EVE Online fans have new tasks to tackle, as CCP Games has released the Lifeblood expansion.
The centerpiece of the expansion are the refineries. These offer you the opportunity to mine resources more effectively. The massive industrial platforms must be constructed like space stations and then grant you expanded options to mine on moons. To do this, you blast large sections out of a moon, creating an asteroid field for your mining fleet to search for resources.
Pirate Attacks and Resource Wars
However, this attracts pirates who see a lucrative business opportunity and will attack you and your refinery. Moreover, it’s not just you who wants to mine the valuable resources, but also other players. This can lead to ongoing conflicts that may escalate into full-blown resource wars. Your cargo ships filled with ore are not safe – neither from other players nor from pirates.
The Lifeblood expansion introduces the following in EVE Online:
- Newly balanced frigates, destroyers, and cruisers.
- Participation in short-term, cooperative gameplay in resource wars.
- The new tool “The Agency” provides an easy scanning option for nearby PvE activities.
- Moon mining promotes teamwork among players. Moreover, mining leads to new gameplay variants, including miners or fighters, defenders or attackers.
- The sudden emergence of Guristas Shipyards and the new ships Caiman, Loggerhead, and Komodo bring high-level challenges.
- Other innovations include mining registers and bets on duels.
The Gameplay Changes
The Lifeblood expansion brings several changes to the MMORPG. On the one hand, mining is now significantly more interesting, as cooperation is actively encouraged. Additionally, trade routes are now less safe due to increased pirate activities, and freighters can be attacked at any time. Furthermore, rival factions are fighting over the resources, which can lead to massive wars, as one often sees in EVE Online.
The extraction of resources can change the power dynamics in the cluster entirely. The goals of individual players are more quickly attainable, and the changes to the industrial system due to resource extraction alter the gameplay. Newcomers get more opportunities from the start, and even established factions can come under pressure if they let control over the new resources slip into the hands of other parties. Players will have to adjust to these changes.
After the Lifeblood expansion, the developers of EVE Online will focus on the Free2Play mode of the game. Some changes are planned here.
