As the next in an ongoing series of live events, “Dawn of Liberation” launches today, July 10, and will run for two weeks until the 24th. The usual fanfare of themed loot is to be expected, including boosters, skins, fireworks and other limited-run items.
We’ve seen the ever-changing way events have been run over the last half of the year, and this one stands out even more. For a start, whereas other events have taken place in every system, this event only takes place in Amarr space, making it much more dense. Players will also need to use a data analyser to complete the hacking mini game and secure freed slaves from human containment facilities in the sites. On average, there are around eight facilities with around 800-900 slaves in total. Each slave takes up 8m3 in cargo space. This means that most cruisers, and even some battleships, will not be able to carry all the slaves. This may indicate that these sites have been designed for more than one player to reap rewards from, a shift from the winner-takes-all design we’ve seen in other events.
The sites, called Unsanctioned Labor Camps, can be found on the overview as a standard beacon. Warping in you will find an NPC “Justice” liberator hauler who informs you in local that he can only stay around for 15-20 minutes. This the time limit for the site. After the time has finished, the hauler will warp off and the site will be closed and put on a respawn timer.
It should be noted that if the hauler is filled with slaves–it only needs 400–it will warp off but the site will not despawn. This means it’s possible to hack into the containers, collect the slaves, fight off the waves of NPCs, and then either sell the slaves on the market or save them for another site.
The NPC response fleet is triggered on completion of the hacking mini-game. I’ve experienced a number of different waves you can face, but the skins and cerebral boosters drop from the battleship. Note that the frigates use webs to slow down your ship.
As usual, the cerebral accelerators are the main attractions for these events,. The standard four different types are present on hoboleaks. These are the ‘conditioning’ family, which come +6, +10, and +12 to all attributes over 24 hours, and then +10 for 72 hours.
The “Dawn of Liberation” SKIN is also available for most Minmatar sub-capital ships, with the exception of the T2 battleships. A second SKIN for capital ships and T2 battleships will likely be available on the New Eden Store. There is not, however, a skin for the Lif, the Minmatar FAX.
Dawn of Liberation SKIN for the Hel
For running these sites, the Stratios will likely be a popular choice, owing to its data analyzer bonuses. In addition to the bonuses allowing you to break down the firewalls only taking one hit, the Stratios can move fast and sport a PvP fit.
It will be interesting to see how this event plays out. Having it in and around Amarr space only affects who can take part, as with the Grand Prix event, but for those who won’t be denied, you could always just roll a new character to avoid any standing issues. Those who choose to do so should wait for the new referral reward program, however.
