CCP made it official with news of the upcoming Outpost Replacement Event in the team’s latest DevBlog. It has been news for months now that they will be turning outposts into faction citadels, kicking off a wave of sov-related action around New Eden. The announcement confirms the June 5 date first given at FanFest.
Downtime on June 5 will be longer than usual, at the end of which every Faction Outpost and Conquerable Station will become an upgraded, limited-edition Faction Fortizar in the hands of the Outpost’s or Station’s last owner at the time of the change.
All of these limited edition Fortizars come with bonuses to structure combat rig effects, service model fuel consumption, and rate of fire and capacitor consumption for Standup Burst Projectors and Guided Bomb Launchers. In addition, each type comes with a unique set of bonuses, including bonuses to industry for the systems in which they are located.
The “Prometheus” Service Fortizar replaces Minmatar Service Outposts, provides the system with an Upwell General Industrial Support Facility, and comes with additional bonuses to citadel fuel consumption and refining yield for ore and ice.
The “Marginis” Administrative Fortizar replaces Gallente Administrative Outposts, provides the system with an Upwell General Industrial Support Facility, and comes with a double bonus to service model fuel consumption.
The “Draccous” Manufacturing Fortizar replaces Amarr Manufacturing Outposts, provides the system with an Advanced Manufacturing Support Facility, and comes with additional bonuses to citadel fuel consumption, as well as time and ISK requirements for manufacturing jobs.
The “Horizon” Research Fortizar replaces Caldari Research Outposts, provides the system with an Advanced Research Support Facility, and comes with additional bonuses to citadel fuel consumption as well as time and ISK requirements for science jobs.
The “Moreau” Fortizar replaces Conquerable Stations, provides the system with an Upwell General Industrial Support Facility, and comes with an elevated bonus to service model fuel consumption as well as bonuses to time requirements for manufacturing and science jobs, ISK requirements for manufacturing jobs, and refining yield for ore and ice.
All characters, assets, clones, offices, industry jobs, market orders, contracts, and bookmarks will be transferred to the new stations, and each limited edition Fortizar will be fitted with a special edition rig at the moment it materializes. These unique rigs will confer multiple additional bonuses – the more upgraded the Outpost, the stronger the bonus rig will be. These outpost replacement rigs will include hitpoint, capacitor, sensor, and point defense bonuses, and will only be available through this event. Like all rigs, these one-time rigs will be destroyed if the structures to which they are fitted are later destroyed or unanchored. There will be no method to replace them if destroyed.
The Dev Blog has a lot more detail, particularly about what Outpost and Station owners need to do to prepare for downtime on June 5. Once converted, the new Fortizars will become invulnerable for two days, during which they can be fitted, but will be unable to activate modules, launch fighters, begin unanchoring, transfer ownership, or be decommissioned. Changes to reinforcement time and day can be queued, and will take effect after seven days as usual. Immediately upon transition they will be able to offer services, and will come with free fuel to sustain those services for seven days.
It is important to note that ALL of the new structures must be owned by a corporation. Structures that are not, and are in Freeport Mode, will become the property of the last corporation that owned them.
CCP is looking for testing assistance, and will be posting instructions and schedules for the test servers. Corps should educate themselves on the steps they need to take to prepare their current holdings, and should keep a sharp eye out for neighbors looking to expand their sov-space just in time to consolidate their new holdings with a shiny new Fortizar or two.
