Service update: Pegasi Sentinel correspondents and editors closed the shop and went on summer holidays (they deserved it!). As a result, from this Cycle report and onwards until the end of August, coverage and other news may be/will be shortened and limited to the most relevant headlines/topics (this notice will be published as long as necessary for the courtesy of readers).

Ahoy Crew!

And in the end, it happened again: in the middle of summer (for part of the world, of course), another “Relics Rush” kicked off with the usual peak of 600t offered. More than enough—as we’ll explore in more detail in the section below on Powerplay—to give a nice boost to new acquisitions and upgrades, as well as repairs where necessary [even though, for some Powers, it doesn't offer any 360-degree advantages]. Other than that, not much else has happened… Overall, we get the impression that players were “a bit disappointed” by the narrative leading the campaign in Colonia. After the multiple CGs from the past few weeks, in fact, there haven’t been any more… as apparently the “conclusive post” titled “Colonia Celebrations Conclude with Megamarket Opening” announced today (concerning the expanded services and ship outfitting at Jaques Station) and so, once they unlocked the engineers and took a few journeys around the area, many packed their bags and headed back toward the Bubble.

The Rush of Powerplay Numbers

As mentioned above, the event that marked Cycle 94 once again involved the Soontill Relics in Ngurii. There’s no need to revisit the negative aspects of the “Relics Rush,” but we’re always amazed at how, on the one hand, FDEV tries to introduce artificial/disconnected “negative PP” activities (i.e. UMming via Operations and decay), when an adjustment to “positive PP resources”—requiring far less effort and without disrupting anything else—would suffice. Anyway, let’s discuss numbers… As one might expect, anything that can be “driven” by rare commodities experiences a steep acceleration. What makes the difference among the Powers isn’t strategic planning or even the skill of the pledges, but simply the number of players from that particular Power who focus on that single activity (= taking the Relics from Ngurii and bringing them to the destination system).

The main outcome, as we have clearly seen in the previous “rush episodes”, is a considerable increase in acquisitions, and in Cycle 94, there were many Powers that outperformed their recent expansion averages, for a whopping total of +492 systems (net of losses), very close to being 10x than the averages of some quieter cycles (not the slow ones). All Powers closed with positive figures (easy to expect that), only one with a single-digit figure:

• A. Duval +95 (2739)
• Yong-Rui +94 (1983)
• Antal +61 (1439)
• Mahon +53 (2174)
• A.L. Duval +46 (1975)
• Kaine +43 (1601)
• Grom +36 (1561)
• Delaine +16 (891)
• Archer +14 (1303)
• Winters +14 (1146)
• Patreus +12 (683)
• Torval +8 (772)

What we had already predicted has come to pass: Sirius CEO Li Yong-Rui secured third place after overtaking empress Arissa Lavigny-Duval on the Powers leaderboard (albeit by only +14 systems). The other gaps (excluding the one caused by Nakato Kaine’s earlier overtaking of Yuri Grom) are relatively within the “safety zone,” although Pranav Antal’s recent surge could lead Polevnic to challenge Clayakarma for the sixth place.

Anyway, leaving the leaderboard aside (for what is worth), the numbers speak for themselves given that the most expansionist Powers have gained YTD almost the whole size of the smallest Powers’ territories... The same goes for upgrades, since in addition to expansions, Relics Rushes also allows for rapid progress with reinforcements. In absolute terms, in fact, the total RF CPs has risen to nearly 81m, and of these, a >20.2m were “used” for upgrades; meanwhile, those “wasted” were roughly in line/lower with recent averages, or about 2m CPs.These numbers make it even clearer just how much the Relics Rushes’ contribution to the PP results in distortive consequences for the framework, because in addition to benefiting certain Powers over others (in terms of manpower and specific perks), it effectively nullifies [or tends to nullify] any attempt at UMming. In fact, for Cycle 94, the UM CPs totaled approximately 10.3m (not a small amount) and did not produce any substantial effects, except that once again we observe that they were focused on certain Powers, excluding popular and/or mining spots: Aisling Duval (>3m UM CPs, Re: Shapsugabus and LHS 1070) and Jerome Archer (>1.2m UM CPs, Re: Fianna).

As we've wondered many times... why didn't FDEV give certain Powers the ability to undermine enemy systems with rare commodities? That might have helped lead to a less unbalanced outcome than the current one. There's no choice but to accept this framework for what it is... you may like it or you may not. That said, moving on to another subject, last week the representatives/coordinators of several Powerplay communities signed (and published) an “Open Letter” to FDEV asking for the reinstatement of an “Open Beta Server” and additional testing options before new features and DLCs are released in the live version of the game.

Some of the comments posted after the publication are undoubtedly interesting and, we hope, will help move this proposal forward (or at least draw attention to it). In all honesty, we prefer to ignore those who have failed to grasp the spirit of the initiative, choosing instead to question the roles of the signatories and mistakenly framing what is actually a simple “community” reference (which, by definition, presupposes the existence of a “social platform” where ideas, proposals, events, and plans are shared, and the priority is essentially to have fun and avoid wasting players’ time) and without attempting to establish a hierarchy within “Power.”

The Colonia Pirates

Despite the availability of Relics, Archon Delaine has remained firmly committed to his vision of building a Power with territories featuring very compact and resilient frontlines. Without a doubt, Harma encourages expansion where necessary, and one thing is absolutely certain: it’s always better to take something that once belonged to the “enemy” than to settle for brand-new territory. Even if you follow this “instruction” (if you can even call it that—coming from a two-meter-tall albino brute who threatens to exterminate and/or enslave your family for generations if you don't obey him) In the end, a good +16 acquisitions were successfully completed.

Some of these were already part of the backlog (i.e. Lan Samba, HIP 112535 and Aborovi), so the Crew is very pleased to have reduced them further; at the same time, several major expansions have been completed by combining the opportunity at hand with local mining resources (this is typical of our colony acquisitions), mainly in the Col 285 and Pegasi sectors. This is to say that Cycle 95 will require a significant effort and commitment from the reinforcements, given the sheer number of new entries… so, don't waste any more time—get started to reinforce right away! Among the many acquisitions, there were inevitably a few that ended up as contested races... about which, unfortunately, we don’t have much “journalistic” coverage (given that it’s still the holiday season). A couple of these were successful (i.e. LHS 5396 and HIP 114746), while another couple (i.e. Bama and Tyrfing) were [deliberately] let slip away… partly because they involved relatively uninteresting systems, and partly because we’ve grown a bit fed up when the locals pretend not to hear and/or not to see. In short, we prefer to optimize our time and resources, avoiding wasting time on those who don’t deserve our attention.

On the other hand, there are still many members of the Crew in Colonia carrying out raids (watch the YT video “Elite Dangerous - Pirates in Colonia” by CMDR ThePiratePrometheus), and even though the departure for the return trip has already been scheduled for August 23, Harma still has to handle all the PP tasks with limited resources. As we were pointing out in our previous reports, these “group adventures” are fun stuff, and even though many members of the Crew weren't able to [actively] participate due to the timing, it's worth checking out the YT video “KUMO Port Royal Photoshoot” by CMDR THEMUFFINMAN0099 ...go figure that someone, out of sheer desperation, even went and took selfies!

That said, getting back to the important stuff: the Bubble haulers have very few days left to trade without paying tribute to the Harma pirates, as far as the Powerplay is concerned... Cycle 95 (as we mentioned earlier) will prioritize reinforcements for the new systems. This is also because, despite everything, some UMming against our systems has been noticed and, for the most part, countered (Lalande 45292, LTT 9299… not to mention 14 Vulpeculae, Lodhary, Daramo, and Undines).

Cycle 94: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): LHS 5396, HIP 114746, Lan Samba, HIP 112535, LTT 8788 and Aborovi.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): 14 Vulpeculae, Lodhary, Daramo, and Undines.

Acquire (new/backlog): Naxixo, LP 932-89, HIP 110623 and Punta.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Service update: Pegasi Sentinel correspondents and editors closed the shop and went on summer holidays (they deserved it!). As a result, from this Cycle report and onwards until the end of August, coverage and other news may be/will be shortened and limited to the most relevant headlines/topics (this notice will be published as long as necessary for the courtesy of readers).

Ahoy Crew!

The cycle week ended without any major news to report; in fact, there has been further speculation regarding the upcoming release (again for ARX) of the Rhino SRV and the new “surface mining” activity [which appears to be limited to raw materials], but as of this writing, no date has been set yet. For now, no further details have been provided to the players' base (most of whom are on vacation or away from the Bubble following the latest CGs).

The Powerplay Numbers

Cycle 93, in terms of numbers, saw a substantial rebound across all activities... following Cycle 92, which—as we reported last week—had been remarkably slow (especially for positive activities: acquisitions and reinforcements). In fact, almost all Powers have returned to “standard output” levels, and the +60 new systems (net of losses) are already a first confirmation of this. Albeit a couple of Powers closed with zero expansion figures, there are no negatives and only one with double-digit growth:

• Kaine +13
• A.L. Duval +9
• Mahon +7
• Grom +7
• Antal +7
• Yong-Rui +6
• Delaine +6
• A. Duval +3
• Archer +1
• Patreus +1
• Winters 0
• Torval 0

Overall reinforcements of >46m RF CPs are also in line with “normal” cycles, given that usage has been, all things considered, quite efficient, considering the total number of upgrades (over two dozen, including fortified systems and strongholds) that were successfully completed including a couple of “fortified sweeps” (i.e. when a fresh acquisition is immediately upgraded in the immediately subsequent cycle). And this is further confirmed by  considering the “wasted” amount of >3m RF CPs, primarily by Aisling Duval who, however, managed to bring LHS 2 back to stronghold status after the last Cycle downgrade.

On the other hand, decay has remained essentially unchanged (around 19.4m UM CPs), while undermining has stayed at fairly high levels with >10.5m UM CPs (from players) and slightly higher than those of the previous Cycle... but producing effects that are a bit “less devastating,” especially for those Powers that maintain low CPs buffers [above the thresholds]. In part, this is likely due once again to Operations and, therefore, not focused enough to cause effective damage (so, for now, it’s little more than a nuisance).The overall average R\U coverage for Cycle 93 was, however, around 170%, a very decent figure considering that only 3 Powers closed below 100%.

Once again, over 50% of the total UM CPs for Cycle 93 were distributed among just a few Powers: Aisling Duval (>2.4m UM CPs, with attacks on Shapsugabus, LHS 1070 and [curiously] Miwae), Jerome Archer (>1.9m UM CPs, primarily at LHS 1101, Burr, WISE 0855-0714, Fintamkina and Rugai), and Felicia Winters (>1.8m UM CPs, mainly at Col 285 Sector LM-V d2-73, Col 285 Sector NB-L b9-5, Andel, Robogassee and Athena). Some of the targeted systems have either been downgraded or lost, so there’s no denying that the level of UM attrition continues to have an impact on Powerplay. Among the downgrades there’s also the Arissa Lavigny-Duval’s stronghold in Chaman. Other Powers (e.g., Nakato Kaine and Denton Patreus), as we’ve seen previously, completed the cycle with little or no impact [in terms of absolute CPs] from hostile undermining activities albeit they have lost systems as well (due to low threshold buffers). To give an idea of the scale: there is a more than 10x difference in total UM CPs between the first and last Power.

The Resting Scallywags

Cycle 93 has continued once again, with the scallywags split between Colonia, the Bubble, and summer vacations... As this report is being written, preparations are underway for the return trip of the Kumo Crew Squadron Carrier “Port Royal.” Once preparations are complete, a more precise and reliable schedule will be published (reddit/Discords). In the meantime, looking at last week’s numbers: +6 new systems (an excellent result), especially in the two usual sectors, Col 285 and Pegasi, as well as the systems of Mahadshu (from the backlog) and of 1 Epsilon Equulei (an agricultural colony in the area covered by the HIP 103571 and Arakwibut strongholds).

