We hope you enjoy our latest game update.

Evolving Story

On the heels of a key scientific breakthrough, Ariad and Vinda appear to have found some common ground and are urging cooperation between the Progen and Jenquai for the benefit of humanity as a whole. In Merjan's absence, members of the Jenquarum have become more outspoken and forceful in support of their individual interests and their own areas of responsibility. A long circumscribed skill is now being taught to ranking members of the Sha'ha'dem and careful collaboration between formerly sequestered researchers has turned conservative isolationists, both Progen and Jenquai, on their ears. Where the Terran leadership fits into all of this remains to be established, though a frenzy of diplomatic discussion is certainly underway.

The following missions have become obsolete in this month's patch:

"Death to the V'rix" - Memnon
"Friends of the Psis" - Nostradamus
"Double Edged Sword" - P3889
"The Kokura Sky" - Tzu
"Delivery for the V'rix" - T2Z
"The Crystal Present" - Loric
"Meeting the Underground" - Nostradamus
"Manufacture the Psi Booster" - Nostradamus
"Report for a Promotion Mission" - Herrera, deWinter, Silva, Ariad, Memnon, Vinda
"Fighting the Landauer Drones" - Kahn
"The Cygni Shield Anchor" - deWinter
"The Laser Device" - Spetsky

If you have any of these missions currently in your mission journal, they'll be removed upon login.

If you were in the process of working through your Level 50 hull upgrade mission you should visit your promotions officer (Proconsul Kerr, Executive MacKellan, Uja'da). If you had already completed your Level 50 hull upgrade mission (Report for a Promotion) but had not yet obtained your hull upgrade from your class leader, you should visit the appropriate shipyard.

Compulsory Contemplation Skill

We're very pleased to announce that the Compulsory Contemplation skill is available to Explorers of Level 135 or higher who are affiliated with the Sha'ha'dem. The skill may be earned through the completion of a mission, which may be started by visiting Councillor Adriel on Dahin Planet.

Compulsory Contemplation allows Explorers to confuse a single target - preventing movement, skill use, item use and weapon use. The duration of the enforced contemplation can be extended indefinitely as long as the Explorer has adequate reactor energy to continue the lock-down and one of the following contemplation breaking actions does not occur:

• The MOB takes damage.
  
• The MOB is affected by energy sapping skills or game effects.
  
• The MOB makes a successful periodic resistance check.
  
• The Explorer maintaining the lock-down runs out of energy and cannot maintain the continuous drain.
  
• The Explorer attempts to initiate the skill again (effectively toggling it off).
  
• The Explorer changes location. Facing changes are okay, but movement is not.

The skill can be used in a wide variety of situations and has many tactical applications for solo, group and raid play styles. Sneaking past MOBs that see cloaked has never been easier!

Skill Improvements

We're very pleased to announce the following improvements:

• Repulsor Field - All levels of repulsor field now deflect every damage type. The damage returned is now an irresistible damage type (Absolute). This means that a MOB that could resist or mitigate the old repulsor damage because of high energy deflects will no longer be able to do so. You will no longer see variable damage numbers, but instead a constant damage amount returned per hit reflected. Because the damage is now absolute, debuffing the MOB's energy deflect will not change the damage being returned. The DPS (damage per second) generated by the new, improved Repulsor Field is superior to the variable damage output prior to these changes.
  
• Environment Shield - The reflect damage portion of Environment Shield now also returns an irresistible damage type (Absolute).
  
• Self Destruct - The countdown timer has been reduced from 10 seconds to 3 seconds. As a result, MOBs no longer flee when a self destruct is imminent. Use of Self Destruct reduces both shields and reactor to 0 but does not place any negative effects on the Progen Warrior other than those drains. The amount of damage done by the Self Destruct skill has been increased considerably. The refresh timer on the skill has been changed to 30 minutes. These changes apply to MOBs as well as to players, so be aware that you will only see a three second countdown now and thus have less time to get away from a mob that is using self-destruct.

We've made some changes to the way that MOBs initially aggro on players by introducing a level band. Mobs that are 30 combat levels or lower than a player will not initiate an attack against that player unless:

• The player attacks them first.
  
• Members of the MOB formation are high enough level to aggro and thus the entire formation joins in.
  
• The MOB is friendly (will assist) with other MOBs that are attacking the player.

We're very pleased to bring you the ability to filter your schematics by tech level to help find that elusive build recipe. A series of check boxes for tech levels 1-9 are now available on the interface. You may select any combination of tech levels or all of them to filter your lists.

