Shattered Wormhole Exploration Phase 1

Sleeper Bioinformatics Complex in J000214 – Click to Enlarge

For the last few months, my former corpmate Uxeric Straevaras (@straevaras on Twitter) and I have been cataloguing every shattered wormhole we have come across. We’ve also added in a number of reports from others, particularly Gora Int, another SSC member.

We have now passed the 50% mark (56 OF 101), so I thought it was time to update the public on our findings so far.

UPDATE 4/13: Since this posted, we’ve gotten five new systems in 2 days! Thanks to Sar Hasarin, Lyndon Byrne, Ferin Maar, Saftsuze and Uxeric for the new contributions! We are now at 61/101 and counting.

UPDATE 4/17: Five more (66 total), mostly found by Straevaras and myself. We are down to only four small shattered wormholes and need your help to finish (see below)!

UPDATE 5/13: We’ve hit 75! Many thanks to Sar Hasarin, Obil Que, Capt Crutches, Adam_Aglaert, Lyndon Byrne and more for tips and discoveries! We’ve now made a major dent in the Class 3s but still need more Class 4s and those elusive last three Smalls.

Shattered System Basics

All shattered systems have a handful of typical characteristics.

As noted in the original devblog, there are two sizes (standard, which are like typical w-space systems with the same classes, and small, which are a class unto themselves and have only frigate entrances), they all have only shattered planets, an A0 IV class blue star, and no moons.

In addition, we have found that they all have Epicenters, made up of five violent wormholes, three Talocan Static Gates, a Talocan Polestar, a Talocan Destroyer wreck, and a pile of Sleeper and Talocan wreckage. They tend to have a wide array of sites, many of which will be of a higher class grade (i.e. Class 6 gas sites in lower-class systems). All appear to have multiple static exits, which vary widely across and within a class, but appear to always have at least one w-space exit and at least one k-space exit.

Key Systems of Interest

There are five systems (so far) that are worthy of mention beyond the standard.

Thera. Of course, all of you know about Thera already. It’s huge. It has stations. It has a crazy number of connections. Thera is also the only shattered system that not all of the planets are in fact shattered. Did you know Thera is the only named system in wormhole space (although it shouldn’t be)? But you can find out about Thera a lot of other places.

The Sansha Override systems (J005299, J011195 & J010556). I wrote about this type of system a few months ago when Straevaras and I first discovered J005299. Shortly thereafter, Gentleman Gamer (@etanerrac on Twitter) discovered a matching system in J011195, which I later verified in person. A third, Jo10556, has had partial (see below) identifying info provided by Wroxton Vee that makes me believe it, too, is likely to be this sort of system. These systems have a handful of identifying markers:

1. The Epicenter has Sansha NPCs rather than Sleeper NPCs. Verified for J005299 & J011195.
2. The Epicenter has several unique Sansha Large Collidable Objects (LCOs), including Sansha control structures surrounding the Static Gates, a Revenant wreck, and a Sansha station ruin. Interestingly and disappointingly, the Sansha control structures are hackable objects that are generally found in Incursion sites, but at the Epicenters they are simply scenery. Verified for J005299 & J011195.
3. The systems have exclusively Sansha Cosmic Signatures. No Sleepers, no other factions. All three systems verified.
4. So far, they have all been Class 4 systems in the same constellation, C00328. All three systems verified.

Previously, we believed that the Silent Battleground site was another marker, but I do not believe this to be the case any longer (it is possible it changed with the Scylla update: “The site Silent Battleground had it’s distribution adjusted”). I spent a few weeks in residence in J005299 after the update and did not see a Silent Battleground for that entire time.

The Sleeper Bioinformatics HQ (J000214). This small shattered system contains what appears to be a unique site, the Sleeper Bioinformatics Complex (shown in the post header). Thanks to @RadicalDivinity, as of earlier this week I now have an alt living in this system. I have strong suspicions that this system is key to the unfolding story – either the long-term holding place of Hilen Tukoss before his escape, or the place where the Drifters discovered how to reanimate corpses. Unfortunately, like the Sansha control structures in the Override systems, the structures in this site are also not able to be hacked.

How You Can Help

So now what? What’s missing? Well, we still have just under half of the systems still to discover.

What’s going well: We have found most of the Class 5 and Class 6 shattered wormholes, so while there is still some to find the odds are not as good of finding something new.

What’s going OK: We have made good progress with Class 1, Class 2, and Small shattered, but we need more. You’ve got a bit less than a 50/50 chance of finding one we haven’t visited. Despite this progress, the Small systems are obliquely referred to in the stories that have surfaced in this new lore push from CCP – I believe that there is more to be found there particularly relative to the messages of Hilen Tukoss.

Where we need help: We have very little in terms of Class 3 data. For Class 4, which has arguably proven to be the most interesting group thus far, we still need significant and detailed data. It would also be good to get firm confirmation that J010556 is in fact a Sansha Override. This means that we really need data from people who live in wormholes with Class 3 or Class 4 statics! UPDATE 5/13: With the finds in Class 3, Class 1 is the new lightweight. Added below.

Key “Phase 2” systems we want to find:

• Small Shattered: J000102, J000313, J000461, J000522, J000621, J000726, J000965
• Class 4 Standard Shattered: J001302, J002423, J002625, J004470, J005280, J005872, J005969, J010247, J011376, J011778, J011824
• Class 3 Standard Shattered: Any (too many to list) Now down to: J005923, J011563, J012974
• Class 1 Standard Shattered: J002216, J002757. J005834, J005926, J012402, J015092

What to do if you find one: There will be some very specific information we will be looking for if you find one of these systems. Drop us an evemail or an email or comment here. Here’s how to find the answers to most of the questions we will ask!

• Travel with Large Collidable Objects turned on in your Overview. This will allow you to see lore-related objects in space that will otherwise be hidden. This is how the Sansha Override items were initially discovered.
• Visit the Epicenter and each planet to check for LCOs. Also confirm the type of rats at the Epicenter and what kinds they are.
• Visit any beacons. If there is a beacon other than the Epicenter, contact one of us immediately. Systems with multiple beacons automatically qualify for extra review. If we’re not available, leave a scout in that system. If you can’t do that, join channel FCFTW Public, mention this post, and ask someone to plant a scout there for me.
• Scan out every signature, and save the list.
• Visit every wormhole and note the type (e.g. K162) and what type of space it leads to (ideally the actual system it leads to).
• Run Silent Battlegrounds. If you find a Silent Battleground, note it. If your ship is able and you are interested, run it – they were recently changed and may contain surprise new items or changed loot drops. Report where you find it and the loot drop in detail.

One other thing. We’re not trying to be information hoarders or anything – quite the opposite. But we are asking you to share what you find. Evemail or ping on Twitter, or if you don’t want to make it an exclusive note to us, post it somewhere else – Reddit, Eve-O Forums, whatever. Just make sure you post everything above and then send us a link so we include your findings in our list!

And yes, I have some tinfoil heating up about these findings. But it’s not quite ready to pull out of the fire yet.

Good luck, and happy exploring.