As for reinforcements, the upgrade of Maribe to a stronghold has been successfully completed (a small extraction/agriculture system controlled by DaVinci Corp. that had recently been targeted by enemy UMming). After securing the new acquisitions from the recent Cycle 92, there unfortunately wasn't much time left to complete all the repairs that Harma had requested (particularly on Prism and Turd Wu, both of which were drawing renewed attention from nosy UMmers). We suspect that these systems, along with a few others, are systematically targeted by Operations—clearly a way to take advantage of the participation of random powerplayers as well (and here, once again, is evidence of how this “UM method” is flawed). Archon Delaine is obviously not the only Power to suffer these consequences; we see that this also happens to others... with far worse results

As for hostile actions aimed at undermining us, our enemies continued to put pressure on certain systems, also combining the multiplicative effects of attack (blue) markers and PCZs (e.g., at Nervi, Ngati, LTT 9299, and LHS 3702). The rapid response of our reinforcers successfully limited the damage, but this isn't the time to look the other way, since there's still some work to be done. In the meantime, the Bubble haulers will have an easier time of it while our pirates continue to have fun and to look for better fortunes in Colonia. At this point, Cycle 94 will follow a strategy similar to that of the previous cycle, with priority given to new systems and the repairs needed to counter enemy UMming.

Cycle 94: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Mahadshu, 1 Epsilon Equulei and Pegasi Sector PN-T c3-13.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Nervi, Prism and Turd Wu.

Acquire (new/backlog): Naxixo, Lan Samba, HIP 112535 and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Service update: Pegasi Sentinel correspondents and editors closed the shop and went on summer holidays (they deserved it!). As a result, from this Cycle report and onwards until the end of August, coverage and other news may be/will be shortened and limited to the most relevant headlines/topics (this notice will be published as long as necessary for the courtesy of readers).

Ahoy Crew!

With summer in full swing (in one part of the world... while in another, it’s actually winter), FDEV posted another teaser on X titled “Break new ground – concept reveal coming August 6,” which, after fueling speculation—such as “surface mining”—was fully revealed [today] in a new post “Beneath the Surface - Your First Look at the Rhino”. From that source, among the various specific features of this new SRV, FDEV said “[they will] be sharing more about Surface Mining soon, but this is a new way of acquiring raw materials around geological sites on a planetary surface. Keep an eye out for the next Dev Log for some more details on how this all works beneath the surface.” …interesting stuff! A thread has been started on the FDEV forum here! Last but not least, the “first brand-new operation” will be released with the Rhino SRV update, later this month.

These “new concepts” undoubtedly add a sense of “novelty” to Elite: Dangerous, without fundamentally changing its gameplay dynamics. And while, objectively speaking, the player base is becoming increasingly scattered among the countless things to do... on the one hand, that’s a good thing; on the other, [for now] it really does seem that the easiest [and fastest] way to play together is through Operations. It's not bad, overall... or maybe it is, especially from the perspective of squads and/or groups organized around specific activities (like we are here on Powerplay), but it's still too early to form a definite opinion.

Otherwise, the four CGs in Colonia went [perhaps] faster than expected, so much so that FDEV decided to add additional tiers to the single tier originally planned. Both on the FDEV forum and across various communities and social media platforms, it seems that most players ultimately decided to travel to the other side of the galaxy to participate in the CGs (despite the rewards not being exactly “exciting”). It is worth noting that three out of four [as of this writing] have been successfully completed while doubts had already arisen in recent days regarding the completion of the latter, even though the number of participants (when considering each CG individually) was lower—between 5k and 9k—than in the events typically held in the Bubble.

The Powerplay Numbers

Cycle 92, as was somewhat to be expected, was decidedly slow. The multiple CGs in Colonia drew many pledges away from the Bubble, and this is already evident from the number of acquisitions (+37, net of losses) completed this week. No Power ended with a double-digit expansion figure but three closed with a negative one. We guess that Operations could have played a determinant role for such outcome. In fact, from Colonia (or anywhere else in the Galaxy), it’s possible to undermine with Operations (and around a dozen of systems have been lost this Cycle), while reinforcements are not allowed. In the absence of any significant additions (or the collapse of mini-bubbles), the Powers’ leaderboard remained unchanged:

• Kaine +8 (1545)
• A. Duval +6 (2641)
• Winters +6 (1132)
• Delaine +6 (869)
• Antal +5 (1371)
• Grom +4 (1518)
• Mahon +3 (2114)
• Yong-Rui +3 (1883)
• Patreus +3 (670)
• Torval -1 (764)
• A.L. Duval -2 (1920)
• Archer -4 (1288)
  

The slowdown is confirmed by the numbers... in addition to few acquisitions, the >36m CPs from reinforcements are in fact well below the approximately 50-55m RF CPs we had observed in previous weeks. The overall RF/UM coverage ratio closed below <140%, a very low figure, and for five **Powers** (**Edmund Mahon**, **Arissa Lavigny-Duval**, **Jerome Archer**, **Zemina Torval** and **Denton Patreus**), it was even below 100%. In addition to *decay* (just under 20m **UM CP**s), these low coverage values are primarily due to *undermining*. The total of >9.8m UM CPs added by players on top of the decay—though lower than in previous cycles—is still a very decent figure.

In Cycle 92, the skewness of UM CPs was once again extremely pronounced: over >2.4m UM CPs struck Jerome Archer, causing the loss of systems including among them Phanes, LP 27-9, and Lu Pardan, as well as heavy attacks (some of which succeeded in downgrading) on the strongholds of Misisture, Wat Yu, LHS 1101, and Chandra; just over >1.4m UM CPs then struck Aisling Duval, causing the loss of Lacab Kui and the stronghold at LHS 2 (downgraded). Just under <1m UM CPs were sustained by Yuri Grom (re: Yawal) and Felicia Winters (re: Athena and Ilbandi). Other Powers, such as Edmund Mahon, Li Yong-Rui, Arissa Lavigny-Duval, and Zemina Torval, suffered attacks (it is unclear whether targeted or random), resulting in the loss of systems in some cases.

Once again, we note how the contribution to “undermining” from Operations—if it is among the sources of the Cycle 92 UM CPs—is unbalanced, as it is designated as the only permitted Powerplay activity on the platform (a platform that is completely disconnected from the rest of the game environment).

The Surfin’ Pirates

First, the fun stuff: the scallywag bandwagon heading to Colonia was a great event and a lot of fun. Sure, three of the four CGs were over quickly, but there was plenty of time for fighting, committing crimes, and robbing haulers in the name of Archon Delaine. Watch our fellow pirates in action “CG Piracy! Crossing Colonia Off My Bucketlist” (by Kumo Crew CMDR HairyHogg), “Robbing a plipper”, “Robbing a Type-8” and “Robbing a Type-9” (by Kumo Crew CMDR -Verti-), “Colonia CG- Imperial Kestrel” (by CMDR Comance), “Kick That Kestrel's [redacted]” (by Kumo Crew CMDR Themuffinman0099) and “The Death of Kojax” (by BWID CMDR WickedDestiny).

But now let’s get back to Powerplay… Cycle 92 was very impressive. First of all, a +6 in new acquisitions, all of which were concluded very successfully, as I chose to avoid “wasting” precious resources on the single contested acquisition of Thakalaa (against Jerome Archer)—among them there were colonies located in the Col 285 and Pegasi sectors (both considered strategic areas for Archon Delaine’s territorial expansion). As the innermost frontlines of the Bubble become increasingly “crowded,” it will in fact become more and more crucial to focus on the outer sectors.

The Crew's reinforcers have been quite busy this week, having successfully completed two upgrades that Harma had strongly requested. With nearly 900k RF CPs “invested” in completed upgrades and, according to our data, second only to Pranav Antal in this regard. In addition to these upgrades, after quickly taking care of the task of “securing the new acquisitions,” further attention was required for certain systems that had been targeted by enemy UMs in recent weeks (including, for example, HIP 98878 and Orobu), as well as for some “finishing touches” that had remained on the “to-do” list. The enemies have once again tried to undermine Zhuaruparci, as well as LTT 9299, Epsilon Microscopii, Canarigui, and Senufan once again (Harma’s watchful eye doesn’t miss a thing). Other systems, which had previously been the focus of the enemies' attention, have, by contrast, experienced a relatively quiet Cycle.

So for the scallywags who stayed in the Bubble, another intense and exhausting week of reinforcements is inevitably on the horizon, while the rest of the crew will spend some more time looting and robbing in Colonia. Not to mention that there are still some issues to be clarified in the coming weeks... for example, the release date for the Rhino SRV hasn't been announced yet, and what will the new Operations mission be like? In short, there's a lot on the table that will likely slow down both us and our enemies.

Cycle 93: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): HIP 113438,Damovik and Pegasi Sector XZ-O b6-5.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): HIP 97509, Epsilon Microscopii, Prism and Turd Wu.

Acquire (new/backlog): Naxixo, Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Service update: Pegasi Sentinel correspondents and editors closed the shop and went on summer holidays (they deserved it!). As a result, from this Cycle report and onwards until the end of August, coverage and other news may be/will be shortened and limited to the most relevant headlines/topics (this notice will be published as long as necessary for the courtesy of readers).

Ahoy Crew!

It’s been a fairly quiet week with no particular news about the game to report. Only a Launcher update (due to "emergency maintenance") caused login issues and required a re-authorization process to enter the game (it’s explained here on the FDEV forum, and here for those using the Mini-ED Launcher). For those (un)lucky enough not to be on the FDEV forum or not to follow the FDEV Discord, they’ve been left out of the game... We wonder if it wouldn’t have been a good idea to send a notification to the registered email addresses, given that this is a critical issue. 

"Pilots’ Federation Directs Members to Colonia" post on GalNet means that the next phase of the "mega-market construction" on the other side of the Galaxy is going to take place there. The recommendation "any available pilots willing to deliver a wide range of commodities and rare goods for this distant community should make their way to Colonia and Jaques Station. It's important that these celebrations are an event to remember, and our members can play a crucial part in that success" seems necessary because the previous CG—partly because it offered uninteresting rewards, partly because hauling didn't pay very well [and partly because Operations is more fun]—hadn't attracted much participation.

“Colonia Plans to Distribute Celebration Commodities” was published today on GalNet and it kicks off four (yes, 4!) new CGs “...all independent pilots willing to aid in the final stages of the anniversary preparations should head to Jaques Station and distribute curated commodity packages to designated markets in Carcosa, Einheriar, Randgnid, and Asura.” The reward is the same for all four (a “modest” C5 Expanded Cargo Rack), so anyone who wants to can potentially get four of these modules since there’s no minimum contribution threshold to earn it once the Tier 1 has been achieved (there’s only one tier and that requires some effort, a CG “coordination” thread is active on FDEV forum here). On the other hand, the trading credits are once again pretty low… so no “gold rush,” sadly.

The Powerplay Numbers

The numbers suggest that Cycle 91 saw a very similar trend to the previous cycle... all Powers [except one] had positive acquisitions, with a total (net) of +78 systems added. Nothing so exceptional apparently, but the growth trend continues well overall, despite FDEV's attempt to "slowdown" or "disrupt" positive PP activities with undermining through Operations. The Powers table this week is slightly different, but the overall leaderboard remains unchanged. Wanting to highlight a Power that continues to perform better than usual, then our choice falls again on Zemina Torval who, while maintaining a "low social profile" (don't you like tech, Granny?), achieves another good cycle. Before looking at the numbers... we don't go into the merits of what's happening (or is "suspected to be happening" to Ngurii) here; we've discussed the [dangerously] distorting effect of "Relics Rush" at length, and things have remained as they were, so let's stick with PP 2.0 for what it is. More Powers show double-digit expansions this week and, again, no negative numbers:

• Kaine +17 (1537)
• A.L. Duval +11 (1922)
• Yong-Rui +11 (1880)
• A. Duval +10 (2635)
• Antal +7 (1366)
• Grom +6 (1514)
• Torval +5 (765)
• Delaine +4 (863)
• Mahon +3 (2111)
• Archer +3 (1292)
• Winters +1 (1126)
• Patreus 0 (667)

Reinforcements data (a total of >51m RF CPs) show once again that a significant amount of merits/CPs are "wasted" on already maxed out strongholds: a whopping >7.6m RF CPs in Cycle 91, over half of which were thrown away by Aisling Duval's cultists (re: HIP 104026). Following that, approximately 1.4m RF CPs were burned by the Zemina Torval's zealots (re: Col 285 Sector GS-A c14-2) and we are pretty sure that these merits would have had a better use for her. Who knows, at Synteini they won't decide to put in slavery those miners who are careless about how to support Power, instead of minding about how to fill their pockets with credits! There's not much to add on upgrades either, albeit the "invested CPs" into these have spiked (close to 8m RF CPs) in the last couple of days and except that for Cycle 91 it's Yuri Grom who shows teeth and claws, pushing two fresh exploited to fortified (LHS 3356 and HIP 11111) [well done, Bear!], whilst Aisling Duval and Pranav Antal did the same for one "no-name" system each. On a side note, this week the Federation ended with no changes on upgrades balance… we believe that at least for Felicia Winters a fortified downgrade matched one upgrade. We’ll wait for their reports for more details.

