Rare Rewards
In this post, I’ll be sharing the newly revealed ship statistics for the latest EVE Online Alliance Tournament (AT) XX prizes: the Sidewinder, Cobra, and Python. For those who missed it, EVE Online is currently running its annual Alliance Tournament XX. I have a separate post that covers the history of the event, statistics of past winners and losers, and my highlights of the current event.
Table of Contents
The biggest rewards during the AT are, of course, the limited edition overpowered ships gifted to the winners of the tournament. This year, the rewards are particularly special: they include a battleship-class prize for the first time since 2006. Back then, during AT III, the rewards included the Raven State Issue and Minmatar Tempest Tribal Issue – that was 18 years ago!
Even more exciting, these new battleships are Tech II Black Ops variants, with some seriously overpowered stats. But before diving into the battleship, let’s check out the other two ships!
Sidewinder: Covert Ops Combat Frigate
The first ship is the Sidewinder, a Tech II combat Covert Ops frigate based on the Pacifier hull. Here’s a picture showing the detailed stats.
Notable differences from its CONCORD equivalent include:
- More robust stats across the board, with approximately 30% more EHP, as well as increased speed and agility.
- An additional medium slot.
- A drone bay, capable of launching two light drones with a 150% bonus to HP and damage.
- Shield resistances bonus.
- Up to +75% damage bonus to all hardpoint weapon systems, depending on your security status.
Cobra: Force Recon Cruiser
Next up is the Cobra, a Force Recon cruiser based on the Enforcer hull. Here’s a picture with stats.
The Cobra also features substantial upgrades:
- Improvements across most stats, such as capacitor and targeting range, plus about 20% more EHP.
- A significant speed boost from 190 m/s to 240 m/s.
- Shield resistances bonus.
- An extra medium slot.
- A drone bay capable of launching two bonused medium drones.
- Up to +75% range bonus to webs, warp scramblers, and warp disruptors, depending on your security status.
Python: Marshal-Class Black Ops Battleship
Finally, we have the Python, a stunning Marshal-class Black Ops battleship. Here’s a picture with detailed stats.
Unlike the other two ships, the Python does not gain additional slots. It has a 175m³ drone bay and 50 Mbit/s drone bandwidth, but currently lacks any drone-specific bonuses – which might be an oversight in the current ship description.
Stats-wise, the Python also sees various gains, including about a 20% increase in EHP and a roughly 40% speed boost, matching the Panther. This means you can prowl cloaked at around 500 m/s.
It has a 4% bonus to shield resistances, similar to the Caldari bonuses seen on the other ships. However, none of these ships have armor resistance bonuses from Amarr, which is surprising given their lack of a specific tanking preference and omni resistances.
The ship also features a 100% increase to MWD and AB duration. This could be a downside – while there’s better capacitor efficiency, you lose the ability to use the MWD + Cloak trick effectively, as the doubled module cycle time gives others more opportunity to decloak you. On the other hand, if gives you an ability to cruise further away during on-grid maneuvering.
Lastly, it has a massive bonus of up to 75% (depending on your security status) to ECM Burst stats, including optimal range, falloff, and strength. However, this is confusing since ECM Burst Jammers are now called Burst Jammers, which don’t have a falloff stat, and there’s also the ECM Jammer projector, which is a capital-sized module. My guess is that this is just a typo in the current information.
Final Thoughts
The winning team will receive 40 Sidewinders, 40 Cobras, and 20 Pythons – with a total of 385 ships being distributed overall. Although these ships are still quite limited, I believe we’ll see them frequently in combat, often becoming the center of major conflicts. Some Twitch chat members have mentioned offers ranging from 5 to 10 trillion ISK for the Python hull. I wouldn’t take that as their actual value just yet, but considering it’s the first AT battleship in 18 years and is built to be used in action rather than sit in a hangar, it will certainly be in high demand.
For all the stats enthusiasts out there, don’t miss my in-depth analysis of AT XX, complete with an interactive report to explore!
How much do you think each of these ships is worth? Let me know in the comments!
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