Eve: Valkyrie Update Adds Star Wars-Like Trench Run Mode

Eve: Valkyrie launched alongside the Oculus Rift in March, and now, it's getting its first major free update. It comes with a new game mode called Carrier Assault, which features a Star Wars-like trench run that puts you right into the channel of a ship before you shoot the core and blow it all up.

Carrier Assault features three stages, two of which you'll have to get through before you can experience the trench run for yourself. The first is a Skirmish where you'll battle against a team to take out their Power Relay Stations. Once two of them have been destroyed, the carrier's shield will go down, and you can can move on to destroy the carrier's Cooling Nodes.

After that, you'll get to make your way into the trench, where you'll need to hit the core with all you got. You'll then have a limited amount of time to escape before it explodes. You can see for yourself in the video at the top of the article.

Players can also expect new Boost Gates, which give you a speed boost when flown through; a new Crossroads multiplayer map and game modes; and a bonus, which every player gets at the end of a match. Additionally, the main menu has been revised, and a new Tactical menu has been added--the latter shows all active players and their stats in the middle of a multiplayer match.

There are also several balance changes, and you can see the full patch notes below.

Patch Notes

Fighters: All

• Capacitor (tank) increases: Increased Maximum by 17 percent
• Decreased Recharge rate by 10 percent
• Decreased Boost Consumption rate by 24 percent

Fighter: Aegis

• Replaced ECM (Emergency Countermeasure) ability with the EMS (Electromagnetic Shields)

Fighter: Assuage

• Reduced the EMS shots required to disable an opponent by 20 percent

Fighter: Displacer

• Replaced the ECM ability with Spiderbot ability

Fighter: Sentry

• Increased the number of mines that can be deployed from three to five

Fighter: Spur & Displacer

• Reduced mag cannon angle cone by 66 percent

Heavy: Gorgon & Goliath

• Increased missile max speed by 20 percent
• Increased the target lock range from three km to five km
• Increased missile expiry time by 25 percent

Heavy: Cyclone

• Increased the EMS direct shots to disable by 50 percent
• Increased the EMS partial shots to disable by 44 percent

Support Ships

Supports have been rebalanced to fit into the roles of engineer or medic. Medics focus on healing and utility, whereas engineers are more combat focused.

Support (Medic): Banshee, Guardian, Warden, Sentinel

• Increased armour by 26 percent
• Decrease shield by 12 percent

Support (Engineer): Phantom, Revenant, Siren

• Increased armour by 32 percent
• Decrease shield by 44 percent

Support: All

• Increased the hit box (hit detection) by 10 percent

Support: Banshee

• Increased buff beam lock range from 2.2km to 2.5km
• Reduced buff beam repair rate by 17 percent

Support: Guardian

• Replaced buff beam with heal beam (focuses more on healing, than buffing)
• Increased heal beam lock range from 2.2km to 2.5km
• Decreased gatling gun’s rate of fire by 50 percent

Support: Sentinel

• Replaced buff beam with vamp beam (transfers 10 percent of a targets drained shields directly to its own)
• Decreased beam lock range from 2.2km to 1km

Support: Revenant

• Replaced buff beam with corrupt beam (applies 10 percent damage multiplier to target + any ship doing damage to the target enemy gets 10 percent damage boost)
• Ally armour and repair rates reduced by 77 percent
• Decreased beam lock range from 2.2km to 1.5km

Support: Warden

• Replaced buff beam with drain beam (focuses on draining enemy shields)
• Ally armour and repair rates reduced by 77 percent
• Increased shield drain by 17 percent

Various Bug and Stability Fixes

• Friendly Fire audio warning
• Reduction in frequency
• Drone hit points rebalanced
• Improved accuracy of ship statistics
• Fixed an issue with the Accord’s projectiles expiring too soon
• AI behavior improvements