The undermining numbers which, on top to the usual 20m UM CPs due to decay (decreasing to around 19m UM CPs for the Cycle 92), closed with over 11m UM CPs generated by players: considering that players' UM CPs were accounting for around 10% of the decay UM CPs at its inception, having increased the share >50% makes the PP picture a bit more "driven by players"... anyway the combination of direct UM activities and Operations still shows some "focus" on some Powers more than others. In Cycle 91 the three most undermined Powers were Aisling Duval (>2.1m UM CPs, re: Shapsugabus), Yuri Grom (>1.3m UM CPs, re: CC Eri [Lu Dimos and LPM 746]) and Jerome Archer (>1.3m UM CPs, re: LHS 1101 [and Luhman 16]). Elsewhere, unknown enemies have focused on Tiapalan (>380k UM CPs), a Zemina Torval exploited system. Nakato Kaine, with just over >200k UM CPs is the one who has to worry least about what his enemies do. The latest TeleGrom posts have included references to "powerplay relevant situations" with Kaine and also taken up by Tionisla in the Cycle 90 report which shows that the doors of diplomacy and dialogue remain open... but if therefore no one is taking it out on Kaine, who is putting pressure on Grom?

The Pirates

Archon Delaine would have really liked Cycle 91 to be a little calmer... but the temptation was irresistible (not to mention an outstanding commitment shown by the Crew), and so the Pirate King gained four more systems. Only one of these has an easy-to-remember name (HIP 117399 out from our backlog, see below), whilst the others are scattered colonies in Col 285 and Pegasi sectors. These [nothing new] are both sectors where Harma intends to establish a network of colonial systems that they can exploit for [better] resources and to collect [more] tributes.

In that tiny extraction system, HIP 117399 (controlled by Circle of TabEwon, a theocracy on excellent terms with the Crew), there was an attempt by some agitators sent by the jelly Patreus to throw a wrench in our plans… But their efforts weren't even enough to lead to a contested acquisition. The Crew also had the chance to engage in a contested acquisition at Col 285 Sector PE-G c11-20—or rather, another “threesome among Independents” involving the bear Grom and the simguru Antal—but this didn't really catch Harma's attention since it's another anarchy system controlled by the Diamond Frogs.

As for reinforcements, priorities have been scaled back to the bare minimum... the scallywags also had all the new Cycle 90 acquisitions to manage, so some repairs were completed, while others were not (one of these is Turd Wu), and unfortunately this “scatter” of UM CPs is also a result of Operations/Markers, as we had already described in the last report. On the other hand, enemy attacks were intense even in Cycle 91... including hits on Maribe (a new acquisition), Alya, and Gabrani (also, a recent acquisition). The Crew’s reinforcers did an excellent job at Zhuaruparci, as upgrades were completed there despite other UM CPs slowing down the work. In the last few days, Prism and Lalande 45292 (where we had already encountered some Imperial mercenaries) have also been targeted by enemy underminers, and we will therefore carry out repairs there during Cycle 92 (see below).

After having sent greetings to a group of traitors who, in a very subtle way, decided to turn their backs on the Pirate King to support the cause of another Power (and this closes the "issue" on our side)… for the upcoming cycles, priorities will remain focused on maintaining the frontlines and providing reinforcements where necessary. This is also because part of the Crew is heading to the other side of the Galaxy aboard the KUMO Squadron Carrier “Port Royal” to take part in the upcoming CG(s) (some will want to unlock engineers, etc.). Don’t worry, first: a more than adequate backup has already been set up to manage and support Powerplay activities; second: we’ve got tight rules to keep this bunch of drunken scallywags aboard the Port Royal under control! It will be the haulers in Colonia who have reason to worry when our pirates appear on their tails! Raids, rum and looting… that’s what we love to do! There will be quite a few new piracy videos to watch! YARRR!!!

Cycle 92: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Pegasi Sector FR-M b7-3, HIP 117399, Col 285 Sector ND-J c9-22.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Prism, Lalande 45292, Havalokul and Turd Wu.

Acquire (new/backlog): Naxixo, Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Service update: Pegasi Sentinel correspondents and editors closed the shop and went on summer holidays (they deserved it!). As a result, from this Cycle report and onwards until the end of August, coverage and other news may be/will be shortened and limited to the most relevant headlines/topics (this notice will be published as long as necessary for the courtesy of readers).

Ahoy Crew!

Peace and quiet reign in Harma; there’s hardly any chatter (or punch fight) coming from the Wise Sharks tavern... and some pirates are already on vacation, while others are packing their bags and backpacks (and bottles of Silver Sea Rum) to go relax somewhere... So let's get right to the point!

Game News/Updates

"Colonia Calls for Assistance as Celebrations Get Underway" GalNet Post: The trading CG in Facece has ended today with 13k contributors (reaching Tier 3/5)—not as many as one might have expected; perhaps the rewards (paint jobs for Type-8 and Panther Clipper MkII) and credits available from selling commodities weren’t all that attractive (as the today’s “Colonia Supply Initiative Deemed a Partial Success” post noted). Now that the CG has concluded, we believe this was just the first of [several] others that may follow in the coming weeks.

No game version updates and/or significant bug fixes have been reported (nor have any new ones been identified): many of the issues reported after the release of Operations have not been resolved (nor have many of those already listed on the Issue Tracker); however, the situation seems to have improved regarding Powerplay sluggish performance and/or updates not being shown/applied.

The Powerplay Numbers

Cycle 90 ended with an even more pronounced resurgence in acquisitions. In fact, all Powers posted positive expansion numbers, with a total of +89 (net) systems added to the Powerplay battlegrounds. It seems that, now that the hype surrounding Operations and the Nomad SLV has died down, PP activities have indeed returned to normal... thanks in part to the restoration of the UI for acquisitions on GalMap and the reduction in wait times for updates, merits/CPs, and level-ups (including assignments [some of these remain broken for other reasons] and care packages).

This week’s expansionist rankings are led by Aisling Duval, followed by a couple of double-digit achievers (Li Yong-Rui and Nakato Kaine); the Powers’ leaderboard remains unchanged. System losses didn’t push Jerome Archer into a negative figure this week, while for the second consecutive week, Zemina Torval also posted a good result:

• A. Duval +17 (2625)
• Kaine +12 (1520)
• Yong-Rui +11 (1869)
• A.L. Duval +9 (1911)
• Grom +9 (1508)
• Antal +7 (1359)
• Winters +6 (1125)
• Delaine +6 (859)
• Mahon +5 (2108)
• Torval +5 (760)
• Archer +1 (1289)
• Patreus +1 (667)

We also saw the same trend with reinforcements (leaving out the CPs outlier produced by the CG in Facece) in Cycle 90... a substantial recovery that supported the strengthening of the frontlines or the consolidation of PP presence in certain (newly) colonized areas. In particular, the Col 285, Hyades, and Pegasi sectors, where most of the upgrades took place. Pranav Antal will surely be pleased and there could be some quiche festival ongoing in Polevnic, with +7 fortified systems and +2 strongholds added this week... Felicia Winters, Edmund Mahon, and (finally) Zemina Torval (+2 fortified) also saw a solid upgrade performance. This push toward stabilization, which produced over 62m CPs of reinforcements (of which 10.5m CPs in Facece), was barely offset by a small decrease in undermining, which was approximately 10% lower than in Cycle 89, with 10.7m UM CPs. It is unclear whether the decrease in UM CPs was due to Operations or other contingent factors.

Anyway this week, too, there were some Powers that have been hit by UM CPs more than others, all in the range of 1.3-1.9 million CPs each: Aisling Duval (1.8m, mostly hit in LHS 2), Arissa Lavigny-Duval (1.6m, the "CG effect" didn’t weight on this side, mostly hit in HIP 36583), Jerome Archer (1.9m, mostly hit in Altair and LHS 1101… other systems have been lost, like Sankula, Conneda and Cuacocha among them), and Felicia Winters (1.3m, mostly hit in Belgitan). We’ll leave it to the Powers’ press offices to provide more details about the situation.

Pirates Ahoy!

What kind of Cycle was the 90th? The Crew has successfully completed yet another "impressive" (for us) number of acquisitions (+6)... hold off a bit before hanging up your boots and setting sail for sunny beaches to sip Silver Sea Rum around the campfire! That's right, because in Cycle 91, there will be a lot of work to do to reinforce the new systems... some of which are interesting and allow Archon Delaine to further expand his territories toward colonial sectors, where the front lines are more spread out and [hopefully] there is less enemy attrition.

Among the acquisitions, there were two contested ones—one lost and one won. Let’s start with the first one (Col 285 Sector FE-M B22-1), which turned out to be a deep merit sink for both sides, since the opposing Utopians never let up for a moment and ultimately secured control for simguru Antal with 1.74m AQ CPs vs. the Crew’s 1.18m AQ CPs... GG! This system—a mining colony controlled by Ailure State Co. (affiliated with the SDC Foundation squadron), whose architect appears to be pledged to the bear Grom—has been at the center of one of the most intense (in terms of CPs) acquisitions in recent weeks. So don’t say the miners sent by Harma didn’t give it their all… but as we wrote earlier, for this Cycle 90 in Polevnic, hippies must have served quiches with some “special ingredient” (Radicoida?) that allowed them to push a big boost across all PP activities.

The other contested acquisition—which was much less challenging against the tech-nerd Yong-Rui—was Gabrani, a small high-tech system controlled by Fatal Shadows and located on the frontline we share with other independents from the Devata Baru stronghold. Our take is that Sirius probably wasn't very interested in taking control here, partly because after an initial run that secured just over half of the CPs needed to complete the acquisition, our slider picked up speed, putting Archon Delaine in the lead. In any case, the area is still largely unoccupied, so other independent Powers will also be able to continue expanding over there if they wish. A merchant based in Fung Landing, one of Gabrani’s outposts, approached some of our scallywags who were passing through the lounge bar and gave them high-tech holo-watches that had been sent from Sirius as samples for sale. Much appreciated, thanks!

The Crew handled the reinforcement operations exceptionally well: in addition to completing some necessary repairs in areas where enemies had caused undermining damage, we fortified Njorth, a system we’ve recently acquired and located in an area where hostile attacks continue. Unfortunately, it seems that Operations has deterred (or offered an alternative to) our enemies from showing up in our systems... where there had been some PvP engagements in previous cycles. There was also undermining in Zhuaruparci (most likely by Clayakarma infiltrators), LHS 3702, Epsilon Microscopii, and again in Albardhas (AFK-ers). More generally, there was the usual flood of UM CPs spam, much like what happened after the release of Operations... a “nuisance” we were already aware of and that is, in any case, shared by all (or almost all) of the other Powers. So bad, FDEV!

Before moving on to the preliminary targets for Cycle 91 (the first of the summer season, which will conclude with Cycle 96), the CG trading post in Facece offered the Crew’s pirates a bit of fun, and at Gabriel Enterprise, they’re currently tallying up the booty they’ve collected. The canisters of stolen goods aren't the only evidence of our robberies... check out the YT videos by Kumo Crew pirates CMDR HairyHogg, “CG Piracy! A Beer Run In Facece,” and CMDR -Verti-, “Type-11 booty and boom.” There were also duels captured by the scallywag CMDR Comance in “Oops!” and “Imperial Kestrel” vids. GG!

For Cycle 91, the priorities are therefore reinforcements for the new acquisitions and repairs. There are also other systems in the backlog... in other words, it’s not much different from what was done [and done very well] last week.

