Nova charges, reworked grenades, chipsets, manufacturing, and the brand-spanking-new 9v9 Insurgency mode - this EVE Vanguard playtest is a game-changer in the truest sense of the word. To win a prize, tell us if those changes are for the better or the worse, and what could be done to improve them.
You can enter this reward with a text review for $4 or with a video review for $10. If you're playing to create a review, you should probably get stuck into our other EVE Vanguard rewards too, which you can find in the EVE Online Rewards feed.
Remember: Reviews don't just describe; they analyse and evaluate. We want to hear your opinions.
EVE Vanguard is set within the New Eden universe. With the latest changes in the Public Playtest of November 2024 many new deployments have been made. The update is strikingly different from the Solstice update mid 2024 so let's go over some of these changes.
The first change is the immediate UI color difference from a "blue, grey, and black" to the strictly "black and red" theme. This theme is a give or take with many players. Some players stating they enjoy the deeper piracy feel of Vanguard, while the other take is, it locks in the feeling that Vanguard only a choice between the good or bad player agency.
In my personal opinion, I hope Vanguard migrates away from the dark and gloomy red on black, back the EVE-like blue, so the sense of space and vastness returns.
Another big change is the new game mode! With this deployment you can now enter insurgency 9v9 maps similar to what it's predecessor Dust 514 had for larger player vs player matches. Watching the discord feedback and comments pile in, I can say there is a large positive sediment in the new direction. Insurgency directly ties into EVE online, as logging into EVE online and playing faction warfare will show you the influence Vanguardians have in New Eden.
While playing insurgency you can expect enemies dipping into the Null Cannons sites to capture them. These "Null Cannons" allow either team to destroy the MCC of the opposing faction resulting in victory. As this game mode is still in its pre-alpha state, there is lot to not find. Many players have complained about the lack of persistent mini-maps like in Dust 514 or Project Legion for this game mode and the lack of empire based weapons.
The personal opinion I have is I see what insurgency may become in the future, a wonderful and exciting game mode for quick action. Yet my first note is the lack of feeling that the MMCs are not just floating pretty objects, drag-and-drop style. The Caldari and Gallente MCCS are underwhelmingly ported/implemented from Dust 514 and Dust 514 made huge progress in making these things feel real. With Unreal Engine 5 being used for the base of Vanguard I expect to really feel their weight and presence on the battlefield. So effects on gameplay and addional functionality like deploying directly from the ships is what I would like to see.
I'm hopeful to see the return of assets and content from Dust 514 like the treat we have already received like the current dropsuit. CCP developers have also hinted at the return of the Nova Knife and suit fittings!
There are so many other topics to discuss with the new update, so in summery, the game functionally is progressing in a great direction. The focus on graphics and design is a bit too much for a lot of players and may need to be dialed down to focus on functionality. Even on low graphics the game plays with high framerates and looks great.
In the current alpha state you can see the game will encompass and surpass it's previous titles! I can see Vanguard years down the road being as simple and complex as EVE online itself while including Dust's Legacy and so many other features and content not yet imagined. Not everyone may agree with these statements but to see for yourself, hope on, deploy, and choose your own take Vanguards! Destiny Awaits!
Early days on this testing session, but recent impression are that it is silky smooth and looks and feels great. I have not played it for an extended time, and i 100% can see that this would work so much better as a collab with friends, but jury is most definitely not out there... they are queing up to play, because I think this is going 100% in the right direction. Atmospheric and sharp, and the models and scnery look fantastic - eyewateringly so - i think this is a really promising contiunuation since i last played VG - i missed the last few because of holidays, but am super impressed with where this is going!
Unfortunately, this playtest wasn’t as successful for me as I had hoped due to technical difficulties that hindered my ability to fully enjoy the changes. However, I did manage to gather some insights.
I apologize for drawing comparisons to DUST514 (I know it might not sit well with some), but I still cling to the fantasy of being an assault tool in a large-scale battlefield. Back then, even as a simple trooper on the surface, I felt like I was contributing to a full-scale planetary operation. The chaos, havoc, disorientation, noises, and screams around - fully immersed me in the experience. In contrast, Eve Vanguard feels completely different. Whether intentional or not, I felt disconnected.
The 9v9 mode is a solid step toward the DUST 514 vibe, which I see as a positive. It brings a sense of war operations rather than the stealthy, fear-to-fire atmosphere of previous playtests. I’m unsure of the game’s conceptual direction, but right now, it feels like a grim, roguelike strategic shooter. The stakes are too high to lean into arcade-style gameplay like Overwatch, making it harder to enjoy gunfights and smaller details. Instead, you’re forced to think twice before pulling the trigger (it could be an advantage to some!).
The UI is stylish, but I found it unnecessarily complicated. Many design elements appear to be purely decorative rather than functional. While the overall interface looks clean and plain, I still felt disoriented. I recall the DUST 514 fitting screen and icons, which clearly communicated how to customize suits and weapons to fit specific roles, but maybe because they took the concept from EVE Online, a familiar workflow.
That said, take my opinion with a grain of salt. I’m primarily a PvE-oriented player who enjoys mythic challenges but thrives in calculated, controlled environments. If the goal is to attract players like me, PvE modes would be essential. These could range from something simple, like Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer deployments featuring wave-based turtling against mobs, to objective-based capture and map exploration scenarios.