Community

We're very pleased to announce the winners of our "Earth & Beyond Icon Contest". Congratulations to:

Rift of Galileo in the Equipped Items category.
Merlvin of Galileo in the General Items category.

You'll be seeing the winning entries (and all the rest of the entries we could add to the game) in an upcoming Earth & Beyond game update.

Please be sure to join us for our "Post-Patch Chat" hosted by EB Portal. The chat is tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 9th from 3:00p till 5:00p Pacific Time (11:00p to 1:00a GMT). Keep your eyes on the Earth & Beyond website for more details and a confirmation of the tentatively scheduled time.

Just in from Net-7 ...

Mars Construction

The Republic has enlisted the aid of several corporations to donate some of their goods and services in and effort to increase awareness of the Mars Construction Project. Says one Progen Official, "With so many of our soldiers fighting the War, we just don't have many back at home able to volunteer their time with Mars-based projects."

It is hoped that the new rewards will increase volunteer activity at the Mars Construction Site. In addition to the expanded number of rewards, volunteers may also redeem their old rewards for new and improved models.

InfinitiCorp Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Newly Completed Gate

InfinitiCorp held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Tuesday in honor of their newly constructed der Todesengel Gate. The new Gate was completed ahead of schedule and has been declared fully functional by the corporation.

But the new Gate is not a problem-free addition to the company. InfinitCorpýs crack legal team has been investigating hundreds of lawsuits filed by pilots claiming the Gate damaged ships during transit. Many of the claims stipulate damage could have been prevented but InfinitiCorp allowed access to the Gate before construction was finished.

Valentineýs Day Leaves Tada-O Red in the Face

Valentineýs Day wouldnýt be the same without Tada-O, or so the company would have you believe, but this Valentineýs will be one without the (in)famous holiday corporation. It seems that Tada-O missed the deadline for obtaining vendor permits this holiday season.

Repeated appeals for late permits have been denied and it looks like Tada-O will be left pining for their lost love of Valentineýs Day profits. But without Tada-O at the helm of this loving holiday, who will sell those special treats? Sources say this holiday never smelled so good, or so minty-fresh.

Draconis Hatchlings Removed from the Endangered Species List

The number of Draconis Hatchlings in the wild has dramatically increased during the past year because of efforts from conservationists coupled with an unusually temperate meteor shower season. Draconis Hatchlings have once again begun migrating after a lapse of more than 250 years.

Nearly hunted to extinction by fleets of combatants during the last migration cycle, Draconis Hatchlings were responsible for the deaths of thousands of pilots. Yet, nothing of monetary value has ever been developed from the bits and pieces that remain after one is killed. It is believed that the majority of these creatures were killed for sport.

A Pilot's Advisory from the Glenn Commission warns that the hatchlings are extremely curious and tend to be attracted to areas of activity for reasons scientists don't understand. You're advised to avoid these critters as they are dangerous when threatened.

InfinitiCorp Announces the REACH Program

InfinitiCorp announced a new program designed to welcome former employees back into the company. The REACH employee program has been created to extend amnesty to former employees wishing to rejoin the InfinitCorp family.

Net-7 News asked an InfinitiCorp HR spokesperson why former employees should be re-hired, but we were only told, "Our standard policy does not allow us to discuss the employment history of former InfinitiCorp employees. We can only give out dates of employment. If you wish to ask about the employment dates of a specific individual, then you must fill out form 56XJ-7 version B. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for processing."

Psionic P3889 Dies to Poisoning

Another loss was felt in the Cygni Psionic community recently when P3889 succumbed to poisoning after a long bout of illness. Death of Psis have been on the rise, both angering and saddening supporters of the Psionic community. Tensions between activists and Psi opponents have skyrocketed following this most recent death.

Progen Officials watching Jenquai Scientists

Progen Officials are closely watching the Jenquai Scientific community after the release of information stating the tear in space, known as the Mondara Shear, could be repaired by a chemical process discovered by the Jenquai Scientists. The Republic has placed Gatekeeper Anguis in charge of observing changes, if any, to the shear.

Enjoy!

- Cerdith

Here are the details:

General Gameplay

• Added proximity aggro level banding. MOBs will no longer proximity aggro on players that are 30 or more levels higher than the MOB.
  
• Reworked prospectable ruined hulks entirely. There is lots of new loot dropping from hulks and it should be much more clear when we spawn a "jackpot" hulk.

