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EVE Online spinoff Vanguard is set to enter Early Access early next year, but CCP Games are playtesting the game right now for the next week and a bit and are allowing the public to head planetside and join in the fight.
Unlike EVE Online which takes place in outer space, Vanguard brings things a bit more personal in this MMO FPS but is still set in the same EVE universe. Like its older brother Vanguard has a persistent universe when player actions have consequences long term. Players become elite mercenaries whose ground operations directly influence the massive player-driven conflicts taking place in space above.
The Groundbreak event runs from today (Nov 28) to December 9th and is entirely free to play as long as you have an access code. So how do we go about that?
How to get an EVE Vanguard Groundbreak access code
Codes are being freely handed out but to get one you will need to join the game’s Discord server. If you have Discord, just click the invite link above and you will be whisked away to where you need to be. If you don’t use Discord and still want to play, then you will need to jump through the hoops of signing up and accessing it either through the web or app interfaces.
If you are an EVE Online Omega subscriber already, then you should get a code regardless in your email.
The Groundbreak event features:
- Manufacturing and Upgrades – obtain Blueprint Fragments to purchase Blueprints from the Blueprint Market. With these; use the resources you have obtained from your deployments to manufacture Weapon Chipsets and Equipment for future deployments.
- Deployment Map and Map Variants – Deploy down to a host of diverse and varied planets now from the Deployment Map, all with their own environmental factors, activities, contracts, enemies, and resources. Choose the planets you deploy down to wisely – some planets may be harder without help or without the right equipment.
- Mining – There are multiple ways to gather resources on-world once deployed. The new Cutting Tool is now available in your loadout; craft and equip Mining Crystals to harvest specific minerals to upgrade your equipment.
- Activities – Contraband, Secure Salvage, Mining Rights – On world you’ll find a variety of emergent activities to take part in: help smuggle Contraband, secure salvage and more.
- Impact New Eden’s Eternal War – As insurgencies appear in EVE Online, they will appear in EVE Vanguard. When an insurgency is active, the Deployment Map will indicate it, letting players choose to fight for the Pirates or the Empires in a 9v9 skirmish. Fight for control of Orbital Cannons on the ground, where the victors will generate Corruption or Suppression depending on the winning team.
- Cross-Game Digital Rewards – Obtain loot crates for playing that contain EVE Online ship SKINs and an EVE Vanguard weapon skin.
