New 'Drifter Crisis' Event?

Looks like a new Drifter event starting:

More details on how to interact with the sites in patch notes:

I’ve only checked 2 characters so far, but the closest sites to me are 8 jumps on one char, 11 jumps on the other. The 8 jump one is in low-sec, 11 jumps high. Both chars show 6 locations available so I assume it’s just showing the closest 6.

Hopefully this works out to be interesting, although from the jumps involved I’m guessing this will be mostly tackled by multiboxers and the occasional local corp fleet. Looks like a decent variety of sites though, and “only top contributing fleet gets paid” so no seagulling at least.

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I had wondered about the comment made yesterday from Mr Swift regarding events following closer to lore.

Drifters lore is very interesting and the story how it plays out.

I recall my own first encounter with Drifters was during the events surrounding the assassination of Empress Jamyl Sarum and the subsequent coronation of Empress Catiz back in 2015-2016. (Events in general were more interesting and lore-oriented back then, I feel.)

The Drifter lore at the time seemed pretty well developed. There was a summary of a fair bit of here:

Another excellent writeup on it was done here, for those who wish to delve deeper into Drifter mysteries:

I haven’t been looking for more recent updates in the last couple years, but if I bump into any I’ll link them… or other posters can link their own favorites of course.

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Update: on characters I tried later, Opportunities is now showing 12 event sites (up from earlier 6, so I guess more are spawning over time). Wonder how high they’ll go?

Also, thanks for the videos, reminded me to check my video library for Drifter stuff. Here’s a good one summarizing the early Drifter lore we had:

Turns out the hacked insertion of Drifter cellular data into the first Project Discovery program was used to create Alpha State clones. Who knew we were altering the destiny of New Eden with those cellular analyses? So you can blame Drifters for all those horrible F2P players too! Good enough reason to hunt them down right there:

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I’m not happy with the event. I thought this would be akin to winter nexus jump in and do the thing. But it’s not. It’s just homefronts and that’s so tedious.

If folks find it enjoyable cool happy for you. But me when I hear drifter invasions I don’t think homefronts

Super disappointed

I think these are aimed at Alphas, because these are only for T1 ships and the payouts are very low.

I really enjoy learning about Drifters and they are the only NPC Faction that has scared me the most.

Drifters: We are here to talk to you about your barge’s extended warranty. :blush:

Frostpacker: :eyes:

:face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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You know that we had been mining for many hours today and the whole time we had not had to shoot at any Drifters.

We are only watching the overview as there is a Guristas Pirate stronghold in Slays.

Inb4 Guristas enforcers ask for your mining permit. :thinking:

:wink:

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:health_worker: fees don’t always have the same effect when the demand doesn’t come from Princess

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I definitely wouldnt reccommend this content to alphas. At all. There are for more enjoyable activities that involve combat and are far better in payouts for them to be doing.

I mean sure new homefront options. Or you could not and just do the original sets and get paid more. Theres also Incursions, DeD hunting, etc.

Though they may claim alpha friendly i dont think this was made for alphas. Maybe multiboxing with alpha alts sure.

Not trying to be bitter here but when I saw the news article last year of incoming drifters, me living in a WH i thought" wow this is gonna be great" annnnnd it wasnt.

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Maybe this will lead to more interesting content. From the streams I’ve seen so far, this isn’t it.

Nothing learned from the past. Sorry, any of that “fleet getting paid” stuff will just make this stuff a multiboxer heaven to be grinded endlessly as long as the event lasts, filling again the pockets of already super-rich guys running multiple accounts with PLEX.

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I’ve only run one (with a fleet mate) so far, and I have to say the rewards on that one weren’t worth multiboxing except maybe for the very desperate. They’re basically watered-down Homefront operations with lower payouts.

I do like the way CCP apparently tried to make them Alpha friendly and limit the competition from vets by making them T1 ships only. But the char I’m on right now is still showing 12 sites, nearest one 8 jumps, then 11, 18, 21, 27 and 54 jumps away.

So realistically, I don’t think many newish players (or even multiboxers) are going to putting together fleets and making those jumps more than once or twice. (Although I haven’t checked to see how repeatable these sites are.)

I’d rate CCP with a “nice try, close but no cigar” so far on the event design. More sites to minimize some of that travel time might have been better. It’s hard enough for non-multiboxers to get fleets together anyway. Lots of people asking in help channels where they go to find a fleet for these, none showing in the Fleet Finder and the Looking-For-Group channel has like 31 people in it, spread all over the place.

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I was getting 20mil/member which is higher than Homefronts on the Deathless sites. (not including the loot)

There are 12 systems of sites (3 for each Empire with 2 in Hi and 1 in Low sec), each system has 5-10 sites that respawn very quickly.

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Absolutley, the Ship[“Empress Jamyl Sarum”].HitPoints=0 during that event was some of the best writing in MMO history.

Maybe I was just paying more attention back in those days, but yes I found the writing and presentation of the whole Drifters/Other/Imperial succession/Jamyl/ Purity of the Throne events/Catiz Coronation to be more interesting and compelling than what they’ve done with Zarzakh, for instance.

Of course having read the EVE novel ‘The Empyrean Age’ by Tony Gonzales a year or two before that kicked up the interest level as well.

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