• Added new story-related missions
  
• The Elfman Triplets are back for Valentine's Day in brightly colored ships. They are offering Valentine-themed peppermint treats....except for the treats lost en route. The hours of operation will be from Feb. 12th, 9:00 am Pacific/5:00pm GMT until Feb. 16. - 9:00 am Pacific/5:00pm GMT.
  
• As the story evolves, certain missions may become expired as they are no longer relevant or possible.
  
• The Level 50 hull upgrade missions have been removed from the game.
  
• Attention all former InfinitiCorp employees! Tired of being left out of the most lucrative contracts? Feeling like you've lost your touch? Thinking about rejoining the galaxy's #1 organization? The InfinitiCorp REACH program may be just the thing for you! Contact Holly Flanders for more information about this exciting new opportunity.
  
• Jenquai Explorers who have lost their affiliation with the Sha'ha'dem should seek out their old teacher, Shin-Tzu Li if they wish to regain their place among their people.
  
• The Mars Construction Project is offering additional rewards to Sentinels and Explorers who assist in the war effort. Newly enhanced reinforcers are available for purchase with process passes and refunds are being given (for a limited time only) on the old versions of the item. New rewards have been added to the surplus available for distribution.
  
• The sector gate to der Todesengel no longer requires a key as construction is complete!
  
• The Mordana presence in Antares has increased.
  
• Tersen Grosch has left Chernevog Station. Where he has gone, no one knows.
  
• Gatekeeper Anguis has been reassigned to observe the Mondara Shear healing efforts in Tarsis.
  
• The migration of the Draconis Hatchling has begun again after a lapse of 250 years. A Pilot's Advisory from the Glenn Commission warns that the hatchlings are extremely curious and tend to be attracted to areas of activity for reasons scientists don't understand. Nearly hunted to extinction by fleets of combatants during the last migration cycle, Draconis Hatchlings were responsible for the deaths of thousands of pilots. Yet, nothing of monetary value has ever been developed from the bits and pieces that remain after one is killed. You're advised to avoid these critters as they are dangerous when angered.

• Grandmaster Sha'ha'dem in excellent standing with their people are encouraged to seek out Councillor Adriel on Dahin Planet to learn more about the ability to compel contemplation. The Compulsory Contemplation skill is now available to level 135+ Jenquai Explorers.
  
• Altered the way the Repulsor Field skill works. All levels of repulsor field now deflect every damage type. The damage returned is now an irresistible damage type - This means that a MOB that could resist the old repulsor damage because of high energy deflects will no longer be able to resist the returning damage. On the flip side, you will no longer be able to increase (by using debuffs to reduce a MOBs energy deflects to a number < 0) the damage done by the repulsor field as this damage is not tied to a deflect. You will no longer see variable damage numbers as a result.
  
• Modified the reflect damage portion of Environment Shield to return Absolute damage.
  
• Altered the way that the Self Destruct skill works. The countdown timer has been reduced from 10 seconds to 3 seconds. As a result, MOBs no longer flee when a self-destruct is imminent. Use of Self Destruct reduces both shields and reactor to 0 but does not place any negative effects on the Progen Warrior other than those drains. The amount of damage done by the Self Destruct skill has been increased considerably. The refresh timer on the skill has been changed to 30 minutes.
  
• Added an error message when Summon Enemy fails because the target is under attack.

• Fixed a problem that prevented items with See Cloaked effects from working properly.
  
• Removed the Repair Equipment effect from the Gem Finder's Bore. This buff that was of no use to the classes that could equip the beam.
  
• Changed the effect on the Heart of the Merus Milia reactor to match the description.
  
• Removed some items from drop tables that are unusable by any class.
  
• Added Cracked Chitin Plating to drop tables.
  
• Reduced the price of Cement Bags and Raw Scuttledung.
  
• The Warlock Firestarter has been added to a vendor.
  
• The Device Energy Conservation effect on the Reinforced Solar Sail works properly now.

• Added "Filter by Tech Level" controls for Manufacturing terminals.
  
• Added "/list credit kill" command. This command reports who a player is reassigning kill credit to and which players are reassigning kill credit to that player.
  
• Ungrouped players may now automatically release looting rights (via group options)
  
• Added confirmation dialog when trying to loot a NO DROP item the player can never use. This should eliminate instances of players "accidentally" looting items they can not use or trade away.
  
• The recent formula list has been increased to 15, up from 10.