Update 93: the Ops 39 wall is now a research gate

MID GAME 4 min read

There is a deadline on the easy route

Players already at Operations 40 or above get the Ascension Commission Approval handed to them in the Gift section, but only until Update 95. After that, the research route below is the only way to Operations 40.

01 WHO THIS GUIDE IS FOR

You are somewhere around Operations level 30 to 45 and heading for Operations 40, the jump from Grade 3 ships to Grade 4 ships. Update 93.1 changed how you get through that jump, and it is no longer just a matter of saving up enough resources. If you are below Operations 30 this is worth reading once so the wall does not surprise you later. Throughout this guide, Ops means your Operations level, the number on your station, and FKR is the game's shorthand for the three main factions together: Federation, Klingon and Romulan.

02 GETTING TO OPS 40 IS NOW A RESEARCH GATE

Building Operations 40 now requires Ascend Keys, and Ascend Keys come from a research node called Rapid Ascension in the Ascension Research Tree. Rapid Ascension in turn needs an item called an Ascension Commission Approval, which arrives in a gift bundle at level 39 once your server is eligible, plus the other research in the Ascension tree finished first. In plain terms: you can no longer stockpile resources at Ops 39 and jump straight to 40. The research has to be done, and part of it is gated behind your server rather than behind you. Players who are already Ops 40 or higher are handed the Approval in the Gift section during a transition period that ends with Update 95.

The Grade 4 Ascension tree. Rapid Ascension, the node that grants the Ascend Keys, is the first node on the left.

03 THE TREE RUNS ON ASCENSION PARTICLES

The Grade 4 part of the tree uses the same currency as the Grade 3 part: Ascension Particles, earned by exchanging loot from the Elite FKR hostiles that Update 93.1 added to Grade 4 systems. Working more than one faction speeds this up considerably, because defeating all three Elite hostile types earns rewards in the Federation, Klingon and Romulan stores at once instead of just one of them.

Further along the tree: ship commissions, Advanced Maneuvers and Isolytic Training for the Grade 4 faction ships.

04 ELITE ASSASSINS PUNISH THE WRONG SHIP INSTANTLY

The new Elite Assassin hostiles are built around faction counters, and getting this wrong is not a close fight, it is an instant loss. Each one can only be fought with a ship from one of the other two factions. A Federation S31 Elite Lethal Strike can only be challenged by a Klingon or Romulan ship. A Klingon Mo'Kai Elite Lethal Strike needs a Federation or Romulan ship. A Romulan Tal'Shiar Elite Lethal Strike needs a Federation or Klingon ship. Anything else, including a ship of the same faction as the target, is lethally struck at the very start of combat. Specialty ships that are not core faction ships, such as the U.S.S. Reliant, U.S.S. Voyager and U.S.S. Franklin, do not count as Federation ships for this purpose and will also be destroyed. On top of that these hostiles carry Isolytic damage, Apex Barrier and raised critical damage, so bring a real crew, not a mining setup.

05 WHERE TO FIND THEM

Elite Assassins sit in existing faction systems from level 40 to 50. Federation, in ascending order: Goesting, Luoman, Rua Ri, Almango, Kri, Enten, Voda, Ertalwu, New Reykjavik, Caelum, Gamma Sedra. Klingon: Zlim'kach, Mehg Torr, Klopp, T'ong, Somraw, nuHmey veQ, Erzon'Uk, Annalu, Muhg, Nalla, Inoss. Romulan: Yvnys, Ortexa, Corvidae, Esto, Stelama, Nuva, Yina, Elvros, Kiina, Jorda, Teranth. Beating them pays increased faction reputation, a Faction Elite Intel chest, Grade 4 broken ship parts, and progress on your faction daily goal.

06 UPGRADES FINISH FASTER NOW

Station and research timers were cut across Grades 3, 4 and 5. This is the change most likely to affect your day even if you are nowhere near Ops 40, because it shortens the upgrade loop that most mid-game progress is built on. Update 93.1 also added Latinum conversion for U.S.S. Franklin-A, U.S.S. Titan-A and Feesha unique ship parts, which gives you a way out when a single part is blocking a ship.

07 THE BATTLE PASS NOW UNLOCKS A FULL EPIC OFFICER

The Elite Track of the Battle Pass now gives a full Epic unlock of the featured officer. Previously that took the more expensive Mythic Track, and the Elite Track only gave a partial unlock. Which officer you are offered depends on your Operations level: Ops 20 to 50 get Borg Hugh, Ops 51 to 60 get Gwen DeMarco, and Ops 61 to 80 get SNW Black Ops M'Benga.

08 IF YOUR STATION GETS RAIDED

During Infinite Incursions, a successful raid on your station now puts you into a Raided state for 20 minutes after the most recent qualifying raid. While you are Raided, popups are suppressed so you can act without the game interrupting you, and the Shield button is given stronger colours to push you towards shielding. Further raids refresh the timer, the state survives closing and reopening the game, and it clears itself when the timer runs out. Systems caught up in an Incursion are now marked on the Galaxy Map, and the Shield button is highlighted if you are sitting unshielded.