EVE Operation: Epiphany

When CCP decides to go through the trouble of conducting a multi-month live event, they tend to try to make the event memorable. From the introduction of incursions making Sansha Kuvakei a household name to the Triglavians stealing systems to create Pochven, these events tend to make even the most die-hard null sec resident sit up and take notice. The current story arc has already brought fast travel to factional warfare. Now, CCP will send players on a potentially lucrative hunt for star gates.

Today CCP published a news post titled "EVE Operation: Epiphany". The article started by providing a brief recap of the story so far and a setup for the next event.

Following the disruption of Guri Malakim activity surrounding ancient Jovian sites by capsuleers earlier this year and the still-ongoing recovery of fragmentary destroyer schematics from Angel and Guristas commanders, corrupted fragments containing structural data for what appears to be a Jove stargate have begun to circulate, marked with an enigmatic emblem.

Simultaneously, footage has emerged of both Cartel commando Rafik Zohar and Caldari Navy defector Esri Hakuzosu meeting with an unknown representative. The footage, showing the representative offering an invitation from the mysterious figure known only as the Deathless, has begun to spread across GalNet:

I just want to say, the video shows the potential of what Walking in Stations could have been. Or at least, why what we received back in 2011 in the form of the Minmatar resulted in so much disappointment.

Next comes the task. Find the new star gates by looting Guristas and Angel Commander wrecks. Oh, and did I mention Jove Observatories are involved? Here is a description for the Eve University Wiki of what players can expect.

The observatories can be interacted with by using Entosis Link on them. After each entosis cycle a Gleaned Information item is added to ship inventory. This item contains fragments of observation logs from the time when the structure was still operational.

Entosising observatories is not completely safe activity. The entosis link will prevent the ship from warping away for the duration of the cycle (5 minutes for t1, 2 minutes for t2). The observatory may seem quiet but Autothysian Lancers check on it regularly. If you are unlucky a wandering Drifter cruiser or Drifter battleship may also come. It is believed that the Drifter cruisers and battleships are more common when the system has active unidentified wormhole in it.

That's right, Drifter battleships. I know I keep far away from them as they are amongst the most dangerous NPCs in the game. CCP knows that a high risk activity deserves high rewards.

Of course, this is no small undertaking, capsuleers, and for that reason there are handsome rewards on the line. As this is of utmost importance, the Society of Conscious Thought, led by Elder Mentor Matshi Raish, is offering the first pilot or group to unveil each gate an impressive reward of 50 billion ISK! Those who are successful in deciphering the fragmented records, and discovering the location of a Jovian stargate, should evemail Matshi Raish directly with the name of the relevant star system in the title. The evemail should include an outline of the solution path and a shared location folder containing a bookmark for the discovered stargate. The race is on, pilots, so don’t wait around – be the first to find those gates, have your name forever etched into EVE’s history, and reap the impressive monetary rewards.

I believe we are now officially on the road to the next expansion sometime in the 4th quarter. With the latest twist in the story arc, I believe we will see some sort of expansion of the EVE universe. The question is, where will these new gates take us?