, so you won’t waste missiles that you don’t actually want to fire. And lockable weapons will work on enemy drones, not just live players.
Menu Improvements
Icons have been updated with clearer names and descriptions, and some items in the Hangar have changed location to make room for the Compare features.
The update will also change the way locked ships are displayed in the hangar. The ghosted image will be replaced with an image with more ship details, so you can see what the ships look like before buying.
CCP said the EVE: Valkyrie patch will be released on Tuesday, May 17. You can find the complete list of bug changes on EVE: Valkyrie’s website.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.