CCP’s EVE Vanguard – Love At First Strike

EVE Online now has an FPS module with the release of EVE Vanguard. CCP has just debuted the First Strike event for EVE Vanguard. This inaugural event is live now, kickstarting the newest chapter of the infomorph/capsuleers of New Eden. Let’s take a brief look at what we can expect.

What is EVE Vanguard

EVE Vanguard is a first-person shooter module for EVE Online, built in Unreal Engine 5. You may remember CCP did this before when Dust was launched exclusively for the PS3 right around the time that the PS4 made its debut. What appears to be a large difference between Vanguard and Dust (aside from being a direct module integration of EVE) is that it seems to be an extraction shooter at its core. I am an absolute avid lover of this genre, with Hunt: Showdown currently one of my most played games.

There are plans to have Vanguard integrate directly with EVE, although to the full extent, I do not know. The launch of this coming right at the time that Project Awakening’s closed beta has begun (which I am presently taking place in as well). How that will tie into it also remains a mystery. Either way, big moves are coming from the Icelandic development team over at CCP for sure.

EVE Vanguard Trailer

The Beta Begins

The beta launches today (Dec 7th) and is playable for those with an active Omega account for EVE Online. Additionally, those who were Dust players can recover their names from their old Dust Accounts, which is a nice touch.

First Impressions

After 26.35GB worth of Vanguard, and getting my feet wet; I have been enjoying myself. The core mechanics are a bit different than perhaps some FPS games and the learning curve is steep. I, fortunately, dropped in on a teammate who had been no-life-ing Vanguard since the moment it dropped. The player was extremely helpful in getting me an overall understanding of the base mechanics.

Vanguard at its core is an extraction shooter, and just like every other title in the genre; it is unforgiving. EVE Vanguard has a rinse-and-repeat mentality, which adds to the addictive nature of the game. The manner you extract is by using a crafted signal beacon, and this draws a LOT of attention to you. Utilizing the crafted shield is a must when extracting, as well as a team that can lay down suppression.

Banking your credits adds a nice ability to send your isk (credits) back home without actually needing to extract. At first, I thought this made things a bit too easy until I realized how these bank locations become major choke points and great sources of action. This adds a convenient and easy way to find action and a location to camp. It also provides the bonus of banking the newly acquired loot you pick off the clones you smoked at the bank sites.

An in-depth review/overview of the game will have to follow, as I honestly would like to get back to it. In my book, Vanguard is indeed a success. Whether it will have any longevity, and what its future connection is with EVE I am excited to see.