It’s almost realistic to ride a drop pod on the surface of one of the tens of thousands of planets in Eve Online in Eve Vanguard, a tie-in for upcoming shooters. I have flew hundreds of times over the years. I’ve always wondered what was going on. I create a story about it in my head. Now I have a powerful space rifle in my hand, and I personally experience space up close. And although it was very, very build and couldn’t boast of many big promises, my disappointment already has some promising hints.
As a quick warning, the footage you’re watching is still from an early build, and many things, including weapons and enemy models, are not final. CCP has just announced that Vanguard will enter early access in the summer of 2026, so we still have to wait. Also, the only part we actually played was the session-based shooter itself, not the career and progression that took place in space. But I was able to talk to the developers about both, so here’s a bit of each.
What exactly is a Vanguard? Now, like most of the Eve Online, what appears to be a bit confusing at first is the esoteric high-concept sci-fi sci-fi. Your character is a semi-non-infomorph. This is the consciousness of digital humans living in cyberspace. I think you could say that it’s like Johnny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077. To fight at the forefront of many wars in the New Eden, you upload yourself from fresh soups of biological matter in each mission to a powerful war clone that grew with purpose. They are not free, but if you are blown away, you can call out a new one in the middle of the mission.
On a scale from random cannon feed to master chiefs, the developers said that war clones can be considered not exactly superhuman, but rather similar to the absolute peak of human abilities that elite athletes can achieve. They are famous across the galaxy, and it is intended to feel like a mini-boss battle to come across a pioneer managed by another player in a development.
suit
The Vanguards gather at the fortress. This says that CCP can be thought of as something like John Wick’s continent. I swear I’m not going to take a shoe horn with more Keene references here. It just happens! It is a neutral basis for shopping, exchanging stories and picking up new contracts, represented by virtual spaces where you can physically roam around and interact with other Mercs avatars. As someone who was devastated when Eve Online removed the ability to walk around at stations, I was particularly pleased to hear this.
But what really cool is that these fortresses exist in the same universe as Eve’s online players compressed on their spacecraft. The first one is NPC controlled, but ultimately allows players to attack, build, or even own their fortress. The CCP hopes that certain fortresses will increase their reputation as a place to go if they actually need to do their job correctly. Also, just as there is a “high SEC” space where NPC law enforcement protects new players and players have a “low” or “null sec” to protect PVP freely against mental content, the new Vanguard can also choose based on where they are interested in fighting other players.
Hair Trigger
One of the biggest changes in Philosophy Eve Vanguard is how the gun itself has been designed since its release in 2023. We are moving from sophisticated and modest military science fiction to something designers paying homage to the “golden age” of archers, citing inspiration from Doom, Quake, Unreal and more. There are still standard space rifles that include several different variants. But I was also able to play with an energy shotgun with a bouncing projectile that can be fired in a spread pattern, or one large-scale destruction trajectory if you hold the fire button down for a few seconds.
As a long distance fun, my favorite is this powerful sniper rifle, which allows you to hold your breath and line up the perfect shots. The model is clearly unfinished, but the reload animation of replacing small, intensive crystals is smooth and memorable. Like Eve Online, almost everything is collected and created by players. Even on the mission, I had to spend a bit of time with a portable manufacturer to plunder some corpses and refill the ammunition. Mining and industry are also part of the pioneering experience. It is even possible to specialize in that. Because the developer warned me if you did, you probably would bring back up with combat skills.
You may see a video at the top of the page switching weapons using the debug menu. This was just for demos. Ultimately, prior to deployment, you choose to load out from your BattleBarge deck. This allowed us to choose what kind of war clones to occur, and was said to ultimately end up in all different shapes and sizes due to different specialties. Vanguard is also a little further away from the online economy on Main Eve. In particular, do not buy guns or ammunition from ISK. This is the main currency for spacecraft jockeys, as it doesn’t make much sense for rifles to cost the same as frigates.
However, there is absolutely a way for players in both games to work together to benefit each other in a symbiotic way. For example, some of the materials that Vanguards can access the planetary side may not be abundant in space. Another example was likened to Star Wars: Rogue One or Return of the Jedi. The elite ground team must defeat the shield generator, allowing the above fleet to attack the strengthening station.
Nightmare fuel
The enemies here are also ongoing work. Using a placeholder model, they are generated in small groups and maintain most distances, but I was caught several times by adjoining attacks from unexpected directions. However, we were able to see the concept art of the Legion of Mordu, one of the PVE enemy factions. These cyborg space mercs, which ritually removed the heart as part of their initiation, are offered in several different ranks, with some who can lead others to the battlefield.
In any deployment you may encounter these NPCs and other players. These arenas are a combination of large, open-ended, diverse, procedurally generated terrain with hand-crafted battlefields featuring several remnants of Eve’s recognizable spacecraft. On this mission there were debris that were actively destroying the atmosphere when we fought. This was a really great touch.
For now, Eve Vanguard still has a lot of “will,” “shoulder,” and “toss of hope.” It’s playable and the shooting still feels a bit unpolished, but I’m pleased. The environment is impressive, and the weapon designs are diverse and exaggerated. It’s hard to get the big picture without actually experiencing how Eve is actually linked to Eve’s online shared universe and social features. This is definitely the most exciting part of the whole idea. To do this, we will have to wait until mid-next year, when early access is distorted. At that point, both games are finally connected.