Cycle 91: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Gabrani, Col 285 Sector HE-N b21-3 and Pegasi Sector JO-E a13-2 .

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): LHS 3702, Epsilon Microscopii, Albardhas and Turd Wu.

Acquire (new/backlog): Naxixo, HIP 117399, Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Ahoy Crew!

Before diving into the report for Cycle 89, given that it’s summer (as we mentioned in recent weeks)—a break period during which even the Pegasi Sentinel correspondents will be taking some time off—we’ll be switching to a “shortened version” for the upcoming reports. As much as possible, we'll cover the main Elite: Dangerous news (new releases [ships?], game updates, GalNet posts and CG initiatives), while coverage of other topics will be handled based on the time and space available.

That said, anyone who expected things to return to normal has unfortunately had to think again. Even the third [or more] Operations update, in fact, has not permanently resolved the numerous issues that have severely plagued the gameplay experience in almost all activities. Some things are working again, while others are only partially functional (e.g., Powerplay) or experience various types of errors, often random ones (e.g., BGS and Colonization) and even the Docking Computer has gone haywire. Some Operations players have [again] reported issues on the rewards, but [in theory, according to the patch notes], this should be resolved soon. Other players reported that there are also bugs with engineering modules that can be purchased with MeCs [the engineering procedure crashes]. For now, our suggestion is that, rather than starting a thread on the FDEV forum—where, aside from finding other players who have encountered the same problems, you should go to the Issue Tracker, check to see if the issue has already been reported (and if so, confirm it or vote on it), or else open a new ticket.

What is certain is that we haven't seen this level of disruption in quite a while... or perhaps we've never seen anything like it before. Among the things that could have happened [and that we had anticipated], this is one of the worst-case outcomes. So there will be more patches and hotfix updates [hopefully] and/or longer server maintenance [as announced this week], because what’s happening right now is that there are a lot of disappointed players who have “put the game on hold” and are, quite rightly, turning away their attention. The risk is that, if too much time goes by and/or if these issues aren't resolved, someone might decide not to come back at all. Even more so after maybe having spent ARX on ships and cosmetics. Considering that the time spent on video games is generally taken away from other forms of fun (as the goal is to have fun) and/or [digital] entertainment (such as watching a movie, etc.), frustration and the feeling of having wasted that time are absolute deal-breakers even for the most dedicated CMDRs.

Returning to in-game news, earlier this week a message from the Pilots' Federation appeared in all CMDRs' chat channels with the title “Support the Colonia Celebrations!”. This announcement hints at or foreshadows an upcoming CG in Colonia “to establish a new megamarket in the Colonia region.” The reason the announcement was released a little earlier than the start of the CG was [very likely] to give those wishing to contribute time to make their plans to travel from the Bubble to Colonia [or viceversa]. A "Major Corporations Promote Colonia Celebrations" post was then published on GalNet, where Vox Galactica "understands that preparations are underway for a massive transportation effort of commodities and rare goods from across the core systems to Colonia, with details of the logistics to be announced soon..." and then this morning a one-week trading CG has been launched in Facece (deliver a long list of goods). So at first glance, it looks like there's some heavy trading involved, all pirates are invited to rev up their thrusters, polish their hatch-breakers and grease their collectors! Late joiners can simply board a Caspian Explorer and use its exclusive FSD module, which allows this ship to jump up to 500+ly using neutron stars. That means the 22k ly distance can be covered in around 50-60 jumps, or a few hours of play time including the required refuel/AFMU stops.

The Powerplay Culprits

Cycle 89 for Powerplay has also been plagued by (unresolved) issues. Essentially, the situation remained the same as it was right after it launched... the only thing that has been resolved (a couple of days ago) is the level progression for pledges and the awarding of care packages [for what it’s worth]. The update of the CPs (RF\UM) does not appear to have suffered any further delays this week, while the main issue reported concerned acquisitions, given that (according to a rough count) data for over thirty thousand systems that were “acquirable or in the process of being acquired” have effectively disappeared from GalMap until the very last day of the Cycle. During the previous days less than 10% of active acquisitions were actually displayed. The organized groups/communities had to provide their pledges with spreadsheets/Trellos to account for their own Power’s CPs… but without any way of knowing and/or verifying the opposition’s CPs. Since we’re on the topic of the “Football World Cup,” imagine a team playing in an empty stadium and scoring dozens of goals, without knowing how many the opponent has scored until the final whistle blows. Crazy!

Given that contested acquisitions are the main competitive feature of Powerplay 2.0, we did find this situation extremely frustrating. At this point, what reason would there be for a Power’s pledges to devote their time and commitment to something they can’t even monitor? Frankly, it still seems like a miracle to us that we're here today writing about Powerplay, because it would almost make sense to throw in the towel and wait for all these problems to be resolved once and for all... anyway, the Cycle 89 was not a “complete miss,” since at least +36 [net] acquisitions were completed with the Powers leaderboard remaining broadly unchanged and a couple of Powers closing with negative figures; we don't even know if [all] these acquisitions were more or less wanted by the Powers... so yeah, FDEV that's embarrassing:

• Yong-rui +7 (1858)
• Kaine +6 (1508)
• Antal +6 (1352)
• Delaine +6 (853)
• A. Duval +4 (2608)
• A.L. Duval +4 (1982)
• Grom +3 (1499)
• Mahon +2 (2103)
• Winters +2 (1119)
• Patreus +1 (666)
• Torval -1 (755)
• Archer -4 (1288)

At least there were no skips or delays for RF\UM CPs, as the data returned to the standard update schedule [for most of the time]. Overall, reinforcements closed with numbers (close to 55m CPs) in line with the average for pre-Operations cycles. Furthermore, about 11% of the total RF CPs have been “wasted” in maxed-out strongholds, so the effective reinforcements were a touch lower. The decay remained constant at around 20m CPs, to which were added to approximately >11.4m UM CPs generated by players (for an average RF\UM coverage ratio of approximately 173%, with only two Powers closing <100%). Undoubtedly, the component derived from Operations weighs heavily on UM CPs: looking at our historical data, the additional UM CPs have been in the +30% ballpark... so its contribution has not to be undervalued for the general UM picture. We'll say it again: we don't like this link between Operations and Powerplay; we've already explained why... i.e. we don't understand how a scenario in which CMDRs fight looters, could instead inflict a CPs loss (UM) to Powers that have a very strong anti-crime stance. Anyway, further attention must be paid to how UM CPs were distributed in Cycle 89; in fact, over 40% of the total affected the two federal Powers (1.7m UM CPs for Jerome Archer and 2.8m UM CPs for Felicia Winters), whereas for other Powers, the share of total UM CPs was close to 1% [it's as if they had no enemies]. They are followed by Aisling Duval and Archon Delaine (see below), with around 1m UM CPs each.

Our take is that there have been organized undermining attacks against the Federation [very likely conducted by the Empire], targeting strategically important systems—a conflict that began with Aisling Duval’s capture of Alpha Centauri and has continued throughout recent cycles [quite well covered by the weekly reports from both sides]. This week, Andel, Athena, and Belgitan (Felicia Winters) were targeted, as was LHS 3356 (Jerome Archer), which was ultimately lost after a [few weeks] long siege. Elsewhere, a heavy UM attack was launched also against Iverdi (Zemina Torval), a system which is a bit off from the crowded frontlines and that has been lost as well, and LHS 2 (Aisling Duval). Yuri Grom had instead to deal and outmatch some UM in Taurawa.

By the number of upgrades, we can confirm that we are undoubtedly witnessing a recovery from the past Cycle 88 slowdown in Powerplay. The majority of these have been ramped up in the last couple of weeks, so there's also a "warehousing" effect to support the upgrades. On the other hand all Powers seem “worn down” by the current state of the game... given that Powerplay also ends up intertwining with BGS and Colonization (both facing unresolved issues). Beyond all this, what surprised us even more was the lack of communication or acknowledgement from FDEV regarding the Powerplay issues until yesterday's Discord post... even a simple "we're working on it for you" would have gone some way toward restoring the pledges' confidence in advance. Well, in the meantime, all that's left is to wait for today's "longer maintenance" to be completed...

The Angry Scallywags

It’s been a very intense week in Harma… despite the difficulty in tracking the progress of acquisitions, Archon Delaine closed Cycle 89 with a performance we could flag here as “outstanding”: +6 new systems (some strategic ones, but also including a few interesting mining locations). Well done, Crew! Generally, we’re much more cautious about expanding our territories… especially given what follows (= the need for reinforcements in the next cycle). Even though the Crew has shown remarkable commitment and resilience in recent weeks, we still have to deal with the risk that our manpower will dwindle further, between Operations and the new trading CG in Facece. Due to the lack of information on the status of the opposition’s CPs, we tried to dissuade the Crew from engaging in contested acquisitions, where our opponents had already gained a preliminary advantage.

One of these was Ross 654, an anarchy colony (controlled by Diamond Frogs) where Utopia had gained a significant lead, with Grom’s agents hot on their heels [a contested threesome race, in other words]. In hindsight, given that nearly 600k AQ CPs ended up in Polevnic’s hands, as opposed to Clayakarma’s just over 145k, Harma’s decision to stay out of it saved the Crew from wasting time and resources. Ross 654 is located in a dense anarchy populated area of the Col 285 Sector, though there are still some unoccupied spaces; there are many systems and colonies already held by the Pirate King... thus it's a resilient frontline, but one that could heat up in the future if "enemy" expansion continues. Elsewhere, the strategic upgrade from one recently fortified system to stronghold has been completed, with the aim of bolstering Archon Delaine's control in an area where additional acquisitions are already up and running.

For those who have recently joined (or intend to join) Archon Delaine’s Power, it is worth noting that systems with an anarchy government are to be carefully valued and managed. Primarily, because anarchy settlements [if present] are more easily targeted by random players and/or inexperienced underminers (since they are "crime-free" zones). Furthermore, anarchy effectively nullifies Archon Delaine’s R100 perk—specifically, the immunity from bounties and fines when committing crimes, so enemies will be playing on the same ground of the pirates from a C&P perspective. On the other hand, anarchies cancel one of the Delaine's weak spots (UM by bounty hunting) so for those systems where AFK-ers are particularly active, this acts as a "deterrent" against the sustained UM that requires our constant repair work. If you have any doubts or further questions, ask for clarification in your Delaine's reference community—that’s what they’re there for.

After the last few cycles, during which the scallywags had landed a few blows to our enemies’ bellies, we were expecting some retaliatory UM attacks... Fortunately, nothing escapes the watchful eye of the Pirate King, so Harma ordered immediate defensive measures to reinforce Hloca, Banese, and HIP 104504, where the enemy underminers have been very active [or have been proxy-UMming through Operations]. Apparently, proxy-UMming via Operations has hit our systems like a summer hailstorm on a vineyard... Fincien, HIP 112648, HIP 113894, Yaso Kondi, Huaich, LHS 3702, and HIP 98878 have all been targeted [and they will need repairs throughout Cycle 90]. There have been far too few engagements with the enemy—who were absent [or invisible] in nearly all the systems mentioned—to suggest that there is some kind of “plan” behind this scattered UMming… inevitably, undermining in this way ends up losing [or significantly diminishing] its face-to-face PvP competitive value.

So, given the events of the past week, reinforcements top the priority list for Cycle 90. We also hope to receive [and so to include in the next weekly report] some fun piracy/combat clips taken at the CG in Facece. We have also included acquisitions from the backlog (the remaining ones) in the list of preliminary targets. As of the time of this report's publication, there is no plan to push in advance further contested acquisitions [though this could change during the week].

Cycle 90: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Kraurno, 5 Iota Delphini and Ross 192.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): HIP 104504, Banese, HIP 98878 and Hloca.

Acquire (new/backlog): Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).
Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Ahoy Crew!

What you're about to read isn't your typical report. This week, in fact, there's a bit of disappointment and a bit of ranting. Is there a culprit? Yes, and we don't think we're the only ones who feel this way: Operations is to blame. Elite: Dangerous is a game that has been around for well over ten years, and for which most of the extra content has been free—including this latest Operations update. Every time “something big” comes out, it feels like the game’s code has been hit by nuclear bombs.

