EVE Online Patch Notes: The Siege Of Zarzakh

The run-up to EVE Online's winter expansion continued yesterday with the release of The Siege of Zarzakh. The Drifters have decided to attack the Deathless Circle's home system of Zarzakh.

Drifters have launched an all-out attack on the four systems that contain stargates to Zarzakh. Zarzakh is a unique solar system in close proximity to a black hole, currently occupied by the Deathless Circle. It is only accessible via ancient Jovian gates which are located in four systems in distant reaches of New Eden. These systems are Turnur, Alsavoinon, H-PA29, and G-0Q86. Roaming Drifters have been detected in these gate systems along with Sleeper drones under their control.

As the attack began, deep space telemetry detected a massive warping of spacetime around Zarzakh itself. This warping has created a boundary through which no events can be observed. It is functionally the same as the event horizon around a black hole, except that selected energy and matter seem to be able to pass through it unimpeded. Reports out of Zarzakh have confirmed that there has been no change inside the system itself, or with the black hole present there.

Drifter forces are trying to use stargates leading into Zarzakh instead of their normal methods for entering systems. Apparently the nature of the system prevents the Drifters normal means of travel. What follows is where lore and patch notes meet.

Drifter forces in the besieged gate systems have deployed never-before-seen structures that are generating incredibly powerful spacetime-warping fields. SOCT telemetry indicates that these fields are attempting to disrupt, and ultimately breach, the Horizon. Designated as Horizon Breach Engines, the structures are under the control of a single Drifter, Tyrannos Tekton. “What we are witnessing,” Sver qualified “is a hyperspace siege.”

Capsuleers approaching the locations where engines have been deployed, called Horizon Siege Points, have received communications from one Malaya Hrada. Malaya Hrada is the caravanmaster of the Hrada-Oki, a Deathless Circle allied Thukker caravan. She appears to be hunkered down inside the Fulcrum along with many other Deathless operatives and is offering rewards to any capsuleers willing to disrupt the Drifters' efforts.

The patch notes describe the update as follows:

• Zarzakh is under siege! Drifter and Sleeper forces have begun launching attacks within the four systems connecting to Zarzakh.
  
  
• Horizon Siege Point sites have begun appearing within the connecting systems. Capsuleers must keep the Drifter siege engine from becoming fully online within these sites. The device is only vulnerable while it is active. Be warned! While in this state, the engine will call for Drifter and Sleeper reinforcements.
  
• Roaming fleets of hostiles patrol these systems, targeting any capsuleers they find.

Then we get into some fun stuff. Apparently the Jovian station known as The Fulcrum has some automated defenses The Deathless cannot control.

A source inside the Fulcrum has confirmed that its deep systems activated as the Horizon came into effect, causing speculation that the Fulcrum itself is its cause.

At the same moment that the Horizon appeared, changes were observed in the behavior of the stargates inside Zarzakh. An effect identified as the “Emanation Lock” is being experienced by those who travel to Zarzakh. After entering Zarzakh, stargates now only allow exit back into the system from which a traveler originated. All other transits are barred by the Horizon.

The current leading hypothesis is that this is an automated security response, protecting the system from any unchecked traffic. Early reports indicate that the Emanation Lock degrades over time and its effects are expected to end after six hours in the system, at which point the traveler is “naturalized” as a legitimate Zarzakh occupant and is once again free to exit through any gate.

The same sources have reported that the lock has thrown traffic through the system into chaos. This suggests that Deathless Circle operatives were as surprised by the appearance of the Emanation Lock as the rest of New Eden.

The patch notes spell out what the Emanation Lock does in the game.

Zarzakh:

• Due to a mysterious surprise attack from the Drifters, The Fulcrum has activated an “Emanation lock” on the stargates into Zarzakh and within the system of Zarzakh, preventing the Drifters from accessing Zarzakh by any means; this has temporarily stalled the drifter attack for now…
  
  
• Whenever a player enters Zarzakh from a stargate, they will become locked to that stargate and get an emanation lock timer for 6 hours. Players will only be able to leave Zarzakh through the stargate they are locked to for the next 6 hours.
• Players can always leave Zarzakh through the Deathless Shipcaster, Clone Jumping or being pod killed, even with an Emanation lock.
• If players do not have an Emanation lock timer, they can leave through any gate.
• The Emanation lock is only given when entering Zarzakh, not when leaving it.
  
  
• If a player is outside Zarzakh with an Emanation lock timer, they can enter through any gate (It only prevents you from leaving Zarzakh). Entering Zarzakh from any gate will overwrite any old emanation lock timer with a new timer. You can only be locked to one gate at any time.
  
  
• Being pod killed into Zarzakh (If you have your home station set there) or clone jumping into Zarzakh is always possible regardless of Emanation Lock status.
  
  
• Warp Disruption Probes (From Interdiction Sphere Launcher modules fitted to Interdictors) and unscripted warp disruption field generator modules (from Heavy Interdictors) can no longer be used in Zarzakh.
  
  
• Escalations can no longer route a player through Zarzakh.
  
  
• Autopilot will no longer route a player through Zarzakh.
  
  
• If a player is inside Zarzakh with an Emanation lock, then Autopilot will consider the players Emanation lock and not route them through a gate they cannot use.

In perhaps related news, the Deepflow Rifts will only appear for two more days, which means a Thursday patch.

Recent news has revealed that the Deepflow Rift sites will be closing soon. The Society of Conscious Thought (SOCT) has detected a drop in the energy signatures in the deepflow coinciding with the Drifters’ assault on the gate systems. As these caused the rifts, SOCT scientists predict the deepflow will stabilize and rifts will cease to appear on 12 September. 

But the sites are not just going away if the patch notes concerning Homefront Operations are any indication. At the very least the content will change for the next two days.

Homefront Operations:

• Increased the bonus percentages for Abyssal Artifact Recovery weather effects to 20% (from 10%).
  
  
• Penalty percentages for Abyssal Artifact Recovery weather effects will now scale with the difficulty tier.
  
  
• Increase the initial setup timer in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites to 90 seconds (from 60).
  
  
• Increase the escape timer in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites to 60 seconds (from 45).
  
  
• Decreased the collision radius of Destabilizing Array objects in Stabilize Rift sites.

The developers have also fixed some defects in Homefront associated with the event.

Defect Fixes

Homefront Operations:

• Info Panel objectives will now reappear if warp is started and then cancelled within ongoing sites.
  
  
• Mine and escape Info Panel objectives will now appear when arriving at an ongoing Abyssal Artifact Recovery site.
  
  
• Fixed a minor formatting issue in Traffic Stop site Operational Intel text.
  
  
• Drifter NPCs in Abyssal Artifact Recovery sites will now have their shield hitpoints applied correctly.