This new game mode expands the social aspect of being a Commander and challenges your ability to strategize and defeat powerful opponents. Section 31 - a brand new Faction - is protecting the best interests of the Federation and they need your loyalty and assistance: assign two of your strongest ships and team up with four other players to defend a Central Entity (CE) from waves of increasingly powerful hostiles.
Wave Defense launches with two central locations that require defending, an S31 Covert Base and Borg Research Lab; these will be distributed across 25 new systems.
How does it work?
The game mode will unlock at Ops Level 30, alongside a new building: The Facade. A group of 5 players (they don’t need to be members of the same alliance) will team up and face multiple waves of hostiles. The enemies will spawn in predefined locations and they will move towards the CE, with the aim of destroying it. If a set number of hostiles reach the CE, the WD fails. If the team or the Central Entity is destroyed during the first wave, there won't be any rewards. But if the team survives at least the first wave, they will become eligible to get some loot. For example, if your ships are destroyed on wave 1 but the group completes 4 waves, everyone gets rewards for 4 waves. There will be a total of 10 waves planned for launch, and defeating each one of them will reward players with “Section 31 Credits”, a currency that will be used on the brand new “Section 31” part of the Faction Store.
How to start a Wave Defense?
They will be launched from within the Central Entity. Section 31 Ciphers are the currency used to start a WD. You can try it out without a full team, although this is not recommended. The Wave Defense will begin either when the timer hits 0, or whenever the leader chooses to start. If you are joining, the ships you decide to take must be docked first and then you can travel with them to the WD system. All ships currently in the system at that time will be part of the Wave Defense, and no more ships will be able to join. Please keep in mind that you can't start a new WD in a system if there’s already an ongoing one.
Who are you fighting against?
Each wave will increase in difficulty. Waves will be composed of a set of Federation Explorers, Klingon Interceptors and Romulan Battleships. Additionally, depending on the level of the Wave Defense, players will need to deal with Swarm, Borg, Actian, Species 8472, Hirogen and Texas-class hostiles. You will need to coordinate to make sure the team has ships to counter each of the incoming hostile types. Note that you cannot repair the ships while in the Wave Defense.
Note: if the enemy ship gets too close to the CE, players won't be able to attack it anymore.
S31 Faction Store
The store launches with 6 Ranks and an exciting collection of rewards, including (but not limited to) the new “Section 31 Favors”, buffs for the Wave Defense challenges, some special Refits, the “S31 Cipher” Wave Defense entry token, prime particles, Syndicate XP, Sigma resources and also a new permanent sourcing location for Officers from the Strike Crews + Carol Freeman.
As part of the S31 benefits, and with enough Reputation, “Armada Quick Start” will be unlockable via the Store as well - this new functionality only works for Alliance and Solo Armadas, and will allow the Leader to use Speed Ups whenever they want after the Armada has been started to reduce the countdown timer, instead of waiting. The more you level up the building, the more offers will be unlocked in the S31 Store.
The new resource, “Armada Countdown Speed Up”, will be sourced through the S31 Store and the amount you get per day (and the amount you can store at once before you hit the cap) increases based on the level of The Facade.
Wave Defense Building: The Facade
The building will unlock at Ops Level 30 and it’s an essential part of the Wave Defense. It will provide not only additional Damage against Wave Defense Hostiles but also increase the Ship’s Hull Health and Officer Stats. Materials to upgrade the facility - “Section 31 Transmitters” - will be available through the S31 Faction Store.
Wave Defense: Gameplay Basics & Loop
Winning Criteria: Complete all waves (all hostiles are destroyed) AND the Central Entity is NOT destroyed AND at least ONE team member is alive.
Losing Criteria: All team members are defeated OR the Central Entity is destroyed. Reminder - if the team or the Central Entity is destroyed during the first wave, there won't be any rewards.
Wave Defense: System View
A New Fleet Commander: Luther Sloan
Luther joins the team as a Fleet Commander. His main role within Section 31 focuses on identifying and neutralizing threats to the Federation, even if it means resorting to extreme measures such as assassination and espionage - or even asking you for help. Luther’s Skill Trees will have 30 skills and focus on these 3 main traits: Tactician, Mechanic and Escapist.
He will be one of the best Commanders to date, offering compelling boosts across various categories, such as: base Damage and Defense (including Iso) bonuses, Critical Chance increases, Shield and Hull Health improvements and base FKR reputation received from Hostiles, to name a few. Luther won’t be improved via Rare Skill Points but through Luther Sloan Skill Points that will be sourced via the Faction Store.