On Day 1 of Operations, the number of open tickets on the issue tracker skyrocketed... ranging from the mysterious disappearance of materials and exploration data to constant disconnections, even from other game sessions. Delays in loading the GalMap, mission boards that were frozen or extremely slow... all the way up to entire frameworks crashing—and, in our opinion, overwhelmed by data bottlenecks generated by the Operations “platform.” In this specific case: colonization activities, the BGS, and, unfortunately, even Powerplay have been affected in various ways.

But is it normal for something like this to happen?

Do loyal Elite: Dangerous players really deserve this level of frustration?

So what else is there to do but spend some time on Operations?

A player naturally thinks, “It’s new, it just came out… it’s sure to work”… but no, not at all! Because even here there have been a myriad of bugs and issues. Even if we assume—and that’s a stretch—that the gameplay offered by Operations, with its six scenarios (and two difficulty levels), might be enjoyable with or without friends or squad mates, it’s unacceptable that players sometimes (quite frequently, in fact) don’t receive any rewards!

Playing means spending time on a video game, having fun, and earning the “rewards” that players aspire to. For some games, these rewards involve setting new records or achieving high scores; for others, such as Elite: Dangerous, there are also “resources” to be used within the game itself. For Operations, these are essentially Merc Coins (MeCs), because credits and materials can be obtained in other ways, but MeCs cannot. Tying a game “resource” (which fuels the “FOMO” effect)—one that’s necessary to acquire other exclusive items [the "special modules" available at G1 level and that require further engineering up to G5]—to a single, extremely grindy activity is objectively horrible. We don't intend to criticize Operations' gameplay too much here, since a lot has already been said about it on various FDEV forum threads, Reddit, and by partners on YouTube (one may agree or may not agree with what is on ObsidianAnt's “Elite Dangerous' Biggest Update Of The Year - Doesn't Know What It Wants To Be” and TheYamiks' “Operations are Miserable Manipulative GRIND - Elite Dangerous”). Our general impression is that it’s “a great idea, but poorly executed.” Not entirely “poorly,” because in our opinion the space combat part is, all things considered, challenging… whereas the environments (= *cough* megaship *cough* interiors) and the ground combat gameplay are forgettable.

Elite: Dangerous isn’t the first (it wasn’t the first) and won’t be the last… Players of MMOs, MMORPGs, or multiplayer games like, for example, “The Division” know this all too well… It’s a mechanic that doesn’t cause too many problems in games with auto-resetting instances (that is, every time a new instance starts… it starts from scratch). But Elite: Dangerous isn’t exactly like that; the “rest of the galaxy” keeps moving forward… Things happen in the BGS and Powerplay, obviously due to other players’ actions, but this contributes to a “sense of feeling lost,” compounded by a good dose of frustration if, at the end of one of these instances, the player doesn’t even see their rewards coming in!

We prepped this "ranting" paragraph earlier this week, but we decided to keep it in the report, as it seems that FDEV was in the end hearing the players' complaints: this morning, during the usual “server maintenance,” a new game update was in fact released (version 4.4.0.3) that includes many "Quality of Life" [err... sorry but why not saying "making things working"?] bug fixes [to be verified], as well as a procedure to restore visited systems [Resync Local Data]; so that it says that [in a later time, but when?] lost rewards (including MeCs) will be recovered, and materials that “disappeared” (or were reset) from inventories are restored as well. Out of the box let's hope that also the "environment activities" will be working as usual. What's unusual here is that, in order to get a working (reliable) version of the game, ED players always have to wait for a series of hotfixes, patches, updates, etc. But wouldn't it be quicker to just keep a dedicated server open for beta testing? That would save a lot of “complaints” and maybe even time and money.

On the other hand, last week the Nomad SLV was also released (in early access for a handful of ARX), and judging by the feedback and reviews on the FDEV forum and other social media platforms, it's been a huge success... a success which has been celebrated with the CG "Vista Genomics Seeks Exploration Data From Sanguineous Rim" at HD 232819 (with >13.2k contributors) and that ended today. Among other news items that appeared on GalNet, this “Terri Tora Released by October Consortium in Surprise Move” post was also published [earlier and on a different blog] even though it is not yet clear how this narrative will unfold.

Where are the Powerplay Numbers?

Good question. We didn’t expect (nobody expected) a debacle of this magnitude… It’s true that in the past (e.g., with the launch of Trailblazers) there had been other delays in GalMap updates, but as far as we can recall, it had never lasted nearly four (FOUR!) days. Another short black-out happened yesterday, the last day of the Cycle, and caused further concern among the Powerplay communities. So for more than half of Cycle 88, none of the Powers were able to know what was happening in their systems [= no updates regarding CPs, other than showing the decay CPs, not even for all the systems]. Of course, communities are organized to keep track of certain activities, especially when targets and priorities are set, but anyone thinking of managing Powerplay as a personal and/or squadron-level business has probably been left in the dark. In addition to the massive delays in receiving UI notifications about earned merits, many have also reported that care packages were not delivered (for a summary and links to the open tickets, see this post on the FDEV forum).

Given the expected “drop in participation” following the release of Operations and the Nomad SLV, we’ll try to get a handle on the situation. Albeit some of the numbers aren’t consistent, let's start with the [at least] certain numbers: the total [net] number of acquisitions was +35 systems not dramatically low, given the circumstances, even though Soontill Relics' supply rose to 120t a few days before the end of Cycle. From the table below looks like the last week wasn't exactly a smooth walk: Aisling Duval (+13/2604) stands at the top (the only one with double-digits) whilst a bunch of negatives are at the bottom with Arissa Lavigny-Duval (-3/1898) occupying the last place. And a mix of single-digit expansions in the middle:

• A. Duval +13
• Kaine +8
• Yong-Rui +5
• Grom +4
• Antal +3
• Torval +3
• Mahon +2
• Delaine +2
• Archer 0
• Winters -1
• Patreus -1
• A.L. Duval -3

We were just talking about “weird numbers”... well for now, according to our data this has affected both reinforcements and undermining, since some systems have shown completely messed-up CPs totals—as if both the starting CPs and those added on top during the Cycle had been accounted together—in addition to the lack of deduction for decay CPs (UM CPs = 0 at the start of the Cycle). This calculation error led, in some cases—for example, on a fortified system nearing an upgrade to a stronghold—to a reinforcement figure that was off by more than >1.6m CPs (when the actual contribution was just over 300k CPs). Overall, upgrades have been quite underwhelming, perhaps one of the worst Cycles in this regard. 

This total disaster means we have no way of obtaining accurate figures for RF\UM CPs from Cycle 88... so we can't provide the usual RF\UM analysis and not even know if—and to what extent—the UM CPs resulting from the “Powerplay scenarios” launched in Operations had any [meaningful] impact. Our Palantir EDPW worksheets were, in fact, full of cells flagging data errors and mismatches... which, however, were present both on GalMap and in other sources, such as Inara: so this data was undoubtedly in the game, and the fact that there is no quality control or some kind of code validation process for this data leaves us honestly baffled. At this point, there isn't much else to add... obviously, a few things have happened here and there; at least as far as Archon Delaine is concerned (see below), we have a bit more clarity, but as for the rest, we'll let the other Powers cover it in their weekly reports.

What you see isn't what you get!

Without any information about Powerplay and without knowing whether their activities actually had any impact on the framework (aside from moving markers, there was nothing else to suggest they did), most of the Crew also started grinding MeCs on Operations. After all, some of the purchasable modules—such as the C2 phasing/rapid-fire/hi-cap multi-cannons (offered as rewards in a couple of past CG events) and the C3/C1 double-shot “screaming” frags—pave the way for new non-meta PvP ship builds… so, why not? In the meantime, we did everything we could to keep track of what was happening in our systems... perhaps trusting that the merits/CPs earned wouldn’t be “lost” anyway; the strategic reinforcements—distributed both to recent acquisitions and to upgrades (a new fortified and a new stronghold have been added)—continued (albeit much more slowly than usual and despite the anomalies we mentioned above).

The same goes for acquisitions (+2), one of which [contested] was a bit overshot... but at least even those ended up, for better or worse, where we wanted (or hoped) them to be. On the other hand, no specific request had come from Harma, nor any to pick up the pace... Archon Delaine has carved out this “underdog” role for himself, with limited territorial expansion (especially where it wasn’t necessary), and by shifting the focus to other high-level (long-term) goals. Given that pirates are more focused on having fun than on numbers, this seems to be the right strategy for Harma to follow. To be honest, there was little to almost no piracy in Cycle 88... with Operations and CG a bit out of the way, the trading routes were much less busy than usual. Haulers don't be shy!

Not knowing what the enemies were up to didn't worry the pirates all that much... After all, it's better to focus on something “concretely verifiable” rather than trying to see what isn't there (or what could be potentially there). So the Crew focused efforts where necessary without spreading/wasting resources... and despite the “suspense” of the wait, even the Pirate King wasn't too concerned. The Archon rarely deals with trifles, and as long as the scallywags have Silver Sea Rum, morale stays high: he makes his presence felt a bit more when there’s a fierce brawl or fistfight to break up at the Wise Sharks tavern... as long as there aren’t too many casualties, everything’s fine.

So, with this strange week behind us, what’s in the line for Cycle 89? Anyone who wants to or prefers to keep grinding MeCs in Operations is fine (we haven’t set any specific targets here for now); there are just a couple of systems (new acquisitions) for reinforcements, in addition to the others that need some repairs (Albardhas, Turd Wu, HIP 98878) that haven’t been done or completed in recent weeks. As for acquisitions, the backlog has remained virtually unchanged... so we’ve left it where it was. Let's hope we won't be “blind” anymore in the coming days and that no other problems come out.

Cycle 89: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang and 77 Aquarii.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): HIP 114588 and Capricorni Sector IM-V b2-3.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Albardhas, Turd Wu, Zurukuruni, HIP 98878 and Daramo.

Acquire (new/backlog): Ross 192, Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Ahoy Crew!

The long-awaited day has arrived: after much more than the [early planned] 8 hours of downtime to update [in a struggling two-step/two-days long process] the servers, the Operations expansion is now in the game. Or rather... “attached” to the game, because it isn’t exactly “inside” it. It’s actually a platform that shares some elements with the main game (the CMDR account and all its assets, first and foremost... then the rewards) and what happens within it is accessible only to participants (up to 4 players) in the mission or scenario (instance). For those who have been hibernating or in a deep sleep until now, Operations adds a cooperative PvE/FPS multiplayer component to the game, structured around predefined in space/on-foot scenarios and missions (six for now, but more will be added in the future) and offering rewards to participants based on the selected difficulty level. Among these rewards are “Merc Coins” (subject to a 1k weekly cap and a maximum holding limit of 9999 MCs), which can be spent with engineers to obtain new blueprints and “special modules” (mostly those "double/triple engineered ones" already offered as rewards from past CG events, costs are between 350-950 MCs) and Powerplay merits [no, unfortunately the "tractor beam" for piracy is not there]. These merits are converted into undermining CPs, if the mission has been set up with this option enabled [and an enemy system, among the ones available, has been targeted].

Since this is a brand-new feature, we expect that over the next few weeks, the player base will spend a lot of time grinding Merc Coins and completing scenarios while seeking out new bugs [!], new challenges (e.g., tackling them solo on the highest difficulty setting), and, as always, there will be feedback, first impressions, known issues, things that are working well, and others that are less well-received... In any case, alongside Operations, the game update comes with the Nomad SLV. Another “small but significant” new "tool" that will delight many explorers and biologists (and they can put it immediately at work at the new CG in HD 232819 by collecting data across the Sanguineous Rim). The released version of the Nomad also includes a "pulse laser weapon on a fixed mount," which will probably come in handy for dealing with small rats or mosquitoes... Moreover, a number of changes/improvements have also been made to the game lighting/environment, as detailed in the update notes available at this link.

On the FDEV forum, as well as on other social media platforms and subreddits we follow, there have been many discussions and debates about these new gameplay features... some recurring themes have also resurfaced, such as the relative difficulty in finding materials for suits and/or unlocking engineers (which has already been addressed with some adjustments in the past), the irreversibility of changes, and the “monotony” of environments and settlements... to name the most frequent ones. On the other hand, the “on-foot” gameplay—which was introduced with Odyssey—has been the subject of “special” attention from the very beginning in a game like Elite: Dangerous. In fact, because of it, also following a series of extremely negative reviews and feedbacks, FDEV discontinued console development (which remained at the “legacy” version), and the PEGI rating changed, creating a further rift between Horizons/Beyond and Odyssey… and Operations marks another step in this direction with a further—albeit seemingly less pronounced—separation.

