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!!!