Vanguards - Summer 3311
First Look
May 28, 3311​
On today's Frontier Unlocked, we learned more about Vanguards. If this is your first time hearing about it, know that Vanguards is the next new feature arriving to the Elite Dangerous universe, pitched originally as a "spiritual successor to squadrons".​ Now, FDev confirmed that Vanguards will be the name of the update, and that the mechanic itself will still be called Squadrons. There's a ton coming in this update, so let's dive in!
The Vanguards update represents a "big refresh of the squadrons feature" designed to be friendly to new players and make it easier to manage larger squadrons. It has also been reworked to really make you feel like you're part of that squadron, and let other players really see it. Starting off, there will be a new UI for squadrons, beginning with the most basic menu:
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In addition to the UI updates, FDev has introduced communication updates as well--for example where previously we had a Squadron Feed with public and private statements, we'll now have three separate posting channels in game: the squadron feed, which appears to serve the same purpose; the squadron bulletin board, which acts similarly to a single discord channel, and individual CMDR statuses within the squadron, for messages such as "Going mining today. Anyone want to wing up?". As part of this change, the squadron roster will finally be publicly accesible in-game.
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Another UI/backend change involves squadron organization: Squadrons now will have up to 15 separate ranks, each with customizable permissions. We'll cover more on those permissions later.
The new UI is not where Vanguards ends though--simply where it begins. As part of that desire to make CMDRs feel like they're part of their squadron, FDev is introducing Squdaron Decals. These decals are customized in a very Halo 3-esque customizer (shoutout to CMDR Geno Garon for pointing out the similarities) and then can be viewed in the squadrons UI and the browse squadrons screen. These squadron decals can also be turned into ship decals for display on livery.
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Squadron decals will have three layers, each with a customizable logo and color. Combining various logo and color options gives squadrons the ability to create their own unique decal as shown:
The changes don't stop there, though! Squadrons will also get to assign perks. Each squadron will get two perks, a primary perk that is always in effect, and a secondary perk that is only in effect in systems where the squadron's selected minor faction is the controlling faction. For example, a squadron focused on building their own bubble may want to choose the "Increased Colonisation Commodities Profit" perk as their secondary--presumably they're expanding off their own systems, then every system they're colonising will be controlled by their faction--leading to higher profitability. Other perks, such as the "Increased Team Rewards" perk, may be more broadly applicable and thus more suitable as a primary perk.
Additionally, we will be getting Squadron Fleet Carriers, owned as a squadron instead of as an individual. The squadron fleet carriers will be larger than normal carriers, with the idea being that they can fit more players on the pads simultaneously. They'll also have a larger capacity than individual permissions, though it's unclear by how much. Remember those additional permissions we alluded to earlier? Some of those include which ranks within your squadron have permissions to jump the squadron carrier, or set by and sell orders.
What might that extra space be used for? Good question!
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Vanguards also introduces the Squadron Bank, which can store credits, ships, and even personal assets. This mechanic is designed for more experienced CMDRs to help newer players by sharing credits, or loaning ships. There will be restrictions on what ships can be added to the squadron bank--the example we were provided is that no engineered modules can be equipped to the ship--but we suspect the list is more extensive than that. Additionally, there will be permissions for who can view the squadron bank, who can deposit into it, and who can withdraw from it. There will also be a feature to add withdrawal limits, though it's unclear as of now if that is a per-player or per-rank mechanic.
Finally, Vanguards will come with a slight rework to the Squadron Leaderboards. Currently, squadron leaderboards pit all squadrons against each other across various categories. With Vanguards, there will now be separate leaderboards that specifically focus on the top 10 members of each squadron, and the top 50 members of each squadron. This way, smaller squadrons are able to compete and win awards in the smaller categories without having to go up against larger squadrons that naturally win due to more participating members.
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As always, this information is still a work in progress--we expect much of this to change slightly prior to release (looking at you, no engineered modules in the squadron bank!)--but hopefully this clears up many questions for you about what to expect with Vanguards!
February 26, 3311
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Today we learned about the next new feature coming to Elite Dangerous: Vanguards! We don't know much yet, but Vanguards will fundamentally change how player groups work, interact, and communicate in Elite Dangerous.
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Described as "the spiritual successor to squadrons", Vanguards will provide improved communications within Elite Dangerous. There will be a social area in the UI, with a method for communicating set objectives. As with squadrons, there will be a leader who determines and sets objectives--whether or not that will be limited to the leader (or if permissions can be shared) remains to be seen.
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Additionally, there will be a method of comparing your Vanguard against other Vanguards, though we don't yet know what sort of comparison will be available.
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Part of the goal of Vanguards is to help make player groups more accessible to new players in the game--the hope is that experienced players will create Vanguards, and then the new platform will allow new players to browse and communicate with various groups without necessitating third-party tools.
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Although still under construction and very much in flux, Vanguards will introduce a "bank" feature--inculding shared credits, ships and modules--so experienced players can jump start newer players by loaning and helping out with shared resources.