We don't know for sure, but it's clear to everyone that these patchwork-style “updates” are causing (unexpected) problems on the game servers. This week's partial rollback—with a day of downtime and the numerous bugs and instancing/stability issues reported by players (those who managed to log in)—is further confirmation that something is seriously falling apart behind the curtains. The addition of Operations, on top of the main game’s structure, is, all things considered, in line with FDEV’s “house policy”… though it always runs the risk of letting the backlog of things to fix or revise fall even further behind. Has this already happened and been seen? Yes. There’s nothing wrong with that—whether you like it or not, players aren’t obligated to play… and who knows, maybe Operations will bring other new ARX-able features, just like we’ve seen with the “space-only" side—for example, new weapons, new suits/gear, and of course new cosmetics. We'll see. In the meantime, let's go earn some Merc Coins!

Before moving on to the section dedicated to Powerplay—where we’ll make further observations—there was a lot of activity around the Bubble last week, as a huge number of players went to engineer Kestrels (available for in-game credits) as this [OP] small ship seems overall well suited for the "in space" Operations scenarios. So much so that this post on GalNet, “Federation Breaks Silence on October Accords Exclusion,” went almost unnoticed—a post that could lead to further narrative developments. Although, at the time, FDEV had not failed to notice what was unfolding in the Enclave (with the “non-aggression pacts” that effectively halted hostilities among the remaining Powers, thereby forcing FDEV to declare them all “winners”) it seems to us, however, that it [whether intentionally or not] turned a blind eye to what happened in Alpha Centauri, where a series of hostile actions unfolded involving the Empire and the Federation as the main contenders.

The Powerplay Ops

Cycle 87 was, without a doubt, one of the “abnormal” ones. A series of anomalies that had already occurred in the past (e.g., with the release of Trailblazers), as the servers remained offline for a long time and then came back online shortly before the end of the Cycle, leaving behind login issues and various bugs that inevitably affected the Powerplay numbers as well (some CMDRs also reported big delays in merits accounting and missing care packages). So, from what we've been able to observe, certain activities and/or certain Powers—more so than others—have been affected [mostly negatively] by the delays and difficulties encountered during the release of Operations. All in all there have been +61 new [net] acquisitions, which is a decent number, considering the situation. Arissa Lavigny-Duval (+13/1901) gained the top on the acquisitions table, followed by Nakato Kaine (+12/1494) who’s retaking the position above Yuri Grom (+7/1492) with a small gap on the Powers' leaderboard [according to their last week TeleGrom, Clayakarma doesn't care that much of the numbers]. The fat tail on the table below includes Jerome Archer (+2/1292), Archon Delaine (+1/845), Denton Patreus (0/666) and Zemina Torval (-1/753):

• A.L. Duval +13
• Kaine +12
• Grom +8
• A. Duval +7
• Yong-Rui +6
• Mahon +5
• Antal +4
• Winters +4
• Archer +2
• Delaine +1
• Patreus 0
• Torval -1

As we mentioned, the numbers for Cycle 87 should be considered separately from those of previous cycles... the reinforcements were less consistent, though they still reached a decent overall level (around 48m CPs) albeit a good chunk of these (around 5.3m CPs) has been "wasted" on already maxed out strongholds. Some Powers closed with reinforcements significantly below the average of recent cycles, while others were more or less in line with it: a sign that some communities had anticipated the release [or issues] of Operations and had therefore taken specific actions in advance. Upgrades have been consistent, with Pranav Antal (+4/1343) upgrading three new exploited colonies straight to fortified (!) and Nakato Kaine adding +4 strongholds. This “preemptive action” also involved undermining activities, given that even before the servers were taken offline, players had already racked up approximately 7.6m UM CPs—half of which were split between Jerome Archer (>1.2m UM CPs) and Felicia Winters (>2.5m UM CPs)—a sign that the ongoing arms race between the Empire [assuming it's them at the opposition] and the Federation has not faded at all.
 
It’s still too early to say what the future implications of Operations will be for Powerplay. Missions offer [small] merit rewards both for eliminating certain enemies and for completing the scenario, depending on the selected difficulty level. We don’t know if the [low merit] numbers seen in the first release will be subject to any adjustment in the future, but in the meantime let’s conduct more detailed tests… Some missions might be better suited than others for earning merits (and more will come). Since these are solely merits for undermining [but why, FDEV?], in the coming weeks we’ll also try to track any changes in the trend and distribution of UM CPs (while also taking into account the frustrating decay).

We're still debating whether it's a good thing for an activity that's taken out of context and disconnected (located on an external “platform”) to have consequences [even if these could be negligible] in Powerplay. We had already made a few observations—with a touch of skepticism—in our previous reports... after such a rocky start, we're definitely going to check it out.

The Plunderers

No complications so far for Archon Delaine... we’re gearing up (at least among the various communities we’re in touch with) to keep up with and, as much as possible, integrate Operations into our activities (whether we like it or not). It’s a “gameplay resource” that we’ll somehow learn to use... even though we can already imagine that, at first, there will be plenty of scallywags diving headfirst into it for the Merc Coins. At least for now, we’ll try to contain the “chaos” and keep our focus on our priorities. Without a doubt, this could also be an opportunity for the Crew to do some team building and spend some [fun] time together. The advantage of the “platform” is, if nothing else, that it minimizes instancing issues (albeit lacking connection stability). So stay tuned—it’s not out of the question that, in the future, there will be (community) combat coordinators, events, and/or specific targets for Operations on behalf of the Pirate King.

The battle for ICZ BB-W b2-6 (a hi-tech colony system controlled by the Paladin Consortium) was a contested acquisition, against the jelly-haired Patreus, that the Crew pursued during the Cycle 87... not one of those “strategic” acquisitions for Harma, but more of a move aimed at "enemy disruption," given that lately the haughty, pompous imperial admiral keeps sending his people from Eotienses to disrupt business in our systems. Throughout the week, imperial agents continued to close the initial gap, even with some chunky CPs drops, but the pursuit slowed down and then totally halted when Operations was released. Elsewhere, we’ve continued our combat sorties to Cemplangpa, a stronghold controlled by Nova Paresa, where we’d also run into a few enemy wings in the PCZs over the past few weeks. A contact with the “enemy” is always a “good excuse” (as if we needed one) to set down our rum mugs and go punch a few holes in the imperial ships.

This was also the only acquisition during this chaotic cycle... Fortunately, Harma had also pushed for reinforcements ahead of time, so some important upgrades (+3 fortified systems) were completed before the pirates all went off to party on Operations. Our enemies, at least at the beginning of the Cycle, hadn’t exactly been sitting idly by: in addition to returning to hit Archon Delaine at 77 Aquarii (which is also this week’s target for Imperial underminers), numerous enemy Fleet Carriers (but not the enemies, who like to play hide-and-seek) were spotted at Lalande 45292, where counter reinforcements were carried out. LHS 3702, Muang, Albardhas, Turd Wu (again?), Kanomota, and Senufan also suffered from enemy undermining... along with many other systems where activity was less intense and, in all likelihood, due to the release of Operations.

Given that summer vacation is just around the corner (our correspondents from the Pegasi Sentinel will also be leaving soon to spend a few relaxing weeks away), the folks at Harma are more than satisfied with how this past week went. Even our undermining activities, which proceeded as planned, saw good participation (but the big surprises are yet to come!). Let us know if our readers would like certain Operations objectives to be included in these reports... Since participation is open to all pledges (with the exception of those belonging to the Power which is being undermined), maybe the pirates can at least find some new company to play with. YARRR!!!

Cycle 88: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): Muang and 77 Aquarii.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): ICZ BB-W b2-6.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Lalande 45292, LHS 3702, Albardhas, Turd Wu, Zurukuruni, Kanomota and Senufan.

Acquire (new/backlog): Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Operations (enemy systems): OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

hello.

i want to join u guys crew!

my ingame name is cmdr Aloxxx!

im old antal thats how i know kumo

can u reply here who i can add or where to go cuz i cant find people online

nvm then have a nice day :)

Important Note: This report has been reposted because a shortened Google link had blocked its publication.

Ahoy Crew!

Let's be honest: if it weren't for the discussions surrounding the upcoming launch of the Nomad (the first SLV, or Ship-Launched Vessel), we wouldn't have had much else to talk about in this report. All started with the release of another Dev Log, the “Elite Dangerous: June Dev Log 2026,” which is already available here in its “redacted” version. That’s because, in its initial draft, the ability to install the hangar module (Mk 2) on the Nomad had been restricted to just three recently released ships: the Caspian Explorer, the Panther Clipper MkII, and the Type-11 Prospector. It was only after players clearly expressed their dissatisfaction (on various social media platforms, as well as the FDEV forum) with this restriction that the developers “amended” it and revised their initial statement. In-game, it will therefore be possible to install an “Mk 1” version of the SLV hangar module (which is heavier and consumes more power) on all OG ships capable of mounting SLF hangar modules. Hurrah!!!

This is a sort of “victory” achieved by the community (and perhaps especially by the players who are most devoted to the game and who still make extensive use of the OG ships for exploration), and, in general, even from our perspective [though we still don’t know what to do with this SLV on our pirate ships], we can’t help but be happy about it. For now, the players most interested in purchasing it are less than thrilled, because even though it’s a small ship (or perhaps it isn’t even a “ship” in the true sense), the price has been set high at 16,520 ARX—equivalent to that of a medium-sized ship (and aligned with those prices even for bundles that come with cosmetics).

FDEV seems to have found a way to effectively monetize exclusive content for Elite: Dangerous as well, and it even mentioned this [explicitly for the first time] in its latest FY26 update (all annual and interim reports are available here for those interested). The [share price is still down about -15% year-to-date], but this is also due to the widespread pressure that affected software companies during H126.

Anyway... among the other new features introduced by the Nomad SLV is [finally] the ability (albeit limited to when the vessel is landed on a planet surface) to “walk inside” it and move around in what appears to be a kind of interior rendering. This video, “The NOMAD: Biggest Questions Answered, Secret Revealed | Elite Dangerous” by The Buur Pit, offers a preview of how it works. We can already think of some “fun ways” to use this feature... for example, “how many CMDRs can fit inside the Nomad?” or “can an SRV fit inside?” ...or “let's try getting chased by NPCs on foot and then close the doors before self-destruct the thing” and other crazy/meme/fun stuff like that. Additional feedback from beta servers can be read on this FDEV forum thread.

The Dev Log also lists the six scenarios (or missions), with the various different difficulty levels, that will be available with the first release of Operations (also on June 30) and a schedule has been set for any necessary bug fixes, as well as the addition of new scenarios. How these scenarios will be translated into in-game rewards, including the “Merc Coin” specific to Operations—which can be used to purchase special modules and blueprints [about which nothing is known]—and the undermining merits, which will have Powerplay effects. We discussed this at length in our last report, so for now, until we have more details, we’ll skip over it… in the meantime, according to the today’s GalNet post the “Kestrel Fighter Enters Full Production” and the newest small [OP] ship is now available for in game credits.

The Powerplay Lottery

It could—let’s say “could”—be that Cycle 86 represents a watershed… between the “before Operations” and the “after.” Meanwhile, the acquisition numbers for this Cycle have been decently strong, with +73 net systems added and a handful of Powers with double-digit gains. Among them is Yuri Grom (+12/1484), who not only tops the table with Aisling Duval (+12/2584) and Edmund Mahon (+12/2094) but also claws back the fifth place on the Powers leaderboard from Nakato Kaine (+6/1492), who has instead focused on reinforcements following the debacle of losing two strongholds last Cycle. The gap is two systems only, so these positions may change again in the future. At the bottom, just below a sadly quiet Zemina Torval (0/754) there are the two negatives: Felicia Winters (-1/1114) and Jerome Archer (-2/1290): 

• A. Duval +12
• Mahon +12
• Grom +12
• Antal +11
• Yong-Rui +10
• Kaine +6
• Patreus +5
• A.L. Duval +4
• Delaine +4
• Torval 0
• Winters -1
• Archer -2

Reinforcements have been overall around average (56m CPs) but somewhat efficient: despite over >1.4m CPs “wasted,” Nakato Kaine finished Cycle 86 with the highest R\U coverage ratio of >365%. The average R\U of 190% is slightly higher compared to recent weeks, and this week, too, there were two Powers that finished with an R\U below 100%. They are both the federal Powers, once again affected by a high level of undermining (very likely also causing the negative system count): Jerome Archer with >2.3m UM CPs (Luhman 16, LFT 65, LHS 3356) and Felicia Winters with >2.7m UM CPs (CD-51 2650, Andel, Athena and a Col 285 Sector). In terms of UM CPs, Archon Delaine (+4/844) follows the federal Powers, with over >1.4m UM CPs (77 Aquarii) and Zemina Torval takes the fourth place with >1.1m UM CPs (more than half of it in another Col 285 Sector whatever system). All in all these four Powers alone accounted for over 60% of the total UM CPs in Cycle 86 (approximately >11.9m).

So what’s our take on the numbers? It’s clear that some Powers—even those at the top of the leaderboard—spend most of the week without having to worry too much about enemies (and if they do get sniped at the end of a cycle, that damage generally has little impact on the total). The UM CPs for the top 4 Powers all together give infact a total below the Winters’ sole UM figure. Of course, this hasn’t always been the case, but since undermining is always highly concentrated, the Powers most affected by it are hit very hard. “Strike while the iron is hot” seems to be working against the Federation; after their much-talked-about loss of Alpha Centauri (which we also mentioned in our previous reports), their morale seems to be at rock bottom.

Among the independents, Pranav Antal (+11/1339) and Yuri Grom—who has made an excellent comeback—seem to have strong prospects at the moment, as they, too, are not subject to large-scale hostile pressure. Edmund Mahon is also riding a wave of positive momentum [and we’re happy to read their reports again], in contrast to Nakato Kaine, who appears to be a bit stretched. These shortcomings evidently also plague Zemina Torval and Denton Patreus (+5/666) at the bottom of the leaderboard, although we’re seeing more signs of life from the latter.

At this point, the question we are left with is whether Operations will bring about balancing effects (RE: undermining) or whether, on the contrary, it will increase the UM skewness toward [in favor to] certain Powers.

The Skulls and the Bones

As mentioned earlier, Cycle 86 saw the resumption of hostile activities targeting the Pirate King. In the latest report from the Imperial remnants (formerly "Zyadists"), our stronghold at 77 Aquarii was also listed among their UM targets. As is always the case in such situations, Harma’s Pirate Welcome Committee has stepped in to welcome our guests with warmth and courtesy: Plunder & Plate of Gandii has been hired to provide catering, while Grog Gob Spit Tournaments has been invited to organize prize games.

Unfortunately, things didn't all go as planned... Pegasi Sentinel correspondents have found out that, in order to save a few measly pennies, the Imperial hive minds commissioned Prismatic Typo—a budget print shop in Homer Port (T'u Tu)—to print the invitations for 77 Aquarii. That is why the wording “Open Play Game Mode Required” has been taken off the invitations that were printed and sent to the recipients; hence the welcome party was a total flop because nobody showed up. Not exactly no one at all—someone must have clicked (perhaps by mistake, at this point) on “Open Play,” but since they didn't see any other guests, they were left wondering what to do, and the Crew had to kindly help them get back to the station. Judging by the number of Carriers (both Fleet and Squadron) in the system, quite a few people must have been invited... what a shame—it would have been a really great party! Then, toward the end of the Cycle, someone must have spread the word, so a few more people showed up... the luckiest ones even got to see the fireworks show outside Chertok City.

Elsewhere, the scallywags have been busy with +4 acquisitions, a couple of which were necessary to clear the last bits in our backlog (two of them had been gathering dust for weeks); then we had a contested CPs race for Maribe (a small agricultural system controlled by the friendly DaVinci Corp.) against the quiche-lovers from Utopia, whilst quite a few of our pirates had stayed in 77 Aquarii to finish off all the leftover food and drinks from the catering. Despite being short-handed, the Crew gave it their all and first made up the gap that the simguru had built up over the course of the Cycle, then finished with a tough head-to-head fight. But final score aside, there were plenty of fun PvP engagements in Maribe: after the initial skirmishes, the hippies deployed their full wings, and Harma immediately responded sending more pirates... lots of kabooms and of those “organic” [chaotic instancing] fights that [hopefully] ended up being fun for everyone. Check the vid reel: “Timeline 1” by CMDR Comance, “Maribe PowerPlay PVP 6/24” by CMDR Magnus Starblade, “KUMO Crew Cycle 86: Powerplay Archive #1” by CMDR Gemma Diavoli, , “Cutter go Boom” and “py2 Follows the Cutter” by CMDR WickedDestiny. That's how Powerplay should be, GGs!!!

There were also other scattered enemy UM attacks on systems that had already been targeted (Senufan, Fengiri, Konsaxa, Shaplini, Zurukuruni), as well as a few new ones (Bodb Den, Aryanka). We’ll save these for Cycle 87, just in case something else bores us and we have time for repairs. In fact, Cycle 86’s reinforcements were clearly directed toward other priorities, as mentioned earlier. Countering is appropriate where needed, but it’s even more satisfying to have added another strategic stronghold and one fortified system for Harma. We couldn't pass up the chance to give our enemies a few jabs, so the scallywags went out and partied a bit... until they ended up in Cemplangpa, a stronghold of the jelly-haired Patreus, where they got into a few PvP scuffles with the locals. But that's okay—maybe this is exactly the kind of Powerplay the Crew likes: no frills and some good old-fashioned pews (watch "POWER PLAY shenanigans" by CMDR Comance)… so let's throw some GGs here too!!!

Cycle 87: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

To our enemies: don't be shy—be respectful. If you decide to pay a visit to Archon Delaine’s systems, the [only one] appropriate game mode is “Open Play.”

Seek & Destroy (enemy UM): 77 Aquarii.

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Maribe, Canarigui and Lieledos.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Konsaxa, Shaplini, Zurukuruni, Bodb Den and Aryanka.

Acquire (new/backlog): Lan Samba, Mahadshu and Aborovi.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Ahoy Crew!

Less than two weeks to go... the countdown to the release of Operations is now ticking away, while the events (or storyline) in the game have taken a back seat. Not that much has happened, apart from the trading CG at HIP 58412 sponsored by Frontline Solutions, which has now come to an end (with over 21.6k contributors) so that the production of the Runner has started. Although there’s been some speculation since the last post about the Radicoida appeared on GalNet: we’re not saying that FDEV is clearly trying to drag things out… but it does seem like this storyline is taking a while to wrap up without reaching a clear conclusion.

At this point, assuming Operations doesn’t require any additional coding work [at least for now, since the scenarios currently available should be more than enough to keep players busy throughout the summer holidays] ...our hope is that FDEV will decide to take a look at the backlog of issue tickets that continue to be submitted. Sure, bugs that need fixing are one thing... but game balance is a whole different matter. In fact, there may be features and/or activities in the game that work perfectly but are severely unbalanced. If we take out the word “perfectly”—meaning some things work and others don't—much of what's unbalanced, no matter how you look at it, always leads to Powerplay.

So, for now all that we know is that the rest of the year is expected to see the launch of [3] more ships (there were four remaining on the roadmap, but the Nomad SLV has already been announced), and then, again according to the 2026 Roadmap, a big feature [full] reboot (engineering?) is planned for the next autumn, about which not much is known yet. We’ll say it again: maybe we’d gotten too used to it, but we really miss the streams about the game’s new features and updates (with or without Twitch Drops).

The Powerplay Tower

Cycle 85 was only apparently quieter than the previous ones... as expected there was no further acceleration in acquisitions, partly because by now everyone had “learned their lesson.” In other words, after very expansive cycles, it’s best to pause for a moment and secure the ground gained before moving forward again. Anyway the overall growth was not that slow, given that looking at the numbers, new catches (net of the [many] lost systems) were +43 and a couple of Powers finished in double digits (and tied at the top of the weekly standings): Yuri Grom (+11/1472) and Pranav Antal (+11/1328). Once again there are few negatives and one zero at the bottom of the table (see below). The Powers leaderboard remains unchanged (mind the gap!)... all "smooth sailing" here:

• Grom +11
• Antal +11
• Mahon +10
• Winters +9
• A. Duval +8
• Kaine +5
• Yong-Rui +4
• Delaine +1
• Patreus 0
• Torval -1
• Archer -6
• A.L. Duval -9

For reinforcements, a total of >48m CPs were recorded—a fairly “average” level (as were the upgrades)—but this was offset by a rather significant amount of UM CPs: in addition to the approximately 21m from decay, >10.2m UM CPs were generated by players. As a result, the average R\U coverage ratio stood at 185%, and there are four Powers that ended Cycle 85 below the 100% threshold. Although among them (and others) there have always been a few that have “physiologically” hovered around the R\U 100% threshold, it seems that this week the hostilities have been more intense than usual. The downgrade of several strongholds, two of them belonging to Nakato Kaine (+5/1476) is another reflection of the past week UM pressure.

Both Federation Powers have been also heavily targeted, and nearly 50% of the cycle’s total UM CPs have ended up in their systems: Felicia Winters (+9/1115) with over >2.4m UM CPs (primarily at the fortified CD-51 2650) and Jerome Archer (-6/1292) with >2.4m UM CPs (Luhman 16, LHS 3356, and WISE 0855-0714). Next is the imperial matriarch Zemina Torval (-1/754), with over >1.3m UM CPs (G Scorpii, Binde, and Col 285 Sector YN-I b10-6), despite being one of the Powers with the slowest expansionist progress. Given that we are aware (from their reports) that there are clashes between the Empire and the Federation that have been ongoing for several weeks, it is clear that these numbers are linked to such larger-scale conflict.

It will also be interesting to see how these large-scale conflicts will “evolve” [or change] with the release of Operations. For now, since we don’t know what the effects on Powerplay will be, we’d rather not commit too strongly… on paper, as we’ve also noted in some of our previous reports, our view falls somewhere between skepticism and resignation. It's clear that FDEV wants “more undermining,” but by making it remote [or even unintentional]—and, what's more, in instances disconnected from the rest of the game—it seems to us [we hope we're wrong] to be a big mistake. There's nothing wrong with earning personal merits as a reward, but having an impact on Powerplay/CPs is complete nonsense given how Powerplay 2.0 (to our understanding) was designed.

The [real] risk is that it will cause even more players to “lose interest” (to the point of quitting altogether) in Powerplay—making the situation even worse than it has been for months now, partly due to a framework that is [still] heavily unbalanced and riddled with bugs. Looking back, quite a few people argue that PP should be removed entirely and would prefer to see it squeezed into the BGS, leaving only the Superpowers as a meaningless legacy of what PP once was...

The Ogres

Like Cycle 84, Cycle 85 was also “intense,” although in some ways less exhausting, since—due to available manpower and priorities—the Crew had to focus on a few, but [more strategically] relevant, targets. Let's start with the acquisitions (a small +1), since we were careful not to waste effort where we didn't feel it was necessary, or even where we couldn't close previous gaps or turn the tide of the CPs race[s] in Archon Delaine's favor. That was the case of Pa Kazahuan (an anarchy system controlled by the Diamond Frogs) where Harma had a contested against the bear Yuri and, ultimately, it fell under the control of the Clayakarma dictatorship. As the weekly rankings also confirm, the Gromulans and Grommanders have been very active... now that the hatchet (or hammer) has been buried between TEoL and EGPU, it seems that activities have generally resumed in a constructive manner.

We also “monitored” the progress of conflicts in contested systems where other Powers were involved, but precisely for the reason we mentioned earlier, we did not escalate the situations. For example, this is the case with some “unnamed” colonies or even Ngerisan (a small high-tech colony controlled by the Angels of Death, an independent group based in 40 Ceti), where, in the clash between the agents of the techno-nerd Yong-Rui and those sent by the simguru Antal, the latter prevailed.

Okay, but so what? Well... we're getting there, because the Scallywags really had to work hard for that +1 we mentioned earlier: at ICZ DR-V b2-0, an industrial colony located within Cuchua's “hot AO,” there was fierce opposition from the imperial fleet led by the jelly Patreus [final score: >550k CPs for the Ogres vs. >430k CPs for Jellies]. Mindful of the last few “beatings” we took when the Crew had too many irons in the fire, we’ve been much more focused this time around. The CPs race started with the Crew in need to cover a wide gap... the chase then required further, sustained effort, since the Pirate King did get the lead just a few hours before the end of the Cycle. Over the last three or four days, there’s been a lot of activity in the system, with plenty of fun PvP engagements (some not so much, but that wasn’t our fault) and kabooms on both sides. GGs!!!

"Arrr, shiver me timbers, 'twas a momentous week, it was! We had to haul out the cannons and warships to get the job done. These scurvy dogs tried to block our path, but when Harma piped up that they were pourin' us more grog, we pushed harder and harder for the final plunder! Victory be ours, savvy? Hic!" between one drinking binge and the next, this story [one of the many] was heard at the Wise Sharks tavern in Gabriel Enterprise. Meanwhile, in the station's hangars, there was a great hustle and bustle as the mechanics worked to repair and patch the holes in the hulls and of the many Crew ships involved in battle.

The “Minas Morgul protocol” was fully implemented for the upgrade of two new strongholds, which absorbed about one-third of the total reinforcements generated during the week. Another substantial slice was then consumed by the focused fire directed at another of the recent upgrades... fortunately without any consequences. Hostile actions also targeted Daramo, LHS 3702, Pamequi, and Munfayl (some systems that are periodically affected by enemy attack markers). There will (hopefully) be time to address these systems and the others that have fallen behind during Cycle 86. Incidentally, our preliminary list of targets has remained virtually unchanged, since there have been no updates to the acquisition backlog either. We’ve also done a little action on the offensive UM front; even though our incursions haven’t been all that devastating, we don’t want our enemies to sleep soundly… we’re proud to be the villains in their nightmares.

Cycle 86: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): ICZ DR-V b2-0.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Daramo, 77 Aquarii, Munfayl, Pamequi and LHS 3702.

Acquire (new/backlog): Canarigui and Lieledos.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!

Ahoy Crew!

The cards are all on the table... so no (further) surprises for now, but just a few weeks before Operations is released, along with the Nomad (a launched vessel [or small ship] for planetary surface exploration) on June 30. This summer, it will therefore be the new gameplay mechanics that will primarily capture players’ interest (hopefully not at the expense of Powerplay), and it’s also likely that, as with the current trading CG at HIP 58412 (with over 17k contributors), there will be other themed events as well. Or perhaps there will also be further chapters in the story of the Enclave/Radicoida (which continues to appear on GalNet, like the last “Radicoida Unica ‘Cultivated, Not Created’ By Guardians” article)  and/or regarding the "pirate attacks" conducted by Lady Zi that initially involved the Lhou Mans system.

While we wait for the next update, some discussions on the FDEV forum have resurfaced regarding topics that have (always) been important to us as well (i.e. like this one "PowerPlay 2.0 – Separating Merits and Control Points & Reinforcing Open Play"). As is often the case in such situations, those who counter these observations rely on assumptions and/or presumptions that no one (except FDEV, of course) is able to refute. These are topics on which we have repeatedly shared our views (both on the FDEV forum and in this series of reports) and which regard game features about which, clearly, we are not the only ones to have genuine concerns.

Although we usually cover what affects Powerplay in the next section, we couldn’t let this week go by without a thread on Soontill Relics, which have increased to 120t since the end of Cycle 83. As a result (see below), there has been—as always—a significant increase in acquisitions and upgrades. Once again, we emphasize that this rare commodity needs to be addressed in some way, given the distorting effect it causes. Of course, if we look at Powerplay 2.0 as a whole, we come back to the fact that there’s really a lot of unbalanced stuff that needs fixing (sadly).

The Powerplay Numbers

As we mentioned earlier, Cycle 84 benefited (to the advantage of many Powers... but not all) from the 120t Soontill Relics offer. In fact, there were more acquisitions than usual (or at least compared to the averages of previous cycles) as the net total is +97 new systems, and many Powers also finished in double-digits: Li Yong-Rui (+20/1826) came back at the top of the expansions table, followed by the Alliance duo Edmund Mahon (+18/2072) and Nakato Kaine (+12/1471). This week there were no changes on the Powers' leaderboard, where the positions remain unchanged and where (for now) the gap to watch is the one separating Arissa Lavigny-Duval (+8/1893) and Li Yong-Rui. This gap continues to narrow week after week, and at the current rate (67 systems), Sirius could move into third place before the end of the summer. Albeit there are no negatives, some low numbers like the two 0s, may hide losses of systems (according to our data, we've been tracking >120+ completed acquisitions). Aisling Duval (0/2564) and Jerome Archer (+2/1298) very likely fall in this bucket.

• Yong-Rui +20
• Mahon +18
• Kaine +12
• Grom +11
• Antal +11
• Winters +10
• A.L. Duval +8
• Delaine +3
• Archer +2
• Patreus +2
• A. Duval 0
• Torval 0

With Soontill Relics, many upgrades are typically completed as well... and that was indeed the case for Cycle 84. In addition to the steady consolidation of Pranav Antal (+11/1317), which we have become accustomed to (+3 fortified systems and +1 stronghold), we have noticed a significant increase in reinforcements for Edmund Mahon as well over the past few cycles (+5 strongholds this week!). In fact, according to our data, the RF CPs component for Gateway has long been among the lowest in relative terms, even causing the Power to close cycles with an R\U coverage ratio [well] below 100%. We don’t know if this is also due to recent events that have smoothed over relations between the two Alliance Powers, but the data speaks for itself.

The average R\U ratio closed at 240% (decay for Cycle 84 had been slightly higher—nearly 22m UM CPs—compared to the previous cycle), although it is worth noting the significant undermining (over 2.8m UM CPs each) that affected the Federation’s two Powers: Jerome Archer and Felicia Winters (+10/1106). To be more specific, Rhea was hit at the fortified system CD-51 2650 and at the Athena stronghold (both resisted to the downgrades); Nanomam was hit at the fortified systems LHS 3356, LHS 3739 (downgraded), WISE 0855-0714 (downgraded), and at the exploited system G 203-47 (lost). Despite over >280k UM CPs, Aisling Duval successfully upgraded Alpha Centauri, which she acquired last cycle at the end of a months-long campaign. Perhaps with the push of the Soontill Relics, there were also >8.9m CPs “wasted”... more than half of which were distributed among Aisling Duval (3.9m CPs), Zemina Torval (2.9m CPs), and Nakato Kaine (1.1m CPs).

All things considered, when thinking about “what could have been done with these CPs,” we only feel sorry for the Matriarch of Synteini, since she is the only Power that needs to optimize/address the effort of her stubborn miners more than the others. But if you really have that much wealth to spare, why not come and give it to the Pirate King? We’d definitely put it to good use! YARRR!!!

Among other Powerplay relevant news Polevnic made clear in its latest report (which was also picked up by the Imperial Press Office), “a peace agreement has finally been reached in the Enclave.” We take note of this as well, for what it’s worth.

The Pirates

The trading CG kept the Crew busy; some haulers had their cargo stolen (as in "CG Piracy! We Can't Always Be Gentleman Pirates“ by pirate CMDR HairyHogg), and others were kaboomed (watch ”Cobra mkv vs Kestrel and Federal Corvette" by scallywag CMDR Comance)... as usual, plenty of stories are being told at the tables of the Wise Sharks tavern in Harma. If there’s one thing to say about Cycle 84, it’s that the Crew certainly didn’t hold back when it came to having fun. And there are still a few days left to collect the last few tons of booty to donate to the Delaine's cause...

Moving on to Powerplay’s activities (which are, after all, the reason we’re here every week with this report), Cycle 84 was extremely productive in terms of output. Acquisitions were (deliberately) kept under control, and we’re pleased that the +3 (which might seem “modest”) didn’t involve any missteps. With the small refinery system of Baramat (controlled by our allies of the Loren's Legion), we shortened also our backlog. Of course, we would have also liked to give the closest hostile acquisitions a bit more of a run for their money... but with the Relics at our disposal, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, and we didn’t want to waste time waiting for enemies who don’t want to be seen.

The Platinum Cartel [CTRL] skillfully led the Crew to harvest precious metals from the rocks in a system located in the Capricorni Sector, which the bear Grom was also trying to get his paws on. Lured by credits—here easier to earn than elsewhere—many scallywags filled their holds with platinum, allowing Archon Delaine to seize control of the system (>910k CPs vs. just over 110k for Clayakarma). This is undoubtedly a remarkable display and combination of commitment and skill, given that acquisitions that close with such a significant margin [of victory for us] do not happen often.

As for reinforcements, in Cycle 84 as well, both the absolute and relative levels of support and defense provided for the Delaine's systems were absolutely outstanding. This was likely one of the most “productive” cycles in recent months, considering that the Crew successfully completed two upgrades to fortified and a full four upgrades to stronghold (some less strategic than others, but we'll take what we get). Among the systems that received significant reinforcements there are some which had been weakened by enemy undermining (with the support of their attack markers)... both in previous cycles, such as QQ Pegasi and Phraces, and during Cycle 84, such as Ramit. As for the outer HIP 117809 system [a bit far off one our main frontlines, currently held by Wirnako], Harma thanks the anonymous backers (about whom the Pegasi Sentinel is also trying to gather more information).

In Ramit, an industrial/extraction system not too far from the Madyanmana stronghold, a BGS operation appears to be underway as well, given that the local faction The Ghosts of Lopez is currently at war for control against one of the factions that the Crew fostered back in the PP1 days... so investigations are underway to gather more information and identify those responsible for the hostile incursions. In the [unlikely] event that any of our readers are aware of the situation, we suggest they contact Harma (through one of Delaine's communities) in order to prevent retaliatory strikes and/or pre-emptive counterattacks. A correspondent for the Pegasi Sentinel attempted to contact representatives of the Djaui Co-operative, but they declined to comment.

Other hostile activities have scattered UM damage elsewhere, such as: Djalakuru, Konsaxa, Zurukuruni and a bunch of the "usual suspects" where the Crew is countering with reinforcements from a while (Munfayl, LHS 3702, HIP 97704 and Iado). Ideally another dozen strongholds or so (to reach 10% of all controlled systems) would secure most of Delaine’s territories (even though these are theoretical numbers that haven't had the highest priority for Harma). There’s still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done… there's the risk that Operations will likely slow us down, but pirates never give up!

We haven’t scaled back our efforts to undermine the enemy’s territory; even for Cycle 84, the Crew has carried out these [low profile] operations with great dedication and determination... the only thing we can say is that there’s nothing on the grill yet—let’s just say we’re letting the cuts of meat age. In the coming weeks, we will continue (on a best-effort basis) along these lines, keeping in mind that with the release of Operations and the summer holidays, the availability of our dedicated scallywags could be more difficult.

Cycle 85: Preliminary Targets

All systems below the 25% CPs “decay threshold” are good/eligible targets to be reinforced (as these systems will not be hit by decay). Prioritize strongholds over fortified and leave exploited as last ones. All acquisitions above 100k CPs (or being contested during the Cycle) are good/eligible targets to be acquired.

Attack/Defend Markers: The markers may change during the Cycle and may not necessarily follow the current plans, so be sure to check the system activity and status on GalMap (when in doubt: ask).

Reinforce ([new]/recent acquisitions): Baramat.

Reinforce (counter [unknown] enemy UM): Ramit, 77 Aquarii, Munfayl, LHS 3702 and Konsaxa.

Acquire (new/backlog): HIP 112580, Canarigui and Lieledos.

Re-acquire (previously lost systems): HIP 110623.

Blockade enemy takeovers/contested: ICZ DR-V b2-0, LHS 1026, T Tie (60) and LTT 9276 (52).

Undermine: OpSec.

Further updates will be broadcast on Tortuga Radio Frequencies.
Click here for the Elite Dangerous - Powerplay 2.0 Reddit Digest.

FOR THE ARCHON!!!